My Top Five (plus) Favourite Movies

As with my previous post, these are my favourite movies. Since these movies are quite well known, I know it might seem unnecessary to write a summary about them, but I have never done something like this before so I thought it would be fun to try.

The Princess Bride

I have watched this movie over four times.

Summary: A young woman named Buttercup falls in love with a farm boy named Westley. Soon afterward, Westley goes away on a sea voyage and is supposed dead. Buttercup declares she will never love again, but a prince by the name of Humperdinck marries her. She is not happy and only finds joy in taking long horse rides. One day, three circus performers kidnap her. And so it continues...

Book: The Princess Bride was written by William Goldman.

Who is this best for and what are it's faults? This movie is great. It is funny, unique and well written. But there is a torture scene - I suggest it is previewed and muted at one part.

Favourite character: Westley

Favourite line: Buttercup to Westley as they run toward the Fire Swamp: "We'll never survive!" Westley: "Nonsense - you're only saying that because no one ever has."

The Sound of Music

I don't even know how many times I have seen this movie. I remember knowing all the songs from quite young. This is one of the only movies I have cried watching!

Summary: A young nun named Maria is needing to get out of the Abbey and find some sort of alternate lifestyle for a while. The reverend mother suggests that she go and be a governess for a family with seven children. Maria sets out and finds the home (or rather, the mansion) of Captain von Trapp. She soon finds that this job is quite different from what she was expecting. But when Captain von Trapp leaves the house for a few days to pick up two friends of his, she wins the children's hearts and teaches them to sing. The end of the movie portrays the Austrian government wishing for more soldiers, but Captain von Trapp refusing to join the army.

Music: The Sound of Music is a musical, so there are many great songs from it. My favourites are: The Sound of Music, Overture/Prelude, I Have Confidence, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, Do-Re-Mi, The Lonely Goatherd, and The Sound of Music.

Favourite character: Liesel von Trapp

Favourite line: The baroness, peaking of pink lemonade: "Not too sweet, not to sour." Uncle Max, " Just too, uh...pink!"

Amazing Grace

I have seen this movie three times. Listen to this song while reading about the movie.

Summary: A British politician named William Wilberforce is burdened with the need to speak up against slavery. He almost gives up on the idea, but various other men and women with the same passion encourage him to actually pursue his calling. Through many conversations with his friend William Pitt the younger (the British prime-minister), a striking young women named Barbara Spooner, John Newton himself and many others, he is convinced he can strive to abolish slavery.

Who is this best for and what are it's faults? This movie is focusing on slavery, and shows a short clip of what slavery is like in action. I would not recommend it for every age.

Favourite character: William Wilberforce

Overcomer

I've watched this twice. This is not the only non-fiction, non-historical movie that I like, but it is simply the best one in that category. I just have not seen as many Christian movies compared to the others.

Summary: A basketball coach goes through the distress of losing his whole team and is forced to find work as a field coach. But more disappointment is faced when only one student shows up. He teaches her to overcome and run well, and she also is helped with struggles in her personal life.

Music: Through the movie, there are many great songs. The following are my favourites: Enough, Even When You're Running, Who You Say I Am, Overcomer.

Favourite character: Thomas Hill

Little Women (2019)

I have only seen this once, but I want to watch it again!

Summary: Four teenage girls are living in the U.S. in the 1800s. It follows the joys and sorrows of all of them, but focuses mainly on the second oldest, Josephine "Jo" March. The movie spans several years, and one sees the girls grow up, get married, etc.

Book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Audio books: I like the audio version of this book by Elizabeth Klett and company on LibriVox.

Who is this best for and what are it's faults? If you are one who doesn't want to have a movie wreck your imagination, you might not like it because it is not the most accurate it could be. It also is not very historically accurate, and promotes feminism. I would recommend it; however, it is quite confusing and fast-paced for anyone who has not first read the book.

Favourite character: Jo March

Favourite line: Laurie: "Never thought I'd help prepare a carriage to help Jo March chase a man, but I like it!"

Jo: "You will be bored of him in two years, and we will be interesting forever!"

Chariots of Fire

Again, this is one of those movies I grew up with, so I feel like I have always known the story and I cannot remember the first time I watched it.

Summary: Two men, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, are college students both competing for a place in the Olympics in long distance running. One a Christian, the other a Jew, have to navigate what they can allow with their religious beliefs and the sport they are competing in.

Is This A Real Story? Yes!

Eric Liddell was born in China on January 16, 1902. His schooling was in Scotland and he had further athletic training in England. After competing in the 1924 Olympics, he moved to China and was a missionary there until his death in February 21, 1945. You can read all about his life in books like The Flying Scotsman and Something Greater Than Gold.

Harold Abrahams was born in the United Kingdom on December 15, 1899. After he broke his leg in 1925, his running career ended, but he continued athletic work for most of the rest of his live. He died on January 14, 1978.

If you have watched the movie, you might enjoy this YouTube video made several years later, telling more of the story of filming and the characters, etc.

Music: The music from the movie is amazing! Of course there is the song Chariots of Fire, but also the song called Jerusalem that the movie title was inspired from. Check out this album with music from most of the movie.

Favourite character: Lord Lindsey

Favourite line: Eric Liddle received a note from another runner which says, "Mr. Liddle, it says in the old book, 'He who honours Me, I will honour.'"

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

This is a six-part five hour version of Pride and Prejudice made by BBC. I have watched it two times.

Summary: In England, a family with five single daughters live in a rich country community. As with all Jane Austen books, life changes very quickly for all the young ladies as soon as young men start to come around more. There are balls, long walks, letter writing, and great conflict with many relationships. At the end, there are many marriages: some expected, some surprising, and others uncalled for.

Songs: Here is the playlist from this movie. My favourite song is the opening titles.

Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Audio books: My family loves listening to an audio recording of this book, read by Karen Savage on LibriVox.

Who is this best for? My whole family loves watching this movie. We laugh every time the BBC rating voiceover comes on and says, "The following may contain mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised." We chuckle and say, "What? Low necklines?" I think anyone over the age of twelve would certainly enjoy this movie if you were really interested.

Favourite character: Mr. Darcy

Favourite line: Mrs. Bennet speaking to her brother after hearing dreadful news about her daughter, "You must tell [my husband] what a dreadful state I’m in. And how I have such tremblings and flutterings all over me; such spasms in my side, and pains in my head, and beatings at my heart that I can get no rest either night or day."

Emma (2020)

I have seen Emma twice.

Summary: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." This said Emma encounters many meetings with various friends, whether old or new and is an influence in most of their lives. Many a young lady get a proposal of marriage from many a young man, and many are refused, many young couples are suspected before everyone settles more or less happily married at the end.

Book: Emma by Jane Austen

Music: This movie is not a musical, but the director put an interesting twist to the whole thing by adding bits of hymns and other familiar songs sung throughout the movie.

What are it's faults? This movie takes on a modern look. It is quite fast-paced and might be hard to understand for someone who is not familiar with the story.

Favourite line: Mr. Woodhouse to Mr. Knightly: "Do you feel a slight draft about the knees?"

The Hobbit

The Hobbit is three movies: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies. I watched these movies two and a half times. My favourite parts are the second half of The Desolation of Smaug and all of The Battle of Five Armies.

I think they did a really good job on the whole! Of course there are parts that they took out or added in, but overall they are quite accurate.

Songs: Of course there are many songs from The Hobbit movies. One of my favourites is The Last Goodbye, sung by Billy Boyd. Peter Hollens also has a great playlist. Other orchestral songs I like are Concerning Hobbits and Lake Town Theme.

Books: These movies are based off of the book The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Who is this best for and what are it's faults? I would not recommend these movies for all ages. There are some fairly horrific war scenes.

Favourite character: Bard the Bowman

An Unexpected Journey

Summary: A hobbit named Bilbo Baggins is quite content to stay in his comfortable hobbit-hole and watch his small world around him without a care for adventure. However, things changed for him quite dramatically one day. A wizard by the name of Gandalf and twelve dwarves come and seek his help as a burglar as they make their way across middle-earth to conquer stolen treasure.

The Desolation of Smaug

Summary: A dragon is sleeping in the mountain on a huge mound of stolen treasure. The dwarves have to find a way to get into the mountain through a secret entrance and attempt to take back what is rightfully theirs. However, other people in the surrounding area claim they have a right to the treasure too.

The Battle of Five Armies

Summary: Once the dragon is safely out of the way, five armies advance upon each other in front of the mountain and a battle ensues. Who will win? Who will get the treasure, and by what means?