What was the last movie you saw...? Part IV

[Charger]

RIO BRAVO


A Sheriff and his drunk and old cripple deputies face off a ruthless gang of outlaws who are trying to free their companion from their jail in a small Texas town of Rio Bravo. A young lady steps out of the Stagecoach to add to the Sheriff's issues as does a young gunslinger who's boss is murdered by the same gang.


The cast is nothing short of amazing, the legend John Wayne as Sheriff Chance, Dean Martin as Dude, Ricky Nelson as the Kid, Angie Dickinson as Feathers and practically stealing the show is Walter Brennan as Stumpy.

Legendary director Howard Hawks knows how to pace his movies and make the best use of his cast. There's a perfect balance of drama, action and near slapstick humor and a stellar group of characters!

There aren't many actors whose on screen presense can even get close to that of the Duke. He just shines in every scene. There is no one like him.

Not only is this movie one of the best Westerns ever made, it's is one of the BEST movies ever made period.


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[Thelemech]

 

Rio Bravo is one of my favorite westerns and my favorite John Wayne movie period

Dean Martin is exceptional and my favorite character in the film but truly everyone involved is playing their a game

I watched it about two weeks ago myself.

[Charger]

Sweet! For me it's been over 25 years since I saw the film...when I was a kid it was among my favourite movies...and 25 years later...nothing really has changed...exept maybe I won't strap on my toy gun holster anymore and go out shooting sticks I pretend were dynamite!

[Vyn]

strap on my toy gun holster anymore and go out shooting sticks I pretend were dynamite!

That's the best part!

[Charger]

strap on my toy gun holster anymore and go out shooting sticks I pretend were dynamite!

That's the best part!

I was rethinking that now but it turns out my old childhood holster does not fit me anymore!

[Charger]

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Two tough New York City Narcotics Bureau cops stumble onto a massive Heroin deal brokered between some NY mobsters and a French gentleman dealer. The case becomes an obsession and Detectives "Popeye" Doyle and "Cloudy" Russo want to see it closed no matter what.

Popeye Doyle was something of a break out role for Gene Hackman and what a preformance he gives here...Roy Scheider as Cloudy isn't far behind but lacking some of the sheer ferocity of Hackman. Fernando Rey as the cool and business man like drug dealer is quite a different yet brilliant take.

William Friedkin's masterful direction is what sets this one part. The camera angles and the hand held sequences bring the action right up to the viewer. And ofcourse the chase with Doyle in the LeMans chasing down a hitman in a subway train is just iconic and still holds up after more than 50 years!

One of THE best 70s action films along with Dirty Harry. Both being gritty and bit more tied down to realism than some other 70s hits.

A Masterpiece.

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[Charger]

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN


After the horrible beaching at Normandy on D-Day Captain Miller and his squad get a side mission to go and find the last suriving Ryan brother from somewhere in France where his paratrooper squad was dropped. The mission turns out to be far more dangerous and deadly than the team expected.

Steven Spielberg took a super realistic and surprisingly brutal direction for his WW2 epic. The D-Day landing that kicks the movie off is still one of THE greatest opening sequences in movie history. Without any introduction the viewer is just thrown in to the action head first with the arriving US forces. The camera angles, the sound, the editing all done to perfection. It's like you are right there in the thick of it!

The movie adopts a bit of a slower pace after the ferocious start but it's still perfectly balanced. And the cast does an amazing job. From Tom Hanks (who gives his best ever preformance here) and Tom Sizemore to Adam Goldberg and Matt Damon are all just brilliant.

The near 3 hour running time just flies by...

After nearly 30 years this movie hasn't lost an inch. The effects are still just as incredible as they were back in the day and the sound...the sound is just as captivating as it was.

This is most likely THE GREATEST war movie ever made...there is absolutely nothing wrong or out of place in this masterpiece.


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[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Re: French Connection

Yes a classic of its time, but when I first saw it a few years back I did think that time hadn't been kind to it and it looked very dated, but you can't fault the acting or the story, and the car/train chase is thrilling.

Re: Saving Private Ryan

Another stone cold classic. That opening section is indeed the best opening to a movie ever. Still good after that but for different reasons.

[Zzzptm]

I hold back on Saving Private Ryan. When I saw it, the cameos just. kept. coming. and that kinda messed things up for me. Mr. Famous walks in, delivers a line or two, then never gets seen again. Contrast with A Bridge Too Far, where the big names have some continuity through the picture, so their appearance is less of a concentration-breaking moment.

Films that come to mind are Das Boot, Tora Tora Tora, and the Liberation series from the old USSR. Seven films covering Kursk-Berlin.

Liberation part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZraM-TvRXA

[Charger]

I think you got your movies confused...there were no cameos in Saving Private Ryan...unless you want to count the little part Dennis Farina had as Colonel Anderson...But frankly I don't.


You might be thinking of the god awful boring piece of turd that was Thin Red Line...that one (if I recall) had a ton of weird ass cameos.

[Zzzptm]

Well, for me, the short bits with famous famous actors helping along the nobody privates was the distraction.

I watched that first Liberation film, it was great seeing the actual tanks in battle. And when there weren't enough old tanks to go deep, there are T-55 and T-62 tanks on the field. Those are actual tankers and soldiers in the Soviet army on live maneuvers in the battle scenes, which is why they have some show-off shots of planes flying over the scene showing this isn't some tight camera work to make a dozen people seem like thousands - this is thousands, for reals!

Planning to watch the second tonight. The other five will fall in place, I'm sure...

[Charger]

Well, for me, the short bits with famous famous actors helping along the nobody privates was the distraction.

There were no such scenes in the movie! The only famous famous actor was Tom Hanks and he was from the first scene to the last scene!

So you are not talking about this movie here..

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Is Zs maybe thinking of The Longest Day?

[Charger]

Either that or Thin Red Line but surely has his movies mixed up here.

[Zzzptm]

No, it was SPR. Looking back on the cast, it pretty much was just Ted Danson and Dennis Farina killing the vibe for me.

Now, Black Hawk Down, there's a movie I don't mind watching again and again.