Biograph favorites

The staff was in a partying mood on Feb. 11, 1974.

Feb. 12, 1972 was the first day of business for the Biograph Theatre at 814 W. Grace St. Here's a couple of lists of favorite films from my stint as that cinema's manager (1972-83).

For the staff a workhorse of a time-killer between shows, during lulls, was making top ten lists and comparing them. We listed our favorite films of all-time, or our top ten westerns, or film noirs, etc. Here's a current list of my favorite ten titles that were Richmond premieres (still in their first-run bookings) when they were screened at the theater in my time there.

1. "Chinatown" (1974)
2. "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" (1972)
3. "The Conformist" (1971)
4. "The Conversation" (1974)
5. "Seven Beauties" (1976)
6. "Amarcord" (1974)
7. "Wiseblood" (1979)
8. "Bread and Chocolate" (1978)
9. "Napoleon" (1927) This was the restored version which came out in 1981
10. "My American Uncle" (1981)

And, with no apologies, here's my list of the ten weirdest movies that I presented, with the actual date they opened at the Biograph in parenthesis:

1. "Honeymoon Killers" (10/22/82)
2. "Eraserhead" (2/16/79)
3. "Fingers" (2/8/80)
4. "Eyes of Hell" (3/16/73)
5. "Heart of Glass" (4/26/82)
6. "El Topo" (5/25/73)
7. "Freaks" (3/31/72)
8. "Thundercrack!" (11/26/76)
9. "Greaser's Palace" (5/5/73)
10. "Pink Flamingos" (7/18/73)