Pass the Salt and Press Play

This new blog of mine is entitled "Salty Cinema - Confessions of a Guy-Movie Junkie," in case you hadn't deduced that from the title.

So what do I mean by "salty?"

No, I don't mean I need salt for the popcorn.  Although if you have any, I'd appreciate that, too.

I remember hearing the expression a lot more when I was a kid, usually from my dad and a couple of uncles. Usually it was describing a man who was noteworthy for his reliability, toughness, and overall manly bearing.  Sometimes it was referring to a fictional character, but just as often, it was used to describe someone they knew.  Someone who could be counted on to face any obstacle or crisis with resolve rather than desperation.  A person who you could count on, fair or foul.  Who you just knew would do the right thing, whether the right thing was walking away from a fight, or meeting violence with violence.

The right thing?  Let's amend that.  Because some of the most salty characters in cinema just happen to be the villains.  So we'll say that, in their case, they can be counted on to be resolutely true to their own value systems.

So when I refer to "Salty Cinema," I'm talking about a movie in which you can find one or more examples of panache over panic, resolve over indecision, bravery over cowardice, and steadfastness over capitulation.

Sometimes it's a situation faced by a group.  Sometimes it's the actions of one individual going against popular thought.  It may involve physical, mental, or emotional conflict.  But there will be some type of conflict that will reveal who is either "worth their salt," or "below their salt."  

Over the next several weeks, I'll be discussing the saltiness of some of my favorite movies.  Most of them are on the more serious side, although there are a few comedies that sauntered their way onto the list.



Before I get to the movie part, I want to clarify that MOST of the time, the person in question was a man.  But pretty much anyone that knew her would all agree that the saltiest individual they'd ever known was my dad's mother.  "Mama Andrews" was definitely a salty lady.  But she's worthy of a whole different blog, so, moving on....

In no particular order, here is a list of movies I've chosen to discuss.  There is, to me, an element to each of these that make them worth their salt.

The Battle of Britain 

"Never in the field of human conflict have so many owed
so much to so few." - Winston Churchill

You Only Live Twice

James Bond, ninjas, and Little Nellie

Battleground

"Nuts"

The Last of the Mohicans

Even without Chingachcook, this would have been an awesome movie.  With him, well, just dang.

The Sting

Being well dressed never looked so cool.

True Grit - both of them.  

"You think four on one is a dog-fall?"

Because everybody needs a two-fer now and then.

"I always move backwards when I'm backin' up."

Zulu

"Nobody told you to stop working!  Get sweatin'."

Aliens

It's more than a bug hunt.

Jaws

How I learned the story of the USS Indianapolis

Tombstone

If you can't reel off at least two or three lines from
this movie, you just haven't been paying attention.

The Last Starfighter

Now you know why you spent so
much time playing video games.

Payback

"Man, that is mean!  That's just mean!"

The Great Escape

I don't even know where to start with this one.

The Big Country

"I knew exactly where I was, all the time."

Shane

I'll never look at a tree stump, or an ax handle
without thinking of this movie.

Get Shorty

It's Elmore Leonard's dialog, man!  C'mon!

Braveheart

Makes me want to paint my face blue.
"What kind of meeting?"
"The secret kind."

Rob Roy

"Honor is a gift a man gives to himself."
Another chance to channel your inner highlander.

The Hunt for Red October

You'll root for the Russian, even if he
does sound Scottish.

We Were Soldiers

"That's a good day, Sergeant Savage."

El Dorado

Back spasms, knives, sawed off shotguns,
hangover cures, and Edgar Allen Poe

The Pride of the Yankees

Made me a baseball fan

The African Queen

"Africa?  Africa?"

The Sheepman

Leslie Nielsen as the bad guy.

In the Line of Fire

"I know things about pigeons."

Outland

To call this "High Noon" in space doesn't
quite cover it.  

The Enemy Below

Battle of wits between the officers and men of an American
destroyer and a German U-boat.
"We build them good in Germany, eh, Heinie?"

Das Boot (The Boat)

I'm so glad I didn't see this
in "smell-o-vision."

Shaun of the Dead

"Dogs can look up."

The Longest Day

"He's dead.  I'm wounded, and you're lost."

Second Hand Lions

Robert Duvall always delivers!

Midway

Great account of the battle that was the
turning point in the Pacific Theatre
in World War II.

Galaxy Quest

If the original broadcasts of "Star Trek"
fell into the right hands (or tentacles).

The Quiet Man

Where's YOUR breaking point?
Also, Maureen O'Hara!

Signs

"Swing away."

The Magnificent Seven

Bum bum bumbum.  Bumbumbum bumbum bum.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

"HOLD FAST"

Serenity

"This is an honorable death."

Got any "guy-movies" on your personal list that you don't see here?  Leave a comment for me.  Maybe I'll add it to the list.

After we get through the movies, then we'll discuss specific characters from movies that didn't make the list.