John Landis is a great writer, director and producer and has done many classics.
Here is my top 5. It is hard to order them but I'll try.
1. An American Werewolf in London 2. Three Amigos 3. Trading Places 4. Coming to America 5. National Lampoon's Animal House
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
1. An American Werewolf in London 2. Kentucky Fried Movie 3. Into the Night 4. National Lampoon's Animal House 5. The Blues Brothers
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Great director but i think that his last good movie was Innocent Blood (1992) Blues Borthers 2000 was so unnecessary.
Top 5:
1.The Blues Brothers 2.Coming to America 3.Into the Night 4.An American Werewolf in London 5.National Lampoon's Animal House
I canīt believe that i had to leave Trading Places out.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Yeah Blues Brothers 2000 sucked. Maybe John Landis was just trying to defend himself but I saw an interview with him and he said he was tricked by whatever studio into doing it.
I agree that he has not done any decent movies lately which is most surprising considering the calibre of movies he is capable of.
IMO he had the potential to be the greatest film maker ever.
Posted by Zach (Member # 9459) on :
John Landis is one of my favorite directors of all time. Here's my top 5, all IMHO of course:
1. An American Werewolf in London 2. Trading Places 3. National Lampoon's Animal House 4. Coming to America 5. The Blues Brothers
Honorable Mention: Thriller (I know, I know, it's not a movie but it is a fantastic music video so I felt it deserved to be mentioned among Landis's best work).
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
1. Trading Places 2. Spies like Us 3. Coming to America 4. Into the Night 5. American Werewolf
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Glad to see so much love for Into the Night here. It's special (Who hasn't had insomnia and wished for an adventure like Jeff Goldblum has? Killer B.B. King score too!). I like Innocent Blood a lot too.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Nobody for Three Amigos?
Posted by Chris the CandyFanMan (Member # 3197) on :
1. The Blues Brothers 2. Three Amigos 3. Spies Like Us 4. Trading Places 5. probably have to say Coming to America, although I am in the minority who found Beverly Hills Cop III at least somewhat reasonable
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I just don't get Into The Night. If you like it, all well and good but too me it is severely boring. Enough to turn it off. Not trying to put a damper on things by any means though Posted by Leo Logan (Member # 9206) on :
1. An American Werewolf in London 2. The Blues Brothers 3. Coming to America 4. Trading Places 5. Three Amigos
Worst films of his: Oscar (1991), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), The Stupids (1996)
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
im the only one putting spies on the list?
Posted by Jack Gannon (Member # 9144) on :
1. Into the Night 2. Three Amigos 3. Trading Places 4. Spies Like Us 5."Damn that boy is good" Coming to America
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Good Package: im the only one putting spies on the list?
I love Spies Like Us, but there is just too many good ones. Probably in 6th spot for me.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I am not trying to be harsh here, but can someone pease explain to me what is so great about Inot The Night which has got alot of mentions.
Like I said in a previous post I find it really boring.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Since I love this film, I will give it a go. Jeff Goldblum's character, Ed Okin, is like most of us. He's marking time through life to the point where he just can't sleep because he can't deal with his issues, and he can't move forward. He reluctantly decides to act impulsively, and Michelle Pfeiffer falls on the hood of his car, plunging him into an adventure that will change him. Folks threaten him, pull guns on him, and there is chaos all around him. He's not really afraid, yet he's not a hero. He's just too burned out, apathetic, and tired to care. The viewer completely sympathizes with and cares for him because he is every one of us at some point in our lives. By the end, there is a full character arc, which I won't spoil. And which guy among us wouldn't want to grab Pfeiffer's hand and act spontaneously to protect her? (And I think that this is the only time that she's naked in a film. )
On another level, it succeeds as a film-buff insider movie. It's like an old school noir in plot, yet it is in color and quite differently done. All those film directors show up in cameos that are witty in an ironic way outside the plot--David Cronenberg talking about scanners, for example. Everything exists in a movie-movie universe here.
Finallly, it's just wonderful John-Landis-in-great-form filmmaking--beautiful night time cinematography, perfect editing, cool locations...and an amazingly haunting B.B. King soundtrack, one that I sometimes play as background to my own life as I imagine my own fantasy of saving my own unobtainable, out-of-my-league girl.
What's not to like?
[ 03. March 2011, 18:28: Message edited by: Crash ]
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
It's an easy paced movie about a guy who is almost sleepwalking through an adventure, and he barely even notices it. I used to watch it a lot. It's just a light, amusing movie with some nice performances and scenes. The intro where he finds his wife cheating on him is really good in an understated way.
I'm not so sure it's a movie that can be labeled as 'great'. But I do think it's consistently good.
Edit: Crash got in first, and Crash said it best.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
You are too kind, Logan. Posted by P a u l (Member # 1022) on :
Into The Night
The Blues Brothers
Coming to America
Trading Places
The Three Amigos
Posted by P a u l (Member # 1022) on :
quote:Originally posted by Crash: And which guy among us wouldn't want to grab Pfeiffer's hand and act spontaneously to protect her? (And I think that this is the only time that she's naked in a film. )
What's not to like?
Yes - it is. And at a time when, for me at least, this very beautiful actress looked as good as she ever has....
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I agree, Paul. I don't think that Michelle Pfeiffer has ever looked better than around the Into the Night/Scarface period. Sometime around "Wolf" in '94, it looked to me like she had some cosmetic surgery done on her face. She still looks good, but I preferred her back in the day.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Right on guys and of course we have add Grease 2 to the list.
Posted by P a u l (Member # 1022) on :
quote:Originally posted by aTomiK: Right on guys and of course we have add Grease 2 to the list.
As a Landis classic?
As far as a Pfeiffer-fest, I can't ever include Grease 2, basically because I can't actually watch anything 'starring' Maxwell Caulfield.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
So no semi-classics like Electric Dreams and The Boys Next Door for you, Paul?
Posted by P a u l (Member # 1022) on :
Electric Dreams yes, because he basically gets very little real screen time and certainly doesn't "star" in the movie - Miles, Madeleine and Edgar are the stars. Until you reminded me, I really had forgotten that he was even in it.
And The Boys Next Door is a movie I've never seen. Which is kinda my point, I think (although given time, it'll sound metter...)
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Well, heīs not one of my favorites either.
Back to Landis, Anyone seen his two Masters of Horror episodes?
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I have, aTomiK. They were both pretty good horror-comedys, sort of like Landis-lite. ("Deer Woman," pretty much tells you what that one is about. LOL) That series, as much as I enjoyed it, was incredibly uneven. Some episodes were mini-masterpieces, like John Carpenter's first season one, Don Coscarelli's, and Dario Argento's. A bunch were solid--those by Joe Dante, Peter Medak, Stuart Gordon and Landis. And then you have Tobe Hooper, whose two episodes were absolutely dreadful. Oh yeah, and they wound up pulling and never running Takashi Miike's one because it was way too controversial.
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I've always loved:
1. An American Werewold In London 2. Trading Places 3. Comin To America 4. Three Amigos (I know I've seen this as a kid, but don't remember much about it...time to re-visit I guess)
Shamefully...I've never even seen Animal House...or Into The Night. I have both, so...someday....
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
This is a good thread so letīs bump...
Just watched Three Amigos (1986). Last time i watched it was back in the 80s and i was afraid if iīd like it at all. Well, it was better than i thought but letīs face it, itīs Landisī worst 80s film. The Amigos Martin, Chase & Short plus the villains Arau and Plana are all good and have few great moments but i just didnīt laugh enough. I also liked all three Randy Newman musical numbers but the movie is just too "nice". For once i can say that Ebert said it best "The ideas to make Three Amigos into a good comedy are here, but the madness is missing". I know that Landis had the final cut but the studio still removed few scenes. Also, they had the idea already in the early 80s and originally Martin, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were going to play the Three Amigos. Now that would have been madness
25th anniversay Empire reunion in Los Angeles. Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
Yeah I have mixed feelings about the three amigos atomik,it's fun but compared to john Landis's earlier efforts - animal house,trading places,an American werewolf in London etc. It definitely does (well in my opinion) fall well short of those efforts.
I think if people are looking for a comedy western you could do no better than blazing saddles - now that's a classic!
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Blazing Saddles is awesome!
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
Yes.. but did it have a singing bush in it ?
I think not ! Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
or the invisible swordsman?
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I think Three Amigos is a great film - I don't think that it is anywhere near the worst film of Landis. I remember seeing this at the cinema when I was 6 and my old man was literally frothing at the mouth from laughing so hard. There are a lot of clever/subtle jokes in it too.
I love Belushi and Aykroyd but I think the casting for this movie was perfect.
Two thumbs up for me
I wish these three guys had done more movies together.
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