The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen

The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen
Ecw Press | ISBN:1550225901 | Edition 2003-09 | PDF | 275 pages | 14.21 MB

It is almost impossible to gauge how people are going to react to things
you say. An innocent little remark can trigger a whole cascade of events.
Such was the case a few years ago when I introduced a segment on Reel
to Real's favorite martial arts movies with, "I have to admit, martial arts
films are a guilty pleasure of mine."


I recall the shoot day. It was a steamy hot August afternoon. We were
shooting outside and I was cooking inside my suit. We banged off the
intro in one take, and I didn't think about it again. Well, not until I
received the most aggressively angry letter I have ever gotten — possibly
one of the most hateful, profanity-laced pieces of mail to ever make
its way into my, or anybody else's, inbox. Everyone in the public eye has
gotten them. Usually the subject line reads something like "What were
you thinking?" or occasionally the blunt "You are wrong."
This one was different. I knew I was in trouble when I read the subject
line: RICHARD is A SNOB. Clearly, subtlety was not this writer's
strong point. What her letter lacked in sophistication, it made up in vitriol.
Here's the breakdown: After spending a paragraph or so calling me
some not-so-nice names and questioning my ability to review movies,
she got to the point. She was offended by my use of the term "guilty
pleasure." "What? Can't he just say he enjoys martial arts films? Why do
they have to be a 'guilty pleasure'? I really don't think he would say
something like 'I have to admit, those Fellini films are a guilty pleasure
of mine.'"
The unladylike dispatch went on to describe me as pretentious and
several other things that aren't fit to print here, before insisting that I
respond. I did reply, although I'm not sure she received the kind of
answer she was looking for. Her letter was clearly designed to offend
and upset; instead, I have to admit I found it rather funny. I was frankly
IX
Introduction
"YOU'VE GOT HATE MAIL"
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tickled that something I had said on television could elicit such venomous
feedback. As Frank Zappa said, "It doesn't matter what kind of
reaction you get, as long as you get a reaction." In my response I thanked
her for the letter and explained that I enjoy a wide variety of movies,
not just Fellini. I like Fellini; I think 81/2 is a great film, almost as good
as another favorite of mine, The Poseidon Adventure. You see, I
explained, I have to see between 300 and 325 movies a year for my job,
and when I sit down to view something that I am not professionally
obligated to watch I consider that a treat — a guilty pleasure. I listed a
few of the movies that I always turn to in my off hours — The Bad and
the Beautiful, Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, and Here Comes Mr.
Jordan — explaining why I liked each of them. I decided not to attack
her in any way, but to kill her with kindness.
I'm not sure what effect my e-mail had on her, as I never heard from
her again. I do, however, owe her a debt of gratitude. Her nasty letter got
me thinking about all the movies that I love — my guilty pleasures —
which led directly to the writing of this book. There were only two criteria
for the movies included in this book — they had to be underrated
and they had to be personal favorites of mine. These aren't really
obscure movies — most are available on DVD or video, although you
might need a police dog to find some of them — they are just films you
might have missed the first time around. If she hadn't written that letter,
I wouldn't have written this book. So it is to her, the pissed-off
viewer, that I dedicate this book.

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