My Dad's Top Five Movies

Movies
1

So someone in the games forum linked to a pic from the film Jeremiah Johnson, one of my old dad’s favorites and that has inspired me to start this thread.

First, a brief blurb about my dad, then top 5 movies, and maybe a couple of “special awards”. Feel free to share your own remembrances of your own dads/parents.

My dad was born in 1922, died in 1993 (I was the youngest by a ton) and was a devout Jehovah’s Witness, who defied the draft in WWII and served 2 years in federal prison for it. He was a house painter by trade, social conservative, economically liberal, and loved Westerns.

His top 5 would have been, in no particular order

Jeremiah Johnson: a classic survival/proto-Western with a great performance by Robert Redford.

Big Jake: not typically considered the top movie by The Duke, but my father’s particular favorite.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: it’s got James Stewart, The Duke AND Lee Marvin. What else do you want?

Raiders of the Lost Ark: It reminded him of the pulp films he loved as a kid in the 30s, and he particularly liked the Wrath of God ending.

Big Country: an epic Western with Gregory Peck.

Special Awards: favorite fistfights:

He particularly enjoyed the fight between Charles Bronson and Robert Tessier in Hard Times, and the fight between John Wayne and Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man.

2

This is an easy one for me.

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Underworld

Mars Attacks

Me, Myself and Irene

Event Horizon

My dad is a strange fellow. I have no reasons, other than I just know those are his five favorite movies. Because he watches them over and over again.

4

My dad was also born in 1922 and absolutely loved Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly:

Singing In the Rain
Swing Time
On the Town
42nd Street

5

My dad was born in 1930 and grew up with radio. He grew up out in the woods, really, so I don’t think he got to the movies much as a child. I never heard stories about going to the movies for 10 cents or anything like that.

My enduring memory of him is him in his boxers and t-shirt sitting in his easy chair with his briefcase open beside him, reading legal documents and redlining them. He worked 10-12 hours a day and then came home and worked a couple more hours. The TV was just a backdrop for him. I’d be hard put to come up with movies he liked.

Probably Patton. I know he enjoyed that a lot. I really can’t think of any others. He’d watch sitcoms like All In the Family.

6

Gunga Din

And 4 more movies from that time period that I cant remember.

7

Man, I really don’t know. Dad (who is still alive, so I guess I can just ask) was born in 1944.

I can tell you his favorite TV shows, namely This Old House and whatever football game featuring Notre Dame is available on Saturday. And I could probably take a swing at his favorite music. But I don’t recall ever seeing the man watch a movie for fun.

8

My Dad was born in 1931. I’ve never asked him to rank movies, but ones that he loved watching and took pleasure in showing me, the one that comes to mind the most is Glenn Miller Story. He just loved Glenn Miller’s music so much, so that movie just makes him so happy each time.

9

Sadly I have only seen Raiders out of that list, although I own the blu-ray of The Big Country, just never got around to popping it in for a proper watch.

My dad, born in 1931, loves Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz. But he also likes Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I once dragged him to see Spaceballs when he would rather have seen Inner Space. He got a kick out of the line “Yogurt! I hate Yogurt! Even with strawberries!” He used to buy VHS tapes which in retrospect had a big impact on my love of cinema – Amadeus, Ran, Ben-Hur, Citizen Kane.

10

My father was drafted into the US Army Air Force during WWII and served as a physical instructor. Most of his working life he drove a truck in Detroit and he was repeatedly elected shop steward by his Teamsters Union local. He was a tough guy, but quiet about it. He was a loving father in his own way.

I’m pretty sure the first three were in his top five.

The Godfather
The Godfather II
Once Upon a Time in America
The Great Escape
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

11

My dad’s hobby was mountain man reenacting, and he loved Jeremiah Johnson. That’d probably be his favorite. Not sure what others would make up his top 5. There’d probably be a Clint Eastwood western or two in there somewhere.

I know that my favorite movie isn’t in his top five, because he hated scary movies. Also, when he saw it at the theater some guy in the row in front of him tossed his cup into the air when Ben Gardner’s head came popping out of the hull. My dad was showered with orange soda.

I wish he was around to see The Revenant. I think he would have loved it.