Posted on 12/12/2008 3:10:10 AM PST by mattstat
Since we had so much fun with the Military List. Plus, it’s Friday.
1. Star Wars The original 1977 theatrical, error-filled release only. Han did shoot first. The storm troopers did want the blast doors to be closed only to then want them re-opened. Darth did do the wagging finger gesture for no apparent reason after his speech in the war room to Tarkin was over. When I saw the movie when it came out I wanted a light saber so bad it hurt. I was 13. I could still find a use for one.
2. The Thing from Another World Original; the remake is excellent, too, but probably better classified as Horror; see below. If you have never seen this, you are in for a treat. I have seen this movie dozens of times, and each viewing I hear a new line I somehow missed before. This is one of those Rosalind Russell fast talking comedy dramas. It’s hard to keep up. Dr Carrington’s motivations are natural, believable, and consistent throughout. The only, very minor, jarring point is when Scotty faints at the end, when he had been on Okinawa during the end of World War II. Anybody who made it through that would not pass out when seeing a vegetable cook. This movie does not follow the now usual conventions and will surprise you. You also have to keep in mind that this came out at the height of the Great Saucer Scare.
3. The Day the Earth Stood Still. The original!...
(Excerpt) Read more at wmbriggs.com ...
Omega Man before Escape from NY any day ......:o)
I always associate Star Wars with Mt. St. Helens (in Washington state) blowing up, when I think about the movie. I was seeing one of the movies — Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980 — when I came out from the theatre and my car was covered in volcanic ash... LOL..
you didnt hear it explode?
Darn good article. Thanks for posting it.
You said — “you didnt hear it explode?”
The original eruption was on May 18, 1980. That was a Sunday and no, I didn’t hear it explode that day, but I saw it from Portland, later in the morning. What a huge blow-out it was... LOL..
The actual “blast” was focused to the north and Portland, OR is to the south. In addition, the sound ended up “bouncing” between the upper atmosphere and the ground and thus there were areas where the explosion was hear and then spots where it was silent (from the sound waves bouncing back and forth).
But, this particular time (of that Star Wars movie) was a subsequent and following explosion, with the winds going to the south, and thus, carrying the ash over Portland, OR. It was later than the original May 18, 1980 explosion.
That original explosion never carried one bit of ash over Portland, which was only about 30 miles away, anyway. It all went east and turned day into absolute night — in Eastern Washington, along with *huge* ash piles over that that.
Another interesting thing was the initial *blow* of the mountain shoved a huge initial blast of ash over to *one area* of the United States, while the other “main plume” of ash flowed with the jet stream, generally to the east.
That *one spot* where that initial blast hit (with ash) was Tulsa, OK — something of a very interesting phenomenon... It was just “one little spot” that was hit, while the *main plume* of the ash went further north and then east...
Anyway, some interesting things...
Lives in Oregon. St Helens ash fell in measurable amounts as far as KANSAS.
I would remove...
2.The Thing from Another World Original
3.The Day the Earth Stood Still. The original!
9.Highlander (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)
And I would add...
War of the Worlds Original (1953)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
The Thing (1951 and 1982 versions)
I also liked...
Galaxy Quest
Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan
Fun stuff..........bump.
They Live. Great campy flick, and it can’t be beat for a paranoid, suggestive psychotrip.
Oh, and where’s 2001 on this list?
ping
You know compared to most such lists I have seen its actually a rather good one.
And no the Matrix isn’t on it!
original war of the worlds.
Worst concept: Signs. Super sophisticated evil aliens that happen to be allergic to water come to a planet that is 80% water without a raincoat. They can’t enter an old farm house because the door was locked, and they are vulnerable to baseball bats and knives. There only weapon, a farting finger, has an effective range of 6 inches!
But of course “The Thing from Another Word” is “The Thing” from 1951.
“2001” is at the bottom, where I explain why it isn’t on the list.
Oh... well don’t I feel like a fool. That was a good movie! The remake was good as well, which I didn’t expect.
Don’t forget that it has the greatest fight scene of all time.
Forbidden Planet
I can't figure out why people can't figure out why the "water" thing is perfectly acceptable in SIGNS.
We've been spoiled by decades of silly Star Trek ideas about space travel. The alien ships in SIGNS are left mostly unexplained, but they have to obey known laws of science. We see they can survive in our atmosphere--how many planets could they choose to land on? Imagine them travelling through space, looking for food or whatever, and they would come to possibly one planet--ours--with an atmosphere they can survive in. So of course, they send down inspectors to check the place out.
They're no more allergic to water than we are allergic to many substances on this planet. Water burns their skin and is possibly fatal to them. Well, it's fatal to US, too, and yet we live with it in our houses at possibly fatal amounts (drowning in your bathtub is quite possible)...and we are made up of mostly water, too.
Now, imagine that WE are travelling through space, looking for planets that can sustain us. Imagine we find one with an atmosphere we can breathe--are we going to simply pass it by? Of course now, we'll investigate it. And as when explorers checked out lands on this planet, we may have a number of fatalities before we decide to change tactics.
As for your other points--I can't enter a locked farmhouse (can you?), and I am vulnerable to bats and knives.
I wouldn't have written SIGNS as MNS did, and would have changed these elements. But it always baffles me why people don't think a little bit and grasp the quite obvious reality that a space-travelling alien race wouldn't have our logic and would explore a potentially-deadly planet the way WE portray human explorers doing on alien worlds--going in without all necessary information and protection. In fact, I think that was the point, though I agree it was done a bit shabbily.
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