comment #1

Breedlove says ...

Understand your point, Jeff, it does seem like a typical Hilary, don't offend anyone choice,but I gotta say, 'Casablance' is a damn-near perfect movie.

comment #2

Breedlove says ...

'CasablancA' is good too.

comment #3

SHR says ...

Sure gotta love anyone who respects a film by the "rat" Kazan

comment #4

jeffmcm says ...

You know, not everyone is a movie person. She probably hasn't even _seen_ Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (like everyone else I know).

comment #5

TheLongshot says ...

The only thing wrong with the selection is that it doesn't really show your personality. Picking out of the group of the greatest films ever just puts you in a large group without it saying anything about you.

Course, it could have been worse. She could have said, "Gone With The Wind".

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

Most of their choices are pretty lame/safe. McCain's Viva Zapata and Edwards' Dr. Strangelove are the only ones that comes out of left field. It would have been funny if Barack Obama had picked The Lord of the Rings.

comment #7

cjKennedy says ...

The whole point of political campaigns these days is in not revealing your personality, especially this early when anything you say can just be used against you.

She could've said Pluto Nash...

comment #8

dre says ...

I'd like to see McCain and Edwards duke it out on a siskel&ebert type show.

Rudy didn't let me down by picking the godfather either.

comment #9

Wrecktum says ...

The Clintons (specifically Bill) are famous for their love of film. The number of movies screened at the Clinton White House was enormous (the screening room there was constantly in use). Tellingly (in my opinion) once the Bushes took over, the requests to studios for film slowed to a trickle.

During his presidency Bill Clinton was interviewed on the Siskel and Ebert show about his favorite movies and love for film. Clinton's favorite movie, as he said time and again, was High Noon.

comment #10

Craptastic says ...

This is completely off subject... but did anyone hear that story about Leelee Sobieski flashing the audience at the DGA Awards?

Can't seem to find any video footage.... anybody got a link?

comment #11

sunny says ...

During his presidency Bill Clinton was interviewed on the Siskel and Ebert show about his favorite movies and love for film. Clinton's favorite movie, as he said time and again, was High Noon.

I remember that interview. He also, iirc, had some very insightful things to say about "Fight Club" and "Three Kings."

comment #12

wayne76 says ...

I shudder to think of what Dubya's favorite is. Probably "The Marine"

comment #13

adorian says ...

A lot of people pick "Casablanca," so what's the problem?

You want her to pick "Primary Colors" or "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

comment #14

chicbn872 says ...

Wait...if Obama told us what his favorite movie was, we would actually find something out about him...why admit to a choice when just being Barack Obama & having the Cult Of Personality appears to be working out for him.

comment #15

DavidF says ...

What a lying bitch. What are the odds that a 50-something woman would have Casablanca as her favourite film?
If she had any brains she would have called up the HE braintrust and then said Miami Vice.
That's what an HONEST person would have done.

cjkennedy already beat me to the "at least she didn't say an Eddie Murphy movie..." thing. (But I was gonna say Beverly Hills Cop which is a GOOD Murphy movie that Wells would have had to slam.)

p.s. Obama's fave movies are Do The Right Thing, 8 1/2 and Fight Club.
He also likes Blade Runner but only on a Criterion laserdisc that Ridley Scott personally edited, pressed and autographed for him.

Giulliani has been working with Robert Harris to ensure that every film made during the 50s and 60s is properly restored and archived in both digital and film formats in a specially designed warehouse.

DAMN - Even with Hillary's stupid choice putting her out of her running, this makes voting for president a really tough call, don't it?

comment #16

mitch says ...

I'm standoffish towards the Clinton's in general, but big deal that she chose Casablanca. It’s sophisticated, exceptionally well written, well acted, and is gorgeous to look at. What's not to like?

Really, this blog is very quickly devolving into petty irrelevance.

comment #17

FNG says ...

What's the matter with "Casablanca?"

comment #18

FNG says ...

I would have presumed Jeff's personal favorite film would be "Birth of a Nation."

comment #19

FNG says ...

...or "Song of the South!"

comment #20

Colin says ...

From another interview:

"CLINTON: My favorite movie. I've had favorite movies at different stages in my life. When I was very much younger, The Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie. I just loved imagining myself being there with Dorothy and being part of that great adventure that she had. Probably when I was in college and law school, Casablanca. I watched it I don't know how many times. It always was so much fun. By the time we watched it over and over again, we were actually reciting the dialogue. And I suppose in the last years, Out of Africa. I love Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Those are three of my favorite movies. "

comment #21

Reedyb says ...

Personally, it would have been cool if she had chosen "The Carpetbaggers."

Who was the candidate who chose "National Lampoon's Vacation" a few years back? Was it Dan Quayle?

BTW, W. chose "Field of Dreams" as his favorite movie during the last election.

Gore chose "Local Hero" (about bad oil industrialists trying to harm pristine Irish beaches).

I think it's very interesting that conservative Christian right wing candidate Mitt Romney went with "Raiders," which has a strangely occult version of the Bible.

I also think Casablanca is a good choice. I mean, at the end, Ingrid Bergman escapes the Middle East and leaves Humphrey Bogart to clean up the mess. Appropriate.

comment #22

Edward Havens says ...

Is this a "story" because Wells is part of the vast right-wing conspiracy out to get Hilary by any means necessary, or because he loves Hilary and is pissed that she acting exactly like what she is... a politician.

comment #23

Wrecktum says ...

During the 2000 election Bush declared his favorite movie was Saving Private Ryan (released a little over a year before the election and still fresh on voters' minds. How convenient).

Alternately it's been stated that Bush's favorite movie is Field of Dreams and/or Black Hawk Down. As I mentioned before, the screening room at the Bush White House isn't that busy.

I think it can safely be said that the current president is not a cineaste.

comment #24

Edward says ...

At least she didn't choose, "Sound of Music" or the wretched "Big Chill."

comment #25

Josh Massey says ...

If I ran for president, I would freely and happily admit that Die Hard is my favorite film. Hells yeah.

And I can't believe it took a guy like Barack Obama to get Democrats to finally admit Hillary Clinton is an over-calculated liar.

comment #26

jeffmcm says ...

Casablanca is located about a thousand miles west of the Middle East.

comment #27

caslab says ...

"What a lying bitch. What are the odds that a 50-something woman would have Casablanca as her favourite film?"

I'm 30, and I'm pretty sure that I'd list that as mine. There's no shame in that. Even if it's predictable. Even if it doesn't reveal much of one's personality. It's a fucking great film.

That said, I still agree with everything that Wells (and everyone else) feels this says about Hillary.

But let's face it - everyone's choice is fairly predictable. These are generally agreed-upon mainstream classics. Only McCain's is an out-of-the-box choice. You know, because he's such a crazy maverick.

comment #28

christian says ...

you know bush's favorite film is BILLY MADISON.

comment #29

Mgmax says ...

"You know, not everyone is a movie person"

Her husband is, though. One of his favorite things to do with guests was have a screening in the White House screening room. So she's probably seen more than a few.

No jokes about his other favorite thing to do with guests....

comment #30

Mgmax says ...

One of the movies Bush did request, though, was the Iranian film Kandahar, about life under the Taliban. I know it rocks your whole worldview to imagine that he could have actually seen a foreign film (Laura read the subtitles to him), but it's true.

comment #31

christian says ...

heh, all these tiny words. can't see 'em. how long is this thing? fast forward to the good stuff. i mean, bad stuff. heh.

comment #32

Joshua Mooney says ...

HELLO! Have you all gone bat-shit insane? It's fucking POLITICS. How many paid-in-full handlers went into deciding Hillary's choice, or anyone else's choice?

Oh yeah--- you know how Streep was supposed to be Hillary in the remake of "Manchurian Candidate"? Hillary is actually Angela Lansbury in the original "Manchurian Candidate."

I'm a Democrat. I hope I don't have to vote for her. I have done already-- for NY senator. It seems so innocent now...

comment #33

T. S. Idiot says ...

Ilsa Lund sticks with Victor Laszlo even though she loves Rick. Is Hil making a subtle revelation?

comment #34

CambridgeCat says ...

Color me bland and unsophisticated.

comment #35

The Movie Man says ...

I don't get the big CASABLANCA is one of the best movies ever thing. As any Bogart fan worth his salt can tell you, the majority of his collaborations with John Huston are better (they age MUCH better) with the cream of the crop being THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRE MADRE and THE AFRICAN QUEEN, two of the finest American films ever made. Oh, not to mention THE BIG SLEEP (makes no sense, and it doesn't need to either.)

I wasn't going to say it, but fuck it, I actually think CASABLANCA kinda sucks, most of the famous lines are cringeworthy in the context of the film, I never bought Bergman and Bogie together, and the thing just moves like molasses as far as I'm concerned. Whew, that feels better.

comment #36

jeffmcm says ...

And you call yourself The Movie Man?!?!

comment #37

Cadavra says ...

CASABLANCA is also Hugh Hefner's favorite movie. He runs it every year on his birthday for his friends.

comment #38

MPNeeb says ...

>>I shudder to think of what Dubya's favorite is. Probably "The Marine"

He's never stated what his favorite is (AFAIK), but the White House projectionist was interviewed in 2003 and said Bush loved watching 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Blackhawk Down.'

War porn, essentially.

comment #39

cjKennedy says ...

There is a naivete to pre-war American cinema that is appealing to some, but seems dated to others. I agree Treasure of the Sierra Madre is probably Bogart's best performance but it came 6 years after Casablanca and there was a world war in between. The perception that Casablanca was made for a simpler time is exactly one of the things that's so great about it to me, but I can see how someone might be turned off by that.

Most of my favorite bits don't directly involve Bogart or Bergman, but the supporting cast, especially Claude Rains, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet but also the large collection of character actors floating around.

I don't know, call me crazy but I could sit down and watch it beginning to end any time or any place. The early 40's are one of my favorite eras of film.

comment #40

Mgmax says ...

"War porn, essentially."

Ooh, that was classy.

So the dummy watches harshly realistic movies about the kind of fighting we're in and that makes him a dummy, while Hillary watches a glossy romantic fantasy in which the Germans can be beaten in a battle of the bands and that makes her better than him?

comment #41

christian says ...

movie man...you jest...!

CASABLANCA is great. it's the height of a hollywood style that transcends itself. great dialogue and movie star god ambience; prophetic geo-politics of the coming war; and bogart is simply awesome. his first shot alone, playing chess signing a check...

claude rains? "i'm shocked, shocked to find illegal gambling going on here." "here are your winnings." "oh, thank you very much."

i...can't...go...on...

comment #42

cjKennedy says ...

"I've often speculated why you don't return to America. Did you abscond with the church funds? Run off with a senator's wife? I like to think you killed a man. It's the Romantic in me."

comment #43

The Movie Man says ...

I know, I know, you guys are being much kinder than I thought you would. (Though I don't understand why jeffmcm would question my choice of moniker based solely on my not really liking a movie pre-determined by the masses to be wonderful.)

We all have those movies everyone love that rub us the wrong way, and, for me, Casablanca, has always been one of them. I agree with CJ, in that the supporting characters are great and that's the reason to see the movie, and I love 1940s cinema, as well, which was partially my point in that alot of the films from that era have aged much better (good point about the war though CJ.) My primary problem is that I don't buy the love story, and I don't really care for Bergman in this film (she was used to far greater effect by Hitchcock in a far greater film from the same decade, also with Claude Rains). To each his own as they say, but I was a little needlessly grouchy in that prior post. I think a little of my irritation stems from the fact that a lot of really great Bogart movies are rarely discussed while one that I view as merely adequate is celebrated as one of the best of all time.

comment #44

cjKennedy says ...

I like to think the boat is big enough that reasonable people can disagree about something others take to be obvious and no one will get hurt. Frankly, I think it takes stones to politely admit you disagree with the consensus when you know you're asking to be pummeled.

Truth be told, I'm a little lukewarm on Bergman in general though I love the movies she's in. I'm more of a Kate Hepburn or Bette Davis kind of guy.

At this point, Casablanca is kind of like the familiar old song you love on the radio. It might be corny, but somehow it defies criticism.

comment #45

christian says ...

to quote danny peary from his review in CULT MOVIES (and where is danny peary today? anybody know?):

"The Casablanca-Humphrey Bogart cult really took root in the early sixties in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when the Battle Theatre started running the picture three weeks a year, year after year.... In truth and contrary to popular impression, Casablanca isn't representative of what pictures were like "back then" but is maybe the only picture which succeeded in meeting those old-time studio heads' requirements for what all 'entertainment' movies were supposed to be like."

to me, CASABLANCA is the perfect, ultimate HOLLYWOOD film, even moreso than GONE WITH THE WIND.

have you watched it with an audience movie man? it plays like gangbusters. that's your pennance.

comment #46

Hopscotch says ...

W. has said on several occasions that his all-time favorite movie is "Field of Dreams". And for a baseball fan like W., that's not too surprising. He also said "Friday Night Lights" was a favorite of his.

Frankly, for some people, picking they're all-time favorite movie is not something they think about too much. Especially world leaders. So I doubt they put much thought into it.

if she said "ELECTION", now THAT would be news!!

comment #47

cjKennedy says ...

ahhhh...Danny Peary. I wish I could find my tattered copy of Guide for the Film Fanatic complete with check marks next to the movies I'd seen. This book was instrumental to me in my growth as a lover of movies and especially my appreciation of all the movies that came before I'd begun to enjoy film as an art form.

comment #48

christian says ...

i actually found a second copy of GFTFF at a bookstore on highland.

i felt guilty about having two so i gave one to a friend who now swears by the book.

peary is still one of the best, most engaging film essayists. where is he?

comment #49

cjKennedy says ...

You've inspired me to go find a copy myself.

According to www.filmfanatic.org, he's writing more about sports these days than movies but he's got a book coming about sci-fi movies. I don't know how accurate or up to date that information is.

comment #50

jeffmcm says ...

Mgmax: Yes, if Black Hawk Down was one of GWB's favorite movies, he would be a dummy for loving it. Black Hawk Down is war porn. It doesn't teach anything about the complicated problems of Somalia, it just puts you into a hellish situation and then after two hours of intensity, it's over. If it teaches GWB anything about what it's like to be in the military, that's good - he should have learned that stuff thirty years ago when he was going AWOL from the Air National Guard.

I can see the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan serving the same purpose, but the middle of the movie actually has moral/ethical drama to it, so it's not quite the same thing.

comment #51

The Movie Man says ...

CJ and Christian-I'm not familiar with Peary's work, but I hope to soon remedy that, thanks.

comment #52

christian says ...

you MUST OWN the "cult movies" series to be a true movie man.

the first is the best, you may not agree with all the choices, but the reviews are immensely re-readable and have a unique pov.

comment #53

cjKennedy says ...

Most if not all of his stuff is out of print, but if you're lazy like me you can pick them up used on Amazon

comment #54

MPNeeb says ...

>>"War porn, essentially."

Ooh, that was classy.

So the dummy watches harshly realistic movies about the kind of fighting we're in and that makes him a dummy, while Hillary watches a glossy romantic fantasy in which the Germans can be beaten in a battle of the bands and that makes her better than him?

I didn't say that. You did.
Nor did I comment on W's intelligence. You did.
SPR and BD are porn. Lots of loud noises and alluring images devoid of any reality or ideas.
The physiological response to watching the best bits of SPR is very similar to watching the shower scene from Debbie Does Dallas- increased heart rates, deeper breathing, dilating pupils.
I've nothing against any of the films I've mentioned (I own both of them on DVD), but let's not pretend they're deep philosophical examinations on the place of man in the universe.

comment #55

MPNeeb says ...

Danny Peary is awesome. His Alternate Oscars book is possessed of love for film and a hip insight into the dingy motivations of AMPAS (who else would call Vincent Price a potential Oscar nominee? Gets better- his entry on the Conqueror Worm makes a good case for it).
I am a proud owner of all three Cult Movies volumes and have been since 1995- I skipped a few meals in college to do it too.
The world is a lesser place without his insight into movies.

comment #56

jeffmcm says ...

Like I said before, I agree about Black Hawk Down, which is nonstop excitement and tension, but I disagree about Saving Private Ryan, which is actually a good narrative with pressing moral and ethical questions embedded within the action.

comment #57

cjKennedy says ...

One of the things I like about Peary is that, as a budding film nerd, he turned me on to the idea that movies I already loved like Empire Strikes Back and The Good, The Bad & The Ugly were works of art.

comment #58

christian says ...

he also aptly noted in his CULT MOVIE review of ENTER THE DRAGON that bruce lee was the greatest action star in film history. true dat.

comment #59

malibugigolo says ...

Mrs. Clinton if she had a sense of humor should have said Kazan's A FACE IN THE CROWD is her favorite movie.