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player ready...In Farmington, Maine, Bradley A. Porter is all set with the five movies he would want on a desert island for the rest of his life:
“Aliens.” “I’m tempted to list all sorts of highbrow classics,” he says, “but if I’m stranded by myself for the rest of my life, I’m going to make damn sure that in at least one of the movies I take with me, I get to see aliens, explosions, and hot girls with big guns.”
“Six Degrees of Separation.” “Highly, highly underrated. A powerful drama about the interconnectivity of people’s lives, and on an even deeper level it says something about being human that I to this day can’t grasp entirely.”
“Joe Versus the Volcano.” “The perfect three-act comedy — taking this movie with me is almost like taking three for the price of one.”
“The Producers.” “I needed something screamingly funny, and it was between this and `Monty Python and the Holy Grail.'”
“Being John Malkovich.” “Even after watching it multiple times, long after the initial novelty of the pure insanity of it falls away, all the funny parts are still just as funny, and all the dramatic parts are even more dramatic.”
In Joliet, Marcia Smith Marzec’s five includes a Paul Newman movie that keeps showing up on desert-island lists from all over the world:
“The Full Monty.” “The feel-good music is a backdrop to the film’s essential optimism, and the effect is funny, sweet and tender all at once.”
“True Romance.” “The paradoxical combination of violence and the sweetness of young love.”
“The Apostle.” “Brilliantly written, acted and directed by Robert Duvall, and the gospel music is a wonderful bonus.”
“Quiz Show.” “A complex and engrossing study of character, class, families and the American Dream, this is about as close to an American tragedy as we have.”
“Cool Hand Luke.” “An existential masterpiece. Paul Newman, as Luke, brings to his fellow prisoners a hope of freedom and salvation, which they will never see but without which they could not endure.”
In Chesterton, Ind., Sue M. Harrison knows which five she would want with her:
“Camelot.” “My favorite musical of all time. I know all the dialogue and the words to the songs. I think this movie contains the all-time greatest line: `So often in the past I’ve looked in your eyes and seen forgiveness for me there. And it will be there again — but I won’t be here to see it.'”
“Gone With the Wind.” “I was born and raised in the South — and I know every one of those people, or someone just like them.”
“American Gigolo.” “Richard Gere, young and gorgeous.”
“The Robe.” “I’d have to have this to watch at Easter. Don’t know how many years I’ve been doing so; it’s an absolute tradition.”
“Five Easy Pieces.” “Nicholson at his finest.”
In Washington, D.C., Kathleen McCann says the choices are clear:
“Groundhog Day.” “If you’re going to be there an eternity, you might as well watch the same thing over and over again.”
“Groundhog Day.” If you’re going to be there an eternity, you might as well . . .”
In Los Angeles, Joe Lambie has chosen his five — and has summed up his reasons for doing so:
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“Casablanca,” “The Heiress,” “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “The Maltese Falcon,” “Viva Zapata.” “As you probably noticed,” he says, “all are black-and-white films. For me, black-and-white engages my imagination in a way that color does not. It is timeless in a way that color isn’t. The textures of light and shadow mirror the dark journeys we all must make in solitude.
“Which brings me to the next thing these have in common: They are all dramas. They are about the many faces of love, fear, honor . . . about freedom, liberty, power and how they are influenced by human character. Their triumphs are personal — because they are human, they challenge me on the level of my own humanity. They call upon me to join them in their victories.
“They are complex and stalwart friends. If you’ve got to be stranded, what better company?”
Wednesday: the final list of your lists. And I don’t know what I’m going to do with the boxes and boxes of printouts of great desert-island lists there was no room to publish here.
———-
– Bob Greene comments on the news of the day Thursdays on the “WGN News at Nine.”