Submit Your Picks for the Readers' Choice Marathon!

During the past year, I've completed 12 movie marathons on a wide array of genres and themes. Next week is the final entry in my Once Upon a Time fantasy marathon, and I'll next tackle alien-invasion films. Following that marathon, I'm going try something completely different. Instead of choosing a topic on my own, I'm passing the reins to you for a special Readers' Choice Marathon. This approach is hardly new and has led to excellent series like the 50/50 posts from Nick of Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob. Following in the grand footsteps of more accomplished bloggers like Nick, I'm looking for suggestions on your personal favorites that I must see as soon as possible.

Are there any restrictions on which films I'll choose?
This ambitious marathon will only succeed with input from passionate, intelligent film lovers like you. There are just a few caveats that will eliminate a movie from consideration. First of all, if I've already seen it, the pick's chances are slim. The possible exception is a film that I watched a while ago and barely remember. The other barrier is availability; the choice may be fairly obscure, but it needs to easily accessible. For these reasons, I'd recommend including several possibilities with your submission. The key to making the cut is selling your choice as a must-see film. What sets it apart from the other contenders?

Submit your picks now!
I'm really looking forward to this project and can't wait to check out your suggestions. The easiest approach is providing your choices in the comments section at the bottom of this post. If you're like to submit a lengthy essay with a passionate argument for a film, you can also e-mail me. Let's make this a great marathon!

Comments

  1. I was talking to Max recently at impassionedcinema.com about masterpieces that have been improved by later adding scenes. Often the added scenes feel unnecessary, Star wars 1997 special edition, or Apocalypse Now redux.

    A couple of special edition versions that arguably are better that came to mind are Empire strikes back ( cloud city ), or The Abyss extended version (huge waves). Would make an interesting review marathon or top 5 to write which are the best redux movies out there! (in your opinion). Only problem with this is you kind of need to have viewed both versions of a film, which is time-consuming. The advantage is you have probably already seen the original. What do you think? If the idea is not for you, I won't be offended ( :

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    1. It's an interesting thought. I'm very familiar with The Abyss special edition, which is a lot better than the theatrical version. I haven't seen the Final Cut of Blade Runner or the redux version of Apocalypse Now, so I may consider those. I'll think about it. Thanks!

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  2. Gregory's Girl is one of the finest feel good British films of the 80's. If you dislike it I may have to give ou a punch up the bracket however.

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    1. Thanks Dan! I haven't seen Gregory's Girl, so I'm adding it to the list. I'm a bit nervous about it now, but I'll give it a shot.

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    2. Jessica from Velvetcafe borrowed Gregory's Girl to me. Its quite obvious that director inspired Wes Anderson. I didn't like it very much, the last 40 minutes is good the rest is so so.

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  3. Dan, I'm not sure what the goal is. Are you looking for individual movies we would recommend? If so, I could list many. It sounded more like you were looking for related sets of films, but ones that you have not seen yet. This would be harder to suggest, since most any category (and I have brainstormed some truly weird ones for myself to use someday) would be made up of movies you are likely to have seen.

    Example 1 - Whale Rider. This is a great movie everyone should see. I had it as part of my Great Child Performances category about a year ago, which also included True Grit (2010), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The City of Lost Children, and The Professional - most of which you have probably seen.

    Example 2 - I did a whole set of movies connected only by the fact that they had numbers in the titles. I went from zero to 50. It made me watch several films new to me. While doing this I also brainstormed an "alphabet soup" category of movies made up only of letters (M, O, Z, SFW, YPF, MASH, etc.) Even though these are tenuous connections, they may afford you the most likely opportunity to see films that are new to you.

    If you are looking more for individual movie recommendations, then check out my relatively few five star movies. I've got less than 20 among well over 200 movie reviews, so I don't hand the rating out lightly. I'm sure you've seen many of them, but there are probably a few that you haven't. http://tipsfromchip.blogspot.com/search/label/Movies%20%E2%80%93%205%20Stars

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    1. Chip, I thought about looking at a related set of films, but I decided instead to just do individual movies since it was easier to organize. I have seen Whale Rider and the others you mentioned, but if you have others that you'd like me to check out, let me know. Thanks!

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  4. Check out Devils on the Doorstep, I would be interested in your take on that movie :)

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    1. Interesting. I haven't even heard of that film. I'll add it to the list. Thanks Castor!

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  5. Cool idea, Dan! Looking forward to seeing the final tally. For my suggestion, I will go with the first entry in my latest movie project: Vanishing Point. That one really impressed me, and it would be great to see what you think of it.

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    1. Thanks Eric! Unfortunately, I have seen Vanishing Point. I liked it, though I think my expectations might have been too high after hearing the characters rave about it in Death Proof. I'll have to check out your post, which I haven't read yet.

      Other suggestions?

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    2. Hmm... I'll throw out a handful of films. Hopefully at least one of them is one you haven't seen. :)

      1) The Lives of Others
      2) City of God
      3) They Live
      4) Grave of the Fireflies
      5) Hoop Dreams

      Nothing obscure, but maybe there's a chance you missed one. If not, I'll see if I can dig deeper.

      Here is the link to my Vanishing Point post, by the way: http://twscritic.com/2012/02/10/movie-project-1-vanishing-point-1971/

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    3. I've seen all but one of those films, Grave of the Fireflies. I'm been meaning to see it for a while, so I'll add that to the list! Thanks.

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  6. Freeway (Kiefer Sutherland and Reese Witherspoon) it could actually be part of a marathon consisting of filmadaptations of classic fairy tales, this one is based on Red Riding Hood.

    Gone in 60 Seconds (the Original from 1973)
    The Hunter (Willem Defoe)
    Body Double (Brian DePalma)
    The Invisible Man (1931)
    Close-up (Abbas Kiarostami)
    Hands on a Hardbody (U.S documentary)

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    1. Joel, thanks for all the great suggestions. I've seen parts of Freeway, so I'm going to pick one of the others. After serious consideration, I'm going to watch the original Gone in 60 Seconds. It will be a good set-up for later in the summer when I do part two of my Nic Cage marathon and watch the remake. Thanks!

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    1. Sold! I'm on it! Just don't delete it from the DVR.

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