My Favorite Movies

Brilliant 70's science fiction flick that started it all. It was in fact the rebirth of the monster genre that began in the 1950's resurrected for the 1970's. And this one is a classic. It made a unknown actress named Sigourney Weaver into a mega superstar because of this movie.
It will scare the daylights out of you. Best way to see this film is on the widescreen format the way it should be seen. I saw this film back in the late 1970's and on the big screen in 70MM-Six Track Dobly Stereo. It was mindblowing.

At the time this movie came out there was no better actor out there than the great Al Pacino who could brilliantly bring Tony Montana to life in this classic remake of the 1932 Howard Hawks film of the same title. When "Scarface"came out in 1983,it was panhandle by audiences and critics for its use of strong graphic violence and gory content along with persuasive scenes of drug abuse and raw language. This was the forefront of the "gangsta" flick and it shows here in graphic detail directed by Brian DePalma.

Best action flick I have seen the whole summer. It makes "Click" look like shit from the street. Believe me,this movie is wall to wall action.

Epic on a grand scale.

This was the movie that put Sonny Chiba on the martial arts map of kung fu mania. Brilliant action sequences throughout make this a bonafide classic. Spawn three sequels. This was the one that started it all. From 1975.

One of the highest grossing movies of 1976,this Clint Eastwood western is among his finest work.

A Blaxploitation classic. Watching Ron O'Neal in the title character was poetry in motion,not to mention that classic Curtis Mayfield's Grammy winning soundtrack.

The original. Nothing like it.

Richard Roundtree rules. Not to even mention the Oscar winning theme from Issac Hayes.

This was Cecil B.De Mille's last theatrical feature,with a running time of nearly four hours(basically the running time of 3 hours and 40 minutes which includes the opening overture,intermission, and exit music),this stunning and most extravagant blockbuster is full of absurdities and vulgarities,but in all aspects this star-studded widescreen Vista Vision and Technicolor spectacle is ravishing,and De Mille's form of showmanship,which includes his own narration,never falters. Charlton Heston might be said to achieve his apotheosis as Moses-unless one decides that it's Moses who's achieving his apotheosis as Heston-and most of the other in the star-studded epic which is based on the Holy Scriptures are comparably mythic. Simultaneously ludicrous and splendid,this epic is driven by the sort of personal conviction one almost never finds is subsequent Hollywood monoliths. The scenes with includes the parting of the Red Sea is one of the best special effects ever made. With its all-star cast that includes Yul Brenner(Rameses), Anne Baxter(Nefertiri), with Yvonne De Carlo(Sephora), Debra Paget(Lilia), John Derek(Joshua),
Edward G. Robinson(Dathan), Cedric Hardwicke(Sethi), Nina Foch(Bithiah),
Martha Scott(Yochabel). The film was nominated for an impressive Nine Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director(but lost the Best Picture Oscar to "Around The World in 80 Days"),and won the Oscar for Best Special Effects(John P. Fulton,with some of the effects coming from the Disney studios). If you want to see "The Ten Commandments",my advice is not to see this on television(since seeing it on TV around Easter time doesn't do any justice,or for that manner seeing it on DVD),but see this movie the way it was suppose to be seen.....in a movie theater equipped with full 70MM projection and experience it in full six-track stereophonic sound.

Released in the summer of 1975,Gene Hackman returns as hard-boiled NY Cop Popeye Doyle in the sequel to one of the greatest cop movies of all time.
"French Connection II",has Hackman again as Popeye Doyle trailing and going after the notorious heroin drug kingpin from the streets of New York all the way to dangerous towns of France. And this time around Popeye is not only out for revenge,but to settle a score once and for all. And he does.
Action galore and non-stop suspense.
Directed by John Frankenheimer.

Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle. What more can I say? No wonder its one of AFI's top 100 movies of all time and the result was five Oscars including Best Picture,Best Adapted Screenplay,and Best Actor of 1971. This was the movie that cemented Gene Hackman's career as one of the great action stars of the 1970's. This gritty hard-boiled crime thriller remains to this day one of the great cop dramas of the 1970's.
Even after 40 years,its still holds up to the title. The coolest car chase in screen history through the mean streets of Brooklyn is one of cinema's all-time great car chase sequences.
This movie became one of the top-ten highest grossing films of 1971,and it was so successful for 20th Century-Fox,that in 1975 had a sequel "French Connection II",and a spin-off which was another hard-boiled cop thriller of the early 1970's "The Seven-Ups",that came out in 1973.

The greatest western ever made. See William Holden, Ernest Borgnine,and Robert Ryan among with Warren Oates in the role of their careers. Directed with such finesse by the great Sam Peckinpah.

Not bad looking. With a superb script by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppula and directed by Rene Clement. Filmed in Panavision(was Oscar nominated for its stunning black and white cimematopgraphy),this film boasts an all star cast which features Charles Boyer,Leslie Caron,Glenn Ford,Henry Fonda,Robert Stack and a execptional performance by Kirk Douglas as General Patton. Be forewarned here since this picture runs over three hours long.

The stunning conclusion to the Star Wars trilogy. The final conflict between Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill),and the showdown between Darth Vader and the Evil Lord is a must-see.

The best Jack Nicholson movie in years! His shattering performance in this movie alone is worth the price of admission. Martin Scorsese has done it again! The Departed is one of the grippest films of the year about the Irish Mafia in modern day Boston and the informant state detective who brings him down. Brilliant performances from Matt Damon,Leonardo DiCaprio,
Alec Baldwin,Mark Wahlberg,Anthony Anderson,and Martin Sheen.
This will be the year Martin Scorsese finally gets the Oscar for Best Director. A soon to be classic and its ranks up there with Goodfellas,Mean Streets,and Gangs of New York as one of the best!!!!

Forget the remake featuring The Rock,cause it doesn't even compare to the original. However,this was weirdly marketed as a right wing screed upon its initial release in 1973(and became a surprise runaway boxoffice hit especially a huge following within the drive-in theatre circuit in the South).Walking Tall was a really tragic,graphically violent post-noir film based on the life and times of Tennessee county sheriff Buford Pusser. However,Joe Don Baker gives a riveting and powerful performance as Pusser who took on determined force of crime and corruption in his town at great personal expense. Directed with an intentionally crude force by Phil Karlson,one of the toughest filmmakers of the 1950's and 1960's. Here,the film's grimness doesn't let up and neither does the scenes of raw language and strong graphic violence that gave this film a strong influence of the racial stride and hatred that went on in the South. Interesting note about this picture...It was produced by BCP Productions which was Bing Crosby's production company(yes folks,Bing Crosby was still around in 1973)and theatrically released through Cinerama Releasing Corporation. The theme song was done by none other than the great Johnny Mathis. Elizabeth Hartman(plays Pusser's wife) and Noah Beery also star in this runaway boxoffice hit which was one of the highest grossing films of 1973.

The greatest gangster crime movie to ever come out of the 90's. You have in this Scorsese classic..Robert DeNiro,Ray Liotta,Lorraine Bracco,and Paul Sorvino.
What makes this movie stand out is the performance of Joe Pesci...A Classic within itself.

Even after 20 years since its release this classic film has held its own beautifully. Its everything you wanted in a movie....a beautiful princess,a gallant hero,a evil villain,and so much more. A brilliant cast that features Peter Falk, Fred Savage,
Cary Elwes,Mandy Patinkan, Chris Sarandon,Christopher Guest,Wallace Shawn,Andre The Giant,and the stunning debut of Robin Wright. Directed by Rob Reiner.

A gripping and riveting performance from Frank Sinatra in a role that you would never expect from The Chairman of the Board(in a rare form beyond the glare) and the subject matter so intense it will leave you asking for more. Released in 1968,this was one of the few films that explored police corruption within the force,brutality,and not to mention to taboo subject of homosexuality which shocked audiences with it was release which included scenes depicting of a frank and shocking nature. Based on the gripping novel by Roderick Thorpe with a ripping screenplay by Abby Mann and Directed by Gordon Douglas. This was the first Sinatra film to received an "R" rating for its use of strong language and explicit subject matter. Jack Klugman, Lee Remick, Robert Duvall, Tony Mustante, and William Windom star.

The 30th Anniversary of one the greatest and the best of the second installment to the "Star Wars" series and the one that is magnificient in stunning detail. Herald as the greatest science-fiction high adventure sequel ever made. Astounding brilliant. All the elements in this are here including the stunning cliffhanger and John Williams' brilliant masterpiece of a theatrical score. It is being re-released back in theatres as a limited enagement for its 30th Anniversary in select cities.

Out of all the installments,the sequel to FIRST BLOOD,was not only emorous but surpass the boxoffice receipts when it ripped through the list of one of the highest grossing movies of 1985,and one of the biggest action-packed hits of the mid-1980's with Sylvester Stallone reprising his most famous role.

One of the best films of 1974. A brilliant portrayal of murder,greed and incest in 1940's Los Angeles. It was this movie that cemented Jack Nicholson's status as a superstar actor of his time. And it shows in the 11 Oscar nominations it received and won 3 for Best Screenplay(Robert Towne),and Best Musical Score(Jerry Goldsmith).

One of the highest grossing films of 1960,this was one astounding spectacle with Kirk Douglas as a gladiator who leads a revlot against the Roman Empire is one of the best in the genre that was a sweeping epic in cast,a sweeping epic in budget,and a sweeping epic in scope. The winner of 4 Oscars has been given a restored re-released in late 2010 for its 50th Anniversary. Stanley Kubrick replaced Anthony Mann as its credited director;then then blacklisted Dalton Trumbo was the original screenwriter along with producer Edward Lewis while Kirk Douglas was headed as executive producer. This all-star cast headed by Laurence Olivier,Jean Simmons,Peter Ustinov(who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor),
Charles Laughton and Tony Curtis.

This was a movie that not only gambled millions,but also made Bruce Willis one of the top action superstars of the 1980's. And this was the movie that cemented his career. And this was the original that spawned three sequels make this one of the most runaway blockbuster masterpieces that had audiences flocking to see when it came to theatres in the summer of 1988. "Die Hard" piles very known element of the action genre onto a flimsy story of the New York cop who rescues hostages from a Los Angeles office tower on Christmas Eve. Partly an interracial buddy movie(on the style of the Lethal Weapon movies)this was partly the sentimental tale of a ruptured marriage,the film is largely a special effects carnival full of machine-gun fire,roaring helicopters,and an explosion tank. It also has a villain fresh from the Royal Shakespeare company,a ruthless thug from the Bolshoi Ballet and a hero who carries the him the smirks and wisecracks that made this film of the top ten action flicks of all time. "Die Hard" was basically
"The Towering Inferno" by way of "The French Connection" in a "Lethal Weapon" style that goes beyond the cop buddy finesse and then some. What makes Die Hard worked is the toughness and all out action that is non stop with something unexpected at ever turn. The producers(Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver),and the director(John McTiernan) were also responsible for other action flicks that exploded onto the 80's,most notably for some that starred one of the top action buffs of the era..Arnold Scwarzenegger(of "Commando","Predator" films).
Here they have grafted Bruce Willis smart aleck wit and tough New Jersey-New York attitude and here he not only commands the film he conquers it.
The movie is slow in the first half-hour,and that is when John McClane(Bruce Willis),lands in Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife(Bonnie Bedelia)and goes to her office Christmas party. Minutes later a group of six terrorists shows,planning to steal six million dollars in bonds. The terrorists have crack a difficult computer code before getting into the vault,so there is plenty of time for McClane to play the hero and save the hostages. Bruce Willis' true expertise is in banter,so the direction of John McTiernan shrewdly blends bursts of action with some hilarious comic dialogue. McClane races up and down elevator shafts. He kills one terrorist,taking his machine gun and citzens' band radio.. Now he can have a running conservation with Al,the sympathetic black cop(Reginald VelJohnson of Family Matters fame)becomes part of the only buddy film where the friends don't meet until the end of the story. Meanwhile back in the executive suite,there is Hans,the ruthless terrorist leader in a very well tailored suit. In the film's greatest surprise,Hans' character(played by Alan Rickman)comes out to be one of the greatest villains of all time...ruthless,manipulative and just pure evil. He makes a perfect snake. "Who are you?" he superciliously asks McClane via radio. "Are you just another American who saw too many movies as a child?"

Yes,he did. McClane is a movie maverick who worships his idols like Roy Rogers and John Wayne. Here,he walks around in sleeveless undershirt,a tattoo on his left bicep,getting sweater,dirtier,and bloodierby the minute. A great part of the film is watching the down-and-dirty cop match wits with the aloof master criminal. The final action sequence in breathtaking,as FBI helicopters buzz the rooftop and McClane swings down the side of the high-rise and crashes through a window. While below fellow officers from the LAPD just stand there to look like imbeciles. But the scenes move with such relentless energy and smashing special effects that action-genre fans hoped for and this movie did not disappoint. AFI's top 100 action movies of all time.

"American Gangster" is this year's version of "The Departed". Ridley Scott's direction and the spectacular acting of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe has OSCAR written all over it.

The most brilliant piece of cimematic filmmaking you'll ever experience. Worth seeing in Cinerama 70,when it was released in summer of 1968

Historical landscape of a movie.
Best piece of work ever.

Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, this Samuel Bronston production was one of the most spectacular mega-produced epics ever made that was astounding in budget,astounding in cast,and magnificient in scope and sheer brilliance(filmed on location in the regions of Spain and North Africa). Anthony Mann directs this astounding classic tale of the 11th Century hero(Charlton Heston) who fought to unite Spain against the Moors.
Known as history's "compassionate warrior" the film follows El Cid's remarkable journey from peace-broker accused of treason to the King's fighting champion,and later from exiled hero to legendary martyr. Unequaled in scope,grandeur and adventure this spectacular epic saga brings Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, John Fraser, Genevieve Page, Gary Raymond and Herbert Lom with a compelling driven masterpiece of a film score from legendary composer Miklos Rozsa. See it in the full Super Panavision 70 format!

A stunning realistic view of a society gone completely mad from French director Francois Truffaut-whom by the way produced his first ever English language film and gives us a world goes astray in chilling Technicolor. Based on the novel by Ray Bradbury and starring Oskar Werner and Julie Christie.

A TRUE SOUL CLASSIC FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF 1970'S BLACK CIMEMA!

As a second wave of blaxploitation flicks that emerge out of the 1970's,the movie Penitentiary is still bedeviled by the uncomfortable contradictions of its macho forebearers,which made it a huge boxoffice hit when it was released in 1979. It's basically the servicable yarn of a young stranger on a bum rap,sentenced to an institutional hell-hole,and eventually bucking the terror regime with two righteous fists. And daubed onto the screen with the vitality of all around excess,teetering craziliy between heavy amounts of gore,rough language and all outright farce. But its assumptions for the better of its sake,either worked beyond the comprehendsion of some of its scenes which were very honest and sometimes brutal. This was a grand film that looked into the life of a penal institional system as seen through the eyes of his character,played by Leon Issac Kennedy.
Another example of black cinema that was still standing at the end of the decade with some of the most replusive stereotyping ever imagine while the audience cheers on the victor who must fight in a system to stay alive at all costs. Done on a low budget,it was consciousness. A sequel followed in 1982 with Leon Issac Kennedy reprising the role. Another sequel followed in 1987 with Leon Issac Kennedy again reprising the role that made him successful in the first two installments.

Released in 1973,the classic documentary masterpiece was the Woodstock of Stax.
Directed by Mel Stuart(of Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)this was a grand event which the climatic concert of the seventh annual Watts Summer Festival that was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum before an estimated crowd of 70,000 in the summer of 1972. This was also commemorating the 1965 Watts riots that engulf South Central Los Angeles.

If you want to experience the Memphis sound that was Stax Records then you're in for a treat. Especially for those who saw this masterpiece concert film when it was in theatres in 1973. You have some of the biggest stars from Stax to perform on one awesome incredible show.
You have some of the biggest stars ever former Motown great Kim Weston(who sings the black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing")to some of the great performers ever to come out of Stax Records... You have on one incredible show "The Emotions","The Staple Singers", "The Soul Children", "The Dramatics", "Johnnie Taylor", "Carla Thomas", "The Bar-Kays", "Luther Ingram",and featuring acts from Rufus Thomas(doing the Funky Chicken in front huge crowd of folks),and the incredible Issac Hayes(in gold chains attire singing some of his greatest hits). Also onboard this too was some of the social commentary of the times with everyday people talking about the struggles of the streets not to mention seeing the Rev. Jesse Jackson at his prime,and the classic comedy stylings of the legendary Richard Pryor. A Must See for those who love classic black cinema.

Classic!