If so, consider some of these.
First, though . . . rewind eight days. Picture me having an e-conversation last week with a writer friend, about favorite books and movies. What happened was, we both had so many, we were categorizing them by genre. (Can you see that my life is sometimes less than exciting?)
Back to the present. The result of that recent discussion is the following list of my favorite movies, novels, TV series, and short stories in each of several genres of fiction. Note: They go beyond the basic five genres (mystery/crime, SF/fantasy, romance, Western, and horror) to include ten subgenres. If the subgenres aren't familiar to you, that's okay. I made them up.
Another note: While I hope you'll agree with a few of my reading/viewing choices, I'm sure you won't like some--you might not like any--so be aware of one thing: These are not necessarily what I consider to be the BEST movies. They're just the ones I enjoyed the most. I do recognize that Citizen Kane, Schindler's List, Nosferatu, The English Patient, etc., are great achievements, but it'll be a cold day in Jamaica when they show up in my favorites list.
For better or worse, here are my personal choices:
MYSTERY/CRIME
Favorite movie: L. A. Confidential (1997)
Novel: Plum Island, Nelson DeMille
TV/streaming series: The Sopranos (HBO, 1999-2007)
Short story: "Man from the South," Roald Dahl
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
Favorite movie: Aliens (1986)
Novel: The Stand, Stephen King
TV/streaming series: Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011-2019)
Short story: "A Sound of Thunder," Ray Bradbury
ROMANCE
Favorite movie: Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Novel: The Princess Bride, William Goldman
TV/streaming series: The Thorn Birds (ABC, 1983)
Short story: "The Gift of the Magi," O. Henry
WESTERN
Favorite movie: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Novel: Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
TV/streaming series: Deadwood (HBO, 2004-2006)
Short story: "Three-Ten to Yuma," Elmore Leonard
HORROR
Favorite movie: Psycho (1960)
Novel: Magic, William Goldman
TV/streaming series: Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016-2025)
Short story: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," Richard Matheson
ADVENTURE
Favorite movie: Jurassic Park (1993)
Novel: Sands of the Kalahari, William Mulvihill
TV/streaming series: Lost (ABC, 2004-2010)
Short story: "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut," Stephen King
COMEDY
Favorite movie: Blazing Saddles (1974)
Novel: One for the Money, Janet Evanovich
TV/streaming series: Cheers (NBC, 1982-1993)
Short story: "The Kugelmass Episode," Woody Allen
DRAMA
Favorite movie: Casablanca (1942)
Novel: From Here to Eternity, James Jones
TV/streaming series: Mad Men (AMC, 2007-2015)
Short story: "The Last Rung on the Ladder," Stephen King
HISTORICAL
Favorite movie: Gladiator (2000)
Novel: Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
TV/streaming series: Rome (HBO, 2005-2006)
Short story: "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson
FAMILY
Favorite movie: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Novel: The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
TV/streaming series: Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1974-1982)
Short story: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," Aesop
ESPIONAGE
Favorite movie: Goldfinger (1964)
Novel: Eye of the Needle, Ken Follett
TV/streaming series: Slow Horses (Apple TV+, 2022-)
Short story: "Deep Down," Lee Child
SOUTHERN
Favorite movie: Deliverance (1972)
Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
TV/streaming series: Evening Shade (CBS, 1990-1994)
Short story: "Poachers," Tom Franklin
SPORTS
Favorite movie: The Natural (1984)
Novel: The Hustler, Walter Tevis
TV/streaming series: G.L.O.W. (Netflix, 2017-2019)
Short story: "The Swimmer," John Cheever
LEGAL/COURTROOM
Favorite movie: 12 Angry Men (1957)
Novel: Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
TV/streaming series: Goliath (Amazon Prime Video, 2016-2021)
Short story: "Witness for the Prosecution," Agatha Christie
WAR
Favorite movie: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Novel: The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy
TV/streaming series: Band of Brothers (HBO, 2001)
Short story: "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," Ernest Hemingway
Before you ask . . . Yes, there was a lot of indecision in coming up with these. For example, I almost chose The Godfather for favorite crime movie, Galaxy Quest and Raising Arizona for funniest, Somewhere in Time for romance, Shane for Western novel, the first few seasons of The Walking Dead for TV horror, etc., etc., and if I'd waited until next month to make this list, it'd probably look a lot different. And yes, I also made a list of what I thought were the worst movies, novels, etc., in every category, but decided to keep those to myself. There's already enough acid indigestion in the world.
Which brings us to my question: What are some of your favorite movies, novels, TV series, and shorts? Do we agree on any of them?
Now, where'd I put that remote . . . ?
John, I seem to be nodding to your second choices! Shane, for me (so romantic), Somewhere in Time for romance. And yes, 12 Angry Men (I used it in the classroom for years). For comedy - I'm usually with the Brits. The Wrong Box is my fave. The Russians are Coming for second. Best in Show... And for comedy TV - have you seen the Scottish show Still Game? It's on Acorn or Britbox. See it if you can. If you are over 65, I guarantee you will chuckle.
ReplyDeleteMel, any list of favorites should have several picks for each of the "best." It's so hard to narrow it down to only one for each. I bet I've watched Shane a dozen times and I always get a tear in my eye at the end. Love love love 12 Angry Men, and Somewhere in Time is one of those often-forgetten gems of a movie--I find myself humming that main theme all the time. Thank you, by the way, for the suggestion: I have NOT seen Still Game. But I will . . .
DeleteIt is wild and bawdy - very very Scottish :) Miranda is also a great Brit-wit comedy series. Closest stuff to what I write. oops - Melodie
DeleteWonder if I can find it, now or later, on Prime or Netflix or Apple+. I'll find it somehow. If it's close to what you write, I'll like it. Thanks again.
DeleteOh, John, you're so cute. Your list made me smile, though as you know, my tastes don't match yours. I loved the TV series Rome, which I watched with my husband (can't get him to do that any more), and still think The Hobbit is Tolkien's best book, because it has a leaven of humor. Charlotte's Web is a short story? It's a Book! So doesn't it count as a novel? Or was that the only way you could fit it in? And do you cry at the end?
ReplyDeleteYou got me, Liz: Yep, CW was a book, though I remember it as shorter--and of course I cried. Doesn't everybody? That would be like watching Old Yeller and not crying.
DeleteThanks to you, I've updated it to a shorter story (actually a fable), about the boy who cried wolf. And yes, I know our taste in movies isn't the same--after all, you're a poet (a real poet, not the kind of poet I am). But I suspect you secretly loved The Godfather and Blazing Saddles, though you would never admit it.
I cheerfully admit to chuckling through Blazing Saddles. But I did not like The Godfather or the Godfather II—saw 'em only once each, never got to III, and have recurrent senioritis over Al Pacino's name. I keep saying to my husband, "Who's the Italian actor? Not Robert DeNiro." On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed The Sopranos. My favorite, of course, was Lorraine Bracco, not usually an actress I like, who did a terrific job as the therapist who gets a kick out of having a mob boss client (though she'd never admit it) and then realizes that, like everyone else who has to deal with Tony, she's in over her head and can't get out.
DeleteLiz, I'm glad you never made it to Godfather III. It was, compared to the first two, terrible--so I think you'd have liked it even less. And I enjoyed just about EVERYthing about The Sopranos. (Even the finale was okay with me, and most folks didn't like that.) I'm also crazy about Lorraine Bracco, especially in movies like Goodfellas and Medicine Man. I could pick that voice out of a crowd.
DeleteJohn, I love this list! So much fun. Many of these would make my own "best of" -- especially movies like LA Confidential and The Natural, which I've seen dozens of times. Also love many of your novel choices--Magic and Lonesome Dove are long-time favorites--but a few I haven't read/seen: never read a Ken Follett novel, never seen Deliverance. Will have to add those to my list!
ReplyDeleteAdam Meyer, you've never seen Deliverance?!? Get yoself to a DVD store, chop chop. Seriously, you'd love it. And oh my, do I love The Natural, and Lonesome Dove, and LA Confidential. As for Magic, that's one of those hidden gems I was talking about in another comment. Very few folks seem to have read that novel or seen the movie adaptation, and both are great. It's interesting, to me, that Magic (like Misery and The Silence of the Lambs) is often categorized as horror--and rightly so--but the monsters involved are human only. Scarier, to me, than any kind of otherworldly creature.
DeleteThanks as always!
Agree with lots of your choices, John. Here's a coincidence! I just watched "Psycho" on TCM last night. One of my favorit movies. Love Hitchcock. "Sound of Thunder." I remember reading that story aloud in my high school public speaking class. Loved "Eye of the Needle," my introduction to Ken Follett. And for many years now, I have always considered "Pillars of the Earth" the best novel I have ever read.
ReplyDeleteBob
Hey Bob! Glad to hear we agree on some of these. There are so many things about Psycho I love--and one thing I don't love: the long, long explanation at the end, after the point of highest tension. But the movie was so good I think everybody in the theatre was still sitting there stupefied during the wrapup, so it didn't much matter. And WOW I loved the Eye of the Needle novel, and its movie adaptation too. Unfortunately, the big-screen adaptations of "Sound of Thunder" and Pillars of the Earth were not so good.
DeleteMany many thanks for stopping in, Bob. Keep reading and watching the good stuff.
In addition to Psycho, there are so many Hitchcock films deserving to be listed. Rear Window, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Dial M For Murder, Shadow of A Doubt, and Rope to name a few. In The Heat of The Night was also a good Southern work transcending Film/TV/Books. Cape Fear ranks up there and is about to be adapted into a TV Series.
ReplyDeleteImagine how Hitchcock's works would've been impacted if he were a Southerner.
Justin, I'm with you on (almost) all Hitchcock movies. FYI, In the Heat of the Night was the Southern movie I listed as best and then changed it just before publication to Deliverance. I loved 'em both, and have both right here in my home office. As for Cape Fear, I'm pleased to hear that another version is upcoming. (I thought the first movie version was better than the second.)
DeleteImagining Hitch as a Southerner is hard to do . . .
"Good Eve-ening, y'all...we will present tonight's story after this word from our sponsor, bless their hearts..."
DeleteSome of my favorites made your list! Blazing Saddles is as funny and quotable a comedy that was ever made. It skewers everything from social justice to fart jokes. My favorite "thinker's comedy" films are The Big Lebowski and The Life Acquatic and Catch-22 for a novel. I read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was a kid, and I'm not sure I've read anything better since.
ReplyDeleteBob, it's a good thing Mel Brooks made Blazing Saddles in 1974, because there's no way it could've been filmed now. It's one of those that I can watch again and laugh just as hard as I did in an L.A. theater all those years ago, when I first saw it with a bunch of fellow IBM trainees. And yes, Lebowski is also one of my all-time favorites. The Dude abides. As for Mockingbird, I re-read it not long ago, and the scene at the end, when Scout discovers Boo Radley, still gives me goosebumps.
DeleteCan I pick two comedies, in addition to the ones you mentioned? Those would be "Idiocracy" & the original version of "The Producers" with Zero Mostel. The runner-up would be "The Inspector General" with Danny Kaye. In the Southern category I would choose "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" for short story, but I suspect it's more of a novelette. In science fiction I would vote for the short story "The Great Slow Kings" by Roger Zelazny.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, great choices! And I gotta tell you, I loved loved loved Idiocracy. The crazy thing is, it's becoming true! With every year that passes, I think we get closer to the world portrayed in that movie. Funny but sad too, right?
DeleteThank you so much!
You don't have a category for Movie Musicals, but if you did...I'd suggest The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge.
ReplyDeleteFor comedy, I might pick Young Frankenstein instead of Blazing Saddles.
And exactly what category would include The Princess Bride—romance, comedy, adventure?
Michael, I actually started coming up with choices for musicals, but then realized that wouldn't fit for novels and shorts. But I do love The Rocky Horror Picture Show--and yes, Young Frankenstein is fantastic.
DeleteThe Princess Bride is one of those delights that encompasses romance, comedy, adventure, and fantasy. William Goldman is responsible for some great novels AND screenplays, but The Princess Bride was his masterpiece, as he often said in interviews. If you haven't read it, pick up As You Wish, by Cary Elwes--it's a great book about the making of the movie.
This won't be complete, mostly because there are some genres I just don't get into much. Also, I'm having a hard time remembering short stories I read decades ago. These days I mostly try to keep up with mystery short stories. But here goes!
ReplyDeleteMystery/Crime
Movie - Chinatown
Novel - The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
TV/Streaming Series - The Wire
Short story - The Red Wind, Chandler (or is it too long to qualify? Novella?)
SF/Fantasy
Movie - Journey to the Center of the Earth, the original one. It probably doesn't hold up as a great movie, but I saw it as a kid and it's still my favorite SF movie experience!
Novel - Animal Farm? Orwell.
TV - That Twilight Zone episode where aliens convince people to travel to their planet, and they left a book behind called "To Serve Man" and at the end someone figured out how to translate it and discovered it's a cook book.
Short story - ?
Romance
Movie - Jules and Jim
Novel - Someone I worked with back in 1975 told me to read The Other Side of Midnight because it was the greatest book every written. Haven't read another romance novel since.
TV - ?
Short Story - I agree with The Gift of the Magi!
Western
Movie - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Novel - All the Pretty Horses, Cormack McCarthy
TV - Maverick
Short Story - ? Except I recall loving Cheyenne comic books. Does that count?
Horror
Movie - I'll go along with Psycho! But also, the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original) which could also go under SF, maybe?
Novel - Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
TV - Dark Shadows soap opera from the 1960s
Short story - The Black Cat, Poe
Adventure
Movie - Raiders of the Lost Ark
Novel - Heart of Darkness, Conrad
TV - ?
Short story - The Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell
Comedy
Movie - His Girl Friday
Novel - most anything by Carl Hiaasen. Read them a long time ago, but still remember the one where Skink lashes himself to a bridge to face down a hurricane. Maybe he did that in more than one.
TV - Dobie Gillis
Short Story - The Ransom of Red Chief, another O. Henry!
Drama
Movie - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Novel - Lord Jim, Conrad
TV - L.A. Law
Short Story - Cathedral, Raymond Carver
Historical
Movie - Jim Thorpe, All-American
Novel - Tale of Two Cities, Dickens
TV - The Untouchables
Short Story - Can't think of one! The ones I think of were written during the setting's era which doesn't seem to fit the definition, so I'm struggling remembering a contemporary story set in the past.
Family
Movie - Best Years of Our Lives
Novel - The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck
TV - Bonanza
Short Story - ?
Espionage
Movie - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Novel - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Le Carre
TV - I Spy
Short Story - ? There were a couple of Ian Fleming James Bond short story collections that I remember liking, but don't remember a specific one!
Southern
Movie - The Reivers
Novel - To Kill a Mockingbird - Yes!
TV - Treme
Short Story - A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote
Sports
Movie - Bang the Drum Slowly
Novel - The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach
TV - Cubs baseball. Sorry, but it's the first thing that came to mind. Based on this season, not sure why, except I'm watching them as I type this. Do you have a category for Tragedy?
Short Story - most anything by Ring Lardner. Not coming up with a specific one. "You know me, Al!"
Legal/Courtroom
Movie - Twelve Angry Men
Novel - Presumed Innocent - Yes!
TV - Night Court, or the recent Perry Mason
Short Story - ?
War
Movie - The Grand Illusion
Novel - Paco's Story, Larry Heinemann
TV - Victory at Sea
Short Story - ?
Whoa--Love this list! Made you think hard, didn't I?
DeleteA few observations: I almost chose The Wire, which was a WONderful crime series; I re-watched the original Journey to the Center of the Earth two nights ago, with grandchildren; I considered a lot of Twilight Zone episodes for the SF category, but I couldn't decide on one as a favorite; I think Raiders deserves a #1 spot right along with Jurassic as best adventure movie; and you now have me humming Nelson Riddle's TV Untouchables theme in my head!!
Thanks for putting this together.
I hadn't thought of "Evening Shade" in years! Not sure about my list, the answers would change so much but for "Southern," the answer is easy: Anything by Flannery O'Connor or Manly Wade Wellman. Wonderful and fun blog as usual, John! Only you could make a list so darn entertaining!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff! I almost went with O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," until I remembered how much I liked that short story by Tom Franklin years ago. As for Evening Shade, I don't think it lasted long, but I liked it. These lists are always fun, mostly in trying to remember what should be included!
DeleteOne of the major problems with these things is the 'Noise' that seems to be all around today. One piece of SF (a genre I've not been drawn to for decades) has been the TV version of The Murderbot Diaries (Wells had a hand in controlling the production.) Apple for once timed it right (each ep is a tight 20 minutes, major cliffhanger ending) which left me with a 'Where can they take this now?' feeling. The ending was also perfect. It shut down series 1 cleanly, yet opened up series 2 to a diversity of plotlines. Maybe having a genuine author in some control has its advantages....
ReplyDeleteJohn Connor
Chief Cook and Bottlewasher
Murderous Ink Press
Crimeucopia - What The Butler Didn't See (Tuesday 9th September 2025)
"Mellors! Stuff another urchin up the chimney! Her ladyship can still feel a draft...."
Hey John. I have not seen The Murderbot Diaries! Thanks for the mention--I'll try to find it.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHere's my long list - I had to wait for a lazy Sunday afternoon to write it up:
ReplyDeleteMYSTERY/CRIME
Favorite movie: Double Indemnity (1944), Billy Wilder
Novel: Mildred Pierce, James M. Cain
TV/streaming series: The Sopranos (HBO, 1999-2007)
Short story: "Instead of Evidence," Rex Stout
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
Favorite movie: The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)
Novel: “The Left Hand of Darkness”, Ursula LeGuin
TV/streaming series: Deep Space Nine, (1993-1999)
Short story: "All Summer in a Day," or “There Will Come Soft Rains” Ray Bradbury
ROMANCE
Favorite movie: Moonstruck, (1987)
Novel: Saratoga Trunk, Edna Ferber
Short story: “The Barn Cuts Off the View”, Edna Ferber
WESTERN
Favorite movie: Tombstone
Novel: The Awakening Land (trilogy), Conrad Richter
HORROR
Favorite movie: The Haunting (1963)
Novel: The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
Short story: The Whisperer in Darkness, H. P. Lovecraft
ADVENTURE
Favorite movie: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Novel: Kim, Rudyard Kipling
TV/streaming series: Lost (ABC, 2004-2010)
Short story: Quiquern, Rudyard Kipling
COMEDY
Favorite movie: Some Like it Hot (1959)
Novels: Miss Mapp, Mapp and Lucia, et al, E. F. Benson
TV/streaming series: Tie between Frasier (1993-2004) and Flickers (1980)
DRAMA
Favorite movie: Casablanca (1942)
Novel: The Roots of Heaven, Romain Gary
TV/streaming series: Cloudstreet, (Australian, 2011)
HISTORICAL
Favorite movie: Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
Novel: Until the Sun Falls, Cecelia Holland
TV/streaming series: The Camomile Lawn, 1992 and Any Human Heart (2002)
ESPIONAGE
Favorite movie: Our Man in Havana (1959)
Novel: The Billion Dollar Brain, Len Deighton and Slow Horses, Mick Herron
TV/streaming series: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)
SOUTHERN
Favorite movie: The Apostle (1997) and A Family Thing (1996)
Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Nonfiction: Cross Creek, Marjorie Kinian Rawlings
SPORTS
Favorite movie: Field of Dreams (1989)
Novel: The Natural, Bernard Malamud
TV/streaming series: Baseball (Ken Burns, PBS, 1994)
Nonfiction: Death in the Afternoon, Ernest Hemingway
LEGAL/COURTROOM
Favorite movie: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Novel: Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
Short story: "Witness for the Prosecution," Agatha Christie
WAR
Favorite movie: Gallipoli (1981)
TV/Streaming Series: Blackadder Goes Forth (1989)