Movies in a Minute: The Essence of the 100 Greatest Films Distilled into a Page or Two of Poetry

by Tom Pontac

Overview

The book is a combination of love and art. It presents classic films in a new way, reminding the readers about what they felt and enjoyed when they first experienced these films. It allows them to run the film and the enjoyment of it once again in the theater of their minds. It helps brings back the good old times in a brand new way. It’s time to enjoy the essence of the hundred greatest movies in a page of poetry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496947802
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	10/27/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	190
File size:	224 KB

Read an Excerpt

Movies in a Minute

The Essence of the 100 Greatest Films Distilled into a Page or Two of Poetry

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By Tom Pontac

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2014 Tom Pontac
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4969-4779-6

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CHAPTER 1

1. Citizen Kane

A giant gate
A foggy dew
Reveals the
Castle Xanadu
A lighted pane,
A lonely room,
Displayed within
This shuttered gloom,
A dying man,
A single word,
"Rosebud,"
Nothing more is heard
A lifeless hand
Lets loose to fall
A storm imprisoned
In a ball
Charles Foster Kane,
As all men must,
Saw life and fortune
Turn to dust
Men pondered what
His last word meant
Unknowing that
His life was spent
In a desperate search to find
That peaceful world
He'd left behind
Kane's fortune robbed
His life of love
Now smoke and ashes
Curl above
The shuttered hulk
Of Xanadu
Where sled and
Innocence
Pass through
How brief is life
This story tells-
A masterpiece
By Orson Wells


2. Casablanca

French Morocco,'41
War has Europe
On the run
Everybody
Stops to stay
For a while at Rick's Café
It's Bogart, Bergman
And a story
Filled with romance,
Honor, glory
(Plus Claude Rains
And Peter Lorre)
Sam plays again
"As Time Goes By"
Shows Fundamental
Things Apply
As Rick remembers
What they did,
When he said,
"Looking at you, kid"
As time went by
War tore apart
All but the love
Within their heart
Again Rick lets her go
And fly
To safety though
The darkening sky
And knows the sacrifice
He did,
Looks up, says,
"Looking at you, kid."
Shoots German as
Gendarmes arrive,
So love and honor
Can survive
"The usual suspects,"
French cop states,
Just, "Round them up!"
And seals their fates
The fog rolls in,
The world keeps spinning
'A beautiful friendship'
Is beginning!


3. The Godfather

Here's the good
And awful news
His offer's one
You can't refuse
The Don is one,
You do his wishes
Unless you want
To sleep with fishes
The Great American
Dream come true
Written in blood red,
White and blue
He pulls the strings
Hits happen and
All done with a
Fine Italian hand
He's the "Local
Italian boy makes good"
And the head of the
'Family' Neighborhood


4. Gone With The Wind

Ante Bellum,
Southern Belle
Civil War turns
South to Hell
Rhett and Scarlet,
Rogue and Lady
Share a romance
Fast and Shady
While Devastation
Grips the nation
Scarlet holds tight
To plantation
We can see
Atlanta Burning
As we see
Our Scarlet Yearning
For a love that's
Most forbidden
Scarlet keeps her
Passions hidden
Post war peace,
Means Reconstruction
From the Civil War's
Destruction
Rhett really tries
To let her know
That he's the one
Who loves her so
He offers love
So she'll believe
She spurns, he turns,
And goes to leave
Too late, she knows
"I love this man!"
But, frankly, he
"Don't give a damn!"
Oh well, says she,
I always say,
"Tomorrow is another day!"


5. Lawrence Of Arabia

Englishman,
Dressed all in white,
Shows desert Bedouins
How to fight
Desert Bedouin,
Dressed in black,
Helps white faced
Englishman attack
They blow up trains
And ride the sand
An Anti-Turkish
Traveling Band
And serve both
Bedouin and king,
Who think this Englishman's
The thing,
Invincible and
Super strong
Turks capture him
And prove them wrong
They break his body,
Not his will,
He, still,
Has destiny to fill
"Lead one more time?"
They plead
"Just ask us!"
He replies,
"On to Damascus!"
With Arab victory,
Total, whole,
Lawrence loses
English soul
Back in England,
Freed from strife,
Lawrence loses
English life


6. The Wizard Of Oz

Kansas Wind comes up, non-soto
Lifts Dorothy, house and dog-en Toto!
Whirls All up, then Swirls it down
Witch is squished in Munchkin Town
Witch's Sister threatens Dot
Hot for Ruby shoes she's got
On to Oz, Old Wizard there
Will wash the witch from Dorothy's hair
Stout Companions, Scarecrow, Tin
Man and the Lion finally win
An Audience with Noble Wiz
Who'll gift them if they'll do His Biz
To wit: Bring broomstick back from foe
So to her castle they all go
Through forest, fights and helter skelter
They succeed and finally melt her!
Wiz exposed! An Old Man he
Gives brains, courage and heart to three
Poor Dorothy thinks she's left behind
Until she clicks her heels to find
She's back in Kansas, what a sight-
The colors gone-She's black and white!


7. The Graduate

Sounds of Silence wrap around
Our hero Ben, who's Homeward Bound
And finds he hasn't got a clue
On what to say, or what to do
Ben sees ahead a plastic life
Now enter fathers' partners' wife!
Ben takes her home,
She takes her hose off!
Ben starts to sweat,
She takes her clothes off!
He wants to leave, she says, "Ben dear,"
"Any time you want, I'm here!"
He goes but, in a day, our Ben
Calls Mrs. Robinson again
This time both have no thought of waiting
Instantly they're conjugating
No single word in bed is said
Sounds of Silence heard, instead
Daughter comes home, younger version
Of Bens' amorous perversion,
He prefers the Miss To Mrs.
Confesses all, as Mother hisses
Both despise him, curse his name
Alone, he sits and writes, "Elaine."
Invades her wedding she's deciding
To elope with Ben, and riding
In a bus, sans Mom and groom,
And 'Graduates' to Honeymoon!


8. On The Waterfront

Instead of anguish,
Never ending,
He could have been,
At least,
Contending
Now on the docks,
And not the ring
He feels his life's
A hollow thing
And realizes,
That the Mob,
Which he despises,
Keeps his job
And to avenge
The ones who died
Would only get him
Crucified!
A Saintly gal
Wins over Terry
He's got to be
The man she'll marry,
His brothers death
Convinces Terry-
To learn to sing
Like a canary,
He's beaten, broken,
But unbowed,
And leads the
Cheering Union Crowd!
So, in it's rough
And tumble way
Truth and courage
Have their day


9. Schindler's List

Hitler's Nazis
Take their toll
Otto Schindler
Finds his soul
In this brutal,
Killing nation
Schindler's List
Gives both
Salvation
Within this harsh
And brutal place
Schindler and his list
Gave grace
His dark
And tortured soul
Made light
And shined a candle
In the night
His life had meaning
So we save
A prayer to honor
Schindler's grave


10. Singin' In The Rain

Reel and real life
Come together
Like sunny days
And rainy weather
When dance and songs
Got integrated
And loves' emotions
Liberated
As people voiced
Their passions strong
As if by chance
In dance and song
This musical's
A brand new game
When silents went
And talkies came
Kelly and O'Connor
Whirl
Across the screen
To get the girl
On back stages
Down the halls
Across our hearts
And up the walls
Kelly's love won't wait
A minute
Not only dancing up a storm-
But in it!
Just like a child
With love's sweet pain
He's swinging,
"Singing in the rain"
Eventually,
Love's truth is seen
As Kelly, Reynolds
Are a team
In love's embrace
We too will find
The rain's sweet songs
Within our mind


11. It's A Wonderful Life

In Bedford Falls, George Bailey's dreams
Have turned to dust, or so it seems
His life's responsibilities and debt
Were obligations, always met
But now, bereft of dreams and hope,
He feels at the end of his rope
The angels look and know they must
Reveal the gold within the dust
For George, with all his dreams thus torn,
Now wishes he had not been born
A novice angel, A.F.C.,
Reveals to him how life would be
And what would happen, how he'd feel
If, in fact, his wish were real
All those not helped, lives not made whole,
Through the goodness of his soul
His presence gone, old hurts unhealed,
George sees life's meaning now revealed
He finds life's wonderful today
Gods gift he cannot throw away!
And we discover, as this ends,
No man's a failure, who has friends
And as his family gathers round,
Know he's the richest man in town.


12. Sunset Boulevard

Body floating
Dead relating
Star emoting
Corpse narrating
Norma's story
Silent glory
Movie queen,
Silver screen
Career crashes
Falls to ashes
Sits for years
Alone in hall
Waits for C.
De Mille to call
One day seeing
Young man fleeing
Gives him refuge
He can't refuse,
First he lays her,
Then betrays her
Exits past her,
She moves faster
Plugs that cruel guy,
(Now the pool guy)
Start's emoting
He? Well, floating!
Final ending
Stairs, descending,
Strong and steady
Norma's ready-
Eyes wide, nose up
Final close up!


13. The Bridge On
The River Kwai

Imprisoned in
A foreign land
British soldiers
Take their stand
Build a bridge
Keep their pride
Give the Japanese
A ride
Here the test
Of wills expresses
As captors, captives
Feel distresses
Duty struggles
With their pride
As each confronts
The others side
The bridge goes up,
But undercover,
The bridge blows up
As we discover
This metaphor of life
They bring:
All tried to do
"The proper thing."


14. Some Like It Hot

Valentine's Day,
Execution
Witnesses need
Fast solution
Musicians find that
Gender bending
Keeps career, and life,
From ending
Curtis/Lemmon have To shave all
Face and arms and legs
To save all
Escaping with an
All girl band
Is almost more than
They can stand
Marilyn M.
In nightgown posing
Almost tempts them
To exposing
Their desires
And their sexes
Sure to turn their lives
To Ex'es
The frantic action
Keeps you guessing
Star crossed lovers
Are cross dressing
No one's perfect
Love beats lie
As guy gets girl,
And guy gets guy!


15. Star Wars

Long time ago,
And far away
In a Galaxy
They say
The Rebel (Good Guy)
Forces fight
Bad Darth Vader
Black as night
It's a Classic
Story told
With captured princess,
Heroes bold,
Droid companions,
Helping fight
A Warrior wise,
A Jedi Knight,
Future western,
Jet ski horses,
Warping spaceships,
Light swords, Forces
A banged up future-
Great F/X-
Gosh!
Almost everything,
But sex,
Didactic and
Galactic story
Filled with romance,
Fun and glory
As good, triumphant,
Wins the day
We knew that it
Would end this way
But it's not over,
At the end
And waiting for us,
Round the bend,
Are sequels (prequels?)
Making three
To form the
Star Wars Trilogy!


16. All About Eve

Success, no matter
What the cost
Have honor, scruples
Torn and tossed
Fasten seat belts,
For this flight
It's going to be
A bumpy night
Wet-eyed, all innocence
And guile,
Eve worms her winsome way
With style
Enchanting almost all
To see
Her melancholy
History
First Margo
And her friends believe
The shy and lovely
Charm of Eve
But as the story
Will reveal
Her words don't indicate
What's real
This classic masterpiece
Displays
With insight
How ambition plays
With subterfuge
And inner drives
Manipulating
Other's lives
Eve's duplicity and fires
Reward her with
Her heart's desires
But as the story ends
Believe,
What Eve has given,
She'll receive
We all discover,
At what cost,
Exactly what was won,
And lost.............

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Movies in a Minute by Tom Pontac. Copyright © 2014 Tom Pontac. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

1. Citizen Kane, 1,
2. Casablanca, 3,
3. The Godfather, 5,
4. Gone With The Wind, 6,
5. Lawrence Of Arabia, 8,
6. The Wizard Of Oz, 10,
7. The Graduate, 11,
8. On The Waterfront, 13,
9. Schindler's List, 15,
10. Singin' In The Rain, 16,
11. It's A Wonderful Life, 18,
12. Sunset Boulevard, 19,
13. The Bridge On The River Kwai, 21,
14. Some Like It Hot, 22,
15. Star Wars, 24,
16. All About Eve, 26,
17. The African Queen, 28,
18. Psycho, 30,
19. Chinatown, 31,
20. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, 33,
21. The Grapes Of Wrath, 35,
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 36,
23. The Maltese Falcon, 38,
24. Raging Bull, 39,
25. E.T.-The Extraterrestrial, 41,
26. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stopped Worrying And Love The Bomb, 43,
27. Bonnie And Clyde, 45,
28. Apocalypse Now, 47,
29. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, 49,
30. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, 51,
31. Annie Hall, 53,
32. The Godfather, Part II, 55,
33. High Noon, 56,
34. To Kill A Mockingbird, 57,
35. It Happened One Night, 59,
36. Midnight Cowboy, 61,
37. The Best Years Of Ours Lives, 62,
38. Double Indemnity, 64,
39. Doctor Zhivago, 66,
40. North By Northwest, 67,
41. West Side Story, 69,
42. Rear Window, 71,
43. King Kong, 73,
44. The Birth Of A Nation, 75,
45. A Streetcar Named Desire, 77,
46. A Clockwork Orange, 79,
47. Taxi Driver, 81,
48. Jaws, 83,
49. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, 85,
50. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, 86,
51. The Philadelphia Story, 88,
52. From Here To Eternity, 90,
53. Amadeus, 92,
54. All Quiet On The Western Front, 94,
55. The Sound Of Music, 95,
56. M*A*S*H, 96,
57. The Third Man, 97,
58. Fantasia, 99,
59. Rebel Without A Cause, 101,
60. Raiders Of The Lost Ark, 103,
61. Vertigo, 105,
62. Tootsie, 107,
63. Stagecoach, 109,
64. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, 111,
65. The Silence Of The Lambs, 113,
66. Network, 115,
67. The Manchurian Candidate, 116,
68. An American In Paris, 118,
69. Shane, 120,
70. The French Connection, 122,
71. Forrest Gump, 124,
72. Ben-Hur, 125,
73. Wuthering Heights, 127,
74. The Gold Rush, 129,
75. Dances With Wolves, 131,
76. City Lights, 133,
77. American Graffiti, 135,
78. Rocky, 137,
79. The Deer Hunter, 138,
80. The Wild Bunch, 140,
81. Modern Times, 141,
82. Giant, 143,
83. Platoon, 145,
84. Fargo, 147,
85. Duck Soup, 149,
86. Mutiny On The Bounty, 151,
87. Frankenstein, 153,
88. Easy Rider, 155,
89. Patton, 156,
90. The Jazz Singer, 157,
91. My Fair Lady, 159,
92. A Place In The Sun, 161,
93. The Apartment, 162,
94. Goodfellas, 163,
95. Pulp Fiction, 165,
96. The Searchers, 167,
97. Bringing Up Baby, 169,
98. Unforgiven, 171,
99. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, 172,
100. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 173,