Movies that take you back.

[Knightfall]

Age: 32

Star Wars Trilogy (unSEed version) - Nuff said.

LadyHawke - The hawk, the wolf, and the Mouse!

The Last Starfighter - What are you worried about Grig? Theoretically we should already be dead!

The Rocketeer - One of my favorite adventure movies!

Excalibur - No mortal could possess it! No kingdom could command it!

Mad Max & Road Warrior - The first two only, not Thunderdome.

Conan the Barbarian - By Crom!

Highlander - There can be only one!

Short Circuit - Do you want to be a Pepper too?

Ghost Busters - Who you gonna call?

The Blues Brothers - We're on a misson from God.

Caddyshack - At last, a comedy that bites!

Fire Birds - Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young... fun action flick.

 

[Knightfall]

Time Bandits - you're not a Real Geek (tm) if you haven't seen this movie. It's got everything: dwarves, Napoleon, Satan, and Sean Connery.

You know, I read this and immediately thought of two other movies to add to my list. The Ice Pirates (1984) and Spaceballs (1987).

EDIT
Also adding The Breakfast Club (1985) to my list.

Cheers!

KF72

 

[Mark]

Heavy Metal

 

[Desdichado]

Huh. I'm 32, but I guess I watched a lot of old movies as a kid; some of my favorite "classics" really are classics.

The Adventures of Robin Hood Quite possibly the best swashbuckler film ever made, back when Errol Flynn was still young enough to be swashbuckly, Olivia de Haviland was an incredibly beautiful teenager, and Basil Rathbone... well, Basil Rathbone is simply Basil Rathbone.

Captain Blood Pretty much the same cast as Robin Hood named above, but to really get swashbuckling, you do need some pirates, after all.

Hatari! My favorite John Wayne movie ever, where he works in Africa with a small outfit of guys that catch wild animals to fill zoo orders. The opening scene on the savannah, which culminates in "the Indian" getting gored in the leg by a rhino, is still breathtaking today, IMO. I also vividly remember staying up late to watch this when it came on TV; after all, this was before VCRs.

Sound of Music To this day, when I think "musical" this is the musical I think of. Although I think I like Singing in the Rain a little better now.

Star Wars I think I saw this seven times in theaters, although I was only five or six when that happened. I particularly remember one time at a drive-in; that was fun. Speaking of drive-ins; just about any movie that I saw at a drive-in takes me back, including The Black Hole and Murder By Death.

Any of the classic Disney cartoons. Again, remember before VCRs it was a big deal when one of these was pulled outta the vault and sent back to theaters. Sleeping Beauty was always my favorite. Probably 'coz I like that big dragon, previewing my future life as a gamer.

Die Hard Yeah, loved this movie. Use to watch it over and over.

Any of the 80s teen movies. Most of them kind run together, but Ferris Bueller stands out as does Better Off Dead. And I think Pretty in Pink has the best soundtrack, although it's otherwise one of the more forgettable of the 80s movies, IMO.

Where Eagles Dare Who can't resist Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton opening up their best cans o' whup-ass on a bunch of Nazis in the Bavarian Alps? Has some good spy stuff going on too; and I even really like the theme song. I also particularly remember that when this first came on TV, before my dad bought his own copy, that I was reading in another room, and despite repeated attempts from the family to get me in there to watch with them, I couldn't be bothered to put down whatever schlock fantasy novel I was reading at the time. But after about 20 minutes of non-stop explosions and machine gun bursts, I came out to see the grand finale. I've since watched that movie I don't know how many times; in fact, I busted out my DVD last night for a little while.

Raiders of the Lost Ark I still remember seeing this in theaters several times as well. After seeing Harrison Ford in this movie (and, of course, remembering him as Han Solo) he became my favorite actor in Hollywood for years and years, an affectation that almost every guy in my generation seems to have had at some point.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Good list, Dyal.

The Black Hole -- can you believe this was made by Disney? Back in the day, they used to make real movies, not the watered-down crap they make now. In The Black Hole, a guy gets his innards scrambled by an evil robot, many people die, and there is an ambiugous ending involving the evil scientist and the evil robot.

Where Eagles Dare -- I read somewhere that this movie had the highest body count of all time, until (I believe) Rambo 2 was made.

If you're a fan of swashbuckling, you must see Scaramouche. It features the longest swordfight ever filmed. Awesome. Another good swashbuckler is Prisoner of Zenda.

 

[Desdichado]

The Black Hole -- can you believe this was made by Disney? Back in the day, they used to make real movies, not the watered-down crap they make now. In The Black Hole, a guy gets his innards scrambled by an evil robot, many people die, and there is an ambiugous ending involving the evil scientist and the evil robot.

No kidding! I watched this just a coupla years ago, and was actually somewhat surprised by how well it's held up. Yeah, the little robot guy is cheesy, and the characters all look like a bunch of boneheads, but the special effects, and the atmosphere, and even the plot itself are surprisingly good still.

Where Eagles Dare -- I read somewhere that this movie had the highest body count of all time, until (I believe) Rambo 2 was made.

I have never heard that before. It does not surprise me, though. This is also one of those really rare cases where the movie is actually better than the book (by Alistair MacLean, IIRC).

If you're a fan of swashbuckling, you must see Scaramouche. It features the longest swordfight ever filmed. Awesome. Another good swashbuckler is Prisoner of Zenda.

Never seen Zenda, and didn't know it was swashbuckling, although I've heard the title for years. Scaramouche is a decent movie, but suffers (to me anyway) by largely ignoring the much better novel, which indeed, is one of my favorite books of all time. As a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of reading it right now.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I have never heard that before [about Where Eagles Dare]. It does not surprise me, though. This is also one of those really rare cases where the movie is actually better than the book (by Alistair MacLean, IIRC).

Yeah, after grooving on the movie for years, I finally read the book and found it disappointing.

What do you think of The Guns of Navarrone? My dad is crazy about it (both book and movie), but it just leaves me cold. Although the line, 'Close your eyes, think of England, and pull the trigger' is fantastic.

Never seen Zenda, and didn't know it was swashbuckling, although I've heard the title for years.

Well, it's not a swordfight-fest like some movies, but the fencing there is, is well done. Here are the top seven reasons to see the movie:

1. Ronald Colman
2. Madeleine Carroll
3. C. Aubrey Smith
4. Raymond Massey
5. Mary Astor
6. David Niven
7. Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

It doesn't get much better than that as far as casts go. The story is clever (you might find it too clever, but just suspend your disbelief, goshdarnit), the acting is superb, and there is a great combination of romance / intrigue / action.

 

[Desdichado]

What do you think of The Guns of Navarrone? My dad is crazy about it (both book and movie), but it just leaves me cold. Although the line, 'Close your eyes, think of England, and pull the trigger' is fantastic.

I remember liking it well enough, but it didn't really catch me the same way Eagles did. Honestly, I don't remember many of the details of that movie anymore. I do remember seeing that one woman's scarred back, though. I was pretty young when I first saw that and it freaked me out a bit.

Heck, you may have intrigued me enough to watch it again and form a more informed and mature opinion on it.

 

[Korgan26]

Single biggest movie for me would be WOLFEN, I know horrible movie, but when I was 6 or 7 I got out of bed in the middle of the night and watched it on night owl T.V. I had cronic nightmares for almost a decade after that.

"Say anthing" Love that movie
Remo williams!! can't forget that one.
Z

 

[Mark]

Fire and Ice