It's a Gift - Norman Z. McLeod (1934)

I knew absolutely nothing about this movie. And I only found out it was a W.C. Fields movie when I couldn't find it on the movie rental site I used. Some research was done, I found out it was a Fields' movie (was slightly apprehensive), and the movie was acquired.

I had never seen a W.C. Fields movie, so I wasn't sure what I was in for. I have to admit, it was pretty funny. I did laugh out loud on a few occasions. There is a scene at the beginning of the movie, where Fields is in the bathroom in the midst of shaving. His self centered daughter comes in to use the mirror, and he is relegated to 'McGyvering' a mirror for himself to use. Hilarity ensues.

The story follows Fields, his requisite hen-pecking wife, precocious son, mangey dog, and the aforementioned self centered daughter, as he sells his grocery store in New Jersey and buys an orange grove in California.

I presonally think the word kumquat is funny. There is a whole schtick at the grocery store where a customer wants 10 pounds of kumquats. First of all, I giggled every time they said kumquat. And second, what does anyone need 10 pounds of kumquats for? Hi-larious.

The movie is pretty much slapstick-y humour. It was cute and funny and thoroughly enjoyable. AND it was only 90 minutes long.

One word to describe 'It's a Gift': Kumquat.

The Scarlet Empress - Josef von Sternberg (1934)

I knew absolutely nothing about this movie before seeing it.

This was the telling of the story of Catherine the Great of Russia (based on her diaries), starring Marlene Dietrich. Admittedly I was skeptical.

The movie was alright. Some of the acting was laughable. The Queen of Russia had a mid-western accent, and way over acted. The only thing that seemed believable or plausible in the movie was the lead actress, Dietrich.

In my post-movie research, von Sternberg and Dietrich made many movies together. And it seems as if the movies were just an excuse for him to feature her. So it looks like the story and all other facets of the film suffered to make her shine. I have to hand it to Dietrich, she's a good actress. I had never seen any of her movies before.

I have to say I was totally shocked at some of the sexual overtones of the movie. This was made just as the Hays Code was being ironed out. (The Hays code restricted what could and could not be in movies. Mostly around sexual behaviour.) There is a scene where the Russian consort who is bringing Catherine to Russia makes a pass at her and kisses her. She makes a remark that he shouldn't do that. He hands her a whip and says something along the lines of you will have to punish me. WHAT?!?!?!? I was like, did they just seriously show that. Holy moly!

The movie was over the top, kind of hokey and badly acted in general. The upside is, that I now know a bit of Russian history and the 'story' of Catherine the Great (at least according to Hollywood.)

One word to describe 'The Scarlet Empress': Hokey.

Some Like It Hot - Billy Wilder (1959)

I had seen this movie before. Which I think worked in the movies favour this time. I knew the story so I could focus on the dialogue. And I was impressed how clever and...snappy the dialogue was.

This is yet another movie (is there a trend with this?) where the last line of the movie is 'the' line. It's on AFI's Top 100 Movie quotes at #48: "Well, nobody's perfect". You look at the line and say...yeah, so? In the context of the movie, it is hilarious. (If you haven't seen the movie, I don't want to ruin it for you.) But suffice it to say, I think it's one of the funniest and best delivered lines in the movies I have seen so far.

This film is just fun and silly and in my opinion a joy to watch. I have to say, Marilyn Monroe is totally engaging. There is a scene in the movie where she is simply standing in front of an orchestra singing 'I Wanna Be Loved By You'. This is one of the most sexy and mesmerizing scenes I have seen in film. She is in a dress that is clingy and sorta see through. And although you can't actually see 'anything' it's...well, YOWZA!!! And she has one of my favourite lines, 'I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop'. Love it!

Billy Wilder knew how to make a film. Marilyn is sexy. And Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are hilarious. What else do you need?

One word to describe 'Some Like it Hot': Charming.

Nosferatu - F.W. Murnau (1922)

I have to say, this is a pretty good film. I have seen one other F.W. Murnau film called 'Sunrise'. And that was a very compelling film. It still amazes me that you can tell a very compelling story and evoke so much emotion in a black and white silent film. So that is why Murnau is a good filmmaker.

There is one scene in the movie where a Sailor sees an 'apparition' of Nosferatu - he kind of appears out of thin air. Keeping in mind this is 1922, it's a pretty neat trick visually. And I do have to admit, the character is pretty scary. And there is another one where you just see his shadow...creeping over the main characters wife. Very creepy.

The movie is based on Bram Stoker's book 'Dracula'. Apparently though, they forgot to secure the rights to it (oops!!) and basically it had to be destroyed and wasn't allowed to be shown because of the copywright infringement. Then recently, the original was remastered.

This was a good film. Just as good (in my humble opinion) as movies made today with special effects and CGI and all that fancy modern stuff.

One word to describe 'Nosferatu': Scary.

Fargo - Joel & Ethan Coen (1995)

I had seen this movie shortly after it came out. I remember liking it, but also kind of scratching my head. I am not sure I had seen anything like it before. Since then, it has become part of our culture. Most people have heard of the movie, or at least know what you are referring to if you mention it. Mostly, people know it's the movie with the funny accents.

I guess what left me scratching my head was...the story was bizarre, yet plausible. It was clever and humorous but not funny. It kind of skated on this fine line between reality and....well something else.

I think that the Coen brothers are somewhat of a cult thing. People LOVE their movies. This was probably the first of their movies that I had seen (at the time). No, I haven't seen 'Raising Arizona'.....sheesh. And since seeing some of their other work, I can't say that I am a fan of the brothers as film makers. I like some of their movies, but as a body of work, I am kinda like....meh. I would say Fargo is my favourite of all their films. And that's probably why it's on the list. It might be one of the most accessible films. (Or at least of the ones I have seen.)

And not to spoil the movie for you if you haven't seen it, but the scene with the foot sticking out of the wood chipper (sock, and no shoe) is one of the most horrifyingly funny scenes in film history (in my humble opinion).

One word to describe 'Fargo': Okie dokie.

Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)

I have said it before, I was not the least bit interested (until this project) in watching Hitchcock's movies. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I thought they were 'scary'. Whatever the reason...I was wrong. This guy knew how to make a movie. He was able to capture the right mix of suspense through music, camera angles, and story telling. He was able to let the viewer suspend reality for 90 minutes and believe what was happening on the screen. Mostly because what was happening, was happening to 'real' people (they were like you, you could relate to them) and that's what made them scary. The people in his movies weren't villains, or bad people, or some caricatures, they were just ordinary everyday folks who had some extraordinary circumstances happen to them.

This is a good movie because you totally do not know what is going to happen. You think you do, but then BAM! there is this huge twist. I guess that is the modus operandi of his films in general. But it still makes for good entertainment.

There are 4 movies by Hitchcock on this list: Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho, North by Northwest. Which is the most by one director (Spielberg has 3.) What relevance does that have in the bigger scope of filmmaking? Probably none. I do think that it reinforces the importance of Hitchcock and his ability to make a good movie.

One word to describe 'Vertigo': Twisty.

Gone with the Wind - Victor Fleming (1939)

This is one of the first movies I watched that I fell in love with. So it has a special place in my heart. I remember watching this on TV with my Mom when I was probably 14 (or around there somewhere). I thought this was an amazing movie. The love story (I had a crush on Rhett Butler). The colours and the costumes. I remember being mesmerized. I have not watched it since then. So I was interested to see if I still liked it as much viewing it as an adult. And I did. Although it runs long, just shy of 4 hours, I don't think that the story could be told in less time.

This movie was made in a year that some (most film people) believe is the pinnacle of Hollywood movie making. 1939 spawned some of the most popular and best loved movies of all time: Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz (directed by Victor Fleming as well), Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach (the movie that made John Wayne famous), and on and on. I might argue that Gone with the Wind is the pinnacle of that year. It won Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year (not saying that particular honour makes a good movie).

I also think it's important to look at the historical context of 1939. It was just as the Great Depression was ending and WW II was just starting. So a film about the devastating effects of War and the hardships of that would have been particularly relevant in that year. And beyond this being an epic masterpiece of film making, this is maybe why it has such a place in history and in people's hearts. It reflected the times, although it's a story of a events that 'happened' almost a hundred years prior.

Cinematically this is a stunning movie. Acting wise, this was brilliantly cast. Was there anyone else who could have played Rhett Butler other than Clark Gable? No. Was Vivian Leigh the right choice for Scarlett? Absolutely. Does this have some of the most memorable lines in movie history? Duh!!! 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.' (At the time, damn was thought of as being very risque...how times have changed.) Which is, by the way, the #1 quote on AFI's top 100 movie quotes of all time. And, 'As God as my witness, I will never go hungry again.'

Is this movie culturally relevant? Yes. Is this a great movie? Yes.

One word to describe 'Gone with the Wind': Awesome!