Magnificent Movies

As I was sitting with a couple of friends eating ice cream a few days ago, a conversation about movies came up. We were talking about films that we had just seen when, as it inevitably always seems to, the talk became solely on Quentin Tarantino. As I would soon find out, one of the friends there had never seen a Tarantino movie or The Godfather or Citizen Kane or Casablanca or, well, you get the point. This made me think about if I could have 20 movies with me at any time, what would what be? And, by proxy, these are the 20 films I would give someone to watch. In other words, it’s your standard “Stranded on a Desert Island” question. So, here are the movies but in no particular order:

The Godfather
The Godfather II
-Arguably the two greatest movies ever made.

Chinatown
-There has to be at least one movie with Jack in it, and this is his best.

The Last Waltz
-THE concert film

Dr. Strangelove
-A Kubrick movie is necessary and this is his finest work. It’s also my favorite dark-comedy of all-time.

Duck Soup
Monkey Business
Blazing Saddles
-These three can make me laugh my ass no matter what mood I’m in

Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
-There’s nothing more fun than the original Star Wars trilogy.

Pulp Fiction
-All movies made after 1994 seem to take at least something from Tarantino’s masterpiece.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Manchurian Candidate
-Two great political movies that mix comedy and drama.

Goodfellas
Raging Bull
-The second and third movies by Marty on the list, but all are quite deserved.

My Fair Lady
Guys and Dolls
-Musicals are quite necessary

The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
-One word: Bogart.