Filmically Perfect

We here at Filmically Perfect believe that Orson Welles' worst film is better than some directors best film! There is no doubt in our minds that this IS one of his best, a twisted sadistic tale of love, murder and drugs on the border. And while some will fault Charlton Heston for his mucho gringo Mexican character, it was he who made sure that Welles was in the director's chair and for that, we can forgive all else!

FP 118 The Treasure Of Sierra Madre (1948)

June 18, 2017 00:57 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MB

There are few directors as good as getting under the skin of a character than John Huston. In this film, Huston pulls an astounding performance from Humphrey Bogart, whom he had made into a star some years earlier with The Maltese Falcon. And if that weren't enough, Walter Huston, the director's father and an actor among actors, turns in the performance of a lifetime which garnered him an Academy Award that year!

FP 117 The Getaway (1972)

June 18, 2017 00:56 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MB

For those of you who thought "Finally! FP is doing a Alec Baldwin movie!" SHAME ON YOU! This is the one and only original film, directed by the masterful but highly self-destructive Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, and the usually lovable Ben Johnson as one of the great swine of the screen! "The Getaway" is one of the great heist capers of all time, told with all the panache and bravado that Peckinpah had at his command.

FP 116 White Heat (1949)

June 18, 2017 00:54 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MB

James Cagney proves that he still has what it takes in this film, one of his last for Warner Bros. Playing the psychotic mama's boy Cody Jarrett, Cagney sets the world on fire (well, the top of it anyway) in Raoul Walsh's explosive drama!

FP 115 Young Man With A Horn (1950)

June 18, 2017 00:53 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MB

Michael Curtiz proves there’s no genre he can’t handle with this music filled fictional biography of tightly wound jazz trumpeter. Kirk Douglas plays the eponymous Young Man and plays him much like the brash pugilist in Champion, which just preceded this film. And as in any good tale of morals there is good (Doris Day) and evil (Lauren Bacall). Acting as Muse, holding the whole lurid tale together is composer-lyricist-singer-pianist-actor Hoagy Carmichael.

FP 114 Singing In The Rain (1952)

June 18, 2017 00:52 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB

Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly created pure celluloid gold with this musical tale of the upheaval of hollywood with the Coming of SOUND! Kelly and his cohorts Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and the glorious Jean Hagen make beautiful music together and get to poke a few jokes at the rough times in Tinsel Town as movies learned to talk!

FP 114 Singin' in the Rain (1952)

June 18, 2017 00:52 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB

Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly created pure celluloid gold with this musical tale of the upheaval of hollywood with the Coming of SOUND! Kelly and his cohorts Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and the glorious Jean Hagen make beautiful music together and get to poke a few jokes at the rough times in Tinsel Town as movies learned to talk!

FP 113 The Man From Laramie (1955)

June 18, 2017 00:51 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB

James Stewart and Anthony Mann team up for one last time--and the only time in CinemaScope--to bring to life one of the best and grittiest of the first round of “adult westerns” of the 1950s. Stewart inches ever farther from his nice guy persona of the thirties and forties, while Mr. Mann serves up a steaming bowl of his trademarked sudden, palpable violence. Throw in a stellar supporting cast including Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Aline MacMahon and the lovable Wally Ford and you have one o...

FP 112 Jailhouse Rock (1957)

June 18, 2017 00:50 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MB

Elvis Presley at his most Elvis-like-ness! In one of his few films not overseen by Hal B. Wallis, Elvis shines as the young ex-con/laborer who finds his singing talent while in the hoosegow, assisted by another singing con, played by the great Mickey Shaughnessy. Judy Tyler, whose life ended much too soon, plays The King’s love interest and her sudden death shortly after the completion of this film kept Elvis from watching it for many years.

FP 111 The Natural

June 18, 2017 00:48 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB

Barry Levinson’s film of Bernard Malamud’s novel is Baseball as Mythology. It is also one of the most lyrical, beautiful, and sparse sports films ever made. And even though the ending of the film is RADICALLY different from the novel, we still feel this is a perfect movie--and that’s what we’re here to talk about, yes?? Sadly, twenty-three years after the fact, Mr. Levinson went back and tinkered with his film some more, slightly damaging its perfection, in our estimation.

FP 110 Rabbit of Seville (1950) & What’s Opera, Doc? (1957)

June 18, 2017 00:48 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB

The Film Guys and Niki Dakota do it LIVE for the second time before a stunned audience at the FilmDayton Festival! Charles M. “Chuck” Jones was arguably one of the finest minds in animation. We devoted an entire episode to him some time back--listen to it here! His singular style is still being aped by lesser talents to this day. Here, in two of his finest outings, Jones takes the wind out of the opera by ruining Rossini and violating Wagner!

FP 109 Carnival Of Souls (1962)

June 18, 2017 00:47 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MB

Herk Harvey's horror tour de force is a low-budget delight and a perfect example of creativity triumphing over a lack of funds! A marvelously creepy and atmospheric film, featuring one of the most bizarre amusement piers of all time--"Saltair," built by the Mormons on the edge of the Great Salt Lake!

FP 108 T Men (1947)

June 18, 2017 00:46 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MB

Anthony Mann and John Alton combine their amazing powers to bring one of the first and best police procedural/film noirs of the early post-war era! Shot mostly on location, with interiors at some small rented studio in Hollywood, T-Men proves that it doesn’t take big bucks to make a great movie. It takes great people with madly creative minds!

FP 108 T-Men (1947)

June 18, 2017 00:46 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MB

Anthony Mann and John Alton combine their amazing powers to bring one of the first and best police procedural/film noirs of the early post-war era! Shot mostly on location, with interiors at some small rented studio in Hollywood, T-Men proves that it doesn’t take big bucks to make a great movie. It takes great people with madly creative minds!

FP 107 Sunset Boulevard (1951)

June 18, 2017 00:45 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MB

Billy Wilder’s painful salute to the crumbling facade of “old Hollywood” bears watching again and again. Gloria Swanson, who truly was a symbol of all that was grand and glitzy truly shows just how good an actress can be as the doomed Norma Desmond. William Holden and Erich Von Stroheim also shine as her unwilling and all-to-willing minions.

FP 106 Psycho (1960)

June 18, 2017 00:43 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MB

After a decade of big budget Technicolored thrillers, Hitch turned to the low-ball world of TV style shooting for this, one of his most nerve-jangling exploits.

FP 105 The Loved One (1965)

June 18, 2017 00:41 - 30 minutes - 28 MB

After thrilling the world with his bawdy and award-winning comedy Tom Jones, director Tony Richardson came to the States to make this savage and withering satire based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel. The cast is filed with some of the most memorable faces in H’wood and everything is stolen by Jonathan Winters in a beautiful duel role as “The Blessed Reverend” Wilbur Glenworthy and his pathetic brother. Favorite Line: “We’ve got to find a way to get these stiffs off my property.”

FP 104 M (1931)

June 18, 2017 00:40 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MB

Not surprisingly, it took Germany's "uber-director" Fritz Lang a few years before he was ready to make his first sound film. In fact, he released two more silent features AFTER the release of "The Jazz Singer!" Knowing Lang, he was waiting until either he was comfortable with the idea os sound, or until the technology of sound had reached a level where it did not stifle his creativity. Either way, it was worth waiting for!

FP 103 Employees Entrance (1933)

June 18, 2017 00:39 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MB

Warren Williams goes toe-to-toe with the demure and extremely cute Loretta Young and the not so demure but still somewhat cute (in a manly way) Wallace Ford in Roy Del Ruth's great comic-drama from 1933. Sex, lies, treachery, and men's underpants come together in this story of a ruthless Department Store manager and his minions.

FP 103 Employees' Entrance (1933)

June 18, 2017 00:39 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MB

Warren Williams goes toe-to-toe with the demure and extremely cute Loretta Young and the not so demure but still somewhat cute (in a manly way) Wallace Ford in Roy Del Ruth's great comic-drama from 1933. Sex, lies, treachery, and men's underpants come together in this story of a ruthless Department Store manager and his minions.

FP 102 Wooden Crosses (1932)

June 18, 2017 00:38 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB

As far as French film directors go, Raymond Bernard is one of the most neglected. At the time he made "Wooden Crosses" in 1932, there were few directors rated in higher in France. In fact, the success of this film allowed Bernard to mount an amazing three film adaptation of "Les Miserables" that is still considered by many to be the best version of the film. "Wooden Crosses" is an agonizing anti-war film, picturing war as a day-to-day drudgery, accentuated with violent an often pointless batt...

FP 101 White Zombie (1932)

June 18, 2017 00:37 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MB

Arguably one of the best and most gothic of the early sound horror film cycle, with Bela Lugosi at his best as the villainous Murder Legendre. Made on a shoe-string budget, with borrowed sets and a major star paid only $5000, White Zombie remains as a wonderful example of what could be accomplished inside Hollywood by people who were outside the hollywood scene. And because it is in the Public Domain, you can watch the whole thing right here!

FP 100 The Night Of The Hunter (1955)

June 18, 2017 00:36 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB

WELCOME TO EPISODE 100!! Charles Laughton created a singular work of art with "The Night of the Hunter." A film so intensely personal that it could never be remade or even duplicated. To prove this, a hideous TV version of the story was made in 1991 and has never been seen again. The Film Guys get a little testy in this one, stating their belief that this is a film for lovers of film only and every one else can go watch something else--like "Love, Actually."WELCOME TO EPISODE 100!! Charles La...

FP 099 Los Olividados (1950)

June 18, 2017 00:35 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB

The last time we spoke about Luis Buñuel, he was making fun of rich hypocrites in The Exterminating Angel. In this earlier film, a far angrier diatribe on the destructive lives of Mexico City’s street children, Buñuel makes one of his most powerful social statements--and still manages to fit in a few surreal elements!!

FP 098 Music Box (1932)

June 18, 2017 00:34 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB

“The Boys.” “Two Minds Without a Single Thought.” “The Fiddle and the Bow” “Dick und Doof.” No matter what they are called, or in what language, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are two very funny men. Their genteel yet destructive comedy has delighted millions for more than seventy years and here we discuss their single award-winning short from 1932.

FP 098 The Music Box (1932)

June 18, 2017 00:34 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB

“The Boys.” “Two Minds Without a Single Thought.” “The Fiddle and the Bow” “Dick und Doof.” No matter what they are called, or in what language, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are two very funny men. Their genteel yet destructive comedy has delighted millions for more than seventy years and here we discuss their single award-winning short from 1932.

FP 097 Guilty Pleasures 4 - The California Kid (1974) & Streets of Fire (1984)

June 18, 2017 00:32 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MB

Back again after a much longer hiatus than we expected!! Two movies, both great in their own way but not quite perfect, chosen without consultation between “The Film Guys.” Ironically (or maybe not), they chose similar films about youth in fast cars, crime, and the law. The California Kid is a TV movie starring Martin Sheen and Vic Morrow and Streets of Fire is director Walter Hill’s love poem to his lost youth. Both are well worth your precious viewing time!!

FP 096 Apocalypse Now (1979)

June 18, 2017 00:30 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MB

An intensely personal piece of cinema, which severely damaged its director’s career and almost killed its star. Yet thirty years on it still packs a punch, whether seen as originally released or with Coppola’s later “older and wiser” edit.

FP 095 Delicatessen (1991)

June 18, 2017 00:24 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MB

Jeunet and Caro's delightful delicacy "Delicatessen" is arguably the best post-apocalyptic cannibal comedy--ever. Combining a singular look, hearkening back to the silent era of great European cinema, with a wild and ultimately touching story of a clown, a girl and a butcher, "Delicatessen" does what perfect movies do--it pulls you in and, just for a time, removes you from your hum-drum existence.

FP 094 Sullivans Travels (1941)

June 18, 2017 00:23 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MB

This might better be titled "Sullivan's Travails" for all that poor John L. Sullivan is put through in trying to research his new pet film project "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Writer-Director Preston Sturges leads us through this story, at times hilarious, at times perilous, at times powerful, by our noses and we love it!

FP 094 Sullivan's Travels (1941)

June 18, 2017 00:23 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MB

This might better be titled "Sullivan's Travails" for all that poor John L. Sullivan is put through in trying to research his new pet film project "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Writer-Director Preston Sturges leads us through this story, at times hilarious, at times perilous, at times powerful, by our noses and we love it!

FP 093 Memento (2000)

June 18, 2017 00:16 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MB

Christopher Nolan is now best known for resuscitating “Batman,” to the delight of the Dark Knight’s minions everywhere. He burst on the scene in 2000 with this remarkable, turned about tale that asks more questions than it can possibly answer and has the distinction of a clever concept that doesn’t overwhelm the storytelling.

FP 092 Guilty Pleasures 3

June 18, 2017 00:14 - 30 minutes - 28 MB

It's three for the price of one this week as The Film Guys and Niki Dakota present three films which don't appear on their List of Perfect Movies, but which they love nonetheless. From a tribute to Doris and Rock, to teen sex frustration in Ohio and finally C.B. DeMille under the big top! Come one, come all, it's a panoply of movie mayhem!

FP 091 Black Narcissus (1947)

June 18, 2017 00:13 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MB

A production of The Archers, aka Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, "Black Narcissus" is great for only the spectacular Technicolor cinematography. But wait, there's more! A brooding dark storyline, roiling in repressed sexuality and longing also makes it a fun time for all. Top that off with that fact that not one frame was shot on location--that all was made in and around a studio in the UK--and it remains as one of the true cinematic "creations" of the Twentieth Century.

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