Finally, someone — namely Slate.com — has joined me in the brave position that "The Searchers" is not a great movie. Feel free to read the Slate article if you're unfamiliar with the mind-numbing racism and slow-moving grit that is "The Searchers." I had to sit through it in a college film class, and I never heard an adequate explanation of why. Sure, it's got some epic-ness to it, but that's no reason to canonize it. Hell, "Lawrence of Arabia" is about 20 times more epic...and actually good.
Instead of debating this one movie, I figured I'd open up discussion of your pet peeves. What's movie do you hate that's considered a cinematic masterpiece?
My vote: "The Maltese Falcon." Watch this after watching "The Big Sleep" and you'll wonder why more people seem to remember "Falcon." It's moronic, confusing, mildly homophobic and poorly acted by some of the era's best actors. But if you haven't seen the original "Big Sleep," you need to.
My runner-up: "Annie Hall."
3 comments:
I must own up to the fact that I have never been able to watch Clockwork Orange or Bladerunner all the way through. Neither of these movies were even remotely enjoyable to me.
I tried watching Clockwork Orange the other day and didn't feel a need to stay with it.
Oh, and I of course neglected to mention how much I hate every Terrence Malick piece I've seen (The Thin Red Line and The New World). But then, I don't really know anyone who liked them. Critics always salivate over how "pensive" they are...or some crap.
I've never really enjoyed Kubrick's older films as much as everyone else seems to. The Shining and Full Metal Jacket were great, but I could have lived without seeing the rest.
Also, and I am ashamed to say this, The Godfather bored me to tears. I'd watch Quentin Tarantino's campiest flick a dozen times before I'd sit through that again.
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