Dusty's 25 Favorite Movies
Some of these are really great films - others, not so much. But they're my favorites. Friendly comments and lively discussion are welcome.
How would YOU define a "favorite" movie? For me, a big part of it is, how do I react when I'm channel-surfing and I run across the movie playing on TV? These are the movies that I will always watch, no matter how many times I've seen them.
There aren't a lot of comedies on my list, nor very many recent "action" flicks - not a superhero in sight! - but that's just me. I tend to favor classic movies over newer ones, and movies with great characters and interesting relationships over explosions and bombastic SPFX. I also especially appreciate great dialogue.
Here's looking at you, kid.
How would YOU define a "favorite" movie? For me, a big part of it is, how do I react when I'm channel-surfing and I run across the movie playing on TV? These are the movies that I will always watch, no matter how many times I've seen them.
There aren't a lot of comedies on my list, nor very many recent "action" flicks - not a superhero in sight! - but that's just me. I tend to favor classic movies over newer ones, and movies with great characters and interesting relationships over explosions and bombastic SPFX. I also especially appreciate great dialogue.
Here's looking at you, kid.
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- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.So many wonderful moments and quotes from this movie, but my favorite scene is when Rick gives the okay for the band to play "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem. Gets me every time. And this exchange -
Renault: What brought you to Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came for the waters.
Renault: Waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
Rick: I was misinformed. - DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.I love this movie for several reasons, not the least of which is that it was what Kathy & I went to see on our first date. For those of you who aren't old enough to remember, that was back in pre-home video days, when studios used to re-release old movies back to the theaters.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsTom BerengerGlenn CloseJeff GoldblumA group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.What's not to love? An amazing cast, a brilliant script, and thoughtful people exploring the meaning of life. Oh, all of that, plus what may the finest soundtrack since "American Graffiti." At the final scene, around the breakfast table, when Jeff Goldblum says, "We're not leaving; we're never leaving," he's speaking for us all.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.Thanks to my brother David for introducing me to this movie, and to my daughter Brittany for giving me a copy of it. Watching the relationship of Andy and Red is an absolute joy, thanks to the performances of two great actors at the top of their game.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.The perfect telling of the dark side of the American Dream. The scene at the end, where Clemenza kisses Michael's hand and says, "Don Corleone," while Neri is closing the door in Kay's face, is visual storytelling at its very finest. Honorable mention for this list: Godfather II.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.This really is for all three movies. I love the whole allegory of this story as well as the relationships between and among the various members of the characters. Tolkien was a master storyteller.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBarry FitzgeraldA retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.Would still love to know exactly what Mary Kate says to Sean at the end of the film, although the meaning is obvious enough. Miss O'Hara said she would never tell, and as far as I know, she never did. Must have been something to get that look on the Duke's face.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsRobert DuvallTess HarperBetty BuckleyA broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.Robert Duvall is the best actor of his generation, IMHO, and here is his Oscar-winning performance. Every moment is an absolute gem that resonates with truth, down to the Cowboys team poster on the wall in Sonny's bedroom.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsGregory PeckJohn MegnaFrank OvertonAtticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.Not many actors have the moral authority to pull off a character like Atticus Finch, without coming across as phony or preachy or self-righteous. Gregory Peck makes it look easy. "Miss Jean Louise, stand up! Your father is passing."
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.When I was in the fifth grade, our class took a field trip to the Strand Theatre in Orange, Texas, to see this movie. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer give amazing performances. My favorite musical moment is probably the puppet show when the kids sing, "The Lonely Goatherd."
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley TempleAt Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.I know a lot of people prefer "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (Don't apologize, mister, it's a sign of weakness.), but this is my favorite of the John Wayne-John Ford Cavalry trilogy. Lots of great moments, but I love it when Henry Fonda says to Victor McLaglen, "Sergeant, pour me some scripture."
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHugh MarloweGary MerrillA tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.I remember watching this in Dr. Paul Lakey's class in organizational communication at ACU, as a case study in leadership. A war film that is decidedly anti-war. Gregory Peck is brilliant, of course, and Dean Jagger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as Maj. Stovall.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksBill PaxtonKevin BaconNASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.Ron Howard has talked about the awesome power of letting a story tell itself, and that is certainly true here. A great cast and an incredibly compelling story, even though I remember when it happened: "Failure is not an option!"
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Tom Hanks and Matt Damon lead a great ensemble in another terrific movie from Spielberg. Don't miss the scene where General Marshall reads the letter from President Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.Set in St. Louis just before the 1904 World's Fair, this story follows the family of an attorney who is considering accepting a promotion that would mean moving them all to New York City. There are several great musical moments, but none better than Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to her movie sister, Margaret O'Brien.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsDavid NivenGregory PeckAnthony QuinnA team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.One of my very favorite war movies, with great performances by Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quayle, among others. "To tell you the truth, sir, I didn't think we could do it." "To tell you the truth, neither did I." Whoever thought it would be a good idea to make a sequel of this should be stood up against a wall and shot (even if Barbara Bach was beautiful in it).
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsRichard DreyfussGlenne HeadlyJay ThomasA frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.A very gentle movie about the difference one man can make in the lives of so many others - kind of like "It's a Wonderful Life" in that regard. Don't miss the wonderful scene where Mrs. Jacobs gives Mr. Holland the compass, and watch the unexpressed emotions pass over Richard Dreyfuss' face. Another gem: Jean Louisa Kelly singing "Someone to Watch Over Me."
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsShirley MacLaineOlympia DukakisSally FieldA young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.Easily my favorite "chick flick." I love the relationships between these women and the way they support each other through the ups and downs of their lives. Life goes on.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.I'm not a huge Jack Nicholson fan, but I love this movie. Brilliant cinematography and stunning visuals in a neo-noir tale of corruption and cover-up in old Los Angeles. Faye Dunaway stars with Jack Nicholson, and don't miss director-writer John Huston in a supporting role. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartJune AllysonHarry MorganBiography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.Jimmy Stewart made a LOT of bio-pics in his day, and I've always thought this was one of the best. There's no telling how many people have discovered the music of Glenn Miller by watching this movie. I know I did.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonA bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway star in this story of a CIA researcher who stumbles across a covert op and is marked for death. Who's out to get him, and why? Awesome New York scenery adds to moodiness of this great spy thriller. Also with Cliff Robertson and John Houseman.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.Some critics think 1939 was the best year ever for movies, and I tend to agree. This is a favorite from that year. A great train movie about the building of the transcontinental railroad. They may take a few liberties with the history, but the visuals are stunning. As is Barbara Stanwyck.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordJane FondaValerie PerrineA rodeo star past his prime steals his company's horse and rides into the desert, accompanied by a feisty reporter.It probably annoys some of my friends that I have a Jane Fonda flick on this list, but I love this movie. A very nice telling of rebellion against corporate America. Willie Nelson is great in a supporting role, and his music is used well in the soundtrack, especially when Sonny releases Rising Star and "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" is playing. Due to legal issues involving Willie's music, some video versions of this movie use generic instrumental music in that scene - very annoying. Fortunately the Blu-Ray version has the restored soundtrack.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKevin CostnerSusan SarandonTim RobbinsA fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.STRONG CAUTION FOR LANGUAGE & ADULT SITUATIONS. Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins star in my very favorite baseball movie. It really captures the heart of the game, IMHO. "You've been in the The Show, man?"
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsRichard DreyfussMarsha MasonQuinn CummingsAfter being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.Richard Dreyfuss' Oscar-winning performance with really strong work by Marsha Mason and Quinn Cummings. The script by Neil Simon is loaded with quick quips and quotable scenes. This is a great date night movie. "Paula, don't play games with me - my socks are under water!"