Joe Struss is a systems analyst at Iowa State University, an avid film fanatic and the creator of the Video DMZ. Joe's ABC Film List
I see a lot of movies and many people ask me for film recommendations but I find most Top Ten film lists tend to be a little boring. So here is my ABC film list of some of my favorite films that aren't necessarily blockbuster pictures- some of which hopefully might be new to you.
In an ABC film list, you simply choose a movie title starting with each letter of the alphabet from memory without using any movie compilation books or other reference material. You can throw out such words as: a, an, the... etc; or keep them as you see fit.
In my movie list below, I also include an alternate or more quirky selection in [brackets] following the main selection. I have mostly restricted myself here to films of the 60's, 70's and 80's as this list was originally submitted to the Encore cable channel.
Not responsible for choices in the X category as I couldn't really find anything that I truly liked. "Why would I lie?" (1982) is considered a lost item as it was suddenly dropped from its premiere HBO showing and has not yet been released on video. "Why would I lie?" was shown on the Romance (STARZ) cable channel in the US in late December 1999. Rumor has it that NOW stopped its original release to cable. (If you have further information on "Why would I lie?" or would like to send in some comments about the Video DMZ- please send some email to the address given below.)
- A Amarcord (Italian subtitled) [All Night Long]
- B Birch Interval [Buckaroo Banzai]
- C Cousin, Cousine (Fench subtitled) [Cannonball]
- D Diva (French subtitled) [December]
- E Europa, Europa [Experience preferred... but not essential]
- F Fanny and Alexander (Swedish subtitled) [La Femme Nikita (French subtitled)]
- G La Grande Chiem (French subtitled) [The Gods Must Be Crazy]
- H Harold and Maude [Holiday Motel (French subtitled)]
- I IF... [Into the Night]
- J Jungle Book [Jumping Jack Flash]
- K Kentucky Fried Movie [Knightriders]
- L Local Hero [La Cage aux Folles (French subtitled)]
- M Melody [My Life as a Dog (Swedish subtitled)]
- N Name of the Rose [Notorius]
- O Ordinary People [One Trick Pony]
- P Personal Best [Pauline at the Beach (French subtitled)]
- Q Quintet [Quest for Fire]
- R Rich Kids [Real Genius]
- S Say Anything [Scent of a Woman]
- T Turk 182 [Trading Places]
- U Up the Creek [Undergrads]
- V The Verdict [Vamp]
- W Wizards [Why would I lie?]
- X Xica [Xanadu]
- Y Yojimbo (Japanese subtitled) [Year of Living Dangerously]
- Z Zelig [Z]
Sincerely yours,
Joe Struss
jastruss@iastate.edu
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Last updated on Jan. 20, 2000. Send comments about this page to: Joe Struss (jastruss@iastate.edu)