Listmania!
My favorite movies -- not all of them well-known, though! Part II
By an Amazon.com customer
Mysterious Island (Widescreen)Mysterious Island (Widescreen)
Buy new: $14.94 / Used from: $3.91
Great old tale of adventure. Don't miss it!
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe Volumes 1 & 2Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe Volumes 1 & 2
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $0.27
This is the great old B&W sci-fi serial. Ming the Merciless is played admirably by Charles Middleton.
The Winter War (Talvisota)The Winter War (Talvisota)
Buy new: $45.00 / Used from: $27.00
One of the top 3 war films I've ever watched. Subtitled in English, you never saw more realism or better cinematography in a war flick. It's all about Russia's invasion of Finland and the latter's success in defending their homeland, however, at a great human cost. You won't mind the subtitles.
Foyle's War: Set 1 (The German Woman / The White Feather / A Lesson In Murder / Eagle Day)Foyle's War: Set 1 (The German Woman / The White Feather / A Lesson In Murder / Eagle Day)
Buy new: $47.99 / Used from: $23.99
Get the whole series -- great WW II era English mystery!
ShalakoShalako
Buy new: $9.98 / Used from: $1.57
(A very young) Sean Connery and Bridgette Bardot -- what a coup of a great western cast. Scenery and cinematography that you won't forget along with a great story. This is a Western (a semi-spaghetti western) for people who don't care much for westerns.
Evil Under the SunEvil Under the Sun
Buy used from: $6.69
Top-notch Agatha Christie rendering with Peter Ustinov at the helm.
Death on the NileDeath on the Nile
Buy used from: $4.54
More great Peter Ustinov -- fairly true to Christie's book version.
Re-Animator (2 Disc Set + Highlighter)Re-Animator (2 Disc Set + Highlighter)
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $11.94
This is a crazy, fun, tongue-in-cheek horror flick that I loved. Cat lovers beware, though -- old Puss (the stuffed cat) gets treated pretty badly!
BattlegroundBattleground
Buy new: $5.79 / Used from: $4.81
Just my opinion, this is the finest B&W WW II flick available. Battle of the Bulge.
BecketBecket
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $9.53
Slow at times but a great movie for a rainy Saturday if you enjoy British stuff. Of course, Richard Burton is awesome as usual.
Fairy Tale - A True StoryFairy Tale - A True Story
Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $4.58
Adults and children alike will love this tale of faeries in the English countryside. I thought it was really well-done and it's based on a true story where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini actually investigated the claim that faeries were about! Two little girls have taken their photos!
Alien (The Director's Cut)Alien (The Director's Cut)
Buy new: $16.49 / Used from: $3.50
Wow! A space/Sci-fi flick that is VERY well-done and creepy as the dickens. Sigourney Weaver is really hot in this one. Woo-Woo!!!
The Wicker ManThe Wicker Man
Buy used from: $6.92
A strange film, creepy too, but quite plausible. Residents of a paganistic British island conduct a little harvest festival while a member of England's finest of the constabulary, (and a big Christian to boot), is present to conduct a missing persons investigation. This is a well-done movie, albeit an older one.
Nyoka and the Tigermen [VHS]Nyoka and the Tigermen [VHS]
Buy used from: $6.88
Francis Gifford (Nyoka) fights off scoundrels, primitive natives, gorillas, and swarthy-looking semi-arabs in this superb old B&W cliffhanger. I hope it makes it to DVD soon!
Ghost StoryGhost Story
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $5.61
VERY spooky tale of 4 college pals who accidentally kill their cummunal lover. They endure a lifetime of mental anguish. You'll like this well-made film.
A Clockwork Orange (Two-Disc Special Edition)A Clockwork Orange (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Buy new: $11.49 / Used from: $9.65
About as strange as you can get and still be superbly watchable. Best if you like British stuff. Futuristic.
Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)
Buy used from: $19.98
Well, who could not watch THESE over and over?!?
Platoon (Special Edition)Platoon (Special Edition)
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $1.11
A great sort of two-part movie, staged in the Vietnam era. Pretty graphic tale about Marine boot camp and on to The 'Nam.
Gettysburg (Widescreen Edition)Gettysburg (Widescreen Edition)
Buy new: $5.49 / Used from: $1.09
This one will hold your attention -- pure treasure for Civil war buffs but anyone will enjoy this true story.
Apocalypse NowApocalypse Now
Buy used from: $10.99
Strange tale of a soldier who has to hunt down and kill off a demented old Colonel who turned renegade and set himself up as a god, deep in the Cambodian jungle, during the pinnacle of the Vietnam War.
The Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the Generals
Buy new: $14.49 / Used from: $9.79
This is a really outstanding WW II tale of a Nazi General sex-serial killer and the Nazi officer who has to hunt him down. Super color cinemetography.
ExodusExodus
Buy new: $12.49 / Used from: $6.99
The inspiring tale of how Israel became a modern nation. I think this is, by far, Paul Newman's very best film, even though it's not all about Paul Newman. A great supporting cast and Ernest Gold's filmscore sends chills down the spine. Superb!
The ExorcistThe Exorcist
Buy used from: $7.21
The scariest film ever made. I knew a few gals who could not sleep for weeks after they first saw this one at the drive-in. Well-made too!
The Exorcist 3The Exorcist 3
Buy new: $7.49 / Used from: $0.36
A well-made, much later sequel, to "The Exorcist". Scary but entertaining as well. Unfortunately, Richard Burton sort of bombed, due to a goofy script and mindless story, in the incongruent "Exorcist II".
Drums of Fu ManchuDrums of Fu Manchu
Buy new: $17.99 / Used from: $13.21
Superb old 1940 Republic Pictures cliffhanger serial in 15 chapters. These guys were great -- Saturday morning nostalgia! Lots of fun for today's viewer.
The Big ChillThe Big Chill
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $4.86
A MUST for all college-educated baby boomers. You don't have to be smart to watch it, it's just that these are old college pals (male and female) who re-assemble for the funeral of a peer after they have long left their liberal ethics behind to become rich and sort of rotten. What a great weekend (sort of) and what a nostalgic late 60s-early 70s music score! A fantastic film.
The Curse of FrankensteinThe Curse of Frankenstein
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $4.40
This is the one that kicked off the great Hammer series with the Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee team in 1957! Just a great version of the old story.
East Side Kids: Ghosts on the LooseEast Side Kids: Ghosts on the Loose
Buy new: $7.98 / Used from: $1.50
This one starts a little slow but gets better as it goes along. It was also called "The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi". Lugosi made a great Nazi!
House of FoolsHouse of Fools
Buy used from: $3.49
If you are at all tolerant of English sub-titles, pretty much anyone will love this super contemporary Russian-French collaboration. The inmates run the institution during a Chechyn War battle. This really is a great film -- check the reviews.
From Dusk Till Dawn (Dimension Collector's Series)From Dusk Till Dawn (Dimension Collector's Series)
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $2.72
This is a crazy, hilarious movie about drug-running psychopath criminals who find themselves trapped in a nest of vampires in a backwoods brothel down in Old Mexico. I liked the first half of the film better than the second, but it's all worth watching. Lots of blood and gore, especially near the end.
Lost CityLost City
Buy new: $7.98 / Used from: $3.60
A black and white 1935 serial about a Mad Scientist (Zolock) who has entrenched himself deep in Africa with his electronic gagetry which is designed to end civilization. Engineer hero Bruce Gordon is sent in to unearth the old boy. A great show in 12 action-packed chapters. George ("Gabby") Hayes also stars in this one.
DragonslayerDragonslayer
Buy new: $9.49 / Used from: $2.97
This film gets my highest rating! From Paramount, the evil dragon must be slain to curtail the young virgin maidens from being sacrificed by the terrified villagers. Superb story and cinematography. Just the best!
The Mothman PropheciesThe Mothman Prophecies
Buy used from: $4.00
Did the supernatural Mothman cause the West Virginia Silver Bridge to fall, killing most of the rush-hour travelers who were on it? Based on a true story, this well-done psychological horror film is REALLY creepy!
Plan 9 from Outer SpacePlan 9 from Outer Space
Buy new: $9.98 / Used from: $2.84
If you don't take life at all seriously, you'll love this Ed Wood attempt at black and white drive-in horror. Aliens resurrect the dead to take over the earth. Tor Johnson stars -- great old stuff.
Creature From the Black LagoonCreature From the Black Lagoon
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $8.98
A great older horror flick about an Amazonian expedition that gets trapped upriver with one very nasty underwater creature. Starring Richard Carlson, this one is just a little hokey but still first-class.
Last Train From Gun HillLast Train From Gun Hill
Buy new: $9.98 / Used from: $3.05
A fine color western starring Kirk Douglas. He's the town marshall whose wife is raped and killed by a rotten young cowboy, the son of a life-long friend. Great western story and scenery.
Planet of the ApesPlanet of the Apes
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $3.99
The first of the series and, in my opinion, the best. Here, we get to see great cinematography and a superb make-up job on the "civilized" ape-creatures who make Charlton Heston's astronault life so difficult.
High Sierra (Keepcase)High Sierra (Keepcase)
Buy new: $5.79 / Used from: $5.66
Great black and white Humphrey Bogart vehicle where he plays a renowned gangster on the run. As usual, a young lass mucks up the works as he tries to shoot his way to freedom in the western mountains.
The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus)The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus)
Buy used from: $50.63
My focus here is "The Mole People," a real sleeper of black and white horror. Archaeologists push into a snowy, high mountain range to try to locate the entrance to the center of the earth. Unfortunately for them, they find an undreground kingdom of nasty mole people!
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Two-Disc Special Edition)The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $9.30
This might just be my favorite movie of all time. Bogey teams up for gold in Mexico but greed and the jungle prey on his mind. Bandits become a huge problem as well! Black and white, superb film treasure.