Happy 100th Birthday Marilyn Monroe

by John CharetJune 1, 2026

A polite reminder before reading this blog entry of mine 🙂 I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards my subject of this post. This blog entry is strictly for dyed-in-the-wool Marilyn Monroe fans like myself or fans in general. So once again, please be kind 🙂

This Happy Birthday blog entry is dedicated to Classical Hollywood era icon Marilyn Monroe, who would have been 100 years-old today on June 1. In other words, I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Marilyn Monroe. Considering that her tragic life has been dwelled upon endlessly, misunderstood by men and women alike (well-intentioned or otherwise), not to mention exploited, I am dedicating this entry solely to Marilyn Monroe’s achievements onscreen. For myself, Marilyn Monroe is truly the embodiment of a goddess. In other words, Monroe is an iconic sex symbol, who succeeds brilliantly at both comedy and drama. When it came to the former, Marilyn Monroe took the stereotypical dumb blonde (a term I hate) persona of her characters and deconstructed it. For example, click here to see what I mean. To put it in other words, it is us viewers, who come off as the bumbling idiots for thinking that she was one 🙂 I could link to many others, but for me, no other comedy of Monroe’s demonstrates her deconstruction of the aforementioned trope given to her more perfectly than in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. As for the latter, Monroe displayed her dramatic chops masterfully in quite a few films. Once again, I could ramble on and on, but If I had to single out my number one favorite in terms of drama, it would be her performance as Cherie in Bus Stop. Check out Monroe’s bus conversation scene by clicking here and her rendition of That Old Black Magic by clicking here. Speaking of which, my number one favorite Monroe rendition also happens to be her most iconic – Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. The number features Monroe wearing a shocking pink dress (designed by William Travilla) singing about her love of diamonds surrounded by adoring men dressed in suits and bow ties (and much more). Click here to watch the link – the number begins at the 0:50 mark. Cover versions post-1953 range from Lena Horne to Megan Thee Stallion (read here). In addition, entertainers ranging from singer Madonna to actress Margot Robbie (read here) have not only paid homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes aforementioned musical number, but also wore pink dresses similar to the one Monroe was dressed in while performing it.

Before I share with you dear readers all of my favorite Marilyn Monroe films, I would like to show you all some links below.

Here is a link to an appreciation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by one of my many favorite female writers, which in this case is the Chicago-based film aficionado Caroline Siede

Here is a youtube video link to another iconic number from the film entitled Two Little Girls from Little Rock

My UK readers may have seen the above musical number parodied by British comediennes Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders on the long running sketch comedy series French and Saunders – click here

Here is a youtube video link to legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve and her late older sister Francoise Dorleac performing the song Chanson d’un jour d’ete (Summer Day Song) in Jacques Demy’s 1967 musical masterpiece The Young Girls of Rochefort. In the film, the two actresses play twins. The musical number and the dresses worn by the two leading ladies are subtly similar (If not completely) to how Two Little Girls from Little Rock was performed. Click here to view the dubbed in English version.

Here is a youtube video link to musician Madonna’s 1985 Material Girl music video, which references the Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend musical number

Here is a youtube video link to musician Kylie Minogue’s homage to the Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend musical number from the 1999 Grand Opening of Fox Studios in Australia

Here is a youtube video link to actress Nicole Kidman’s version of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend in the 2001 musical romance Moulin Rouge

The 2010’s American television series Glee also paid homage to Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (and briefly Material Girl) in an episode. Click here to watch

American comedienne Rachel Bloom loosely parodied the visual style of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (only replace anything colored red and pink with blue) in an episode of the satirical 2010’s CW television program Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – click here and here to see it

Here is a youtube video link to American broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow’s 1955 Person to Person interview with Marilyn Monroe

Here is a youtube video link to American television personality Dave Garroway’s 1955 audio interview with Marilyn Monroe

Here is a youtube video link to a brief 1960 audio interview with Marilyn Monroe. I do not know who is conducting it though

Also, for more Marilyn Monroe fandom, click on these two youtube channel links here and here. The first channel is titled Marilyn Monroe Video Archives and the second is called The Marilyn Monroe Channel

One more thing, I do not know If any of my readers subscribe to the Criterion Channel streaming service, but If any of you do, last year in June of 2023, the streaming service featured most of Marilyn Monroe’s films – click here to view the trailer

Click here to view a youtube video link of actor Ryan Gosling singing the Oscar nominated song from 2023’s Barbie entitled I’m Just Ken from the Academy Awards back in March of 2024. The style of the performance is sort of similar to Marilyn Monroe’s Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Click here to view a youtube video link to an upcoming event celebrating Marilyn Monroe’s 100th Birthday. I echo noted Marilyn Monroe impersonator Susie Kennedy when she states that this is a beautiful tribute to her. The video features numerous celebrities honoring Monroe’s legacy. I just love seeing so many people celebrate this icon

Click here to view this beautiful commercial from TCM celebrating Marilyn Monroe’s 100 Birthday by having her as part of the network’s Star of the Month series. Each Monday, the network will run some of her films

Click here to view a blog entry I did back in January of 2025 on one of the most popular Marilyn Monroe impersonators Suzie Kennedy 🙂

Click here to view a link to a link to a beautiful 2024 book by photojournalist Eve Arnold entitled Marilyn Monroe: By Eve Arnold

Click here to view a link to Sarah Churchwell’s brilliant 2004 book entitled The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe

Oh and one more thing. I will not tolerate any criticism of number 9 below. Any negative comments will be deleted. So once again, please be kind 🙂 Now without further ado, below is a list of my favorite Marilyn Monroe films 🙂 All of them I gave * * * * (out of * * * *) stars to 🙂

Ladies of the Chorus (1948) (Dir: Phil Karlson) There is no original theatrical trailer to the film, but one could watch the film on youtube
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) (Dir: John Huston) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
All About Eve (1950) (Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Clash by Night (1952) (Dir: Fritz Lang) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) (Dir: Roy Ward Baker) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Monkey Business (1952) (Dir: Howard Hawks) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
O. Henry’s Full House (1952) (Dir: Harry Koster)
(Segment: The Cop and the Anthem) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Niagara (1953) (Dir: Henry Hathaway) Click here to view a colorized version of the film’s original theatrical trailer
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) (Dir: Howard Hawks) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) (Dir: Jean Negulesco) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
River of No Return (1954) (Dir: Otto Preminger) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) (Dir: Walter Lang) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Seven Year Itch (1955) (Dir: Billy Wilder) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Bus Stop (1956) (Dir: Joshua Logan) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) (Dir: Laurence Olivier) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Some Like It Hot (1959) (Dir: Billy Wilder) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Let’s Make Love (1960) (Dir: George Cukor) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Misfits (1961) (Dir: John Huston) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Let me conclude this blog entry with three questions below for all of my dear readers

What were your favorite article links in this blog entry?

What are your favorite video links in this blog entry? Which ones did you all find the most fascinating?

Besides Some Like It Hot, what are your other favorite Marilyn Monroe films?

John Charet’s Top 10 Favorite Westerns of All Time

by John CharetMay 27, 2026May 27, 2026

-A Few Words Before Reading-

I will not tolerate any insulting and threatening comments. So once again, please be polite 🙂

-Introduction-

This blog entry regarding my top 10 favorite westerns of all-time was long in the making, but I finally got it done 🙂 I am very proud of it as westerns are another one of my many favorite genres of all time 🙂 My first ten choices are not my only favorite westerns, they just happen to be my top 10. If this list could go up to 100, you could expect to see multiple entries by not only some films from the directors I chose, but also entries from Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Leone. Leaving them off this list was a very tough decision. Anyway, I would like to dedicate this blog entry to all of my dear readers, but especially jcalberta (My Favorite Westerns), Colin McGuigan (RIDING THE HIGH COUNTRY), Bill White (Decay and Decline), Paul S (Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies), Steve (click here to view his Youtube channel) and Pam (All Things Thriller) as they have talked frequently about the genre. If you feel that I am being unfair, let me know and I will explicitly add your name to my dedication 🙂 Now without further ado, I would love to present to you dear readers:

-My Top 10 Favorite Westerns of All-Time-

10.) The Big Sky (1952)
Dir: Howard Hawks
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
When it comes to masterful westerns directed by Howard Hawks, I always single out 1959’s Rio Bravo and this one, which is 1952’s The Big Sky as his twin achievements given that they were both initially released during the 1950’s. Based on A.B. Guthrie’s 1947 novel of the same name, The Big Sky centers on a group of trappers journeying through the wilderness to make a trade with the Blackfeet Native American tribe. Along with Rio Bravo (or any other Hawks film for that matter), The Big Sky emphasizes camaraderie among it’s characters. Like Red River before it, Russell Harland’s black and white cinematography gives The Big Sky a touch of poetry akin to a John Ford western. For me, as a Howard Hawks western, The Big Sky represents the best of both worlds.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch Ben Mankiewicz’s 2015 TCM intro and click here to watch his outro for the film

09.) Forty Guns (1957)
Dir: Samuel Fuller
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Hard-boiled director/writer Samuel Fuller has dabbled in the western genre quite a few times in his career. During the 1950’s, Fuller gave us not one, but two great westerns released in the same year. In the case of Run of the Arrow and Forty Guns, that would be 1957. Out of the two films, Forty Guns stands out as my personal favorite of Fuller’s westerns. Shot in CinemaScope, Fuller takes the aforementioned widescreen format of this black-and-white western and uses it to create a stylized mise-en-scene. Set in the 1880’s, the plot centers on the battle between tough-as-nails landowner Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck) and a team of U.S. Marshalls headed by former gunslinger Griff Bonnell (Barry Sullivan). Replete with double entendres, Forty Guns is as much a Women’s empowerment western as it is a melodramatic romance and tragedy.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch Ben Mankiewicz 2025 TCM intro as part of The Defining Frontier series

Click here to watch celebrated American filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s 2024 TCM intro to it as part of the network’s Two for One series

08.) Canyon Passage (1946)
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Country: United States
Color: Color
Perhaps the highest compliment I can give to Canyon Passage is that it may be the most fascinating western to come from the Classical Hollywood era. Adapted from a 1945 Saturday Evening Post novelette written by Ernest Pascal and Ernest Haycox, Canyon Passage is a picturesque western emphasizing a nuanced depiction of the American frontier. Famed for his Val Lewton productions (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Leopard Man), director Jacques Tourneur took the expressive touches he mastered with those aforementioned horror films and similarly applied it to his westerns. Here, the moral ambiguities of it’s characters stand in contrast to the film’s idyllic scenery courtesy of Edward Cronjager’s gorgeous Technicolor cinematography. In other words, Canyon Passage blends elements belonging to the western with that of film noir. The result is a forerunner to the dark psychological westerns (think those of Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher among others) that would come to characterize the genre during the following decade of the 1950’s.

Click here to watch a black-and-white trailer for the film. I am not sure why the trailer is in black-and-white and the finished film was shot in color though.

Click here to watch Jacques Tourneur scholar Chris Fujiwara talking about the film

Click here to watch a Sag Harbor Q&A with Bob Rudin on the film

07.) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Dir: John Ford
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Along with Sam Peckinpah’s Ride the High Country from that same year (and released only a few months later), esteemed director John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance serves as an elegy for the Classical Hollywood western. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the central theme is the fall of the Old West and the rise of modern civilization. At the same time, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance works tremendously as a timeless political drama. This is evident by the film’s most memorable line of when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. Metaphorically, Ford utilizes the film’s scathing treatment of journalism (as well as the aforementioned quote) to hold himself culpable for his part (big or small) in popularizing the myths that have shaped the western genre from the very beginning. Perhaps the most significant aspect of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance lies in it’s overall cynical tone. If anything else, it foreshadows the American revisionist westerns that would come to revive the genre by the end of the 1960’s.

Click here to watch the film’s original trailer

Click here to watch Robert Osborne’s 2014 TCM intro and here for his outro to the film

Click here to watch Ben Mankiewicz 2025 TCM intro to the film as part of the network’s The Defining Frontier series

06.) Ride Lonesome (1959)
Dir: Budd Boetticher
Country: United States
Color: Color
Like Anthony Mann, Budd Boetticher was another director who transcended the western during the 1950’s. Along with Mann, Boetticher achieved this by emphasizing the more psychological aspects of the drama, which is inevitably complemented by a nuanced depiction of it’s heroes and villains. Unlike Mann’s collaborations with lead actor James Stewart, Boetticher’s collaborative efforts with Randolph Scott were B-westerns. Five of them were produced by Ranown Productions, which consisted of the first three letters in Scott’s first name and the last three in the last name of it’s executive producer/producer Harry Joe Brown. For this viewer, it is Ride Lonesome that stands as my personal favorite of the Ranown cycle. This was also Boetticher’s first film to be shot in Cinemascope. Similarly, Boetticher makes excellent use of the widescreen format via the relationship between it’s morally ambiguous characters and the environment surrounding them. The climactic sequence features quite possibly the most iconic image ever depicted in a B-Western.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch celebrated American filmmaker and cinephile Martin Scorsese’s commentary on the film

Click here to watch Robert Osborne’s 2015 TCM intro and here for his outro to the film as part of the network’s 50’s Westerns series

Click here to watch Ben Mankiewicz 2025 TCM intro to the film as part of the network’s The Defining Frontier series.

05.) The Shooting (1966)
Dir: Monte Hellman
Country: United States
Color: Color
Produced during the counterculture era, The Shooting is often cited as the very first Acid Western. As the (more or less) straightforward revenge plot progresses, The Shooting suddenly turns into something dreamlike and existential. Conceptually, one way of looking at it is as a western helmed by Michelangelo Antonioni. The film’s low-budget production values coincide perfectly with the film’s sparseness as well as overall tone. As much as I love Ride in the Whirlwind (also directed by Monte Hellman and shot back-to-back with this one), The Shooting is still my favorite of the two and for my money, the number one greatest western of the 1960’s.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch actor Keith Carradine’s 2016 TCM intro to the film as part of the network’s Great Westerns series

Click here to watch Ben Mankiewicz TCM intro to the film as part of the network’s Roger Corman theme

Click here to watch British filmmaker John Boorman’s 1987 BBC Film Club intro to the film

04.) Johnny Guitar (1954)
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Country: United States
Color: Color
Championed in its time by the French critics of Cahiers du Cinema, Johnny Guitar serves as a perfect demonstration as to why (in the immortal words of Jean-Luc Godard) the cinema is Nicholas Ray. As with a lot of Ray’s work, Johnny Guitar is a film where theatricality shapes form and content. In the case of Johnny Guitar, we get a gender bending western where the males take a backseat to the females, who inhabit the genre’s archetypes. The anti-heroine is represented by Joan Crawford’s two-fisted Saloon owner Vienna, while Mercedes McCambridge’s Emma Small represents the villainess. Sterling Hayden plays Vienna’s love interest; a former gunslinger who now plays the guitar, hence the title character. This is far from the only area where Ray subverts our expectations though. Unlike other westerns of its day, Johnny Guitar is stylized in every single way imaginable. From Ray’s trademark staging to bold use of color (here courtesy of Trucolor) to intentional overheated melodrama and finally, to social comment, Johnny Guitar emerges as the quintessential anti-western. Last, but not least, French New Wave director Francois Truffaut said it best when he hailed Johnny Guitar as the Beauty and the Beast of Westerns.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch celebrated American filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s intro to the film

Click here to watch Robert Osborne’s 2013 TCM intro and here for his outro to the film

03.) Dead Man (1995)
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
When it comes to Acid Westerns, former Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum cited the absurdist and hallucinatory Dead Man as a much-delayed fulfillment. I could not have stated what he said any more eloquently. If Monte Hellman’s The Shooting served as the breakthrough Acid Western, then director Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man serves as the culmination of the aforementioned subgenre. The film’s existential drama and deadpan humor coincide perfectly with its depiction of an industrial American West as a wasteland and Robby Mueller’s black-and-white cinematography is as poetic as Neil Young’s inspired guitar score. For me, Dead Man is not only the number one greatest western of the 1990’s, but it also ranks as one of my top 10 favorite films of that decade.

Click here, here, here and here to watch a few of the film’s original theatrical trailers

Click here to listen to famed singer Neil Young’s poetic guitar score

02.) Track of the Cat (1954)
Dir: William A. Wellman
Country: United States
Color: Color
Along with Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar from that same year, William A. Wellman’s Track of the Cat may be the most unconventional American western produced by Hollywood during the 1950’s. The first half is rooted in director William A. Wellman’s vision for Track of the Cat, which in his own words resembles a black-and-white film in color and one amplified by CinemaScope. Quite fitting considering that the stylized Track of the Cat is a winter western. This is evident in the film’s atmospheric and expressive snowy mountain scenery and interiors. The other half stems from its brooding psychological drama centering on a dysfunctional family stuck inside their home during a blizzard. In addition, the film’s unseen title panther symbolizes the family’s deeply troubled state. Combined together, Track of the Cat emerges as the quintessential experimental Classical Hollywood era western. On the surface, Track of the Cat may be an official Hollywood western, but in the center, it operates more as a European art house film.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch Robert Osborne’s 1995 intro to the film

01.) The Naked Spur (1953)
Dir: Anthony Mann
Country: United States
Color: Color
By the dawn of the 1950’s, leading man James Stewart largely ditched his onscreen nice guy image by embracing his darker side in many films throughout that decade. Five of these were psychological westerns directed by Anthony Mann, which includes Winchester ’73, Bend of the River, The Far Country, The Man from Laramie and this one from 1953 entitled The Naked Spur. Out of those five masterful westerns, The Naked Spur stands out as both my number one favorite Mann film and western of all time. Every Mann western trademark that Winchester ’73 and Bend of the River respectfully introduced, cemented and expanded on is perfected in The Naked Spur. This one is quite possibly the purest expression of Mann’s signature depiction of the metaphorical relationship between the characters and the environment surrounding them. Aside from a Blackfoot ambush sequence, The Naked Spur operates more as a chamber drama in that it only features five characters. Not unlike Mann’s other westerns, The Naked Spur’s landscape (a U.S. Rocky Mountain area in this case) becomes a spiritual character to not only James Stewart’s lead antihero, but the four other characters as well. Mann’s use of wide-open spaces fittingly captures their isolation and moral ambiguity. Simultaneously, for me, all of these aforementioned aspects are what makes The Naked Spur the number one greatest western ever made.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch Thomas Jane’s brilliant 2025 video essay on the film

Click here to watch Ben Mankiewicz 2014 TCM intro and here for his outro of the film as part of the network’s Summer Under the Stars series celebrating James Stewart

Click here to watch Robert Osborne’s 2014 TCM intro and here for his outro of the film as part of the network’s Star of the Month series celebrating Janet Leigh

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below:

What are your top 10 favorite westerns of all time?

What links (video or otherwise) interested you the most?

The 98th Annual Academy Awards — The Ceremony

by John CharetMarch 16, 2026

ON LAST NIGHT”S OSCAR CEREMONY

Out of my predictions for all 24 categories, at least 23 of the 24 were correct. I was wrong on my prediction for Best Original Song. I thought that Sinners would win, but instead it went to KPop Demon Hunters, which is an equally great film. The Master of Ceremonies (a.k.a. the host) Conan O’Brien was hilarious and I also loved the tributes to Rob Reiner and Robert Redford. The highlights for me were the winners of many of the categories.

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

I was so happy. Beyond happy to see One Battle After Another winning six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Supporting Actor (Sean Penn), Adapted Screenplay, Casting and Film Editing.

For myself, One Battle After Another stands out as Anderson’s magnum opus and he took home three Oscars – as co-producer, director and screenwriter. I also loved his acceptance speech.

SINNERS

I was also super joyous to see Sinners awarded 4 Oscars including Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Cinematography, Original Score and Original Screenplay.

Michael B. Jordan’s acceptance speech was inspirational as was that of the film’s director Ryan Coogler, who won the Best Original Screenplay prize.

Speaking of which, I was happy to see Chicago Blues legend Buddy Guy present at the award ceremony, who also appeared in the film as well.

Frankenstein

Along with One Battle After Another and Sinners, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein took home well-deserved Oscars as well. In the case of Frankenstein, it was awarded 3 Academy Awards. Guillermo del Toro’s film won for Best Costume Design, Makeup and Production Design. All of the acceptance speeches for those aforementioned awards were inspiring as well. Though I do wish that del Toro was nominated for Director.

WEAPONS

Another high point of last night’s ceremony was seeing fellow Illinoisan Amy Madigan take home a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the horror film Weapons.

Madigan’s acceptance speech was every bit as inspiring as the other aforementioned ones and for myself, I am very proud of the fact that she hails from Illinois.

Hamnet

The Irish Jesse Buckley won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actress for Hamnet and once again, she gave a very inspiring speech. One of my followers sweetly remarked that she gets to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a day earlier 🙂

In Closing

Warner Bros and Netflix must be more than very happy that a number of their films took home quite a considerable number of Oscars. What makes it doubly awesome is that the major studio films that won are truly original works of art. All in all, this was a great awards 🙂

For those interested, click here to read my predictions and picks post 🙂

The 98th Annual Academy Awards – John Charet’s Picks and Predictions

by John CharetMarch 13, 2026March 16, 2026

The Academy Awards will air this Sunday on television and in honor of the occasion, I have decided to list my predictions and picks below. I have seen half of the 2025 films nominated for Oscars.

BEST PICTURE

Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams

My Prediction: One Battle After Another
My Pick: One Battle After Another
Winner: One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR

Chloe Zhao — Hamnet
Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler — Sinners

My Prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
My Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Unfairly Overlooked: Guillermo del Toro — Frankenstein
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another

BEST ACTOR

Timothee Chalamet — Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

My Prediction: Timothee Chalamet — Marty Supreme or Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
My Pick: Timothee Chalamet — Marty Supreme or Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Winner: Michael B. Jordan — Sinners

BEST ACTRESS

Jesse Buckley — Hamnet
Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
Emma Stone — Bugonia

My Prediction: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet or Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
My Pick: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet or Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Unfairly Overlooked: Chase Infinity — One Battle After Another and Jennifer Lawrence — Die My Love
Winner: Jesse Buckley — Hamnet

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Benicio del Toro — One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo — Sinners
Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard — Sentimental Value

My Prediction: Benicio del Toro — One Battle After Another or Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
My Pick: Benicio del Toro — One Battle After Another or Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Winner: Sean Penn — One Battle After Another

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan — Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another

My Prediction: Amy Madigan — Weapons
My Pick: Amy Madigan — Weapons
Winner: Amy Madigan — Weapons

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi, Nader Saivar, Shadmehr Rastin and Mehdi Mahmoudian
Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value — Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Sinners — Ryan Coogler

My Prediction: Sinners — Ryan Coogler
My Pick: It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi, Nader Saivar, Shadmehr Rastin and Mehdi Mahmoudian or Sinners — Ryan Coogler
Winner: Sinners — Ryan Coogler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Bugonia — Will Tracy
Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet — Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
Winner: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A
Winner: KPop Demon Hunters

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

It Was Just an Accident (France)
The Secret Agent (Brazil)
Sentimental Value (Norway)
Sirat (Spain)
The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)

My Prediction: Sentimental Value (Norway)
My Pick: It Was Just an Accident (France)
Winner: Sentimental Value (Norway)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
Mr Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbor

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A
Winner: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

All the Empty Rooms
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
The Devil Is Busy
Perfectly a Strangeness

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A
Winner: All the Empty Rooms

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

Butcher’s Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A
Winner: Two People Exchanging Saliva

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Butterfly
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A
Winner: The Girl Who Cries Pearls

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet — Max Richter
One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood
Sinners — Ludwig Goransson

My Prediction: Sinners — Ludwig Goransson
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood or Sinners — Ludwig Goransson
Winner: Sinners — Ludwig Goransson

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Diane Warren: Relentless — Song: Dear Me. Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
KPop Demon Hunters — Song: Golden. Music and lyrics by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido and Teddy Park
Sinners — Song: I Lied to You. Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
Viva Verdi! — Song: Sweet Dreams of Joy. Music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike
Train Dreams — Song: Train Dreams. Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner. Lyrics by Nick Cave.

My Prediction: Sinners — Song: I Lied to You. Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Gorannson
My Pick: Sinners — Song: I Lied to You. Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Gorannson
Winner: KPop Demon Hunters — Song: Golden. Music and lyrics by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido and Teddy Park

BEST SOUND

F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirat

My Prediction: F1 or Sinners
My Pick: Any of the five.
Winner: F1

BEST CASTING

Hamnet — Nina Gold
Marty Supreme — Jennifer Venditti
One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis
The Secret Agent — Gabriel Domingues
Sinners — Francine Maisler

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis or Sinners — Francine Maisler
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis or Sinners — Francine Maisler
Winner: One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners

My Prediction: Frankenstein or Sinners
My Pick: Frankenstein or Sinners
Winner: Frankenstein

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Frankenstein — Dan Lausten
Marty Supreme — Darius Khondiji
One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman
Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman, Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw or Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso
My Pick: Any of the five.
Winner: Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw

BEST MAKEUP

Frankenstein
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister

My Prediction: Frankenstein or Sinners
My Pick: Frankenstein or Sinners
Winner: Frankenstein

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: Sinners
Winner: Frankenstein

BEST FILM EDITING

F1 — Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge Coutte
Sinners — Michael P. Shawver

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
Winner: One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners

My Prediction: Avatar: Fire and Ash
My Pick: Any of the five.
Winner: Avatar: Fire and Ash

I hope all of you dear readers enjoyed my predictions and picks 🙂

Happy 93rd Birthday Kim Novak

by John CharetFebruary 12, 2026February 12, 2026

A polite reminder before reading this blog entry of mine 🙂 I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards my subject of this post. This blog entry is strictly for dyed-in-the-wool Kim Novak fans like myself or fans in general. So once again, please be kind 🙂

Today, I would like to wish a very happy 93rd birthday to great Classical Hollywood era actress Kim Novak 🙂 She is also an accomplished painter and while I could go on with details, instead I will direct you all to two interesting links that are more in-depth. The first is a wikipedia entry (click here) and the second is an insightful article by former Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum (click here). If any of you are interested in viewing her paintings, click here to view them. As for myself, I shall celebrate by composing a list below of my favorite Kim Novak films (all * * * * out of * * * *) in chronological order.

Pushover (1954) (Dir: Richard Quine) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Phffft (1954) (Dir: Mark Robson) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
5 Against the House (1955) (Dir: Phil Karlson) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Picnic (1955) (Dir: Joshua Logan) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) (Dir: Otto Preminger) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) (Dir: George Sidney) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Jeanne Eagels (1957) (Dir: George Sidney) Since I can’s find a trailer, click here to view one of the film’s many impressive scenes
Pal Joey (1957) (Dir: George Sidney) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Vertigo (1958) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock) Click here, here and here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer, 1996 Restoration trailer and 60th Anniversary 4K Restoration trailer
Bell, Book and Candle (1958) (Dir: Richard Quine) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Strangers When We Meet (1960) (Dir: Richard Quine) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Notorious Landlady (1962) (Dir: Richard Quine) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Boys’ Night Out (1962) (Dir: Michael Gordon) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) (Dir: Billy Wilder) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) (Dir: Robert Aldrich) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view this insightful youtube video link to a 2020 CBS Sunday Morning profile on her

Click here to view another insightful youtube video link to late TCM (Turner Classic Movies) host Robert Osborne’s 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival interview with Kim Novak

Click here to view a youtube video link to a 1964 episode of the 1960’s NBC documentary series entitled Hollywood and the Stars: In Search of Kim Novak

Click here to read my Vertigo essay from last year

Let me conclude this post with a question for all of my dear readers below:

What were your favorite article links in this blog entry?

What were your favorite video links in this blog entry? Which ones did you all find the most fascinating?

What are your favorite Kim Novak films?

Happy 49th Birthday Suzie Kennedy

by John CharetJanuary 29, 2026

A polite reminder before reading this blog entry of mine 🙂 I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards my subject or any of her films in this post. This blog entry is strictly for dyed-in-the-wool Marilyn Monroe fans like myself or fans in general. Any negative comments will be deleted. So once again, please be kind 🙂

I would like to wish Marilyn Monroe impersonator Suzie Kennedy a very happy 48th birthday. As many of my dear readers are aware, I am a huge fan of Classical Hollywood era icon Marilyn Monroe (read here and here). In fact, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ranks as my 8th favorite American/English-Language film of all time (read here and here). Well, this blog entry is dedicated to who I consider to be one of the greatest Marilyn Monroe impersonators of all time. Her name is Suzie Kennedy. She may be more familiar to UK audiences then American ones because the English entertainer lives in the former, though she reportedly holds both British and American citizenship (read here). As a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, Kennedy captures her mannerisms to a t and also understands that the icon was more than just a sex symbol. For her and dyed-in-the-wool fans like myself, Monroe was also smart and compassionate. Not unlike other Marilyn Monroe impersonators, Kennedy is immensely talented. She also played her in a play about Marilyn’s life entitled Making Marilyn, which premiered on the stage last year in the UK (read here).

Here are a few video links that I want to share with you on Suzie Kennedy below

Click here to watch a youtube video link of a video entitled Finding Faith in Recovery: Suzie Kennedy interview

Click here to watch a youtube video link to an interview with her on the 3 Speech Podcast

Click here to watch a youtube video link to her talking about the Hollywood Recovery Center

Click here to watch a youtube video link of a 2010 Sky One brief interview

Click here to watch a youtube video link to a 2016 Legacy Exhibition

Click here to watch a youtube video link to an interview she did just recently (a month ago)

Click here to watch a youtube video link to her flawless rendition of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

Click here to watch a youtube video link to another flawless rendition of the same number

Click here to watch every video on her youtube channel whenever you all get the time

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions below for my dear readers

What were your favorite article links in this blog entry?

What are your favorite video links in this blog entry? Which ones did you find the most fascinating?

John Charet’s Favorite Budd Boetticher Films

by John CharetJanuary 15, 2026January 15, 2026

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

Ride Lonesome (1959)
A Time for Dying (1969)
The Tall T (1957)
Seven Men from Now (1956)
Comanche Station (1960)
Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)
Arruza (1968/1971/1972)
(Documentary)
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960)
The Killer Is Loose (1956)
Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)
Decision at Sundown (1957)
Westbound (1959)
The Rifleman – Season 3 (1961)
Episode: Stopover
(Television)
Maverick – Season 1 (1957)
Episode: War of the Silver Kings
Episode: Point Blank
Episode: According to Hoyle
(Television)

John Charet’s Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All Time (2025 Edition)

by John CharetOctober 30, 2025October 30, 2025

-Introduction-

Last year around this time of year, I posted a blog entry regarding my Top 10 and 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time (read here and here). As for Halloween 2025, I have posted that big treat again, which comes in the form of my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. I have some new entries this time around 🙂 Now all of the films listed are not my only favorite horror films (I have an unlimited number), but this is a perfect start. I have decided to start with number 100 and work my way down to 01.

-The Opening Celebration-

First off, below are a few delightful links to check out

Click here to watch the complete 1983 music video of late iconic singer Michael Jackson’s (a.k.a. The King of Pop) song Thriller

Click here to listen to a shortened version of the song

Have any of you dear readers out there heard of The Merkins? Check out their youtube channel here. They do horror parodies of songs and one of their running acts is The Slashstreet Boys (a spoof of The Backstreet Boys) The band consists of Leatherface, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruegger and Ghostface Below are three of my personal favorite parodies of theirs

Click here to view their spoof of I Want It That Way entitled I’ll Kill You That Way

Click here to view their spoof of Larger than Life entitled Die By My Knife

Click here to view their spoof of Rock Your Body Right entitled Slashing Bodies

-A Few Words Before Reading-

Please be kind to the film at number 07 on this list because that one means a lot to me. Any comment expressing negativity towards number 07 will be deleted. So once again, please be polite 🙂

Now, without further ado, I present to you all:

-John Charet’t Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time-
(#100-01)

100.) The Spiral Staircase (1946) (Dir: Robert Siodmak)
99.) Blood and Black Lace (1964) (Dir: Mario Bava)
98.) Repulsion (1965) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
97.) The Exorcist (1973) (Dir: William Friedkin)
96.) The Changeling (1980) (Dir: Peter Medak)
95.) Jacob’s Ladder (1990) (Dir: Adrien Lyne)
94.) The Orphanage (2007) (Dir: J.A. Bayona)
93.) Halloween II (2009) (Dir: Rob Zombie)
92.) Under the Shadow (2016) (Dir: Babak Anvari)
91.) The Lighthouse (2019) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
90.) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (Dir: Rouben Mamoulian)
89.) The Body Snatcher (1945) (Dir: Robert Wise)
88.) Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
87.) Kwaidan (1964)(Dir: Masaki Kobayashi)
86.) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
85.) Possession (1981) (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski)
84.) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) (Dir: John McNaughton)
83.) Dead Alive (1992) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
82.) The Descent (2005) (Dir: Neil Marshall)
81.) The Lords of Salem (2012) (Dir: Rob Zombie)
80.) Island of Lost Souls (1932) (Dir: Erle C. Kenton)
79.) Bluebeard (1944) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
78.) Horror of Dracula (1958) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
77.) Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Dir: George A. Romero)
76.) Kuroneko (1968) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
75.) God Told Me To (1976) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
74.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
73.) Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)
72.) Shaun of the Dead (2004) (Dir: Edgar Wright)
71.) Annihilation (2018) (Dir: Alex Garland)
70.) Nope (2022) (Dir: Jordan Peele)
69.) The Leopard Man (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
68.) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
67.) Onibaba (1964) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
66.) Halloween (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
65.) Inferno (1980) (Dir: Dario Argento)
64.) Evil Dead II (1987) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
63.) Cemetery Man (1994) (Dir: Michele Soavi)
62.) Let the Right One In (2008) (Dir: Tomas Alfredson)
61.) Twixt (2011) (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)
60.) Sinners (2025) (Dir: Ryan Coogler)
59.) Haxan (1922) (Dir: Benjamin Christensen)
58.) The Old Dark House (1932) (Dir: James Whale)
57.) Cat People (1942) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
56.) Psycho (1960) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
55.) Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Dir: George A. Romero)
54.) The Fly (1986) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
53.) Cronos (1992) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
52.) Martyrs (2008) (Dir: Pascal Laughier)
51.) The Babadook (2014) (Dir: Jennifer Kent)
50.) Pearl (2022) (Dir: Ti West)
49.) The Phantom Carriage (1921) (Dir: Victor Sjostrom)
48.) I Walked with a Zombie (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
47.) The Birds (1963) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
46.) Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) (Dir: Mario Bava)
45.) Suspiria (1977) (Dir: Dario Argento)
44.) Dead Ringers (1988) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
43.) Cure (1997) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
42.) Rec (2007) (Dir: Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza)
41.) Under the Skin (2013) (Dir: Jonathan Glazer)
40.) Nosferatu (2024) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
39.) The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) (Dir: Jean Epstein)
38.) Freaks (1932) (Dir: Tod Browning)
37.) Dead of Night (1945) (Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer)
(Anthology Film)
36.) Night of the Demon (1957) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
35.) The Innocents (1961) (Dir: Jack Clayton)
34.) The Tenant (1976) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
33.) Ringu (1998) (Dir: Hideo Nakata)
32.) Inside (2007) (Dir: Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo)
31.) The Haunting of Hill House (2018) (Dir: Mike Flanagan)
(Miniseries)
(Streaming)
30.) The Shrouds (2024) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
29.) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (Dir: Robert Wiene)
28.) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (Dir: James Whale)
27.) The Uninvited (1944) (Dir: Lewis Allen)
26.) The Haunting (1963) (Dir: Robert Wise)
25.) Eraserhead (1977) (Dir: David Lynch)
24.) The Thing (1982) (Dir: John Carpenter)
23.) Audition (1999) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
22.) Pulse (2001) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
21.) Mother! (2017) (Dir: Darren Aronofsky)
20.) Angst (1983) (Dir: Gerald Kargl)
19.) Un Chien Andalou (1929) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
(Short Cinema)
18.) The Black Cat (1934) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
17.) Isle of the Dead (1945) (Dir: Mark Robson)
16.) Peeping Tom (1960) (Dir: Michael Powell)
15.) Carrie (1976) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
14.) Videodrome (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
13.) The Kingdom Trilogy (1994/1997/2022) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
(Danish Television)
12.) The Host (2006) (Dir: Bong Joon Ho)
11.) Climax (2018) (Dir: Gaspar Noe)
10.) Vampyr (1932) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
09.) The Shining (1980) (Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
08.) Nosferatu (1922) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
07.) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) (Dir: David Lynch)
06.) The Devil’s Backbone (2001) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
05.) Midsommar (2019) (Dir: Ari Aster)
04.) The Seventh Victim (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
03.) Diabolique (1955) (Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
02.) Eyes Without a Face (1960) (Dir: Georges Franju)
01.) Don’t Look Now (1973) (Dir: Nicolas Roeg)

Honorable Mentions: Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hour of the Wolf (1968), Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), The Wicker Man (1973) and The Entity (1982)

Click here to see my exact same ranking on Letterboxd

P.S. I just added two links from this year’s blog entry regarding my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time – a Kim Newman commentary link on number 3 and a documentary link on number 4. Click here

Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed reading my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time list and last, but not least 🙂

Have a Happy Halloween
. .
U

John Charet’s Official Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time

by John CharetOctober 26, 2025October 29, 2025

Before I go further, I want to say that I am sadly still without a laptop. Either way, I plan on doing a blog entry for Steve (a regular visitor to this site) in November.

With the exception of the note below, this blog entry was originally published on here last year on October 24, 2024.

Note: This Friday, which is October 31st (Halloween), I will be posting a blog entry regarding my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All Time, so this is not the only Halloween post I will be doing this year

This blog entry is dedicated to what I consider to be an official version of my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. Aside from some different choices (see numbers 4,5 and 6) this year, every film on here from last years remains intact. I know I have said it before, but it bears repeating – all lists (including my own) are subjective. Nevertheless, please be kind to number 7 on this list because that one means a lot to me, so once again please be polite Also, any comment expressing negativity at number 7 will be deleted. Now, without further ado, I present to you all:

-My Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time-
(#10-01)

10.) Vampyr (1932)
Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Country: Germany/France
Color: Black and White
Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s only horror film was dismissed by critics as one of his lesser works during it’s initial theatrical release in 1932. Fast-forwarding ninety-two years later in 2024, many critics now consider Vampyr to be (in the words of former Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman) Dreyer’s most radical film. Given everything that came before and after it in Dreyer’s oeuvre, Hoberman’s view can not be stated any better. Intentionally emphasizing atmosphere and imagery over plot, when it comes to horror films produced after the advent of sound, Vampyr stands out as quite possibly the only one to truly resemble that of a nightmare.

Since I could not find a youtube video link to an official theatrical trailer, click here to view a 90th anniversary trailer

Click here to view a youtube video link of British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to watch the film on youtube

09.) The Shining (1980)
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Country: United States/United Kingdom
Color: Color
Author Stephen King may have been greatly disappointed over director Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his 1977 bestselling novel, but this has not prevented The Shining from eventually becoming (and deservedly so) a quintessential example of cinematic horror. Along with other Kubrick films, The Shining has only improved with time. Not unlike Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr, The Shining remains the only horror film within Kubrick’s oeuvre. Similar to the former, The Shining resembles the work of an idiosyncratic filmmaker. Here, we get now iconic scares ranging from the elevator of blood sequence to images of hacked up twins to the image of it’s lead actor Jack Nicholson exclaiming (through ad-libbing) Here’s Johnny!. As in all (or most) of Kubrick’s films since 1957’s Paths of Glory, The Shining has been open to all sorts of interpretations and neither one would be wrong.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

08.) Nosferatu (1922)
Dir: F.W. Murnau
Country: Germany
Color: Black and White
German director F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized silent adaptation of author Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula also happens to be my personal favorite version of the source material. Whereas other versions romanticized the aforementioned title character, Nosferatu depicts the vampire (named Count Orlok in this film) as a truly hideous monster in every single way imaginable. All of his mannerisms are expressed perfectly by it’s lead actor Max Schreck. As a masterpiece of both German Expressionism and cinematic horror, Nosferatu is driven less by scares and more by it’s eerie atmosphere.

Since I can’t find an official theatrical trailer for it, click here to view this youtube video link of it’s 100 Anniversary trailer

Click here to watch the film on youtube

07.) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Dir: David Lynch
Country: United States/France
Color: Color
Critically savaged upon it’s initial theatrical release back in 1992, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me has since been reassessed as not only a misunderstood masterpiece, but also as one of director David Lynch’s major masterworks. As for myself, I will go one step further by citing Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as the number one greatest American horror film of the 1990’s. A prequel to both the original series (1990-91) and 2017’s The Return, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me centers on the sad last days of Laura Palmer – acted with gusto by the immensely beautiful and talented Sheryl Lee. Aided by composer Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting music score, the result is every bit as surreal and nightmarish as it is ultimately tragic. British film critic/novelist Kim Newman once stated that the film’s many moments of horror demonstrate just how tidy, conventional and domesticated the generic horror movie of the 1980’s and 1990’s has become. I could not have stated it any better.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to listen to the soundtrack

Click here to watch author Scott Ryan’s introduction to the film at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre from last year

Click here, here, here, here and here to watch a Q&A with actress Sheryl Lee and actor Dana Ashbrook from a 2021 showing of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

06.) The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Country: Spain/Mexico
Color: Color
Along with the equally inventive Under the Shadow, The Devil’s Backbone is an inspired combination of the supernatural and the allegorical. When it comes to 21st century cinematic horror, both films serve as personal favorites of mine. As one may have deduced from this list, The Devil’s Backbone ranks very high for me. Set during the final year of the Spanish Civil War, The Devil’s Backbone is on the one hand, a subtly tragic ghost story and on the other, a quietly frightening antifascist historical drama. Now I love every single film of Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and the highly personal The Devil’s Backbone (my second favorite of his after Pan’s Labyrinth) is arguably the most insightful out of all the truly great horror films produced since the dawn of 2000.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to read Kermode’s Criterion essay for it

05.) Midsommar (2019)
Dir: Ari Aster
Country: United States/Sweden
Color: Color
Whereas Ari Aster’s directorial debut Hereditary resembled the work of a master filmmaker, it was his follow-up film Midsommar that officially cemented him as such. As a horror film, Midsommar’s masterstroke lies not so much in it’s atmosphere as in how it uses it. Like The Wicker Man before it, Midsommar’s unique emphasis on daylight is what makes the film all the more disturbing. In fact, everything about Midsommar still sends shivers down my spine. As it did during it’s initial theatrical release five years ago in 2019, Midsommar still hits close to home (metaphorically and otherwise) in more ways than one.

Click here to view the film’s original teaser trailer

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

04.) The Seventh Victim (1943)
Dir: Mark Robson
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Out of the nine unique official (or unofficial) horror films produced by Val Lewton at RKO Pictures during the 1940’s, director Mark Robson’s The Seventh Victim stands out as my personal favorite of the group. Every single trademark that shapes a Lewton production reaches it’s peak here. While The Seventh Victim is similarly downbeat as Lewton’s other horror films, neither of them ended on such an explicitly bleak note as this one does. The film’s black-and-white color palette coincides perfectly not only with it’s urban setting, but also in it’s thematic elements relating to depression and satanism among other things. Mature subject matter like homoeroticism is even touched upon here in an intelligent and sensitive manner. In addition, The Seventh Victim features a quietly chilling shower sequence that predates Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho by seventeen years.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view TCM’s Eddie Mueller’s Noir Alley intro to the film from 2020

Click here to view TCM’s Eddie Mueller’s Noir Alley outro to the film from that same episode

Click here to view a Vimeo link to the 2007 documentary entitled Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

03.) Diabolique (1955)
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Country: France
Color: Black and White
Though Alfred Hitchcock is often credited for redefining cinematic horror with Psycho in 1960, with all due respect to the Master of Suspense, the aforementioned genre was actually redefined five years earlier in 1955 by French director Henri-Georges Clouzot with Diabolique. Coincidentally, not too long after the publication of Diabolique’s 1952 source material She Who Was No More, which was written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, Hitchcock set out to option the rights to it. He changed course upon learning that Clouzot had obtained them serveral hours earlier, which enabled him to adapt it as Diabolique. As the film’s plot unfolds, Clouzot wastes no time in elevating the tension to completely unbearable heights and effortlessly keeps it going throughout. Culminating in one of the scariest twist endings ever conceived, Diabolique is a horror thriller that will ultimately make one’s heart stop.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view Alex Cox’s Moviedrome intro to the film

Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen the film, I strongly advise you not to click on the link below
Click here to view British film critic/novelist Kim Newman’s analysis of Diabolique

02.) Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Dir: Georges Franju
Country: France/Italy
Color: Black and White
If French poet Jean Cocteau had directed a 1930’s Universal horror film, the result would have undoubtedly been Eyes Without a Face. While it may not possess the delightfully eccentric humor that shaped The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein among others, Eyes Without a Face does offer something every bit as inspired. Disturbing and poetic in equal measure, Eyes Without a Face is as much a horror film as it is a fairy tale. Dismissed by critics as one of his lesser films during it’s initial theatrical release in 1960, Eyes Without a Face has since been reassessed (and deservedly so) as not only French director Georges Franju’s most famous and influential film, but also his greatest one.

Click here to view what may or may not be the film’s French trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to view Kermode’s Kermode Uncut commentary on it

Click here to view Mark Kermode’s Cult Film Corner commentary on it

01.) Don’t Look Now (1973)
Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Country: United Kingdom/Italy
Color: Color
Now often hailed as one of the most influential horror films ever made, Don’t Look Now also happens to be my number one favorite horror film of all-time. Reportedly cited by it’s British director Nicolas Roeg as his exercise in film grammar, Don’t Look Now also stands out as quite possibly the most beautiful marriage between form and content. Accompanied by composer Pino Donaggio’s emotionally powerful music score, Roeg’s trademark unconventional editing style and it’s fittingly bleak, yet strangely lovely atmosphere, Don’t Look Now explores a tragedy’s impact on a married couple through the power of visual storytelling. Along with an explicit controversial sex scene between it’s two lead actors (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland), Don’t Look Now is noted for featuring (like Diabolique before it) the scariest ending ever conceived in the history of cinematic horror.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view the film’s 2019 4K Restoration trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s 2008 Culture Show interview with director Nicolas Roeg

Click here to view Kermode’s review of the 2019 4K Restoration of the film

Click here to view Irish documentarian Mark Cousins 2001 Scene By Scene interview with actor Donald Sutherland on the film

Click here to view Mark Cousins Moviedrome intro to the film

Click here to view Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier commentary on the film

Click here to listen to the soundtrack

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below

What are your top 10 favorite horror films of all-time?

What video links in my blog entry interested you the most?

Happy 99th Birthday Marilyn Monroe

by John CharetJune 1, 2025

This Happy Birthday blog entry is dedicated to Classical Hollywood era icon Marilyn Monroe, who would have been 99 years-old today on June 1. In other words, I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Marilyn Monroe. Considering that her tragic life has been dwelled upon endlessly, misunderstood by men and women alike (well-intentioned or otherwise), not to mention exploited, I am dedicating this entry solely to Marilyn Monroe’s achievements onscreen. For myself, Marilyn Monroe is truly the embodiment of a goddess. In other words, Monroe is an iconic sex symbol, who succeeds brilliantly at both comedy and drama. When it came to the former, Marilyn Monroe took the stereotypical dumb blonde (a term I hate) persona of her characters and deconstructed it. For example, click here to see what I mean. To put it in other words, it is us viewers, who come off as the bumbling idiots for thinking that she was one 🙂 I could link to many others, but for me, no other comedy of Monroe’s demonstrates her deconstruction of the aforementioned trope given to her more perfectly than in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. As for the latter, Monroe displayed her dramatic chops masterfully in quite a few films. Once again, I could ramble on and on, but If I had to single out my number one favorite in terms of drama, it would be her performance as Cherie in Bus Stop. Check out Monroe’s bus conversation scene by clicking here and her rendition of That Old Black Magic by clicking here. Speaking of which, my number one favorite Monroe rendition also happens to be her most iconic – Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. The number features Monroe wearing a shocking pink dress (designed by William Travilla) singing about her love of diamonds surrounded by adoring men dressed in suits and bow ties (and much more). Click here to watch the link – the number begins at the 0:50 mark. Cover versions post-1953 range from Lena Horne to Megan Thee Stallion (read here). In addition, entertainers ranging from singer Madonna to actress Margot Robbie (read here) have not only paid homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes aforementioned musical number, but also wore pink dresses similar to the one Monroe was dressed in while performing it.