FYI, today's post is sort of a continuation of--or at least is related to--a SleuthSayers column I posted a month ago called It's Still a Mystery. The subject of that post was mystery-fiction subgenres, and the subject of today's post includes all kinds of genres and subgenres. This one came about because of a discussion I had last week with several of my relatives (actually my wife's relatives) about favorite movies.
I have mentioned before at this blog that I love movies, and my discussion with our kinfolks went beyond overall favorites and into which movies are our favorites in different genres. (We focused more on movies than on written fiction because there was more common ground there--we were more likely to have seen the same movies than to have read the same novels or stories.)
So, for what it's worth, I came up with a list of my favorites, not only of mystery/crime movies but of movies across the board. Be aware, though, that in this case favorite does not always mean best. I do recognize the excellence and quality of films like Citizen Kane, Schindler's List, Rashomon, Sophie's Choice, Sunset Boulevard, and so on--but alas, those are not my favorites. My favorites are those I enjoyed the most, and that I find myself watching over and over again. (Yes, I do that, because I have all these on DVD--it's enough to run my wife crazy).
Having said that, here's my list. Please note that I've invented all kinds of subgenres to put them in, which was almost as much fun as picking the favorites.
Movies:
Crime -- L.A. Confidential (1997)
Science Fiction -- Aliens (1986)
Western -- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Romance -- Casablanca (1942)
Horror -- The Thing (1982)
Comedy -- The Big Lebowski (1998)
Fantasy -- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
Adventure -- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Drama -- 12 Angry Men (1957)
War -- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Sports -- The Natural (1984)
Swords & Sandals -- Gladiator (2000)
Traditional Mystery -- Knives Out (2019)
Horrific Mystery -- Psycho (1960)
Noir -- Double Indemnity (1944)
Neo-Noir -- Body Heat (1981)
Gangsters -- The Godfather (1972)
Spies -- Goldfinger (1964)
Buddies -- Lethal Weapon (1987)
Serial Killer -- tie: Dirty Harry (1971) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Prison -- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Heist -- Die Hard (1988)
Con-game -- The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Medical -- Medicine Man (1992)
Romantic Comedy -- Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Romantic Crime -- Witness (1985)
Romantic Fantasy -- Always (1989)
SF Comedy -- Galaxy Quest (1999)
Western Comedy -- Blazing Saddles (1974)
Laugh-Out-Loud Comedy -- Airplane! (1980)
Musical Comedy -- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996)
Australian Western -- Quigley Down Under (1990)
Neo-Western -- No Country for Old Men (2007)
Time Travel -- Back to the Future (1985)
Time-travel Romance -- Somewhere in Time (1980)
Superheroes -- Superman, the Movie (1978)
Monsters -- Monsters (2010)
Futuristic -- Escape from New York (1981)
Creature Adventure -- tie: Jaws (1975) and Jusassic Park (1993)
Kids' Adventure -- Third Man on the Mountain (1959)
Coming-of-Age -- Stand by Me (1986)
Dogs -- Old Yeller (1957)
Horses -- The Black Stallion (1979)
Animated -- Dumbo (1941)
Christmas Movie -- It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Journalism -- Broadcast News (1987)
Disasters -- The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Alien Invasion -- Signs (2002)
Another note: It's probably obvious that many of the above picks are cross-genre and could fit into several different categories. Some, like the following, are so genre-mixed I couldn't decide where to put them. But they're still favorites:
The Man from Snowy River (1982) -- Australian Western romance
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) -- Southern courtroom-drama coming-of-age mystery
The Princess Bride (1987) -- Comedy fantasy adventure romance
To finish off this silliness, here are my favorite TV and cable/streaming series.
Weekly network TV series:
Crime -- Hill Street Blues (NBC)
Mystery -- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS and NBC)
Western -- Have Gun Will Travel (CBS)
Neo-Western -- Justified (FX)
Western mini-series -- Lonesome Dove (CBS)
Science Fiction -- Star Trek (NBC)
SF/Fantasy -- The Twilight Zone (CBS)
Drama -- Lost (CBS)
Comedy -- Cheers (NBC)
Spies -- The Man from U.N.C.L.E (NBC)
Medical -- ER (NBC)
War -- Combat (ABC)
Cable/streaming series:
Crime -- The Wire (HBO)
Mystery -- True Detective (HBO)
Western -- Deadwood (HBO)
Neo-Western -- 1923 (Paramount+)
Fantasy -- Game of Thrones (HBO)
Horror -- The Walking Dead (AMC)
Drama -- tie: Mad Men (AMC) and Landman (Paramount+)
Comedy -- Bad Monkey (Apple TV+)
Journalism -- The Newsroom (HBO)
War -- Band of Brothers (HBO)
Swords & Sandals -- Rome (HBO)
Spies -- Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Gangsters -- The Sopranos (HBO)
I'm hoping all these might at least bring back some memories--they sure do for me. Another FYI: I'm well aware that I left out many movies that I love, like Pulp Fiction, Fargo, Shane, Chinatown, The Graduate, Cool Hand Luke, Forrest Gump, High Noon, Star Wars, Tombstone, Rocky, etc., and series like The West Wing, M*A*S*H*, Seinfeld, Frasier, Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, and Yellowstone, but I had to stop somewhere, and I wanted to try for only one entry per category. Just shoot me.
My question for you is, what are some of your favorites, for both the big and small screens, and which favorites of mine did you hate? (I won't be offended; anyone who admits that he loved Blazing Saddles and The Man from U.N.C.L.E is used to criticism. But hey, confession's good for the soul.)
Next time, I plan to stop playing and get back to the subject of writing. Stay cool!
I’ll mention just two of my favorites. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) and The Loved One (1965). I’ve mentioned them before, but do so again because I believe they deserve a wider audience. Beehive (Spanish) takes place in a small Spanish village shortly after the Spanish Civil War. It’s unique, and haunting. Loved One is based on Evelyn Waugh’s satirical novel of the same name.
ReplyDeleteEdward Lodi
Hi Edward -- Thanks for mentioning these. I have NOT seen Beehive, and will see if I can find it. The Loved One I saw long ago, and was surprised by how much I liked it. As you said, I don't think it ever had a huge audience.
DeleteThank you again!
John, you've missed three categories that include some of my all-time favorites in both TV and movies. Politics: The West Wing. Music: Nashville. Historical: Shakespeare in Love and The King's Speech in movies, Downton Abbey and Outlander in TV. And then there's the subgenre historical British abroad, which includes Enchanted April and A Room with A View and the contemporary version like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
ReplyDeleteLiz, I probably left out more than those! Not including a Historical genre is probably the reason I forgot to list Downton Abbey--my wife and I loved that show, and I remember being surprised by that, because that kind of series is NOT what I usually watch or like. But we truly loved it, and looked forward to it every week. I started Outlander several times and always left after a couple of episodes--I need to start it up again. I did like The King's Speech, not so much Shakespeare in Love (I'm not sure why), and I think everyone liked The West Wing. One of my favorite political cable series was House of Cards, but I think it died along with Kevin Spacey's fall from grace. So there are lots of movies and subgenres I left out.
DeleteI also join you in having liked The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. For some reason it reminded me of Wes Anderson's movies.
Newspaper movies: His Girl Friday
DeleteMusic movies: A Hard Day's Night (BTW, I was lucky enough to study this film with Roger Ebert, pictured above, shot by shot. He taught a University of Chicago "continuing education" cinema class. I also won a trivia contest in that class because I knew who played Hildy Johnson in the 2nd film version of The Front Page (see My first entry above!) My prize from Ebert was a bio of Billy Wilder))
Also Singing in the Rain.
Spy series: Tnker Tailor Soldier Spy with Alec Guinness. Also, Riley, Ace of Spies.
Western: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Mystery: Vertigo
War movie: The Grand Illusion, but also Paths of Glory
But I agree with SO MANY of the films on your list. Fun blog, John. Thanks!
Good choices, Floyd--thank you for those. I loved Liberty Valance, Vertigo, Paths of Glory, Singin' in the Rain, so many of yours. But what blows me away is your story about studying with Ebert! Now THAT must've been fun. What an experience.
DeleteGreat lists, John. I seldom watch TV now (except for UConn women's basketball) or movies anymore, but I agree with Edward about The Loved One. I like Charade as a mystery, especially with that terrific cast. How about The Sting and maybe Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as a con game, too? Maybe Apocalypse Now as a war movie?
ReplyDeleteSteve, I have no idea how many times I've seen Charade (the theme song's playing in my head right now), but it was a lot. And Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was HILARIOUS. Another great con-game movie, one almost no one seems to have seen, is The Flim-Flam Man, with George C. Scott. I also thought Apocalypse Now was wonderful, though I don't think I'd love the smell of napalm in the morning.
DeleteTalk about memories . . .
I liked the sign over the mansion's front door: "Doubtin' Abbey, Where No One Is Quite Sure."
ReplyDeletejimguigliauthor.com
Jim, I'd never heard that! Love it!
DeleteWhat, no musicals? Top of my list: The Rocky Horror Picture Show followed by Baz Lurhmann's Moulin Rouge.
ReplyDeleteAs a fan of The Wire, you might try Legends on Netflix, which has a similar vibe and is based (loosely, I suspect) on real events in England when customs agents tried to infiltrate drug gangs in the 1990s.
Michael, I knew when I was putting this self-indulgent list together that I would miss something!! Oh Lord yes, I loved Rocky Horror. And no telling how many times I've watched Singin' in the Rain, Oklahoma, The Music Man, etc. etc.
DeleteI will definitely check out Legends--thank you! Netflix and I are well acquainted. Yes, I loved The Wire, and hated to see it end. Sometimes you remember movies, series, etc,, just because of how WELL DONE they were--and The Wire was excellent.
So many movies I love on this list! LA Confidential, Shawshank, Lethal Weapon, Psycho ... and on and on. I love The Thing but couldn't pick a favorite horror movie -- The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Nightmare on Elm Street would all via for the top spot. Great TV picks too --my favorite recent discovery is Widow's Bay on Apple -- it's scary, it's funny, it's got great characters. Highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteAdam, I almost started Widow's Bay last night, and chose to begin watching the newest remake of Cape Fear (which is good) instead. Widow's Bay will certainly be next--I'm glad to hear you're liking it. I assume it'll have a new episode every week, like most Apple TV+ offerings.
DeleteYou're the authority, my man, on movies and anything else with a screenplay. I envy you!
I always thought the 1978 Superman movie failed in its ending. Lois Lane dies, so Superman flies around the world fast enough make it go back in time so he can save her. What? If he can do that, there's never a chance of him losing any battle.
ReplyDeleteHoly crow, Mike, you're questioning Superman?? I confess to liking that incredible ending, but then again, I loved Blazing Saddles . . .
DeleteMy favorite medical show is Scrubs, both the original & the remake. I loved ER, didn't like Watson. Right now we're watching Star Trek Discovery, about to finish the final season. You asked if we hated any of the movies you liked? I hated The Big Lebowski.
ReplyDeleteAfter Stephen Colbert's final show, we switched to watching the excellent Jimmy Kimmel at 11:35 p.m. He's on vacation for the summer though, with guest hosts Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo & others filling in for him.
Elizabeth, be still my heart! You didn't like The Dude?
DeleteI think a lot of folks are joining you in missing Colbert. And sounds like you're as big a nightowl as I am.
Thanks for the thoughts, and keep watching those Star Treks!
I can't say there's too many of your favorite films and TV Shows that I dislike, as I like a lot of the same stuff. I used to like a lot of the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg stuff. There's also a lot of Hitchcock films beyond Psycho and Alfred Hitchcock Presents I loved. Marvel films are pretty good. Citizen Kane and The Godfather Parts I and II.
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