Movie thread

[jayhawk]

What are tour movie recommendations'? Both good and bad.

I will start with my good. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) is an amazing silent film. The actress playing Joan (Falconetti is her name) gives one of the best performances I have ever seen. Most silent films were shot with the actors wearing heavy pancake makeup and giving exaggerated gestures. None of the actors in this movie wore any makeup. If you love movies this is one you shouldn't miss. It's available on HBO Max (or whatever the hell they call themselves these days). Staying in the silent film genre I will include Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, both classic movies. The performance of Max Schreck as the vampire in Nosferatu is so creepy you would swear the actor really was a vampire. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German horror film released in 1920. The fascinating thing to me is the horror was achieved through the use of shadows and camera angles. One of my favorite films and still very scary. I could go on listing black and white films, but let's switch to something more current.

Downton Abbey The Finale is probably the most boring film I have ever seen. We streamed it last night on Prime only because it is a movie my wife really wanted to see. I was never a big fan of the series, which probably explains my hatred of this movie. Or maybe I hated it because literally the first hour of the film revolved around Lady Mary being snubbed by high society due to her divorce. I found this movie to be about as interesting as watching ice melt. About one hour into the film I decided sleeping in my bed to be preferable to sleeping on the couch and went to bed, leaving Mrs. Hawk to finish the movie on her own. I would ask her if the movie got any better except I really don't care.

I will leave more recommendations for a later time. What have the rest of you got?

[bware419ers]

I like this. Here's a few that I've been speaking to others about recently.

The Town
Ben Affleck really nailed this one. I believe he directed this, as well. It's gritty, smart, and tense in all the right ways and pays appropriate homage to Boston. The movie is like someone took “Heat,” gave it a Bahw-stan accent, and added a moral compass that can't exactly find true north. You feel the claustrophobia of Charlestown, the loyalty of its people, and the slow burn of inevitability. Few heist films make you root for the bad guy while knowing he’s doomed, but this one plays it perfectly.

Sabrina (the remake)
This version has a sharper, more modern ache than the original with Aubrey Hepburn. Julia Ormond brings a quiet strength to the girl who grows up watching a world she can’t quite touch until she disappears to Paris and returns changed, grabbing everyone's attention. It’s a romance that hurts a little, because you see the beauty of hope and heartbreak living side by side and coming from unexpected directions. Ultimately, the movie is not about getting the man, but about finally being seen in a world once though unobtainable.

Toy Story 3
If you ever want to see a perfect trilogy ending, this is it. “Toy Story 3” wraps up childhood, nostalgia, and letting go with more emotional punch than most live-action dramas. It feels like growing up in 90 minutes, complete with tears, laughter, and one terrifying furnace scene that hit way too close for a cartoon. Everything after it (looking at you, Toy Story 4) just feels like a money grab crashing the perfect goodbye party.

Daisy Jones & The Six
Okay. It's a limited series on Amazon, but I think it was grossly overlooked. The book it's based on is worth a read before diving into this watch. The show kinda hits like a Fleetwood Mac psuedo-biopic wrapped in the golden haze of ‘70s nostalgia. The miniseries perfectly captures the book’s messy brilliance from the sex, the songs (much better here than in the book), the ego, the ache. You can almost smell the spilled booze and hear the vinyl crackle as Daisy and Billy fall apart on stage and somehow sound perfect doing it. It’s not just a show about a band, but about how creativity and chaos are often the same thing.

True Romance
Before Tarantino was Tarantino, this was the spark. “True Romance” is pulpy before Pulp Fiction, bloody, and weirdly tender, like a love letter written in cigarette burns and thrift shop clothes. The dialogue snaps, the pacing hums, and the cast is an all-star fever dream (still my third favorite Brad Pitt role). It’s the best Tarantino story, hands down, because it remembers that love and violence can be two sides of the same beautiful mess.

Burn After Reading
This movie is the cinematic equivalent of a prank at a funeral. It’s chaos without payoff, stupidity disguised as satire, and two hours you’ll never get back. Everyone’s either confused or insane, and not in the charming usual Coen Brothers way, just in the “why am I still watching this” way. They should’ve titled it “Burn Before Watching” and saved us all some time.

[jayhawk]

Thanks for the suggestions bware. I will be sure and check those out. I fully agree with your assessment of Burn Before Reading. I also hated that movie with a passion.

I will stick with black and white films for now and throw out a few titles. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) stars Cary Grant as a Mortimer Brewster, sworn bachelor who decides to get married. When he takes his new bride home to meet his two spinster aunts he is horrified to discover they are serial killers whose victims are all lonely old men. The bodies are all buried in the basement of their home by their brother Teddy, who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and the dead are all yellow fever victims. Did I mention this is a comedy?

A movie that is definitely not a comedy is the German 1931 film M. Rather than describe the movie I will let you read about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M_(1931_film) Both films are considered classics.

[bware419ers]

Dark comedy doesn’t get much better than Arsenic and Old Lace. I agree completely. Cary Grant’s frantic energy is pure gold, and every time I watch it, I still laugh at how sweetly deranged those little old ladies are. I first saw the play when I was in elementary school, and the guy playing “Teddy” completely stole the show. It’s really hard to top someone blowing a bugle then charging up the stairs yelling “Charge" at the top of their lungs.

Black and White, huh?

You can rarely go wrong with Jimmy Stewart and I think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is his second best film. But Jimmy and Jean Arthur are always a treat together and full of laughs in You Can't Take It With You..

A Face in the Crowd and No Time for Sergeants are great films with the same star. If you ever need proof Andy Griffith could play more than a folksy sheriff, "Face" is it. He’s magnetic, terrifying, and heartbreakingly believable throughout the movie. Once you’ve seen him here, you’ll never look at Mayberry the same way again. But, if do want to see Mayberry, check out "Sergeants" and see the resemblance to Gomer and see a movie where the humor blends with small-town wisdom.

Also, give me the humor of Will Rogers any day. A good start is with Judge Priest. Rogers manages to make decency entertaining, which feels almost radical now.

For something completely different, if you haven't seen the adaptation of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, it's worth a watch. Knowing Robert Blake’s later life only makes it eerier.

[jayhawk]

I agree. Jimmy Stewart never made a bad movie. My favorite is Harvey (1950). In that one Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd (Here, take my card), whose best friend is a six foot tall rabbit named Harvey, who only Dowd can see or hear.

[jayhawk]

This thread is turng into a conversation between bware and myself. Let's get some other folks involved. Since my picks have all been black and white films, let's throw some color into the mix. Grave of the Fireflies (1994) is a Japanese Anime movie the film critic Roger Ebert called one of the best war films ever made. You can read his review here. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/grea ... flies-1988
This ain't no Pokeman animation. It's a film definitely not suited for children due to the subject matter. It's a film that will stay with you long after the ending credits have rolled by and you are left, curled up in a ball and sobbing.
I recommend this film because of the beautiful animation and storytelling, yet I have seen the movie twice and can honestly say I hope I never see it a third time. It is that emotionally draining.

[bware419ers]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

[TheDane]

Oh, my list is long, but instead of listing the obvious blockbusters, here's a few of my absolute all-time favourites.

Ed Wood: In my opinion, it's Tim Burton's best movie. And a kickass performance by Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, for which he won an Academy Award.

Blade Runner: Classic sci-fi. Fantastic scenography. Personally, I prefer the theatrical release to the Director's Cut, mostly because of the inner monologue, which gives the move a film noir feel, which I love. But if you're a fan of the book (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), you may want to watch Director's Cut instead.

A Bridge Too Far: One of the best war movies in history, with a breathtaking ensemble cast counting some of the greatest actors in the last 70 years of Hollywood history.

For a Few Dollars More: Overshadowed by The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but IMHO it's better. Van Cleef is as good as ever, and Eastwood has found his feet as the Man with No Name. Klaus Kinski gets an honorable mention as the Hunchback. Classic western stuff!

A Shot in the Dark: Second movie in the Pink Panther series, but the first one with Clouseau as the main character. Peter Seller is funny as hell, and his deadpan comedy will leave you in tears. This is the movie that defines the rest of the Pink Panther series.

Dr. Strangelove: A fantastic cold war satire. Again Peter Sellers, probably in his careers best (triple) performance. Kubrick when he's best.

[jayhawk]

TheDane with some mic drop choices. Reading the IMDB trivia on Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is almost as much fun as the movie. I would love to see the pie fight scene that was left on the cutting room floor. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/tr ... tt_dyk_trv

[jayhawk]

A movie I really enjoy is the independent flick Big Fan (2009) This one stars the comedian Patton Oswalt in a role he was born to play. He plays a not so lovable 37 year old guy named Paul. During the day Paul works as a parking lot attendant, which is his dream job, as he sits in his little booth all day, collecting parking payments and writing out what he is going to say when he calls into a sports talk radio program that night. Paul is a big fan of the New York Giants football team. His bedroom is decorated with posters of his favorite Giants players, much like a child's bedroom. He still lives at home with his mother, and the only serious girlfriend he has ever had is, as his mother puts it, his hand. One night he and a buddy are driving around when he spots his favorite Giants player Quintrell Bishop. The pair decide to follow him, first to what sure looks like a drug house, where they sit in their car waiting for him to leave. Bishop leaves the drug house and the pair follow Bishop to a strip club. Paul sends Bishop a drink and goes over to talk to him. When Paul mentions they have been following him all night Bishop explodes and beats the shit out of Paul, landing Paul in the hospital. When questioned by the police, Paul, who knows that if he tells the police Bishop beat him up the player will be arrested and suspended from playing, tells the police he can't remember a thing. It's a movie that flew under the radar but one I highly recommend, mainly for the performance by Patton Oswalt.

[jayhawk]

I refuse to let this thread die. I just finished my second viewing of Jojo Rabbit (2019) and I love this movie. It's a story about a ten year old German boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis, in a performance that should have got him an Oscar nomination) living in Berlin at the end of WWII. He wants to be a Nazi so bad that Adolph Hitler is his imaginary friend. His world is turned upside down when he meets and falls in love with a young Jewish girl his mother is hiding in their home. It's a film with laughs, tenderness and sadness. It sounds like it shouldn't work but it does work due to the direction of Taika Waititi and some great performances, most notably that of Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo. He plays Jojo as a ten year old boy who is frightened, naive and innocent. It's the best performance I have seen by an actor in a very long time. The movie reminded me of Charlie Chaplin's film The Great Dictator (1941) , another film I admire whose message is also the best way to combat hate and ignorance is through love.

[bware419ers]

^^^This reminded me of my favorite movie with horrible acting, particularly from Clint Eastwood. But, sometimes, I just have to watch the damn thing. This is my favorite scene from Black Hunter White Heart.

[TheDane]

Jaws had its 50 years anniversary this summer. To me, it's one of the best movies in history, and definitely Spielberg's best (and that's saying a lot). Great performances all around, but Robert Shaw totally stole every single scene he was in. Especially this one is a masterpiece within the masterpiece.

[jayhawk]

Let's talk about the best movie ever made. Sorry Shawshank, but your chance at redemption came and went. Charles Foster Kane, your citizenship has been revoked and you are being deported. Vito Corleone, hold my beer. There's a new boss in town that goes by the name of Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas (2014). For those of you who don't know, Kirk Cameron is a 1980's tv star who became a right wing born again Christian after fading from the public eye. In this masterpiece Kirk plays himself. It's Christmas party time at the house of Kirk's sister but all is not well. Kirk's brother-in-law is not feeling the Christmas spirit. He's depressed that people are forgetting what Christmas is supposed to be about. Instead of honoring the birth of the baby Jesus people are focused on material things. He's so down that he is spending the party sitting in his car and sulking. A lesser movie would have Kirk getting his brother-in-law to look past this and focus on the love and warmth many people exhibit this time of year. Alas, this is not that movie. In a display of arrogance unsurpassed in movie history Kirk explains that the best way to show you love Jesus is to empty your checking account, max out your credit cards, and spend spend, spend, spend. Okay, not in those exact words, but that's definitely the message. Everything about this movie is brilliant, from Darren Doanes portrayal of Kirk's brother-in-law as a whiny two year old child to Kirk preaching poetically over mug after mug of imaginary cocoa. When the whole party danced to a rap version of Silent Night at the end of the movie I felt chills. That this film wasn't even nominated for an Oscar is all the proof you need that the Academy Awards is run by Atheists.
When this movie was released it got an amazing 0% rating on RottenTomatoes from both critics and audiences. Not one to take the trashing of his brilliant movie lying down, Kirk took to social media, claiming the bad reviews were all made by atheists, and urged his followers to, as he put it, ""storm the gates of Rottentomatoes" and show the atheists" who was in charge.". Seriously, that really happened. It kinda worked, as the audience raring increased from %0 to %6. Kirk and his followers also stormed the gates of IMDB, leaving ten star after ten star rating. Unfortunately, there was no sequel made, and Christmas was the only holiday deemed worthy of saving. That's too bad, as I'm sure Brother Kirk could have found some way to explain how eggs and rabbits are integral in showing how all true Christians show show their love to Christ. But I guess there's still time and we can only hope.

[bware419ers]

Some of my favorite sequels:

The Empire Strikes Back
Lethal Weapon 2
Kill Bill Volume 2
Terminator 2
The Godfather Part II
Aliens
Toy Story 2 and 3
Happy Gilmore 2

[Bertje]

Kirk Cameron

The only thing I can think of when Kirk Cameron is mentioned, is

[Kitty La Gore]

Kirk took to social media, claiming the bad reviews were all made by atheists, and urged his followers to, as he put it, ""storm the gates of Rottentomatoes" and show the atheists" who was in charge.".

He should have included a steamy sex scene like Tommy Wiseau did in The Room. That might have helped it a bit.

[jayhawk]

Let's talk about the years 1972 to 1975. This four year period saw the release of some movies that were very good, some movies that were important and some movies that were notable, but for all the wrong reasons. Let's start with the very good:
The Godfather (1972) In addition to being one of the finest American films ever made, the 1974 sequel is unique in that it was just as good as the first, and wasn't just a cash grab like so many sequels are today.
Deliverance (1972) Squeal like a pig!

Cabaret (1972) A terrific performance by Joel Grey makes this movie a must see for all fans of cinema.

Slaughterhouse Five (1972) The adaptation of the Vonnegut novel of the same name is very entertaining.

Paper Moon (1973) This film, set during the great depression, stars Ryan Oneal and his daughter Tatum Oneal as two con artists, making a living by pulling the bible scam on recent widows. Very well made and very entertaining.

Live and Let Die (1973) A continuation of the James Bond franchise starring Roger Moore as Bond.

American Graffiti (1973) An early George Lucas film.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) One of my favorite musicals. This movie created some controversy at the time over the casting of a black actor (Carl Anderson) in the role of Judas. Anderson nails the role, and anyone who thinks the role should have gone to anyone else obviously never saw the movie. This film was directed by Norman Jewison, who also directed Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Enter the Dragon (1973) Bruce Lee's final movie.

The Paper Chase (1973) John Houseman as Professor KIngsfield.

The Sting (1973) Newman and Redford in the long con.

The Exorcist (1973) Pea soup anyone?

Blazing Saddles (1974) One of Mel Brooks' best. Richard Pryor, who shares writing credit with Brooks was originally suppose to star as Black Bart. Those plans were scrapped when the studio couldn't get insurance on Pryor, who was going through drug problems at the time. The role of Black Bart was eventually given to Cleavon Little, who knocked it out of the park. Gig Young was cast as the Waco Kid, but on the first day of shooting he got Dt's from alcohol withdrawal so bad he had to be rushed to the hospital, and Gene Wilder was cast in his place. Madeline Kahn plays the German bombshell Lili Von Schtupp. Ehen Madeline Kahn came in to audition for the role Mel Brooks asked to see her legs. The character was one that could drive men crazy with her looks, and Brooks wanted to make sure Kahn had the legs for the part. Kahn, thinking Brooks was pulling the old casting couch routine on her, got up to leave. It was only after Brooks explained that he was happily married, and would never do something so slimy, that Kahn showed him her legs. The rest is cinematic history.

The Conversation (1974) A highly underrated film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and tarring Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who makes a recording that reveals a potential murderer. An excellent movie.

Chinatown (1974)Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson.

Jaws (1975) An early film from some dude named Spielberg.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) There are two types of people in this world. Those who consider Monty Python and the Holy Grail one of the funniest movies ever made, and those who have no taste in movies.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Is there really anyone reading this who hasn't gone to a midnight Rocky Horror? I doubt it. I bet some of you even went in costume. When Rocky Horror was first released it bombed. It was only after the studio convinced theaters to make it a midnight showing did the movie take off. I think there are still midnight showings of Rocky Horror taking place every night of the week somewhere.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Based on a true story, this movie directed by Sydney Lumet stars Al Pacino and John Cazale as bank robbers. Things go bad at the robbery, and the bank is soon surrounded by cops. When the Pacino character announces he is robbing the bank to get money for a sex change operation a mob shows up at the bank to lend moral support. John Cazale is a unique Hollywood story. He only appeared in five films before his death in 1978, but every film he appeared in was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Directed by the great Milos Foreman this is a movie I know everyone is familiar with. Let me tell you a personal story relating to this film. Six years ago, I suffered a major Stroke that left me with limited dexterity on the fingers on my left hand. When I was in the hospital, every night at midnight a nurse would come and draw blood, always from the back of my left hand. I refuse to have blood drawn from the back of the hand. It hurts like a son of a bitch and always results in some serious bruising and swelling of the hand, the last thing someone trying to get dexterity back in the fingers wants to happen. My protests were not acted upon and the nurse drawing blood kept insisting on using the back of my left hand. I would curl up in a ball and yell, not the hand when she came in. Her response was to bring in two large orderlies to physically sit on me and hold my hand down. At one point I asked my wife if she could please explain to Nurse Ratched why I didn't want blood drawn from the back of my left hand. The girl doing the blood draw was a nursing student from Ethiopia, and didn't get the Cuckoo's nest reference. We finally had to get a patients advocate involved, after which the draws stopped completely.

Young Frankenstein (1974) Fun facts- The set on which Dr. Frankenstein brings his creature to life is the actual set used in the original Frankenstein movie. When Gene Hackman heard this movie was being made he called Mel Brooks asking if there might be a small role for him. Brooks told Hackman to come over and do a screen test. Hackman got a few lines into the screen test before Brooks had him stop, saying "What am I doing?", You're Gene Hackman, of course there's a part for you.". And that's how Gene Hackman got the part of the Blind Monk.

I've rambled on enough about the good films of this time period, no doubt missing a few along the way. I'll let this post marinate for a few days before talking about the important and notable films.

[bware419ers]

Rocky Horror Picture Show
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Never seen them.

Also never read Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird (never saw the movie, either), Where the Red Fern Grows , or A Light in the Attic .

Thread hijack over...

[crashhoot]

In the genre of early 70's movies, how can we forget about Billy Jack (1971)?

(Tom Laughlin as Billy Jack) I'm gonna take this right foot, and I'm gonna whop you on that side of your face...
and you wanna know something? There's not a damn thing you're gonna be able to do about it.

In my opinion, one of the greatest movie quotes of all time!

On a side note, my older brother and his best friend were into martial arts at the time, and they were absolutely enthralled with this movie. They literally went to see it two or three times a week for several months. One time when the audio went down, they stood up and began reciting the lines for each character, in perfect time, for ten minutes until the projectionist could get the audio working again!

[crashhoot]

And speaking of Blazing Saddles, here is a trivia quiz for you. When Sheriff Bart is trying to capture Mongo, he plays three practical jokes on him. One is the 'Candy Gram' where he gives Mongo a box of chocolates that explodes when he opens it. Can you name the other two?

I'll give you a minute to think about it.

[Kitty La Gore]

I've seen Blazing Saddles soooo many times but I can't recall the other practical jokes off hand. I'll leave it to others to answer that one.

Still stunned at Bware's confessions as those were all part of my cultural conditioning in my youth. I used to attend midnight showings of RHPS in the San Francisco area with hundreds of people dancing the "Time Warp" in the aisles, and lots of toast and other items being tossed around the theater at key moments. It's a movie to be experienced with others for sure - I recently watched it by me onesies, and it isn't remotely as good as a live showing with fans.

I didn't see the Attic movie, but I read the books and that provided enough bizarre young trauma in me, thank you very much.

Close to Halloween last year a local theater showed Young Frankenstein for an interactive showing (the whole crowd yelled "nice knockers!" etc.) and that was a blast.

[jayhawk]

And speaking of Blazing Saddles, here is a trivia quiz for you. When Sheriff Bart is trying to capture Mongo, he plays three practical jokes on him. One is the 'Candy Gram' where he gives Mongo a box of chocolates that explodes when he opens it. Can you name the other two?

I'll give you a minute to think about it.

I know of two others that were cut from the movie. One in which Sheriff Bart creates a cardboard cutout of a gunslinger and challenges Mongo to a duel. Bart counts to three, and on two a cannon emerges from the cardboard figure and shoots Mongo. In the other one Bart convinces Mongo to dive for sunken treasure, puts him in a deep-sea diver suit and cuts off his air.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqOEvN_DQgA

[sparky905]

The Hunt for Red October is either near or at the top of my list. I love Jimmy Stewart's Mr. Smith goes to Washington

[jayhawk]

Let's get back to the period 1972 - 1975. I've talked about the movies in that time period I consider very good, so now let's discuss movies of that time period I consider important.
We'll start with Deep Throat (1972), a hard core pornographic film about a woman whose ....... Ah hell, it's a porno film, does the plot really matter? People waited in long lines at adult movie house to see this film, and it wasn't just the usual raincoat crowd. Mr. and Mrs. Middleclass America were going to see Deep Throat. This ushered in a brief period of time known as "Porno Chic", where pornographic movies had better production values and a real plot. Porno Chic didn't last long, as it turns out people who appear in adult movies don't have a wide range in terms of acting skills, and adult movies quickly went back to being shown just to the raincoat crowd. This movie has an official gross of $45m domestic and $600m worldwide, but these figures are not an accurate representation of the number of people who paid to see the movie. It's long been thought, but never proven, that organized crime used the movie as a way to launder money. So strong was the thought that the U.S. government, when it wasn't conducting raids on adult theaters showing the movie, actually went so far as to station I.R.S. agents outside theaters to count the number of paying customers. Picture an I.R.S. Agent. It's Friday night. It's been a long week. He would like to be home with the family, but here he is, hiding in the bushes outside an adult theater, counter in hand, ready to do his part to bring down the mafia. "There's one patron." <click> "There's two patrons." <click> "Hey, there's my neighbor." "Hey Jerry, how's it going?" We still on for canasta tomorrow night? Is Millie bringing her famous three bean salad? Great, I'll tell Laura." <click> Nothing ever came of this hairbrained idea, and soon the Nixon administration, that bastion of morality, was back to raiding porno theaters, arresting anyone and everyone associated with this movie, from the actors appearing in the film to the owners of adult theaters where the film was shown, all the way down to the projectionists who played the movie. The actor Harry Reems spent time in a Federal prison after being convicted of obscenity charges. I can think of few jobs worse than that of a projectionist at an adult theater. Okay, maybe a janitor at an adult theater, but past that I've got nothing. Now think of this poor projectionist. Times are tough, and good jobs are difficult to find. Turns out dad was right (but he would never tell him that), and prospective employers aren't lining up to offer six figure jobs to philosophy majors. But he's got rent to pay, he's gotta eat, and those student loans aren't gonna pay themselves. So he takes the only honest (or so he thinks) job he can find, running the projector at an adult theater. Now he wakes up each morning wondering if today is the day he leaves work wearing metal bracelets.

Civil Liberty lawyers started driving Mercedes cars from the money they made defending the people brought up on obscenity charges, with much of the money coming from mainstream Hollywood studios who said they were doing so to protect first amendment rights. A noble reason, to be sure, but I think the real reason they rushed to defend this movie was more self serving. I am of the opinion that Hollywood did so because they thought, probably correctly, that if the government was successful in banning a movie like Deep throat, it would probably get bored, and go after their movies. If this was to happen I think a film like Blazing Saddles, with its cowboy farting and frequent use of the "n" word, probably would have been labeled obscene and banned. So why is Deep Throat so important? An excellent question. Shows you've been paying attention. I maintain that the, albeit limited, freedom Hollywood enjoys today to make movies true to the Directors artistic vision can be traced back to legal victories won by a little pornographic film about a woman whose.... forget it, not doing this again.

There are other movies made from 1972-1975 I consider important, but this word salad post has gone on long enough, and I will save the discussion of those films to a different post.

Before I go, let me tell you a story. Back in the early 1990's I worked for a property management company whose offices were a couple blocks from an adult theater. A group of us would occasionally enjoy taking a break in the afternoon and walk up to the adult theater to count the number of family minivans in the parking lot. These were the minivans that had the stick figure decal of the family (mom, dad and two or three kids) on the rear window, and the "my kid is an honor student at insert-school-name middle school" bumper sticker. I always wondered if their kids had a "My dad leaves work early to watch porn" sticker on their bike. Probably not. An average weekday would usually give us a count of two or three minivans, but that number would always double or triple on Wednesdays, as Wednesday was the day the theater changed movies. For some reason the counts would always increase around the holidays. Not sure why.