Directors SteveGon's "Favorite Movies from His DVD Collection" Tournament (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

Comments:

Cockfighter, directed by the under-appreciated Monte Hellman, stars Warren Oates as a down and out cockfighter who has decided not to speak until he wins a coveted cockfighting prize. Distasteful subject matter aside, this is a great, seedy slice of Americana.

Fat City is one of the best of John Huston's late films. Stacy Keach is a hardluck ex-boxer, Susan Tyrrell is his floozy girlfriend, and Jeff Bridges is his naive protege. A wistful look at people going nowhere fast.

Chicken Run - Great fun. 'Nuff said.

Midnight Run - Terrific buddy movie, one of DeNiro's last best films (before sinking into the terrible run of bad flicks he's been in lately). Bob, fire your damn agent!

Gettysburg - Grand and poignant, one of the best war films.

Paths of Glory - My favorite Kubrick, short and bitter.

The Producers - Mel Brooks' best film.

The Tall Guy - Funny film stars Jeff Goldblum as an actor trying to make it big in England. Emma Thompson gets naked.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Chicken Run - Like both films, but agree with Henry that this film is a more impressive overall accomplishment.

Paths of Glory - While I enjoy Gettysburg, this is one of the easiest choices I'll have to make in this tournament.

- Walter.

 

[Lew Crippen]

abstain

 

[Zen Butler]

abstain
Midnight Run
Paths of Glory
abstain

 

[Bill McA]

abstain - no Cockfighter...whatever happened to Susan Tyrell anyway??? She was great in Flesh+Blood and absolutely hilarious in Andy Warhol's Bad
Chicken Run
abstain - no Gettysburg, but if it's anything like Gods and Generals...I'm not missing a thing!
The Producers

 

[Brook K]

abstain

 

[Jim_K]

abstain
Midnight Run
Paths of Glory
abstain - no Tall Guy

 

[george kaplan]

Double Abstain

Gettysburg

Abstain

 

[Agee Bassett]

Abstain
Abstain
Abstain
Abstain

 

[John C. Wilson]

Chicken Run
Gettysburg
The Producers

 

[Arman]

abstain! abstain! abstain! abstain!
&*&*& #$%$%$

 

[SteveGon]

Bill, Gettysburg is much better than Gods and Generals.

 

[SteveGon]

My votes:

Fat City
Chicken Run
Paths of Glory
The Producers

 

[SteveGon]

Fat City wins 1 - 0.
Chicken Run wins 5 - 2.
Paths of Glory wins 4 - 2.
The Producers wins 4 - 0.


Round 1 - Bracket 9

The "mutating humans" matchup

Quatermass and the Pit vs. X2: X-Men United


Round 1 - Bracket 10

The "spiritually lost writers" matchup

The Accidental Tourist vs. Mishima


Round 1 - Bracket 11

The Lombard matchup

Nothing Sacred vs. My Man Godfrey


Round 1 - Bracket 12

The um, "fantasy set in a city" matchup

Babe: Pig in the City vs. City of Lost Children

 

[Bill McA]

Quatermass and the Pit
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
abstain - no Nothing Sacred
Babe: Pig in the City

 

[SteveGon]

Comments:

Quatermass and the Pit presents some intriguing (if outrageous) ideas about our ancestry. I like the way scientists are portrayed in the Quatermass films - that is, they're not evil, misguided, or bumbling.

X2: X-Men United is a near-perfect comic book movie. Purists may carp about the origin revisions and omissions, but the film retains the spirit of the books, a more important ingredient to success if you ask me. Nightcrawler's attack on the President and the raid on Xavier's mansion are genuinely exciting - kudos to director Bryan Singer. (Funny that Singer, not a guy I'd previously considered an "action director," can actually direct better action sequences than that effin' hack Michael Bay.)

The Accidental Tourist is a sublime drama with William Hurt as Macon Leary, the author of a popular series of travel books. Thing is, he hates to travel! His personal life has been devastated by the tragic death of a son - he and his wife have slowly drifted apart. Then flaky dog-trainer Geena Davis and her perpetually ill son come into his life...

Mishima is a stylized look at the life of Yukio Mishima, the noted Japanese author who committed suicide. Scenes from his early life were filmed in black and white, modern-day events in color. In addition to that, passages from his various novels are presented as staged dramatizations in gorgeous color. The Philip Glass score is excellent.

Nothing Sacred and My Man Godfrey are two great comedies featuring one of my favorite actresses, Carole Lombard.

Babe: Pig in the City is tragically under-appreciated. A great, dark fantasy.

City of Lost Children gets more respect than BPITC, but should be better-known. Some great visuals on display here.

 

[Lew Crippen]

My Man Godfrey--pretty easy, as I've never been that fond of Nothing Sacred.

 

[Agee Bassett]

Abstain
Abstain
My Man Godfrey
Abstain

 

[george kaplan]

Double Abstain

My Man Godfrey

Abstain

 

[Zen Butler]

abstain
Mishima
abstain
City of Lost Children (That was tough, I love Babeig in the City)



There are fans out there.