Professor Elam

I mentioned a few movies a couple of posts back as the solution to ‘family viewing’ over the holidays, something the kids can watch while being something the adults will enjoy, tonight is full of great choices particularly for a movie buff or an aspiring one so here goes

I recommended Family Man and it is on NBC but of course dragged out to three hours with commercials, record it and fast fwd the commercials.

Casino is on Bravo, I don’t know how much will be edited but it does not pass the kid test.  The first hour however is pretty interesting in terms of just how a casino operates.

Now, Hunt for Red October kicked off Tom Clancy’s multi million dollar writing career. This is one of the best adaptations of the books simply because it stars Sean Connery, OK so  Russian sub captains don’t have a Scottish accent, still the opening scene of him in the conning tower of the sub is a cinema classic, as is his comment that every ting will be ok as long as the American is not a buckaroo, look for Alec Baldwin (gee that was smart quitting this series and letting Harrison Ford make all the money in subsequent Clancy movies) and one of my favorites, Scott Glenn

Untouchables is on Cinemax but also remains a Connery classic, great cast including Andy Garcia, Costner, De Niro, and the underrated Charles Martin Smith as the accountant no less

For those that think John Wayne was just a cowboy star that got lucky, check out Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, come to think of it, a great choice for my ethical movie list.  John Ford (one of the true greats) directed Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Vera Miles,  Lee Marvin, Eddmond O Brien in a tale of allegory.  Ahead of his time in 1962, Wayne resents race discrimination against another of my favorites, Woody Strode.  A hallmark of this movie is the inclusion of so many GREATS or those that subsequently became great in the supporting cast. IN addition to Strode, how about Andy Devine, John Carradine, Ken Murray, and two whose careers really took off in the 1960s, Strother Martin (made famous for his line in Cool Hand Luke, what we have here is a failure to communicate) and another personal favorite, Lee van Cleef.  Wayne would cast Strother Martin in True Grit, the only time I ever saw Martin wear a clean shirt in a movie role and Jimmy Stewart in his swan song, the Shootist.

Dad has me watch this final selection, and provided welcome background to the movie. The Best Years of Our Lives chronicles the return to civilian life of four WW II soldiers and sailors.  This is an educational look at life in 1946,  just how things were.  This is as close to a time machine as you are likely to get.  The sailor who lost both hands really did have that happen in WW II which is why he was cast in the role.  A true classic.

Or of course you could watch the basketball game but don’t tell me so…..

Cheers!