If I could have only 3 movies to watch, they'd be:
Blazing Saddles
I had the privilege, and I do feel it was quite a privilege, of being able to see Blazing Saddles just a few years ago at the Tampa Theater, built in 1926. It's wild when every person in the room knows every single line. They also had a film professor give a lecture on the creation of the film and showed where the various elements came from.
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (French)
This film is a rarity. I've heard people call it a romantic comedy, but I see it more as a whimsical fantasy film. The Amazon listings and even film trailer are wrong. The link I posted above goes to the real trailer on YouTube (turn captions on) Fortunately the English subtitles for the film are correct on Amazon. The first hour of the film is solely character development. The actual plot starts in the second hour. The level of detail in everything is amazing, especially when you watch it multiple times. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a perfectionist, and it shows. A little-known secret: Many of the scenes from the film are actually taken from Jeunet's own life experiences. If you can watch this on Bluray on a quality TV, do it -- the cinematography absolutely pushes the technology.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Hindi)
It's a Bollywood romantic comedy... yes. there's the obligatory singing, dancing, and implausible plot, but it's cute and well done and is a beautiful story. The music's pretty good too. In many ways it's similar to my own relationship, which is probably why I like it so much.
Death at a Funeral (2008, UK version) as an honorable mention
UK version only. The USA remake was terrible. A very dark comedy with plot twists that even I wasn't anticipating.
Blazing Saddles
I had the privilege, and I do feel it was quite a privilege, of being able to see Blazing Saddles just a few years ago at the Tampa Theater, built in 1926. It's wild when every person in the room knows every single line. They also had a film professor give a lecture on the creation of the film and showed where the various elements came from.
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (French)
This film is a rarity. I've heard people call it a romantic comedy, but I see it more as a whimsical fantasy film. The Amazon listings and even film trailer are wrong. The link I posted above goes to the real trailer on YouTube (turn captions on) Fortunately the English subtitles for the film are correct on Amazon. The first hour of the film is solely character development. The actual plot starts in the second hour. The level of detail in everything is amazing, especially when you watch it multiple times. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a perfectionist, and it shows. A little-known secret: Many of the scenes from the film are actually taken from Jeunet's own life experiences. If you can watch this on Bluray on a quality TV, do it -- the cinematography absolutely pushes the technology.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Hindi)
It's a Bollywood romantic comedy... yes. there's the obligatory singing, dancing, and implausible plot, but it's cute and well done and is a beautiful story. The music's pretty good too. In many ways it's similar to my own relationship, which is probably why I like it so much.
Death at a Funeral (2008, UK version) as an honorable mention
UK version only. The USA remake was terrible. A very dark comedy with plot twists that even I wasn't anticipating.
