Desert Island Films #73: It Rains… You Get Wet

le0pard13 from It Rains… You Get Wet has kindly submitted his Desert Island Films. It took a lot of persuading on my part to convince le0pard13 (or Michael to his friends) 😉 to join this project. Not only has he never complained about the piece I’m writing for him in exchange taking its sweet time, he even explained to me how to make a post with html! Plus, I know for a fact he re-tweets my work (and most of yours I’m guessing) more than anyone else, so I have a lot to be grateful to Michael for. Please enjoy his excellent choices, and more importantly be sure to check out his site. You won’t regret it, he does excellent work over there!

Desert Island Films is about choosing 8 films you would take if you were going to be stranded on a desert island and explaining your choices. They don’t necessarily have to be your favourites, just 8 films, no more or no less! You are also permitted to take one book and one novelty item which must be inanimate and of no use in escaping the island or allowing communication from outside.

Desert Island Films: le0pard13 from It Rains… You Get Wet

1) ALIENS

Why this, you ask? Specifically, why this sequel to Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi shocker, one that rocked us out of the 70s? If I’m to be stranded on some desert island, for any length of time, I’ll take James Cameron’s view. This is how I expressed it a couple years back in a comment to my friend and author John Kenneth Muir’s cult review:

“Though the body count (a term that came from the Vietnam War experience… I’m old enough to remember it well growing up) is greater in ALIENS, ultimately it is a more hopeful film. Ripley reconstructs a family she’s lost (more so with the Director’s Cut of the film) even through the devastation of another failed corporate acquisition. I LOVE THIS angle of the Cameron’s expressive, emotional roller-coaster ride.”

Of course, if I’m home, I’ll put on ALIEN, too ;-).

2) Midnight Run

Martin Brest (via a script by George Gallo) concocted what may be my favorite mismatched buddy movie, action flick, and road picture. A funny as all hell, street-smart, and oddly sentimental work that continues to stand-up well beyond its 80s pedigree. Plus, it proved to be Robert De Niro’s mould-breaking role, especially when matched by the incomparable Charles Grodin. Quoting my colleague J.D.:

“…Brest delivered the goods in a big way, serving up an R-rated film that mixed exciting car chases and shoot-outs with hilarious recurring gags and assortment of colorful characters.”

3) Young Frankenstein

Like a certain mad scientist, Mel Brooks (along with Gene Wilder who starred and co-wrote it with the director) brought back to life the legendary Mary Shelly work and the best of the 30s Universal Studios Frankenstein monster classics with a grand horror-spoof for the ages. In glorious black and white, it remains my favorite Brooks comedy. Add the great Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman, almost unrecognizable as the grotesque Frau Blücher, in the mix and few beat it for laughs, nostalgia, and quotable dialogue. Another of the best from the groundbreaking 1970s films.

Goodnight, Frau Blücher.

[horses whinny]

4) Charade

As I’ve already said,

“Not only did Charade cast two of my favorite actors as leads, the classy Audrey Hepburn (who a number of my readers now know I remain quite smitten with) and the great Cary Grant, it was that rare film where story, cast, dialog and director came together perfectly.”

Stanley Donen matched Hitchcock in producing the type of comedy thriller that Sir Alfred became quite famous for. A few of us think Charade is more fun than any of the same genre that became synonymous with the British great. Donen’s the only one that plays on equal footing as a romantic comedy. The film centers on the romance building between the two main leads — the murder, mystery, and thrills the story generated being almost incidental.

5) The Godfather

Like the novel, this film work was more of an experience than simple movie viewing by those who caught it. Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather remains a rich, textured depiction of crime family life. One where the family remained the central, operative word throughout. Even though the film was shockingly violent for its time, the tale never lost the audience because it embodied a special collection. The ethnic gangsters existing in a country made of immigrants, and in a way not seen before in movies. We developed a stake with these criminals byway of ancestry and their enterprises. Their roots, loyalties, and dark efforts all to better a group held together by blood or marriage.

6) It’s a Wonderful Life

Beyond those who love and/or have written about this classic in the decades since the film’s début, as cited in many tributes and documentaries (online or otherwise), it is the director’s and actor James Stewart’s favorite, as well. Frank Capra’s singular film bestowed a heavenly sense by sending its lead character through the town of perdition. It remains the only holiday film that makes full use of its film noir imagery to achieve that perception. That is to say, you’re not going to have a silver lining without that dark cloud to show it off. I suppose, this particular work by the filmmaker really put the final mark on what it was to be Capraesque.

“I’m glad I know you, George Bailey.”

7) The Professionals

There are a small few ahead of this 1966 oater, in my book. Nevertheless, there’s none more rousing than this supremely under valued story of honor and adventure by Richard Brooks. It certainly featured some of the writer/director’s best dialogue, most delivered with relish its special cast. A western that had it all: action, thrills, and a great sense of humor. An unexpected sense of morality, too:

“La revolución is like a great love affair. In the beginning, she is a goddess. A holy cause. But… every love affair has a terrible enemy: time. We see her as she is. La revolución is not a goddess but a whore. She was never pure, never saintly, never perfect. And we run away, find another lover, another cause. Quick, sordid affairs. Lust, but no love. Passion, but no compassion. Without love, without a cause, we are… nothing! We stay because we believe. We leave because we are disillusioned. We come back because we are lost. We die because we are committed.”

8) WALL•E

Director Andrew Stanton may have said it best of his film,

“… irrational love defeats life’s programming”

This remains my favorite work by Pixar. That it does this through a genre I fell for as a kid, science-fiction, makes it that much more special. This enabled a story that began “In a dismal, silent post-apocalyptic world…“, as my friend Ruth described, rendezvousing at the edge of space on a starliner, only to end right back where it started for two mechanical beings reaching beyond their programming. The culmination of which draws the audience to a touching affirmation. Not the notion that love is good, but its real meaning. One illustrated so beautifully: how one learns to love.

Book: Stephen King’s THE STAND

At 1153 pages in hardcover, this remains the longest book the famed writer ever put to print (still nicks his It behemoth at the tape by a few sheets). A book with the highest body count, too. Yet it’s a work with a definite sense of hope. This novel is the best-loved Stephen King on my library shelf (even if it’s not the author’s favorite).

Luxury Item: A picture of my family. The one thing that’d get me through an entire desert island ordeal 😉

Thanks again to le0pard13 for taking the time to join the prestigious castaway list. If you would like to submit your choices and add your name to THIS LIST, please drop me an email to – tysoncarter@hotmail.co.uk

Posted by Tysoncarter182 on August 23, 2013

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