<em>"But if I really say it, the radio won't play it unless I lay it between the lines."</em>

That was 1967, with iconic folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary signing their ironic pop hit "I Dig Rock and Roll Music."

Of course, it's a lot more than just popular music in which you have to lay the message between the lines and it has gotten a lot worse now than it was in 1967. My friend Mick, who knows as much about film as anyone I know, tells me that even in films like<a title="Jaws" href="http://www.horrorphile.net/jaws/" target="_self"> "Jaws,"</a> the filmmakers are trying to get a message across along with the suspense and entertainment.

<em>What message? Stay away from big sharks?</em>

I'm not saying I didn't like movies like this. "Jaws" was released when I was 25, and I went to it prepared to enjoy it. I found myself hating the fact that they changed the book and let a character who should have died survive, but let's face it. That was only the beginning of the Hollywoodization of practically everything.

"Jaws" -- and "Star Wars" two years later -- actually signaled the end of a wonderful era in American film history, a period in which dozens of amazing films that hold up very well were made, from Coppola and the first two "Godfather" films to Altman's "Nashville, Polanski's "Chinatown" and too many others to mention. Films that required moviegoers to bring their brains with them as well as just their eyes and ears.

[caption id="attachment_934" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Robert Shaw eaten by rubber shark."]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/jaws-robert-shaw22.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-934" title="jaws-robert-shaw22" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/jaws-robert-shaw22-300x227.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="227" /></a>[/caption]

But once "Jaws" and "Star Wars" both reached nine-figure grosses as summer movies, everything changed.

Studios stopped making movies for adults and started aiming everything at teenage boys, who would come to see movies they liked again and again.

I have nine movie posters on my wall of films I love, and I don't think any of them even came close to grossing $100 million.

My guess is that "Bull Durham," which grossed nearly $51 million domestically, was probably the biggest hit of the nine. The 1988 Ron Shelton film is also the most recent of all the ones honored on my wall.

I have always loved movies. They probably rank right behind family, friends, baseball and books on my list of the things that matter most to me in life. I have about 600 on DVD, and I'm as much a sucker for popcorn entertainment as anyone. One of my guiltiest pleasures is "The Last Boy Scout," which has absolutely no redeeming message other than "Head or gut?"

[caption id="attachment_935" align="alignright" width="199" caption="Seven of nine on the Wall of Honor"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/20110201_16.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-935" title="20110201_16" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/20110201_16-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

In fact, I don't even claim that most of my favorite films were even good movies.

Some of them just struck me the right way at the right time, and some have not stood the test of time. When I saw "Camelot" in 1968, I loved it and for about six years, I rated it as one of my three favorite films.

When I saw it again in 1974, I thought it was boring. Go figure.

Movies that resonate most with me are ones about friendship, and I also find myself looking for films trying to tell the story of what happened in this country in the '60s. That's why films like "Four Friends," "A Small Circle of Friends" and "The Strawberry Statement" are on my wall.

None of them are great movies, although Arthur Penn's "Four Friends" is probably the best of the three.

All of them try to say something, though, and they don't always lay it between the lines.

<em>Stay away from big sharks.</em>