The following is a list of the best and the most watchable movies with vampires. I am going to grow this list to the full 100 mark. If you have a movie that you believe should be on the list, please let me know. The list is put together by year. Once the list is compiled fully I’ll pull out the top ten.

There is an annual vampire film festival in New Orleans in the fall.

List:

1. Nosferatu (1922)
2. London After Midnight (1927)
3. Dracula (1931)
4. Vampyr (1932)
5. Mark of the Vampire (1935)
6. Dracula’s Daughter (1936)
7. Son of Dracula (1943)
8. House of Dracula (1945)
9. Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
10. El Vampiro (1957)
11. Horror of Dracula (1958)
12. Blood and Roses (1960)
13. Bloodlist! (1961)
14. The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
15. Count Dracula (1970)
16. The Night Stalker (1972)
17. Blacula (1972)
18. Dracula (1973)
19. Old Dracula (1974)
20. Andy Warhol’s Dracula (1974)
21. The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
22. Martin (1977)
23. Lust at First Bite (1978)
24. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
25. Love at First Bite (1979)
26. Dracula (1979)
27. Gayracula (1983)
28. Interview with the Vampire (1984)
29. Fright Night (1985)
30. Once Bitten (1985)
31. The Lost Boys (1987)
32. The Moster Squad (1987)
33. Vampire’s Kiss (1988)
34. The Reflecting Skin (1990)
35. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
36. Bram Stroker’s Dracula (1992)
37. Nadja (1994)
38. Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
39. The Vampire of Budapest (1995)
40. The Addiction (1995)
41. Blood & Donuts (1995)
42. Blade (1998)
43. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
44. Dracula 2000 (2000)
45. The Little Vampire (2000)
46. Queen of the Damned (2002)
47. Van Helsing (2004)
48. Lust for Dracula (2005)
49. Vampira: The Movie (2006)
50. 30 Days of Night (2007)
51. Twilight (2009)

Nosferatu (1922, F.W. Murnau)
This German silent classic is the original vampire movie and the standard to which all others can be held. This is a very scary vampire film. Count Orlok, the rodentlike vampire is frighteningly portrayed by Max Schreck. His portrayal of the undead is grisly, not charming and not sexy. It is far from what the Hollywood monster would later be know.

London After Midnight (1927, Tod Browning)
London After Midnight (1927) is a silent mystery film with horror used as more of a dramatic overtone than reality. The film stars Lon Chaney and is directed by Tod Browning in what is considered by those who have seen the film as their greatest collaboration and made some $500,000 at the box office. It is also a lost film, quite possibly the most famous and eagerly-sought of all lost films. The last known copy was destroyed in a fire in an MGM film vault in 1965. In the film Sir Roger Balfour is found shot to death in his home and Inspector Burke (Lon Chaney, Sr.) of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. The suspects are Williams the butler, Sir James Hamlin (Henry B. Walthall) and his nephew, Arthur Hibbs (Conrad Nagel). A suicide note is found and the case is supposedly closed. Five years later, the old residence of Balfour is taken up by a man in a beaver-skin hat, with large fangs and gruesome, sunken eyes. Then comes 1931.

Dracula (1931, Tod Browning)
Bela Lugosi as Dracula gives a performance for which he would become iconic. This version of the vampire tale shows us a debonaire and bloodless beast. After a harrowing ride through the Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe, Renfield enters castle Dracula to finalize the transferral of Carfax Abbey in London to Count Dracula, who is in actuality a vampire. Renfield is drugged by the eerily hypnotic count, and turned into one of his thralls, protecting him during his sea voyage to London. After sucking blood and turning Lucy Weston into a vampire, Dracula turns his attention to her friend Mina Seward, daughter of Dr. Seward who then calls in a specialist, Dr. Van Helsing, to diagnose the sudden deterioration of Mina’s health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is indeed a vampire, tries to prepare Mina’s fiance, John Harker, and Dr. Seward for what is to come and the measures that will have to be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one of the undead.

Horror of Dracula (1958, Terence Fisher)
After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle somewhere in Germany, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker’s fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. Van Helsing, Harker’s friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.

The Night Stalker (1972, John Llewellyn Moxey)
A vampire is loose in Las Vegas. Reporter Carl Kolchak (Darrin McGavin) is hot on his trail, but nobody believes him. His editor thinks he’s nuts, the police think he hinders the investigation, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands to rid Vegas of the blood sucking menace.

Martin (1977, George Romero)
George Romero does for vampires what he has done for zombies. – an intense and realistic treatment that follows the exploits of Martin, who claims to be 84 years old, and who certainly drinks human blood. He travels to Pittsburg to stay with his uncle, who promises to save Martin’s soul. Martin’s loneliness finds other means of release.

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979, Werner Herzog)
Stark, symbolic cinematography and highly stylized performances create what Werner Herzog refers to as a different plane of reality. This version injects the tale of Count Dracula with a modern sense of mysticism, desire, and wonder. Frequent Herzog collaborator Klaus Kinski portrays the Dracula character with a silent intensity.

Interview with the Vampire (1994, Neil Jordan)
In 1791, plantation owner Louis De Pointe Du Lac is unhappy with the life he has, until Lestat De Lioncourt comes into his life. Lestat, a vampire, allows Louis to make the decision of either death or life as a vampire forever. Lestat leaves Louis with little choice.

Fright Night (1985, Tom Holland)
Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) believes that his next door neighbour Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire. His belief is strengthened when the mysterious deaths of several girls are reported. When Dandridge confronts Charlie in his own bedroom one night and tries to kill him, Charlie concludes that the monster must be destroyed. Enter legendary TV vampire killer Peter Vincent who helps Charlie uncover the truth.

The Lost Boys (1987, Joel Schumacher)
Financial troubles force a recent divorcee and her teenage sons Mike and Sam to settle down with her father in the seaside California town of Santa Carla. At first, Sam laughs off rumours he hears about vampires who inhabit the small town. But after Mike meets a beautiful girl at the local amusement park, he begins to exhibit the classic signs of vampirism. Fearing for his own safety, Sam recruits two young vampire hunters to save his brother by finding and destroying the head vampire.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992, Rubel Kuzui)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the story of an American cheerleader who holds the destiny of being the one woman who can defend the world from vampires. With her best friends slowly abandoning her, Buffy finds solace in the town outcast, Pike, and together they combat the forces of the old and powerful vampire, Lothos, who has his eyes set on Buffy.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992, Francis Ford Coppola)
This version of Dracula is very closely based on Bram Stoker’s classic novel. A young lawyer (Jonathan Harker) is assigned to a gloomy village in eastern Europe. He is captured and imprisoned by the undead vampire Dracula, who travels to London, inspired by a photograph of Harker’s betrothed, Mina Murray. In Britain, Dracula begins a reign of seduction and terror, draining the life from Mina’s closest friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy’s friends gather together to try to drive Dracula away.

Blade (1998, Stephen Norrington)
The story of a semi-human African-American superhero who battles evil, bloodsucking vampires. Blade is half vampire but has devoted his life to killing vampires, with the help of Whistler, a human vampire hunter. His nemesis is Frost, a vampire who aims to take over the world, enslaving humanity.

Queen of the Damned (2002, Michael Rymer)
Legendary Vampire Lestat has risen from a decades-long slumber, determined to step out into the light. No longer content with being banished to the shadows, Lestat has re-invented himself as a rock star. The intoxicating lure of his music has snaked its way around the globe, ultimately finding the ear of the slumbering ancient Queen Akasha in her crypt beneath the Arctic ice. Mother of all Vampires, Akasha has been resting for centuries, waiting for the right time to rise again. Lestat’s music is the revelation she has been waiting for, and she desires that he rule beside her.

Van Helsing (2004, Stephen Sommers)
Gabriel Van Helsing is a man cursed with a past he cannot recall and driven by a mission he cannot deny. His is charged by a secret organization to seek out and defeat evil the world over. Van Helsing roams the globe as an outcast and fugitive. When dispatched to the shadowy world of Transylvania, Van Helsing finds it ruled by the evil and seductive vampire, Count Dracula. It is Dracula that Van Helsing has been sent to terminate.

Twilight (2008, Catherine Hardwicke)
Edward is a vampire, but he doesn’t have fangs and his family is unique in that they choose not to drink human blood. Edward has been waiting 90 years for a soul mate, which he finds in Bella. They are soon swept up in a passionate and unorthodox romance. Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. But what will they do when a clan of new vampires come to town and threaten to disrupt their way of life?

A LIST OF BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 
Frost/Nixon 
Milk 
The Reader 
Slumdog Millionaire

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

When I first started to go through this reversal of aging film I was skeptical. I knew right away that this was a story adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald. From what I recall about that book things don’t go so well. I also did not recall the book talking about the mother after this monster birth of a 5 foot 2 one hundred pound man. Once out Button proceeds to grow in reverse. He gets younger while all of those around him get older. The story is quite tragic.

As the movie progresses and follows the life of Mr. Button, he grows from this delicate man into a Brad Pitt sized person, and one we quite recognize. The movie follows his life from his “childhood” years in New Orleans, through his employment as a ship hand, his affair with a diplomat’s wife (played by Tilda Swinton) and his pursuit of the love of his life, Daisy (Cate Blanchett).

Every couple of years Brad Pitt comes out with these epic sort of movies and movies with really long titles, whether it beAssassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford,Meet Joe Black, Seven Years In Tibet and probably a couple of others, and the one thing they all seem to have in common is that they really are not that good. Or at least the don’t live up to the hype that surrounds a Brad Pitt movie. I always find that Pitt excels in a lot of the smaller roles he plays, whether it be Mickey in Snatch, Floyd inTrue Romance or Rusty inOcean’s Eleven. It’s those long-ass movies that just haven’t done it for me. It’s not necessarily his performance, just the movie in general.

For about half the movie whenBenjamin is a little old man, there is little to recognize of the buff and dreamy Brad Pitt as we normally know him. You may want to think it is another actor. Funny what special effects and all that other technology can do. To be fair, Pitt does a fair amount of good acting that helps you suspend your disbelief. As Benjamin does start becoming more physically in view to the Brad Pitt we know, the women in the audience come to life. The moments in his life that we peer into are well chosen and Pitt does a better than Pitt job to make the character live for the audience.

In the end, I will say that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a well made movie. It’s quite the ride through the life of this alluring old man. The film draws the inevitable comparisons with the similar style of Forrest Gump andBenjamin Button does have that Forrest Gump feel to it.Gump could arguably be the crowning glory of Tom Hanks‘ career. Benjamin Button has the potential, especially now with the Oscar nominations and other awards, to have the same effect on Brad Pitt and his career path. Benjamin Button is certainly one of the best movies of the year and definitely a nice feather in the cap for Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, director David Fincher, and even Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. Yep, the baby near the end of the movie, not the Benjamin Button baby, is Shiloh. I’m not really sure what that means.

* As for the movie poster, I think they are well done. I am especially drawn to the one that has Pitt as the single face and the lettering on the poster is reversed. All of the versions of the posters I have seen so far are headshot oriented.

UPDATE – February 12, 2009:
During the week of February 12, 2009 the productions company launched BenjaminButtonFX.com, a website that reveals some of the secrets behind the visual effects magic that was used to create The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. From a man aging backwards, to a city’s development over decades, the website features a bunch of different interactive displays of how the visual effects magic was created. The website is fun to play around on but really only if you like the movie a little, or Brad Pitt. Who knows why the site took so long to get running. They would have done much better with a more timely release of the website.

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It is not often I am taken with new pieces of toy collectibles. This is a new offering from the Lucas Ranch folks. It begins shipping to customers in March 2009. It has never been offered in the U.S. before. It might just be a pencil holder, but to some this is must have Star Wars swag. The guys at the Star Wars Shop have come up with some incredible finds lately, including a $1400 bust of Yoda and a few sets of lobby cards found in the vault from 1980’s Empire Strikes Back.

There’s nothing like having the Dark Lord of the Sith sitting on your desktop. Even cooler, is having Vader’s helmet hold your pens and pencils, and suprising people with his ominous breathing each time a pencil or pen is removed! Right now it is only offered through the Star Wars Shop.

There are so many good movies with presidents or presidential candidates as lead characters. There are lots of movies about running for the office like the very popular The American President in 1995, being in office with the likes of Dave in 1993, corruption of the office with All the President’s Men in 1976, selling of the office with films like Advise and Consent in 1962, life after office with the likes of Guarding Tess in 1994, and death in office with a film such as Oliver Stone’s JFK in 1991. The movies span the range of categories. Everything from documentaries to comedies, drama to mysteries. There should be no surprise that the range also spans fact based movies like Thirteen Days to fiction like Fail-Safe. Even if there isn’t really a good category to describe the movie, the films march on in the wacky film of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in 1964. So putting together a list of just a few is a difficult task.

After much debate and hours of screening there are some movies that stick out more than others. I have decided that 1. the movies must be good, 2. they must be American and finally 3. they must have a main character that is the President of the United States.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) or The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
I know there are those that like one or the other. I actually like them both; the new film I think brings some exceptional actors and some nice plot point discovery that was hard to do in 1962. The film depicts two soldiers; SSgt. Raymond Shaw and Cpt. Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra does a great job for the 1962 version), respectively; returning back to the US after serving the Korean War (1962) or the Gulf War (2004). One’s the son of privilege and the other is his commanding officer, troubled by post-traumatic syndrome. Shaw’s doting mother, Eleanor Iselin and Sen. John Iselin connive their way to become the next presidential nominee. The “McCarthyism” theme continues to a jingoist fervor yet, the story unveils to a very surprising climax.

Fail-Safe (1964)
If there was a task that any US president fears is the moment leading to the conclusion of Fail-Safe. Sidney Lumet’s film of Eugene Burdick’s novel presents the frightening premise of a nuclear bomber group mistakenly given the “go code” to strike Moscow. An era when ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missiles) was approaching it’s zenith in numbers yet “stratobombers” give the film it’s visual and contextual drive. Fine performance by Henry Fonda as The President next to Larry Hagman’s portrayal as the interpreter gives an accurate imagination of what the bunker would really be like in the White House. The antipodean affect may have been the October’s debut before the election, in part, thwarted Barry Goldwater’s chances for the presidency.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room! – President Merkin Muffley Filmed in black and white just so he could beat us over the head with having no grey choice, Kubrick masterfully puts together a great cast and one of the best actors of the 1960s in Peter Sellers to turn over this landmark movie. Writer and director Kubrick again brings satire and a nation to its highest stakes. He, too, heeded Ike’s plea and deftly crafted a parody of Peter George’s Red Alert that stands forty years since it’s debut.

Mars Attacks! (1996)
Jack Nicholson shines as President: James Dale in this less than stellar tale of martians coming to Earth. This president doesn’t get much accomplished after the Martians land and attack. As things fall apart all around him, the best he can drum up is, “I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain’t bad.” I feel better now, don’t you? Nicholson has some of the brightest moments in this movie.

Air Force One (1997)
This movie fights its way onto the list as our tough guy president. Harrison Ford is president James Marshall and he kicks the ass of Russian hijackers, flies Air Force One and does some crazy acrobatics between fighter jets — as they’re flying! If one has to lead by example, this is one hell of an example for others to follow!

Dave (1993)
Everybody has to laugh. So next on the list is a light hearted, romantic comedy. Kevin Kline is president this time. Okay, so he doesn’t actually get elected president, but he takes the place of the president and runs the country for a short while. And since Kline plays both roles, we can make this one stick. I think this is the kind of president every American yearns for. He is an everyday kind of guy, who wonders aloud why everything is done in such an asinine manner. He can’t be real!

The American President (1995)
Yes I just mentioned Dave. It is not fair to mention them both since they are so similar. That’s no true. Here Michael Douglas plays President Andrew Shepherd and he is a widower. No wife. Still lots of screwball antics and plenty to make us laugh. The humor and story are both a little lame and once the movie hits a middle level it never goes up or down.

Independence Day (1996)
Speaking of president’s and their wives that don’t make it brings me to Independence Day which is the highest grossing picture on our list. Bill Pullman is President Whitmore and looks miscast in this role but all is forgiven when he leads a squadron of planes into the heart of invading aliens. Yeah, his rally cry may have been a bit corny, but any president willing to risk certain death gets my vote.

Escape from New York (1981)
Donald Pleasence plays our President this time out and set in 1997 when Manhattan has become a giant prison island from which none can escape. Bad guy that wants to be badder is Snake Plissken sent in on a suicide mission to pull the First Chief out from a rag-tag of feral outlaws. Most memorable scene: one kidnapper producing the presidential ring, with finger still attached, as evidence that they’ve got the guy in the Oval Office

W. (2008)
Oliver Stone brings us Josh Brolin deserves to be lauded for his excellent turn as Bush Jr. His spot on performance is pulled off without resorting to cheap tricks and impersonations. Stone does a fine job telling his story but often the film goes for mocking instead of substance. Perhaps that is what the real President Bush did too.

Primary Colors (1998)
This surprisingly funny political satire is fantastic as Travolta’s smooth Southern governor reminds us of the one person it is designed to while only loosely telling us the truth. It is a barely fictionalized account of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, which he went on to win and deserves a place for Travolta’s impersonation of Clinton which is absolutely on the money.

Absolute Power (1997)
Gene Hackman portrays one ruthless son-of-a-bitch in the character of President Alan Richmond. He’ll stop at nothing to cover-up the murder of his mistress by the secret service. His actions lend credence to the statement: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I know I’ll never piss anyone off in government ever again.

Thirteen Days (2000)
Robert Donaldson’s film of the book, “The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis” by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow documents the harrowing conflict between the US and Soviet Union. JFK and his staff try to parse actions discovered by reconnaissance flights over Cuba. I prefer this film slightly over The Missiles of October due to quality. I recognized the second author’s name while watching C-SPAN. Mr. Zelikow is the executive director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known as the “9/11 Commission.”

Man of the Year (2006)
On a lark, a late-night talk show host played by Robin Williams, decides to run for the highest office in the land. Amazingly, he gets elected. Williams in all his looniness comes across as a likable guy. It’s also always a pleasure to see stuffed shirt posturing finally lose out to common sense and lightheartedness in a debate.

John Adams (2008)
If you really want to see what the presidency what thought of before there was one or even an idea who would take the job then check out the HBO miniseries. Lots of period pieces and period language abound around John Adams played by Paul Giamatti who does a wonderful job throughout the mini series. George Washington is played by David Morse who does so with quiet grace. If you take on the whole series plan your weekend well, or just plan on it and do it in an afternoon. A great history lesson.

So the list could continue easily enough. But this should get us elected. I wish our new President Obama all the best wishes I can muster. One way we can help is to see more movies.

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The Smith family is a typical bored married couple. They lead their lives fairly separately but scheduled and regimented. Their respective phones ring and we find out that they are agents hunting leads and they are leading a secret life. Their next mission – kill each other.

There are some great fight scenes in the film but the best are between Angolini and Pitt.In the later parts of the film they are forced to team up to stay  alive. We find out what kind of agents they are. Funny scenes abound. And more explosions happen.

In the end this is a good movie. I like it, not because it is such a shooting film, but because their chemistry is so good it is very easy to buy into the characters that Jolie and Pitt worked so hard for us to watch. The actors are so comfortable that their acting is natural. ***/****.

I like the poster plan here. There are about 14 different versions that I like. There are loads of posters where one is there and the other one not, or the simulation that one is there and the other is not. My favorites are the ones where they are together since that is what I’m spending my movie money on. 

In a nutshell this is the story of the Duchess of Devonshire. She had a very controversial and lavish lifestyle from marrying at the age of 17 to a much older man who expects nothing less from his new bride than 18th century aristocratic behavior and for her to bear him a male child. Georgianna, the Duchess, is not complying. She enters into society, uses her beauty to advance a political undertone and indulge her own whims whatever they are and at whatever the cost to herself. Her actions eventually undo her wants and when the Duke exerts his wealth and power he brings to bear the power of an 18th century man over a woman.

The story is a tragic tale that looks absolutely stunning. Keira Knightley is beautiful as the Duchess. She has been in more than one period piece where her look is akin to wearing drapery. Though very uncomfortable looking in the 18th century garb, Knightley plays it well and appears as though she were made for the costumes. She plays opposite Ralph Fiennes as the Duke and holds her own.  The film is a large undertaking for relatively new director Saul Dibb, who also wrote the script for the movie.

The film is surprisingly good. At first glance it looks like a total bore, but once Knightley hits the screen there is no doubt your attention is going to be held. There is no urgency to run out to the theater for this one. Save your money and watch it on HBO. **/****.

As for the poster it depends on whether you like to look at Keria Knightley. It is a little disappointing that even with an 18th century period piece that the poster designer couldn’t find a scene that was usable. The poster is pretty, but could have been so much better.

This is the true story of a college journalist who goes to work for a Washington magazine known for factual and political articles. While he works for the magazine he continues to turn in fiction which they keep publishing until it is finally realized what he is doing and then he is confronted. The  fact that the movie is based on true facts and real people is the draw here and with story after story that he turns in you’re further and further lured into his world due to his likeability.

Hayden Christensen plays the lead role of Stephen Glass who turns in seemingly true but later proved false stories. He does a great job though he is a bit wooden which seems to be his style of acting. Peter Sarsgaad really stands out as one of the editors that discovers what has happened to the magazine. His acting stands out and he delivers a solid performance. Another stand out here is Hank Azaria who plays another editor in the film. Azaria does a brilliant job here playing straight which we rarely get to see from this Simpson’s television alum.

Shattered Glass is a surprising little film from new director Billy Ray who is better known for his sceenwriting that his direction. I’m sure when they signed on Christensen who was coming off playing Darth Vador in the Star Wars series, they were thinking big hit. The movie stayed small. Even though it might be a small film, it is really quite good and you should catch it if you have the chance. **/****.

The poster for the most part is what you would expect. It is a total face concentration on Christensen since he was the draw of the film. He’s a pretty boy so his close up is pleasing, but these headshots of the 2000 movies, this one is 2003, is getting old fast. I can only hope the next decade brings us some better design, especially on these smaller films where everything has to be double the effort.

If you love Clockwork Orange or you are a fan of the baby faced star then you need to see If…. Before Malcom McDowell was the badboy for Kubrick he was Mick Travis in this revolution on the British private school (in the U.K. it is public). Mick tends to bring about the stark truth behind the public school life. It’s difficult to defend the school life told by this realistic telling of the familiar life lead by students in 1960s Britain. Directed by India born and award winning Lindsay Anderson, the film is full of true pop culture of the day from issues of hair to violent rebellion.

The film has not lost its vigor over the years or perhaps British culture is still one step ahead of the U.S. when it comes to rebellion. The story and the script are smartly written. There are some interesting directorial choices when it comes to some of the sequences. Until recently I thought that the use of black and white film (the majority of the film is in color) was used as an artistic choice, but I have learned it was used to save money. This would not be the first time director Anderson would work with McDowell but it is our first introduction to McDowell since this is his first film. ***/****.

As for the posters, classic 1960s design. Its not hard to see why later when it came to Clockwork that Kubrick did not want to use any images of McDowell. Both early styles of poster have a terrific look with bold statements and economical choices, though the movie had some level of success. Some of the later release time frame and international distribution has more color and even more artistic flare.

Daniel Day Lewis is phenomenal in his portrayal as an early oil baron or should I say the earliest oil baron. In fact the synopsis of the movie is really that simple: the early life of an oil baron. Just when I have used the word simple I have to back up. The movie and certainly Daniel Day Lewis’ performance is anything but simple. Lewis creates a complex and difficult character in the title role. Just when you think you have a handle on both the story or this character another twist appears that makes this movie juicier and more interesting.

The movie was two oscars in 2008 for cinematography and for Daniel Day Lewis for Best Actor. Lewis does his best to not only act, but to physically channel his character. He does a masterful job that continues to set the bar ever higher for actors of his generation. It was nominated for a total of 8 making it one of the top films of 2007.

Overall it is difficult to classify this film as it has so many wonderful qualities. It is a terrifying biographical tragedy. The timing of the movie’s release hits hard with today’s newspaper headlines. The audience is simply slapped in the face with our country’s dependancy on oil and how oil barons in this era set a tone for the next 100 years. At times I found this movie chilling, masterful and compelling. Surprisingly however, I was never sympathetic to Lewis’ character which I’m sure was very challenging for him to create. This is a must see film from 2007 and one is hard pressed to find many flaws, a credit to talented director Paul Thomas Anderson. ****/*****, a standard held for the higher films of the day.

The posters for this movie are endless. There are some 23 versions of the U.S. poster alone. The second poster pictured here is the international version, which really gives more insight into the story line.

The original U.S. title for this Elvis movie was Hawaii Beach Boy. I think that title actually fits better. The tagline says it all for this flick with romance, dances and paradise. That almost fits any of The King’s formula movies. This movie catches up with Elvis as he gets out of the Army (in the movies) and wants to get on with his life. His family has one idea but he wants to make it on his own. Don’t feel sorry for him as his life is full of surfing, babes and the beach.

Unfortunately for the audience, Presley’s co-star in G.I. Blues in 1960 pulled out of this movie. Juliet Prowse who starred with Elvis in G.I. Blues would have made a great followup character to add in Blue Hawaii. The story goes that she made so many demands on the studio that she was dropped from the picture. She continued in movies and then mostly in television. She later guest starred in a Murder She Wrote staring Angela Lansbury; Lansbury plays Elvis mother in this picture (she was 35 at the time). Blue Hawaii was the most successful soundtrack albums of the Elvis movie genre. 

Like the other Elvis movies the reason to see this one is Elvis himself and the great music performances he gives. Elvis retuned to Hawaii many times so this must have been a special film for him. Hal Wallis does his usual excellent job of framing this film in his talented way that fuses the music with the story without being too sappy. This is a must see film on the Elvis list. ***/****.

As for the poster… The half sheet of Blue Hawaii is more popular that the one sheet. Mainly this is due to the large musical note that Elvis is singing on top of with the girls. I like the one sheet better with the surfboard but both posters are just great.