Chevy Chase will be TCM’s guest programmer on 1/15. The actor, comedian and writer will tell us his favorite classic movies and why he picked them. I was a little surprised by the star’s picks with the exception of one.
First up is David Lean’s “Lawrence Of Arabia
“ (1962). According to TCM’s Now Playing magazine, Chase feels this film to be “One of the greatest films,” because of the film’s “epic scope and fantastic landscapes” without the use of CGI and the like. Chase also thinks that Peter O’toole was “brilliant.” So do I…
“The Gold Rush
“ (1925) with funny, zany, and random Charlie Chaplin is another of Chase’s picks. I thought this film is more like something this comedian would choose. It’s right up his ally. He thinks that Charlie Chaplin is “the funniest man that ever lived.” In fact Charlie is said to be Chase’s greatest influence. I can see how he likes this great comedian. If you know Chevy Chase’s films you can see how he’s used a lot of the old slapstick comedy in his films.
“Rashomon
” (1950) is my greatest surprise. I’ve blogged on film back in September of last year. It happens to be one of favorite foreign films. The story takes place in medieval Japan, four people offer conflicting accounts of a rape and murder. The movie makes you think about how we see things. How one person can see the same thing you do, but can perceive it differently, hence will describe it differently. Excellent film. A must see.
Chevy picked this one because he believes in putting his feet “in the other guy’s shoes.” Although Chevy has done spoof’s on Saturday Night Live of Japanese performers, who have the tendency to “overact;” he doesn’t feel the same about the main actor of “Rashomon”, Toshiro Mifune, who in Chevy’s eyes was “so real.”
TCM has this interview with Chevy on 1/15/07 starting at 8:00 PM EST. Visit TCM for local times and listings.
