Five Favorite Movies for Five on Friday

Hello, Dear Friends, in honor of the upcoming

Oscars, I wanted to share Five favorite movies

for Five on Friday. 

First on the list is 'Dances with Wolves'

with Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell,
and Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Chief Ten Bears. 

This movie won 7 Academy Awards,

including Best Picture of 1990.

It was based on the 1988 book of the same title
by Michael Blake. 

Apart from the obvious reasons :),

I loved this movie for its beautiful cinematography, 

noble ideology, and lovely romance.

It was filmed in South Dakota and Wyoming

and was selected for preservation in the U.S. National

Film Registry by the Library of Congress 

as being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'. 

Sent to protect a U.S. outpost on the desolate frontier, 

Lt. John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) finds himself 

alone in the vast wilderness. 

He ends up befriending the very people 

 he was supposed to protect the fort from. (the Sioux Indians)

He falls in love with the beautiful
'Stands With a Fist',(Mary McDonnell)
a white woman, who was adopted by the tribe as a child
after being kidnapped by a Pawnee raid.

The language barrier proves daunting
 between the Lt. and the tribe,
so she is recruited as interpreter
 with what little English she remembers
from her childhood, and they form a close bond.  

Lt. Dunbar befriends a wolf, and when observed

playing together, the tribe gives him the name, 

'Dances With Wolves'. 

When the encroaching U.S. Army threatens to overrun 

the Sioux, he is forced to make a choice - 

one that will forever change his destiny 

and that of a proud and defiant nation. 

The second movie on my list is 

'Fried Green Tomatoes

at the Whistle Stop Cafe', 

featuring Academy Award winning Actresses, 

Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy and Cicely Tyson. 

We are also introduced to the wonderful

Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker. 

This movie was based on the best selling 1987 novel

of the same name by Fannie Flagg.

When an unhappy housewife, Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates), goes on
her weekly visit to the nursing home with her husband
to visit his Mother, she befriends
Ninny Threadgoode, (Jessica Tandy)
a colorful old woman who brightens Evelyn's outlook
by sharing tales from her past. 

As Ninny recounts the exploits of her free spirited 

sister-in-law, Idgie (Mary Stewart Masterson), owner 

of a small Alabama cafe' in the 1920's, and the bond 

shared with her friend Ruth, (Mary Louise Parker)

Evelyn gains confidence to change her own life for the better. 

Idgie as a child with her beloved brother. 

She was a Tom-boy who hated dresses. :)

The plot switches back and forth from the mid-1980's 

when Evelyn visits the nursing home, 

to the stories told by Ninnie of Idgie's life in the 1920's.

In between we meet a host of wonderful characters 

from the Whistle Stop Cafe' and relive the story 

of the lives of Idgie and Ruth. 

I loved this movie for its beautiful period fashions

and setting, the lovely story of friendship and devotion

despite many difficulties and hardships, 

and the bittersweet journey of an old woman's memories

which inspires a re-evaluation of Evelyn's life. 

The third movie on my list is

'Out of Africa'. 

This 1985 movie won 7 Academy Awards,
including best picture.

Starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep,
this cinematic masterpiece was based
on the autobiographical book
'Out of Africa' by Isak Dinesan,
the pseudonym of Danish author Karen Blixen. 

I love the opening lines of both the book and the movie, 

"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills".

This movie was filmed on location in the Ngong Hills

outside of Nairobi in the actual home of Karen Blixen. 

Karen  (Meryl Streep), marries her friend, 

Bror Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) in 

a marriage of convenience for the title of Baroness, 

and he becomes recipient of her upper class wealth. 

In 1913, she travels to Africa intending to start a dairy farm

with him, only to find that he has spent all their money 

on a coffee plantation instead. 

As she struggles to maintain the plantation through various 

problems and disasters while 

her husband leaves her alone to go on long business trips

and hunting expeditions, she strives to improve relations

with the local natives. 

Eventually she discovers that he has been unfaithful -

and she asks him to leave. 

She then develops feelings for his friend, 

the noted hunter and adventurer, 

Denys Finch-Hatton (Robert Redford). 

After going on safari with him and falling in love, 

she invites him to live with her.

When she presses for marriage, 

he begins to criticize her for wanting to 

'own things and people'. 

His frequent absences and lack of commitment 

causes her to question their relationship 

but she loves him and can't let him go. 

I loved this movie for its epic romance, 

the beautiful cinematography
(filmed and directed by Sydney Pollack), 

and the period styles. 

The actual descendants of her
original native plantation workers

were actors in the movie, also. 

The fact that this was a true story, 

gave it credibility and intrigue. 

The ending will break your heart. 

The Fourth Movie on my list, 

'Under the Tuscan Sun' 

did not win any academy awards, 

but Diane Lane's winsome portrayal 

of the love forsaken Frances Mayes 

did get nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress. 

This 2003 movie is based on the best-selling 

memoir by Frances Mayes of the same name.

The 1996 book was #1 on the New York Times Best Seller
list  and stayed on for over 2 years.

When Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) learns that her husband
is cheating on her from a writer whom she gave a bad review,
her life is turned upside down.
She loses her marriage and her home to her ex and
his much younger, pregnant girlfriend and
sinks down into a deep depression.



When her best friend, Patti (Sandra Oh)
gives her tickets to take a tour of Italy in
an effort to bring her out of her depression,
she impulsively buys a rundown Tuscan villa
and struggles to start a new life.

While renovating the villa, she meets a colorful 

and unusual cast of characters with sweet and gentle souls. 

I loved this movie for the charming characters,
the sweet vulnerability of Frances as she learns
to rebuild her life and trust again,
and how she creates a beautiful life out of
the ashes of her despair.

Not to mention her beautiful wardrobe,
 the unassuming but fabulous villa,
and of course, the lovely Tuscan countryside.

My fifth and final movie choice is 

the 1981 movie, 'On Golden Pond', starring 

Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, 

and Jane Fonda.

Henry Fonda won the Golden Globe and Academy Award
for Best Actor in what would be his final film role.

Katherine Hepburn won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

This film also stars Henry's daughter, Jane Fonda,
(in the movie and in real life)
Dabney Coleman and Doug McKeon.  

The movie was filmed on beautiful Squam Lake 

in Holderness, New Hampshire. 

Elderly couple, Ethel and Norman Thayer return 

to their summer cottage where Ethel is thrilled to 

hear the loons calling once again. 

Cantankerous retiree, Norman refuses to acknowledge 

the beauty around him and with his 80th birthday 

approaching, Ethel starts to see signs of senility. 

When his daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda), arrives with her 

new fiance (Dabney Coleman) and his teenage son, Billy

(Doug McKeon), it is apparent that Father and Daughter

have a strained and difficult relationship. 

Leaving Billy behind while traveling to Europe, 

Norman and Billy at first form a reluctant relationship. 

But soon they form a bond in their quest to catch Norman's 

legendary fish, 'Walter'. 

We are treated to views of the beautiful lake

and the vintage wooden speed boat. 

Chelsea returns, attempting to repair the long-strained 

relationship with her aging father before it is too late

and we find it is very nearly so. 

I loved this film, not only for its legendary film stars, 

Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn, 

but for the bittersweet story of a stubborn 

husband and father facing his own mortality. 

The beautiful backdrop of the lake, the cabin, 

and the haunting calls of the loons

brought back sweet memories for me of 

summers spent at a similar cabin in the 

White Mountains of New Hampshire, as a child

with my family. 

I hope you have enjoyed my reviews of five of my favorite movies,
Dear Friends.

What is your favorite movie?

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Love Made My Home - Five On Fridays