It’s Professor Doctor here, Dear Listener. I’ve been trying to edit a book, and that process has reached the point where you feel that the whole project has been a naive waste - don’t worry, Dear Listener, it’s just a phase, and it will pass. I have learned something new through the past few months of sitting at my desk and trying to find ways to inspire myself - I’ve discovered that there are certain movies I know so well that they serve the same purpose as music; I can have them on in the background and for some reason it becomes easier to work. Doesn’t fit with every film I’ve ever seen - in fact, the organising theme appears to be that nostalgia for the films I saw as a teenager somehow makes work come more naturally to me. My playlist for the past while includes ‘Back to the Future’, ‘Apocalypse Now’, ‘The Goonies’, ‘The Color of Money’, ‘Romancing the Stone’, and this morning I am trying to revise a lecture on the role of religion in violent conflict accompanied by the sound and images of ‘Hannah and her Sisters’. These are all, of course, vastly different movies, and you, Dear Listener, may think that ‘Romancing the Stone’ does not belong on the same list as ‘Apocalypse Now’ (although, when you think about it, they’re both about jungle quests); but I think that along with asesthetic and artistic judgements, we evaluate and treasure films based on the context in which we saw them. I don’t know why my parents let me stay up late one Christmas to see ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, but they did, and I’m glad that the image of a bloke throwing a sink out a window doesn’t just engage whatever critical faculties I have, but makes me feel the way I did when I had very few responsibilities. And maybe that’s the key to nostalgia - we feel freer when we think about earlier times; or maybe we tend to get into nostalgic moods when we’re feeling the stress of today more clearly. Who can be sure? Does it even matter? As one of the dock workers in another of my nostalgic favorites ‘On the Waterfront’ puts it, ‘I don’t know nothing, I ain’t seen nothing, and I ain’t saying nothing.’
So, I’m off to see Michael Caine find out the meaning of life; meantime, would be genuinely interested to hear from you, Dear Listener, about the films that make you feel nostalgic, help you work, give you a sense of liberation, or just happy inside.
Add New Comment
Viewing 22 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Also saw Step Brothers this weekend, which I got a laugh out of despite poor reviews.
I'm glad you brought up this movie, because I would like to hear Jett (Maestro) & the Good Prof. Dr. review a pure comedy on this show at some point (not sure if they have before?), just to see what their sensibilities are when it comes to humor (or, for Prof. Dr.: "humour") and what they deem makes a good comedy (just laughs or must it have production value as well?).
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
I just haven't heard you review one, so I'm not sure how you'd look at it from a critical standpoint.
& 'Mummymia'.....hilarious.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Your new post really struck a cord with me. Some films are indeed like comfort food or favourite music. Maybe this is how you tell a true lover of film, if films are a way that we chart our lives. I, like Jett mentioned the other day, have the ability to remember pretty much the exact circumstances in which I saw most films for the first time. As a result, if the circumstances were good then the memory of seeing that film is a positive one. The movies of the 80s, during my teenaged years, hold particular significance. 'Back to the Future' is on my list too. Another comfort film for me is 'Roxanne' since I clearly recall the stroll back home on a beautiful summer's evening, without a care in the world and in the company of my best friend.
Just last night I saw Tootsie for the first time in years. As soon as the credits began and the music started I was immediately transported back to my youth. The whole experience was very bitter sweet. I enjoyed the film all over again, but was sad to realise that a lot of time had passed since first seeing it and I have far more concerns and responsibilities now.
I never have films on in the background. I always want to give them my full attention. (How is it possible to work with all those screaming Goonies!?) Other films on my nostalgia/comfort list include 'Labyrinth', 'Broadcast News', 'Benny & Joon', 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', 'Aliens' and 'The Blues Brothers'.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Just a few off the top of my head...'Risky Business', 'Empire Strikes Back' (shut up, Jett), 'Rocky', 'The Apartment', 'Goodfellas', 'Field of Dreams'.....
Not necessarily "these are my favorites" - just a few movies I can drop in and watch at any given time..
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Anyway - 2001 as comedy?! That's new to me. Actually for me 2001 is the total opposite. I first saw it aged 7 at the cinema and it really freaked me out! The Shining is less scary for me than 2001. All those wailing voices every time the monolith appears and that creepy final sequence in the hotel room as he watches himself become older. The film still spooks me big time today. My wife just found it over long when I showed it to her, so maybe it was the circumstances under which I first saw it that has left me with this reaction. How do the rest of you feel?
I was going to mention this after seeing the Kubrick doc that Jett kindly posted, that I find all of the Kubrick films I've seen (2001 onwards) strangely unnerving to a greater or lesser extent.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Me: This movie always gave me a bit of the creeps.
Wife: You mean when you were a kid? What about today?
Me: I think it's spookier to me now than it was when I was a kid.
Wife: Because of the witch?
Me: No, because of the scarecrow, lion, and tin man.
Wife: What? They're not scary!
Me: Have you ever taken a good look at them? They're hideous!
Wife: I prefer to look at their inner soul.....
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Scariest. Movie. Ever.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Phil - I get the impression that Oz fears are fairly common, probably (like me with 2001) because it's often seen by kids at a very young and impressionable age. Mind you, lots of folks also think the sequel Return to Oz is creepy too!
Kiley - Nothing But Trouble, is that the one with Dan Ackroyd in a weird fat suit?
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.