BackStage Utah

I

Yes!

P.S. Most of the time these will be hosted at my new place in Taylorville, on a big-screen projecter (which I got at D.I. for 20 bucks  ) and in high quality home theater sound.

I don't have a name for the group at this point. I'd rather call it something new than just carry over the old one, since this is not quite the same thing and we're on a new board. Any suggestions are welcome.

Mister Grinch wrote on Jan 9^th, 2010 at 9:38am:


Don't be silly.  Women stay at home and do laundry.  They don't direct films!

Mister Grinch wrote on Jan 9^th, 2010 at 1:11pm:


Point taken. I will add names like Kathryn Bigelow and Sofia Coppola to later lists.

Actually, one of the most brilliant filmmakers of all time, instrumntal in inventing the art form, was female, but I don't want to have a Leni Reifenstaall night.

Quote:

What about Jane Campion? Just as a suggestion. She makes such beautiful films.

The Kaylee and the Ivy wrote on Jan 9^th, 2010 at 10:01pm:


I� must admit I have not seen one of her films, but I will add her to the list. The poll only allowed 8 options, so I chose 7 acclaimed directors whose films I already collected on DVD, and one (Wes Anderson) whom I like and know has a following here. So, admittedly, I the list is weighted toward favorites of my own, and not being a huge Sofia Coppola fan (liked "Lost in Translation", didn't love it), and never having seen a  Campion film, I didn't think of them. Everyone feel free to keep adding names of directors for future use.

I think the first five are decided:

The Coen Brothers

Steven Spielberg

Alfred Hitchcock

Martin Scorcese

Wes Anderson

Spielberg and Hitchcock will be easy for me to pull off. I own the complete Spielberg, and a rather large collection of Hitchcock.

Excellent list, Swami. There are a few there that barely misse my list. In face, it was total fluke that i left off Kubrick, and I could provide the Ridley Scott or Christopher Nolan films myself (as well as a fair number of Soderberg. In fact, I have at least one or two selections from most directors on this list). I will definitely toss some of those into the second round.

With so many worthwhile filmmakers to consider, I would consider the possibility to expanding to twice a month IF participation warrants.

You and Swami have put together such great lists of directors.� I'd like to echo my interest in some and include one or two others:

Wes Anderson
Darren Aronofsky
Cameron Crowe
Tim Burton
The Cohen Brothers
Stephen Spielberg
Christopher Nolan
Jim Jarmusch (only really familiar with Night On Earth- but it's one of my favorite movies ever)
Sophia Coppola
Joe Wright
Michel Gondry
Tarsem

Ellabella wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 7:27pm:

TARSEM SINGH. YES. (Also Michel Gondry yes yes yes yes yes. Omnomnom.)

There is a really great quote from Jim Jarmusch about "stealing" as much as you can, absorbing as much as you can, so you have as much experience/vision/memory to put into all of your projects. I will have to find it and post it here, it's one of my favorites.

Ellabella wrote on Jan 12^th, 2010 at 2:00am:

Yes! I totally saw it while we were even living together (while on a date with That One Stalker Guy That We Had to Get Pizza to Get Away From, Remember). I liked it a LOT and I really need to see it again, because by now I don't remember it as well as I'd like to.

Mister Grinch wrote on Jan 12^th, 2010 at 9:30am:


I am not surprised.  You guys have excellent taste.

Than ks for all of the suugestions. I believe we have enough for a full year at this point. Now comes the process of filtering the suggested names through my opinionated control-freak personality to see which actually make it into contention�

Isabelle wrote on Dec 7^th, 2010 at 4:20am:


Wow, this is REALLY old. It ended up being cancelled because of problems, but it may be ressurected at some point.

As long as we kept it to classic Coppola, before he died.

Cheeky Monkey wrote on Dec 7^th, 2010 at 10:48pm:

CanadaAlex and I do that all the time! Granted, we synch up and watch at the same time, but we wouldn't have to do that here. It could be more like a book club, everyone watching the film when they find a spare couple of hours instead of meeting up on one night-- and that way we'd get you in on the conversation, which is THE MOST BESTEST PART!

The Kaylee and the Ivy wrote on Dec 7^th, 2010 at 11:06pm:


Yay!!!

Silent Knight wrote on Dec 8^th, 2010 at 8:35am:


I thought you'd have a higher opinion of us. 

P.S. How hot was Al Pachino in The Godfather??? *gum smack*

Cheeky Monkey wrote on Dec 8^th, 2010 at 10:08am:


I have a high opinion of you. I'm refering to myself as much as anyone. Many times I've merely posted "I love that movie!" or some such remark, and we all tend to get preoccupied with discussing who we think is attractive (I've gone on tangents about Angelina Jolie, Amy Adams or someone like that many times). I merely wanted to focus the discussion, and I sincerely apologize for coming across as condescending.

I'm picky about who I dsicuss film with, and I wouldn't be doing this at all if I did have a high opinion of the people here. For example, I look forward to what you have to say about Tron Legacy,

I'm toying with going in a different direction: going through the AFI's Top 100 Films of all time list. Is anyone for/against this?

Swami wrote on Dec 9^th, 2010 at 12:52pm:


Cool. I've seen 44 of of them, and I'd like to see the rest. I imagine most of us have seen a decent number of them, but they're still worth discussing. I've only disliked one of the ones I've seen, and I'd be willing to go back and give it a second chance for discussion.

spiker wrote on Dec 9^th, 2010 at 1:54pm:

Well, I am at 47 on the "Ten Years Later" list, but I have no idea how many you've seen. I agree, there are some films on there that I don't agree with, but there will be on any etensive list.

Okay, so here's the original list, which I think is the one we'll use. Should we start at the top or the bottom?

1.CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2.CASABLANCA (1942)
3.GODFATHER, THE (1972)
4.GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5.LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6.WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939)
7.GRADUATE, THE (1967)
8.ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9.SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10.SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
11.IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12.SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13.BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)
14.SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15.STAR WARS (1977)
16.ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17.AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951)
18.PSYCHO (1960)
19.CHINATOWN (1974)
20.ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
21.GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)
22.2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23.MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941)
24.RAGING BULL (1980)
25.E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26.DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27.BONNIE & CLYDE (1967)
28.APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29.MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30.TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31.ANNIE HALL (1977)
32.GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974)
33.HIGH NOON (1952)
34.TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35.IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36.MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37.BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946)
38.DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39.DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40.NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41.WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42.REAR WINDOW (1954)
43.KING KONG (1933)
44.BIRTH OF A NATION, THE (1915)
45.STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951)
46.CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971)
47.TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48.JAWS (1975)
49.SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50.BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51.PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE(1940)
AFI is a trademark of the American Film Institute. Copyright 2005 American Film Institute. All Rights Reserved.
52.FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53.AMADEUS (1984)
54.ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55.SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965)
56.M*A*S*H(1970)
57.THIRD MAN, THE (1949)
58.FANTASIA (1940)
59.REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60.RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61.VERTIGO (1958)
62.TOOTSIE (1982)
63.STAGECOACH (1939)
64.CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65.SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
66.NETWORK (1976)
67.MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE (1962)
68.AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN (1951)
69.SHANE (1953)
70.FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971)
71.FORREST GUMP (1994)
72.BEN-HUR (1959)
73.WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74.GOLD RUSH, THE (1925)
75.DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76.CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77.AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78.ROCKY (1976)
79.DEER HUNTER, THE (1978)
80.WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)
81.MODERN TIMES (1936)
82.GIANT (1956)
83.PLATOON (1986)
84.FARGO (1996)
85.DUCK SOUP (1933)
86.MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87.FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88.EASY RIDER (1969)
89.PATTON (1970)
90.JAZZ SINGER, THE (1927)
91.MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92.PLACE IN THE SUN, A(1951)
93.APARTMENT, THE (1960)
94.GOODFELLAS (1990)
95.PULP FICTION (1994)
96.SEARCHERS, THE (1956)
97.BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98.UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99.GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

I like the top too.   The great thing is that a lot of these films are worth watching again and again and again, so even the ones I've seen I'm looking forward to seeing again.

Cheeky Monkey wrote on Dec 9^th, 2010 at 7:58pm:


Theoretically, if we planned for a movie each weekend and a discussion that following week, we could get through the first half of the list before this time next year. AND, I'm sure there are a couple that everyone has seen that we could discuss without having to do a screening.

Mister Grinch wrote on Dec 12^th, 2010 at 9:06pm:


It's on the updated list.

Silent Knight wrote on Dec 14^th, 2010 at 10:32am:


I could start on Citizen Kane at any time. What kind of discussion to we want to have? Story? Techniques? Historical?

A movie a week is very ambitious, peeps. I admire y'all's optimism and passion for movies.

Can't guarantee I'll participate in every discussion, but I'll do what I can.

I may even get my husband to watch some of these!

But West Side Story is brilliant! It's so much more than an update of the Romeo and Juliet story. It really drives home the great racial and socio-economical divide our country is suffering from. In many ways, this musical is more relevant today than it was fifty years ago.

Mister Grinch wrote on Dec 15^th, 2010 at 7:24pm:


But I didn't like the play. I found it heavy-handed, clunky, and full of stereotypes. But, I'm sure the film is better than the production I saw. I'll watch it and try to keep an open mind.