The Top Ten

by Ang
I love movies. I realize that most people could say that (I mean, who doesn’t like movies?). But I love re-watching my favorites over and over. I love to have a movie on just in the background as I’m cleaning house or doing homework. We have a pretty extensive collection of movies, because my husband is a movie lover like I am. I know some people who will only watch a movie once. Even if they love it! I don’t understand that. If you love a movie, why wouldn’t you want to watch it again? Movies are comforting and are a great source of escape when you just need to zone out for a while.

I have a favorite movie (Gone With the Wind). But I also have 9 others that are on my ‘Top 10 Favorite Movies’ list. The reason I’m posting this is because a couple weekends ago, my husband and I seen a movie that made my top 10 list. I can’t WAIT to see it again, and I will be buying it the first day it comes out on DVD.

So, in no particular order (other than Gone With the Wind), here they are:

1. Gone With the Wind

I think I was around 11 or 12 when I seen this movie for the first time. I remember it was on TV and I was sitting in a chair in our living room. I missed the first 15 minutes or so, because the first thing I saw was the shot of the Twelve Oaks plantation in all of its glory on the day of the barbecue (right before the war started). I was intrigued, so I sat there and watched the rest of it. And I was hooked. The next time it came on television, I recorded it. And I watched it again. And again. And again. I have seen it so many times now that I can recite the words along with the actors (I’m not particularly proud of this). After I watched the movie the first few times, I read the book. While the book is excellent, I think the movie is better. However, the book provides a lot of detail that is very helpful when watching the movie. Just little things. Like when Scarlett is talking to her father (before the BBQ) and she insists that she wants to marry Ashley. Her father tells her that Ashley is going to marry someone else and that she has something more important than that….land. Tara. And Scarlett says ‘but land doesn’t mean anything when—‘ and then her father interrupts her and we don’t get to hear her finish her sentence. Well, in the book, her next words are ‘when you don’t have love’. So it’s not terribly important to the story, but you learn a lot of little things like that when you read the book.

I love Scarlett O’Hara. Most people see her as a villain, but I’ve always seen her as a heroin. Yes, she did pretty much always have to get her way and hurt people sometimes in the process. And yes, she wasted her time pursuing another man and realized who her real true love was when it was far too late. But, she had good qualities too. She was a nurse during the civil war. She stayed behind to deliver her friend’s baby just hours before the burning of Atlanta. She worked the fields on her run down plantation to put food in everyone’s mouths. She took care of everyone in her household and made sure they got to keep Tara. She was honest (sometimes brutally). One of my favorite lines is when she agrees to marry Rhett and he says ‘what kind of ring would you like, my dear?’ and she says ‘Oh a diamond one Rhett, and do buy a great BIG one!’. I love it! It’s a great movie, and if you haven’t seen it, please do so. You won’t be sorry.

2. Pride and Prejudice (BBC)

Definitely Top 10 worthy. I have always loved Jane Austen, but I didn’t see this movie until probably 10 years ago. The story is just so good. The characters and casting in this movie are wonderful. It’s a mini-series (the 1st of two mini-series that I have on my Top 10), but I can easily watch the whole thing in one setting. The tale of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy intertwined with their friends, family, and the gorgeous backdrop of England. It’s funny, sad, happy, maddening, and very satisfying.

3. In America

My sister first told me to watch this movie, and I was a bit skeptical. I had never even heard of it (I don’t think too many people had). It’s the wonderful story of an Irish family that comes to the United States for a better life after a tragic loss in their family. The acting is amazing in this movie and you fall in love with each and every one of them.

4. Girl With a Pearl Earring

This is a movie that was just as good as the book (which usually never happens). It is a historical fiction film based on the life of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (who happens to be my favorite painter! We seen my favorite painting by him at the Louvre in Paris). The movie (and book, written by Tracy Chevilier) is the ‘maybe this could have been’ story of how he came about to paint his famous ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’. No one knows who the girl in the painting really was, so the author came up with her own story. But the parts of the movie that are true are his family life, his other paintings, and his patrons. It’s a very pretty film.

5. Charade

This is a lesser known Audrey Hepburn film from 1963. It has been referred to as “the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made”. It just has that feel to it. It is a comedy more than anything, but it’s also suspenseful and has a little bit of romance too. It keeps you guessing the entire way through. It’s also one of those movies that every time you watch it you catch something else new that you never noticed before. I am a HUGE Audrey Hepburn fan, and this is one of my top two favorites out of all of her movies. The other one being…

6. Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Of course. Another classic. Released two years before Charade, this movie is all about the flighty Holly Golightly. I’ve watched this movie again and again and my favorite part (besides Holly’s fashionable wardrobe) is when Holly and Paul spend the afternoon and take turns doing things each has never done before. Like visiting the New York Public Library. And shoplifting a mask from the Five and Dime store. Going to Tiffany's. I love the idea of doing that! (not shoplifting, but doing new things together) It’s such a fun movie. Perfect to watch on a rainy afternoon! Or if you live in Albuquerque where it never rains, on a blazing hot dusty, sunny afternoon.

7. Lonesome Dove

This is the second miniseries on my list. This series had 18 nominations at the Academy Awards and 7 wins, which are huge numbers for a miniseries. It is currently one of the handful of films on Rotten Tomatoes to have a rare, perfect 100% rating. It’s an epic story that follows two former Texas rangers, Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call from Texas to Montana. They encounter horse thieves, murderers, horrible weather, love, and loss along the way. I love it because of the different story lines and the amazing character development. You just get lost in each character’s issues and you’re concerned about all of them. There is no part of this movie that is boring.

8. Chocolat

Out of all of the movies on my list so far, this is the one I’m going to re-watch next. It’s the story of a young mother who arrives with her daughter in a small (repressed) village in France to open up a Chocolaterie, which astounds and angers most of the villagers, because it opens during the 40 days of Lent. But slowly she wins the hearts of a few villagers and makes friends too. This is another pretty movie, and it is almost impossible to not eat chocolate while watching it.

9. Rear Window

Another classic. I love Alfred Hitchcock, and this is my favorite movie of his. The whole premise is slightly creepy (James Stewart spying at his neighbors with binoculars from his New York City apartment window?), but it IS Hitchcock. He soon is convinced that one of his neighbors has killed his wife. He shares his concerns with his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) and his housekeeper and his detective friend, who all do a little investigating. It’s a very quiet movie, but very suspenseful.

And now, for the brand new addition to my Top 10 list…..

10. Midnight In Paris

As soon as I heard about this movie, I wanted to see it. The title alone caught my attention obviously.

I won’t give away everything, but the short version of this film’s plot is this: A young engaged couple goes to Paris on a business trip with her parents. In a strange twist of events, the young man runs into a whole slew of literary characters from the past including Earnest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and too many more to mention. The movie poster says this “A romantic comedy about an American family traveling to the French capital for business. The part includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own would be better”. The first 5-10 minutes of the movie is nothing but music and street scenes from Paris. It’s just gorgeous. It could have ended right there and I would have been happy! It’s a Woody Allen movie with lots of great people in it: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni (the current First Lady of France!) and more. When it was over, I was sad that it was over. I loved it.

So that’s my top 10. It’s quite the variety! I have many other movies that I love that deserve ‘Honorable Mentions’: Dan in Real Life (such a great little movie), Ever After (who doesn’t love a good Cinderella story?), French Kiss (one of my favorite romantic comedies), Julie and Julia (which inspired me to make ‘boeuf borgonion’ for the first time), Marie Antoinette (a great movie which really portrayed how YOUNG poor Marie Antoinette was when she was thrown into royalty), The Money Pitt (no movie makes me laugh harder than this one), Ocean’s 11 (I’m a Clooney and a Damon fan), A Star is Born (Judy Garland fascinates me and this movie eerily mirrors her real life), Waitress (I love Keri Russell AND Nathan Fillion), and Under the Tuscan Sun (I’m in love with her house and the Italy scenery).

So go watch a movie now! And make it be one of your favorites.

(all photos are from imdb.com)