...fond of:

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Things I love

My favourite words

labyrinth linux captivated canopus earth shikasta europa jupiter faery juki love tarkovsky nubile medieval magical medical musical mystical luxulyan malham

My favourite countries

I feel particularly drawn to the culture of these nations, so they are all on my Bucket List:

My favourite painters

All Surrealists, of course...

My favourite films

I don't watch Hollywooden trash and only rarely go to proper cinemas to watch good films like:

  1. Nostalghia (1983) by Andrei Tarkovsky
  2. Stalker (1979) by Andrei Tarkovsky
  3. Solaris (1972) by Andrei Tarkovsky
  4. Mirror (1975) by Andrei Tarkovsky
  5. The Sacrifice (1986) by Andrei Tarkovsky
  6. Diva (1981) by Jean-Jacques Beineix - visually stunning French arthouse thriller
  7. Brazil (1985) by Terry Gilliam, starring Michael Palin, Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro and Bob Hoskins - epic dystopian satirical steampunk masterpiece
  8. Bartleby (1970) by Anthony Friedmann based on Herman Melville's 1853 bizarre story but set in London
  9. The Rise And Rise Of Michael Rimmer (1970) - insightful political satire (gets shockingly more relevant with each passing decade!) starring (and co-written by) Peter Cook with a whole host of top British brass: John Cleese, Arthur Lowe, Denholm Elliot, Ronnie Corbett and the lovely Valerie Leon
  10. The Comic Strip Presents: Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door (1987) starring Peter Cook alongside Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson entertaining Nicholas "Bloody" Parsons
  11. The Red Shoes (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger was voted 5th best ever British film - I agree!
  12. Walkabout (1971) by Nicolas Roeg starring Jenny Agutter going native in the outback, with John Barry's unforgettably heartfelt music
  13. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Peter Weir - chilling mystery with yet more Australian schoolgirls, and another (tragically unreleased) haunting soundtrack by Romanian panpipe virtuoso Gheorghe Zamfir et al
  14. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) by Carl Reiner - hilarious neo-noir homage starring Steve Martin and Rachel Ward, masterfully incorporating clips from classic vintage films
  15. Harold And Maude (1971) by Hal Ashby - a love story with a difference (!)
  16. Wings Of Desire (1987) by Wim Wenders, about a fallen angel
  17. Waking Life (2001) by Richard Linklater, about lucid dreaming
  18. Hot Fuzz (2007) written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg = hilarious!
  19. The Secret Behind The Door (1948) by Fritz Lang - don't open it...!
  20. Last Year In Marienbad (1961) by Alain Resnais - hypnotic dream of a woman and man in a mysterious French château
  21. Morgane Et Ses Nymphes (1971) by Bruno Gantillon, about a magickal lesbian castle = sign me up!
  22. Where Eagles Dare (1968) starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood - no lesbians in this castle
  23. Inception (2010) by Christopher Nolan, a surreal action movie about nested levels of dreaming
  24. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) by Robert Wise - a truly epic space voyage
  25. Space Is The Place (1975) by Sun Ra - cosmic blaxploitation movie par excellence
  26. Blue Velvet (1986) by David Lynch starring Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini - gruesome crimes in small town America (see also Twin Peaks)

Some Buñuel and Bergman films will be added here soon, once the winners have battled it out.

Cool short films & surreal animations (click links to watch online)

These next few are even stranger and more disturbing, but total genius!

Silent films

And it's not all old films which are silent. Kitchen Sink (1989) by Alison Maclean is a short but oh so chilling tale of domestic... well, not exactly bliss! Who needs dialogue anyway? Certainly not the modern master of silent erotic comedy Jos Stelling. His priceless classics The Waiting Room (1995) and The Gallery (2003) had me in hysterics! Just be patient, and careful what you wish for...! :-) Sadly The Gas Station (2000) is not online anywhere. The feature-length yet still largely dialogue-free masterpiece De Wisselwachter (The Pointsman) (1986) features only a handful of carefully considered characters who interact on a deeper level than mere words permit.

David Lynch's early angst-ridden masterpiece The Grandmother (1970) is worth seeking out (like Eraserhead meets Harold And Maude!), as is his very short (52 seconds!) Premonitions Following An Evil Deed (1996) solely for its remarkable fourth scene!

My favourite TV programmes

Fast drivin', space-age, futuristic, surreal, comic 70s/80s golden era:

I've not had a television since the 1990s when it all got too tedious (and has since become mindlessly banal). So despite being a big David Lynch fan, it wasn't until 2019 that I finally got chance to watch Twin Peaks, which naturally is amazing! And I also only recently discovered these good recent comedies with friends:

...and I got into these cult 70s programmes via the internet and/or box sets:

See also: my favourite Youtube channels

My favourite cars

Growing up I loved (and still do) classy 1980's cars like the Bitter SC Coupe & Sedan, Lotus Excel & Esprit, Porsche 928, Saab 900 Turbo, Audi 200 & quattro, and some vintage VWs too. I also adore exotic wedge-shaped spaceship concepts that we 70's kids imagined we'd all be driving around in now we've reached the future, like:

In our more down-to-earth reality, nowadays I drive a rather quick Volvo V70 T D5 SE, which is actually faster than many of those dream cars! If I could have any car in the world I'd upgrade to:

  1. 2005 Volvo V70 R 2nd generation 6-speed manual AWD in white with custom PPG-blue cloth interior (full of instruments for performing and teaching)

If I could add a whole fantasy garage, it would contain (in order of practicality/cost):

  1. 1978 Jaguar XJ-S V12 in white (classy British elegance, because: Return Of The Saint)
  2. 20?? VW Transporter camper van in pale pink with white roof and purple interior (tourbus for trips away)
  3. 1980 Porsche 928 original version in lilac with b/w "Pasha" seat trim (classic German sportscar)
  4. 1985 Bitter SC Sedan in navy blue with white interior (luxury 4-door saloon for noble passengers)
  5. 1986 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole GTB 3.2 in metallic dark grey (classic Italian sportscar)
  6. 2016 Lamborghini Aventador in cyan (Blu Glauco) (not so cheap plaything)
  7. 2019 Devel Sixty in white (6WD offroad survival vehicle = the only cool SUV)

>>> See also: Things that drive me mad




















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© copyright Malcolm Smith 2006-07-07 - last updated 2022-01-04 - links verified 2016-02-27