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Your Channel Surfing Hall of Fame List...


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Over the years I've noticed there are certain films I'll watch whenever I come across them while I'm channel surfing, no matter how many times I've already seen them.

 

My list takes into account that the films have to be broadcast periodically for them to reach my Channel Surfing Hall of Fame. You may have other films that you revere but the test is that they periodically make it to TV and you happen to stumble across them, and watch.

 

The magic of a true Channel Surfing Movie is that no matter what part of the movie you happen to surf into, you are immediately drawn in and watch.

 

My Channel Surfing Movie Hall of Fame includes...

 

Breaking Away

GroundHogs Day

Ghost

The Fugitive

The GodFather

The Big Picture

After Hours

It's a Wonderful Life

Die Hard

Lethal Weapon

 

I think I have a few more that have escaped me at the moment but the above list equals ten.

 

What's your favorite Channel Surfing movie or movies?

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I'll always watch a few minutes of:

 

Die Hard

Plaines, Trains and Automobiles

Better Off Dead

A Fish Called Wanda

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

and of course E! News Daily!

 

The DVD's I'll pop in for fun are:

 

Vision Quest

Risky Business

The Kids are Alright

Casablanca

Michel Gondry

Amelie

 

and so on...

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Hi,

 

I don't watch much TV, but there's generally a pile of "currently being watched" DVDs. Having said that, there isn't one at the moment because I tidied up yesterday... but we did have a Lindsay Lohan night on Monday. Freaky Friday, Mean Girls and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Yes, I will watch absolutely anything. The former two were really slick-looking, as well.

 

Okay, I have refused the idea of a Mary-Kate and Ashley night, perhaps I won't watch absolutely anything.

 

Phil

Edited by Phil Rhodes
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Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith

Die Hard (Perferably no. 3)

Terminator 1,2 or 3

Robocop 1,2 or 3

Commando

 

All the classic shoot-em ups basically.

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Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith
Patriot Games

Arr da-n yeh I liked that one too, along with many other Harrison Ford films mind you.

 

The Fugitive

Clear and Present Danger

And don't forget Indiana Jones!

 

From looking at these posts all these good films are coming back to me...

 

Funny though, from looking at most of them, there not exactly praised for their cinematography or anything.

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Not praised for their cinematography simply may mean that they are well rounded films in which many elements worked well together as a whole. I'd rather have a credit on a film that was known as a good film or one that can be watched over and over, than a film that was simply known for it's cinematography.

 

At least another 8 could have made my list from the list of others up above.

 

Terminator

Christmas Vacation

Misery

Ferris Bueller's Day off

Risky Business

Amelie (although I never see that it is on if it were it I could see it drawing me in everytime)

Dirty Harry

Death Wish

--------------------

 

Plus, The Stuntman, if it were ever broadcast.

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Aliens

Tombstone

Point Break

Die Hard

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Unforgiven

Half Baked

Ali G Indahouse

Pulp Fiction

The Big Lebowski

Fight Club

Thelma & Louise

The Rock

Do the Right Thing

He Got Game

Black Hawk Down

 

 

I'm sure there are more but I can't remember...

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Funny though, from looking at most of them, there not exactly praised for their cinematography or anything.

 

Don't go there!

 

Don't you turn this thread into another one of those mad mad madness...

You know what happened (and still is happening) last time you did that.

 

So let's squash this right now! .....please.....? :(

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Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith
Don't go there!

 

Don't you turn this thread into another one of those mad mad madness...

You know what happened (and still is happening) last time you did that.

 

So let's squash this right now! .....please.....?  :(

Yeh I can see where this is going actually...

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In no particular order:

 

Fiddler on the Roof

Jesus Christ Superstar

Annie (John Huston version)

Schindlers List

Saving Private Ryan

Three Kings

Breaking Away

Combat! (TV series)

Jules et Jim

The 400 Blows

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Jean de Florette

Manon of the Spring

Winged Migration

Hair

Ran

Yojimbo

Sanjuro

Seven Samurai

Dreams

Hidden Fortress

Being There

The Natural

Black Beauty

The Right Stuff

Snow Falling on Cedars

U2 videos (shot by Declan Quinn, Robert Brinkman, Anton Corbjin)

Midnight Oil videos

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There are a lot of classic movies that I can just start watching whenever I flip to them on TV, like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" or "Casablanca" (both Michael Curtiz films). Or "Singing in the Rain".

 

"Gone with the Wind" is another. It's amazing for such a long movie how fast-paced the plot can be. I flipped to it the other day, just after the Civil War scenes were over, and within a few scenes I saw: Scarlett gets the news that she owes taxes on Tara. Her old overseer comes by with his white trash wife and offers to buy Tara from them. Scarlett's father chases them on his horse and dies after a fall. Scarlett visits Rhett Butler in her green dress made from a curtain. Rhetts fails to help her; she runs into Frank Kennedy, seduces him, marries him, makes a fortune in the lumber business, Frank gets killed in the raid on the shantytown, Scarlett gets married to Rhett...

 

I'd swear that all of this happened in half an hour! (I know it was more than that, but jeez, talk about some Dickensian swings of fortune.)

 

I'm also fond of some dialogue-rich movies like "Man for All Seasons" or "The Lion in Winter" which I can just LISTEN to over and over again.

 

I also seem to never get tired of watching parts of "A Bridge Too Far", just waiting for some fog-filtered lens flare to occur just where I remembered it.

 

I also seem to get sucked into episodes of "Law and Order" no matter at which point I catch it in the story.

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I will stop for an epic movie. . .one so grand, that to speak its name will drain one of his strength for many months afterward. A movie so glorious, it brings tears to one's eyes, and the golden light of heaven to his/her heart. I am, of course, talking about Ghostbusters.

 

Oh, and I stop when I see Purple Rain, just 'cause it's so fu**ing weird, and I can't believe it's a real movie. But there it is.

Edited by Josh Bass
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Guest fstop
but we did have a Lindsay Lohan night on Monday. Freaky Friday, Mean Girls and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Yes, I will watch absolutely anything. The former two were really slick-looking, as well.

 

Phil

 

Given that Stephen Burum shot Confessions, HOW could it not have looked as pretty as the former two Lohan masterpieces (shot by Daryn Okada and Oliver Wood respectively)?

 

Bill T-

 

couldn't help but spot both VisionQuest AND Risky Business back to back in your list, both scored (rather fabulously) by Tangerine Dream. I'll let Wendell Greene explain the one soul reason to watch VisionQuest ;) (aside from Owen Roizman's quality lensing).

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Hi,

 

On the subject of Oliver Wood and his sparkling career, who could have predicted that sunny, attractive imagery could possibly have come from a native of this, er, fair isle? I suppose the fact that he left says it all

 

But seriously: I thought Confessions looked rotten in comparison, although I suppose I could credit it as an attempt at greater realism or artistry than is usually applied to such fare. However, I'm sure the poor ginger kid doesn't really look thirty...

 

Phil

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