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The Magnificent Twenty-Two
By Brian Abrams
Ah, yes, the number of constructive summer activities an outgoing parent can push on their 14-year old to keep him off the streets: summer camp, little league, reading lists, mowing lawns, youth groups, coal mining, et cetera, et cetera. As for my sunny days as a little pisher, my time was mostly squandered away on a half crescent moon-shaped ruby red couch. That's where, during the summers of 1993 and '94, the monthly long distance bill skyrocketed, and movies were watched one after another after another...after another. Critics all over the nation are to blame for this, as is my inherent affection for film. (Lest we forget my spoiling mother for out sourcing the yard work, too.)
I just wanted to broaden my movie-watching experience. That's all. As
much as I loved (and still do) those rampant Meatballs marathons on the USA Network, there was a need for movies with just a little bit more depth. A few mentors of mine at the time (namely my father and a drunken neighbour) recommended some of the iconic pictures from the much-lauded Golden Age (e.g., Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance) and a sampling from the Studio Era (e.g., Arsenic and Old Lace, Casablanca, all the Marx Bros. films). I went through those. And still, I sought even more landmark films, but I needed further direction.
In July 1993, I took on a project that would keep me out of little league and plunge me into some key titles of American and international cinema, past and present (consequently, this project helped me to hone my stalking skills--later applied to future ex-girlfriends). After researching the names and numbers of most every major film critic in the nation--magazine, newspaper, TV, whatever--it was time to pick up the phone. I wasn't conscious of any of the social stigmas that clung onto being a movie critic (arrogance, know-it-alls, etc.), but everyone I called contributed--and with no issues whatsoever.
A survey of 21 film critics racked up the AT&T minutes. These movie
mavens submitted their all time personal favourites in three categories: Drama, Comedy, and Action/Adventure. I also asked them to name their Favourite Actor and Actress. The selections for the ruby red couch theater grossly inflated from 1970s and 1940s-era essentials to foreign classics, silent films, and even some wild obscurities, all of which are catalogued herein.
Thirteen months later, the obsession continued. This time, 16 of last year's 21 critics contributed, plus a new one (Tim Gray, Variety). (The others, I want to believe, were just busy that week.) The wild card query this go-round was their choice for director, backed by three of his/her works. (As if my plate wasn't already overflowing with unwatched titles from last year's inquisition--whatever. I guess a real movie junkie doesn't know when to call it quits.)
Almost a decade later I ran into one of the contributors, Philip Wuntch
(Dallas Morning News). He remembered my phone call and, more importantly, his selections from that very day (selections, I might add, he still stands by). As for the others, who's to say whether or not they still advocate their choices from a decade ago? Anyway, that's all beside the point. The ruby red couch may be long gone, but the survey survived: it's a reference sheet, now in public domain, that can be used forever to keep more little pishers off the streets--and, perhaps more importantly, out of little league. [Note: The publication listed after each contributor's name is the publication they wrote for at the time of the survey. In some cases, this has changed. Updated info on each critic is provided--when available--through the links on their names.] Todd Anthony (New Times-Miami)
Drama - Taxi Driver (1976)
_________________________________________ William Arnold (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Drama - The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather, Part II (1974) / The Godfather, Part III (1990)
_________________________________________ Harper Barnes (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Drama - Citizen Kane (1941)
_________________________________________ Ty Burr (Entertainment Weekly)
Drama - Written on the Wind (1957)
_________________________________________ Todd Camp (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Drama - Edward Scissorhands (1990)
_________________________________________ Jay Carr (Boston Globe)
Drama - Rules of the Game (1939, French) / The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) / The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather, Part II (1974)
_________________________________________ Mike Clark (USA Today)
Drama - The Searchers (1956)
_________________________________________ Richard Corliss (Time)
Drama - Citizen Kane (1941)
_________________________________________ Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
Drama - Citizen Kane (1941)
_________________________________________ Owen Gleibermann (Entertainment Weekly)
Drama - Nashville (1975)
_________________________________________ Tim Gray (Variety)
Director - Preston Sturges
_________________________________________ Hal Hinson (Washington Post)
Drama - On the Waterfront (1954)
_________________________________________ Leonard Maltin (Entertainment Tonight)
Drama - Casablanca (1942)
_________________________________________ Jeff Millar (Houston Chronicle)
Drama - On the Beach (1959)
_________________________________________ Howie Movshovitz (Denver Post)
Drama - Citizen Kane (1941) / The Godfather, Part II (1974)
_________________________________________ Ralph Novak (People)
Drama - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
_________________________________________ Michael H. Price (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Drama - Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
_________________________________________ Carrie Rickey (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Drama - Dodsworth (1936)
_________________________________________ Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times)
Drama - Children of Paradise (1945-French)
_________________________________________ Kristi Turnquist (The Oregonian-Portland)
Drama - On the Waterfront (1954) / Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
_________________________________________ Bruce Williamson (Playboy)
Drama - Citizen Kane (1941)
(Bruce Williamson died of cancer in October 1998.)
_________________________________________ Philip Wuntch (Dallas Morning News)
Drama - Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
_________________________________________
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