David Duchovny’s two favourite movies of all time: “It’s the best soap opera”
Fans of science fiction or even television in general will know exactly who David Duchovny is. The American star is TV royalty, thanks to his role as Fox Mulder in the classic show The X-Files. Alongside his partner Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully, Mulder was the sceptical voice of reason in a world of alien interlopers and supernatural goings-on that gripped viewers for nine original seasons and then two rebooted ones.
There’s more to Duchovny than just chasing little green men around. His film roles range from the dog-focused family comedy Beethoven to Chaplin, the biopic that earned Robert Downey Jr an Oscar nomination for the titular role. Duchovny played Roland Totheroh, the silent film star’s regular cinematographer. He also appeared in Dominic Sena’s movie Kalifornia, which features an incredibly rare appearance from Brad Pitt as a villain.
When it comes to the movies he likes to watch, Duchovny is a fan of the classics. Speaking to Rotten Tomatoes, the double Golden Globe winner named some very famous films amongst his five favourites. He chose Oldboy, Park Chan-Wook’s revolutionary, blood-curdling action romp; Annie Hall, one of Woody Allen’s best ever movies; and Roman Polanski’s neo-noir thriller Chinatown. Just try to set aside the fact that two of those directors are more than problematic. His final two picks were equally as revered, and he made them both at the same time.
“The Godfather. That’s two. One and two,” he revealed. “It’s the best soap opera. It’s all those, you know, it’s the human drama, and it’s exciting. And if it was done badly, it’s like a soap opera in the afternoon, and you just realise that there are only so many stories that can be told, but when they’re told in the right way, they’re beautiful and effective. So much of it is good, you know: The acting is good, the directing is subtle, withheld, so much of it in wide shots, with very few close-ups. It takes balls to do that.”
Francis Ford Coppola’s first two Godfather movies routinely appear in lists of the great films ever made. They both won ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars (the follow-up being the first and only sequel to obtain this honour), while Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro became the first duo to win acting Oscars for playing the same character—Don Vito Corleone. At this point, it’s a little tedious to talk about them as two of the greats; that’s how long the conversation has gone on for. No wonder some people think they ‘insist upon’ themselves.
It’s important to remember, however, that the Godfather series is a trilogy. Poor old The Godfather Part III was released 16 years after the second instalment and failed to capture any of the magic of the previous outings. Even Coppola himself isn’t a huge fan. “I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as [its reputation],” Duchovny said, “It’s just that it’s compared to one and two”. He did admit to being a fan of one scene where Al Pacino’s Michael speaks to a priest about his misdeeds.
Number three might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t go wrong with the first two Godfathers. They’ve remained iconic for a reason, with David Duchovny being one of their many, many fans.
