.....some IDEAL DOUBLE FEATURES!

[Wallingford]

Here's a new game: see what two pictures you can name to comprise an "ideal double feature": features that share a common plot, to compare side by side to see which one's the "definitve" one--especially, films made and released at the same time.

I'll start with these pairs:
Empire Of The Sun and Hope And Glory: Two movies, both released at the tail end of 1987 (in hopes of an Oscar bid), and both dealing with a young English boy's experiences in WWII. Spielberg did the former, John Boorman the latter. It's highly recommended to see Spielberg's film first, for a look into how elaborate and flamboyant technique can render a subject shallow, then turn (as I did when seeing these two back to back in early '88) to Boorman's autobiographical effort (for which he was co-writer) for a more believable, down-to-earth view that's not without its moments of fine comedy. (Oh yeah--John Williams' score, in the Spielberg pic, verges here on self-caricature.)

Yours, Mine & Ours and With Six You Get Eggroll: Again, probably concurrently made (certainly, released), they're both 1968 releases and represent cinema's attempt to hop on the TV sitcom bandwagon and pretend that divorce and the sexual revolution never was a factor in the modern-day world of marital breakups. That's right, widow with big brood ties knot with widower with big brood. I actually find these both bright and inventive little comedies--especialy Egroll, which bears the distinction of being the first non-animated feature I saw in a theatre without falling asleep! (....or was that The Happiest Millionaire??) Anyway, Eggroll stars Doris Day and Brian Keith, Yours... stars Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda.

[stenka razin]

'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Lion of the Desert'...........one great, one not so great..........

[Chalkperson]

Kill Bill 1 and Kill Bill 2...

[HoustonDavid]

Mel Brooks has made the satire of multiple genres of movies his specialty. My favorite of many greats
is probably "Young Frankenstein" which should ideally be paired with "Frankenstein" (the original) or
the much superior "Bride of Frankenstein". All three movies (believe it or not) used the same sets,
which is probably the only such occurence in film history. My goal for this site is to post all of Brooks
satirical films and their matching "serious" films. There are several and anyone can feel free to add to
this treasure of comedic film making.

[HoustonDavid]

Another great pairing of satirist Mel Brooks and a classic original would have to include "Vertigo" by
the great Alfred Hitchcock (possibly his best) and "High Anxiety" which expertly parodies the plot and
the vertigo of the lead character played by Jimmy Stewart in the original and by Mel Brooks himself
in "High Anxiety".

[jserraglio]

Fascinating topic:
_______________________

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button v. Forrest Gump - "My Mama always said you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on." Screenplays by Erik Roth.
I was transfixed by Button but have never been able to get thru Gump, I need to try again.

Mystic River v. Gone Baby Gone - Exorcizing a lost child.
Mystic River's Tim Robbins probes deeper and disturbs me more than Casey Affleck, good as he is in this movie. The Boston settings add a lot to both movies.

Little Miss Sunshine v. Slumdog Millionaire - Kids caught up in crazy adult-themed competitions.
Much as I like Slumdog, I give the nod to Sunshine as the truer film.

Gran Torino v. Crash - Rampant bigotry.
Torino tells a better story (I like the "make my day" allusion in the final scene) but Crash captures a particular brand of contemporary insanity. Detroit v. LA provides an interesting contrast in look & style.

V for Vendetta v. Children of Men - All aboard the ship Tomorrow.
No contest here - V's message of vigilanteeism can't stand up to Children's of nonviolence, curiously in one of the most violent movies I've ever seen.

The Big Lebowski v. No Country for Old Men - Peregrinations of a suitcase.
Just kidding. Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) and Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) are two of the Coens' most memorable heavies.

Charlie Varrick and No Country for Old Men do pair up and come to very different conclusions about defeating evil.

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas v. Inglourious Basterds - The misspelled meets the misbegotten.
Seriously, I was fascinated by the way both films applied fantasy to the touchy subject of the Holocaust.

[HoustonDavid]

Thanks for the great post and thoughtful pairings of some excellent films, serraglio. You obviously
have an interest in a variety of films. Getting back to my thoughts on Mel Brooks as a satirist of
multiple film genres, you have to laugh at the many stereotypes of Western characters in his hilarious
"Blazing Saddles". It can and should be paired with almost any serious Western ever made, and there
certainly are a great many wonderful but serious Westerns, but a serious lack of memorable comedic ones.

He also plays the "race card" like no one else, at least so far. It is probably more important to the content
of "Blazing Saddles" than its parody of Western movies in general. I can't think of a single film that uses
every race-baiting word in the English language in such a hilarious way and gets away with it because it
is making us laugh instead of cringe or rise up in outraged anger. Off the subject, who can forget the
beans-for-supper episode and the "smelly" outcome. "Blazing Saddles" ranks with Mel's very best comedic
efforts and I take off my 10-gallon hat (if I had one) to a wonderful film.

[DavidRoss]

"Blazing Saddles" ranks with Mel's very best comedic efforts and I take off my 10-gallon hat (if I had one) to a wonderful film.

Something on which we agree whole-heartedly.

Speaking of Westerns, a pairing that comes quickly to mind is John Sturges's The Magnificent Seven and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Yojimbo and Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars might be fun, but Throne of Blood and Polanski's MacBeth would probably put me to sleep.

Another obvious pairing in keeping with the OP's premise: Fellini's 8½ with Woody Allen's Stardust Memories. I've seen the former at least four times. The latter only once. Allen's opening is a wonderful homage, but the film failed overall for me, especially following the near-perfect Manhattan--but Gordon Willis's stunning B&W cinematography was easily worth the price of admission. Another Allen pairing would be Interiors with something like Bergman's Cries and Whispers. The former features more of Willis's marvelous work; the latter, Sven Nyqvist.

Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game ought be paired with Robert Altman's Gosford Park.

How about John Sayles's The Brother from Another Planet with Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth?

This could become addictive. Better stop while I still can.

[Madame]

"Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) and "Airport '77"

[jbuck919]

"Omega Man" and "Alpha Dog."

[HoustonDavid]

Another natural Mel Brooks pairing are his two versions of "The Producers", one comedic/musical
and the other musical/comedic. Loved the one, didn't like the other. I'll leave you to judge which
is which. Film buffs will know without guessing.

[Barry]

The Ten Commandments

and

The Egyptian

[Chalkperson]

The Blind Side and Precious, both good movies, check em out...

[jserraglio]

Another natural Mel Brooks pairing are his two versions of "The Producers", one comedic/musical
and the other musical/comedic. Loved the one, didn't like the other. I'll leave you to judge which
is which. Film buffs will know without guessing.

Yes, great coupling.

I bought both on DVD to see as a "double feature." I saw the original when it first came out in the theaters and loved it. I doubt the musical comedy version will measure up but intend to see it soon.

BTW, I showed Blazing Saddles to students (male, ages 16-18), thinking I had a sure hit, but their reaction was "YAWN . . . the humor is so sixties." Crash they loved, however. So too with Monty Python & the Holy Grail: "Only fifth graders would laugh at this asinine flick."

[Barry]

Since Mel Brooks has been mentioned, I'll go with Woody Allen.

It would be easy to pick Annie Hall and Manhattan as a great double bill, but my picks are Bananas and Crimes and Misdemeanors.

I'm picking these two because I believe the former is the best of Allen from his early, zany comedy period, while the latter is his most brilliant effort from his later period, where he moved beyond pure comedy. While both films are brilliant in their own ways, the growth from one to the other is remarkable as well.

[MarkC]

....."Blazing Saddles"......uses every race-baiting word in the English language in such a hilarious way and gets away with it because it is making us laugh instead of cringe or rise up in outraged anger.....

For better and worse, I don't think he would have gotten away with it now.

Nevertheless........ .......in real life I often use variations of "The sheriff is a-near!"

[MarkC]

How about any prime-period Marx Brothers flick -- lets say A Night at the Opera -- and a collection of 3 Stooges shorts.
(Not a feature-length 3 Stooges flick, because you need Curly.)

Curly is often underrated. He was a 1-of-a-kind comic genius.

[MarkC]

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.......and Beavis & Butt-head Do America.

[HoustonDavid]

The immortal "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn - unmatched in so many other Robin Hoodesque films -
should be paired with the comedic Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood - Men in Tights" which takes on all the
Robin Hood adaptations and makes you want to squirm while you're laughing at the insane antics.

[HoustonDavid]

To me, the most obvious pairing of the many Marx Brothers classics is "Night at the Opera" and "Day
at the Races". They were born to be wedded in Double Feature bliss just based upon the titles alone.

[MarkC]

To me, the most obvious pairing of the many Marx Brothers classics is "Night at the Opera" and "Day
at the Races". They were born to be wedded in Double Feature bliss just based upon the titles alone.

.....and (no surprise!) they often were paired.

[jbuck919]

To me, the most obvious pairing of the many Marx Brothers classics is "Night at the Opera" and "Day
at the Races". They were born to be wedded in Double Feature bliss just based upon the titles alone.

.....and (no surprise!) they often were paired.

Might be fun to watch them with scenes interchanged (e.g. the "love duet" from Opera and "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" from Racist, er, Races).

[MarkC]

.....Might be fun to watch them with scenes interchanged (e.g. the "love duet" from Opera and "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" from Racist, er, Races).

.....or the "contract" scene from Opera, where Groucho swindles Chico, with the "Tutsi-Frutsi" scene from Races, where Chico swindles Groucho. Both hiliarious.

(Yes, that scene at the end of Races is arguably......uh......that other thing. As you probably know, it is sometimes deleted from showings.)

[jserraglio]

Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket v. Stone's Platoon.
--"This is not 'Nam. There are rules."--Walter Sobchak

also a triple feature:
Miracle, Hoosiers, Remember the Titans