Jeanne Wallace:

Some Of My Favourite Films

Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003

I have really enjoyed reading your website. I thought I would submit my top 11 films. So here goes:

1. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) I love this film. I have seen it more times than I can count. But it does need to be seen on a big screen.
2. The Red Shoes (1948) Another movie I have seen over and over and never get tried of it. I was very pleased to see you also included on your best list.
3. Goodfellas (1990) I love Robert De Niro. But Ray Liotta is great as Henry Hill.
4. Foreign Correspondent (1940) I this is a great Hitchcock that a lot of people have never seen. It's got a great cast. And I also find my self addicted watching Herbert Marshall walk in his scenes. I always admired him as an actor. But because of his leg I watch him very carefully. I thought I was the only one who did that. I glad to read that someone else does this as well.
5. Casablanca (1943) The film is a classic. What else can I say.
6. Sunset Blvd. (1950) This to me is one of the most brilliant films ever made about Hollywood. William Holden is outstanding. And no one could do Norma Desmond like Gloria Swanson.
7. The Godfather I & II. Both films I have watched over and over. It's just a great epic tale.
8. Chinatown (1974) I first saw this as a very young kid with my parents and as young as I was I knew this was great film. And now seeing as an adult I realize what a masterpiece this is.
9. Gone With The Wind (1939) You are right in that this movie needs a big screen to do it any justice. The scene at the railroad depot as Scarlett walks among the wounded and as the crane shot pulls back until finally comings the tattered Confederate flag, is a great moment in the film. On the big screen its an amazing image.
10. Taxi Driver (1976) This film is loaded with so many memorable moments it's too many to list. It is a incredible film.
11. The Day Of Jackal (1973) The story of the attempted plot to assassinate French President De Gaulle. With a superb performance from Edward Fox.

There are many other movies I think are worthy of being listed. But these came to my mind as the top 11 that I like. I hope the grammar and spelling is fine as I am writing this a work in the middle of the night. And I am writing it in some what of a hurry.

Hi Jeanne, this is a really good list. I just saw Lawrence of Arabia again at the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, California a couple of weeks ago -- great. I love The Red Shoes (which coincidentally I saw at the Stanford Theatre many years ago. Goodfellas and Taxi Driver are the best of Scorsese's films (who incidentally lists The Red Shoes as one of his five favorite films). I totally agree with you about Foreign Correspondent and Herbert Marshall and his leg. There is so much greatness in Foreign Correspondent, the cast, the set design, the dialog (Robert Benchley wrote his own), the individual sequences, etc. Casablanca, a film classic, I'm started to get tired of it, they're using sappy clips to sell cola and furniture on TV right now. Sunset Blvd is great -- I love William Holden. Godfather I and II and Chinatown are masterpieces, and consistently re-watchable. Gone With the Wind is pretty impressive. The Day of the Jackal was entertaining, saw it once years ago. Thanks so much for writing in!