9. Bladerunner 1982

I originally went to see this film because I loved Harrison Ford in the Raiders series of films. I went to a movie theatre in town, god knows which one, and there was all these posters and cut outs on the walls advertising Bladerunner. Must see. Little did I know how much I would come to love the film. Even the first time I saw it I guess I was expecting too much and I felt a little underwhelmed. But I kept thinking about it and a few weeks later I was back again. A few years later I had the video and I seemed to watch it any time someone came around. And I bought the soundtrack. The Vangelis version wasn't released but that didn't bother me. I wanted that soundtrack. I'd listen to it before I went to sleep at night ( or early morning). Of course now I have 3 versions of the movie but I still go back to the original.
Evrything about this movie is fantastic. The futuristic backdrop which is wet and dirty. The japanese style punks that walk the streets. Daryl Hannah spraying on her makeup. The buildings. The floating advertising. And the detective story transplanted from some 30s Noir film. The only thing that troubles me is those stupid shorts that Rutgaer Haeur wears in the final moments. Like something you'd wear at the gym not on some android killer. still a brilliant movie and I'm tepmted to go and watch it right now. It's raining outside. It's late. why not?

8. Monty Python and The Holy Grail 1975

We were talking about Monty Python the other night at dinner and we put on You Tube and looked at a couple of Python sketches. Then we got to the killer rabbit in Holy Grail and I remembered just how much I loved thhis movie when it came out. And for years after. Me and my mates went down to the Trak cinema in Toorak, which was our usual haunt for cinemas. We laughed from the moment it started until the final seconds. But even more fun was the years or maybe even decades after when you would get together with another Python fan and speak Pythonese.  I just laugh thinking about it. So I showed the film to my kids and they got it so well. The absurd humour just works on every level.
I'm sure there are so many people walking around with their sense of humour fully moulded by watching these shows and films from the seventies. Really, they were the best comedy ever.
What was even more exciting was the coming of video. I swear we wore out the tapes. The ones from the video shop were always slightly dodgy from so many plays.
Just as amazing is the quality of the film. I never once thought of it as a low budget movie. It looks great.

7. Zulu 1964

I've seen this film many many times and never got sick of it. The first time was in the 1975. My Uncle Jack took me and my cousin to see this film in some theatre in Blackpool. I just loved it. After that I would wait until it came on television. Which was fairly regular. Sunday afternoons was the time for these epics. Later we would have late night TV and it might come on in the depths of morning. Then along came video and then the game changed. But I'd still hang out to see it on the big screen though. Africa was just made for widescreen.
Of course this was Michael Caine's first big film. And though he hasn't got the voice he would use in later films he still has the charisma.
But really it's just a Boy's Own adventure like the comics and annuals I used to get for Christmas in my youth. How a small bunch of Englishmen (and Welsh) beat a massive army. Dressed in cool bright red uniforms.

6. This is Spinal Tap 1984

 I saw this first at the Trak cinema in Toorak. It was a memorable night not only because it was one of the funniest films I had ever seen but also because the entire audience seemed to be made up of people from bands. All the Murders and ex-Murders were there. Everyone was there. All the bands we played with around the Melbourne circuit.
It was a brilliant atmosphere whose memory I retain to this day. The film I've been back to many many times. First on VHS and then DVD and DVD box set. Something you look forward to putting on regularly. And so many classic quotes that have become part of our vocabulary. "It goes up to eleven" "Mime is Money""Kick My ass" it just goes on.  I don't have a favourite scene. The whole film is just brilliant.

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and... 
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten? 
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly. 
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder? 
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where? 
Marty DiBergi: I don't know. 
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? 
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven. 
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder. 
Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder? 
Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven. 
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5. Pulp Fiction 1994

Jules: Normally, both your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken, but you happen to pull this shit while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you. But I can't give you this case, it don't belong to me. Besides, I've already been through too much shit this morning over this case to hand it over to your dumb ass


In the mid Nineties everything Tarantino did was pounced upon. After Resevoir Dogs movies seemed to change. The way people talked in movies was totallly different. Even TV shows like Sienfeld seem to have a touch of Tarantino speak. When Pulp Fiction release date was announced we eagerly snapped up tickets. It was also the first night of The George Cinemas in St.Kilda. we could almost walk to the movies. At least after a few drinks walk home. There was big crowd there and we were in cinema one. The film was on in every cinema there. The lights went off. The dark enveloped us all . and then...nothing. Something was wrong. So we all went back for another drink while they fixed it. Back again. Something went wrong with the films opening but they quickly fixed it and we were off on a cinematic journey. 
I loved the film. Bruce willis was back. John Travolta was back. So many memorable scenes. Just brilliant. Later I would buy it on video and then widescreen video and then DVD. Sure I got sick of it but I think it's just about the right time to put it on again.
Even the music started a trend. We'd play music from Tarantino films at the Lizard constantly.

4. Clockwork Orange 1971

Alex: There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.




The first I heard of Clockwork orange is when David Bowie started name dropping it along with Caberet as an influence on his music. Kids at school had the book and it was passed around the whole year. The film was a hard one because it was one of the first R rated films and we were young teenagers. I didn't get to see the film until quite a few years later when I caught it at a late night session at Trak cinema in Toorak. Until video came along we would traipse drunkenly to late night cinemas catching rare films. This film refused to come out on video.
The only time I got a copy was in the 90s when Ian Q from the Lizard lounge brought me in a video. It had a great photocopied cover and Swedish subtitles.
Back to the early 70s and I bought the album and lived the movie through the photos on the cover. A few years later I went to a fancy dress party as Alex. Little Murders even used a bit of Walter Carlos Beethoven from the OST one night to introduce the band something we copped off Bowie. Only one night because everyone thought it sounded daft before our kind of music.
My friend Paul as a autographed copy of the album ..Malcolm McDowell signed it. I'm so jealous.

3. Alfie 1966

Alfie - Trailer - (1966) - HQ

"Get Your Knee off the steering wheel"
It's hard to believe their was a time when we couldn't watch movies on demand. With the coming of video this was another film that got played to death at my flat in Fitzroy North. Usually watched with a bunch of guys this is one film I found the girls didn't really appreciate. I suppose refering to a girlfriend as "it" didn't adhere the Alfie character to the females in our crowd.Actually I don't think one girl I knew would watch the film all the way through.
another film full of great quotes

Mind you, she came over quite beautified for a while, particularly during the early months. And I told her: I said "Blimey, girl, you ain't as ugly as I thought".


: She's got a little ginger moustache. But I find I'm quite willing to overlook the odd blemish in a woman, providing she's got something to make up for it. Well, that's what we're all here for, innit - to help each other out in this life. 


and so on.


As you can tell by my first choices in favourite films more often than not Michael Caine is in a lot of them. He's made some shockers but when he's in a good movie he's brilliant.
I showed my mate Johnny J this film one day and he was particularly amused to the point of almost choking to death during the scene where Alfie as a black spot on his lung. "God help me!"