list: movies that I love going back to

A list for every month, said us list maniac's Kanchan at Elan and Lakshmi at Celebrations of Life, and so here is a new list for a new month!

The list this month is on movies, those that I love to see again and again, movies that resulted in a lifelong interest, and movies that inspired me. The list is quite varied and includes movies that I have seen ages ago, but still remember scenes so perfectly. I love all kinds of movies, so found it really hard to make a short list of favorite movies, so have kept it to those that have stood out and become more than movies to me.

* Anne of a Thousand Days, about Anne Boleyn, the infamous and scandalous second wife of King Henry VIII of England, who ruled for only 1000 days. I saw this movie in boarding school, where we were shown suitably historic and classical movies every other Sunday, probably when I was 10-12 years old. It is the reason for my continued interest in Tudor England and historical books and movies till date. When I visited London several years back, going to The Tower of London was my most important agenda, so see The Tower Green, Traitor's Gate and the rest of it all. The movie stars Richard Burton as Henry VIII, which is reason enough to see it again even now!

* Young Catherine, about the early life of Catherine the Great of Russia. I saw this movie on TV on the recommendation of my sister who loves history even more than me and has a great memory of dates, names and places. This movie stars Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Plummer, Julia Ormond and a host of other great actors. The movie is about a young German princess who is selected to marry the Russian King, who is a bit demented and is controlled by his mother. A great movie for history buffs.

* Gandhi, the movie that we see every year. I love this movie not only because it has so much history for all of us, a movie about a man who changed the country and a movie that always makes me emotional. I find this movie to be very inspiring, a movie and a man that one should not forget and relegate to calenders. One of my favorite quotes of all time "...be the change you want to see in the world" is by MK Gandhi.





Another reason that I love it so much is because it has my hubby, and in-laws are in it! My father-in-law and hubby (he was 12 years old then) appear in the beginning of the movie as part of the crowd walking by on Birla House lawns, my father-in-law in the traditional topi easily stands out! My ma-in-law was in the scene at the end of the movie when Gandhi is shot, and still has the sari she wore that day with the fake blood on it. She also played the role of Nehru's secretary in a couple of scenes, but they didn't make it to the final edit and so I'm always on the lookout for a DVD of Gandhi with the deleted scenes :-)

* Sholay, one of the best Hindi movies ever made I feel. A predictable choice, since millions of people love it, but I love it's cowboy western feel, since I was a big fan of Louis L'Amour books growing up. It was great to see where it was shot on our recent Kerala trip....we drove past the area with the huge boulders!

* Musicals, all kinds of musicals, everything from Grease to Dirty Dancing to Flashdance to Footloose. I loved all of them and love seeing them again.

* Thrillers, who-dun-its, crime-capers, I find them all hard to resist. Everything from The Day of the Jackal, Sidney Sheldon's adaptation of If Tomorrow Comes (which was a mini-series and not a movie), The Eagle has Landed, The Bourne series and many more!

* Some English movies that I love include Seabiscuit, Mr Holland's Opus, Chocolat, Remember the Titans, Good Will Hunting, The Emperor's Club, Music of the Heart, Shakespeare in Love, Stick It, Immortal Beloved and Amadeus.

* I love the newer type of contemporary Hindi movies such as Lakshya (listening to it's music as I write this!), Dil Chahta Hai, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Saathiya, Guru, Monsoon Wedding, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par (oh god, how I cry each time I see him being left at the boarding school, brings back so many memories and butterflies in my tummy), Jodha Akbar, Swades, Chak De, Munnabhai and so many that I can't seem to remember right now!

Hope you enjoyed my list!

Comments

Anonymous said…
this makes me want to watch Flashdance again for probably the 16th time. oh, and Dirty Dancing too.
hitchwriter said…
welll now you asked for a long comment and a long list !!!

first up WOW your family was in that legendary movie ??

*impressed* and mighty at that !!!

Kabhi mere liye bhi koi role ki arrangement karna !! bheed ka role mile to bhi bata dena... apne kharche pe aa jaoonga !!! lol...

Sholay is one movie, i guess no Indian can not ignore when it comes to talking of movies !! Every actor has given their best ! its a cult movie...

My favourites are the amol palekar and farooq sheikh movies... hrishida Being the favourite...

Choti Si Baat, Chupke Chupke, Chasme Baddoor, Rang Birangi all were fantastic !!

of the newer ones i really like RDB, Lakshya and MunnaBhai part-II, i dont think there has been a better tribute to Gandhiji than this movie !

Among the english I love Analyse This and That !! wonderful movies...

Also check out The Ghost and the Darkness !! its one of the most gripping movies... and a real story at that !!!

I love Indiana Jones series... and all those treasure hunt movies... the hollywood movies are a lot more convincing in this regard... Romancing the Stone being another favourite !!

gee.... I can go on and on.... !!! :) :D

A movie buff to the core...

I guess I sit and write a post myself !!
Shalini said…
Celine, Lol me too....now that I've made this list, I Need to see it again!

OMG hitchwriter, that's definitely a post in itself!

I know, it's really awesome :-) We see it every year on 2nd October, it's become an annual event! My ma-in-law used to be with Doordarshan at that time, so knew the casting people...lots of other family members were in the movie too but they can't be seen.

Yes, Sholay is a cult movie for any generation. I love movies like Chupke Chupke, Golmal and Jaane bhi do yaaron too...they're priceless!

I enjoyed the Indiana Jones series too, but don't like the gory or reptiley bits...will avoid any kind of movie for that. I've seen Ghost and the Darkness, I agree, its superb.

Lol, yes you definitely need to write a post on your movie choices.
~mE said…
WOW shalini...your better half and inlaws acted in movie and all :)

thanks for the list..i havent seen any of these other than gandhi..:)Now ill note dow..infact i am not a movie person at all :( but ill still get these
Anonymous said…
Gr8! I love to watch sholay...Gandhi yeah its a classic in its own way....and wow wow...a family who acted in the movie...amazing...i am not a history fan though i enjoy it at times..shall try and catch up with these movies...already added to my list of must see movies ;-)

Cheers
Kanchan
Wow, Shalini,So you have posted your list.wonderful List.i must say.I have watched some of your favourites.But i think i shall add it to my must to see list.I remember my dad taking me to see Gandhi.Mine will be an altogether different list.I hope all will like it.
Katja said…
I love lists and I love movies so this was a fun read! :) I love musicals too and Stick It was such a fun movie!
bindu said…
Favourite movies ... there are so many. It's really cool that your family has appeared in Gandhi!
JD said…
your inlaws were there in 'Gandhi'! thats awesome!

good list of movies u have there..
Shalini said…
S, yes so cool I thought too when I first heard about it!

Kanchan, enjoyed your list...so different from mine :-)

Lakshmi, that's great that your list will be different....all three of our lists have different choices and it's interesting to see them through movie selection!

Katja, so you're another list-making fan! Kanchan, Lakshmi and me are doing a monthly feature of lists, since we love making them! Yes, Stick it was unexpectedly good!

Bindu, yes it was so hard to whittle the list down to this! Yes, very cool indeed!

JD, thanks....I tried to pick movies that I can see over and over again! I know, so cool! I get so excited each time I watch the movie, and my hubby is so ho-hum about it....all he remembers is what great food the movie catering had :-)
Anonymous said…
It's hard to choose but I have now added James Bond to my list- the ones with Daniel Craig only! Sholay, all Utpal Dutt, Deepti Naval-Farooque Shaikh movies. I have a soft corner for Mr and Mrs Iyer-the Rahul Bose movie.
Samosas for One said…
What about Naseeb?!
Shalini said…
Aditi, It was so hard to choose for me too....that's why I added some categories instead of specific movies! I love all the James Bond movies too! And yes, Utpal Dutt ones too...in fact, we watched a bit of Angoor on TV a couple of nights back....can never tire of it!

Samosas for one, nice movie, but not one of my favorites!

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