The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame

glad you liked it so much, this was my nom for you. part of the reason i picked it is simply because you have so many films crossed off on your lists already and this was one of my favorites of the few that i'd seen that you hadn't. i also knew that you liked altman so i was surprised you hadn't seen this or short cuts. i think i might slightly prefer short cuts to this one, but it's a lot harder to recommend a three-hour movie to someone. i also felt like it kinda had a cricket vibe to it, which i couldn't describe at the time i picked it, but thinking more about it now i would say it's because it goes along well with a lot of your top ten. most of them are films rich in thematic depth with overtly impressive filmmaking skills on display, but also incredibly entertaining on a surface level as well, so it made sense to go with the most entertaining film from one of the masters. also, with goodfellas and boogie nights on there, it only made sense for you to complete the holy trinity of iconic 90s tracking shots.

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I was 21 when The Player came out, and at the time I just liked different movies and I knew nothing about Altman. I became a fan of his while we were prepping for the 70's countdown but I didn't really look any further. I'm not sure why I've been so interested in Short Cuts but dismissing The Player, but it's not a movie I had heard much about even during my years on the forum.

If we do this again...hint...I might like The Player, at least it looks intriguing.

I was already thinking the exact same thing.

The Player I didn't like when I saw it in my early 20's but loved it when I rewatched it in my early 40's after I had a few more Altman flicks under my belt. Haven't seen it since but I do have the feeling it's one that stands up to repeated viewings quite well. Short Cuts is my favorite from Altman. That movie is amazing and actually changed how I view/treat people, especially in regards brief encounters with folks I would have previously considered total a-holes, however, like Frightened Inmate No. 2, the length keeps me from nominating it for a HoF.

I also try to avoid nominating long films for people, but for this HoF I definitely don't mind them being chosen for me.

I felt pretty safe nominating a longer one for you this time around. I was a little surprised you hadn't already seen it.

That was one of the main reasons I mentioned waiving my time limit, I was hoping someone would pick it.

Allegro Non Troppo (1977)


Allegro Non Troppo is an Italian version of Fantasia, a mixture of animation with classical music. Each one of the set pieces is tied together with a strange live action occestral setting. I suppose the attempt was to have a live action version of the hyper creative cartoons. The film was a mixed bag for me, I really enjoyed the animated segments but I truly hated the live action parts. At one point a guy in a monkey suit comes out and does a bit with the conductor and I thought to myself who is this film for. But at the end of the day while I didn't care for the framing device I did love most of the animated sections...my favorite is the one with the cat running around a ruined home as it remembers better days.

Yeah, the live-action parts of Allegro Non Troppo are pretty stupid. They were meant to parody the introductions from Fantasia, but just come off as ridiculous and unfunny. Thankfully, the animated segments are incredibly well done. The evolution segment is my favorite, but the one with the cat is pretty great too.

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Now that the Mofo Film Awards are out of the way, I can focus on this thing.

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Suspect's Reviews

I think I liked Allegro Non Troppo more than Fantasia.

Stalag 17 (1944)



I actually saw this film years ago just didn't remember. This is a Billy Wilder film and Wilder is a master storyteller you could call this film a mystery, comedy or drama and the blending of genre is both it's strength and it's weakness. William Holden is the noirish hero of the story, a cynic who has taken advantage and pospered in this POW camp. When a failed escape incident occurs the rest of the bunk mates look towards Holden as the rat. That's a great story and where the film could have gone. But the film doesn't really go in that direction instead playing the camp time more a year in the life type deal.


Camp is the key word because the humor here some it has aged well others not so much. The film has several vaudevillian bits with two of the Animal and Shapiro and the cartoonish humor feels completely out of place. It feels really dated especially the gay panic scene which I think I've seen in a bugs bunny short multiple times. Otto Preminger and Sig Ruman are both very good in this as the Nazi's. Ruman is pretty funny but also menacing and I wish I would have seen more from Preminger's character. A big issue with the film is it's lack of depth of the other characters, most of the sergeants are very one dimensional they are each given a thing and when you realize what the mystery is then the traitor is fairly obvious.


Still while I wish aspects of the film were done better I still generally enjoyed it and would rank fairly highly it's not jusy my #1 and I thought it was going to be going into this list.

Mary and Max (2009)


Well that was depressing, this is one of the ugliest animated films I think I've seen. An awkward teenager in Australia ends up the penpal of a middle-aged Jewish asbergers man in Brooklyn. The humor is the story is very dark, this is an incredibly nihilistic film that I think goes a bit to far with the scatological humor. I was floored when it was revealed that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was Max he did incredible work her, it's his funniest role and the best humor is less the visual gags but his deliver and cadence of the jokes. The story also has a Douglas Addams quality to it where you don't get the science fiction but rather the mental health stuff. Some of the plot twists felt like they came out of nowhere which was my biggest quibble with the film.



I don't know if I was in the right headspace to really enjoy this, this was likely bad timing to make this recommendation but I can look past that and give this film a favorable review.

It's funny what you say about Stalag 17 because I loved it as a kid, but purposely avoided watching it for the 50's countdown because I felt I wouldn't like it anymore.

I loved Mary and Max. I had it high up on my animations list.

Mary and Max is one of my favorite movies (animated or not). It was my choice for you Siddon, glad you sort of enjoyed!

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I wondered who chose that for him. I nominated it for Hey Frederick.

Allegro Non Troppo was my nom for Siddon. I might have gone with a theme for my nominations.

The Big Combo (1955)


I really wish this film will end up with Criterion and get a cleanup job because the print that exists right now is Laser-disc quality. With that said this was the best of recommendations I've gotten so far. This is a noir story that plays a bit like a Film Noir epic with the story starting with a fixed? boxing match and ending with a man on the run and all the stuff in between. Part of me wondered if this was from some massive novel with all the plot points but no this was an original screenplay.


Nothing in this film feels original and it's not shot in a particularly stylish way but I loved it because it's an exercise in genre. The goal is to tell a pulpy twisty story to draw in the viewer and Lewis does a great job with this. I also like how the characters are unknowns, I've seen Cornell Wilde in some things but he's not an overwhelming screen presence he can fall into the role. Jean Wallace and Richard Conte are the heavy and the girl and they both did a great job. The movie feels like it's almost Conte's story moreso than all the other characters


I really enjoyed this one.

I can't remember if that made my noir ballot but it was definitely a good one.

That was my pick for you Glad you liked it!