Disney movies - guilty pleasures

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As I was born in 1956, I will start when I can first remember seeing a Disney film.....

1959  Darby O'Gill and the Little People   probably saw it in 1960.
The banshees' Death Coach scared the crap out of me. Would have made a good ride ("E" ticket at Disneyland). They don't use that term anymore. Also pre-007 Connery was on board.
1961  One Hundred and One Dalmatians - liked Cruella's mansion art design
The Parent Trap the thing I most remember was the incredible queues of cars outside the drive-in to see this (this was huge in Australia) also seeing TWO Hayley Mills (split screen was movie magic). Few years later TV ripped this off with The Patty Duke Show (another guilty pleasure .... maybe another post?)
1962  In Search of the Castaways  I remember a crazy avalanche (?) scene set in New Zealand, wildly imaginative, typical Disney class, superb art direction/special effects. Hayley Mills meets Jules Verne.
1963  The Sword in the Stone You can't beat a classic story. Madame Mim is a dead ringer for a former teaching colleague (but I digress)
1964  Not Mary Poppins too long (140 mins) for kids, well I got a wriggly bum.
1965-1969 - nothing of interest to me
1970  The Boatniks only because of Phil Silvers and Joe E. Ross
1971  Bedknobs and Broomsticks only because of Angela Lansbury (117 mins, why were Disney movies so long?)
1972 -1976  to me, Disney was uncool
1977  The Rescuers;  Freaky Friday a return to form (we won't mention Pete's Dragon....)
1978  Candleshoe  Jodie Foster (again) with a great Brit cast.
1979  The Black Hole (I think I was the only one in the cinema) a brave try, great John Barry score but the ending....??!!
1980  Not Popeye  ...R.I.P.   Robert Altman directed this!!
1981  Dragonslayer - slow to develop, but a stunning film, the dragon will knock yer socks off, Sir Ralph Richardson, Alex North musical score. Highly recommended.
1982  Tron - ahead of its time, staggering design but a bit of a bore.
1983  Something Wicked This Way Comes - flawed masterpiece, not a crowd pleaser, very atmospheric, creepy Jonathan Pryce and tarantulas.
1984  Splash - finally Disney gets a hit! Forget about The Black Cauldron (has its moments, but read the three books, Lloyd Alexander's The Prydain Chronicles)
1989  The Little Mermaid using Alan Menken and Howard Ashman really paid off for Disney
1996  The Hunchback of Notre Dame superb Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz score, too dark for kids
1997  Hercules wondrous Menken/Zippel score, reminiscent of Little Shop of Horrors, cool gospel singers/Greek chorus, James Woods as Hades. Perfect
2001  Spirited Away produced by Studio Ghibli, English version is very respectful though.
2004  The Lion King 1 and a half  Nathan Lane is hilarious, lovely movie send-ups; Howl's Moving Castle Studio Ghibli again but I found the Japanese version hazy, confusing in parts, talented voice cast - Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale
2005  Sky High fun for adults and kids - the Disney formula (entertainment on two levels)
2007  Enchanted the ending drops the ball but the rest is smart and a delightful 'Disney princess' tribute. Amy Adams is such a versatile actress. Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz score is a delight.

Paramount movies - my guilty pleasures - no classics here

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1961  The Ladies' Man (only for the knockout multi-level set)
1962  nil
1963  The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis's best solo effort - love "Buddy Love")
1964  The Carpetbaggers (delightful trashy - cross reference with The Aviator)
The Fall of the Roman Empire - Samuel Bronson productions were over-the-top historical epics with fat budgets
Seven Days in May  this is a classic, couldn't resist putting it in - haven't seen it in decades
1965  Crack in the World  great British sci-fi
1966  Assault on a Queen (only for the cool 'big band' musical score, Sinatra misfire)
1967  Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad  funniest thing in this movie is the title, the title was the theme song as well - so bad, you watch it with your mouth wide open.
1968  Barbarella .... of course, "my pretty-pretty..."   just for the opening titles, those snapping dolls and the origin of Duran Duran.
Danger: Diabolik  John Phillip Law again. Amazing 60's production design. Recommended.
No Way to Treat a Lady  Rod Steiger always plays the best nutjob.

1969  True Grit  "Fill your hands, you sonofabitch!"
The Italian Job - makes you want to buy a mini, plus Noel Coward and Benny Hill, "I like 'em big"
1970  W.U.S.A. great cast and New Orleans setting, Catch 22 (brave film adaptation, incredible cast)
1971  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory  Gene Wilder as Wonka nails it.
1972  Play it Again, Sam  great Woody Allen romance, priceless ending
1973  Don't Look Now dig the dwarf in the red poncho, incredibly creepy Venice locale
1974  The Parallax View (great Warren Beatty political thriller) Chinatown one of those films you could watch countless times and get more out of it .... it is a classic but it's my blog and I want to include it!
1975  The Day of the Locust (30's L.A.); Three Days of the Condor (Faye Dunaway, again)
1976  Marathon Man  "Is it safe??"  The Last Tycoon another 30's Hollywood setting, great De Niro performance;  The Big Bus funny disaster movie send-up
1977  Looking for Mr Goodbar;  Black Sunday (chalk and cheese)
1978  Heaven Can Wait  Dyan Cannon is priceless in this.... plus James Mason as an angel!
1979  The Warriors  nasty street gangs, it ain't West Side Story
1980  Airplane!  see Airport 75 first for added enjoyment
1981  Mommie Dearest ...say no more, Faye Dunaway=camp classic
1982  48 Hrs  Remember when Eddie Murphy made good movies?
1983  Trading Places  Remember when Eddie Murphy made good movies? Jamie Lee Curtis = great rack
1984  Top Secret! (from creators of Airplane!)
1985  Young Sherlock Holmes  Don't miss the quick scene after the closing credits!
1986  Ferris Bueller's Day Off   John Hughes at his best.
1987  The Untouchables  3 reasons: De Palma's direction of the baby carriage scene; Sean Connery; Ennio Morricone's sublime music

"Guilty pleasure" movies - from Columbia Pictures

I will begin when I was four years old, old enough to remember seeing the movie.

1960 Guns of Navarone *
1961 Mysterious Island
1962 The Notorious Landlady *  (great use of "A Foggy Day In London Town")
1963 Bye Bye Birdie *
1964 The Long Ships
1965 Bunny Lake Is Missing * (gripping black and white movie)
1966 The Silencers * (Dino is no Sean Connery, but Stella Stevens works)
1967 The Ambushers * (cringe-worthy dialogue, but great fun)
1968 Funny Girl *
1969 The Wrecking Crew * (last Matt Helm film - Sharon Tate is a trick)
1970 The Owl and the Pussycat * (stunning opening titles and score)
1971 The Anderson Tapes (great use of split screens); Dollars (another heist movie, ultra-long chase scene)
1972 Butterflies Are Free (Goldie Hawn again!)
1973 Oklahoma Crude *
1974 The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad (all hail, Ray Harryhausen)
1975 Bite The Bullet; Stepford Wives (another deadheat, couldn't decide)
1976 Murder By Death (wet Neil Simon effort but knockout cast)
1977 The Deep * (John Barry does disco, Nolte and Bissett in the Caribbean)
1978 The Eyes Of Laura Mars *
1979 All That Jazz *
1980 Seems Like Old Times
1981 Stripes
1982 Tootsie (a near perfect film, so I suppose it isn't a "guilty pleasure")
1983 Blue Thunder
1984 Body Double (Brian DePalma doing another Hitchcock hommage)
1985 Fright Night (stands up well, better than remake, Roddy McDowell - nice touch)
1986 Stand By Me (best ever Stephen King adaptation)
1987 Hope And Glory (watch for John Boorman's son, Charley as crashed German pilot)



1988 Vibes (Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk in Machu Picchu - what is not to like?)

* denotes musical score of note (in my humble opinion)

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