49. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryThis movie scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid. There was something about Gene Wilder's manic performance and the fact that kids kept disappearing that made me uneasy. Top that with the scene in the tunnel with the creepy song and disturbing imagery and you have nightmare fodder for years. That may be one of the reasons I love this movie. Scary movies are wonderfully cathartic and this is a great one to start with. I especially love the ones that have absolutely no basis in fact or reality, movies that can scare you but you can comfort yourself with the sure knowledge that it could never happen to you. Watching this movie as an adult, I realize that it has not lost any of its creepyness. The songs, the bizarre family situation and Bavarian town full of Americans add layers of weirdness before you ever meet one Umpalumpa. Although I love Tim Burton, I wonder why he bothered to remake this film. Anything he did will be a pale shadow to the pulsating lump of delight and horror that is this wonderful movie. Let me also cite the wonderful quotability of the movie. From the songs to the made up words, Roald Dahl has become a pervasive voice in the American pop consciousness. Oh, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberry!
1 comment:
Yes, Gene Wilder has never been more creepy and insane. Bless him.
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