And the countdown continues in my quest to watch and find something inspiring in every single one of Yahoo’s 100 Movies to See Before You Die…
It’s been a few weeks since I watched any of the movies on this list. You caught me procrastinating, taking a little breather a fourth of the way through. What can I say? Sometimes a gal’s just got to take a break from “serious” cinema and watch “The Hangover” instead.
Tuco: (trying to read a note) ‘See you soon, id…’ ‘id…’ ‘ids…’
Blondie: (Taking the note) ‘Idiots’. It’s for you.
You know what I’m going to say. The theme song. As soon as you hear the pounding of the drums and the warbling melody, you know it’s gonna be a good movie. Did you realize that the instruments are different for each one of the three characters? It’s true: flute for The Man With No Name (aka Blondie), arghilofono for Angel Eyes and human voices for Tuco. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) If you need any more inspiration, look no further than the extreme closeups during the shootout. Clint Eastwood’s browline was never so fierce, and have you ever seen so many non-porn closeups of pelvises?
Mr. Braddock: Ben, what are you doing?
Benjamin: Well, I would say that I’m just drifting. Here in the pool.
Mr. Braddock: Why?
Benjamin: Well, it’s very comfortable just to drift here.
Mr. Braddock: Have you thought about graduate school?
Benjamin: No.
Mr. Braddock: Would you mind telling me then what those four years of college were for?
What was the point of all that hard work?
Benjamin: You got me.
Again I have to mention the music. Simon & Garfunkel, what’s not to like? But I have to preface all this by saying that the first time I watched this movie I was in high school, and it gave me this “eh” feeling. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t bad. I just didn’t get it. I’m happy to report that as of my second viewing last week, I get it. I get it far too well. So now I’m trying to decide if I should be happy about this. Am I too cynical for my own good? Maybe, but this movie has been boosted to my all-time top 20, with a bullet. Most people would probably point out the “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?” scene as being the pinnacle of the movie. Not I. As far as I’m concerned, this is The Scene: When Dustin Hoffman is forced to don scuba gear in the backyard pool. No other movie has captured alienation and quiet desperation quite like this.
