Listen Up! My “A-Z” Celebration OF Cinema Continues With “G”!
Lean in closely, because I’ve got ten great films that begin with the letter “G” – if they are good enough to get Don Corleone’s attention, then they should be good enough for you!
As always, this is NOT a countdown, just ten movies from a variety of genres that capture what make cinema so great – although this list does happen to end with my favorite movie of all time!
Let’s begin with a movie that showcases some of our greatest Actors!
10 – “Glengarry Glen Ross”
Yes, this is an acting masterclass from Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey – and of course, Alec Baldwin!
It’s one of the great films about selling – and the salesmen whose motto is “Always Be Closing!”
Check out the trailer for this great 1992 film from the David Mamet play:
Here is some amazing trivia:
Alec Baldwin’s part was written specifically for the movie – that scene wasn’t in the play!
That’s right – the “always be closing” speech was written by Mamet specifically for the movie! See more great trivia here:
Speaking of great performances, here is one of the great ones from the 70’s:
9 – “The Gambler”
James Caan is terrific as a gambler who just needs one more score to pay off his debts. Here is a great scene with James Woods as a banker who disrespects Caan’s Mom:
This is a terrific film about gambling addiction, and of course James Caan is perfect in the role as a guy who is on the edge…it’s one of then great “Wrath Of Caan” movies, and you can see the others here:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/02/05/the-wrath-of-caan-james-caans-greatest-hits/
As I said, I want to hit all kinds of movie genres with this countdown, so how about an offbeat British thriller from the early 70’s with a very strange title?
8 – “Girly”
A teenage girl and her brother play strange parlor games with the men who visit their house – and while “Girly” isn’t that strange of a title, you have to celebrate a neglected horror movie that had the audacity to originally be called:
“MUMSY, SONNY, NANNY AND GIRLY!”
Oh yes, it did. Here’s a spanish language trailer for the film, and guess what? Even in spanish you can see EXACTLY what it’s about!
As you can see, Girly and her brother have plans for the guys who come to visit…this is a quirky goofy British horror film from the early 70’s – one of those obscure films that has been rescued by the home video market.
You can see more funny trivia about the movie here:
Now, I am listing ten great “G” films, trying to mix and match so that I am hitting on all sorts of genres….thanks to my wife, I can share an example of pure 80’s filmmaking:
7 – “Gotcha!”
Full disclosure: I had never seen this film – but my wife did when she was young – and so now we own it, I’ve watched it, and let’s be honest – it’s kind of fun!
Check out the TV ad for the film:
Pre-“E.R.” Anthony Edwards plays a game called “Gotcha” in which he hunts and is hunted by other college students with paint guns.
Yes, this game would NEVER FLY TODAY!
While on vacation, he meets the sexy Linda Fiorentino, who gets him involved in a real-life game of espionage. It’s a fun 80’s movie and turned Florentine into a sex symbol!
Next up is a serious look at high school reunions, highlighted by this line:
“Everyone Has Swelled!”
Yes, it’s a terrific “high school reunion” film from 1997, “Grosse Pointe Blank”, starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver and an inspiringly wacky Dan Aykroyd!
This film is dark, violent, and very funny, a deadly high school reunion with laughs and romance as well! It’s part of a classic “reunion” double bill you need to watch now. Here it is:
My next choice is one of 2017’s best movies so far, the acclaimed thriller that caught everyone off guard!
5 – “Get Out!”
Jordan Peele wowed Critics and audiences alike with his terrific thriller about a black man who goes into the country to meet his white girlfriend’s family – yes, it a horror version of “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner!”
Click here to see the trailer and get more trivia on this great movie!
Michael Caine is one of our greatest Actors, but you don’t think of him as a “tough guy”…well, think again:
4 – “Get Carter”
The setup for this early 70’s London gangster film is simple: Michael Caine returns to town and want to find out what happened to his brother – and nothing will stop him from getting answers…check out the trailer:
Michael Caine knows how to play it tough, and this gritty thriller is worth checking out.
Another great 70’s action film stars another iconic Actor:
3 – “The Getaway”
Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw fell in love while making this great Sam Peckinpah thriller – check out the trailer:
This is a classic 70’s action film, and Peckinpah gives it a lot of stylized action – a really fun movie with great performances as well!
See more about this film and other classic 70’s action movies here:
I love films about Hollywood, and next up is one of my favorites:
2 – “Get Shorty”
This classic 1995 comedy skewers the entertainment industry as it tells the story of a mobster who “goes Hollywood”…check out the trailer:
John Travolta and Rene Russo head a terrific cast, including Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, James Gandolfini and Dennis Farina – from a novel by Elmore Leonard, it’s one of the best “movies about movies” – here are five more:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/02/25/lights-camera-oscars-5-more-great-movies-about-movies/
We wrap up our ten “G” movies with what is, for me, the great film of all time:
1 – “The Godfather”
What can you say? The Best Picture of 1972 is a masterpiece, the story of Don Corleone and his family – with a cast headed up by Marlon Brando, James Caan, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton.
What can you say about this film – well, aside from the fact that Marlon Brando didn’t like memorizing his lines, so Robert Duvall wore them off camera!
Cue The Horses Head!
Or what about this trivia: the horse’s head in that bed was REAL!
Here’s so much more fun trivia about the greatest film of all time!
https://johnrieber.com/2017/02/15/brandos-cue-cards-real-horse-heads-the-godfathers-best-stories-2/
If you’ve missed any of my other letters, here’s a short recap:
An amazingly iconic movie poster sets the stage for a list of classic “A” movies, see them here:
https://johnrieber.com/2017/07/09/give-me-an-a-ten-classic-films-that-begin-with-a-movies-a-z/
If you want to see some classic “B” movies, try this one:
“Broadcast News” is a great movie. Here are more of my favorite “B” movies as well:
https://johnrieber.com/2017/07/13/b-movies-indeed-my-list-of-ten-great-films-beginning-with-b/
I also posted on ten great “C” movies, like this cult classic:
“Chuck & Buck” was joined by a wide range of great movies that began with the letter “C” – see them here:
https://johnrieber.com/2017/07/16/the-c-list-great-cult-movies-beginning-with-c/
I also posted a list of ten films that began with the letter “D”, like this one:
Yes, “The Sushi Bites Back!” That’s just one of the amazing movies with the letter “D” – see them here:
If you like “movies with an “E”, you might like this one:
A cult 70’s gem that is now on blu-ray – see more from my “E” list here:
If you like the letter “F”, then you had a ton of great films to enjoy, like this Best Picture nominee from 1987:
Yes, it was nominated and deservedly so, it’s classic pulp cinema that Hollywood does better than anyone! Oh, the boiled bunny was real, too! Read more here:
Let me know your favorite “G” movie!
Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Academy Awards, Action Films, Art, Awards, Books / Media, British Cinema, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Exploitation films, Film Fight Club, Film Noir, Foreign Films, Great Films, Grindhouse, Hollywood, Horror films, Independent Cinema, James Caan, London, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Movies, Movies About Movies, Obscure Movies, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Its funny because I think of Michael Caine as one of those classic tough guys. He did a great movie a few years back called Harry Brown where he proved he’s still got it.
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I own Harry Brown – a much better version of “Gran Torino!”
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Well I love them both but for different reasons. I’m glad you like Harry Brown. I certainly thought Caine and the crew did a great job of selling Caine being a physical threat to these young men at this stage of his life. My favourite scene is when he goes to buy the gun. Just great stuff!
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I simply adore The Godfather. I could talk about it all day.
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The single greatest movie achievement of all time – and my friend Alison Martino’s Dad was Johnny Fontaine!
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Oh that is so cool. Man that’s impressive.
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She has lots of fascinating stories…you can see her website “Alisonsmartino.com” – lots of great Hollywood stuff
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Cheers for putting me on to that.
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👍🏼
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A lot of fine examples, John. I predicted you would mention ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Grindhouse’, or ‘The Graduate’. My list would include ‘The Grey’, ‘The Great Escape’ ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ and ‘Gran Torino’.
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You see? there are way too many great “G” movies!
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I loved Gotcha! Okay, partly because I had a huge crush on Anthony Edwards, not still…😀
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‘G’ is one of your best so far, John, with so many cool choices. (Maybe not ‘Gotcha’ though…)
I just found out that there is a remastered special edition of ‘Girly’ listed on Amazon UK. You guessed it, it’s on my wish list now! You have chosen so many of my own favourites, but I of course have to add the wonderful gangster film, ‘Goodfellas’, as well as the top choice from my own challenge, ‘The Grifters’. Still one of my favourite modern films.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, I mention that “Gotcha” is there for my wife, but also because it’s a time capsule of the 80’s in terms of storytelling, style and tone – and of course so is “Goodfellas’ which is also on my top ten of all time list but I didn’t want too many Gangsters! Thanks as always for reading and commenting! Lina Florentino makes “Gotcha” watchable by the way, and yes, I own “Girly!”
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Linda Fiorentino, now you’re talking! The marvellous modern noir, ‘The Last Seduction’.!
One of my favourite lines in a film, “Who’s a girl gotta suck around here, to get a drink?”
I can’t believe that I left that off of ‘L’ in my list…
Best wishes, Pete.
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Ha! Way too many great films Pete!
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There were some great flashbacks in there: Get Carter, Gotcha. The Godfather and Glengarry GlenRoss are all-time favorites, of course. And Girly is one of those forgotten delights that shows up in trailer form on those coming-attraction comps like 42nd Street Forever and Trailer Trauma.
Cool list!
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Yes, I wanted to have a nice mix of stuff – Gotcha! for my wife, lots of 70’s stuff, and the very obscure “Girly” which is now on video so, like many other cult films, it can now be sampled to see what was going on at that time!
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