Greatest Vampire Movies Ever Made

Top 10 plus 1:

Nosferatu (1922)

Dracula (1931)

Vampyr (1932)

The Horror of Dracula (1958)

The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Black Sabbath (1963)

Fright Night (1985)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

30 Days of Night (2007)

Let Me In (2010)

note: Dracula Untold (2014) is mostly subpar, but the initial scene with the "Master Vampire" is one of the best portrayals of a vampire ever filmed & deserves mention.

Top 15 Movies for Memorial Day

Destination Tokyo (1943)

The Story of GI Joe (1945)

They Were Expendable (1945)

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

Battleground (1949)

Pork Chop Hill (1959)

The Longest Day (1962)

Platoon (1986)

Glory (1989)

Gettysburg (1993)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The Lost Battalion (2001)

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

(Note: This is not a list of Greatest War Movies,

which would be a very different list.

These movies are my top choices for Memorial Day in the USA.)

Best Anti-War Movies

10) Full Metal Jacket (1987)

9) Apocalypse Now (1979)

8) Saving Private Ryan (1998)

7) The Deer Hunter (1978)

6) Platoon (1986)

5) Dr. Strangelove (1964)

4) Empire of the Sun (1987)

3) The Hurt Locker (2008)

2) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

1) Paths of Glory (1957)

Best Jesus Movies

1 - Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

2 - Ben Hur (1959)

3 - The Passion of the Christ (2004)

4 - The Miracle Maker (2000)

5 - King of Kings (1961)

6 - The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

7 - The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)

8 - Jesus (2000)

9 - Son of God (2014)

10 - Son of Man (1969)

Best Thanksgiving movies (& TV)

10) Spider-Man (2002)

9) Home for the Holidays (1995)

8) The Blind Side (2009)

7) Seinfeld: The Mom & Pop Store (1994)

6) Alice's Restaurant (1969)

5) The Last Waltz (1978)

4) Pieces of April (2003)

3) A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

2) Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

1) A Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Devil in Disguise

"...the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. The tempter came to him and said, 'Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread.'

"Jesus replied, 'It's written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God.'

"After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, 'Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.'

"Jesus replied, 'Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God.'

"Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said, 'I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me.'

"Jesus responded, 'Go away, Satan, because it’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.' The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him."

- Matthew 4:1-11 (Common English Bible)

One of my favorite Lenten practices is watching a few of the several movies made about Jesus. We are blessed to have so many films at our disposal thanks to DVDs, Netflix, and TV cable offerings.

One of my favorite Biblical films is 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. Not a critical success and a bit dragging in parts, this movie nevertheless has one of the best portrayals of the devil ever portrayed on film. British screen legend Donald Pleasence plays the devil as a hermit who seems almost an "everyman" figure. He is polite, soft-spoken, and seemingly kind...which makes this performance absolutely terrifying.

Were the devil to appear to me in all his dread - surrounded by flames, holding a pitchfork, hooves and tail apparent - I might be a bit frightened but not fooled. In Pleasence's hands, the devil becomes a figure easy to sit with, converse with, even befriend.

This is the devil of Matthew 4. He's not some monster from a Hammer horror film; he's not some superhuman demon from the infernal pits; he is...well, he's us. This is what makes the account of the temptation of Jesus so real.

Jesus may be tested by the offer of big dreams, but they are camouflaged by the commonplace, the ordinary, the everyday. What tests us are not typically outrageous schemes, but familiar, mundane habits - perhaps even with the approval or encouragement of an unbelieving world - which appear to be harmless but in actuality may have devastating effects on our souls, our witness for Christ or on those around us.

As we embark on the holy season of Lent, my prayer is that disciples of Jesus across the world are able to reflect not simply on the large issues of life, activism, and service, but also on the banal, the routine, the daily habits which prevent us from moving forward in holiness and in faithfulness to our crucified and risen Lord.

This post is part of the 2011 Lenten Blog Tour

sponsored by the publishers of the Common English Bible.

Greatest Classic Monsters (2010 edition)

1 - Vampires
(best: Schreck, 1921; Lugosi, 1931; Lee, 1958)

2 - Frankenstein's Monster(s)
(best: Karloff, 1931; Karloff & Lanchester, 1935; Boyle, 1974)

3 - Werewolves
(best: Chaney Jr, 1941; Naughton, 1981; Picardo, 1981)

4 - Kong
(best: 1933)

5 - Witches
(best: LaVerne, 1937; Hamilton, 1939; Lake, 1942; Hayes, 1969; Huston, 1990; Robertson, 2007)

6 - Ghosts
(best: Scrooge, 1951; The Haunting, 1963; Beck, Poltergeist II, 1986;
Blair Witch Project, 1999; The Ring, 2002)

7 - Mummies
(best: Karloff, 1932; Parker, 1955)

8 - Zombies
(best: Romero films, 1968 ff; 28 Days Later, 2002)

9 - Godzilla
(best: Toho films, 1954 ff)

10 - Phantom of the Opera
(best: Chaney, 1925)

Woody Allen & Roman Polanski, Justice & Forgiveness

Clearly, Woody Allen doesn't get it.

At the recent Cannes Film Festival in France, the Hollywood legend was asked about the plight of fellow director Roman Polanski. Polanski, as you may know, was charged in California with raping a 13 year old girl in the early 1980s. He fled the United States and has since been living comfortably in Europe (primarily France), where he has continued his career, winning an Oscar in 2002 for The Pianist.

Allen responded - amazingly:

It’s something that happened many years ago...He has suffered, he has not been allowed to go to the United States. He was embarrassed by the whole thing...He's an artist, he's a nice person, he did something wrong and he paid for it. They [his critics] are not happy unless he pays the rest of his life. They would be happy if they could execute him in a firing squad. Enough is enough.

I have to wonder if Allen realizes exactly what he said. He suggested - no, he unequivocally stated - that embarrassment is an acceptable punishment for raping a child. Is de facto exile from the United States - to live comfortably abroad while continuing a lucrative career - acceptable punishment? Should we not pursue criminal charges against someone who is a "nice person", evidence be damned?

Woody Allen is, like Polanski, an excellent filmmaker. But his notions of justice are bizarre, to say the least. True, if Polanski were to return to California and go to prison, that would still not be a "just" punishment for raping a child. But it would be a step in the right direction.

Kudos to actor Michael Douglas, who refused to sign a petition in support of Polanski (which Allen dutifully signed), saying that it would be "unfair" for him to sign a petition for "somebody who did break the law." I sincerely hope that the bulk of the Hollywood community and the rest of the American Radical Left favors Douglas' approach rather than that of Woody Allen.

The Christian faith is all about forgiveness, to be sure. But implicit in Jesus' call to discipleship is a call to repent that we might know forgiveness, both at the beginning of his earthly ministry and near its end. In fact, Jesus always connected penitence with forgiveness, and penitence carries with it the notion of "penance", a desire to be forgiven and to "make things right". Polanski can indeed know forgiveness for even this vile crime, but it seems to me that penitence needs to be a part of his plan if he is sincere. Being a "nice person", unfortunately, isn't enough.

Best Jesus movies

1 - Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

2 - Ben Hur (1959)

3 - The Passion of the Christ (2004)

4 - The Miracle Maker (2000)

5 - King of Kings (1961)

6 - The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

7 - Intolerance (1916)

8 - Jesus (2000)

9 - Jesus (1979)

10 - Mary, the Mother of Jesus (1999)

Best Thanksgiving Movies

1 - A Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

2 - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

3 - Holiday Inn (1942)

4 - Desperate Crossings (2006)

5 - Plymouth Adventure (1952)

6 - Pocahontas (1995)

7 - Alice's Restaurant (1969)

8 - Pieces of April (2003)

9 - Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

10 - Home for the Holidays (1995)

Best Rock & Roll Movies Ever

1 - A Hard Day's Night (1964)

2 - Woodstock (1970)

3 - Dont Look Back (1967)

3 - This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

4 - Stop Making Sense (1984)

5 - Purple Rain (1984)

6 - The Last Waltz (1978)

7 - The Blues Brothers (1980)

8 - The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)

9 - The Kids Are Alright (1979)

10 - High Fidelity (2000)

Greatest Horror Film Icons

1 - Lon Chaney

2 - Boris Karloff

3 - Bela Lugosi

4 - Vincent Price

5 - Christopher Lee

6 - Peter Cushing

7 - Anthony Hopkins

8 - Donald Pleasance

9 - Anthony Perkins

10 - Elsa Lanchester

11 - Linda Blair
12 - Lon Chaney, Jr.
13 - Colin Clive
14 - Max Schreck
15 - Janet Leigh
16 - Peter Lorre
17 - Robert Englund
18 - Jack Nicholson
19 - Jamie Lee Curtis
20 - Heather O'Rourke

Scariest Films Ever Made

1 -Scott of the Antarctic (1948)

2 - Psycho (1960)

3 - Jaws (1975)

4 - The Blair Witch Project (1999)

5 - Phantom of the Opera (1925)

6 - The Exorcist (1973)

7 - The Amityville Horror (1979)

8 - Deliverance (1972)

9 - The Haunting (1963)

10 - Race With The Devil (1975)

Greatest Classic Monsters

1 - Vampires
(best: Lugosi, 1931; Lee, 1958)

2 - Frankenstein's Monster(s)
(best: Karloff, 1931; Karloff & Lanchester, 1935; Boyle, 1974)

3 - Werewolves
(best: Chaney Jr, 1941; Naughton, 1981)

4 - Kong
(best: 1933)

5 - Witches
(best: Hamilton, 1939; Lake, 1942; Hayes, 1969; Robertson, 2007)

6 - Ghosts
(best: The Haunting, 1963; Blair Witch Project, 1999)

7 - Mummies
(best: Karloff, 1932; Parker, 1955)

8 - Zombies
(best: Romero films, 1968 ff)

9 - Godzilla
(best: Toho films, 1954 ff)

10 - Phantom of the Opera
(best: Chaney, 1925)

An Oscar Reflection: Has the Church failed Dustin Lance Black & Sean Penn?

"...to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families...you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours."

- from Dustin Lance Black's speech after winning the Academy Award
for Best Original Screenplay for Milk

"Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns...I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone."

- from Sean Penn's speech after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Milk

I have no doubt that radical voices at the fringes of the Church have expressed outright hatred for anyone who struggles with or practices homosexual behavior; the Fred Phelps cult - which cannot really be termed a part of the Christian Church - has done some horrid, despicable, demonic things.

But the Church has done its best and continues to do its best to express God's love for all people. It is certainly true that:

"The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching."

This famous quote from paragraph 161G of the Social Principles in our Book of Discipline should not be read or interpreted in a vacuum, or taken out of context:

"Homosexual persons no less than heterosexual persons are individuals of sacred worth. All persons need the ministry and guidance of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God's grace is available to all, and we will seek to live together in Christian community. We implore families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons."

If a local congregation has told writer Dustin Lance Black that he is "less than" because of his sex decisions, then shame on that local congregation. Every person - straight or gay - is sacred in God's eyes, and Jesus died for each. God loves Dustin Lance Black just as he loves Keith McIlwain or Billy Graham or Pope Benedict XVI or Ellen Degeneres or even Fred Phelps. God may be disappointed by some of the decisions we make (I'm sure that I am a constant disappointment), but that divine love does not cease.

Mr. Black and actor Sean Penn seem to believe something about the Church that is not true, and perhaps the Church is in part to blame. Mr. Black is correct: gays and lesbians are "...beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you." That is a statement with which every thinking, compassionate Christian can agree. What churches have taught him something else? I wish he'd "named names"!

Have we failed to share with Mr. Black the amazing cosmic truth that God loves him, that Jesus died and rose for him, that the Creator of the universe desires to be in a salvific, transformative relationship with him? Shame on us for not reaching this gifted young man with the heart of the gospel, that he now believes something about the Church that is inherently false.

Then again, my understanding is that Mr. Black was raised in a Mormon environment, and, while I haven't seen anything hateful about mainstream contemporary Mormonism, I'm no expert on their theology or practice, other than to say that I don't believe it to be Biblically or doctrinally Christian. So it's possible that Mr. Black is reflecting on some Mormon practice of which I am ignorant.

But both Mr. Black and Mr. Penn mischaracterized the "gay marriage" debate at the Oscars on Monday night. I know a lot of Christians, and I don't know of one who does not favor equal rights. The fact that Christians have opposed California's "Prop 8" and similar measures in other states isn't because Christians want to deny everyone "equal rights", nor is it out of hate.

Christians oppose "gay marriage" because they love gay persons. If indeed homosexual practice is "incompatible with Christian teaching", then the Christians are compelled to help those individuals engaged in sinful behaviors to be liberated from those behaviors. This is equally true for those engaged in sinful heterosexual practices, or sinful practices which have nothing to do with sex. Sanctioning behavior believed to be sin would be extremely hateful, and, thankfully, the Church has thus far refused to do so.

To mischaracterize those opposed to sanctioning homosexual practice as hateful is not only a lie, it is mean. And possibly hateful. Or at the very least ignorant.

My prayer is twofold: that we can raise the discourse of the debate so as not to characterize our opponents as hateful, when no one involved in the debate is actually driven by hatred, and that the Church can find ways to be more effective in sharing the life-changing gospel - which is "good news", after all - so that all persons can know and praise God's wonderful work in Jesus Christ, submit to his Lordship (and his alone), and be emancipated from the great bondage of sin - sexual and otherwise.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (BCP)

(Note in the interest of full disclosure: I have not yet seen the film Milk, but have no doubt that the always brilliant Sean Penn delivered an excellent performance.)

Friday Top 10: Scariest Movies Ever Made

1 - Scott of the Antarctic (1948)

2 - Psycho (1960)

3 - Jaws (1975)

4 - The Blair Witch Project (1999)

5 - Phantom of the Opera (1925)

6 - The Exorcist (1973)

7 - The Amityville Horror (1979)

8 - Deliverance (1972)

9 - The Haunting (1963)

10 - Race With The Devil (1975)

"All Together Now" movie

Friday Top 10: Paul Newman movies

1 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

2 - Cool Hand Luke (1967)

3 - Hud (1963)

4 - The Sting (1973)

5 - The Hustler (1961)

6 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

7 - Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

8 - Cars (2006)

9 - Slap Shot (1977)

10 - Hombre (1967)

Farewell Paul Newman

God bless Paul Newman (1925-2008).

Paul Newman was one of filmdom's greatest actors. Nominated for bunches of Oscars (he was awarded 3), he was hugely influential on other actors and helped make several excellent films into iconic movie moments with his astonishing craft. My mother, mother-in-law, and wife all loved him for his physical traits. He died today of cancer.

Some of Newman's best roles included boxer Rocky Marziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986), the title characters in Hud (1963) and Cool Hand Luke (1967), Henry Gondorff in The Sting (1973), Reg Dunlop in Slapshot (1977 - filmed in Johnstown, PA), Doc Hudson in Cars (2006), and - my personal favorite - Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

His great performances are only part of his legacy. Newman was one of the first big Hollywood liberals, who donated to and campaigned for various liberal causes through the years, even making it onto Nixon's "enemies list". In our era, when so many obtuse celebrities try to make insipidly vapid "contributions" to the political arena, Newman evermore seems like the real deal. He walked the walk and talked the talk, doing more for charity than perhaps any other celebrity in history with the exception of Jerry Lewis. Additionally, the late Gil Kane, a comic book legend, modeled his character Hal Jordan (the second "Green Lantern") on Paul Newman.

Newman's greatest legacy is his family. When his first marriage ended after 10 years, he married actress Joanne Woodward, and they remained together for fifty years. He had six children; his only son died in the late 1970s from a drug overdose.

I'm sad that Newman has passed and I thank God for his life. He was an inspiration as a family man and as an activist; he helped the lives of so many people through his charitable work; he has left a rich film legacy matched by few other actors in screen history; he will continue to challenge and inspire for years to come.

Farewell Charlton Heston

God bless Charlton Heston (1924-2008).

Charlton Heston, one of filmdom's most illustrious actors, passed away yesterday after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. He won an Oscar for 1959's Ben Hur, the definitive Hollywood epic. He is also well known for his larger-than-life roles as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Taylor in Planet of the Apes, Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy, John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told, General Gordon in Khartoum, Neville in The Omega Man, Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, El Cid in El Cid, and Thorn in the underrated Soylent Green.

Heston has been one of my favorite Hollywood actors for some time. Like many in my generation, I was first exposed to his work every Easter, with the annual showing of The Ten Commandments on network television. Later, as a teenage oddity steeped in sci-fi geekery, I marveled at Planet of the Apes and, eventually, Soylent Green (which remains one of the most sophisticated sci-fi movies ever filmed). It was only as an adult that I learned to love Ben Hur, a masterful film with one of the best portrayals of Jesus in Hollywood history, which featured a tour de force performance by Heston.

But Charlton Heston was more than just another star; he was a Christian activist fighting for what he perceived to be right...long before it became chic in Hollywood to lift up one's favorite cause. Best known today as a conservative stalwart who headed the National Rifle Association (which, in my opinion, was his all-time scariest role), he also marched with Martin Luther King and was an early Hollywood opponent of racism and segregation (along with, it may surprise some, John Wayne). He opposed both Marxism and McCarthyism as threats to liberty. As an elder statesman, he spoke out against abortion and political correctness, to which he referred as "tyranny with manners".

In 2002, Heston was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, the tragic condition which eventually claimed the life of his close friend, Ronald Reagan. His appearances in recent years were rare.

I'm thanking God today for the work of Charlton Heston. I'll be able to enjoy his movies with my children and (someday) grandchildren for years to come. If you're not familiar with his film work, I commend it to you.

I'm also thanking God for Charlton Heston's example as a Christian activist. My opinions may differ with Heston on some issues, but he never shied away from standing up for what he believed was right, even if it meant being ridiculed by some of the cultural elites. He stood up for basic human rights in a very confusing era, in a very confusing place. We can all learn something, I think, from this very gifted man.