The 1000 Movie Journey: March 2011

Jaws: Sharks Gone Wild

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 |

Let's carry on with the next film on the list, shall we? Jaws was released in 1975, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. It won three Oscars and had the singular ability to make a generation of children terrified of their swimming pools. Jaws receives a rank of 75 on the "TSP, DT?" list.

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True Heart Susie: Makeup Is Evil

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 |

So our next film is something a little different -- the silent romance from 1919 called True Heart Susie. Directed by DW Griffith and starring the lovely Lillian Gish and Robert Harron, True Heart Susie is the ultimate story of unrequited love, albeit one with a happy ending. "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" places it at a respectable 916, and it is one of only seven pre-1920s films to make the list.

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Lobotomies for Fun and Profit

Monday, March 28, 2011 |

So we're up to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the first movie of the 2000s to be reviewed so far! This quirky and original film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet came out in 2004, and won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" puts it at 515 on their list.

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The Graduate: Why You Shouldn't Date Your Cougar's Daughter

Sunday, March 27, 2011 |

Hello! We're on to The Graduate, a 1967 film by Mike Nichols that earned Best Actor Oscar Nominations for its three leads (Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katharine Ross) and a Best Director Oscar. It also gave a voice to whiny, privileged college graduates everywhere (and I include myself among their number). "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" ranks The Graduate at #194.

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Pulp Fiction: Hit Men -- They're Just Like Us!

Saturday, March 26, 2011 |

And onward to our next review -- Pulp Fiction, the 1994 film that made Tarantino a buzzword for mildly pretentious film students everywhere. It won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, relaunched John Travolta's flagging film career, and got itself a place at 123 on the "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" list. This is a special review for me, because it's the first film I'm reviewing that I hadn't seen prior to starting the 1000 Movie Journey.

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Frankenstein: National Theatre Live (a NYC review)

Friday, March 25, 2011 |

OK, I know I'm supposed to be watching Pulp Fiction and writing reviews and whatnot, but last night I got a chance to go see Frankenstein, the hit National Theatre play from London, and I want to write about that. So there!

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Some Like It Hot: Or, Tony Curtis Is So Cool He Can Woo Marilyn Monroe While Wearing a Dress

Friday, March 25, 2011 |

Thanks for tuning in for my latest review, this time we’re watching the fun cross dressing romp Some Like It Hot! This 1959 film stars Jack Lemmon (yay!), Tony Curtis (yum), and Marilyn Monroe (where’s that bourbon?). “They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?” puts it in at #23, making this the first movie reviewed that cracks the Top 25. Well, actually it’s the first movie reviewed that cracks the Top 300…clearly I was watching all the crappy cinematic classics before.

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Toy Story: Cause Nothing's Less Creepy Than Toys That Are Secretly Alive

Thursday, March 24, 2011 |

Onward to Toy Story, a lovely little film that put Pixar on the map in terms of animation back in 1995. It stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, received three Oscar nominations in 1996, and is the first of the films I’m reviewing that I was actually alive for! “They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?” lists it at 421.

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Oedipal Complexes are Funny: A Cautionary Tale of Back to the Future

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 |

Before I start the review, I just want to send out my condolences to the friends and family of Elizabeth Taylor, who died earlier today at the age of 79. The two-time Oscar winner was one of the last great cinematic icons from the 1950s and 60s, and she will be greatly missed.

Our next review is the 1985 film Back to the Future, starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. It won one Oscar in 1986 for Best Sound Effects Editing, spawned two sequels, and comes in at 364 on the TSPDT list. It’s a popular movie, but is it actually any good?

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The Power of Song in The Sound of Music

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 |

So we’re going to start off with the 1965 film The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. This Rodgers and Hammerstein musical won 5 Oscars in 1966, including Best Director and Best Picture. On the TSPDT list, it comes in at a respectable 402.

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Audrey on a Mission Starts Her 1000 Movie Journey

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 |

Hello all (or as is more accurate, the few who happened to have stumbled upon this blog while no doubt looking for something else)!

This is me: I'm a casting assistant by day, movie addict by night. I graduated from college with a degree in film (or as my boyfriend called it, one of those fake majors) nearly a year ago.

This is my hare-brained scheme: I'm going to watch EVERY SINGLE ONE of the films listed by "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" as the top 1000 films of all time. Even the shitty, pretentious art house cinema.

Here's what TSPDT has to say for itself:

" This is, as you know by now, a consensus listing of the most critically-acclaimed films of all-time, based on as many lists as we have been able to collate over the years. It is as definitive a consensus list as you will probably find. Thanks to you, it is also a very well supported listing of films that we enjoy compiling each year, and - in the main - does represent truckloads of the best that cinema has to offer.

The January 2011 list of the 1,000 Greatest Films has primarily been compiled by using 2,138 individual critics' and filmmakers' personal lists/ballots of their favourite/best films.

As per previous versions we have also factored in (although to a much lesser degree than the aforementioned individual ballots) over 1,300 magazine polls, film institute polls, individual polls from 'esteemed' critics or filmmakers and many other polls of interest."

That's good enough for me. Check them out yourselves!

TSPDT - The 1,000 Greatest Films

Here's how it will work: For every film on the list, I'll write a review and post it here. I'm not going to watch and review in any particular order, because some of these films are a mite difficult to track down, and it will take me more time than I have left in my life to try and watch them in list order. I will, however, post each film's position on the list when I review it (as of the January 2011 listing).

It's not going to be easy. I fully expect to sweat blood and cry tears of frustration as I wade through some films that I personally don't think should be in the same zip code as the Top 1000. But I'm equally sure that I'll find some wonderful gems that, for whatever reason, have been woefully underappreciated.

I'm excited to get started! I hope you'll stick with me as I undergo this film journey that only the most ambitious (and, let's face it, mildly unstable) film buffs will attempt. Enjoy!

The first film to be reviewed is: The Sound of Music

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