Ron's Desert Island DVD List 2010

Continuing the tradition I started in 2008, I've expanded my desert island DVD list. The first section are the ones I didn't get in 2008, the second section are the ones I didn't get in 2009, the third section are the new ones for 2010. Again, there is way more than you need but some may be difficult to get. Make it easy on yourself and get the ones that are readily available. They aren't in any particular order. Any on any list would be very much appreciated. If you want to pick stuff you like better, watch the following clips and then make your choices. They'll be a quiz Christmas day.

Section 1 (from 2008)

1. Chicago

Who knew they could still make a great movie musical. Not really from my youth but it makes me hopefully for the future of the genre.

9. NEW YORK, NEW YORK.

Scorsese, DeNiro and Minelli. Some great moments in a not so great movie. Liza's last great performance.

Section 2 (from 2009)

1. Stop Making Sense

One of the best concert films ever made. The director, Jonathan Demme, went on to make Silence of the Lambs. I saw it at the 8th Street Playhouse before they closed down. I've been a Talking Heads fan ever since. Years later I would become friends with Wendall Harrington who designed the projections for the concert tour.

2. Howard's End

I first saw this in Paris. I went to the movies a couple of times while I was in Paris because I missed hearing English. I fell in love with this when I first saw it. I have seen it in its entirety or in parts many times since. It always fall in love with it again. It made me an Emma Thompson fan for life.

5. On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

This is third of Barbra's triple-play movie musical Hollywood introduction. As a part of her Funny Girl deal, she got Dolly and Clear Day as well. Too bad Dolly basically put the nail in the coffin of the old-fashioned Hollywood musical, so by the time Clear Day came out there was no audience for it. Barbra plays a duel role in this tale of ESP. Although it doesn't totally works, Barbra is delightful and beautiful in the British scenes. Plus it is the only time Streisand and Nicholson share the screen. As a side note, Barbra won her Oscar for Funny Girl while filming Clear Day. She decided to wear one of the costumes to the ceremony. It was see-through pajamas. Barbra tripped going up the stairs to the stage and America got an eye full of her see-through behind.

6. Owl and the Pussycat

By the time 1970 came around, Barbra was in danger of being a has been before she was 30. The culture had changed and her style of music and the movies she was cast in were like relics from another time. As usual, when things weren't working, Barbra took control and matters into her own hands. Against the advise of her management, she was determined to take a non-musical role. She chose the role of a hooker with a heart in Buck Henry's Owl and the Pussycat. She updated her look and did her first and only nude scene. The success of the film and Barbra's first rock and roll album, Stoney End, in the same year, cemented Barbra's fate as a film and music superstar for years to come.

For Pete's Sake - Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

7. For Pete's Sake

The best part of this slapstick comedy is that it was filmed in Brooklyn. Watching Barbra run around what is now my end of the borough is really fun. The weight of this movie is really on Barbra's shoulders and she delivers the laughs.

Section 3 (from 2010)

1. Xanadu

Okay, the movie's really bad. Poor Olivia, it basically put the nail in the coffin of her movie career. Poor Gene, it was unfortunately his last movie, bad way to end a legendary movie career. I do like some of the musical numbers. The broadway show was so funny (intentionally) that it renewed my interest in the movie.

2. Thank God It's Friday

Yes, before it was a restaurant, it was a low budget, silly, and some might say really bad disco movie. It's like Saturday Night Fever meets The Love Boat. Whatever it is, it is now a cult classic. As Donna Summer's movie debut, it fail to ignite any interest in casting her in a second turn.

3. Can't Stop the Music

What can I say? This is possibly the Gayest thing ever made (and not in the good way like Funny Girl). I can't resist having this in my library. It's jaw droppingly bad. Bruce Jenner may have gotten his plastic surgery so he wouldn't be recognized after this. The YMCA scene alone makes it worth it. A stunning failure by Allan Carr, the guy who produced the most successful movie musical ever, Grease. Remember when straight guys used to dance to Macho Man thinking it was about heterosexual prowess?

4. Little Shop of Horrors

I saw the original non-musical movie, I saw the off broadway musical this movie was based on and I saw the broadway production that was based on this movie. None of them is as good as the Frank Oz directed film. Too bad it was made during a time when movie musicals weren't popular. A surprisingly strong performance by Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene reprising the role she made famous on stage make this a must see. The opening scene, Downtown, is worth it alone.