Hey Guys!
Sorry I have been a little off the grid in the past couple of days – I have just returned from the nation’s capital. It is simply a great city and the setting for many of my favorite films of distant and recent memory. Here is a quick look at some of my favorites:
The Pelican Brief (1993) – Denzel and Julia together at last! This was a tense yet evenly paced film that also harkened the earlier (and superior) All the President’s Men (1976) which of course had similar hallmarks especially considering that they were both directed by the same fella – by Alan J. Pakula. All the President’s Men stands out because of the aforementioned tension and pacing but also because I find it a quintessential film of the 1970’s when paranoia and fear of what lurks in the dark shadows seemed to reach its height in Cold War America.
Strangers on a Train (1950) – Hitchcock and tennis, my two great loves. Throw into the mix a bizarre double murder plot and I am a happy girl indeed. Adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel.
Born Yesterday (1950) – this film proved to be an award-winning performance by the fantastic Judy Holliday and co-starring the dreamy William Holden in a Pygmalion-type story with hoods to boot!
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) – This proves above all Frank Capra was a true believer in the ideals America continues to imbue to the huddled masses who wash upon our shore.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – One of the best sci-fi dramas EVER. That is all.
Dave (1993) – OMG I cannot believe that this film is already 20 years old! Anyways, I love it. Words nearly escape to talk about how I like this film but I know that whenever it is on, I have to watch it.
I know I could add more, but let me stop here and pose the following question to all of you … What are some of YOUR DC favorites?
ruth says
January 23, 2013 at 11:28 pmOooh I love Dave! I still need to see Strangers on a Train and Mr Smith Goes to Washington! Hope you had a good time in DC, Iba.
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iluvcinema says
January 25, 2013 at 9:18 pmAnother Jimmy Stewart film for ya – yeah!
Todd Mason says
January 28, 2013 at 11:48 pmHm. Favorite film set in DC…given that I lived in the DC ‘burbs for 12 years, you’d think that’d be an easy one…ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN is a good one, to be sure…and I’ll suggest it isn’t paranoia if your president is a paranoid, and behaving accordingly…certainly Woodward has been too full of himself from those days onward…there sure are a Lot of terrible DC movies, Oliver Stone’s deposits alone…while some of my favorite political movies are set outside of DC (MEDIUM COOL and particularly THE CANDIDATE, for example). DAY/STILL (the original) and STRANGERS (that was Highsmith’s first novel, no less) are certainly sentimental favorites, as the Stewart…hmm…
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