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When I passed the 100,000 hit marker in November, I honored the event with what became one of my most popular entries- 100 Things I Love About the Movies. As it turns out, my odometer recently rolled over another milestone- the 200,000 hit marker. As logic follows, I’m due for another stroll down 100 Things Avenue. So without further ado, here are 100 More Things I Love About the Movies:
1. Janet Leigh’s blood spiraling down the drain in Psycho…
2. along with Hitchcock’s Freudian affection for blondes
3. Roman Moroni’s horribly butchered use of the English language in Johnny Dangerously
4. The look on Chazz Palminteri’s face upon realizing who Keyser Söze really is
5. Jack Lemmon hearing “Nobody’s perfect!” after confessing to his future, um… “husband” that he’s not really a woman at the end of Some Like it Hot
6. Kermit and Fozzie’s father in The Great Muppet Caper
7. The last 15 minutes of Straw Dogs
8. Frank Pentangeli’s demise
9. Harry Lime
10. Slimer
11. The stunningly beautiful Anita Ekberg prancing around in the Trevi Fountain on a whim in La Dolce Vita
12. And speaking of beautiful blondes, how about Marilyn Monroe’s sorrowful animal rights speech in The Misfits?
13. Rupert Pupkin, The King of Comedy, and his maddening social awkwardness
14. Droogs
15. Battleship Potemkin‘s incredible montage sequence on the Odessa Steps
16. The Old Testament tornado’s cameo in A Serious Man
17. Max Fischer’s play, Heaven and Hell
18. The near dialogue-free tension that Steven Spielberg builds using vehicles in his (made for TV) movie, Duel
19. Rango‘s double homage to both Deliverance and Apocalypse Now in a single scene
20. And Rango‘s homage to Chinatown
21. And Rango‘s homage to the entire Man With No Name trilogy, including- but not limited to- a rattlesnake that looks like Lee Van Cleef
22. Speaking of Chinatown, Jake Gittes getting his nose sliced as a visual indicator that he’s too nosy
23. Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie contains one audible line of dialogue, and it’s spoken by noted mime, Marcel Marceau
24. The final scene of Schindler’s List
25. Peter Jackson giving us the best, funniest, goriest zombie slaughter scene ever
26. Jefferson Smith and his fillibuster
27. I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.
28. The hilarious yet grisly fates of every child tourist visiting Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory
29. What’s a… pederast, Walter?
30. A house falling on top of Buster Keaton…
31. and Keaton’s unflappable stone faced zen amid a sea of swirling chaos
32. Charles Foster Kane’s sled was probably a symbol for a vagina
33. Fantasia‘s stunning fusion of visuals and classical music
34. Whatever the hell was in this briefcase:
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35. The explosion of the crowd as Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn came in to pitch
36. Watching Lester Burnham reclaim his freedom in American Beauty
37. Threats of liver consumption in The Thin Red Line…
38. and actual liver consumption in The Silence of the Lambs
39. Steve Buscemi’s foot jiggling around in a wood chipper
40. Ennio Morricone scores. All of them.
41. The use of a beating heart to pace the finale in The Bride of Frankenstein
42. “This ain’t Lucky Lager!”
43. The tear-inducing finale of Big Fish
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44. Skipping the first eight plans and going right to the ninth one, which was apparently from outer space
45. Francois Truffaut hunting aliens
46. Black Narcissus: Criterion-quality masterpiece? Or the original nunsploitation film? Or BOTH?!?!
47. The great big hug that Louis Malle gave to taboo subjects
48. The film noir themes placed atop the sunniest place on earth- Hollywood- in Sunset Blvd.
49. The iconic character created by Jacques Tati
50. Charlie Chaplin playing a serial killer in Monsieur Verdoux
51. Hitchcock’s devotion to climaxes on American monuments
52. “Open the pod bay doors, Hal”
53. Darren Aronofsky’s nausea-inducing yet brilliant camerawork in Requiem for a Dream
54. Roger Deakins’ wizardry as a cinematographer
55. The Fox and the Hound, just because it was the first movie I ever saw in a theater
56. Tinto Brass’ love of butt cheeks
57. Frankenstein’s re-birth in a little girl’s imagination in Spirit of the Beehive
58. The cinematic influence of the brilliant but obscure Val Lewton
59. Wolf Man’s got nards!
60. A very long, very detailed discussion of Madonna’s songs in Reservoir Dogs
61. Billy Crystal’s 61* and the uncanny likeness of Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane to Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, respectively
62. Cate Blanchett’s phenomenal range, including but not limited to her cameo in Hot Fuzz as Nicholas Angel’s girlfriend
63. The emergence of Scandinavian horror
64. The phallic clowns-and-cannons sequence that begins Ingmar Bergman’s Sawdust and Tinsel
65. Tobe Hooper’s use of inanimate clown dolls
66. The rivalry between Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog, including guns being aimed at people multiple times
67. RoboCop’s evil, unstoppable, unkillable nemesis- the police robot- was unstoppable and unkillable… unless it had to walk down a flight of stairs
68. The truffle shuffle
69. Italian neo-realism
70. American Movie: “It’s alriiiiight! It’s okaaaay! There’s something to live for!”…
71. and the debate over the proper pronunciation of “coven”
72. Luis Buñuel’s fierce satire of every social institution imaginable
73. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”
74. Learning to speak French by watching Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring, Au Revoir les Enfants, and Danton (thank you, Mrs. Bacoski, wherever you are)
75. Learning about Sociology (Crime, Deviance, and Law) by watching Donnie Brasco and The Verdict (thank you, Dr. Muse, wherever you are)
76. Getting an introduction to silent film in a Civil Rights course by watching The Birth of a Nation (thank you, Dr. Southern, wherever you are)
77. The post-modernism of Jean-Luc Godard films
78. Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey actually contains a reference to Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal
79. And how about the jaw-dropping contrast and use of black and white in the “dance of death” in The Seventh Seal?
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80. And if we’re being completely honest, let’s give proper respect to Bergman’s two cinematographers, Gunnar Fischer and Sven Nykvist
81. “My love life is terrible. The last time I was inside a woman was when I visited the Statue of Liberty.”
82. Fritz Lang’s little slice of pre-Nazi Germany zeitgeist in M, which includes a suspiciously meticulous police state and a whole lot of public vitriol and vigilante justice
83. Kurosawa’s Yojimbo was re-made as Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, and…
84. Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai was re-made as The Magnificent Seven
85. Witches literally kissing the devil’s butt in a film waaaaay back in 1922- Häxan
86. “We’re on a mission from Gad”
87. Whatever the hell it is that happens in Terry Gilliam’s head before he makes a movie
88. The shooting star that few know by name- John Cazale.
89. An impossibly perfect use of The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind” at the end of Fight Club
90. The behind-the-scenes-nobody-knows-about-her work of Thelma Schoonmaker, the film editor that makes Martin Scorsese films possible
91. John Belushi’s ability to solicit laughs without a single word. Or better yet, his ability to solicit laughs with a single arched eyebrow.
92. The opening five minutes that it took for me to fall in love with Peeping Tom
93. The star-crossed career, and hilarious work, of Fatty Arbuckle
94. Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers
95. Ray Milland’s delirium tremens in The Lost Weekend
96. Redrum. Redrum. Redrum.
97. Werewolf character arcs. See: Ginger Snaps (puberty). Or Teen Wolf (basketball skills).
98. Han shot first.
99. The fact that Burke and Hare keep making appearances in film. And should continue to do so.
100. A bouncing red ball in The Changeling.
