I could lie and make up a list of more intellectual movies, but this one’s for real. These are the movies I’ve watched so many times I’ve memorized the lines.
In no particular order…
My Dinner With Andre
Every time I watch My Dinner With Andre I hear something different in Wally and Andre’s dinner conversation. The movie is about Wally’s dinner with Andre. That’s it. But it’s the most entertaining dinner conversation ever.
Andre: “Things don’t affect people the way they used to. I mean it may very well be that 10 years from now people will pay $10,000 in cash to be castrated just in order to be affected by ‘something’ “
The Sound of Music
I love The Sound of Music so much that I went to Austria just to go to Salzburg and take the Sound of Music Tour. No, I’m not kidding. I really did that. We saw the abbey, the Von Trapp house, and practically every important location in the movie, and they are, incidentally, the actual locations for the the real Von Trapp family. My favorite part? Probably when the Baroness leaves and Maria dances around with the Captain. Bye-bye Baroness. These kids will not be going to boarding school.
An Affair To Remember
I have watched An Affair To Remember dozens of times just to see that scene where Cary Grant realizes why Deborah Kerr didn’t make it to the top of the Empire State Building. #MostRomanticMovieSceneEver
La Vita Che Vorrei
Just like in An Affair To Remember, it’s the look that a man (Stefano) gives a woman (Laura) that has made me want to watch La Vita Che Vorrei (The Life That I Want) a hundred times, but it’s more than that. La Vita Che Vorrei is a very complicated love story between two narcissists, starring Luigi Lo Cascio and Sandra Ceccarelli. Is it love or are they using each other? Do they even know what love is? This one would have done well in the US if it had ever made it here.
Laura tells Stefano: “I know that there’s still a lot I have to learn but I can’t do it with you…with you I feel like a worse person than I am.” (that’s debatable)
Pane E Tulipani
How many times have I watched Pane e Tulipani? (Bread and Tulips) I’ve lost count. But I never get tired of watching Rosalba find the life that she was meant to live.
Fernando tells Rosalba’s son Nic: I realize that this situation is bizarre, never-the-less I’ve come here to reclaim your mother.
Nic: Why?
Fernando: Because I love her.
Non Ti Muovere
Most people have never seen Penelope Cruz’s best performance. In Non Ti Muovere (Don’t Move) she plays Italia, the prostitute, a role that only the bravest of actresses would even consider. Also starring Sergio Castellitto, Non Ti Muovere is not easy to watch, but worth every second.
The Matrix
I love The Matrix because I’m a big giant nerd;OK? Is that what you wanted to hear? Monica Bellucci is in it so maybe that makes it a little more OK.
The Shining
Come play with us Danny. Forever, and ever, and ever.
L’Uomo Perfetto
The perfect rom-com, starring Riccardo Scamarcio.
Lucia’s happy ending is complete when she says:
“It’s strange, you spend your life following a dream and then you realize that your happy island is just a step away, and that all you had to do was stretch out your hand to feel the waves against the shore and your heart says, “We’re here! We’re finally here and from now on it’s another story.”
When Harry Met Sally
Another perfect rom-com, with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan failing at staying “just friends”. Most people love the fake orgasm scene (“I’ll have what she’s having”) but I loved, “Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash”.
I Love Italian Everything 