- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
1. M. Hulot's Holiday -- practically a silent comedy, especially appropriate for a beach holiday, cute scenes with kids and a catchy jazz score, all ages.
2. The General -- Buster Keaton, lots of action, unfortunate pro-Confederate sympathies, best seen with the Carl Davis score, suitable for all ages.
3. Paper Clips -- inspiring G-rated documentary about a group of rural Tennessee middle-schoolers who build their own Holocaust memorial, a personal favorite of mine, very patriotic, ages 8 and up.
4. The Witches -- Roald Dahl, Nicholas Roeg, Jim Henson, a deliciously over-the-top turn from Anjelica Huston, good creepy fun for kids who like their fairy tales dark, ages 8 and up.
5. Louisiana Story -- Robert Flaherty, great Virgil Thomson score, fun boy's adventure crossed with nature documentary, all ages. Also: Man of Aran, which is somewhat more action-packed but equally suitable for family viewing.
6. Adventures of Robin Hood -- old-fashioned, rip-roaring adventure, Errol Flynn in green tights, classic Korngold score, all ages.
7. Little Fugitive -- another good film for a beachfront holiday, sweetly innocent portrayal of children at a Coney Island long past, some slightly mature situations, ages 6 and up.
8. Thief of Bagdad -- 1940 British production with Sabu, unusual flashback structure, colonialist subtext, mild suspense, all ages.
9. Time Bandits -- Monty Python for kids, early (and creepy) CGI, fun boys' adventure but limited appeal for girls, ages 7 and up.
10. Nightjohn -- 1996 telefilm from Charles Burnett, sufficiently but not excessively graphic depiction of the horrors of slavery from a child's point of view, perhaps not appropriate for vacation, ages 9 and up (with close supervision).
