Movies with honor

On Friday night, 15 guys gathered in front of a big screen tv for pizza, soda, candy (Red Vines for me), popcorn and Gladiator.  what a great movie.  It's got it all -- action, blood, intrigue, drama, a truly creepy and weird villian, who's both weak and powerful at the same time.  It's got the beautiful woman, of course.  ...and then a whole arena full of honor.


Do I need to say this has spoilers?  At this point, if you haven't seen it, don't watch this clip. The music couldn't be better! About 2 minutes in...

I absolutely love this movie. It's beautiful, dramatic, sad, and horrible, but the honor, bravery, and morality are more than enough for two or three movies.

I know every guy is supposed to have Braveheart as their number one, but this is mine. 

Marcus Aurelius: Won't you accept this great honor that I have offered you?
Maximus: With all my heart, no.
Marcus Aurelius: Maximus, that is why it must be you.


Silverado -- Westerns can be filled with honor.  They often have the conflicted, dark hero, which guys secretly want to be. 

Silverado is an underrated movie, in my opinion.  But I can watch it every time it's on.




I won't go into detail on all of them, but here are some of my top choices.

Lord of the Rings -- In fact, one of the things that bugs me about the movie is changing why Merry and Pippin are in the fellowship to begin with. In the movie, they get chased out of town for stealing veggies, but run into Frodo and Sam on their own escape.  In the book, they follow Sam and Frodo because they suspect that their good friends need help in something terribly important.  There's a huge difference, and it bothers me that they changed it, presumably to save screen time.


Ice Age -- A road movie in CGA.  Three guys just out for themselves turn into great friends and end up willing to sacrifice great things for an innocent stranger.





Raiders of the Lost Ark --  Most guys with humdrum jobs totally get this.  Teacher by day, adventurer by night.  It's like the superhero dream, but without the need for tights and a cape.

Star Wars, The Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven, and A Bug's Life  -- I think The Lord of the Rings fits into this group, too.  The Seven Samurai's gathering of heroes is a recurring theme in many movies now.  From pure to conflicted, great to small, young to old, and foolish to wise, we meet our heroes, who'll make up the team that metes out justice while teaching and learning from each other.


The list can go on and on, but I stuck to movies that I want to watch again and again.  For instance, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and Braveheart are great movies, and I really liked them.  But they aren't enjoyable movies to me.  I don't want to see them again and again.