General Chat

Touched a chord there, Mo. My Nan was a big Western fan and my brother and I could recognise the likes of John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin and Gregory Peck from a very early age.
Still love films like Big Country and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I love Witness, as mentioned by Dorothy G. Truly, Madly, Deeply is also up there, with the wonderful Alan Rickman. Used to like The Jungle Book - until my then two year old nephew discovered it and insisted on watching it every day for pretty much a whole year.........

Hi folks, glad to see that this thread seems to be getting popular...we've got a cult following!!

Yes Edd, Leon...exellent film, took that plant everywhere didn't he. The little girl in it was very good. I knew Gary Oldman had a sister in Est Enders but didn't know which one she was, don't really watch it.
Have got the film 'A Matter of Life and Death' on DVD as you say an exellent film.

There are so mant films that I could mention and will do in due course...well it keeps me out of trouble!

When I was about eight I remember seeing a film called 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn', couldn't tell you who was in it, but the ending made me cry, as the dad of this Irish/American family dies in the end, in a cold doorway, he has such big ideas and the only one who seems to have any faith in him was his daughter...the ending broke my heart.

Ah, ones to bring a tear to your eye and a lump to your throat ...

When I was about 8 or 9 I remember seeing a film with Spencer Tracy called Captains Courageous. It was about a boy picked up by a fishing boat after falling overboard and being taken in hand by Spencer Tracy, who was one of the crew. I seem to remember Tracy's character drowning in an accident near the end.

The Birdman of Alcatraz - that stupid sparrow coming back (yep I was about a year older when I first saw that one ...)

Bambi ... nuff said.

Yes Edd, Telly Savalas was in that too wasn't he, I can see him now all upset 'cos his sparrow died.

Bambie, yes indeed.

While we're on the subject of kids films, Iremember going to see a film with my cousins called 'Darby O'Gill and The Little People', a very young Shaun Connery was in it. Anyway the bit where a banshee comes on scared me to death and they had to take me out of the cinema...I was eighteen at the time!! ha ha...But I can remember my cousins moaning at me as I cried all the way home 'cos I'd ruined the film for them.
Happy days.

hi all,
any-one like Bridge of Madison county,

Hi Gwen,
loads of people mostly women friends have said that it's a good film, haven't seen it myself...but it's one I'm going to make a point of watching.

hello Pam.
was in flood's of tear's watching it,

gwen x

Yes I've heard it's a weepy...don't know anything about the story line...just know that Clint Eastwoods in it and Meryle Streep.

Not seen that one but one that kind of touched me in a sad but humourous way was The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

Not seen that one Edd, compared with you lot on here I've lead a very sheltered film life!! lol

Great film about two men from totally different backgrounds who meet as they are terminally ill in hospital.

Together they compile a list of all the things they want to do before they "kick the bucket" and then set about doing them - hence the name of the film.

My life is quite sheltered too - I don't have any wild nights out anymore, which is how I can watch all these films! Along with reading, my great love is films - I just can't resist a good yarn whether it is committed to paper or celluloid!

This is an old one and I mean old...BOLERO Carole Lombard and George Raft...very risque for the 1930's, George Raft was a very good dancer, Carole Lombard wasn't bad either. I first saw it on telly when I was about 8 or 9, totally fell for the Bolero's haunting melody and have loved it ever since. Have got it on an audio tape, the full lengh version and used to play it in the car (pre CD's) not a good idea...made me go quite peculiar. They say that Ravel was quite mad by the end of composing it! I can see why...you wouldn't have wanted to be a passenger when I was driving to that!!

Sounds a good one, another one I'm adding to my list. I love films like that.

Letter to Brezhnev...starring Peter Firth (in Spooks) Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina and another actress who's name escapes me.
Very down to earth film...very funny at times. Basically about two factory girls in Liverpool I think, who meet up with two Russian sailors. Anyway, one of them falls hook line and sinker for one of them and ends up writing to Brezhnev (as you do) to see if she can join her sailor in Russia. Good film.
Directed by Frank Clarke, Margi's brother.

If we're going back then how about some of Sergei Eisenstein's films - Alexander Nevsky, which featured the Battle of Lake Peipus and was made as a big propoganda film in the 1930s to warn the Russian people about the dangers of Nazi Germany. There's also a great score written by Prokofiev.

The other one that springs to mind is Battleship Potemkin, based on an uprising that occurred on a Russian ship in the early 1900s when the crew rebelled against their opressive officers. One of the most famous scenes is the Odessa Steps sequence where the Czar's cossacks massacre a group of civillians whilst marching down a wide stone staircase. There is one particular scene where a baby carriage goes down the staircase asthe mother is shot and the scene was reused in the 1987 film The Untouchables starring Kevin Costner.

I'm lost for words...and that doesn't happen very often with me...you are far to knowledgable Edd!!! lol

Just thought of a good one, but it sounds rather light weight after reading all that...Al Capone, starring Rod Steiger.

I remember watching a film with Alain Delon in it, he was wearing a trilby and very easy on the eye in this film, drove one of those lovely Citreons...can't remember the name of it though.

A taste of Honey...Dora Bryan, Rita Tushingham and Murray Melvin as her gay friend.
Quite a ground breaking film as well as having a good vein of humour running through it, a 'kitchen sink' drama i think they were called.
The part of the mum was played brilliantly by Dora Bryan and Rita Tushingham was good as the daughter who has a baby by her black sailor boyfriend.
I've got a thing about sailors tonight!!

Another goody...The Odessa File. I could watch classics like this quite often.

Right that's my lot for the night...hope I've given this little thread a kick up the wotsit and they'll be loads more posts tomorrow evening.

Thanks to all who have contributed thus far.

I don't mind lightweight either!

One thoroughly enjoyable film is "Hellfighters" starring John Wayne, which was about a group of men who fought oil well fires; I think it was dedicated to Red Adair.

I also have a very soft spot for The Italian Job - if anyone at my previous job went totally over the top in fixing a problem, we'd always shout "You're only supposed to blow the bl***y doors off!" as a rebuke to their heavy-handedness.