subject: Seeing The Greatest Action Films On Michigan Satellite Tv [print this page] Some people go to the movies not to see soulful, dramatic performances but instead to have their hearts and heads rattled the stuff action movies deliver. Satellite TV subscribers in Michigan have their pick when they want to get their fill of the action movie genre. From classic westerns and World War II pictures to modern action flicks, the things that make an action movie great never change. Here are five of the greatest of all time playing on Michigan satellite TV.
1. The Wild Bunch. Westerns are the ideal for the action movie fan, as they make every hello seem like a potential duel. This picture by Sam Peckinpah makes every film before or after seem timid, quiet and respectful. If this is what happens when men go to Mexico, then there is more trouble south of the border than anyone originally thought. See William Holden in one of his best later roles, with Ernest Borgnine and Robert Ryan filling out one of the toughest posses ever assembled.
2. Die Hard. Bruce Willis is not a movie fan favorite for nothing. His laidback style in the midst of utter chaos represents an unflappability we have come to love. That demeanor is on fine display in Die Hard, when Bruces Christmas Eve is rudely interrupted by terrorists. John McClain is not going to allow such things to go down without an epic fight (hence the title). See this picture in HD on HBO.
3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Like Westerns, kung fu pictures are basically one wing of the action genre. Some are straight up battles from beginning to end, while the best of the genre are exercises in narrative restraint and choreography. Crouching Tiger may have done it better than any of the Bruce Lee films. It certainly starts with a bit of calm, but viewers realize that its only the incredibly controlled pacing. When the battles go down, sparks really fly. Starring Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh.
4. The Great Escape. While some of this film is plodding and unnecessary, you have to put up with a little of the bad to get all of the good in the mix. You can boil down the plot rather simply: American POWs are trying to get out of Nazi war camps in WWII, Germans are trying to stop them. Among the more legendary scenes, Steve McQueen hopping a motorcycle and tearing across the countryside is perhaps the most famous (no helmet, of course). See this film in HD on Turner Classic Movies.
5. Speed. A terrorist (Dennis Hopper) has beef with the world and plants a bomb on a L.A. city bus, letting the police know that it will go off if the bus goes below 50 mph. In downtown L.A., thats a tough proposition, so cop Keanu Reeves and fearless passenger Sandra Bullock have their work cut out for them. Made great by the personalities of the leads, this film has all the rip-roaring HD action you could ever want.
