Movie – High Noon (1952)

The movie High Noon may be best known to general audiences today from dialogue in Die Hard where Hans and McClane are verbally sparring with each other over westerns.  (“That was Gary Cooper asshole.”)  If this is the case, then that is too bad.  High Noon is a very good movie that is a true classic in the genre and it deserves to be seen.  I would place it among the Top 5 westerns ever made.  Some in the media tried to derisively say George W. Bush saw himself as the Sheriff Will Kane character from this film, but ironically it was his predecessor, Bill Clinton, who named this his favorite movie of all time.  This may be fitting since politics played a big part in the creation of this film.  I will explain.

Movie – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

When Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was first released it generated a lot of hate from politicians because of the way some federal Senators and state government officials in the film were portrayed as corrupt.  At the same time, the Press also despised the film because some in their profession were shown to be opportunistic and in cahoots with the politicians – just making up stories for the sake of selling newspapers.  Hell, more than seven decades later the Press still tries to tar director Frank Capra as nothing more than a maker of cheesy, lightweight movies (despite his three Oscars for Best Director).  I say any film that simultaneously pisses off both politicians and the Press is one that is well worth seeing.

Movie – Amelie (2001)

I have saved the year ending IMDB Top 250 lists since 1998 (more on that in a week or two).  I have used them over the years to get suggestions on films I might want to see.  Back in 2001 a film named Amelie showed up on the list.  It sounded interesting, so I rented it.  I absolutely loved it.  To this day this film still remains one of the very best finds I have ever had from a list of recommended movies.

Movie – To Sir, with Love (1967)

First things first: all together now – “To Sir,ir,ir with lo-o-o-o-ove”.  Okay, now that I’ve got that out of my system, I can start.  How do you write a review about someone who has taken people from crayons to perfume?  It isn’t easy, but I’ll try.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t completely out of my system.  (I’ll be serious now.)

I was home from college one weekend and flipped the TV on.  I heard the opening lines from the song To Sir, with Love.  It triggered a memory with me.  The song was played on the radio when I was very little.  I remember thinking from the lyrics it was about a child who gets cared for by an older person, maybe even adopted.  I decided to watch the movie.  It turned out to be quite a bit different from what I expected.  I also really enjoyed it. 

Movie – To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

You would think that a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that was also beloved by millions would easily be made into a movie.  Not so with To Kill a Mockingbird.  Studio execs asked, “Where’s the action?  Where’s the love story?”  When a decision was finally made to do a movie both Rock Hudson and Jimmy Stewart were considered for the lead role of Atticus Finch and both turned it down.  When Gregory Peck found out about the role he sat down and read the book in a single evening and then called the next day to say he would do it.  What Peck, and movie audiences, would understand is that this is one of the finest examples of a story that speaks to everyone.  And at its lead is the character of Atticus Finch.  If I ever was forced give a single example of what it means to be “a good man” then I would offer up Atticus Finch as my choice.

Movies with Great Human Beings in Them

“You make me want to be a better man.” – Melvin Udall, As Good As It Gets

There has been any number of movies about great leaders, heroes, and inspirational people.  Because of the sheer number, I am going to restrict this category to fictional characters.  I will not be doing any biopics like Schindler’s List or Gandhi this time around.  I will save them for another day.  Unfortunately, this eliminates many of the movies I’ve seen with great women in them, but I will be including one fictional female character. 

And yes, I realize the first two films I am going to write about are based on books that are themselves partially based on real people, but I consider them to be far enough removed from the real person to not be a biography.

I am going to do something a little different this time.  I am going to list the characters below before any reviews are posted.  All of you will recognize some of the names; some of you will recognize all of them.  As I post a review, I will change the character’s name into a link to the movie’s review.  One of these – Juror #8 – is for a previously posted movie.

Note: Because I like positive movies more than pretty much any other kind, you will see higher ratings than usual across this category.  (Some people have commented that I am a little stingy when it comes to giving 5 star ratings, or even 4 star ratings.)

As I post the new reviews, I will come back and post the links to them here:

Atticus Finch

Mark Thackeray

Amelie Poulain

Jefferson Smith

Will Kane

Juror #8

On to the reviews…

Movie – 12 Angry Men (1957)

12 Angry Men is one of the all-time classic movies.  It features a number of excellent performances, an engaging, tension-filled story, and great cinematography – all within the confines of tiny jury deliberation room.  Henry Fonda was the star of the film and out of more than 100 movies he was in, he considered 12 Angry Men one of the three best films he ever made.

It is currently #6 on IMDB’s list of the Top 250 movies of all time.  As I discussed in my Seven Samurai post [you can read it here] IMDB gives higher rankings to movies that receive more votes, so for a film with relatively so few votes to be ranked so high is nothing short of remarkable.