InTheHeatOfTheNight Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Summertime seems to be movie list-making time in just about every publication. I imagine it's because once you slap Chris Pine or Christian Bale onto a summer magazine cover, you're stuck waiting for the fall buzz to kick up ... or anxious film writers out there are hoping to remind audiences that they can ease the pain of mindless blockbusters with meat-and-potato classics. Either way, we get a lot of lists.

Esquire has a particularly interesting one up, though. They've compiled a collection of 75 movies they feel every man should see in his lifetime, and go so far as to suggest they've all shaped American manhood in some fashion. Some of the choices are obvious classics: In the Heat of the Night, 12 Angry Men, Chinatown, The Godfather, North by Northwest, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The French Connection. Some are a little more on the forgotten side, like Fitzcarraldo and Run Silent, Run Deep.

But some of the choices are a little questionable. Iron Man? Three Kings? Runaway Train? Lone Star? Enjoyable sure, but are they must watch classics? Did Lone Star really shape modern manhood? I'm pretty sure Iron Man didn't considering it came out oh, exactly one year ago. Surely Easy Rider or Death Wish should have two of those spots. Doesn't John McClane deserve a rank above Johnny Dangerously? No Goodfellas? Why only one John Wayne (The Searchers) and no Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck?

Check out the list and ponder whether you think watching all 75 of these makes (or has made) a true man, as Esquire's version has me a little worried. Then come back and tell us what films you think are more essential than these.

*And no, clearly no one thinks there's an essential list for women. We may have to put that one together here on Cinematical.

It's been awhile since my last shout out to our friends at Autoblog. If you love movies and cars or simply movie cars, you should check them out regularly, as they occasionally point out when vehicles from classic films are up for sale or auction. The latest bit of cinephilia automobilia memorabilia they've come across is the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters. Just think of how cool you'd be driving down the street in this converted 1959 ambulance. And it will only set you back about $150,000.

But according to Aint it Cool News, you aren't just paying for the car from Ghostbusters; the vehicle was also featured in In the Heat of the Night. Plus it has all new interiors and rebuilt mechanics. Sure, that means you probably won't be sitting on the exact seats that Dan Aykroyd and the others sat on, but at least it might be more comfortable to ride around in. Of course, the true fan doesn't need comfortability. He or she might even prefer the car needed, "some suspension work and shocks. Brakes, brake pads, lining, steering box, transmission, rear-end. Also new rings, mufflers, a little wiring," and for it to cost only $4800 (though this would be for the car as it looked prior to becoming the Ecto-1, so who would want that?) If you can't afford it, I'm sure these guys are interested in purchasing the car. Their fake Ecto-1 was apparently totaled on New Year's Eve.