A Return and a Cinematic Alphabet

Hello there, sorry for the two week plus hiatus on my blogging duties. My wife, in-laws and I had a nice relaxing trip to Laguna Beach this week and I guess I took a mental vacation a week before that. All my writing efforts went spent towards a screenplay I've been working on and wanted to have a finished first draft completed by the end of March (I am on page 87 and a third act away from that feat 8 days past that deadline. C'est la vie). I did manage to get back to Los Angeles in time to catch one of the final showings of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (I recommend this review by Mr. Peel, which pretty much echoes my sentiments) with my good friend Heath (who apparently is blogging again). Hey, at least I left any visitors with many pictures of a beautiful woman in which to ogle.

I have at least four films backlogged for reviews for the 1981 Project, but right now, to ease back into the blogging world (including visiting and commenting on others' sites) I decided to take part in the Cinematic Alphabet meme that was sweeping the cinephile blogging ranks a few weeks ago thanks to the Rupert Pupkin Speaks blog.

This concept is to list your favorite film that starts with each letter of the alphabet. I considered doing that, but then decided that would result in too many Sophie's Choices (but ironically, not the actual film Sophie's Choice, which I have not seen) and thus tried to come up with a hook. First I thought I'd do a cinematic alphabet of films each directed by personal favorite auteurs, then I thought I'd focus in on underrated films, then I considered genres, films I've reviewed or discussed here, and films from 1981. Ultimately, the end result is kind of an amalgam of the first two possibilities. Some of these films are underrated, or at least amongst the particular director's oeuvre, and some are, well fairly rated. Most of these directors I count as my favorites (though not really Q, but he's a favorite actor of mine) but a complete list of personal favorites would find room for Brian DePalma, Francois Truffaut, Joe Dante, John Carpenter, David Lynch, John Ford, David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, et cetera, et cetera.

So after that convoluted explanation here is my Cinematic Alphabet:

A is for Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder)

B is for Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick)

C is for California Split (Robert Altman)

D is for Duel (Steven Spielberg)


E is for Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle)


F is for For A Few Dollars More (Sergio Leone)...what else do you expect?


G is for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks)


H is for Hard Eight (Paul Thomas Anderson)


I is for In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)


J is for Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)


K is for The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)


L is for Le Samourai (Jean-Pierre Melville)...I know, it's a bit of a cheat


M is for Miller's Crossing (the Coen brothers)


N is for Night and the City (Jules Dassin)


O is for Out of the Past (Jacques Tourner)


P is for The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen)


Q is for Quick Change (Bill Murray/Howard Franklin)


R is for Rushmore (Wes Anderson)


S is for The Silent Partner (Daryl Duke)


T is for Touch of Evil (Orson Welles)


U is for Underworld USA (Samuel Fuller)


V is for Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)


W is for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodovar)


X is for X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (Roger Corman)


Y is for Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa)


Z is for Zodiac (David Fincher)