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My top 100 movies: #1: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1 Viewer)

#12 - The Abyss

Sure it's a love story. But it's got amazing action scenes too. The sinking of the Montana, the rig crash, the epic chase scene, saving Lindsey....

And the quiet moments are effective too - exploring the wreck of the Montana, the moment where they realize Coffey is a doomed.

Let's not forget the pioneering use of CGI.

What makes this truly epic though is learning what the cast & crew went through  to make it. If you haven't watched the documentary "Under Pressure" you should.

And the tone of self sacrifice resonates with me. I don't care that the aliens are a MacGuffin.

Trivia:

During underwater filming, Ed Harris almost drowned. While filming a scene where he had to hold his own breath at the bottom of the submerged set, Harris ran out of air and gave the signal for oxygen. Harris' safety diver got hung up on a cable and could not get to him. Another crew member gave Harris a regulator, but it was upside down and caused him to suck in water. A camera man came over, ripped the upside down regulator, and gave him one in the correct orientation. At one point Ed Harris punched James Cameron in the face after he kept filming while he was nearly drowning.

Very few scenes involved stunt people. When Bud drags Lindsey back to the rig, that's really Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio holding her breath. When the rig is being flooded and characters are running from water, drowning behind closed doors, and dodging exploding parts of the rig, those are all actors, not stunt people.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio said, "The Abyss was many things. "Fun to make was not one of them".

 
Andy Dufresne said:
#12 - The Abyss

Sure it's a love story. But it's got amazing action scenes too. The sinking of the Montana, the rig crash, the epic chase scene, saving Lindsey....

And the quiet moments are effective too - exploring the wreck of the Montana, the moment where they realize Coffey is a doomed.

Let's not forget the pioneering use of CGI.

What makes this truly epic though is learning what the cast & crew went through  to make it. If you haven't watched the documentary "Under Pressure" you should.

And the tone of self sacrifice resonates with me. I don't care that the aliens are a MacGuffin.

Trivia:

During underwater filming, Ed Harris almost drowned. While filming a scene where he had to hold his own breath at the bottom of the submerged set, Harris ran out of air and gave the signal for oxygen. Harris' safety diver got hung up on a cable and could not get to him. Another crew member gave Harris a regulator, but it was upside down and caused him to suck in water. A camera man came over, ripped the upside down regulator, and gave him one in the correct orientation. At one point Ed Harris punched James Cameron in the face after he kept filming while he was nearly drowning.

Very few scenes involved stunt people. When Bud drags Lindsey back to the rig, that's really Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio holding her breath. When the rig is being flooded and characters are running from water, drowning behind closed doors, and dodging exploding parts of the rig, those are all actors, not stunt people.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio said, "The Abyss was many things. "Fun to make was not one of them".
Click to expand...
:fartnoise:

 
It's supposedly, finally coming out on Blu Ray next year after getting a new 4K scan. Should be magnificent since all we've had is a crappy non-anamorphic DVD all these years.

And we are talking about the extended version here. The theatrical was only okay.

 
The Abyss is a phenominal movie and Andy is right about the making of.  It's one of the few I've seen.  But the movie is brilliant and they did a perfect job of making you feel like you were in that scene with them. 

And I liked the aliens.  It worked.

 
Okay from here on out...NO APOLOGIES.

If you disagree with the quality of any of these in the top 11 its you who are at fault. You probably enjoy movies like Shark Boy and Lava Girl or From Justin To Kelly but think the plot of the latter is sometimes hard to follow.

 
I love everything about the Abyss except for the black woman who says "Son of a #####!" 50 times throughout the movie. 

 
Andy Dufresne said:
Okay from here on out...NO APOLOGIES.

If you disagree with the quality of any of these in the top 11 its you who are at fault. You probably enjoy movies like Shark Boy and Lava Girl or From Justin To Kelly but think the plot of the latter is sometimes hard to follow.
Click to expand...
Spinal Tap, is appropriately, #11. amirght?

 
Andy Dufresne said:
Okay from here on out...NO APOLOGIES.

If you disagree with the quality of any of these in the top 11 its you who are at fault. You probably enjoy movies like Shark Boy and Lava Girl or From Justin To Kelly but think the plot of the latter is sometimes hard to follow.
Click to expand...
Hmmm.

Wrath of Khan is higher than 8 right?

 
Andy Dufresne said:
Okay from here on out...NO APOLOGIES.

If you disagree with the quality of any of these in the top 11 its you who are at fault. You probably enjoy movies like Shark Boy and Lava Girl or From Justin To Kelly but think the plot of the latter is sometimes hard to follow.
Click to expand...
look- what made Justin to Kelly such a tour-de-force is the undercurrent of cutting social commentary throughout. it's a think-piece. and of course, that makes the plot sometimes hard to follow.

 
Yankee23Fan said:
The Abyss is a phenominal movie and Andy is right about the making of.  It's one of the few I've seen.  But the movie is brilliant and they did a perfect job of making you feel like you were in that scene with them. 

And I liked the aliens.  It worked.
Click to expand...
:fartsmell:

 
I think I have your top 11

ET - Back to the Future - Raiders - Wrath of Khan - Die Hard - Jaws - T2 - maybe, Close Encounters of the Third Kind? - 

I'll figure out the rest I think.

 
Andy Dufresne said:
#100 - On The Waterfron#99 - High Noon

#98 - Strangers on a Train

#97 - All The King's Men

#96 - Shadow of a Doubt

#95 - Once Upon A Time In The West

#94 - A Streetcar Named Desire

#92 - Double Indemnity

#85 - Tron: Legacy

#84 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

#83 - Man of Steel

#82 - Inception

#81 - In The Line Of Fire

#74 - Tucker: The Man and His Dream

#73 - Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

#70 - Dr Strangelove

#55 - The Emperor's New Groove

#42 - Vanilla Sky

#41: Moulin Rouge

#36 - Downfall

#34 - Robocop

#31 - The Neverending Story

#30 - Spider-Man 2

#18 - The Iron Giant

#16 - Christine

#14 - Beauty & The Beast/The Little Mermaid/Aladdin

#13 - The Incredibles/Finding Nemo/Toy Story
Click to expand...
These are the movies that wouldn't come close to my top 100, Andy is clearly more into 1) old movies 2) animated movies 3) superhero movies...at least moreso than I am.

 
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Yankee23Fan said:
You should have the Godfather but you won't.
Click to expand...
This x a gazillion!  Should be top 5 at the least as it, and part 2, is one of the best film making enterprises put to screen.  Cinematography, score, dialogue, acting, plot, direction, production, all of it top notch.

Andy, please, I beg of you, do this one thing for me and someday, in the future, should you need a favor, anything, I will do whatever you ask.

 
Nothing wrong with Pixar or other of the top animation films. Better production values & writing than many live action movies of that time period.

 
i just like countdowns so I keep reading whether I like the list or not, its his order.

#84 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

#83 - Man of Steel

Not disagreeing with where they are on the list but Man of Steel better then CA Winter Soldier?  

 
Andy Dufresne said:
I've watched it three or four times. It's good and all but it's just not a favorite. I've tried.
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I feel you.  Can't tell you how many times I've been watching Godfather, and right about where Pacino pops the guys in the restaurant I've had enough and have to switch on Moulin Rouge.  

 
Tom Skerritt said:
A Bug's Life?!? Are you kidding? That movie is horrible. They rushed the production of that movie so fast, it's a piece of junk. The mere fact that you include it in your top 20, much less top 100, proves that your selections are not very good. And I'm not being contrarian. Some of the animated movies are good, but in my top 20? GTFOH!
Click to expand...
This is not about a definitive list, this is about Andy.  We are learning a bit about him, and a bit about the movies he prefers.  I have enjoyed the list.  That it may not be mine is not the point.  Mine would have Great Escape, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Network, Tender Mercies, Falling Down, On Golden Pond, American Beauty, Bringing Up Baby, the Exorcist, Little Big Man, Josie Wales, Fatal Attraction, the Hustler, Cincinnati Kid, The Gambler (No not the recent remake) Rounders, Atlantic City, The Swimmer, Ordinary People, Cape Fear (two versions), Caine Mutiny, Scarface, Ben Hur, Spartacus, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Godfather & part II, Raising Arizona, the Graduate, Rob Roy, Milagro Bean Field War, Full Moon Over Blue Water, My Name is Nobody, Legends of the Fall and dozens of others, but that would be about me, not some definitive list of objective excellence nor would Andy agree with it.

How remiss am I, I forgot Team America. 

I may have to watch Black Swan again, it may be worthy.

I might have to throw in True Romance for the Dennis Hopper scene.

The new True Grit maybe makes it as well.

Damn, if I'm not careful I am going to have a list.

 
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