Top 10 Films (Your Top 10)

Member Name: litefoot

Product:	Your Top 10
Date:	05/08/05 (564 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classics imprinted on my brain forever more

Disadvantages: None whatsoever

Top Ten Film lists. Ahhh, what fun these are. We've all seen such lists on tv, in magazines... but what are your own favourites?

Everyone has many favourite films and ranking one above the other is not easy. So this list is merely ten of my favourites instead of an ordered countdown.


ONE OF OUR DINOSAURS IS MISSING (1975)

You can keep your Lion Kings and Fantasias, because this is Disney at it's brilliant best.

British toff Lord Southmere (Derek Nimmo) escapes from China with a microfilm of the formula for the mysterious "Lotus X". On his return to London, he is forced to hide the formula in the dinosaur section of the British Museum when hunted down and captured by Chinese agents, led by Hnup Wan (Peter Ustinov at his peak), but not before he manages to tell his old nanny (Helen Hayes) where he has hidden it. Cue fun capers as said nanny and her friends (including Joan 'Carry On' Sims) attempt to recover the microfilm, even if it means stealing a whole dinosaur. In one fantastic sequence, the dinosaur is driven by three nannies through the foggy streets of London with three truckloads of angry Chinese giving chase.


FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)

I adore Bond films. Most of them are fantastic entertainment to watch, and I can't imagine a bank holiday or Christmas going by without a Bond film on television.

As great as most Bond films are, it would be dull to stack this list with them, so I'll settle for this low key Moore entry. Usually forgotten because it doesn't have gigantic set pieces (which it's predecessor Moonraker certainly did) and no one wanting to take over the world, FYEO is a marvellous little thriller. In fact, the story is about Bond's search for an old 1980s cash register... well, maybe (he's looking for stolen British technology that looks very similar). But most of the story actually focuses on smuggling in Greece.

It has the best pre-credits sequence ever, with Bond trapped in a remote control helicopter, and two fantastic action scenes - the little yellow 2CV chase ("Love a drive in the country, don't you?") and the ski run down the bobsleigh course.


WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS (1978)

During the 1970s, there was a clutch of British period adventure films starring American Doug McClure. Amongst them were 'At the Earth's Core' and the fondly remembered 'The Land That Time Forgot'. But this low budget Victorian-set epic is the best of the lot. It's marvellous stuff, as Greg Collinson (McClure) and scientist Charles Aitken (Peter Gilmore) set out to test their new experimental diving bell but get more than they bargained for below the sea. Atlantis, giant octopuses and all kinds of skulduggery add to the mix. The prehistoric monster sequences may not look great now, but I was certainly convinced aged nine. You may laugh but I love it to bits.


INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984)

Whenever an Indiana Jones film is mentioned on top film lists, it is usually the first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark. But I've always had a soft spot for this much maligned sequel, with Indy doing battle with a cult of Thugee worshippers in India. Why, you may ask? Well I watched it over and over back in the 1980s when I was a little'un and it always seemed to me like utter perfection. Every scene flowed like magic, and still does. The evidence, m,lud:

Anything Goes. "Good service around here." The gong. Short Round's pedal box. "Nice try, Lao Che!" "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" John Williams' score. Snake surprise. "We. Are going. TO DIE." "Let's get out of here." "Right... All of us!" Indy's 'hero' stance in the caves. The rollercoaster mine chase. The rope bridge fight. All the children running over the hill at the end.


STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1984)

Now look. I know you're all reading this and thinking, "Star Trek III? THREE?? What is Litefoot on about? The odd numbered Trek films were terrible."

To which I say: twaddle. I have to say that I enjoyed all the films made by the original TV series cast. The Motion Picture wasn't bad, but I never went out of my way to watch it. The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier (yes, I include William Shatner's effort much derided by everyone except me) and The Undiscovered Country were by far and away Trek at it's best. I love these films, and Trek was never quite the same afterwards. The Next Generation films were very poor substitutes, like TV episodes with bigger budgets.

The third in the series is the pick of the bunch. It deals with Kirk's attempts to resurrect Spock from his apparent death in Trek II. OK, so it doesn't have quotes from classic literature peppered all over the place, but what it does have is thrilling sequences such as the escape from spacedock, when Kirk attempts to steal the Enterprise from right under Starfleet's nose, and the ship's final battle and ultimate sacrifice in a fantastic climax. The cast really put in a great performance and Christopher Lloyd makes for a truly villainous Klingon. James Horner's score doesn't hurt either.


GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

A group of scientists set up their own ghost catching business and end up trying to save the world. Endlessly quotable, endlessly watchable. "Ray, if somebody asks you if you're a God, you say YES!" Bill Murray can try to win as many Oscars as he likes but he'll never make another film as good as this one.


BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)

The QUINTESSENTIAL 80s film, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Teenager Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) is accidentally zapped 30 years into the past in 'Doc' Brown's time machine and ends up meeting his young parents, one of whom has a crush on him. Can he unite his parents and return home without damaging the time line?

Films that heavily feature time travel are usually worth a look but when the journey is done in such a cool way (88mph in a souped up Delorean), even better. Christopher Lloyd as 'Doc' Brown is clearly having fun with his mad scientist role, and Michael J Fox can be rest assured that he won't be forgotten after this film debut. Director Robert Zemeckis announced himself to the world as did musician Alan Silvestri, but have they ever done better work than this? I think not.


FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR (1986)

Young David accidentally falls into a small canyon and knocks himself unconscious. After waking up he discovers that eight years have passed. Some strange medical results bring NASA in, and now he can hear voices inside his head...

This was rather scary in my youth, and to some extent still is, especially when the alien maps of the galaxy spring up on all the NASA computers out of David's head. The spaceship is small but beautifully designed and I find the special effects more convincing here than in some current films. And Alan Silvestri crops up again with some creepy music.


SHORT CIRCUIT (1986)

It may be a touch saccharine through adult eyes but it is yet another of my treasured 80s classics Experimental robot Number Five is zapped in a freak electrical accident, becomes self aware and roams free in the outside world. Ally Sheedy's ice cream seller is the person he latches on to, but the trigger happy military have discovered his escape and are not far behind... Steve Guttenberg is excellent as his creator and Fisher Stevens is probably the last actor in Hollywood history to have his face blacked up to play an Indian. The robot itself is well designed and I want one. "Hey, Laserlips! Your momma was a snowblower!"


INNERSPACE (1987)

Hotshot pilot Dennis Quaid is shrunk in a scientific experiment, but thieves break into the lab and he's inadvertantly injected into bumbling supermarket clerk Martin Short. Lighthearted fun throughout, this was our first sighting of Short (he's since been scarcely seen, his only other really great film being comedy THE THREE AMIGOS). It's also Meg Ryan at her best. Robert 'Voyager' Picardo turns up in a small role, and would you believe it, has hair on his head.

Summary: Litefoot's picks from the silver screen