Sigourney Weaver: (with a smile) You know, you don't act like a scientist at all.

Bill Murray: No?

Sigourney Weaver: No. (the smile vanishes, she's the Ice Queen) More like a game show host.

As time passes, and Lynch degenerates into a purveyor of bullshit puzzle flicks like MULHOLLAND DR. and INLAND EMPIRE, I'm finding ERASERHEAD to be his one really essential movie, the one that never gets stale.

My interpretation is pretty basic, that Henry overcomes the lusts/distractions of the flesh/world and goes to heaven, where everything will be fine.

You could just read the play and find out, of course.

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster, with Jules Feiffer's brilliant illustrations. Just exactly the kind of book to give to an imaginative and bored sixth grader to get him out of his funk at how boring school is. I'm very lucky to have been given it to read by the world's greatest sixth grade teacher, the divine Diane Ridgley (God bless and keep you wherever you are, dear lady).

Thelonious Monk. Pure pleasure.

I'd say go with LOT 49. It is faster and funnier and accessible, to say nothing of being short. Then move on to 100 YEARS, if you must.

Keaton's THE GENERAL.

Bergman's FANNY AND ALEXANDER

Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI

Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS

Jones' DUCK AMUCK

ANNA KARENINA -- amazing and completely engrossing.

INFINITE JEST -- amazing and completely engrossing.

DAVID COPPERFIELD, BLEAK HOUSE -- amazing and completely engrossing.

I don't think Sellers is the best thing in LOLITA, but he's excellent in it.

As for others, besides DR. STRANGELOVE, there's his glorious little cameo in THE WRONG BOX, as a hopelessly drunken surgeon. And I think his film debut in THE LADYKILLERS with Alec Guinness, but he doesn't have a lot to do in it.

By all means see BEING THERE. I also recommend his turn in MURDER BY DEATH, playing an extended riff on the Charlie Chan style detective. He's extremely funny.

I seem to be alone in finding those Clouseau things unwatchable. Dreadfully unfunny.

Cronenberg's DEAD RINGERS, easily his best and most interesting movie.

I'll second Kubrick's THE SHINING, too.