DSW10: TOP 10 FILM RECOMMENDATIONS from PETER FEY

HALLOWEEN 2020! Digging Star Wars turns 10 today! These past few weeks, to celebrate this special anniversary, we've asked previous contributors to provide a Top 10 Recommended Films...and to write about their experience with DSW. Here's a Top 10 list and words from Peter Fey who was the first man to hear the phrase "Digging Star Wars." He has been a guest in multiple DSW podcasts, served as a guest writer, composed music for our vlogs, and edited many audio entries...

I remember when Chris told me about his plan for his Star Wars-related podcast (did we even call it a podcast back then?). He asked if I had any ideas for names. I gave him a couple but he was leaning toward his own: Digging Star Wars. Told him I didn’t care for that. It is, of course, a perfect double-entendre title.

Over the course of the DSW run I found myself guesting a couple of times but also getting more involved with the production. My personal favorite is the Dam Busters episode. As the guest, it allowed me to explore a rich vein of tidbits and connections. But it was also recorded and edited in my home office, had a great Liverpudlian friend as a fascinating guest, and afforded me the opportunity to create the score. Knowing the Maker’s musical taste, I peppered the show with several succinct Bowie/Williams mashup pieces. They still make me smile.

Ten years ago I couldn’t have imagined one of my top two Star Wars films would be called Rogue One. (I would include it in my list below because I watch it, oh, every night, but I have a feeling we’ve all seen it.) I had no notion of being interested by anything about a Mandalorian, because Boba Fett was and is lame. There’s been a lot happening in the Star Wars universe and I’m thankful for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Yeah, I’m looking at you, sequels.

So, to honor this tenth anniversary celebration request, here’s a list of ten films that I’ve “discovered” in these last ten years. Some may have a Star Wars connection, I don’t know. These are just ten films that I’ve experienced for the first time and returned to several times since. Maybe some will be new to you. I recommend them all. 

• Went the Day Well (1942) A bit of wartime propaganda that finds a bucolic English village as ground zero for an impending German invasion. The residents band together and do what they can. Considering when it was made, it doesn’t pull too many punches. 
• The Bridge (1959) The first West German film to address World War II focuses on a group of school boys who, in the waning days of the war, are called up. In an effort to spare them from battle, the local commander tells them to hold the town’s bridge—with tragic results. Based on a true story.
• Touch of Evil (1958) In the last year or so I’ve ventured down a noir alley and found many cool films—some terrible, some amazing. Orson Welles wrote, directed, and stars in this, one of the noir era’s final films. If you just watch it for the opening 3:20 tracking shot alone…you’ll be hooked.
• Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Harry Belafonte produced and starred in this tense, visceral noir. Harry’s character grudgingly accepts a heist job alongside a racist ex-con. Check out the opening sequence to see Belafonte’s inspired use of infra-red film.
• Trafic (1971) I could put almost any Jacques Tati film here. They’re all excellent, all virtually silent, all funny and humane. Wait, maybe this should be Mon Oncle. Or Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday. Or Jour de Fete…
• Cat People (1942) Jacques Tourneur and Nicholas Musuraca (they’ll be back again in a minute) make exquisite use of shadow and sound (and a minimal budget) to create a harrowing psychological horror film. Includes the first-ever use of the Lewton Bus jump scare technique (you’ll know it when you see it) and, I believe, the first use of the word “mamalooks” in cinema history. It would reappear 31 years later in Mean Streets.
• Yesterday (2019) Yes, I’m a huge Beatles fan but I never expected to be moved by a scene like I was in this film. I won’t tell you what it is, but I can tell you I was bawling my eyes out in the Colonial Theatre.
• Out of the Past (1947) For my money, the best noir film ever. Tourneur and Musuraca, of course. But also Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas (as the bad guy), and Jane Greer as a subtle femme fatale who is compelling and surprising to all.
• Sanjuro (1962) Akira Kurosawa’s sequel to Yojimbo finds Toshiro Mifune’s title character a little less mercenary as he mentors a nonet of naive samurai. Plenty of action, intrigue, and genuine humor. The ending battle is one of the greatest—and shortest—in film.
• Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) What would a Chris Mich-sponsored list be without a debate? Is this masterful, 18-part, 25-years-later sequel a TV show or a movie? Well, it was on TV, but its scope and themes and music and presentation are absolutely cinematic. Of course, to fully appreciate this, you have to watch Seasons One and Two, and then Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. The latter is really tied tightly into The Return. David Lynch deftly evokes humor, horror, and pathos. Quite moving, really.

Want to revisit some of Peter Fey's previous contributions to Digging Star Wars? Check out these DSW entries....

• American Graffiti 
• Lawrence of Arabia
• The Dam Busters

The Digging Star Wars 10th Anniversary logo art at the top of this blog was supplied by artist Scott Derby. Please visit his website scottderbyart.com or Esty site to pick up some of his collectible and wearable art. Thanks again to Peter and Scott for contributions to this DSW post...and previous posts, too! 

Want to revisit additional previous contributor's TOP 10 FILM RECOMMENDATIONS? Check out these DSW entries....

Paul Oehlers  - 10 Films that Digging Star Wars covered (and are Paul's favorites)

Dave Lindquist - 10 Films that generated (or support) cinematic/television universes

Ann Avallone - 10 Films. Classic Films.

Mike Zolomij - 10 Films that are gritty (and cool)

James from SuperDimensionalAnalysis.com - 10 Films that an anime lover likes that are NOT anime.

W. Scott Prestwood - 10 Films that are worth-watching on HALLOWEEN! (Grown-ups only, please.)

John Cervino - 10 Films featuring the music of Neil Finn/Crowded House

Gaetan Pappalardo - 10 Films that remind us of ourselves (or Gaetan)

David P. Ramos - 10 Films from 2014-2020

Thanks to Peter, Paul, Dave, Ann, Mike, James, John, Gaetan, David, Scott P and Scott D for making this 10th Anniversary celebration special. And thanks to all of you for visiting our blog now and over the past decade - you make it worthwhile to research, watch and jot down connections between these wonderful films.

Sincerely,  

The Editor and Staff of Digging Star Wars (a.k.a. Chris)