Favorite 60s Movies

101 Dalmatians (1961) - Though I like the 1990s live-action remake better (the original book is wonderful!)

Becket (1964) - Haven't seen this in a long time - haven't let the kids watch it yet

The Great Escape (1963) - Not the most well-crafted movie ever, but tells an important true story and I've always liked the music.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - Fascinating exploration of racism through the story of a liberal white couple (Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn) whose principles are challenged when their daughter decides to marry a black man. A little on the mature side as I remember it.

Lilies of the Field (1963) - Haven't seen this in ages, though I remember liking it a lot.

The Magnificent Seven (1960) - Classic Western based on the Japanese movie The Seven Samurai. I believe this had the same director and the same composer as the Great Escape (a number of the same actors as well).

A Man for All Seasons (1966) - A well-loved favorite in our house.

The Miracle Worker (1962) - One of my all-time favorite movies. Intense. Almost allegorical.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Great movie. Great book. Too intense for the littles.

I was rather astonished to discover...

that Studeo comes out #1 on Google for the search phrase *ratzinger chesterton*.

Naturally, the same is not true if you try *Pope Benedict XVI Chesterton*. :)

Speaking of Old Movies

I just came across this fascinating article on Frank Capra by Rod Bennett on Godspy.

Favorite Pre-1960 Movies

(Partly in response to the comments from my last post.) These might be of interest to those wishing to acquaint themselves with some older movies. I do think it helps to be somewhat familiar with the context of the movie - for example, movies made during World War II - like The More the Merrier - will be better understood as having a particular context.

Most of these movies were made for grown-ups (I hate to use the word "adult" in this context!), but I believe Ria is old enough to see all of them:

Movies Made for Kids:

Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)

Silent Films:

The Passion of Joan of Arc (very intense!) (1928)
Modern Times (1936)
Safety Last (1923)

All-Out Comedy:

The Awful Truth (1937)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Duck Soup (1933)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The More the Merrier (1943)
You Can't Take it With You (1938)

Lighter Drama or More Serious Comedy:

The African Queen (1951)
Casablanca (1942)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
I Remember Mama (1948)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Meet John Doe (1941)
North by Northwest (1959)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
The Quiet Man (1952)
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Seven Samurai (1954) - from which sprung The Magnificent Seven (1960) and a Bug's Life (1998)

More Serious Drama:

Ben Hur (1959)
High Noon (1952)
I Confess (1953)
Ikiru (1952)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Rear Window (1954)
The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Song of Bernadette (1943)
Twelve Angry Men (1957)

Also see my post from earlier this year on Essential Classic Movie Directors

A Movie Meme

AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies

The movies I have seen are in bold, the ones I loved in red - keeping in mind that some I saw ages ago and can't remember if I loved them or not. I should probably also mention that some movies might have been highlighted as "loved" if I hadn't already seen them so many times, which is not at all the fault of the movie. Sound of Music and Star Wars may very well fall into this category.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. Casablanca (1942)
3. The Godfather (1972)
4. Gone With The Wind (1939)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
7. The Graduate (1967)
8. On The Waterfront (1954)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
11. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
13. The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957)
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
15. Star Wars (1977)
16. All About Eve (1950)
17. The African Queen (1951)
18. Psycho (1960)
19. Chinatown (1974)
20. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
21. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
23. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
24. Raging Bull (1980)
25. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
26. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
27. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
29. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
30. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
31. Annie Hall (1977)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. High Noon (1952)
34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
35. It Happened One Night (1934)
36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
37. The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
38. Double Indemnity (1944)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
40. North By Northwest (1959)
41. West Side Story (1961)
42. Rear Window (1954)
43. King Kong (1933)
44. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
45. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
46. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
47. Taxi Driver (1976)
48. Jaws (1975)
49. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
50. Butch Cassidy and the Sunshine Kid (1969)
51. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
52. From Here To Eternity (1953)
53. Amadeus (1984)
54. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
55. The Sound Of Music (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. The Third Man (1949)
58. Fantasia (1940)
59. Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
60. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
61. Vertigo (1958)
62. Tootsie (1982)
63. Stagecoach (1939)
64. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
65. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
66. Network (1976)
67. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
68. An American In Paris (1951)
69. Shane (1953)
70. The French Connection (1971)
71. Forrest Gump (1994)
72. Ben-Hur (1959)
73. Wuthering Heights (1939)
74. The Gold Rush (1925)
75. Dances With Wolves (1990)
76. City Lights (1931)
77. American Graffiti (1973)
78. Rocky (1976)
79. The Deer Hunter (1978)
80. The Wild Bunch (1969)
81. Modern Times (1936)
82. Giant (1956)
83. Platoon (1986)
84. Fargo (1996)
85. Duck Soup (1933)
86. Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
87. Frankenstein (1931)
88. Easy Rider (1969)
90. The Jazz Singer (1927)
91. My Fair Lady (1964)
92. A Place In The Sun (1951)
93. The Apartment (1960)
94. Goodfellas (1994)
95. Pulp Fiction (1994)
96. The Searchers (1956)
97. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
98. Unforgiven (1992)
99. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967)
100. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

hat-tip A Catholic Mom in Hawaii

Exactly What I Needed to Read Today...

...and perhaps you'll appreciate it too.

We're just beginning to study the Sermon on the Mount for our catechism class and so I read this today:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6: 25-34)

Love2learn Moments #29 - Attitudes and Actions

We live in a society that tends to value people according to how much money they earn. Society tends to devalue people and vocations that fall outside their narrow formula. This can include... the disabled, stay-at-home moms, the poor, priests and religious, the sick, the elderly, and even ... children.

Because our attitudes tend to be shaped by society and our own attitudes in turn play a major role in the formation of our children, it's important to examine and consider how our words and actions reflect what we value most.

For example, being pro-Life includes not only opposing abortion, but also supporting the disabled and seeing Christ in them. Being pro-child and pro-family includes exercising patience with little ones we come across in church or in a restaurant.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:"Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons."

See all of my radio moments on the Love2learn Moments Blog.

Feast of Saint Therese

St. Therese of Lisieux
Originally uploaded by In Toon With the World

"Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin, known as "The Little Flower of Jesus," was born at Alencon, France, on January 2nd, 1873. Reared in a home of comfort and surrounded by refinements that would have spoiled an ordinary child, Teresa's intelligence had an early dawning which enabled her to comprehend the Divine Goodness far in advance of her tender years. Our Lord visited upon the child a severe trial--a strange malady from which there seemed no recovery. Her implicit confidence in God, however, overcame her infirmity and she progressed rapidly toward sanctity.

Teresa adopted flowers as the symbol of her love for her Divine Saviour and offered her practices in virtue, sacrifice, and mortification as flowers at the feet of Jesus. At fifteen she entered the Carmelite Convent at Lisieux, France, where she distinguished herself by punctual observance of the rule, burning love for God and wonderful trust in Him. Before she died, this "lily of delicious perfume"--as Pope Pius X. called her--revealed to the superiors her life story in pages of rarest beauty.

She died in the odor of sanctity on September 30th, 1897, at the age of 24. Since her death countless graces have been attributed to her intercession. Pope Benedict XV, in 1921 opened the way for the process of her beatification and she was declared Blessed by Pope Pius XI. on April 29, 1923, and was canonized on May 17, 1925."

(from a very ancient copy of Lives of the Saints Compiled by Rev. Alban Butler)

Happy Feast of St. Therese - one of our family's favorite saints. She is one of Terri's patron saints and one my children enjoy learning about over and over again through some of their favorite books and movies.

Here are some interesting tidbits for the day:

Earlier this year, my sister shared a family story about St. Therese that made a deep impression on me as a young teen.

Divini Amoris Scientia The Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II which declared St. Therese a Doctor of the Church (1997)

Beautiful photo of the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux, France

Back road into Holy Hill

Back road into Holy Hill
Originally uploaded by Chez VH

I love this picture that Ria took on her way up to Holy Hill for John Bosco Youth Day on Saturday. John went along too and ended up getting recruited (by his brother) to run one of the video cameras.

Pro-Life Dinner

I attended the annual banquet for Pro-Life Wisconsin on Friday night. It was a nice evening, though I always enjoy these things more when John is able to go with me. Ria was helping out at the event - selling raffle tickets and such.

I enjoyed visiting with many friends (some of whom I only see once a year at this banquet) and browsing through PLW's unique selection of silent auction items (I managed to come home with a little purse).

I also met an interesting young woman who reminded me that we had met at the Minnesota Catholic Homeschool Conference the previous year. Her name is Sabitha Narendran and she and her friend, Andrew Salzmann have written a book that I'd like to take a look at one of these days. It's called Catholic and Loving It: Traditions for a New Generation (published by Servant Books). Sounds fascinating, even though my to-be-reviewed stack is awfully tall right now!

Our local Sports guy on Fox NEWS - Tom Pipines - was emcee. How cool is that!

The featured speaker was David Bereit, the national director of 40 Days for Life. His talk was fascinating and I was introduced to the dramatic story unfolding in Aurora, Illinois. Earlier this year, a huge medical facility called "Gemini Health Care" was being built in Aurora. Sometime during the construction process, one of the workers noticed that the equipment being put in seemed incongruous with a health care facility. He and his parish priest did some research and discovered that it was simply a Planned Parenthood clinic, sold to the community under false pretences. They discovered this 43 days before the clinic was scheduled to open. Someone from the community asked if they could set up a "40 Days for Life" with just three days notice. They did, and on the 40th day, the judge refused Planned Parenthood's occupancy permit. (This was almost two weeks ago). Naturally, the story isn't over and the community continues to pray in front of the site 24 hours a day. Official website of those opposing the clinic is here.