We want to share the experiences and opinions of San Francisco adults 50 and over. If you’d like to be one of the people we contact for our next Seniors Say question, send your name and neighborhood to Mary Hunt, maryhunt@sfseniorbeat.com. We’d also like your age and a picture but these are optional.
It’s no surprise that we’re watching a lot of movies, quarantined as we are in our home “theaters.” We asked people what movies they had seen that had meaty roles for older adults.
Brian Goggin, sculptor of “Defenestration” and other works
Like many of his fellows, Brian gives high marks to “On Golden Pond” (Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda) 1981. “I love that movie,” he said.
“And I’ve been into Sydney Poitier, too, because in his films, he’s cool — cool in the midst of chaos” – appropriate for our times.
“And Noir. Those are a great distraction. The Criterion Collection has some great ones! Sign up for that now and you get a month free. I’m going to watch ‘The Grey Fox.’ It has the best mustache.”
Lois Martin, talent acquisition specialist
Lois favors “Driving Lessons,” 2006. “It’s a wonderful British comedy about a 17-year-old – Rupert Gint, and an aging actress — Julie Waters.
The teenager has led a very sheltered life, but when he works for the actress, he experiences things he never had before. Very fun!”
Clarence Towers, photographer
Like many queried by Senior Beat, he enjoyed “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”: “I saw both of them, but I liked the first one better.”
Clarence’s list also includes “The Buena Vista Social Club,” “On Golden Pond,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Gran Torino,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Bucket List,” “Last Vegas,” “About Schmidt,” “Cocoon, “and “Lincoln.”
“There are a couple of movies I saw when I was not a senior that I don’t remember that well. Is that a senior moment? There are a few more that I have seen with actors over 50, but these days 50 seems more like middle age,” he said.
Susan Sullivan, senior fitness trainer, music teacher
Susan nominates as best movies featuring a mature cast, two films: the ”excellent” “Hobson’s Choice,” a British film from 1954. Directed by David Lean, it stars Charles Laughton.
When the film first hit the silver screens, the New York Times critic praised Laughton as “the windy and bibulous curmudgeon right down to the ground.”
Another favorite of Susan’s is “Batteries Not Included,” in which Steven Spielberg directs “the sublime” Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.
“I just watched “Hobson’s Choice” again last week. It is a family favorite. Hope you enjoy it. The female heroine is Kick-Ass.
“Batteries Not Included” is a bit more lightweight, but Hume and Jessica are of course, sublime.”
Mari Eliza, graphic artist
I like odd films. I studied film history and used to spend a lot of time at the theatre. Quit going when they cut the screens down in size. Very few films are worthy of big screens now. So, my favorite are not the latest.
If I were to pick a few favorites I would start withTerry Gilliam’s “Brazil.‘ He comes pretty close to describing the world we are living in now, from mall bombings to the computer-run dense cities cut off from the pristine clean country-side. Who would have thought it would come to this in 1985?
“Harold and Maude” is another one. The film manages to turn tragedy into comedy. The film is incredibly comforting in its dark humor.
As a teenager with a license to drive, I was able to hang out in a place called Beaux Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla., where an art promoter turned a hotel into a weekend party with eclectic art and live music.
No air conditioning but, he turned the 20 x 20 x 20 foot dining room with high ceilings and fans into a film screening room and provided us with the art films he procured from a San Francisco source he met while attending California College of Arts and Crafts. We got to witness the Luis Buñuel classics like “Un Chien Andalous” and “Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.”
