Best Movies by Farr

So Long Mr. Malden...

It's sad and scary both to say goodbye to you, because you represented the last man standing from a period in film-making whose like we won't see again.

As we celebrate the Fourth, we should think of you, since you represented all the best possibilities of being American : a young immigrant, full of promise, who found identity and success in the new world.

In your 97 well-lived years, you were a veteran, were married over seventy years to one lady. You were a family man, a dedicated worker, a lover of your craft.

You gave back to your industry on-screen, making Brando and Kazan look good... and off-screen, most recently as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A delightful education awaits those who only remember you from "The Streets Of San Francisco" and the old American Express Travelers Cheques campaign.

Just explore the following Malden titles on www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com:

Kiss Of Death (1947)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

On The Waterfront (1954)

Baby Doll (1956)

Fear Strikes Out (1957)

Pollyanna (1960)

Birdman Of Alcatraz (1962)

How The West Was Won (1962)

Patton (1970)

If a film actor is judged by the breadth and quality of the work he leaves behind, then you, Karl Malden, were one hell of an actor.

We will miss you.

For July 4th, Ten Movies that Scream America

As we head into Independence Day weekend, for those who'd like to move beyond the evergreen "Yankee Doodle Dandy", I want to suggest some classic titles scattered over the decades that each in their way evoke our country's unique character- to paraphrase a favorite movie title, encompassing the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

If you haven't seen any of these for a while, well now's the time.

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936)- Simple country boy Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) inherits an immense fortune from a distant relative he doesn't even know, and must then navigate a sea of handlers and hand-out requests to make sense of his new life as multi-millionaire. But those who think they can manipulate this tuba-playing rube are soon in for a rude awakening. This charming slice of Americana from director Frank Capra is one of Cooper's most appealing comic forays, as his plain-talking homespun reflection of rural America-foxes all those smug and greedy city-slickers. Thus the movie reinforces the recurring Capra theme of solid individual integrity over the mob of established, monied interests. The husky voiced Jean Arthur delivers a note-perfect turn as Babe Bennett, a hard-nosed lady journalist who first ridicules, then falls for Longfellow, much to her surprise. One of the screen's authentic classics, this is pixilated comedy at its very best.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)- Charting the early life experiences of Abraham Lincoln (Henry Fonda) in Springfield, Illinois, this fictionalized biopic follows the future Civil War president from his first political speech in 1832 and the tragic death of girlfriend Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore) to his first trial case as a lawyer. Throughout, we glimpse moments of anguish and triumph in the making of a moral leader, as well as his courtship of society belle Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver). The film culminates with Lincoln summoning uncommon ingenuity in defending two young men accused of murder. Fonda, who originally declined the role because of his awed reverence for Lincoln's legacy, embodies Abe with plainspoken assurance and gutsy idealism. Weaver, as the future Mrs. Lincoln, and Alice Brady, as the mother of two sons presumed guilty of murder, round out a luminous studio cast. Don't miss this stunning, mythic portrait of American greatness personified, by the legendary director of "Stagecoach."

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)- The great Sam Goldwyn produced this first, most ambitious movie about the plight of returning servicemen at the end of the Second World War. The film follows the unique readjustments to civilian life faced by three veterans: Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), a young officer coming back to a dead-end job, Al Stephenson (Fredric March), an older soldier returning to a loving family and stable career, and Homer Parrish (Harold Russell), a sailor who has lost both his hands in combat. Each character is subtly drawn under William Wyler's expert direction, evoking the complex challenges that confront veterans of all ranks - making sense of their own war experiences while readjusting to a changed America. Even with the requisite dose of sentimentality and romance, the film never strays far from its central premise that no matter what you return to in a time of peace, war changes you forever. Oscar-winner for Best Picture, Best Actor (March) and Best Supporting Actor (Russell, an amputee veteran, and non-actor!).

Picnic (1955)- Hal Carter (William Holden), a down-and-out former college football jock, hops a freight to Kansas to ask his wealthy former roommate Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson) for a job. Alan's thrilled to see him (at first), but others distrust the rugged stranger, including Flo Owens (Betty Field), the socially ambitious mother of the girl Alan's been dating, town beauty Madge (Kim Novak, in her film debut). She senses the potential chemistry between Hal and Madge, an attraction that might hurt Hal's job search, and ruin Flo's carefully laid plans for her daughter's future. Matters come to a head at the town picnic. Joshua Logan's adaptation of the hit William Inge play captures the feeling of mid-twentieth century small town America as few other pictures have. Location shooting (in Technicolor) helps, with the crowd shots of real Kansans enjoying themselves during the picnic sequence particularly evocative. The two romantic leads do indeed heat up the screen, particularly during their memorable dance to the fifties standard, "Moonglow". Robertson, Field, Rosalind Russell and Arthur O'Connell round out a first-rate cast. Attend this "Picnic".

Medium Cool (1969)- TV cameraman John Cassellis ( an unrecognizable, pre- "Jackie Brown" Robert Forster) meets and falls for struggling single mom, Eileen (Verna Bloom), against the least opportune of back-drops: the turbulent 1968 Democratic Convention, when brutal police reaction to student demonstrations put the city of Chicago in chaos. John and sound-man Gus (Peter Bonerz) must capture the unfolding crisis for posterity, and in this volatile situation, it appears nothing is safe, including any future for John and Eileen. Haskell Wexler's one-of-a-kind film seamlessly blends narrative and documentary forms, as the actors actually played their scenes as the Chicago riots were exploding all around them. The heightened sense of immediacy and danger is palpable. Extremely well-played by Forster and Bloom, this is a fascinating, irreplaceable American time-capsule for the ages. Look for Peter Boyle as an impassioned right-winger.

Breaking Away (1979)- This strikingly buoyant coming-of-age picture set in Indiana tells of four local boys (and recent high-school grads) who must face their futures, but not before enjoying one last carefree summer. Protagonist Dave (Dennis Christopher) is obsessed with cycling, and on learning how many cycling champions come from Italy, cultivates an appreciation for all things Italian, much to the consternation of his conventional parents (Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie). Dave's cycling skills will eventually be tested against the snobby college guys in Bloomington's annual bike race. Director Peter Yates's heartfelt, life-affirming movie will prove a winner for older kids and adults. Christopher is appealingly quirky in the central role and the film also showcases the budding talents of future stars Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern as two of Dave's buddies. Dooley is outstanding as Dave's bewildered father, a solid Middle American you might actually buy a used car from.

Tender Mercies (1983)- Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall), once a successful country music balladeer, has a severe drinking problem and has finally hit bottom. It's no surprise that when alcoholics reach this sad crossroads in life, they either wither away entirely or climb back up into the world. With the help of patient widow Rosa Lee (Tess Harper) and her young son, Mac gradually finds the strength to reclaim his life. This quiet, unadorned gem, beautifully realized by Australian director Bruce Beresford from a brilliant Horton Foote screenplay, is an actor's showcase, and Duvall makes the most of it, turning in a bravura performance that won him a well-deserved Oscar. (Trivia note: screenwriter Foote had also done the script for Duvall's first film twenty years earlier: "To Kill A Mockingbird", where the actor played the mysterious Boo Radley).

Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)- This riveting biopic of Vietnam protester Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) opens with his all-American upbringing in Massapequa, NY, and entry into the war as a deeply patriotic enlisted man. Later, Kovic returns home disillusioned and psychologically scarred from a bullet wound that's left him paralyzed from the waist down. Alienated and adrift in Mexico, the hard-drinking vet eventually begins to pull his life together, devoting his energies to anti-war activism. Helmed by Vietnam vet Oliver Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-'em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.

American Beauty (1999)- Leading an empty suburban life with his uptight, real-estate-agent wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), and depressed teenage daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), sardonic forty-something Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) decides to overhaul his body--and his life--when he falls madly in lust with gorgeous nubile Angela (Mena Suvari), Jane's flirtatious best friend. This superlative drama by theater director Sam Mendes peers at the dark side of American middle-class life with ripe, risqué humor and aching poignancy. Both screenwriter Alan Ball and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall were honored along with Mendes at the 1999 Academy Awards for their evocation of suburban alienation, but Kevin Spacey, whose cool, cynical narration constitutes the film's central nervous system, deserved all the acclaim he received for bringing Lester to life (including a Best Actor Oscar). Working in a subplot involving Lester's new neighbors, an unhinged Marine (Chris Cooper) and his artsy, drug-dealing son (Wes Bentley), Mendes gives this "Beauty" a gut-wrenching finale that completes Lester's transformation.

Transamerica (2005)- Just a week before pre-operative transsexual Bree Osbourne (Felicity Huffman), formerly Stanley, is about go under the knife to complete her male-to-female transformation, she learns that she has a 17-year-old son named Toby (Kevin Zegers), who's in trouble with the law. Encouraged by her therapist, Margaret (Elizabeth Peña), to come to grips with her past, Bree bails Toby out of jail and takes him on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles. Expertly handled by first-time director Duncan Tucker, this funny, touching film belongs to a tradition of beautifully observed movies about nontraditional American families. Huffman is riveting to watch, especially in the scenes with her disapproving mother, Elizabeth (Fionnula Flanagan). But it is her rapport with Zegers, perfect as the troubled Toby, that gives the film its heart and soul, especially as he believes Bree is a goody-goody church type-not his father. Their trip-so often the arc of growth in great road films-is mutually nourishing and eye-opening. Settle in with "Transamerica" for a frank, heartfelt outing.

For close to 2,000 more outstanding titles, visit www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.
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Meditations on a Remake: "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3"

I have to admit it: the new "Taking Of Pelham 123" wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. (It's somewhat scary though when this reaction seems like the best you can hope for.)

Incidentally, I have a theory about remakes: in very few instances do they outshine the originals.

Indie producer/ director Roger Corman once told me why: think of all the moving parts and variables on a film production...all the things that can go wrong, all the areas where a movie can somehow fall short.

In Corman's view, with hits (and for recognition value, remakes tend to be made off past hits), the all-important fundamentals of the movie fall into place via some sort of ethereal creative alchemy. No director can force this to happen- when it does occur, all he or she can do is try to make the most of it.

Thus, from this perspective, attempting a remake is akin to making lightning strike twice.

As if to echo Corman, Michael Caine, who admittedly has appeared in his fair share of dreck, once mused that Hollywood would be wiser to remake indifferent films, rather than the winners.

"Why set yourself up to fail?", he asked reasonably.

I've always loved the original "Pelham" from 1974. It evokes the slightly run-down version of the Manhattan I knew as a kid. Like the city itself then, what the first "Pelham" lacks in polish, it makes up for in character and spirit.

The high body count is not what you remember, it's the characters: Walter Matthau as Zack Garber, world weary and with a mug like an old saddle-bag. In one memorable scene, he gently ridicules a group of Japanese subway officials as he gives them a tour of the MTA facilities- until he realizes they actually do speak English. Matthau's cohorts-like Jerry Stiller, the late James Broderick (Matthew's Dad) and Kenneth McMillan, each reflect a distinctly pungent spice in the varied melting pot of working New Yorkers.

Leading the villains is an intensely understated Robert Shaw, overseeing a motley band of bad guys...yet these bad guys are actually distinct, identifiable characters, each with their own tics and quirks. Both Martin Balsam (burdened with a bad head cold which serves as an ingenious plot device), and Hector Elizondo stand out in these roles.

Watching Tony Scott's well-received updating of the story predictably made me nostalgic for earlier times and earlier ways of making action pictures. Scott employs all the expected bells and whistles of today's blockbuster action film- swirling cameras, deafening music, rapid cutting, over-the-top stunts, graphic violence and language- to create an admittedly involving and diverting movie. Yet the subtlety and seasoning of the first humble effort is lost.

Standing in as the alpha baddie this time out, John Travolta is fun to watch, though at times his "Ryder" seems to be channeling Vince Vega from "Pulp Fiction". There is no mystery to his character, however- where Shaw's ring-leader was a terse, cool customer who carried the threat of death in his steely, dead eyes, Travolta spews venomous spit all over the place. The number of times the "f" word is used may set new records, not that anyone's counting.

But just when we're getting comfortable with him as a ruthless psychopath, we learn that he used to be a Wall Street finance wizard who got caught with his hand in the till. Gee- where did they come up with that one?

Also, Travolta's henchmen-even the talented Luis Guzman- play ciphers here, brutal-looking thugs who grunt more than speak. Their personalities and purpose feel wholly interchangeable within the action picture realm.

In the earlier picture, director Joseph Sargent made the City Hall portrayals satirical to leaven the tension. The addled, flu-afflicted Mayor was clearly modeled on Ed Koch, intended to mirror the calamitous state of city governance, as New York City was then hovering close to financial default.

James Gandolfini plays the new Mayor as a cynical operator with nary a trace of humor or irony. But here the film continues to reinforce those oh-so-familiar types: since the Mayor is a politician, he must also be a recently exposed philanderer...saw that one coming too!

All of which brings me to the central character...Here at least the film-makers tried to do the right thing, attempting to make the Garber character more layered and ambiguous. Washington's Garber is no longer a transit cop, but a formerly high-ranking MTA executive demoted to manning the switchboard pending a bribery allegation.

Ah...the old (very old) redemption theme....by remaining at the center of the crisis, Walter Garber can win back the trust and respect of his superiors in one fell swoop.

OK, but for me there's a problem. When Matthau ultimately tracks down Shaw with a gun, it seems only appropriate: he's a transit cop. But Denzel is in full mouse disguise with this character, complete with glasses and a sweater vest. When all of a sudden the film puts him into super-hero mode towards the end of the picture, we don't quite buy it. Or at least I didn't.

I know, I know...I'm over-thinking this, right? Sorry, but it's my natural reaction when so much of what we see on today's movie screens encourages us not to think at all.

Even so, in all good conscience I cannot label the new "Pelham" a total failure. It's a slick, sleek piece of work that delivers the action goods to a new generation of viewers who value images over words, action over character, and demonstration over suggestion.

And if a couple of credibility gaps pop up along the way, no big deal. Soon enough there'll be another sequence where someone gets mowed down by an automatic weapon from three inches away, and the resulting jolt should render issues of sense and logic irrelevant.

Still, if I have to choose between these two Walters, make mine Matthau.

For close to 2,000 outstanding movies on DVD, visit www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.

Celebrating Streep at Sixty

With the start of her film career and eventual stardom all occurring during my pivotal college years, the work of actress Meryl Streep is so embedded in my consciousness that it feels as if I should measure my own milestones by hers.

This week, our most distinguished screen actress turns sixty, and looking back on her legacy, we find one of those rare, happy stories of a person with blazing talent setting a high but worthy goal for herself, and fulfilling it.

That goal was to create a body of work whose quality would stand (she unquestionably has), without resorting to roles designed to exploit her beauty or sex (she didn't). Even when her films fell short (as they frequently did in the '90s, when Hollywood had no clue what to do with her) her presence always counted for something. She was never a decorative accompaniment or support to a leading man; she always held her own, by virtue of her performances, but also the parts she took.

And we, her fans, know Meryl Streep primarily from the emotions and intelligence emanating from those roles, not via sensationalistic stories in the National Enquirer. There is a grounded, decidedly normal quality to the woman that makes the actress seem all the more extraordinary.

Off the set, she eschews the spotlight, and has raised four kids, now grown, in a happy marriage to sculptor Don Gummer. By all accounts, that very private, stable part of her life has kept her clear-eyed and put her success in healthy perspective over the years. One wonders, why can't more stars follow her example? Or let's just clone her.
Mary Louise Streep grew up in New Jersey, the daughter of a pharmaceutical executive and an artist turned homemaker. A self-professed child of the sixties, at first she couldn't take acting seriously in the midst of all the social foment. But she knew it was fun, and that she had a knack for it.

So, as a young adult in the early seventies she enrolled in the Yale School of Drama after graduating from Vassar...and never looked back.

Her first film is a personal favorite of mine- Fred Zinnemann's "Julia" (1977), starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jason Robards. The movie is drenched in romance and nostalgia, all about Lillian Hellman's close childhood friend (Redgrave) battling the Nazis. And there, playing an insufferable society girl distracting the noble Lillian from going to her friend's aid, is Meryl. Seen today, she's almost unrecognizable. Here was a part even most good actresses would render forgettable, but there was something about Streep that reached out and grabbed you.

The Meryl we would first come to know and love appears in her very next movie, "The Deer Hunter" (1978), a male-oriented picture if there ever was one. Yet again, Streep's sheer virtuosity as Linda, who seems to embody every young woman left behind in war, registers. (This also marked her only film with the man she was first engaged to, actor John Cazale, who had played Fredo in "The Godfather". Tragically, Cazale was dying of bone cancer during production, and his loss soon after would be a bitter blow for Streep.)

Still the roles would keep coming, and as the eighties arrived, Meryl Streep was- unavoidably and inevitably- a star.

Viewed from a perspective of thirty years, Streep's painstaking discipline and sense of craft have never wavered, but the years have relaxed her to the extent that she will eagerly do comedies. Though some of these pictures are not entirely successful, her presence goes a long way towards redeeming them- and she is in fact a deft comedienne.

As Meryl turns sixty, here's my own list of top Streep titles I'd want with me on most any deserted island:

Kramer Versus Kramer (1979)- On the brink of a big promotion, pre-occupied ad-man Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) gets the wind knocked out of him when wife Joanna (Streep) leaves him and their young son, Billy (Justin Henry). Balancing career demands with caring for a young son he barely knows, Ted makes the hard choices necessary to be there for Billy. But when Joanna returns unexpectedly, a nasty custody battle ensues. Here Meryl teams with Hoffmann at the peak of his career and director Robert Benton for a near-flawless marital drama, depicting the dissolution of a marriage with unerring sensitivity. Touching performances from all three leads help bring an insightful script to heart-wrenching life. At Oscar time, "Kramer" won Best Picture, Benton took the honors for both direction and screenplay, Hoffman got the nod for Best Actor- and after just two years in film, Meryl walked away with the statuette for Best Supporting Actress.

The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)- Disgraced by her affair with a French lieutenant, Sara Woodruff (Streep) is regarded as a woman of ill repute in her South Britain seaside village. But Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons) finds himself irresistibly drawn to this mysterious and guarded Victorian lady, even though he's engaged. As their story plays out, so too does the tale of modern-day actors Anna and Mike, who're playing the doomed lovers in a film, and tumbling into their own conflicted affair. In choosing to adapt John Fowles's complex and epic romance novel, British filmmaker Karel Reisz enlisted the help of dramatist Harold Pinter, who framed the sorrow-laden, 19th-century tale of sexual repression with an intriguing modern story, creating a film-within-a-film structure that reflects the early '80s milieu. Irons is perfectly cast as the love-bitten English gentleman, and the Oscar-nominated Streep is magnificent in her double role--oozing passion as Sara, and cool precision as Anna. Here's a love story like no other.

Sophie's Choice (1982)- Based on William Styron's book, title character Sophie (Streep) is a lovely, mysterious Polish émigré who settles in Brooklyn right after World War II, starting a new life with her brilliant but erratic lover, Nathan (Kevin Kline). Stingo, a naïve aspiring writer from the South (Peter MacNicol), becomes their neighbor and falls under the spell of this magnetic pair. Yet Sophie carries traumas from the recent war which she can't shake and this, combined with Nathan's own inner demons, threatens their future. With this picture, director Alan J. Pakula exposed the full breadth of Streep's prodigious talent when he cast her as Sophie. Beyond her astonishing turn, the film itself packs an emotional wallop- it's at once extremely literate, highly atmospheric and emotionally intense. Also, be warned - it does include some disturbing flashback sequences. Above all, it's a Streep tour-de-force, netting her a Best Actress Oscar. Kline is also solid as the tragic Nathan. This devastating film will stay with you long after the lights come up.

Silkwood (1983)- On her way to meet a journalist in 1974, Karen Silkwood (Streep), a plutonium-plant employee outraged at her management's disregard for safety procedures, vanished, never to be seen again. In this film, we follow Karen's attempts to obtain proof that her company is engineering a cover-up, despite threats, intimidation, and the disastrous effect it has on her relationship with boyfriend Drew (Kurt Russell). Mike Nichols brings a chilling true story to life with this suspenseful, engrossing exposé. Streep's nuanced portrayal shows an ordinary woman who, through fate, circumstance and a streak of raw defiance, risks her life for a cause bigger than herself. Russell executes one of his more interesting roles as Karen's beau, and the talented Cher sheds all her glamour to play Karen's lesbian friend Dolly. Director Nichols builds a gradual sense of dread, culminating in a nerve-jangling conclusion. Don't miss this blistering cautionary tale.

A Cry In The Dark (1988)- In 1980, while camping with her husband Michael (Sam Neill) in the Australian Outback, young mother Lindy Chamberlain (Streep) discovers her baby daughter missing. Anguished but oddly reserved, she maintains to authorities that a dingo (Australian wild dog) dragged off the child from their tent as she was momentarily distracted. Prosecutors are not convinced, however, and Lindy suddenly finds herself the target of a vicious public who believes she is a murderess. Based on the shocking true story of a Seventh Day Adventist and his wife's personal and legal ordeal, Fred Schepisi's poignant, gut-wrenching drama builds on the astonishing performance of Streep, barely recognizable as the timid, aggrieved victim of near-daily assaults in the press. Schepisi builds suspense in the tense courtroom scenes, which are intercut with flashbacks to the camping trip, and never recoils from the lurid aspects of the Lindy witch hunt. With its sympathy for a minority faith and contempt for tabloid excess, "Dark" feels more relevant than ever.

The Hours (2001)- The plotline of this fascinating film moves seamlessly among three different time periods and women: the fragile existence of gifted but disturbed writer Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) as she starts writing "Mrs. Dalloway"; the claustrophobic life of Laura (Julianne Moore) a housewife and mother in late 1940s L.A. whose reading of Woolf's book causes a numbing depression to surface; and the predicament of Clarissa (Streep) a modern-day, Dalloway-like book editor, whose lifetime project, a dying author played by Ed Harris, is receding before her eyes. Each interwoven tale plays out a variation on Woolf's own isolation and sense of futility. Don't miss this subtle, insightful meditation on life's hidden detours which direct us away from self-knowledge and fulfillment. Director Stephen Daldry's ambitious piece resonates as a disturbing and profound drama, showcasing the prodigious talents of Streep, Moore, and Kidman (who won an Oscar). Ed Harris, Toni Collette, and John C. Reilly also shine in this haunting and memorable film.

Adaptation (2002)- Sad-sack, self-doubting Hollywood screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is hired to script "The Orchid Thief" by New Yorker scribe Susan Orlean (Streep). Obsessed with the foxy author, and struggling with how to faithfully adapt the tale of Orleans's intriguing friendship with a renegade rare-flower expert John Laroche (Chris Cooper), Kaufman becomes increasingly stressed, unhinged, and of course, innovative in his approach. A brilliant meta-narrative and hilarious spoof of Hollywood's formulaic approach to telling stories, "Adaptation" is the brainchild of director Spike Jonze and real-life writer Kaufman, who teamed earlier on "Being John Malkovich." In fact, Kaufman really was hired to adapt the Orleans book, and took a chance writing a fun, zany, highly inventive script about his neurotic inability to wedge it into a conventional plot structure. He also invented a fictitious alter ego, twin brother Donald, who despite being a noodle-brained philistine, knows how to write a crack blockbuster. Cage's balding, uncomfortable turn in both roles is angst-filled genius, and Meryl, predictably, also delivers the goods.

Angels In America (2003)- This dramatic adaptation of Tony Kushner's award-winning play tracks several characters at the height of the AIDS crisis in mid-80s New York City, including Prior Walter (Justin Kirk), a young HIV+ man who begins to have visions of an angel (Emma Thompson) telling him he's a prophet, and gay-bashing conservative lawyer Roy Cohn (Al Pacino), whose underling Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson) is a closeted Mormon having an affair with Prior's ex-boyfriend.Tackling the AIDS panic, religious intolerance, and Reagan-era conservative politics, Nichols's six-hour miniseries brings to the big screen everything that made Kushner's original play a Broadway smash in 1993, including the caliber of his actors: Pacino plays real-life, rock-ribbed conservative lawyer Cohn with despicable malice, while Thompson and Streep thoroughly enjoy showier roles as supernatural visitors. (Streep also plays Joe's straitlaced Mormon mother- and the tragic Ethel Rosenberg- to chilling perfection.) With its poetically inflected dialogue and dreamy special effects, "Angels" is a vibrant, pop-political melodrama for any age.

And so, this venerable phenomenon we call Meryl Streep greets her milestone with engines on full throttle, having just received her (gasp!) fifteenth Oscar nod for her superb work in last year's screen adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt". In career terms, it seems many more roles lie in store for her, of which we will become glad and grateful beneficiaries.

Happy Birthday and thanks, Meryl Streep.

For close to 2,000 more outstanding titles on DVD, please visit Best Movies by Farr.

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In Advance of Father's Day, Ten Cinematic Takes on Being a Dad

Prior to saluting fathers far and wide later this month, why not pop in some first-rate DVD titles that examine the distinct challenges of fatherhood, and how various dads rise to the occasion or, for a host of reasons, fall short.

I lead with one of the most heartbreaking foreign films on record: Vittorio de Sica's neo-realist masterpiece, "Bicycle Thieves" (1948). Here a man who depends on his bicycle for his living sees it stolen out from under him, and with his adoring son in tow, scours Rome to retrieve it. Finally, he resorts to the theft of another bike to put bread on his table. "Thieves" still packs a wallop, portraying poverty's heartless capacity to rob a father of the thing an impressionable son needs to see most --his basic dignity. For his powerful work, De Sica was awarded a special Oscar in 1948 several years before the Academy established a category for best foreign film.

Next, don't miss "House of Strangers" (1949), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's scorching tale of a destructive family vendetta. Self-made immigrant banker Gino Monetti (Edward G. Robinson) treats three of his four employee sons like dirt, reserving his favor only for Max (Richard Conte), who's made good on his own as a lawyer. When Gino's old ways of doing business run afoul of banking regulations, only Max tries to help him, and ends up doing jail time, while the other brothers wrest control of the bank from their broken dad. Once Nick is sprung, his first instinct is revenge, but time and the love of a woman (a stunning Susan Hayward) make him reconsider. Though screenplay credit went to Philip Yordan, Mankiewicz's inspired touch is evident in the film's tight pacing and its sharp, flavorful script. Robinson is masterful in yet another Italian-American turn, and Conte also registers as a slick operator who's not quite as tough as he seems.

In Vincente Minnelli's classic "Father Of The Bride" (1950), we see the lighter side to being a dad, particularly if you can laugh at the prospect of opening your wallet for your daughter's wedding. When lovely Kay Banks (Elizabeth Taylor) announces her engagement to Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor), life for Kay's doting father Stanley (Spencer Tracy) turns inside out. His wife Ellie (Joan Bennett), wants formal nuptials for Kay, so Stanley finds himself consumed by the exhausting business of planning a big wedding, not to mention the headache of paying for one. This big-hearted MGM comedy provided the template for an idea that's been executed countless times, but never quite so charmingly. The wry Tracy is note-perfect as the aggrieved Dad, and young Liz makes a radiant bride-to-be. And Minnelli keeps the whole affair--replete with hilariously solemn heart-to-heart talks, a disastrous engagement party, and lovers' spats--from derailing into broad farce. If you're choosing a "Bride," make it the original.

No list of top father films can exclude Elia Kazan's "East Of Eden" (1955), an adaptation of the old Cain and Abel story updated to 1917 Monterey, via John Steinbeck. In his first featured role, James Dean plays errant son Cal, who aches for the approval of his upright father (Raymond Massey). A young, luminous Julie Harris plays Abra, the love interest of favored brother Aron (Richard Davalos), who soon becomes torn between the two siblings. Ultimately a series of dramatic events causes a transformation in Cal's relationship to his dad. Kazan's landmark film features vibrant color and atmosphere, top-flight performances and a dazzling screenplay adapted by Paul Osborn. Oscar-nominated Dean, Harris, Burl Ives and Oscar-winner Jo Van Fleet as Cal's reclusive mother, stand out in a stellar ensemble. (Note: Dean's next role in the better known "Rebel Without A Cause" would also portray a troubled father/son relationship, though of a decidedly different sort.)

The film that captures the father we'd all want to be- and to have- must be Robert Mulligan's perennially touching "To Kill A Mockingbird" (1962), based on Harper Lee's autobiographical novel. Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), a widower and small-town lawyer in the Depression-era South, bravely defends a black man accused of raping a white girl, causing resentment in the community. Meanwhile his two children, Scout and Jem (Mary Badham and Phillip Alford), try to unravel the mystery of Boo Radley, the supposedly crazy man who lives nearby. A film that speaks volumes about racial intolerance in our country's recent past, this is also a moving and perceptive study of the relationship between two children and their single-parent father, with much of the action seen through young Scout's eyes. The child actors all turn in affecting, natural performances, and Peck, in the role of his career, deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actor. Make this required viewing for all children 12 and over.

Another memorable entry concerning a man suddenly confronted with single parenthood: Robert Benton's "Kramer Versus Kramer" (1979).On the brink of a big promotion, pre-occupied ad-man Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) gets the wind knocked out of him when wife Joanna (Streep) leaves him and their young son, Billy (Justin Henry). Forced to balance career demands with caring for a young son he barely knows, Ted makes hard choices to be there for Billy. But when Joanna returns unexpectedly, a nasty custody battle ensues. Hoffman hit a career high-point with this near-flawless drama, which depicts the dissolution of a marriage with unerring sensitivity. Top-flight performances from the two leads help bring an insightful script to heart-rending life. At Oscar time, "Kramer" won Best Picture, Benton took the honors for direction and screenplay, and Hoffman got the nod for Best Actor.

Back to foreign soil and Akira Kurosawa's epic, "Ran" (1982). In this adaptation of "King Lear" transplanted to sixteenth century Japan, powerful warlord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide his lands and riches among his two seemingly compliant older sons, banishing honest third son Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) after he challenges his proud father's will. With his family soon splintered and set against each other, Hidetora realizes too late his error in judgment, and the injustice he visited on the forthright Saburo. Kurosawa's late-career triumph is a vibrant, colorful epic, its drama magnified by an awesome visual sweep encompassing both period pageantry and setting. Shakespeare's fundamental themes of loyalty and betrayal play out with full force, thanks to superb performances by both Nakudai (a Kurosawa veteran) and Ryu in the pivotal roles. Another breathtaking achievement from this revered master of cinema.

Three years later came director Emir Kusturica's poignant "When Father Was Away On Business". Set in 1950s Sarajevo, the film portrays oppressive times in Tito's Yugoslavia, as married official Mesha is sent to work in the mines as punishment for flirting with a sexy female comrade not his wife. Younger son Malik survives this period of uncertainty with a measure of hope and humor, believing his mother's story that his father is on a prolonged business trip. When Dad returns from his lengthy trip, normal routines resume, with the master of the house a touch wiser and humbler. "Father" evocatively portrays a challenging time and place, and against this grim backdrop, paints a warmer portrait of childhood innocence and imagination, as the adorable Malik manages to put a hopeful, fantastic spin on circumstances and events unfolding around him.

Returning stateside, John Singleton's ground-breaking "Boyz N The Hood" (1991) focuses on the stiff price payed by youth at risk without fathers. Growing up in South Central LA, young Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is sent by struggling divorcée Reva (Angela Bassett) to live with his father, Furious (Laurence Fishburne), a no-nonsense figure who tries to instill Tre with solid values. But Tre and rudderless, fatherless friends Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and Dough Boy (Ice Cube) are emmeshed in a world of gang warfare, and soon the cycle of violence catches up to them. Singleton's explosive drama deals head-on with the allure of thug life, inner-city poverty and racism--without ever losing its heart or appeal. Fishburne scores as the streetwise dad who schools Gooding's Tre with important life lessons. Just 23 when "Boyz" hit theaters, Singleton earned two Oscar nods for his gritty tale of urban strife.

I close with one more potent father/son tale, set in war-torn Northern Ireland: "In The Name Of The Father" (1994), directed by Jim Sheridan. Based on a real-life case, "Name" recounts the saga of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), an innocent Belfast native sentenced to prison for an IRA bombing after his British interrogators force him to sign a false confession. Imprisoned alongside his father, Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite)-falsely accused of abetting the crime-Gerry spends years trying to exonerate his family name with the help of lawyer Gareth Peirce (Emma Thompson). Both Day-Lewis and Postlethwaite give gut-wrenching turns as the angry son and his bewildered father, and the ever-reliable Thompson lends fiery support as their dogged barrister. Nominated for seven Oscars, this ode to human dignity is also a hard-hitting story of political injustice.

Are Serious Dramas an Endangered Species?

I don’t get out enough. But when I do, I most always learn something.

Attending a party last week, I saw something new: Between the bar area and dance floor was a connecting room, and passing through it, I noticed many party-goers lining the walls, each in isolation checking emails on their Blackberries.

Checking emails- in the middle of a party?

Before wireless portable devices, when you went to a social event, you had to jump in and give yourself over to the experience. In this scenario of forced socialization, very often you actually met someone new and perhaps pursued some unplanned adventure.

Now, if people at a party look unfamiliar or uninteresting, you don’t really need to engage. You can simply step out, check your email, and see if you can’t find a more reassuring, recognizable face to hook up with across town.

You have to wonder, does this new behavior fulfill the promise of the digital world by opening up channels of communication, or is does it close them down?

And just what is the long-term price to be paid for technology that reduces our focus, patience, and attention spans?

Let’s consider this in relation to film. Regardless of technology’s impact, it seems the public will always pay to see anything that transports them away from reality. Regardless of quality, fantasies, comedies, action films, and comic book adaptations are here to stay, because for the most part, they hold our attention and go down easy.

But what about serious drama- by which I mean realistic, unflinching dramas about regular people facing authentic life challenges, both big and small? These pictures may be less entertaining in the moment, but often end up shedding valuable perspective on the human condition- insight you won’t find in your average spine-tingler or farce.

Will the prospect of venturing into uncomfortable, unfamiliar cinematic territory increasingly make us retreat to check our I-Phones at the popcorn stand, or worse, prevent us from buying a ticket in the first place?

Based purely on box office results, it would appear serious drama is not taken seriously, or to be more precise, not taken much at all.

While larger- than-life escapist hit franchises (Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, James Bond, Pirates Of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Batman, Spiderman, and A Night At The Museum) routinely gross between $500 million and one billion dollars, just consider the scale of difference in revenues for these ten critically acclaimed serious dramas:

The Reader- $67 MM Gross
Milk- $51
Doubt- $46
Capote- $42
Into The Wild- $22
Little Children- $15
The Savages- $8
Frozen River- $2.5

Understanding the sizable differences in distribution and marketing might placed behind these distinct types of movies, the fact remains that though most of the features listed turned a profit, the degree of payback to the studios was dwarfed by these blockbusters.

It’s also a matter of exposure and eyeballs: If even Oscar winners “Milk” or “The Reader” are drawing only a fraction of the audience commanded by “A Night At The Museum”, you can believe either variation on the following theme: a) many people simply aren’t moved to see a potentially “difficult” film, or b) studio executives decide in advance they won’t be, and so don’t make the movie easily accessible to them.

Tying back to the Blackberry phenomenon, a subtle but disturbing cycle emerges, whereby easily distracted consumers get fed what will still command their diminishing concentrations and tolerance, while movies that demand more but offer more in return become, like that stranger you never meet at the party, a lost opportunity.

Mind you, even before the advent of the Palm Pilot, movies whose chief aim was diversion and entertainment always attracted the biggest audiences. The issue comes down to balance and degree: Looking back over the top-ten box-office titles of the now distant past, you can find a few serious films sprinkled in among the comedies and epic adventures, with titles like Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Best Years Of Our Lives, The Bridge On The River Kwai, and The Graduate.

But in the ensuing forty years leading up to the present, no films of this type have ever broken the top ten at the box-office. Suffice it to say, I wish one would.

Here then are five serious, human-scale domestic films that deserve a wider audience:

You Can Count On Me (’00)- Scarred by the loss of their parents years before, siblings Sammy and Terry Prescott (Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo) have pursued different paths in life. She's settled into domestic life as a single mother, while he leads a troubled existence on the road. After a two-year absence, Terry visits and asks to borrow money, then sticks around as he bonds with Sammy's 8-year-old son, Rudy (Rory Culkin). This fascinating film examines how two very different siblings cope with a single, life-changing tragedy, and how this event affects their own interactions. Thanks to a sharp script and assured direction, this complex relationship is portrayed with a nuanced mix of humor and heartbreak. Linney received an Oscar nod for her portrayal of Sammy.

In The Bedroom (’01)- When their college-age son Frank brings home his new girlfriend, Nathalie (Marisa Tomei), parents Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth (Sissy Spacek) are apprehensive, since Nathalie is a mother of two whose volatile ex won't let go of her emotionally. Neither of them wants to believe that Frank's life is in danger, or can imagine how they'll respond when and if the worst happens. Todd Field's impressive directorial debut maps the consequences of inconsolable grief and corrosive ill will on a Maine couple. By turns tense, shocking, and devastating, "Bedroom" showcases gut-wrenching, exquisite performances from veterans Wilkinson and Spacek, whose emotional turmoil feels frighteningly real.

Tape (’01)- In a seedy motel in Lansing, Michigan, bright, under-achieving drug-dealer Vince (Ethan Hawke) is reunited with high-school friend Jon (Robert Sean Leonard), now a film-maker. Vince launches a gradual attack against his self-satisfied pal, accusing Jon of date-raping Vince's former girlfriend Amy years before. To make matters more interesting, Amy (Uma Thurman) happens to live nearby, and Vince has invited her to join them. This makes for a most unconventional high-school reunion. Director Richard Linklater dares to sustain a drama on a single dingy set, and thanks to a biting script and superb performances, succeeds. Though Thurman expertly plays the pivotal role of Amy, less a victim than a detached female looking on with bemusement at two ranting males, the show is Hawke's and Leonard's, as their characters wage a savage battle of wits, with life-changing implications. Taut and clever, "Tape" is immensely satisfying fare.

Away From Her (’06)- Soul-mates Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent) have led a long, happy married life together in the rural comfort of Canada's northern climes. But when Fiona's memory begins to slip, and she becomes alarmingly disoriented, they seek out a facility to handle her care. Then a turn of events spurs Grant's guilt and conflict over past indiscretions. Director Sarah Polley's "Away From Her" observes with elegiac warmth and delicacy the emotional turbulence visited upon a couple in their silver years by the onset of Alzheimer's. In her directorial debut, Polley (best known as an actor) coaxes exemplary turns from her talented cast- especially from the still-radiant Christie, whose mounting fears and erratic behavior prompt her move to a nursing home, where she begins to forget the man she's spent most of her years with. Plaintive yet defiant, "Away From Her" is a touching study of marriage which even Ingmar Bergman would be proud of.

Half Nelson (’06)- Seeking to impart real ideas instead of dry facts, eighth-grade history teacher Dan (Ryan Gosling) likes to engage his inner-city students in meaningful conversations, and has established a good rapport with most, especially Drey (Shareeka Epps), a bright student whom he also coaches on the girls basketball team. But Dan's personal life is clouded by heavy drug use, a secret Drey soon discovers, purely by chance. Gosling gives a fearless performance as the idealistic young educator who has a confident manner in the classroom, but whose addiction problem is starting to affect both his job performance and his friendship with Drey, played with a mix of sheepish charm and street-hardened intensity by Epps. Smart and stridently unsentimental, "Half Nelson" will get its grip on you.

Just When Did The Quality Of Hollywood Films Start To Drop?

To build the number of solid DVD recommendations on my site, for several years now I've been watching roughly fifteen films a week- old and new, domestic and foreign. This process has yielded a broader appreciation of the scope of feature films beyond my pre-existing expertise, which was Hollywood's Golden Age (1930-1960).

It has also led me to a striking conclusion: though in revenue and distribution terms Hollywood continues to dominate the global film market, the most original, intelligent, and enduring movies today are being made outside this country.

It's a disturbing dynamic when the majority player in a global industry keeps turning out a largely indifferent product. Inevitably, parts of the traditional consumer base start to fall away. In Hollywood's case, the industry is gradually losing their educated adult (40 years plus) audience. As a consequence, they are working that much harder to keep our offspring hooked on a steady stream of comic book and computer game adaptations, brought to the big screen with lots of quick cuts, deafening noise, and whiz-bang special effects.

In pursuing this dubious strategy, a fundamental part of great film-making- excellence in script, character development and overall story-telling- gets sacrificed, because the bells and whistles, the sheer noise and kinetic pacing of today's commercial releases, would seem to render them unnecessary. I suggest they are never unnecessary.

True, even at Hollywood's peak, there was plenty of junk being made. But with the built-in efficiencies of the studio system creating much more product overall, there was enough quality work rising to the top to keep discerning moviegoers happy.

Also, studio moguls then consciously wanted to build industry prestige with what were then termed "important pictures". Today, "important pictures" in Hollywood represent only risk, a virtual death knell in a business driven solely by dollar signs.

For today's thinking adults, movies are being increasingly marginalized because there is less reason and excuse for us to make time for them as we did in the past. Technology encourages us to stay forever chained to our PCs and Blackberries, answering every email and phone call in real time, and looking up our old school chums on Facebook.

And if we're disillusioned with what's currently in theatres, we're unlikely to work that much harder to identify and absorb an older film or foreign release, even if we're promised a disproportionate reward in the end.

It's easier just to tune in to "Dancing With The Stars".

Maybe as a movie lover, I over-dramatize the situation. But to me, it feels terribly sad.

Just when did the mighty Hollywood movie machine really start to sputter? To find my own answer, I tried an experiment.

Though few outside the industry know of it, The Quigley Poll has annually tracked the top ten Hollywood stars at the box office since the early thirties. I decided to review their results every ten years from 1938-2008, and for each star listed in a given year, tally the corresponding number of their films featured on www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.

Examining the trend-line of total number of films contributed by the stars over time should help indicate when overall film quality started to decline, at least from my perspective. Since this in effect links the subjective notion of quality to my own personal standards, the results are hardly conclusive, but hopefully still worthy of debate and discussion.

I myself would have expected the thirties to produce a higher total, yet the top ten box-office stars of 1938 are only represented by 27 films on our site, with sixteen of those contributed by just two actors: Spencer Tracy (10) and Clark Gable (6). Beyond runners-up Myrna Loy and Tyrone Power (each with 4 films), most of the other stars have faded with time, including Alice Faye, Sonja Henie, and Jane Withers (a child star who'd go on to play Josephine in those memorable "Comet" commercials in the sixties).

Ten years later, and the number of Quigley stars' films on our site more than doubles. On the 1948 list with ten titles each are Tracy again, along with Bogart, Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper. Ingrid Bergman scores with 9 titles, while Bing Crosby adds 4. With all other names contributing at least one title, the forties' total was 62.

The overall number for 1958 stars is down only slightly, at 57 titles. All the prior actors with ten titles represented are gone, replaced by James Stewart (10), Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor (each with 9), William Holden (8), and Frank Sinatra (7). As with the prior decade, each star listed in the Poll's top-ten contributed at least one title.

We hit our peak in 1968 with a record 75 titles, ironically not the best time for Hollywood itself, but in terms of stars, reflecting a vibrant, prolific new generation. Only Liz Taylor returns to the list, joined by late bloomer John Wayne (11 titles). They are joined by Paul Newman (10), Sidney Poitier (10), Jack Lemmon (8), Lee Marvin (7), Clint Eastwood (7), and Steve McQueen (6).

With the '70s' list, totals return to 1940s/50s' levels, with the top-ten stars comprising 61 total films on BMBF, and excepting Clint Eastwood, reflecting a whole new line-up of names: Peter Sellers and Woody Allen (at 10 titles each), followed by Diane Keaton (8), Warren Beatty, and Jane Fonda (6 each). Also, newcomers John Travolta and Richard Dreyfuss appear for the first and only time (each with 5 titles). For the first time since the thirties, one name, Barbra Streisand, contributed no titles to the site.

As we then look ahead ten years and beyond, we note that a steady decrease in the number of memorable films begins in the eighties, with the actors from Quigley's '88 poll contributing just over half the number of films (32) from the prior decade. Dustin Hoffman appears, providing 10 titles, as does the up-and coming Tom Hanks (7) and Tom Cruise (5). Yet after Robin Williams (4), the number of titles contributed per star is minimal: Danny DeVito (2), Eddie Murphy (2), Bette Midler (1), Arnold Schwarzenegger (1), Paul Hogan (0), and Tom Selleck (0).

(Just reading some of these names, I feel the edifice starting to crumble.)

The erosion continues in the 90's, whose totals now drop below the thirties' level to generate just 24 BMBF titles. After Hanks, Robin Williams, Mel Gibson (5 titles), and Leonardo DiCaprio (3), we again have a slew of admittedly big stars who, in my view, have not made that many outstanding films: among them, Jim Carrey (1), Meg Ryan (1), Cameron Diaz (1), Julia Roberts (0), and Adam Sandler (0).

The top box-office draws for 2008 hit a new low, contributing a paltry 14 titles to our site. Harrison Ford leads the list with 7 titles, followed by George Clooney with 3. All others on the list contributed two or less movies, including Reese Witherspoon (2), Daniel Craig (1), Christian Bale (1), and with no titles contributed, Will Smith, Shia La Beouf, Robert Downey, Jr., Angelina Jolie, and once again, Adam Sandler.

In fairness to this last group, some of these stars have long careers ahead of them, but it won't do them (or us) much good if the industry doesn't start giving them better scripts. (In particular, Robert Downey, Jr. stands out as one actor who always comes off better than the films he finds himself in.)

Or... perhaps my idea of who or what constitutes greatness in film has become outmoded. Maybe I've been blinded by generational bias, and will justifiably receive a host of angry comments criticizing the absence of Will Smith, Adam Sandler or Julia Roberts on my site.

One request, though, before lodging your protest: first, look again at some of the newer, noteworthy titles from France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Korea, Denmark, Iran and the Middle East. Next, revisit a select few Hollywood classics from the forties, fifties and sixties. In doing this, you'll likely notice some of the differences in film-making emphasis and approach I mentioned earlier.

But with so-called progress and the passage of time, such differences are inevitable. Ultimately it all comes down to this basic question: are we in America making our fair share of great movies today, movies that will stand the test of time?

I for one dearly wish I could answer "yes".

Why John Wayne Still Ranks Among Today's Most Popular Stars

Several months ago, the Harris Poll released its annual list of our ten most popular movie stars. Notably absent from the list were Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Brad Pitt (though Angelina squeaked on for the first time, tied for last place with Morgan Freeman).

Ranked ahead of current box-office draws Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp, and just behind Denzel and Clint at the top of the heap, we find John Wayne. Notably, his is the only name from Hollywood's Golden Age, and the only name that has appeared on every top ten Harris list over the past fifteen years.

On May 26th, John Wayne would have turned 102. Though he's been gone thirty years, his movies-and his outsize character- refuse to fade.

Not surprisingly, the Duke is more popular with seniors over sixty, and he plays best in the West, and among Republicans. But still...think of all the great actors from that vibrant period when Wayne was making pictures: Bogart, Grant, Brando, Newman, to name just a few. In their own time, it could be argued that each of these names were hotter than Wayne's, and yet, they don't make the list. They seem part of the past, while the Duke stubbornly lives on.

What accounts for this actor's uncanny endurance? Other better actors played cowboys, like Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart. Other bigger stars like Clark Gable and Gregory Peck played soldiers. But around the world, whenever John Wayne played a cowboy or a soldier, he was America. Wayne's persona- its bigness, roughness, but also its decency- literally came to define our heritage. And to a surprising degree, it still does.

Wayne himself would never have predicted the longevity of his image, and would be incredulous if he knew about it. During his lifetime, he was no stranger to setbacks and self-doubt. After a failed early shot at stardom in 1930's "The Big Trail", the Duke had to toil in "B" western potboilers for nearly ten years before director John Ford gave him another chance at the big time.

And then- even when he'd made it, over the years he was repeatedly told by Ford, his frequent collaborator and mentor, that he simply couldn't act. He took the abuse stoically. Though his range was limited, he could indeed act, and after Wayne's memorable performance in "Red River" (1949), even Ford had to admit it, though not to his face.

One might reasonably assume that Wayne's right-wing politics would also work against the popularity he still enjoys. Although (ironically) he accepted Gary Cooper's Oscar in 1952, Wayne supported the McCarthy Communist witch hunt, and railed against the classic "High Noon" for being un-American. (Indeed, several years later, Howard Hawks and Wayne would make "Rio Bravo" as a "patriotic" response to the earlier film).

By the time he won his sole Oscar for 1969's "True Grit", he was still an outspoken hawk, openly defending the Vietnam War, and to prove it, starring in 1968's chest-thumping "The Green Berets".

Predictably, he was distinctly old-fashioned in his views on gender and race as well. But there was an open, bluff quality to Duke Wayne that made people forgive and even respect him. He was principled without being self-important, supported the right of others to differ with him, and mellowed considerably after his first serious brush with cancer in 1964.

He even had a well-concealed sensitive side. His lifelong friend Claire Trevor, who co-starred with him in "Stagecoach"(1939), once showed me a touching poem he'd written on the death of her step-son, with whom he'd been unusually close. The verse was heartfelt and moving, the work of a man capable of deep feeling. I have never forgotten reading it.

For someone who reputedly couldn't act, John Wayne certainly made a lot of great movies. I'm going to list a few of his lesser-known titles that are personal favorites of mine. Please add your own top Duke picks, along with any thoughts you have on what keeps his star burning so bright.

The Long Voyage Home (1940)- After the success of "Stagecoach", John Ford was eager to display his new find again. Here, Wayne plays simple Swedish seaman Ole Olsen, who finds himself on a merchant ship at the start of World War 2, surrounded by a nervous crew. The ship is carrying badly needed ammunition to the British, making it a highly desirable target for German U-Boats. There may also be spies aboard. Boasting stunning cinematography from Gregg Toland, who'd go on to collaborate with Orson Welles on "Citizen Kane", Ford's film generates tension mixed with a subtle melancholy. Anchoring this unheralded sea picture is the brilliant Thomas Mitchell as old salt "Drisk" Driscoll, ably supported by character actors Barry Fitzgerald and John Qualen, among others.

They Were Expendable (1945)- Director Ford again delivers a powerful human tale of hope barely sustained during the darkest days of World War 2. This is the story of the PT boats during those tough, early days in the Pacific. Skipper John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and his right hand man, Rusty Ryan (Wayne), have difficulty convincing the navy brass of the PTs' value to the war effort.Eventually, these nimble craft play a vital role in turning the tide, allowing General MacArthur to keep his promise to return there. Montgomery (father of Elizabeth from "Bewitched", and an actual decorated PT boat skipper) is superb as the embattled but stoic Brickley, with Duke an ideal counterpoint as the rough-around-the-edges Ryan. Donna Reed also makes a bewitching love interest as the nurse who falls for Rusty.

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)- In this second of John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy, Wayne ages considerably to play Captain Nathan Brittles, a career frontier officer facing imminent retirement, a prospect that fills him with dread, as his only family is the army. However, one last mission confronts him: an Indian uprising is brewing, and with a small team, Brittles must escort his superior's wife (Mildred Natwick) and niece (Joanne Dru) out of harm's way. "Ribbon" still registers, thanks to an emotionally layered performance from Wayne, combined with Victor McLaglen's comic turn as a tippling top Sergeant, and color cinematography that turns Monument Valley into an animated Remington painting (netting cinematographer Winston Hoch an Oscar). A young Ben Johnson also stands out as Sergeant Tyree, a brave soldier very much in the Brittles mold.

Hondo (1953)- The best John Wayne western not directed by John Ford or Howard Hawks, "Hondo" showcases the Duke in his prime. Hondo Lane (Wayne) is a cavalry rider who encounters Angie (Geraldine Page) and her young son homesteading near Apache territory. Hondo warns her that the Apaches are on the war path, but she refuses to clear out. When Hondo returns, hostilities have started, and he must protect the family, while holding a terrible secret. Helmed by John Farrow (Mia's dad), the film is stunningly photographed on location in lustrous technicolor, with a trim story brought to life by a luminous Page in her film debut, and Ward Bond (Duke's real-life crony) as Hondo's friend. Also look for James Arness in a pivotal role- he'd soon make his career in Westerns on TV's long-running "Gunsmoke"- and Wayne himself would introduce the first episode.

Hatari! (1962)- Sean Mercer (Wayne) heads a group of game-hunters in Africa who capture animals for zoos. Sean's sense of order is upset when his trusted driver (Bruce Cabot) gets hurt, and even more so when chic female photographer Dallas (Elsa Martinelli) arrives to shoot a magazine spread. Will Sean keep Dallas safe till she can take her pictures and go home? Good-natured Howard Hawks outing was a nice change of pace for Wayne, with its jocular tone and gorgeous on-location shooting. (Don't miss those thrilling wild animal chases.) "Hatari" boasts deft ensemble playing from Cabot, Red Buttons, and Hardy Kruger, who make up Mercer's core team. And we can well understand how Martinelli's Dallas would get under Sean's thick skin. A catchy Henry Mancini score completes this exuberant, diverting picture, ideal for all ages.

The Shootist (1976)- For his swansong, Wayne teamed with "Dirty Harry" director Don Siegel for this elegiac story of a dying gunman who longs for a noble end, but must contend with vultures intent on feeding off his reputation and gloating over his impending demise. Renowned for his six-shooting prowess and high body count, J.B. Books (Wayne) rolls into Carson City to look up trusted friend Doctor Hostetler (James Stewart), who confirms Books has terminal cancer. Hoping to end his days quietly, Books retreats to a boarding house run by widow Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and son Gillom (Ron Howard). But with Books's violent past, can this old legend go gently into that good night? Here the aging star is by turns courtly, stoic, and world-weary playing off Bacall's rigid but ultimately sympathetic widow. And from that opening montage of old Wayne films, you realize you're watching a movie not just about the demise of the Old West, but also about the end of one actor's legendary career.. Thus, "The Shootist" can't help but be poignant. Predictably, the Duke does it proud...to the very last shoot-out.

For close to 2,000 more outstanding titles on DVD, visit www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.

This Summer's Movies: A Good Reason to Stay Outdoors?

This past Sunday, the venerable New York Times issued a special section on upcoming movie releases for the critical summer season. Before laying out what we have to look forward to, the first page featured a series of "Memos to Hollywood" from critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis.

I thought Mr. Scott in particular offered up some important, though hardly new, suggestions for the industry:

1) Allow people to see movies how, when and where they want to;

2) Fix our nitwitted, confusing ratings system;

3) Give some edgy young filmmakers the chance to enliven the embarrassingly stale phenomenon known as film comedy;

4) Political correctness is the enemy of art and entertainment- take a stand; aim for some controversy in your films, get people talking;

5) Scorsese and Spielberg- think small again (fat chance); and finally,

6) A depressingly apt and descriptive listing of all the tired formulas still being flogged to the public, accompanied by a heartfelt plea to do something different and better.

Ms. Darghis, working as she does for one of the top surviving newspapers in the land, inspired me less than her colleague. Maybe she is meant to speak for the youth, but the youth I meet are brighter than this.

For example, she saluted Pixar for making a film with a female protagonist (something on everyone's mind), decried the portrayal of effeminate gays (does Sean Penn count?), and asked for more movies with Rachel McAdams and James Franco (I like Franco, but I'm seeing plenty of him. Does he need a job?).

Most annoyingly, she contradicted A.O Scott's first well-made point about the public's desire to consume film how, when and where they choose by taking the urban public to task for not supporting foreign and independent films at their neighborhood arts-house! After all, "DVDs and downloads pale next to the big-screen experience", and companies like New Yorker films are going out of business!

This is our fault, Manohla? Hollywood's marketing might, which marginalizes the awareness and distribution of these smaller films, is not the primary culprit? And sorry to break it to you, but more and more people watch a good portion of their movies at home, and very happily too, for reasons of price and convenience.

Later I had to wonder if the ensuing irony was evident to anyone at the Times. Moving on from this lead article, I quickly discovered that the rest of the section was dominated by plugs and ads for just the kinds of movies these critics are asking Hollywood to stop making.

Among the cinematic treats in store for us this summer:
The much anticipated re-make of "The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three" for those who found the original classic had too many words and not enough bullets;

A drama (yes, drama- and about terminal illness) misleadingly titled "Funny People" starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, logical perhaps in that their latest comedies stopped being funny;

A new variation on the plodding "Da Vinci Code" called "Angels and Demons", with Tom Hanks still sporting that silly haircut (only Hollywood so blatantly aims to capitalize on failure);

The inevitable sequels... for "Harry Potter" (he must have chest hair by now), "Ice Age", and the eternally witty, effervescent "Night At The Museum";

For those already nostalgic for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", the high-minded Jerry Bruckheimer brings us a movie called "G Force" starring-you guessed it- a guinea pig;

Not to mention a new (airbrushed) Sandra Bullock romantic comedy called "The Proposal", starring a much younger man with nice hair named Ryan Reynolds.

Of course, it's not all bad; it never is. To be fair, there are always a few surprise gems buried amidst the muck. Personally, I will be curious to see whether:

The classically beautiful (but never effeminate) Johnny Depp can bring off his portrayal of tough, macho gangster John Dillinger in "Public Enemies";

Quentin Tarantino can pull himself out of his recent spate of creative self-indulgence with "Inglorious Bastards", starring Brad Pitt;

Meryl Streep's rendition of Julia Child in "Julie and Julia" approaches my own legendary impersonation - "Julia Childless".

Till these breathless moments arrive, Ms. Darghis, I will stay blissfully at home, watching the Criterion release of "The Friends Of Eddie Coyle" on DVD. Who knows? I may even program my very own Bob Mitchum Film Festival.

15 Top Movies That Should Be On DVD, But Aren't

I just did a quick inventory of all the great movie titles that have not been given their due on DVD, and the sheer quantity stunned me. I know that rights issues and other legal quandaries can tie up creative assets for years, but surely if determined minds really applied themselves, some resolutions could be reached.

One inevitable problem is that in the almighty pursuit of revenues, more time and effort gets applied against marketing often mindless new product than in promoting the best of our film heritage. To illustrate this mind-set, when I asked one aspiring West Coast titan several years back why "Bringing Up Baby" , arguably the definitive screwball comedy, was not out on DVD, he replied with a straight face, "Who cares about two dead actors and a leopard?" Scary, I thought. (Something must have registered in our conversation, though, as the DVD is now available).

I must ask the question: how hard can offering these overlooked, first-rate titles be? Most of them have been previously released on VHS, which would be of some consolation except that the VCR has gone the way of the dinosaur. And how about the idea of rescuing major titles from the poor quality DVD oblivion of "public domain" status- for example, why must I watch a lousy transfer of Frank Capra's classic "Meet John Doe" ?)

The fast-approaching reality of a fully on-demand universe means that consumers will rightly expect that for a price, they will be able to access high quality versions of most any movie they want, so those entities that keep outstanding content away from the public, whatever the reason, will hopefully decide to re-assess their position. Or is this simply wishful thinking?

My own perhaps naïve view is that though commerce-driven, great films also represent a vital cultural resource. Though hardly a life-or-death issue, withholding them from public consumption out of greed or simple neglect does constitute an injustice of sorts. Though cynics will scoff, I firmly believe that what we consume by way of popular entertainment helps determine the overall quality of our lives.

We all have special movies that we've always wanted to see in our DVD section, but never have (please feel free to share yours, by the way).

Covering most every genre and period, here is my partial wish list:

1. Red Dust (1932)- A young Clark Gable plays a macho white hunter in Africa opposite a trashy Jean Harlow and a proper Mary Astor. Predictably the women do most of the hunting. Remade to lesser effect twenty years later as "Mogambo" (with Gable repeating his earlier role).

2. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)- The late Leslie Howard's signature role as masked hero of the French Revolution, posing incognito as an English dandy. Merle Oberon and Raymond Massey co-star. (Public domain title).

3. Ruggles Of Red Gap (1936)- Charles Laughton plays an English butler whose master loses him in a card game to a rich hayseed American, and who is then forced to relocate to the untamed West. Talk about culture shock. Roland Young and Charlie Ruggles (no relation) co-star. One of our finest screwballs, bar none.

4. Love Affair (1939)- Leo McCarey's original version of "An Affair To Remember", with the Cary Grant/ Deborah Kerr roles essayed by Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne. Less glossy than the remake, but more affecting in my view, with an enchanting Dunne.

5. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)- Starring Joseph Cotten, this was Orson Welles's second film about a family unwilling to adapt to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. Taken out of Welles's hands and chopped down to 90 minutes, the film still outclasses most other options, and would make a mint on curiosity value alone.

6. The Uninvited (1944)- Spooky, subtle ghost story with Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey as siblings who purchase sea-side house with a grim, hidden past. Chilling, literate film introduced the classic tune, "Stella By Starlight". A forgotten gem.

7. Life With Father (1947)- William Powell plays late nineteenth century patriarch Clarence Day opposite Irene Dunne in this charming and nostalgic family comedy, based on the hit play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Look for a young, adorable Elizabeth Taylor. (Public Domain title).

8. The Gunfighter (1950)- Henry King's signature Western about a gun-slinging outlaw who learns the difficulty of making a clean break with his past. One of Gregory Peck's finest early performances.

9. The African Queen (1951)- Bogie won Oscar playing a broken down ship's Captain who gets into all manner of adventures with spinster Katharine Hepburn in John Huston's first-rate adventure outing.

10. Viva Zapata! (1952)- Marlon Brando expertly portrays Mexican activist turned statesman Emilio Zapata in Elia Kazan's under-exposed historical drama. Also a superb showcase for Anthony Quinn, who plays Zapata's brother.

11. Two Women (1960)- Sophia Loren won Academy Award as a mother who experiences rape (along with her young daughter) at the hands of marauding soldiers during World War 2. A late career peak for director Vittorio De Sica (Public Domain title).

12. A Thousand Clowns (1965)- Magical black comedy features a tour-de-force turn by Jason Robards as an irresponsible dreamer at risk of losing custody of his adoring, like-minded nephew. William Daniels and Barbara Harris provide stellar support.

13. The Wrong Box (1966)- Wacky, wildly clever British comedy involves machinations within one eccentric family to determine who will receive a sizable inheritance. Michael Caine and Peter Sellers star, along with old pros John Mills and Ralph Richardson.

14. Cousin, Cousine (1975)- Saucy Gallic concoction has two distant cousins (Marie-Christine Barrault and Victor Lanoux) meeting at a wedding, and gradually embarking on a very sweet, light-hearted affair, much to the consternation of their respective neurotic, high-maintenance spouses. Just the kind of sexy, sassy romance that the French do best.

15. The Dead (1987)- John Huston's final film brings to life the bittersweet characters and setting of James Joyce's "Dubliners". Clearly a labor of love for the dying director, the film stars daughter Anjelica, who is surrounded by a strong Irish cast.

For close to 2,000 outstanding titles on DVD, visit www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.