Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2006 > November > 02 > Entry
Lights! Survey! Action!
Last week I started a regular feature on the Zagat surveys fascinating lists of the best films in many, many genres. This week, we look at the best action movies.
The 15,000 “avid moviegoers” that make up the Zagat group selected the following as the best action movies. My commentary follows the titles. No list is in any particular order.
Classic (Pre 1960)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre: We don’t need no steenking lists to know we are claseeek!
The Adventures of Robin Hood: Ab-so-lutely! One of my favorite moviegoing memories was seeing this at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton, when the audience applauded every time Errol Flynn bounded onscreen. Great, great fun.
Mutiny on the Bounty: That would be the Clark Gable/Charles Laughton version. Not my favorite, but I don’t object.
King Kong (1933): Here’s one of many examples of guess the right category. Indisputably a great film, but is it really an action movie? I prefer to think of it as sci-fi/fantasy.
Captains Courageous
Captain Blood: Same director and stars as “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” Why not?
War of the Words (1953): I know it’s heresy, but I liked Spielberg’s better.
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956): Uhhhh … unless you count the game of “spot the star” as the action, NO WAY. Best Picture winner my posterior. Ptooey!
Tarzan and His Mate (1934): AAEEEAAAHHHEEEAHHAAAAHAAAAAHHHH! (It had to be said.)
Modern (post-1960)
Lawrence of Arabia: Again, great film, but I call it an epic or a drama.
Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back : Sci-fi.
Lord of the Rings (all three): Fantasy.
The Great Escape: Not my personal fave, but Steve McQueen and his motorcycle were awfully cool.
Fitzcarraldo: This truly surprised me. It’s a one-of-a-kind film, but is it really action? If the category were about “Obsessives,” it would win hands down.
Papillon
Raiders of the Lost Ark
And now, my picks:
Classic
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Gunga Din: I’m really surprised this wasn’t on Zagat’s list, considering how much Lucas and Spielberg stole from it for “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” And considering the fact that it’s a great movie.
Modern
Aliens: OK, I’m committing my own category fraud here. Some call it sci-fi. some call it horror. I call it relentlessly breathtaking, so in action it goes.
Goldfinger: For SHAME on Zagat’s avid moviegoers for not including at least one Bond film! This is my favorite, with “From Russia with Love” a close second.
Spider-Man 2: The best live action comic book-based movie ever.
Kill Bill Vol. 1: Love it or hate it, you gotta admit it’s uniquely energetic.
The Killer: Hong Kong John Woo deserves a spot somewhere.
The Fugitive: The rare action film that is not only great as an action flick but as a character study.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: My personal favorite of ALL these lists. I still remember being stunned at how that movie lasted two hours, yet it felt like only half an hour.
What are your favorite action movies?
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Comments
By SRCputt
November 8, 2006 11:13 AM | Link to this
Speed was an ingenious action film that never let up and had a sense of humor about that. Highly entertaining. Thanks for including The Killer, though I would add the one American John Woo film reasonably close to his Hong Kong work: Face/Off. And while this stretches the definiton a bit, I remember Eric literally stumbling out of Terminator 2 with exhaustion, so that rates a mention.