Hey boys and girls! Your old Uncle Scotty has been away for
way too long! I knew it had been awhile since I’d written, but it’s been three
friggin’ months! So sorry for the delay- let’s get crack-a-lackin!
Numerous times over the vast expanse that has been my life,
I have been asked the same question: “What is your favorite movie?” Most of the
time I just shake off the question and give some vague response. Those of you
that know me, know that I have a great love for the cinema. I always have.
There’s something that’s so exciting to me about going into a dark theatre with
my box of Milk Duds and watching stories unfold on the screen before me. And
over the last several decades there have been many that I have loved. But to
pick favorites? That’s tricky. So I sat down and put pen to paper and tried to
create a “Top 10” list of my favorite movies. It was hard, believe you me. But
I think I’ve whittled away my list down to these 10. However, a year from now
it may be different. I guess these are my favorite right now. In fact, I currently
teach a Film as Literature class at the high school, and several of these I
show in class. (Yes, I’m desperately trying to educate these punk kids on what
“good film” is.) So here goes- starting with Number 10 and working our way up:
9. Blue Velvet- This is a movie I would not recommend
to everyone. To me, it is David Lynch at the top of his game back in the
1980’s. It has everything you would expect from a Lynch film- dark, moody
surrealism, with a healthy dose of Americana and apple pie. A young Kyle
MacLachlan plays the protagonist. His world is calm and innocent at the
beginning, but he is soon mixed up with one of the most bizarre cast of
characters one could meet. This group is led by Dennis Hopper playing Frank
Booth- one of the scariest, funniest, strangest characters I have ever seen on
film. This movie definitely takes a dark turn, so proceed with caution.
8. A Few Good Men- “You can’t handle the truth!!!”
This iconic line is bellowed by my favorite actor, Jack Nicholson, as Lt. Col.
Nathan Jessup. Recently I showed this in my class at school, and as this line
was said, my class burst into giggles. They had all heard the phrase, but
didn’t know where it came from! (Kids today…..) This movie, based on a play by
Aaron Sorkin, has everything you want from a courtroom drama. The script is
great, and it’s fun watching actors spit out Sorkin’s snappy dialogue. It was
way back before Tom Cruise got weird, and did I mention it has Jack Nicholson?
My brother-in-law Brian, who really doesn’t watch too many movies, has
memorized several key phrases from the film, and it’s always a joy when I see
him to see how much of it we can work into our own dialogue.
7. Star Wars- Episode IV: A New Hope- Now when I was
a wee lad and saw this movie for the first time back in the summer of 1977, it
was just called Star Wars. And it. Blew. My. Tiny. Mind. I had never
seen anything like it. And neither had millions of other people. George Lucas,
the creative mastermind, had only made a few films before this one, and there
was really no indication that this would be the massive cultural phenomenon
that it is today. So why isn’t this groundbreaking film higher on my list?
Well- although Lucas was highly imaginative, I really don’t think he’s much of
a screenwriter or director. When you watch this now, it’s “clunkiness” jumps
out at you. Yes, he was working on a shoestring budget, but much of the
dialogue was horribly cheesy, and even though he had good actors, even they had
trouble making it sound good (as Harrison Ford has said publicly). But the
first Star Wars film will always have a place in my heart for introducing us to
this marvelous galaxy, far far away.
6. Batman Begins- Comic books have always played an
important role in my life. I began collecting them avidly when I was in the
second grade, and my best friend at that time, Perry McMahon, and I would force
our parents to haul us all over Oklahoma City regularly so that we could
satiate our comic book fix. There were multiple titles and characters that I
collected, but one stood out above all- The Batman. Before I (sadly) sold my
comic collection last summer, I had amassed hundreds of Batman comics- in fact,
I had every issue of “Batman” dating back to 1972. And this movie, Batman
Begins, captured the spirit and the essence of the character that none of
the previous incarnations of screen Batman had done. It was a great movie that
just happened to be about a guy who decides to dress up as a bat and fight
crime. Christopher Nolan managed to take this ridiculous sounding concept, and
make it look like it could actually happen. Christian Bale nailed it as the
Caped Crusader, and it ended with me dying to see more. And I would- more on
that later.
And now- “dun-dun-dun”- the TOP FIVE BARTLEY FILMS!!!
5. The Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring-
OK, I have a confession to make. And in doing so, I may have to turn in my nerd
card. As a kid, I never read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings
books. So I did not join in the collective geekgasm when it was announced that
there would be big budget films made of those books. Then I started seeing the
previews, and I thought- well gee, that looks pretty good. When this movie
opened, I went in knowing almost nothing about the story- and I LOVED it. I
fell in love with the characters, and the worlds that Peter Jackson created. I
even felt myself overcome with emotion at times (“Fly you fools, fly!”). And I
was hooked. And I couldn’t wait until the next one, which would be out the
following year. The story of Frodo and Sam’s journey is one that I found to be
compelling. And it gave me a line that I get to share with my students on
occasions of their failure- “YOU--- SHALL NOT----PASS!!!!”
4. Return of the Jedi- In 1983, I attended a
“graduation” ceremony celebrating the completion of my 9th grade
year. I was finishing Jr. High, and was prepared to move on to High School. But
on that day, immediately after the ceremony was over, I had my sister whisk me
to the Heritage Park Movie Theatre, where I would see the 12:00 show of the
premiere of Return of the Jedi. I had been patient for 3 years, but the
wait was over. And it completely lived up to my young teen expectations. Leia
is Luke’s brother? Yikes! Luke and his dad duking it out for Universal
supremacy whilst a shriveled, evil Emperor cheers them on? Wowza! Ewoks?!? I
loved every second of it. I even teared up a bit as they placed Anakin’s body
on the funeral pyre at the end. I walked out of the theatre, turned, got back
in line, and bought a ticket for the very next showing. The force was strong
with me that day. Looking back, I still think it was a fitting sendoff for our
heroes (even though they are coming back this December, 30 years later!!).
3. Return of the King- Yes, movie number 4 and 3 both
start with “Return”, and they are both the third film of a trilogy. I already
expressed my love for The Lord of the Rings earlier. This film wraps up
a trilogy better than just about any other. It’s also the only one on my list
that actually won the “Best Picture” Oscar. Peter Jackson knocked this out of
the park. It was an emotionally satisfying end for all of my favorite
characters. And although some people grumbled about the “multiple endings”, I
had no problem with it. In fact, I probably wept a little more with each one as
I said goodbye to Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and
Gimli. I think I’m about to start crying now….
2. The Dark Knight- What can I say about this film
that hasn’t been said? I told you about my love for the Batman, and he has
arguably the greatest Rogues Gallery in all of comics. This film marked the
return of the Joker to the Silver Screen. He was portrayed previously by the
great Jack Nicholson, and when they announced that pretty-boy actor Heath
Ledger was playing him this time, I was more than trepidatious. I needn’t have
worried- Ledger’s Joker was brilliant, and the film was an exceptional crime
drama featuring Batman and the Joker. I toyed with making this my #1 film, but
the fact that I feel the third act of the film slows down a bit kept it from
taking the top spot. The interrogation scene in the middle of the film is one
of my all-time favorite scenes in all of cinema.
And the Number One Bartley film is…………
The Empire Strikes Back- This film is flawless. It’s
the greatest sequel ever, far surpassing the first Star Wars film in every way.
All elements of filmmaking come together for the perfect movie storm- the
acting, script, story, direction, and action. John Williams’ score is perfect-
every note evoking a particular mood or emotion. Irvin Kershner, the director,
frames every scene perfectly, and some of it is just gorgeous to look at. I
especially love the lighting- each locale and situation is lit perfectly, with
the proper shadows and colors to convey a sense of dread throughout the film.
The immaculate scene is when Luke finally confronts Vader in Bespin towards the
end. As Luke slowly mounts the stairs to face-off against his nemesis (and his
dad! Dude!), the shot is bathed in blues and reds, and we see only the
silhouettes of Luke and Vader, and the glows of their light sabers. I get
chills every time this scene comes on, and I am riveted throughout the entire
duel, until Darth drops the parental bombshell. I can tell you that in May of
1980, 12 year old Scott Bartley’s mind literally exploded. I absolutely love
this film.
There you have it, dear friends. Below is a list of
Honorable Mention films, which almost made the list, but didn’t. And I know I’m
leaving some off.
Honor Roll:
Silence of the Lambs
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Inception
Back to the Future
Unforgiven
Saving Private Ryan
Raiders of the Lost Ark
How about it kids? What would you add to the list? Or take
off? Let me hear it!
