The third and final surprise has been delving into films that I would normally reject. Looking at the list of movies I had to watch over Summer reminds me how much I enjoyed re-watching the classics (Jane Eyre, The Wizard of Oz and all the Hitchcock films). And it also reminded me of the fear I originally had, in having to sit through 20-odd Westerns. And the fear was justified: there were some absolute shockers!
Watching the Fincher films was a pleasure, in a gory, surreal sort of way. It solidified my adoration of Helena Bonham Carter for her character Martha Singer (Fight Club). But then it would, given I had to re-watch the 'Martha' sequence approximately 50 times to complete an assignment.
Back to the list that was...
The films They made me watch (2010 - 2011):
- 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)
- Deadwood (Series HBO, 2004)
- A Fistful of Dollars (Leone, 1964)
- 3:10 to Yuma (Daves, 1957)
- Little Big Man (Penn, 1970)
- Shane (Stevens, 1953)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Hill, 1969)
- Johnny Guitar (Ray, 1954)
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Ford, 1963)
- Stagecoach (1939)
- Frankenstein (Connor, 2004)
- Jane Eyre (White, 2006)
- Thelma & Louise (Scott, 1991)
- My Darling Clementine (Ford, 1946)
- Bandidas (Ronning & Sandberg, 2006)
- The Quick and the Dead (Raimi, 1995)
- Gunfight at the OK Corral (Sturges, 1957)
- The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah, 1969)
- Rio Bravo (Hawkes, 1959)
- Red River (Hawkes, 1948)
- The Great Train Robery (Porter, 1903) - early narrative
- The Big Trail (Walsh, 1930 - early sound & widescreen
- Brokeback Mountain (Lee, 2005)
- Appaloosa (Harris, 2009)
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik, 2007)
- The Godfather (Coppola, 1972)
- Se7en (Fincher, 1995)
- Run Lola Run (Tykwer, 1998)
- Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980)
- Fight Club (Fincher, 1999)
- Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
- Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)
- Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954)
- The Wizard of Oz (Fleming, 1939)
- Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock, 1943)