THE NEXT FILM IN FOURTH TOP 10 + 2

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Here is the next instalment of the next Top 10 + 2, the fourth of such lists.

As I have previously posted, my Top 10 + 2 films is based on “watchability”, those type of films which you (meaning me) like to watch more than once and enjoy thoroughly for whatever reasons. Hence Groundhog Day is on the list, Citizen Kane is not, at least in my case never having had the urge to watch Citizen Kane more than once. My friend Steve cringes at my choices .

The reason my first list was called Top 10 + 2 was that I had difficulty whittling the list down to 10.

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The past lists and current list:

List #1:

Zulu

Groundhog Day

12 Angry Men

Godfather

Rat Race

Sin City

Chicago

Pleasantville

Runaway Train

Blues Brothers

Blade Runner

Full Metal Jacket

List #2:

42nd Street

Soldier

The Castle

Captains Courageous

Goodbye Mr Chips

Love Actually

Rollerball

Life of Brian

Judgment at Nuremberg

Down Periscope

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Jeremiah Johnson

List #3:

Breakfast Club

The Enemy Below

The Searchers

The Quiet Man

Forrest Gump

Midnight Sting

Once Upon a Time in the West

Shawshank Redemption

Kill Bill

A Night at the Opera

Casablanca

Titanic

List #4:

So far –

How Green Was My Valley

It Happened One Night

The Maltese Falcon

Take the Money and Run

Das Boot

Falling Down

Rambo: First Blood

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Stagecoach

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Today:

Stardust

Not all of the films in my Top 10 + 2 lists are dramas, action, westerns etc.

Stardust is a delightful and charming film in the fairy tale/fantasy genre that deserves a viewing, yes, even by you Steve though you will probably hate it.

With a cast that includes Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervaise, Peter O’Toole and Robert de Niro in a totally unlikely role, supported by a good script, it returns us to the child in all of us.

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Synopsis:

The film follows Tristan, a young man from the fictional town of Wall in England. Wall is a town on the border of the magical fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. Tristan enters the magical world to collect a fallen star to give to his beloved Victoria, in return for her hand in marriage. He finds the star, who to his surprise, is a woman named Yvaine. A trio of witches and the Princes of Stormhold are also hunting for Yvaine for their own reasons. Meanwhile, Tristan tries to get her back to Wall with him before Victoria's birthday, the deadline for her offer.

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Trivia:

Captain Shakespeare's flying boat is called Caspartine, named after Matthew Vaughn's two children Caspar and Clementine.

Robert De Niro accepted the role due to his regret at turning down the role of Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).

They talk about traveling by candlelight, and they talk about a Babylon candle, it's actually from a children's rhyme from the 19th century. "How many miles to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can I get there by candle-light? Yes, and back again."

The Princes' names all refer back to their place in the family: Primus, the first born (Primary), Secundus, the second born, Tertius, the third (Tertiary), and so on in that fashion. Likewise, Una the Princess, is the first-born daughter. This tradition come from Latin, as some Romans called their children after the order of their birth, though usually as a nickname, only sometimes being a given name, especially with daughters.

Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Jessica Alba all turned down the role of Yvaine.

(at around 1h 40 mins) Ditchwater Sal asks "are you talking to me?". This is one of Robert De Niro, who also stars in the film's, most famous lines.

The Princes, when killed, are all shown to bleed blue blood. This is a joke hinting at their nobility, as those of royal heritage were said to have blue blood in their veins, rather than red. As the Princes are of royal heritage, they are literally "blue bloods". This may also have allowed the filmmakers to depict greater violence on-screen, while maintaining a lower age appropriate rating.

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By the way:

The phrase "blue blood," used to denote aristocratic or noble descent, likely originated in medieval Spain with the term "sangre azul," referring to the pale skin of the Castilian nobility, which made their veins appear blue.

Pale white skin came to be associated with wealthy royal families, who could afford to spend their times inside their mansions and palaces. Meanwhile, people of poorer backgrounds tended not to be as pale - they were out working in the fields or the cities. This was coupled with the fact that aristocrats could bather more frequently and thoroughly, also showing the blue veins more.

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Gallery:

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