AFI 100 Years Series Discussion & Challenges, vol. 2 (1 Viewer)

[glen_esq]

Matthew - I didn't care for The Paleface much either, Bob Hope's humour doesn't get me laughing much. I remember reading a synopsis at All Movie Guide or the like that the movie's noteworthy for being the Blazing Saddles of its day.

I liked the song Buttons and Bows, I don't have a problem with it being on the list. Probably helped its AFI selection that the song won the Best Song oscar.

I guess it shows the reputation Hope has in Hollywood for musical comedy that 2 of his songs made this list. When I think of Hollywood movies and their songs I don't think of Hope.



Beaches (Marshall, 1988) :star: ½

AFI 100 Songs - "Wind Beneath My Wings"

Movie starts out well, then drowns in a tide of schmaltz. Movie about the lifelong friendship of Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.

I remember back in 1988 Hershey starring in The Last Temptation of Christ, and the press she got over having cosmetic lip injections to give her sexier, pouty lips for that movie. She has the same sexy lips in this 1988 film - meh.

The girl who plays 11 yr old Midler is great in a small role, and Bette has a couple of funny scenes. But I found Beaches pretty dull, the plot very predictable.

The movie's AFI song, "Wind Beneath My Wings", isn't one I liked very much. Its 80's synth sound doesn't appeal to me, and it's just too sappy for me to like a whole lot. The movie I thought though chose the timing very well to present it - plays as a tribute to one of the characters who is terminally ill.

 

[Adam_S]

Buttons and Bows was a very popular song at the time. Billy Wilder had the songwriters write a song for Sunset Blvd, "the Paramount don't want me blues," and after shooting the scene with it in it (the new years party Holden crashes) decided to also shoot Buttons and Bows for safety. The final decision left Buttons and Bows in Sunset Blvd (very little).

Ahh movie trivia

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

That's interesting, Adam. I haven't seen Sunset Blvd in years, and it will be interesting to go back and see the song in that film - now that I know it.

I wasn't saying that I disliked the song, I thought it was okay, I just didn't see what it was that made that song get into the list above all the others. I didn't know about the Best Song Oscar, or that it was so popular generally, which explains a lot.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Revisits

To Kill A Mockingbird

Score: A

Not really sure what my original review said, but during this viewing I was really moved by the film.

The Sting

Score: A

Great American filmmaking. That's about all I have to say.

 

[glen_esq]

Adam - Inherit the Wind...

I liked the film a lot, too.

I read in a Gene Kelly biography that Tracy and March, two proud old pros, didn't get along too well on set, forever trying to steal scenes from each other in the courtroom.

If I remember correctly, when Tracy was speaking, March would furiously fan himself. When March was speaking, Tracy resorted to tactics like picking his nose (I don't remember seeing that during the film, might have got edited out).

 

[Adam_S]

Recently seen Shane, Jaws, Close Encounters on 35mm. Today was a double feature of Casablanca, class, then Raiders of the lost Ark, bringing my total on film viewings up to 32 of 100. I missed Chinatown, high Noon and Giant but I have The Wild Bunch, Unforgiven, ET, Schindler's List, and Dr. Strangelove all coming up soon. Out of the top twenty, I've also missed oppurtunities to see On the Waterfront, Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz and Graduate, in fact the only top twenty films I haven't heard of recent screenings in LA for are One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest and It's a Wonderful Life.

Still almost 40 of the AFI films seen on film by the end of the year, not too shabby.

Jaws - :star::star::star::star:

This is about the fourth or fifth time I've seen this film in four years (having never seen it before) and if anything it gets better everytime. And it is definitely a way better experience on film with an audience. The film print was near spotless and the whole audience shrieked at the underwater body, and various other thrills. In fact this was hands down the best audience I've ever been in. I've never seen so many people so completely and universally engaged by a film simultaneously--the auditorium was utterly enraptured. Simply stunning, stunning film, and it's probably crawled upward in my top twenty.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - :star::star::star:1/2

I've been harsh on my estimations of this film before, and I still feel the ending is bloated, problematic, upsetting, and immature but being swept up by the film is an experience of itself, and an audience definitely helps. Ideological differences aside, it's a damn fine piece of filmmaking.

Casablanca - :star::star::star::star:

Great to see with an audience and hear them getting about half the funny bits (all the big ones with scattered laughs for the subtler and more sly humor). the 35mm print was excellent, a bit worn, but for the most part gorgeous. I love the film, I think it's perfection on so many levels and it's still not quite a personal tip top favorite film, though it grows on me every time I see it.

Raiders of the Lost Ark - :star::star::star::star:

Really isn't this just so much damn fun. I just wish there was more character time. Excellent, and outstanding film I love to death, but it's actually a bit tiring to watch after a while, while the same audience was on the edge of their seats for Jaws they were very subdued for Raiders. highlight moments garnered applause, but it was the riot of appreciation I was expecting after the Jaws screening. It's interesting seeing this juxtaposed against Casablanca, since I think Harrison Ford is very much like Humphrey Bogart (especially so since Spielberg wanted Jones modeled after Dobbs from Treasure of the Sierra Madre). An outstanding and iconic film, but I think that Last Crusade may be better because it has more character and emotion, rather than so many set pieces. Fucking fantastic score though, second favorite Williams/Spielberg score after Empire of the Sun.

Adam

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

The 100 Years Of Film Scores list is out.
Only 25 scores listed, rather than 100, and only 3 films are new to the lists:
* The Pink Panther (1964)
* The Mission (1986)
* How the West Was Won (1962)

The full list:

1 STAR WARS (1977) John Williams

2 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) Max Steiner

3 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) Maurice Jarre

4 PSYCHO (1960) Bernard Herrmann

5 THE GODFATHER (1972) Nino Rota

6 JAWS (1975) John Williams

7 LAURA (1944) David Raksin

8 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) Elmer Bernstein

9 CHINATOWN (1974) Jerry Goldsmith

10 HIGH NOON (1952) Dimitri Tiomkin

11 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) Erich Wolfgang Korngold

12 VERTIGO (1958) Bernard Herrmann

13 KING KONG (1933) Max Steiner

14 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) John Williams

15 OUT OF AFRICA (1985) John Barry

16 SUNSET BLVD. (1950) Franz Waxman

17 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) Elmer Bernstein

18 PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Jerry Goldsmith

19 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) Alex North

20 THE PINK PANTHER (1964) Henry Mancini

21 BEN-HUR (1959) Miklos Rozsa

22 ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) Leonard Bernstein

23 THE MISSION (1986) Ennio Morricone

24 ON GOLDEN POND (1981) Dave Grusin

25 HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962) Alfred Newman

 

[Adam_S]

Beat me too it Matthew, I'll be updating the main page soon.

Adam

 

[Adam_S]

The Unknown - :star::star:1/2
09/30/2005
TCM timeshift
STARS list - Joan Crawford

Good flick, I like Lon Chaney, indifferent to Crawford though she holds the screen well. Very nice tale reminescent of the classic freudian 'loss' fromt he Sandman on down. Nicely done, very predictable but ruthlessly fun.


Flesh and the Devil - :star::star:
10/02/2005
TCM Timeshift
stars list - Greta GArbo

standard melodrama plot seen ten billion times before. Garbo and her leading man have some of the most astounding chemistry you'll ever see though.

 

[Lew Crippen]

It has been a while since I posted (or have really been able to see very many movies). In an effort to catch-up he is my ranking for the first 75 Quotes movies. I use a 4 star rating, based on J. Rosenbaum: 4=masterpiece; 3=must-see; 2=worth seeing; 1=has redeeming feature(s)

2001: A Space Odyssey:star: :star: :star: :star:Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
42nd Street:star: :star: Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!
Airplane!:star: :star: :star: Surely you can't be serious.---I am serious...and don't call me Shirley.
All About Eve:star: :star: :star: Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.
Animal Crackers:star: :star: One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I
Annie Hall:star: :star: :star: La-dee-da, la-dee-da.
Apocalypse Now:star: :star: :star: :star:I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Bonnie and Clyde:star: :star: :star: We rob banks.
Casablanca:star: :star: :star: :star:Here's looking at you, kid.
Casablanca:star: :star: :star: :star:Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Casablanca:star: :star: :star: :star:Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.
Casablanca:star: :star: :star: :starlay it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'
Casablanca:star: :star: :star: :star:Round up the usual suspects.
Casablanca:star: :star: :star: :star:We'll always have Paris.
Chinatown:star: :star: :star: Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown.
Citizen Kane:star: :star: :star: :star:Rosebud.
Cool Hand Luke:star: :star: :star: What we've got here is failure to communicate.
Dirty Harry:star: :star: You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?
Dog Day Afternoon:star: :star: :star: Attica! Attica!
Dr. No:star: :star: Bond. James Bond.
Dr. Strangelove:star: :star: :star: :star:Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!
Dracula:star: :star: Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.
E.T.:star: :star: :star: E.T. phone home.
Forrest Gump:star: :star: :star: :star:Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
Frankenstein:star: :star: It's alive! It's alive!
Funny Girl:star: Hello, gorgeous.
Godfather II, The:star: :star: :star: :star:Keep your friends close, but your enemiescloser.
Godfather, The:star: :star: :star: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
Gone with the Wind:star: :star: :star: After all, tomorrow is another day!
Gone with the Wind:star: :star: :star: As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
Gone with the Wind:star: :star: :star: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Graduate, The:star: :star: :star: Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?
Graduate, The:star: :star: :star: Plastics.
Grand Hotel:star: :star: I want to be alone.
In the Heat of the Night:star: :star: They call me Mister Tibbs!
Jaws:star: :star: :star: :star:You're gonna need a bigger boat.
Jazz Singer, The:star: :star: Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!
King Kong:star: :star: :star: Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.
Little Caesar:star: :star: Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:star: :star: :star: :star:My precious.
Maltese Falcon, The:star: :star: :star: The stuff that dreams are made of.
Marathon Man:star: :star: :star: Is it safe?
Midnight Cowboy:star: :star: :star: I'm walking here! I'm walking here!
Mommie Dearest:star: No wire hangers, ever!
National Lampoon's Animal House:star: :star: Toga! Toga!
Network:star: :star: :star: :star:I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!
Now, Yoyager:star: :star: Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon.
On the Waterfront:star: :star: :star: :star: I coulda been a contender.
Planet of the Apes:star: :star: :star: Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape.
Poltergeist:star: :star: They're here!
Pride of the Yankees, The:star: :star: Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
Psycho:star: :star: :star: A boy's best friend is his mother.
Rocky:star: :star: :star: Yo, Adrian!
Scarface:star: :star: :star: Say "hello" to my little friend!
Shane:star: :star: :star: Shane. Shane. Come back!
Shining, The:star: :star: :star: Here's Johnny!
Silence of the Lambs, The:star: :star: :star: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with …
Some Like it Hot:star: :star: :star: :star:Well, nobody's perfect.
Sons of the Desert:star: :star: Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!
Star Wars:star: :star: :star: May the Force be with you.
Streetcar Named Desire, A:star: :star: :star: I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
Streetcar Named Desire, A:star: :star: :star: Stella! Hey, Stella!
Sunset Blvd.:star: :star: :star: :star:All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup.
Sunset Blvd.:star: :star: :star: :star:I am big! It's the pictures that got small.
Taxi Driver:star: :star: :star: You talking to me?
Terminator 2:star: Hasta la vista, baby.
Terminator, The:star: :star: I'll be back.
To Have and to Have Not:star: :star: :star: You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve?
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The:star: :star: :star: :star:Badges? We ain't got no badges!
Wall Street:star: :star: Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
When Harry Met Sally:star: :star: I'll have what she's having.
White Heat:star: :star: :star: Made it, Ma! Top of the world!
Wizard of Oz, The:star: :star: :star: :star:I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!
Wizard of Oz, The:star: :star: :star: :star:There's no place like home.
Wizard of Oz, The:star: :star: :star: :star:Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Wow. Since the last post was nearly two months ago, apparently that has been the case for everyone in this thread - including myself. I will get back to the challenge, ASAP.

 

[Adam_S]

I burned myself out on movies over the summer and took the semester to focus on school, photography, and food and a bit of free time and the occasional chance to relax.

That said I caught up with one AFI film last night as I was working on a digital photo montage project.

Holiday Inn - :star::star::star:
Songs list - White Christmas
11/29/2005
OARVHS

I didn't pay too close visual attention to the movie (except when Fred was dancing, that drunken dance was magnificent by the way), but the script was quite nice to listen to and all of Bing's singing was just wonderful (in fact it was kindof a shame when Fred attempted a weak belt out). I like the story, I like Fred being a cad, I like Bing being reluctant and burned too often, overall the film just worked for me as a good story and good entertainment in a way that's better than just about all the Fred and Ginger films except maybe Shall We Dance.

It's also interesting for having one of the most forgivable black face numbers of the era, since it's reluctantly black face as dictated by the plot (though how they planned to not do it in blackface with those ridiculous costumes I've not yet figured out).

I also rewatched Christmas Vacation last night, and it definitely should be on the comedies list, few movies can make me laugh as hard or as often.

"My cousin Eddie here... well his heart is bigger than his brain."
"I 'ppreciate that, Clark."

I also rewatched the first half of It's a Wonderful Life, which is an undeniably wonderful and perfect movie.

Adam

 

[Lew Crippen]

Adam, you have my list

 

[Quentin]

I'm a big fan of HOLIDAY INN. I've watched it every year at this time for 20 years (yikes!).

 

[Lew Crippen]

That’s not crying—that’s the country growing.


Any movie that is over 2 ½ hours long, spans the continent, includes the Civil War (with appearances by Grant and Sherman), depicts every kind of transport from the Eire Canal to the transcontinental railroad (with cameos of the pony express), and gives nod to the Mexican-American war, the Indian wars and the California gold rush has a passing chance of being overblown. How the West Was Won adds burdens of being filmed in Cinerama and being shot by multiple directors.

And it is overblown and unwieldy. The story suffers from never focusing on any character for long enough to feel that they are much more than two-dimensional, but even so this movie, when it actually pauses for a breath is surprisingly well done.

For some reason it made the cut for one of the best 25 scores. Regrettably the music fits the overblown pictures on the screen.

 

[Lew Crippen]

That’s no girl—she is a wildcat


Mary Pickford stars in the title role of Little Annie Rooney a rather pedestrian, overlong, star vehicle of 1925. Annie is first seen as the prototypical tomboy, but predictably love begins to change her outlook, and after a series of set pieces (none of which do anything to advance the plot or flesh out the characters) everyone (except Dad) lives happily ever after.

 

[Eric Emma]

I try doing this a while ago but then I stop visiting the website and got way laid with so many other movies... Let see how I'm doing...

100 YEARS, 100 MOVIES

Movies that STill Need to Be Seen(35 Remain to be Seen):
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
66. NETWORK (1976)
69. SHANE (1953)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

Movies Seen (65 SEEN):
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)- 5/5
2. CASABLANCA (1942)- 5/5
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)-4/5
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)- 4/5
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)- 3/5
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)- 4/5
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)- 4/5
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)- 5/5
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)- 5/5
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)- 5/5
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)- 5/5
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)- 3.5/5
15. STAR WARS (1977) 3.5/5
18. PSYCHO (1960)- 4/5
19. CHINATOWN (1974)- 4/5
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)- 5/5
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)4/5
24. RAGING BULL (1980)- 5/5
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) 3.5/5
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)- 5/5
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)4/5
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948- 4/5
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)- 4/5
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)- 4/5
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)4/5
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)- 5/5
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)- 3/5
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)4/5
43. KING KONG (1933)3.5/5
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)- 4/5
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)- 3/5
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)- 4/5
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)- 3/5
48. JAWS (1975)- 4/5
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)- 5/5
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)- 5/5
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)- 4/5
56. M*A*S*H (1970)- 4/5
58. FANTASIA (1940)- 3/5
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)-3/5
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)- 4/5
61. VERTIGO (1958)- 3/5
63. STAGECOACH (1939)- 4.5/5
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)- 4/5
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)- 4/5
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)- 5/5
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)- 3.5/5
72. BEN-HUR (1959)- 4/5
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)- 5/5
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)- 4/5
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)- 4/5
78. ROCKY (1976)- 4/5
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)-4/5
83. PLATOON (1986)- 4/5
84. FARGO (1996)- 4/5
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)- 4/5
88. EASY RIDER (1969)- 3/5
89. PATTON (1970)- 5/5
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)- 5/5
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)-5/5
95. PULP FICTION (1994)- 3.5/5
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)- 3.5/5
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)4/5
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)- 3.5/5

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

The good thing about holidays is that, after a few months of not watching anything on the Lists, I can find the time to start again. Yay!

Sleeper

Woody Allen stars as a guy who is frozen unknowingly, and is awoken 200 years later in a police state by an underground revolution that needs him to help them overthrow the evil dictator. In trying to avoid being killed, he finds himself meeting and falling in love with Diane Keaton, playing possibly the worst poet ever, and inspiring her to also fight the state. Sort of.

It's a curious film, largely physical comedy, sometimes almost surreal, and only occasionally dialogue-based. I didn't really get the feel that Allen was entirely comfortable with the film - maybe it was the whole futuristic setting, or just the fact that he was operating in a completely different comedic style to that he usually works in. And sometimes it doesn't work (the Streetcar scene comes to mind). But when the film works well, it really works well - the scenes where he pretends to be a robot in particular were quite wonderful, or his Miss USA programming, or his escape with the flying pack. Add to that some wonderful bits of dialogue (the "Did they have no hot fudge?" scene was great) and you've got a pretty enjoyable film. I have some reservations about it - certainly it lacks much of a structure, and at times comes across almost as though they're making it up as they go along - but overall I enjoyed it.


The Shop Around the Corner

I think this is the first Ernst Lubitsch film I've ever seen, and on the strength of it, I'm looking forward to seeing others. James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan star as co-workers who despise each other but don't realise they have fallen in love with each other as anonymous penpals. Then, when Stewart discovers the identity of his penpal and starts to see below the surface of his co-worker, he starts to plot to win her over.

I was surprised to find the film list in the Passions list only, as it definitely deserved a placing in the Laughs list. The film was terribly funny at times, with characters that may be been broadly drawn, but still instantly recognisable. I also appreciated the fact that, while there is never any doubt who the film's main characters are, most of the shop's other staff were kept constantly in the picture and offering their own contribution to the comedy.

As for the romance, I've never been terribly convinced by the romantic comedy, where I usually feel like we're supposed to simply accept the the two leads are "meant" to be together because they're played by [Insert Male Movie Star Name] and [Insert Female Movie Star Name]. And while I do think that this film does fall into that trap a bit, and certainly not enough time is given to developing the romance and their changing attitudes to each other, Stewart and Sullavan certainly had some incredible chemistry that did make it work. I really enjoyed The SHop Around The Corner - it was a true delight to watch.

 

[Lew Crippen]

The singing takes the fun out of it


At almost three hours, Quo Vadis? has all of the marks of the Christian epics of the 50s, save that it was filmed before widescreen formats were anything other than experimental. Otherwise this is a predictably lavish production, made with considerable energy. Peter Ustinov as Nero steals every scene and it is amusing to watch him next to Robert Taylor’s wooden performance. Personally, I question the judgment of choosing the girl who is not Sophia Loren, but otherwise worth watching.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Springtime for Hitler and Germany,
Deutschland is happy and gay!
We’re marching to a faster pace,
Look out, here comes the master race!
Springtime for Hitler and Germany,
Rhineland’s a fine land once more.
Springtime for Hitler and Germany,
Watch out Europe, we’re going on tour!


The famous, bad-taste chorus of The Producers, Mel Brooks first film and likely his magnum opus. Brilliant casting, that has Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in the lead roles, both as manic as is possible and so likeable that we, like the ladies bilked by the pair, wish that the judge could find it possible to set them free.

Technically the movie is quite uneven, just as is the story and dialogue, but as the one-liners and sight-gags tumble one after another, it becomes increasingly difficult to see the flaws.