MovieChat Forums > Men Don't Leave (1990) Discussion > Ranks high on my Top 150!

Ranks high on my Top 150!

posted 21 years ago by xavrush89
10 replies | jump to latest

This is one of my favorite movies. I like movies that are an equal mix of comedy and drama, like Driving Miss Daisy. Like that movie, I think this one tips the scale slighty more toward comedy. I love the scene where Beth is delivering that huge basket of food and pieces of it keep falling out and down the staircase. My favorite line is when catering boss Lisa (a soon-to-be-famous Kathy Bates) condescendingly says "We'll call them Beth-cakes!" I love it when they call a truce. Some excellent (and unrecognized) performances from Joan Cusack and Arliss Howard as well.

Unlike Driving Miss Daisy this film goes beyond the conventions of its genre which I think it was makes it great. In fact, there are few films that are anything like it (although its storyline was suggested by a 1981 French film, La Vie Continue), which is why it ranks so highly on my list of all-time greatest films.

I have seen the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture from 1990, and to be honest, none of them brought me as much joy or moved me as much as Men Don't Leave. Although it did not win any major awards, this film made a few critcs' Top Ten lists of the year (#2 on Owen "EW" Gleiberman's, after Reversal of Fortune--which I thought was way too focused on Alan Dershowitz). It is a shame that more people have not seen this film.

My Favorite Films

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939, dir. Victor Fleming)
2. Les Diaboliques (1953, Heri-Georges Clouzot)
3. The Crying Game (1992, Neil Jordan)
4. Psycho (1960, Alfred Hitchcock)
5. Cabaret (1972, Bob Fosse)
6. The Manchurian Candidate (1962, John Frankenheimer)
7. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, Mike Nichols)
8. Sunset Boulevard (1950, Billy Wilder)
9. Schindler's List (1993, Steven Spielberg)
10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Jonathan Demme)
11. Men Don't Leave (1990, Paul Brickman)
12. Funny Girl (1968, William Wyler)
13. Mildred Pierce (1945, Michael Curtiz)
14. Broken Blossoms (1919, D.W. Griffith)
15. Maborosi (1995, Hirokazu Koreeda)
16. Young Frankenstein (1974, Mel Brooks)
17. The Lady from Shanghai (1947, Orson Wells)
18. Singin' In the Rain (1952, Stanley Donen)
19. Yi-Yi (2000, Edward Yang)
20. Vertigo (1958, Alfred Hitchcock)
21. Mary Poppins (1964, Robert Stevenson)
22. Being There (1979, Hal Ashby)
23. All About Eve (1950, Joseph L. Mankewicz)
24. Some Like It Hot (1959, Billy Wilder)
25. The Color Purple (1985, Steven Spielberg)
26. City of Lost Children (1995, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro) (a.k.a. La Cite des Enfants Perdus)
27. Bagdad Cafe (1987, Percy Aldon) (a.k.a. Out of Rosenheim)
28. When Harry Met Sally (1989, Rob Reiner)
29. Finding Nemo (2003, Andrew Stanton)
30. Titanic (1997, James Cameron)
31. Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder)
32. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Ang Lee)
33. Gone With the Wind (1939, Victor Fleming, George Cukor)
34. Thelma & Louise (1991, Ridley Scott)
35. Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock)
36. Nights of Cabiria (1957, Frederico Fellini) (a.k.a. Le Notti di Cabiria)
37. E.T. (1982, Steven Spielberg)
38. Grease (1978, Randal Kleiser)
39. Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962, Sidney Lumet)
40. Kiss Me Kate (1953, George Sidney)
41. Shane (1953, George Stevens)
42. The Lost Weekend (1945, Billy wilder--again!)
43. Fargo (1996, Ethan and Joel Cohen)
44. The Lion King (1994, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff)
45. Victor/Victoria (1982, Blake Edwards)
46. The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
47. My Left Foot (1989, Jim Sheridan)
48. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994, Mike Newell)
49. Sense and Sensibility (1995, Ang Lee)
50. The Grifters (1990, Stephen Frears)
51. Happiness (1998, Todd Solondz)
52. A Room with a View (1985, James Ivory)
53. Requiem for a Dream (2000, Darren Aronofsky)
54. The Return of The Pink Panther (1975, Blake Edwards)
55. Ran (1982, Akira Kurosawa)
56. Amelie (2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) (a.k.a. Le Fableux Destin d'Amelie Poulain)
57. Best in Show (2000, Christopher Guest)
58. Full Metal Jacket (1987, Stanley Kubrick)
59. Sounder (1972, Martin Ritt)
60. A Place in the Sun (1951, George Stevens)
61. Ghandi (1982, Richard Attenborough)
62. Amadeus (1984, Milos Forman)
63. The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Frank Darabont)
64. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935, James Whale)
65. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, William Wyler)
66. Babe (1995, Chris Noonan)
67. Little Voice (1998, Mark Herman)
68. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, Peter Jackson)
69. Far From Heaven (2002, Todd Haynes)
70. The Hours (2002, Stephen Daldry)
71. Moulin Rouge! (2001, Baz Luhrmann)
72. High Noon (1952, Fred Zinnemann)
73. A Star is Born (1954, George Cukor)
74. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991, Jon Avnet)
75. American Splendor (2003, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)
76. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001, Chris Columbus)
77. The Last Emperor (1987, Bernardo Bertolucci)
78. An Angel at my Table (1990, Jane Campion)
79. Unforgiven (1992, Clint Eastwood)
80. Miracle on 34th Street (1947, George Seaton)
81. The Goodbye Girl (1977, Herbert Ross)
82. Priest (1994, Antonia Bird)
83. Trainspotting (1994, Danny Boyle)
84. Cool Hand Luke (1967, Stuart Rosenberg)
85. Solas (1999, Benito Zambramo)
86. Quills (2000, Philip Kaufman)
87. Cinema Paradiso (1989, Giuseppe Tornatore)
88. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002, Peter Jackson)
89. Secrets and Lies (1996, Mike Leigh)
90. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994, Mike Newell)
91. Chicago (2002, Rob Marshall)
92. American Beauty (1999, Alan Ball)
93. Beloved (1998, Jonathan Demme)
94. A League of their Own (1992, Penny Marshall)
95. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987, Louis Malle)
96. The Wedding Banquet (1993, Ang Lee)
97. Airplaine (1980, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker)
98. The Apartment (1960, Billy Wilder -- again!)
99. There's Something About Mary (1998, Peter and Bobby Farrelly)
100. Jaws (1976, Steven Spielberg)
101. Dumbo (1941, Ben Sharpsteen)
102. 9 to 5 (1980, Colin Higgins)
103. Cocoon (1985, Ron Howard)
104. Alien (1979, Ridley Scott)
105. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)
106. Marvin's Room (1996, Jerry Zaks)
107. My Brilliant Career (1979, Gillian Armstrong)
108. Quiz Show (1994, Robert Redford)
109. Forrest Gump (1994, Robert Zemekis)
110. My Man Godfrey (1936, Gregory La Cava)
111. The 39 Steps (1935, Alfred Hitchcock)
112. Out of the Past (1947, Jacques Tourneur)
113. The Thin Man (1934, W.S. Van Dyke)
114. Sayonara (1957, Joshua Logan)
115. The Rose (1979, Mark Rydell)
116. Christmas in Connecticut (1945, Peter Godfrey)
117. I Want To Live! (1958, Robert Wise)
118. Bringing Up Baby (1938, Howard Hawks)
119. Tootsie (1982, Sydney Pollack)
120. Children of a Lesser God (1986, Randa Haines)
121. Dancer in the Dark (2000, Lars von Trier)
122. The Bicycle Thief (1948, Vittorio De Sica)
123. Laura (1945, Otto Preminger)
124. The Gold Rush (1925, Charlie Chaplin)
125. Breaking the Waves (1996, Lars Von Trier)
126. Auntie Mame (1958, Morton DaCosta)
127. The Producers (1968, Mel Brooks)
128. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988, Robert Zemekis)
129. Dangerous Liaisons (1988, Stephen Frears)
130. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962, Robert Aldrich)
131. Little Women (1994, Gillian Armstrong)
132. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994, Stephan Elliott)
133. Meet John Doe (1940, Frank Capra)
134. Hairspray (1988, John Waters)
135. Anatomy of a Murder (1959, Otto Preminger)
136. Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985, Hector Babenco)
137. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958, Richard Brooks)
138. Private Benjamin (1980, Howard Zieff)
139. The Snake Pit (1948, Anatole Litvak)
140. The Pink Panther (1940, Blake Edwards)
141. Gigi (1958, Vincente Minnelli)
142. The Fly (1986, David Cronenberg)
143. My Own Private Idaho (1992, Gus Van Sant)
144. Mask, 1985, Peter Bogdonavich)
145. Swing Time (1936, George Stevens)
146. The Muppet Movie (1979, James Frawley)
146. Educating Rita (1983, Lewis Gilbert)
147. Batman Returns (1992, Tim Burton)
148. Iris (2001, Richard Eyre)
149. Ghost World (2001, Terry Zwigoff)
150. Gods and Monsters (1998, Bill Condon)

[–] sprty67 19 years ago

Just wondering...
Can you please explain what makes Private Benjamin #138 and Mask #144?

[–] xavrush89 19 years ago

Well, I admit the list could use some tweaking. I haven't updated it in a while. I made the list as best as I could in a limited amount of time, and saved it here in case anything happened to my files elsewhere.

Mask was just a little overly-sentimental for my taste. (Children of a Lesser God has this flaw as well, IMO.)

Upon further reflection, I might move it up on the list.

KAKISTOCRACY (n.) - a society governed by its worst citizens.

[–] drapkin1958 18 years ago

Thank you people for mentioning Men Don't Leave in a top all time list. There are certain films that have made every film viewing moment in my life worthwhile.Fargo comes to mind. Brazil from the 80's . And a lot of films that are on that top 150 list. I think we all have sat through so much drechhhhh over the years that timeless films make them all the more special. I realize everybody's list is different. I think I'd have to make up two separate top 10 lists one for my sentimental favorites and one for quality.
My question to all of you is can you separate your upbringing , tastes , even what you think is funny, sad, etc from choosing an all time great film? For instance, I didn't grow up in New York with the Italian Mafioso of the 60's and 70's and I certainly wouldn't associate with one of them but I still think Good Fellas is one of the all time great films. I am not into violence but in Good Fellas it is absolutely necessary. So I ask all of you: What are some of your own favorites over the years that don't match up with your lifestyle, tastes, sense of comedy, sense of tragedy? I just am interested. Thanks, Andrew

[–] xavrush89 17 years ago

Hi there. I just discovered this post more than one year after you left it. Since I don't want anyone to happen by this thread and think that I ignore people good enough to reply to my list--and because it is an excellent question--I will post a belated answer:

Here are some films that I thought were excellent which are not normally the kind of films I would seek out:

Dog Day Afternoon
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Conversation
The French Connection II
Miller's Crossing
Mona Lisa
Marathon Man
The Great Escape
The Defiant Ones

plus this film I recently discovered on TCM:

The Train

and most recently a movie I didn't think I'd like at all:

Eastern Promises

KAKISTOCRACY - a society governed by its worst citizens. ('til 1/21/09)

[–] marangis 17 years ago

I don't see 'The Wild Bunch' on your list (and it's #1 on mine), which means you probably haven't heard of or seen it. Check it out and let me know where it ranks.

[–] xavrush89 17 years ago

I have not yet seen it, but of course I have heard of it. As you can see by my list, the genre is not normally something I seek out (which is why I just titled the list "My Favorites" and not "The Best" or anything like that). But I will put it on my Netflix queue.

I recently saw The Proposition, which was very violent and I didn't think I'd like. But it was really well made, albeit very violent. So often I do go outside my comfort zone, especially when dealing w/ RedBox--which normally has about 4 low budget crappy DVDs for every one good film.

KAKISTOCRACY - a society governed by its worst citizens. ('til 1/21/09)

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Dr. Robert 17 years ago

American Beauty was directed by Sam Mendez(won the oscar for best director). I do see your point(if intended)as it really was more of an Alan Ball style film just as The Wizard Of Oz was a David O. Selznick film and not so much the product of Victor Fleming's(among others)direction. Anyhoo, just pointing that out. Good list BTW.
JT

[–] xavrush89 17 years ago

Thank you. Nice to see people are still visiting the Men Don't Leave board. Maybe I will rework the list and post a new version so people can see I'm flexible!

I did not intend to cite AB as an Alan Ball film, although given the style we would later see on SIx Feet Under his style is certainly evident there. Hostley though, it was just an error in a hastily-typed list.

There are quite a few older films I've seen on TCM since making the list on that deserve to be there--one of which being John Frankenheimer's The Train. (That means even though I loved his Manchurian Candidate, I never bothered so see what other films he's made. Shame on me!

Here are some other films looking over my list I can't believe I omitted:

The Pawnbroker
Judgement at Nuremburg
The Women
Hope and Glory
Marathon Man
Dog Day Afternoon
Born Yesterday

Two of those are George Cukor films. My favorite director and I forgot two of his best works. Kicking myself.

And some movies I've seen since then which I think Will become classics:

The Painted Veil
Million Dollar Baby
Brokeback Mountain
Stardust
The Namesake

KAKISTOCRACY - a society governed by its worst citizens. ('til 1/21/09)

[–] 17 years ago

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