A personal favorite
Check most "best ever" movie lists, and you'll find either "Casablanca," "Citizen Kane" or "Gone with the Wind" at the top. Can't argue much about those selections, but personal favorites are another matter. My numero uno film remains 1987's "Raising Arizona" even though the best it can do, list-wise, is rank #31 on the AFI all-time comedy chart.
The film will be re-released next month as part of a large Coen brothers retrospective, which also includes "Blood Simple," "Fargo," "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink." Not a clunker in the bunch, and "Miller's Crossing" remains the most underrated gangster film in recent memory. But it's "Raising Arizona" which demands repeated viewings for me. I just can't tire of it. And for a simple explanation why, check out IMDB's movie quote page for the film. No one movie should pack this much linguistic perfection. (Photo: H.I. McDunnough - Nicolas Cage -smiles for his mug shot)
posted by Toto @ 8:03 AM
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4 Comments:
I'm still a Casablanca and Maltese Falcon guy, will always be ... but for underrated modern faves, Tom Hanks in Joe Vs. the Volcano ... great lines, great scenes, great life lessons ...
Not so much for "Arizona," I didn't get it ... Big Lebowski, I'm in ... Fargo? you own me ... Dr. Strangelove? I never get tired of it ...
Raising Arizona, eh. Whatever. Say, what's on my DVR ... ?
I would ask you to give "Raising" a second chance if you've only seen it once. I was underwhelmed the first time I saw it, but as a teen I often watched movies multiple times (us dateless types had oodles of time on our hands). Repeated viewings made me appreciate, and then utterly fall in love, with its idiosyncratic beauty. Every time I watch it I catch something new, something clever, that I missed the first, second and 18th time. I will give "Volcano" a second chance, though.
What's your opinon on the Big Liebowski? I've met so many folks who loved it, but I thought it was almost unwatchable. Maybe I heard to much buzz before I finally got around to it?!
"Big" impressed me more the second time I watched it, but it seems like a pale imitation of "Raising Arizona." It's like they were trying to re-create that insane comic energy but left out a few ingredients.
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