Mastodawn

The Blue Max (1966)

A German infantryman becomes a pilot during World War I, and has an obsession with attaining the Blue Max medal, the highest honor for German pilots.

His commander believes in chivalry and honor, and takes a disliking to him after the pilot shows more interest in his kills than in his fellow pilots. Another pilot who himself achieves a Blue Max medal, has somewhat of a rivalry with him.

Complications ensue when the pilot is used for propaganda to support the war effort, to the chagrin of those around him. He also has an affair with a General's wife.

The Red Barron makes an apperance along the way.

There's exciting aerial scenes.

Apparently this was among the last CinemaScope features.

Directed by John Guillermin

Stars George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Jeremy Kemp, Karl Michael Vogler, and Anton Diffring

@Starcade I haven't rewatched #BlueMax in many years but my recollection was that it was pretty light weight film, which is typical of most movies starring #GeorgePeppard, that was mainly made to highlight the flying scenes which were reminiscent of the scenes in the iconic silent film Wings (1927).

I have copies of both of these films in my DVD collection.

My main problem with the movie now is political. Even back in the 60's, depicting a German WWI pilot as a heroic figure fighting for an expansionist & pre-Nazi regime was questionable but now it just seems totally insensitive & out of touch with the political movement back towards fascism in our own country & in many other countries today.

Worth watching for the dogfight scenes but not much more than that IMO. 🤷‍♂️

@Starcade Haven't you ever watched #BreakfastAtTiffaneys (1961) made just 5 yrs before #BlueMax (1966)?

#GeorgePeppad plays the budding artist being "kept" by a rich woman in a supporting role vs #AudreyHepburn who plays the high class "escort" that he falls in love with.

This is a must see if you've never seen it before.

As for Peppard, I like him best in the TV detective show #Banacek which was probably aired before your time but should be available for streaming somewhere. This show was running "live" on network TV when I lived #Brookline & #Cambridge when I was going to #Harvard.

I've never seen Breakfast At Tiffany's. I know both George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn are in it-- however the only picture I've ever seen with Audrey Hepburn was Steven Spielberg's Always. I've always liked that one and found she simply radiates while on screen. Some people just have that quality about them.

I do own Breakfast At Tiffany's. I have a lot of films I've never seen. Usually I pick them up when they're on sale, and then try to watch them a later time. Right now I'm just randomly watching both new and old films when I have the time.

It's funny you mention Banacek. I have seen it! I absolutely love older TV shows. Last year, I watched all the Columbo's, then veered off into watching Rockford Files, Adam 12, Ironside, and Banacek. They were all free on Amazon Prime. Amazon has a surprising number of classic TV shows available. I'm currently working my way through NYPD Blue-- however that one I own. Amazon does have NYPD Blue available on their "Live TV" as a dedicated channel

We need to work on your film history education. LOL! 😉

Only so many hours in the day. Usually I watch movies before going to bed. Ocassionally I'll stretch a movie out over multiple nights if it's too long and/or if I'm tried that night. What really eats into my movie time is when I watch TV series instead. I basically rotate between the two.

You HAVE to make time to watch #BreakfastAtTiffanys, which despite the racist portrayal of #MickeyRooney in #YellowFace as Hepburn's (Holly GoLightly's) upstairs neighbor, is one of my fave movies of all time.

It's ranked 61st in one the AFI's list of 100 best movies ever made & the AFI later ranked the movie's theme song -- #MoonRiver at 4th of 109 mobies for the best song.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Passions

AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions - Wikipedia

#1 is Casablanca... a film I've never seen 🙂

Actually I've only seen three in the top 10, Gone with the Wind, West Side Story and It's a Wonderful Life.

Gone with the Wind is freaking long

It's a Wonderful Life I've watched many times

@Starcade Start watching the movies that on the list that you haven't seen yet & stop watching junk like #BlueMax. LOL!! 😉

BTW, these are only AFI's top 100 romantic movies. They have other top 100 lists in other categories.

I can't believe Shakespeare in Love or The English Patient are on the list. Shakepeare is a clever film that's good, but I wouldn't consider it great. The English Patient is one of the few films I dsilike immensely. It's a tedious watch.

I don't like all of the movies listed on any AFI's or other "best of" lists either but that doesn't mean that the movies we "hate" don't have some redeeming value that we may not recognize or appreciate. 🤷

Generally I like most films, even bad ones, but there's a handful I absolutely dislike. The English Patient is among them. I've seen it twice and it's an excruciating watch. The cave scene was perhaps the only moment I liked.

There was a Seinfeld epsiode that mocked The English Patient, and I couldn't agree more.

I haven't watched #TheEnglishPatient for awhile.

I didn't "hate" it like you do. I just thought it was boring. I'll rewatch it to see if that opinion has changed or not

My least favorite movies ever are...

The English Patient
Uncut Gems
The Banshees of Inisherin
Mortdecai

Most of these I've seen at least twice, just to be sure and my opinion of them hasn't wavered.

I can't imagine making an unwatchable film, but all of these managed to be one.

@Starcade Haven't watched all of these but these are my views on them:

#EnglishPatient -- boring but in my collection of Best Picture Oscar winners.

#UnCutGems -- Have never seen it because it didn't look like a movie that I'd like to watch but I don't like watching most #AdamSandler movies

#BansheesofInisherin -- Seen it, Didn't like it because of the absurdity of it but a few scenes are really funny (like the finger amputation). I always wondered if the story was about a homosexual relationship gone bad. Nothing wrong with such relationships but nothing being suggested about that possibility just makes the inference stronger.

#Mortdecai -- Haven't seen it for the same reason as UnCut Gems; didn't think I'd like it. However unlike Sandler, I like watching most but not all of #JohnnyDepp movies, especially those that are too farcical like this movie apparently seemed to be.

I need to think about what my "least favorite" movies are. Can't think of any right now; must be blocking them. LOL! 😉

@Starcade It's hard for me to come up with a list of movies that I "hate" or that are my "least favorites" because I usually pre-select them out so that I do not end up watching any such movies.

For me, the list would be :movies that I started to watch but couldn't finish" (which are movies that I usually turn off w/in the 1st 10-15 minutes).

Off the top of my head these are a few of them:

1) #GrandBudapestHotel (2014)
2) #InBruges (2008) not sure I could watch #Banshees but not this one.
3) #Her (2013)
4) #AfterYang (2021)
5) #HomeAlone (1990)
6) #OBrotherWhereArtThou (2000)
7) #MenWhoStareAtGoats (2009)
8) #TheTerminal (2004)
9) #TicketToParadise (2022)
10) #BillyMadison (1995)

It's no surprise that certain actors are featured in more than one of these but that doesn't mean I don't like other movies of theirs.

There is also a long list of movies that I like (or at least don't hate) that I've seen & rewatched in their entirely many times over. 🤷‍♂️

There's no accounting for "taste." 😉

Half of these I liked, and half I've never seen.

Haven't seen In Bruges, Her, After Yang, O Brother Where Art Thou, or Bllly Madison.

Of the 5 that I've seen, the weakest is Ticket to Paradise which was okay. At best, it was disappointing considering those involved.

Men Who Stare At Goats is a quirky film, somewhat based on a real events. I kind of like their conviction even though you know it's not going to work.

Grand Budapest Hotel is another quirky film. It's typical Wes Anderson. Asteroid City is a far more tedious watch, but it has it's moments. I never did get through the The French Dispatch, which I recall being odd. His movies are usually out there and far from realistic.

The Terminal, while not one of Spielberg's finer works, I still find endearing and have watched it many times.

Home Alone is a classic. The criminals are stupid, and there's cartoon-type violence but I just love that film. The end tugs at the heart strings every time I watch it.

@Starcade There are a few exceptions but generally I don't like "quirky" or farsical films & usually screen out the most obvious of them.

#Bruges also co-stars Brendan Gleeson & Colin Farrell; again not sure why I couldn't get into it as opposed to Banshees.

I also don't like predictable sitcoms like #HomeAlone because they're boring to me.

I know it's considered an #XmasClassic but it bored me because I knew without watching all of it, what was going to happen. Same for the sequels that I never bothered to watch.

The Terminal just bored me; probably because I already knew the story upon which it was based & wasn't interested in how the movie was similar or different from it.

I started but didn't finish #TicketToParadise would end because it was just a formula vehicle for Roberts & Clooney who I knew would fail to stop their daughter's marriage &, of course, fall in love again in the process; boring again.

Starcade Jan 10

The sequels to Home Alone are not worth watching in my opinion. Home Alone 2 is a retread of the original, the same thing happens with the same criminals, except now the main character finds himself alone in New York. That his family leaves him behind more than once on Christmas means they're never going to win any parenting awards. There's also an ick factor in the movie.

Feels like a money grab.

If you HAVE to have a sequel, personally I rather it continue the story, or be original and not repeat themselves. Since the first one is about being home alone, they really should have stopped after the first one or maybe gone in another direction-- home with everybody, and had a Christmas together. But I'm still of the mind that Home Alone did not need a sequel.

Another way to approach watching movies that are considered "the best" & to get a film studies overview of history of film making is to watch all (or as many as you can) of the Best Picture #Oscar winners, starting with #Wings in 1927 which was the 1st.

I've got a copy of all of the Best Picture Oscar winners in my DVD collection & have watched a large number (but certainly not all) of the nominees, many of which I thought deserved to win instead.

You can find a list of Best Picture Oscar winners & nominees here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture

Academy Award for Best Picture - Wikipedia

Although I haven't seen them all, there are years in which I disagree with the Best Picture winner-- in fact it's a list of my Letterboxd site... nominated films that should have won.

https://letterboxd.com/starcade/list/films-that-should-have-won-best-picture/

Films that should have won Best Picture

I skipped years where I either agree with the winner or there was no great choice among the nominees (i.e. 2020).