Eight movies to have on a desert island? So many movies … but if I had to make the choice, here they are!

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Awesome performances by everyone, from Hepburn and O’Toole, to Anthony Hopkins in his first screen role. If words matter, this movie is top of the heap. It’s got a script so good it’s hard to imagine a better one.

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With Paddy Chayevsky as the writer, it had to be good … but add to that superb performances by James Garner and Julie Andrews in her first dramatic role. Wow. The whole movie is worth it just for Garner’s monologue on war. Funny, sharp, brilliant.

This is one of those movies that I like better each time I watch it … and I watch it often. We can recite dialogue with it. It’s got everything you want a western to have: passion, revenge, violence, humor and brilliant cinematography. It’s definitely Val Kilmer‘s best performance and arguably Kurt Russell‘s shining moment too.

Maybe it isn’t one of the all time greatest films, but reminds me of the best of times and music I love. It’s funny, sometimes hilarious … and it’s a loving parody, warm-hearted and nostalgic. The music manages to be both humorous and good — a hard combination.

Not the most original choice, but it’s so good and it has worn well despite the years. We saw it on the big screen not long ago and I’d forgotten how funny and witty it is. It’s pure mythology, but it’s the way we wanted it to be, even if it isn’t the way it really was. We need our heroes.

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It’s hard to pick just one Mel Brooks movie, but if I have to choose, this has to be the one. It was a tough choice. “Young Frankenstein,” “High Anxiety,” and “History of the World, Part I” are right up there too. “Blazing Saddles” wins because it’s got some of the all time greatest lines. That’s HEDLEY Lamar!

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Science fiction movies usually disappoint me because they aren’t science fiction, they are westerns in space, using spacecraft instead of horses and featuring millions of dollars worth of special effects, but no script. This is beautifully acted, romantic, and believable. Great performance (underrated) by Jeff Bridges.

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I know they were issued as two movies, but they were filmed as one. The stars of the film(s) sued the studios since they had only been paid for one movie, and they won. Nonetheless, both movies play like a single film in two parts. You can’t watch one without the other. They keep remaking it, but none of the others come near this version. It’s fast, funny, and surprisingly true to the books. Dumas would have been pleased. I love the sword fights. I used to fence in college, and this has some of the best choreographed fencing I’ve ever seen. It’s not the elegant fencing you usually see, but brawling — the way men really fought — not to get points for good form, but to win without getting sliced up.

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My adjustable bed wins hands down. I sure hope they have electricity on this desert island. My adjustable bed is the single thing in the world that lets me be physically comfortable and really sleep.

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As for one book? Hopeless. How about I get a Kindle and unlimited Amazon picks? How about that huh? Not having books to read would be cruel and unusual punishment. I think I’d wither away.

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And that’s my eight. If I could pick a hundred more, I wouldn’t run out of choices. Oh, and I might change my mind tomorrow!