American movie
My husband and I engaged in a useless but kind of fun thought experiment the other day. What if you had a good friend from another country who was coming to live in America, and that friend asked you to recommend ten movies that could give him a good sense of what it means to be American, or to live in America? Which movies would you recommend?
I have a "Songs of Innocence" version and a "Songs of Experience" version.
Songs of Innocence:
It's a Wonderful Life
The Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
His Girl Friday
Shane
To Kill a Mockingbird
Singin' in the Rain
Swing Time
Glory
American Grafitti
Songs of Experience:
The Godfather
Taxi Driver
The Manchurian Candidate
In a Lonely Place
The Searchers
Dirty Harry
On the Waterfront
The Graduate
Badlands
Ghost World
There's little rhyme or reason to the assignments, especially in the "Songs of Innocence" category. I suppose it was just an excuse to list twenty movies instead of ten. So . . . what did I leave out? And what did I leave in that should have been left out?
I have a "Songs of Innocence" version and a "Songs of Experience" version.
Songs of Innocence:
It's a Wonderful Life
The Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
His Girl Friday
Shane
To Kill a Mockingbird
Singin' in the Rain
Swing Time
Glory
American Grafitti
Songs of Experience:
The Godfather
Taxi Driver
The Manchurian Candidate
In a Lonely Place
The Searchers
Dirty Harry
On the Waterfront
The Graduate
Badlands
Ghost World
There's little rhyme or reason to the assignments, especially in the "Songs of Innocence" category. I suppose it was just an excuse to list twenty movies instead of ten. So . . . what did I leave out? And what did I leave in that should have been left out?
posted by Kate Marie | 12:41 AM | Permalink
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5 comments
5 Comments:
Don't show "The Wizard of Oz" if your hypothetical friend is a jaded Belgian.
Movies I would add-
"Sergeant York"
"Planet of the Apes"
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
"Gone with the Wind"
"Star Wars"
"Apocalypse Now"
"The Village"
"The Outlaw Josey Wales"
"The In-Laws" (the original)
"Blazing Saddles"
"O Brother Where Art Thou?"
"Take the Money and Run"
I would probably trade "An American in Paris" for "Singin' in the Rain."
How about Pride of the Yankees and Yankee Doodle Dandy?
Innocence
"Going My Way"
"The Natural"
"Breaking Away"
"Barcelona"
"Philadelphia Story"
"Rudy"
"Sixteen Candles"
Experience
"Saving Private Ryan"
"Midnight Cowboy"
"Forrest Gump"
"Patton"
"Sunset Blvd"
I actually thought about the jaded Belgian, Madman! The only American movie I ever showed the J.B. that she seemed to really like was Fargo, which must be because it accorded with her view of what America really is. I'll always remember the time that she left a message on our answering machine that she and you and some others were going out to see a movie called "White Herbs" and asking us if we wanted to come. "White Herbs" . . . "Wyatt Earp."
Great choices, Madman -- I actually struck Apocalypse Now from the list to include something else. I also considered Star Wars and The Outlaw Josey Wales. "Planet of the Apes" and "The In-Laws" are strokes of genius. Serpentine, Madman! Serpentine!
WD -- great choices, especially Breaking Away, Barcelona, Midnight Cowboy and Patton!
SD -- how could I forget either of those movies? My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you for reminding me.
Interesting, I noticed three actors who appear twice on my lists -- Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando ... and Gloria Grahame. Go figure.
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