RHYS CHOOSES MOVIES

RHYS BOWEN:
I heard an interesting piece on the radio when I was driving home this week. It was about former US presidents and their favorite movies.
The ones that stood out to me were:
Nixon liked Patton
JF
K chose the Bond movies
Ronald Reagan picked It's a Wonderful Life
and
Donald Trump selected Citizen Kane.

What was interesting to me is that each of these men chose a movie that mirrored themselves, or at least as they saw themselves.
Nixon liked Patton, stern leader of men.
JFK saw himself as the playboy daring undercover agent
Ronald Reagan as the humble everyman, wanting to help everybody
and
Trump identified with the ruthless empire builder. (I wonder if he ever murmurs Rosebud?)

Which got to thinking about my own favorite movies:
The ones that came instantly to mind are
Out of Africa
Casablanca
The Dead Poet's Society
Quartet
Roman Holiday
Enchanted April



Then I wondered if these mirror who I am? I'd like to be Meryl Streep, having her hair washed by Robert Redford.
Or Maggie Smith, performing the quartet from Rigoletto
One thing they do all have in common is that they are hopelessly romantic. Am I a hopeless romantic? Maybe, but with a touch of cynicism.

Then I wondered which was my favorite. If I could take only one movie with me to a desert island, of course assuming that there was a DVD player with solar battery charger!
I couldn't decide on one until it hit me: THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
That would be my perfect movie for a desert island. I could sing along to the songs. I could dream about those Austrian Alps. I could cry a little.
Okay, yes, so I am a hopeless romantic!
How about you? Do you have a favorite movie? Would it say who you are?

I laughed, I cried....

ROSEMARY HARRIS: Okay...last night I was performing some mindless task in my office and - as I often do - I popped a DVD into the player. Just to have some background noises.

All was going well until - Lady Sybil died. Now..this was not a surprise. I saw Lady Sybil die last January. And truth be told a few times since then.

How in the world can I still cry when I hear her husband wailing  "please don't leave me, luv"? Stopped me cold. Get the tissues.

I still cry at the end of West Side Story. ("How many bullets, Chino?") And the funeral scene in Out of Africa ("He was not mine...")


 
 
 
   













Bang The Drum Slowly?  Get the tissues.

It's not hormonal. Just to balance things out I should add that I laugh every time I watch Bang the Drum Slowly, too.

And Forget Paris.
("Toy-oh-daaaaaaa")

Planes, Trains and Automobiles ("Polka, polka, polka!")
and Kingpin.
(Some of the best lines in that one require visuals, watch the film and listen for the line "you leave Rebecca out of this!")

So how did the writers - and actors - successfully elicit these responses. Even after many years and multiple viewings. I guess they made me care about the characters. And gave the characters memorable, believable dialogue.

I'm about to make my last pass on my soon-to-be self-published novel (at least I hope it's the last pass.Without an external deadline it's so easy to think "Oh, just one more look!)




This time I'll be reading with an even closer eye - not just to the language, plot, rhythm and all the other things I usually look at - but to the emotional pull of my words.

Hopefully they'll elicit more laughs than tears!


So...which movies still make you laugh and which still make you cry??