I think the opening shot of Halloween is fair competition.

But would the opening shot of Halloween even exist without Touch of Evil ? And the mundane-ness of the opening shot totally works for me -- the swoopy but aimless wandering about, nothing going on, nothing happening, cars crawling through a checkpoint, half-heard conversations, barely-glimpsed couples out for an evening walk, the gritty grubby uneventfulness of it all, capped off with a big old tawdry cheesy B-movie explosion. It's totally a B movie, and it revels in its own cheese and dirt and grime.

It's like he's speaking English, and yet I can't seem to make out the meaning.

"It's like he's trying to tell me something, I just know it!" I'm often a philistine when it comes to movie tastes. You should know this by now.

I'll also agree with P-C that the opening shot suffers from Forrest Gump-itis, which is a shot more interesting for its technical ability than for its content.

Aw. I appreciate the agreement, but I really like Forrest Gump.

But would the opening shot of Halloween even exist without Touch of Evil ?

Oh, oh, oh. Just because something inspired something else doesn't mean the original something has to be megasuperawesome.

Aw. I appreciate the agreement, but I really like Forrest Gump.

Dude. Now P-C is dead to me! Do you have no appreciation for how emotionally cheap and self-congratulatory that movie was?? I walked out of the theatre hating it, and that was before Newt Gingrich declared it an accurate history of the last few decades.

Now P-C is dead to me! Do you have no appreciation for how emotionally cheap and self-congratulatory that movie was??

Waaait, now I'm supposed to appreciate when a movie is bad ? Man, this whole "appreciation" thing is so confusing. I haven't seen it in a while, but I didn't feel like it was emotionally cheap and self-congratulatory. It was one man's wacky jaunt through history.

Man, I'm like the deadest person in this thread right now. Quick, someone tell me they love The Thin Red Line or hate Groundhog Day so I can make a zombie pal.

Quick, someone tell me they love The Thin Red Line or hate Groundhog Day so I can make a zombie pal.

I love The Thin Red Line, and am indifferent towards Groundhog Day.

But I also loathe Donnie Darko, so you probably don't really want me in your zombie club anyway.

I love The Thin Red Line, and am indifferent towards Groundhog Day.

DEAD TO MEEEEEEEEEEE!

But I also loathe Donnie Darko, so you probably don't really want me in your zombie club anyway.

dresses up Jessica as a zombie rabbit

Wow. Touch of Evil is easily in my Top Five movies. Forrest Gump may be in my Bottom Five.

There's some pretty good essays on Touch of Evil out there on the web, P-C. Because it's so campy in parts, it might be hard to adjust to on first view. I know I was a bit disoriented by it, the first time I saw it, and repeated viewings helped me figure out a) why I had such an odd reaction to it, and b) how the unlikely casting & scenes added to the real movie, which, after all, has almost nothing to do with the murder mystery.

Charles Taylor: [link]

J. Hoberman: [link]

Roger Ebert: [link]

David Edelstein: [link] (down at the bottom)

Mmmm. Despise Forrest Gump. Bored by Touch Of Evil. But part of that is because I felt pressed to have a reaction to it, it being iconic and stuff. It was okay. Put my "okay" up against critical acclaim, and it comes off looking more like "bored."

I love Groundhog Day. Palatable Andie McDowell. Who'da thunk it?

hayden, thanks for those essay links. I can see the kinds of things I'm supposed to like about it, but I guess those aren't the kinds of things that appeal to me at this moment in time.

Bored by Touch Of Evil. But part of that is because I felt pressed to have a reaction to it, it being iconic and stuff. It was okay. Put my "okay" up against critical acclaim, and it comes off looking more like "bored."

Right.

I've managed to avoid seeing Forrest Gump. A friend of mine saw it--she really liked it, but the more she thought about it the less she liked it. After a few days she decided she hated it. And then when the flick was embraced by the right wing, her hatred grew seething hot....