The 25 Greatest Films

As indicated in the previous "New" Music message, people often seek out Spencer's advice on what is best in the world of recent popular music. This occurs because most of his friends and associates are aware, to one degree or another, of how much money and (more importantly) time he consistently puts into trying to stay in touch with the latest releases in numerous musical genres. Music for Spencer is a passion; yet, also, it is entirely a hobby (a private, personal interest and pastime) rather than a business; thus, his enthusiasm for new music seldom wanes, and he seldom become jaded by any excessive exposure to his favorites in older music. These facts enable Spencer, not only to become aware of certain of the more obscure titles (and artists) relatively early on, but also to recommend, with eager sincerity, those newer CDs (from across the whole spectrum of new and established artists) which will, in all likelihood, go on to become widely popular and broadly accepted as milestones in popular music. Additionally, these factors allow him to maintain his higher levels of appreciation for the numerous "classic" titles which are periodically being remastered and rereleased to the public.

Unfortunately, this phenomenon of Spencer's friends and associates avidly (and frequently) seeking out his advice on the best in "new" music, does not generally extend to the world of motion pictures as well. Why is this the case? Because Spencer is inclined to believe that any given person needs to watch only a relatively short list of films in order to see the very best that Hollywood has ever had to offer, and that watching too many movies beyond those on his short list of "The 25 Greatest Films" simply detracts from the experience of movie-watching, and dilutes the power of the art itself. As a service to those who have not yet had the opportunity to hear Spencer's short list from him directly, the list is included here below. Enjoy! But remember: if you ask Spencer for updates to this list at a future date, it is highly unlikely that the list will have changed at all; and, furthermore, you had better have an extremely good explanation for not having watched every one of these 25 films several times (if, in fact, you have not yet done so by that particular "future date")!

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
Desk Set (1957)
Summertime (1955)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Pat and Mike (1952)
The African Queen (1951)
Father of the Bride (1950)
Adam's Rib (1949)
State of the Union (1948)
The Sea of Grass (1947)
Without Love (1945)
The Seventh Cross (1944)
Woman of the Year (1942)
Tortilla Flat (1942)
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Holiday (1938)
Boys Town (1938)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Libeled Lady (1936)
Fury (1936)

--Spencer