Lights, camera, time for fine fall films

Let’s start with a baker’s dozen of movies that always get me in the mood for fall, a time quite well suited to evenings in front of the fire, the frost coating the pumpkin and a crisp snap in the air.

In no particular order, these would be my choices:

“Halloween” (1978)

There’s just something about a young Jamie Lee Curtis in knee socks that gets to me every time. Probably my Catholic grade school background. This is the film that set the standard for every slasher flick that followed … and among the best of the blood-soaked bunch.

“The Blair Witch
Project” (1999)

If what you’re looking for is something scary in the woods, you don’t want to miss this one. Three documentary film students — none of which is very bright — meet a mysterious end in a Maryland forest.

“All the Right Moves” (1983)

Set in a fictional Pennsylvania town called Ampipe, where high school football reigns supreme, this one evokes everything that’s special about fall Friday nights, most of it having nothing to do with football and everything to do with growing up.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975)

This isn’t for everyone, I get that, but it’s such a campy send-up of so many tropes — done way before that was a thing — that I find it irresistible, despite never having seen it in a theater. And I have done the Time Warp … though not ever in public.

“Home for the Holidays” (1995)

Back when my wife (then my fiancée) and I went to movies a lot, this one entertained us immensely. An incredible cast, led by Robert Downey Jr. and Holly Hunter, propels this well-written comedy into a rather dark place when it’s time for a family Thanksgiving dinner that’s cringe-worthy for all awkward get-togethers.

“The Paper Chase” (1973)

Fall never fails to take me back to this film and its depiction of Harvard Law School. It is a thing of beauty, just the trees and the lake and the buildings, all of which form the backdrop of a story about a first-year student trying to make it to — and stay in — the Upper Echelon. Saw this with my family just before I started at Notre Dame and Mom always used it as a touchstone in her weekly letters, sometimes calling me “Mister Hart.” Magical movie-making.

“The Perfect Storm” (2000)

Having vacationed on Nantucket Island two years before this film was released, a lot of the town and its docks and wharfs and sea-going history were familiar to me. But for a warning as to how treacherous the North Atlantic can turn in the fall, this movie never fails to remind me that the ocean has no memory.

“Harvest Home” (1978)

I think this was a made-for-TV series based on the Thomas Tryon novel, which ought to preclude its inclusion on this list, but I just love watching Bette Davis (in one of her last roles) chewing up the scenery as the leader of a coven that wreaks serious autumn havoc.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962)

Doubtless the most decorated and fondly remembered movie on this list, it’s almost perfect in every regard, but the scene in which Scout and Jem dress up for Halloween and walk home through those woods is among the best ever filmed. And when you get the payoff with Boo Radley stepping out from the shadows, well, I can’t blame you if you start to cry a little.

“Dark Shadows” (2012)

I had almost forgotten how much I liked this one until I watched it again the other day on one of those streaming services. If you want a taste of what Maine feels like in the fall, this is essential viewing, but if you’re in the mood for some serious satire and killer screenwriting, with a cast led by Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, this is a can’t miss. Then you add in Alice Cooper rocking out and you have a wonderfully entertaining, if subversive, film.

“Risky Business” (1983)

Tom Cruise makes his second appearance on this list, again playing a teenager with hopes that, well, may just be beyond his reach. We see him raking leaves in the back yard and have no idea what’s going to happen, but you’ll meet Guido the killer pimp, take a thrill chase in a Porsche (“There is no substitute”), witness a party for all ages and ride a Chicago train with Tangerine Dream laying down ambient atmosphere … oh, yeah, a call-girl too.

“Rudy” (1993)

First of all, there’s more than a little Fighting Irish pixie dust sprinkled on this fairy tale — I know because I was there when it happened in 1975 — but that’s just Hollywood, right? This isn’t a documentary; it’s only a movie, but it’s a darn fine one. Filmed mostly on a campus where I spent four years, it’s got heartbreak and heart, with more than its fair share of human shortcomings, all leading to a climax that, as you might guess, always leaves me inspired.

“Animal House” (1978)

“Seven years of college, down the drain,” says John Belushi in his signature role as Bluto, a line that most folks probably wouldn’t rank in the movie’s Top Ten, but I’ve always liked for its inside-out logic. Set at a fictional Pennsylvania college, it is all about fall on a small campus, a place for fraternity rushes, toga parties, road trips, mid-term exams, expulsions and the sweetest kind of revenge.

So that’s my list.

I’m sure you have more (perhaps better) suggestions, but that’s the fun of publishing mine for your personal perusal.

It’s in an autumnal spirit, which makes this the best time of year.

You have cooler days with those apple-cider breezes, azure skies so blindingly blue that you can almost see heaven and the reminder that winter’s on its way, so get out while you can.

Take a walk, striding down a sidewalk, kicking the leaves out of your way as you wander through a landscape in transition, breathing in the aroma of a bonfire, a movie waiting back home.

Mike Dewey can be reached atCarolinamiked@aol.com or 6211 Cardinal Drive, New Bern, NC 28560. He invites you to join the fun on his Facebook page, where autumn is currently in the air.