All good things must come to an end--even at the movies! And so it was that credits rolled on Thursday evening, December 14 for one of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library's most popular and longest-running programs - Dann & Raymond's Movie Club!
For 17 years, Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire and film historian and author Raymond Benson educated, entertained and wowed library audiences with their encyclopedic knowledge and genuine good humor about all things movies and Hollywood.
"Seventeen years is as long as it takes to raise a child up through high school...think about that Dann," joked Benson as he and Gire welcomed the standing room only crowd who had come to say goodbye and to be a part of the final movie club at AHML.
Movie club topics changed monthly and covered the gamut -- literally hundreds through the years - ranging from film genres, actors and actresses, directors and the most-anticipated presentation each year--Dann & Raymond's Movie Club Oscar Predictions. Along the way, the duo garnered a loyal and active fan base.
"We've been following them for years," said Judy Cannella, a long-time Arlington Heights resident who with her husband Joe were among the more than 220 people who filled the Hendrickson Room for this special presentation. "We've always enjoyed them. They are funny and really so interesting. We always had fun and came away with good recommendations."
And in true fashion, Gire and Benson once again delivered on the 'fun and interesting' as they presented a lively program titled Dann & Raymond's Desert Island Movies.
"I went with the stuff that if I walk by a TV set and it's on, I stop. These are the movies that speak to me and that when I see them, I have to watch them again," said Gire.
Over the course of two hours, Dann and Raymond proceeded to share their favorite films - the movies that if stranded on the proverbial desert island they'd take with them to watch over and over again. Bantering back and forth and taking turns one by one, the two ranked their personal top ten films of all times accompanied by film clips, cinema history insights and personal recollections worthy of their own movie script and retelling.
"They're the stories of our lives. They're the stories of our hopes. They're the stories of our fears," said Gire as he reflected on the importance of movies and why audiences love them, "and tonight we celebrate with you the motion picture experience. Take it Raymond..."
Here are movies (drumroll, please...) selected by Dann and Raymond as their favorite films.
Dann's Picks:
10. Groundhog Day
9. Psycho
8. Do the Right Thing
7. The Graduate
6. Broadcast News
5. The Big Short
4. Pleasantville
3. Inception
2. The Exorcist
1. The Right Stuff
Raymond's Picks:
10. Double Indemnity
9. Taxi Driver
8. Vertigo
7. The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
6. Annie Hall
5. From Russia with Love
4. City Lights
3. The Seventh Seal
2. Duck Soup
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey