February Blogging: Classic Romance

Now, I've never been the biggest romance movie fan, but I do understand the contributions this genre of films has given to the art of filmaking. Don't tune the next month out if you aren't a big romance fan either, because I'm sure there will be at least one film in this bunch you can at least try to appreciate. If not, you really need to get in touch with your sensitive side.

In fact, romance movies often have the greatest costumes and some of the most memorable lines. Most musicals are some brand of romantic comedy, but don't be fooled by the comedic aspect. The majority of romance movies don't end well or with the characters getting together. I will try to do a good mix of romances that end happily and those that don't, though the one thing I can't promise you is finishing all of this up in the month of February, since it is only 28 days long.

A few of the movies I will be featuring this month will be on Turner Classic Movie's 31 Days of Oscar, as a testament to how well-made and wonderful they are. Some of these films are public domain or available online to watch as well. I have tried my best to pick some of the very best films of the genre, though the quality of films is always up for debate. If you are considering doing some sort of movie marathon of your own for February, Valentines Day, or if you prefer, Singles Awareness Day this year.

For a list of great romance movies, there are several places you can access, all of which seem to have a different opinion on the subject. IMDB's list of Top 50 Romances could be helpful and if you're in a bitter spirit, you can take on the Bottom 10 Romances at the bottom of the list. Internetducttape.com provides a list of unordered movies, seventy-six of them to be exact, that will get you in the loving mood. Romancestuck.com has this list of films. And for the big kahuna of lists, you can look to Associated Content, which has a list of over 200 movies, divided up into romance subcategories such as Classic Romance Movies, Guy Gets Girl movies, and Tearjerkers.

So, here's to a month of love and love for great films!

Plan Your Own Night of Fright

Want to plan your own classic horror movie marathon and don't know where to start? I've found a few good resources you can use to set up your scary movie night and ensure that everyone leaves with a good fright. Each of these websites helps rate and discuss horror movies so you can plan which films are the ones for you.

At lovetoknow.com they have a constant rating systems of all of the best horror movies, new and old, which you can find here. They have the title, a very brief summary and an explanation as to why this is the "best" film in the genre. The list is pretty short, but its a great place to begin when looking for what type of film you want to show.

One of my favorite sites, film-site.org, also has a good introduction to classic horror films. Here under their little intro to what makes a horror film, you can find a list of the best horror movies of the early days. This page on the gives you a brief history of the beginnings of horror film, showing you some of the best and well-known horror films as well as some of the best but not so well known ones.

Don't want your movie marathon to show some classics? Want to have a more original style? Well, here are a list of some good sites for your B Horror Movie Marathon. First and foremost, I would go to B-Horror.com and use all of the links they have. I've found another page here with a list of some great b-horror movies from the Fifties and Sixties. A site where you can learn about and preview the B's is at bmovies.com. And here is a forum that might be helpful where people have come online to discuss their favorite B's and what would make a good horror marathon. 

The site best-horror-movies.com does just that. Here is there homepage and from that you can access tons of lists, databases and resources to find the cream of the crop where horror films are concerned. There is a list for everyone who wants to watch a scary movie here, from gift shops, to video rentals, to zombies to DVD purchases. Just about anything and everything can be found on this site.

The site classicmovies.com has done a list of the scariest movies for Halloween that you can access here. The movies are listed alphabetically with links to the analysis, synopsis and reviews of the movies themselves. This is the perfect site for planning your classic horror movie night.

Perhaps the best of the best, you can go onto the American Film Institute's website and get their list of 100 YEARS...100 THRILLS for the Institute's top picks of horror movies. These films were picked by the actors, directors, critics, and film experts who spent long hard hours voting and analyzing each film. So, if you're an academic or just want the tough stuff done for you, I would really recommend using the films from this list.

For those of you who want a humorous, modern look at film, I would recommend looking through the annals of slashfilm.com. The horror section of their site, which you can find here, allows you to leaf through the past blog entries on their site. They have updates on upcoming horror films, trailers, articles on past films, reviews, and so many good resources for those of you who want a more recent approach to horror. 

I hope I've been helpful in your quest to put together the perfect night of fright for this Halloween. 

48 Hours of Horror on TCM

Turner Classic Movies has some big plans to make this Halloween even scarier.They are doing a "48 Hours of Horror" special movie marathon on Thursday, October 30 and Friday, October 31. This marathon includes a collection of horror anthologie as well as movies based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. You can find the schedule for the 30th here and the one for the 31st here, so you can better plan which films you want to watch and see what is on the list for those days. The TCM site also allows you to send reminders to yourself that these movies will be on and when.

Additionally, TCM is keeping you updated with their own blog. From October 25 to 31, the TCM blog Movie Morlocks, will be blogging about their favorite horror movies and why they enjoy these movies so much. The blog-a-thon will touch on several different movies and topics about old horror films and their significance. I hope you will take advantage of these great resources.