Vince's Journey

While Jules and I were in Las Vegas last week, we went to see The Beatles Love show at The Mirage. As a huge fan of The Beatles, I was really looking forward to seeing the show and wasn't disappointed. The music was phenomenal as they remixed and re-engineered over 25 songs; giving them a fresh, new sound. And the show, which told the story of England through The Beatles era was spectacularly performed by Cirque Du Soliel. For me, growing up during that amazing era, the show was also very nostalgic. I sat and recalled the first time I heard many of the songs as I watched in amazement as the performers climbed ropes, did flips, did one armed hand stands and other physical feats that you simply couldn't believe you were witnessing. It was unbelievable. But I have to say the highlight for me was the ending when they showed video clips of The Beatles playing 'All You Need is Love'. It took me back to that time - a time when everything The Beatles did was magical, a time when they were as big and famous and influential as any artist(s) in my entire lifetime. I was actually kind of sad when the show ended, I looked at the pictures of the fab four and they looked so young and happy. They looked invincible. But those times are gone and they'll never return. And with only 2 of The Beatles still alive, I realize those days of youth were a long, long time ago. I'll always be a big fan of The Beatles and the 90 minutes I spent watching Love in Vegas was a trip down memory lane that I'm glad I had the opportunity to make.

Now it's time for the next 10 films of my countdown. This will take us down to the top 10 - there are 6 Academy Award best picture winners in this list of movies...

#20. The Sting (1973) - The third and final film from 1973 to make my list, The Sting was the winner of the Oscar for best picture. The story of two con men, played by the two biggest stars of that time (Robert Redford and Paul Newman) , trying to make a big score by duping big time gamblers into making a fools bet in a make believe (and very illegal) gambling operation. Full of great twists and successful scams that you cheer for, The Sting also featured a wonderful musical score arranged by Marvin Hamlisch. One night I got the kids to grudgingly watch The Sting and by the end of the movie, they loved it.

#19. Field of Dreams (1989) - I guess you would call this movie a guy's 'chick flick'; I don't know many guys who don't get a little emotional when Kevin Costner asks his dad if he want's to play catch at the end of the movie. In addition, the story about an Iowa farmer who hears voices which tell him to build a baseball field in the middle of his corn crop is also one of the more imaginative movies I've ever seen. Field of Dreams was a nominee for Best Picture (Driving Miss Daisy was the winner) and featured two fantastic supporting performances by James Earl Jones and Burt Lancaster.

#18. Gone With The Wind (1939) - 1939 may have been the greatest year in the history of movies and Gone With the Wind was named the best picture of that year. I actually have a couple of the '39 movies rated higher but it would be hard to argue against the greatness of Gone With the Wind. A sweeping epic set in the days of the Civil War; Scarlet O'Hara, played to perfection by Vivien Leigh, is easily one of the top 10 movie characters of all time. The movie also contained some of the most iconic movie lines in the history of movies including one that many consider #1; "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

#17. Psycho (1961) - Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense movies and 'Psycho' is arguably his greatest effort. The story of a lonely hotel clerk (Anthony Perkins) who becomes the focus of a missing persons case, this film keeps you guessing until the very end when the clerk's ugly past is revealed. Also noted for some of the innovative film making techniques employed by Hitchcock, 'Psycho' will be in the top 20 of almost every movie fan's top 20 lists.

#16. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - Jimmy Stewart is one of my all time favorites and he shines in this movie about a naive, junior senator from Nebraska who winds up taking on the senior senator when he learns his older colleague is being 'bought' by a powerful contributor to his political campaign. With tremendous supporting roles by Jean Arthur, Claude Raines and Edward Albert - Mr. Smith is the kind of senator we could use in Washington today.

#15. Casablanca (1942) - Just a perfect movie filled with great performances, memorable lines, passion and suspense - the mark of a great movie is it get's better every minute and that certainly applies to 'Casablanca', the deeper you get into the story, the juicier it gets.

#14. Singin' in the Rain (1952) - Hard to believe this movie didn't win the best picture Oscar in 1952, especially when you realize the winner, The Greatest Show on Earth, is generally referred to as the worst best picture winner of all time. Starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds; Singin' in the Rain is the story of the top two Hollywood stars of the silent movie era trying to make the transition to talking movies. The only problem is the female star, Lina Lamont, has the worst voice you'd ever want to listen to. To cover up for her nasally delivery, they talk Debbie Reynolds character into dubbing her voice over Lina's which leads to box office gold. And Lina is so stupid, she doesn't even realize its not her voice. This is the greatest musical of all time and it features tremendous show pieces, hysterical scenes and of course the song we've all sang when were caught in a storm; Singin' in the Rain.

#13. On the Waterfront (1954) - Another film where our lead character decides to take on greed and corruption, On The Waterfront is one of the most outstandingly performed films, ever. Led by Marlon Brando, this movie received 5 acting nominations, including 3 for best supporting actor - Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. Eva Marie Saint won best supporting actress but Brando's performance is one of the top 5 I've ever seen. He was born to play Terry Malone.

#12. Schindler's List (1993) - Steven Spielberg is the greatest movie director of this era and his story about a German industrialist who saves many Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factory is as chilling a story as you will ever see. Very difficult to watch at times as you witness the horrible atrocities that the people in the concentration camps were subjected to, I've never felt so numb leaving a movie theater. And few villains have been portrayed as convincingly as Ralph Fiennes performance as the Nazi in charge of the concentration camp.

#11. The Godfather (1972) - The greatest gangster movie ever made, its also one of the greatest movies about the importance of family commitment ever made, as well. The greatest compliment I can pay to The Godfather is this; I own a DVD copy of this movie so I could watch it any time I want but whenever I see it on television I'll watch it from the moment I discover it's on until the movie ends. Every scene is perfect and the baptism scene at the end is easily one of the best movie segments ever filmed. Marlon Brando won his second Oscar as Vito Corleone and it's hard to believe Al Pacino didn't win best supporting actor for his role as Vito's son, Michael. Nevertheless, The Godfather is fim making at it's best.

And then there were 10 - you'll find out the top ten in my next post.