994 Days

022. (Re)watch each of AFI's Top 100 Movies - (002/100)
I've actually seen most of the movies on this list and--I'll be honest--my personal top 100 list would look remarkably different.  However, I still think it's important to watch these films.  One of my college Lit professors said that if you want to study Western Literature or Art, you have to read the Bible.  Even if you think it's a bunch of hooey, it is a cultural lodestone and is the key to understanding the full meaning behind of a number of critical allusions.  And, well, I am a glutton for allusions (oh, MST3K, how I do miss you... though Rifftrax does make a very fine substitute) and I hate being lost when someone makes a well-placed reference.  Likewise, it frustrates me when I crack a super-witty (er, to my mind, anyway) allusion and I'm met with crickets.  So, in short, my purpose in watching (or, mostly, re-watching) these films isn't so much to have my eyes opened to the wonder of great cinema (arf), but rather to flex my cultural vocabulary.  It's either that or I bow to the lowest common denominator.  American Idol, people... lesser of two, non?

Yesterday evening I started from the bottom with #100, Ben-Hur (1959).  I saw the famous chariot race scene in high school Latin class, but otherwise it was all new to me.  I am of two minds about mid-century epics.  On the one hand, to quote Lucille II, "how GRAND!"  It's satisfying, sometimes, to enjoy a character developing over the course of a lifetime as opposed to a month, or a year.  More realistic, certainly, and you begin to understand the subtleties of their motivation (if there are any).  And who doesn't love a Cast of Thousands!  Romance!  Survival!  Revenge!  Nationalism!  Still, about 3/4 in of this 4-hour behemoth, I was kind of ready to wrap it up.  I don't have a short attention span, but at the same time I'm not ready to run a cinematic marathon.  And I felt a little duped into thinking this would be about the cultural identity of Roman Jews, or sweet chariot races, or best friends torn apart by their personal values... but no.  What is Ben-Hur about?  Jesus.  Did I get all weepy at their depiction of the Passion?  Absolutely... I was raised Catholic, so there's no escaping feeling personally responsible for the suffering of Jesus as if I was Pontius Pilate himself.  Would I have been more satisfied if Judah had realized he was being an irrational dickhead, instead of (spoiler alert!) the presence of Christ miraculously healing him of his hatred and his family of leprocy?  Most definitely.  But I can't really fault the film for carrying out its purpose.

Tonight's feature was #98, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).  "Why," you may ask, "was is not #99, Toy Story?"  Because, in spite of the fact that the movie came out 15 years ago, it's not available on Netflix.  Seriously.  *shaking fist*  Luckily my movie-buff pal Joe (or, as I like to call him, Joeflix) owns the DVD, so he's going to let me borrow it.  Anyway.  Oh, right, Yankee Doodle Dandy.  I was actually pretty unimpressed, and that's coming from a gal who loves musicals (um, Gene Kelly?  Yes, please!) and just about anything set in the first half of the 20th century.  But... the shameless jingoism was a bit much, and the musical numbers were interspersed more as a showcase than being particularly relevant to the storyline.  Oh, I know... WWII, blah blah blah, national morale, blah blah.  Yet I think that a truly "great" film shouldn't just capture an era, but should also be timeless enough to speak to future generations.  Even as an American living during wartime and recession, this film fell flat, and Cohan's personal storyline wasn't especially inspiring or engaging enough to rescue it.  So, sorry to say, I'm going to have to give this film a sad trombone...
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Coming up - possibly some culinary intrigue in the tiniest kitchen on earth!  I've added "Cook 100 new recipes" to my 101.  Because that will make up for 6 nights a week of popcorn and sandwiches for dinner, right?