The Best of My Favorite Things Part 6 – More Great Movies!
This is the last of this short series cherry-picking some of the best posts out of nearly 14 years of My Favorite Things columns. And I’m returning to classic movies!
I hope you’ve had time over the last 6 months to check out the articles I’ve chosen as my favorite Favorite Things and maybe also to have a noodle among the many other articles I’ve written over the years.
I’m going to start with a piece I wrote after hearing of the appallingly early death of talented Australian actor Heath Ledger in 2008. This piece appeared in February of that year and it talks about my favorite Heath Ledger film, 10 Things I Hate About You, a really clever modern take on The Taming of the Shrew. Here’s the start:
Like so many people around the world, I was saddened and shocked to hear of the untimely death of talented Australian actor Heath Ledger. So I thought I’d dedicate this month’s MFT to him and to talking about the wonderful 1999 teen romantic comedy that was the first movie I ever saw him in. So what are the 10 Things I love about TTIHAY? Read more…
My next choice of classic movie really IS a classic. I’m going right back to 1948 and the iconic Howard Hawks western, Red River, with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. The piece appeared in May 2009 which is almost as long ago as 1948! Check out the start of my thoughts here:
When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of old movies and spent many a Sunday afternoon on the couch in the lounge room watching black and white films. Musicals. Historical epics. Romances. Comedies. But for some reason, I never really got into westerns. They were rough and violent and basically too ‘boy’ for me. The stories didn’t interest me and nor did the characters. These days, I’m a huge fan of the genre and I wish Hollywood was still making them (and if not Hollywood, then the late lamented Sergio Leone who did some beauties). Read more…
Ironically for a girl who didn’t like westerns, my third choice today is another classic western, this time the wonderful The Big Country, directed by William Wyler and starring Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston. Actually if you are inspired to watch this film as a result of reading this, make sure you pay close attention to the soundtrack. The music by Jerome Moross is spectacular!
Here is the start of my column on this wonderful film:
I’m back to talking about a favorite movie. This month it’s The Big Country, directed by William Wyler in 1958, and with an all-star cast including Gregory Peck, Carroll Baker, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Chuck Norris and Burl Ives. It’s odd – I wouldn’t say I was such a huge western fan, but they seem to be featuring a lot on the website! I first saw this film when I was about thirteen and it sparked a major crush on Charlton Heston who plays the secondary male love interest in the story. He’s lean and mean and tortured and passionate, and looking back on it many years later, I can kinda see where the fascination came from. Read more…