Cine 69
Presented in Alphabetical Order
  1. A Matter of Life & Death A WWII pilot (David Niven) in a burning plane spends what he believes to be his final moments with a radio dispatcher (Kim Hunter). He miraculously survives the crash, meets her, and they fall in love. A representative from heaven tries to persuade him to return, only to be told that if it weren't for heaven's blunder, Squadron Leader Peter Carter wouldn't have fallen in love. An unprecedented trial is held. Fascinating English film; for a change the USA are stereotyped. Peter and June's relationship is natural and comfortable rather than melodramatic and contrived. The film is aka Stairway to Heaven.
  2. The Adv of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert This film is a classic formula road picture, and perhaps the most genuine musical in ages. A trio of cabaret performers - two queens and a transsexual - head across Australia's Outback to do their show as a return favour to an ex-wife. Despite some moments - all of which are hysterical - this is a real family type film which leaves you smiling after busting your gut. If you're hung up over sexual preferences of others, then you're only cheating yourself out of some GREAT entertainment.
  3. Babes in Toyland Laurel & Hardy's classic musical feature, with all the odd touches you'd expect from a Hal Roach production. Actually an advantage to watch colorized (and many of you know what a purist I am about that!).
  4. Batman Moody noir as the story was originally meant to be. A real masterpiece. Sets reminiscent of Fritz Lang's film Metropolis.
  5. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Two dumb kids learn about history by experiencing it first hand. The ultimate What-if story when they bring historic figures back with them to run amok in a typical So Cal Valley community. The language barrier on both ends is extremely amusing.
  6. Birth of a Nation An innovative miracle of cinema history when compared to the contemporaries of D.W. Griffith's day. However, one must never take film as fact. Although this is a typical story of good guys and bad guys, those represented are a travesty of history and an insult to everyone.
  7. Bride of Frankenstein After the serious, terrifying film of three years previously, the majority of the cast got back together to do a spoof for a sequel. Yes, folks, it was deliberate. Soundtrack music was later used in a Flash Gordon serial.
  8. Bright Eyes The only Shirley Temple movie worth watching. A natural and brilliant performance for an eight year old. She lives with her mother's employers: a snobby family and their abusive daughter (hey! It's Josephine from Comet cleanser!). An aviator who was buddy to Shirley's late father believes he can give her a more loving environment.
  9. Back to the Future Trilogy No other word except perfect. In this three-movie arc, the plot intricacies are meticulous and the characters lovable. Saw the last one debut during a trilogy marathon, and I must say it's a very good way to view it with friends.
  10. Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back Talkies threw Hollywood into a panic and actors to the speech therapist. Ronald Colman was a godsend to the industry. He had an confident air and a natural clarity, just the qualities needed. This is his sequel film as the classic detective, and it's amusing to watch him adlib jabs at the bogus characterisations flailing around him.
  11. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Odd, painted sets in forced perspective are the backdrop of a man whose sideshow prop - a sleeping man - is sent to do the sinister doctor's ominous bidding. Inspired the look of Heaven 17's video Temptation.
  12. Camerman The definitive Buster Keaton film (and the last one he had creative control over). This is regarded to be the perfect comedy; every detail is important to the film. And the film is a riot! Shot in part on location, a tintype photographer falls for a lovely secretary in MGM's newsreel department in New York City. He opts to prove himself by running around town with an old camera to shoot newsworthy events.
  13. Captain Blood When English actor Robert Donat bowed out of the lead for medical reasons, Warner Brothers took a chance with an unknown sans dramatic training: Tasmanian Errol Flynn. As surmised, Flynn's looks and charm made up for the deficiency; the film was nominated for best picture of 1935.
  14. The Crowd
  15. Dumbo
  16. Ferris Beuller's Day Off
  17. Flesh & the Devil
  18. Footlight Parade
  19. The Forbidden Zone Richard Elfman managed to make a low budget, softcore, live action Fleischer cartoon, with perfectly executed special effects. His brother Danny's band The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo provides the soundtrack and obligatory Cab Calloway sequence, interspersed with vintage classic 78 tunes like Pico And Sepulveda and talents like Josephine Baker.
  20. Gentleman Jim
  21. Ghostbusters I & II
  22. Girl Shy
  23. Go West Boy meets cow, boy loses cow, bo- uh well you'll just have to see this Buster Keaton classic for yourself!
  24. Good Fairy, The
  25. Ground Hog Day
  26. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
  27. The Jazz Singer
  28. Jungle Book
  29. The Kid From Spain
  30. La Belle et La Bête Jean Cocteau's masterpiece was miraculously shot while avoiding Nazis. But this century's woes are not apparent in aesthetics like a live Doré engraving. The classic Beauty and the Beast, with great attention to detail and realism.
  31. The Ladies' Man (61) A spaz from a spaz town leaves for the big city to forget the spaz girl who left him, only to wind up as a houseboy to a girls' boarding house. VERY surreal stuff. And funny for Jerry Lewis.
  32. The Light That Failed
  33. M With a serial killer murdering little girls, police activity is heightened. This is cramping the underworld's style, and so they are determined to find the psycho before the cops in order to dole out a more thorough form of justice. Starring Peter Lorre as the psycho.
  34. Mary Poppins
  35. Metropolis
  36. Modern Times
  37. My Fair Lady
  38. My Favorite Year
  39. North By Northwest
  40. Oklahoma!
  41. Orphee
  42. The Palm Beach Story
  43. Pee Wee's Big Adventure
  44. Peter Pan
  45. The Postman Always Rings Twice
  46. Public Enemy
  47. Pygmalion
  48. Radio Days
  49. Random Harvest
  50. Robin Hood: Men In Tights
  51. Rocketeer
  52. Roman Scandals
  53. Scrooged
  54. The Sea Hawk
  55. Seventh Heaven
  56. Singin' in the Rain
  57. Star Trek Even Number Films
  58. Steamboat Bill, Jr.
  59. Sunrise Subtitled "A Song of Two Humans," this American production directed by F. W. Murnau (Nosferatu) looks VERY European. The story of a farmer who is seduced into an affair with a vacationing flapper, and encouraged to kill his wife to run off to the city. Realising in time the consequences of his actions, he does what he can to make up for his grave intentions. He and his wife recapture their passion during their daytrip into the city. The films is entrancing; this together with Seventh Heaven earned Janet Gaynor the Academy's first Best Actress Award (1927). Fox by then had been working with optical sound on film, and Sunrise comes with its own music and sound effects. The storytelling and camera work is extremely advanced in this movie, considered by many as the apex of the silent era. There's never a dry eye in the house when this runs during a festival.
  60. Superman
  61. That's Entertainment!
  62. They Died With Their Boots On
  63. Top Hat
  64. The Twentieth Century
  65. Unfaithfully Yours
  66. Victor/Victoria
  67. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
  68. The Wizard of Oz
  69. The World of Henry Orient A study of fans and idol worship. Two prep school girls in Manhattan go through a typical crush phase on a rogue of a pianist. The encounters are amusing - and exasperating for Henry Orient (Peter Sellers), who's trying his best to bag a paranoid housewife in order to get financial backing. But reality hits the girls hard. Shot on location in NYC. With Tom Bosley, Angela Lansbury, and Al Lewis.