100 Things I Love About the Movies

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a group project for the Broken Projector Podcast's 100th episode in which several cinephiles were asked to list 7 things they loved about the movies. You should listen to it! I got a little carried away and was too longwinded (sorry!) but I highly recommend a listen because even though I do carry one, others are more succinct and the podcast also features various writers from Film School Rejects and our friend Katey Rich among fabulous others. I purposely didn't lean into geek culture titans like Star Wars and Spielberg classics and all of that because I new they'd be amply covered. But yes, I love early Star Wars and early Spielberg, too. I just rarely talk about it because it's all you hear about elsewhere. 

Anywayyyy... Not related but in a similar vein I chanced upon The Best Picture Project blog doing a 100 wide list, too, and... well, why limit myself to seven. So herewith, a mostly off the top of my head listing of 

100 Things I Love About the Movies 
(in no particular order and literally off the top of my head) 

 

1. The feeling of possibility in that moment when the curtains go up or, rather, expand to fit the wider screen
2. Opening titles that are their own short entity, not just overlayed on the movie
3. Musicals - for being the greatest of film genres and essentially combining every art form
4. Women Who Lie To Themselves™ - the greatest of subgenres
5. The Redford Theater in Detroit (which played old movies every other weekend on a massive screen with a live organ pre-show) which is where I first fell in love with Old Hollywood
6. That time exiting a revival of Singin' in the Rain as a kid when I swung around a pole in unbridled enthusiasm for the movies
7. The pride of learning every nonsense syllable of "We Go Together" from Grease
8. My mom's deep enthusiasm for Witness (1985) and her weird guilt about loving it so much
9. Dreading my dad's grumpiness when the family went to Titanic (1997) on a Christmas break only to realize he loved it. And how.
10. Liz Taylor doing Bette Davis "What a dump!"
11. When Dorothy Gale opens her door and leaves sepia tone behind for color
12. The complete works of Pedro Almodóvar
13. "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
14. Moulin Rouge!
15. Catherine Deneuve's hair
16. Vivien Leigh's eyebrows
17. Marilyn Monroe's voice
    
    83 more things after the jump...
    
    
18. Paul Newman's eyes
19. Natalie Wood's lips
20. Paul Rudd's nose
21. Colin Farrell's eyebrows
22. Montgomery Clift's angst
23. Gene Kelly's everything
24. Michelle Pfeiffer 'feeling so much yummier' in a catsuit
25. "Spectacular! Spectacular! from Moulin Rouge!
26. "You're a little liar aren't you?" Nicole Kidman in Birth
27. Pandora's Box and The Passion of Joan or Arc, my two favorite silent films... 
28. But also: silent films in general
29. Bette Davis's cackle in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
30. That time I took my nephews to see Babe
31. Michelle Pfeiffer on the piano top
32. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner obviously not faking it in Body Heat
33. Edward Scissorhands origin flashback
34. Slow dissolves
35. The posters of Bob Peak but especially Excalibur and Apocalypse Now
36. The sound of lightsabers
37. "All those moments will be lost... like tears in the rain"
    
    
38. Rewinding "Mein Herr" over and over again when I first discovered Cabaret on VHS
39. That the best movies are often about the movies
40. The "Tom, Dick or Harry" number in Kiss Me Kate
41. The middle seat in the middle row of the movie theater -location location location
42. Agnes Moorehead in The Magnificent Ambersons
43. River Phoenix in Running on Empty
44. Lehi Roller Mills in Footlose, The Royal Tenenbaums home, and the apartment hallway in Trick... three locations which were familiar visions from real life and the big screen, too
45. The rush of giddy feeling, without boundaries, whenever the girls are reunited in Heavenly Creatures
46.  Lillian Gish's rocking chair silhouette and Robert Mitchum's tattoos in The Night of the Hunter
47. That shower room psychotic break in They Shoot Horses Don't They?
48. The trail of the dress through grass in the opening of Howard's End
49. Ada's suicide fantasy in The Piano, "there is a silence where hath been no sound..."
    
    
    
    
50. That endless closeup of hilarious seduction in The Lady Eve
51. Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams
52. "Damn. I said God Damn!" (Uma + Cocaine)
53. Miranda Priestley's introduction in The Devil Wears Prada
54. "The Man That Got Away" from A Star is Born
55. The colors in Vertigo
56. The score in Psycho
57. The kiss in A Place in the Sun
58. "It twirled up!"
59. Nashville every single second of its 159 minutes (one of the rare movies that justify a crazy running time) but especially the beginning, the ending, and "It's Easy")
60. Madison pronouncing her name in Splash
    
    
     
61. That emerald green dress in Atonement
62. The morning ritual editing of All That Jazz
63. Michelle Pfeiffer's predator gaze in White Oleander
64. Watching marquee letters being changed on Thursday nights at the local movie theater when I was a kid (back when they had to do it by hand with a ladder) what would the weekend bring?
65. "Night on Bald Mountain" segment of Fantasia 
66. Renting Trouble in Paradise and watching it literally back to back from delight
67. Winona Ryder's diary writing monocle in Heathers
68. Jane Fonda checking her watch during a f*** in Klute
69. Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby
70. Spider-Man's upside down kiss
71. Joan Crawford's about-face from soft (Grand Hotel) to hard (Rain) in 1932
72. "Oh, insight!"
73. Persona
    
    
     
74. The first time seeing the T-1000 in action: jawdropping, frightening, exciting, everything.
75. My very late arrival at the astonishments of Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus) which served as a happy reminder that there is always more great cinema to discover
76. "I got moves you've never seen."
77. Sigourney Weaver's head-tilt before burning shit up in Aliens
78. Waiting for Guffman
79. Anjelica Huston's elevator descent in The Grifters
80. The silhouette axe murder in Straitjacket
81. Judi Dench's voiceover in Notes on a Scandal
82. Studio logos, but especially Universal and Paramount and how the graphics change over the years
83. That there's a perfect actor for every great director: Bless Robert Altman for Shelley Duvall
84. Sound as character in The Conversation
85. The crosscutt "Tonight" medley in West Side Story
86. The subtitles in Annie Hall
87. "Le Jazz Hot" in Victor/Victoria
88. Being super embarrassed with my mom during the "fancy a swim?" scene in A Room With a View
89. "Let's keep going" - that exchange of looks in Thelma & Louise
90. The costumes of Bram Stoker's Dracula
    
    
     
91. Anita Ekberg strolling through Rome with a cat on her head in La Dolce Vita
92. Dianne Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway
93. Deep focus
94. "Jack, I swear."
95. That time we went straight to Bring It On on the way home from hours at the beach all sandy and sunkissed and the movie was like even more sunshine. But less carcinogenic and way funnier.
96. Greta Gerwig's "Modern Love" run in Frances Ha
97. Oscar Nomination Morning
98. "Too many things. Too many things. Too many things."
99. That this list could stretch into 100,000 things and not just 100
100. Leaving a movie theater on such a fizzy high that the world looks different to you when you emerge from the dark.  

Comments

[Sean Troutman]

This is a fantastic idea and a great list. I will be thinking of my very own favorite things I love about movies, but the following six from your list made me smile the most, especially the "Modern Love" run from Frances Ha. Wow! that was a jolt of dopamine to my body when I first saw the film.

When Dorothy Gale opens her door and leaves sepia tone behind for color - One million times better than the "Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet" moment from The Jazz Singer.

Sound as character in The Conversation - Paranoia captured on film

The crosscutt "Tonight" medley in West Side Story - The greatest '60s movie ever.

Greta Gerwig's "Modern Love" run in Frances Ha - David Bowie is a golden god.

Oscar Nomination Morning - outdoes Christmas morning every single time.

Leaving a movie theater on such a fizzy high that the world looks different to you when you emerge from the dark. - the last time this happened for me was possibly Monsieur Lazhar in 2011, but mostly because I was alone seeing it and couldn't explain how I felt to anyone who'd understand.

[Mike in Canada]

64 - climbing a ladder and changing the titles and times on the marquee was my favorite task when I worked at the movies. As gross as it could be (bugs die behind those letters) and as cold as it could be (in Canada, after all), the privilege of knowing what was opening before almost anyone, and the fun of seeing a movie's lifetime, from pre-opebing anticipation to eventually sliding right off was awesome.

[Jeremy]

Thank you for this. Just beautiful.

[Kellens]

This is great. Please do 100,000 more.

[Andrew]

This made my day.

Part 2 please?

[TayTayHoliday]

This list is everything! I'm all giddy about movies again.

[Chris James]

Such a beautiful list. Epitomizes what I love about the movies. Makes me want to do one stream of consciousness too.

#100 to me is why movies will always be my favorite art form. After emerging from the dark room, the world looks so much more different, no matter what you've seen. It's magical.

[Lars]

After being dumped (blind sighted) by someone I was madly in love with, got a bunch of DVDs from the library. Popped in "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" and it literally comforted my soul. Watching a masterpiece like this gives me hope and joy when I felt such intense loneliness and anger.

[Ivonne]

Thank you for this beautiful list! So many inspirations what to watch (again). Though I couldn't yet figure out all quotes.

[MARK]

That shout out for Weaver's head tilt my fave cinema moment ever!!! also when I first realised the power of wordless acting,i knew exactly what she was thinking and feeling,i think she has a Nostromo flashback in that quick second of acting,am I over analysing.

[Seisgrados]

Oh My, Vivien Leigh's eyebrows are the 9th wonder!

[Suzanne]

Awesome list! I rewound Cabaret to watch "Maybe Next Time" over and over the first time I saw it - I still can't rewatch it without watching it at least twice.

[Suzanne]

Duh, "Maybe This Time"!

[Ben]

Love this whole thing.

Especially.... 59. Nashville. Yes every second. My favorite movie ever. I could watch it over and over and over again. New meanings and emotions every time.

[MARK]

You forgot "Shelby Drink Your Juice" or M'Lynn's graveside monologue.

[Yonatan]

Great list.
What's "Oh, insight!"?
Couldn't find it online.

[Andrew]

TEARS NATE!!! TEARS!!! This is why I read movie blogs!!!

[NATHANIEL R]

Yonatan -- it's from "bob & carol & ted & alice"

[Dave]

"You are a whore, darlin'" -Crystal Conners ;-)

[NATHANIEL R]

seisgrados -- the order is random. lol.

andrew -- aw, thanks

MARK & KELLENS -- I FORGOT NOTHING. this was only the first 100 things that came to me ;) it is unlike I will do 100,000 more. but maybe I'll sequelize this? we shall see.

[Peggy Sue]

Wow! I ended up like the Kirsten Dunst you just posted on Facebook!

[James]

The opening scene of Boogie Nights...ok so the entirety of Boogie Nights.

[Roark]

slows dissolves and Tom, Dick and Harry! awesome.

[cash]

I'm not a Michelle Pfeiffer super fan like you are. In fact, you always seem way too over the top when you discuss her work. But I just watched "White Oleander," and boy was she fantastic in it! Your #63 was just *one* thing to love about the performance.

[Deborah Lipp]

There was a 100 things about movies thing that went around Facebook 5 years ago. I just found mine and we have the same #1 and a few other matches.

[Brian Zitzelman]

Deep Focus! Thank you thank you thank you. Why more don't use this I will never know.

[cal roth]

Please see the original Modern Love run, from Leos Carax's Mauvais Sang!

[adri]

From This Moment On... Love you, Tommy Rall, Bob Fosse, Bobby Van.

[Biggs]

Yes, yes, YES to all of this. Thanks so much.

[Edward L.]

This is invigorating stuff, Nathaniel. A big, generous shout-out to cinema, and at a time when it seems to be under siege from TV, the internet and the so-called short attention spans of younger audiences. Thank you for it!

Slow dissolves? Absolutely! "Mein Herr" - I can't stop watching it either. (It's Fosse's fault as well as Liza's.) So many good things on your list.

[Sawyer]

Awesome!

101. "John Doe has the upper hand".

[Aditya B]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. This is so amazing. Thank you for reminding me why I read film blogs, and why I watch films.

[magicub]

The ending of "The purple Rose of Cairo"

[Travis]

"Flames...flames! On the side of my face. Heaving... breathless..."

[Paul Outlaw]

57: "Tell Mama...tell Mama all..."

[Steve]

This is the greatest thing any film blog has ever posted. It's perfect from top to bottom. Even lightsabers got a shoutout! If I could add one more, it would be Julie Andrews, arms out, running through the mountains.

[Glenn Dunks]

Amazing. Ain't no.99 the truth!

[Lindsay]

I want more of this. Let's list a million!

[Sonja]

The Ice dance scene in Edward Scissorhands made me fall in love with movies. A moment of unexpected true beauty....

[Des]

How about 100 one liners

[Des]

How about 100 one liners