For those who came in late, here's how this works. I have a big list of films, created from
IMDB's top rated list, and their top rated SF, Horror, and Fantasy films, plus a few beloved movies from my own collection. Each week's winner goes on to the next poll, to face four new randomly drawn films. I've decided that winners will get retired after they've won for four weeks. There will probably be some sort of playoff with all the winners in the end, but that's not for a long time yet. Links go to amazon.com, and if you buy after visiting the link, Escape Artists gets a donation, without costing you anything.
This week the random draw pulled some of the more obscure films from my favorite's list, so I don't expect everyone to have seen all these and thought I'd provide some descriptions...
Harold and Maude: Possibly the oddest and most death obsessed romance movie ever. Features a geeky 20 year old boy who's favorite passtime is elaborate fake suicides who falls in love with a 79 year old woman who's really too cool to adequately summarize.
The Lion in Winter: An adaptation of the stage play. Medieval court intrigue, verbal sparring, and showing your family love with daggers. Peter O'Toole as King Henry II. Katharine Hepburn, Hollywood's most impressive woman, as Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of history's most impressive women. Anthony Hopkins thrown in for good measure.
Time Bandits: From (most of) the people who brought you Holy Grail, and somewhat like that only with more surreal Gilliam imagery, Pure Evil, and a lot more midgets. Sean Connery thrown in for good measure.
Terminator 2: A quirky and thoughtful time travel story, featuring themes about man's inhumanity to... what? you've seen that one? okay, nevermind.