SF Film/Cinema Thread

Originally Posted by jonglover

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And I agree, Tokyo, Citizen Kane is a great film but it has aged poorly. I think this is a problem with much of classic American cinema, however. If you look at canonical foreign films from the same era such as Bicycle Thieves, Grand Illusion, anything Powell & Pressburger, The Third Man, late Ozu, etc., you'll see that they've aged to perfection. I can't offer up a reasonable explanation of why this is but, it's there. I'd still put Citizen Kane in my constantly-rotating "Top 10" tough.

Don't forget "Breathless' by Godard.

I was surprised recently by "The Fountain". It was ridiculed by critics, but I found it very honest, very idealistic and very endearing film. Not to mention that director and cinematographer deserve extra points for making it shine with a limited resourses. Great film which proves once more that there are people in American cinema who are not afraid to be vulnerable with their art nor take on very big ideas.
I definitely recommend this film to anyone who is not suffering from ADD.

Would you recommend it to someone who only mildly enjoyed Pi and was very unimpressed by Requiem?

Originally Posted by Arethusa

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Would you recommend it to someone who only mildly enjoyed Pi and was very unimpressed by Requiem?
Not sure - I liked both, especially Requiem. I would also strongly recommend The Fountain - I found it was a great film with a very touching take on mortality and how we deal with it. The music is fantastic and, strangely enough, a great complement to the multiple stories. Lots of drugs were obvioulsy consumed while writing and shooting this movie, so just be aware of that.

It´s nice to see a film thread where Superman isn´t considered one of the best films of all time...

Originally Posted by Arethusa

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Would you recommend it to someone who only mildly enjoyed Pi and was very unimpressed by Requiem?

I am in your corner in terms of Requiem, I did not like it at all.

The Fountain however is definitely a movie worth seeing. It is full of greatness in terms of performances, story, camera and light . I have to warn you though it is a very melancholic movie, but not boring by any stretch of imagination.

I also would like to recommend one of my favorite film if not the greatest film ever (and I am not ashamed to use such exalted characterization in this case) “The Double life of Veronique” which is out on DVD. Finally, for god sake. If you like EU cinema it is a must. Very few people ever heard of this gem. I discovered it by accident one night at a local rental store (no not a Blockbusters) and I was blown away by mastrefull direction, music and performance by Irene Jacob.

****. Just had to look at this post on the BlackBerry. I'll discuss when I get off the train and home, as to not ruin my hands, but for now:

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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I think a case can be made for Liliana Cavani being the greatest female director ever, even if based soley on the merit of this film. And Charlotte Rampling....

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

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Don't forget "Breathless' by Godard.

Breathless might be my favorite Godard, though it and Histoire(s) du Cinema are both equally important to me.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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I've recycled this top 100 countless times and it's not up to date but there are still some nice suggestions. As for Criterion, many of their releases are actually inferior to equivalent French or English releases, although I must say they really stepped up their game in the last 2 yrs or so.

Fuuma's "top 100" movies
How it works:
"¢\tI'll make a post for every decade, starting with the 1910s, for a total of 100 movies
"¢\tI didn't include more than two movies by the same director for variety's sake
"¢\tThe list is, of course, heavily slanted towards my own taste; for example you'll find a proportionally large numbers of French films
"¢\tI tried to give the list a modern slant by including a lot of recent films (80s and up)
"¢\t Those are only small blurbs, if you're interested in one of those movies, feel free to ask, I like watching "˜em and I like talking about "˜em!

10s
Vampires, les/France/Feuillade/1916: Engrossing crime serial with a macabre edge, the main character is boring but you'll be cheering for the amoral members of "les vampires" gang

20s
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the/Germany/Wiene/1920: Made in the aftermath of WW1. Not so subtle critique of the powers that be, the nightmarish landscapes of this expressionistic movie are a sight to behold
Nosferatu/Germany/Murnau/1922: Another fine example of German expressionism, this one is truly creepy thanks to Max Schreck eerily performance who owes as much to the elaborate gestures of theatre actors as to the much more restrained style that would soon emerge in the cinematic world.
Metropolis/Germany/Lang/1926: Probably the first dystopian sci-fi movie, certainly the best
An andalusian dog/Un chien andalou/France/Bunuel/1929: A dreamlike journey through the subconscious mind of Bunuel (and Dali). The Surrealists were among the first to understand that cinema could be a viable artistic pursuit, worthy of other visual arts

30s
-All Quiet on the Western Front/USA/Milestone/1930: Dramatic anti-war film and a strong indictment of ultra-nationalism, as seen from the German side.
-M/Germany/Lang/1931: A serial killer is on the loose and the town is in a climate of panic and hysteria after eight children have been found dead. The denunciations, name calling and paranoia present in the film take on an interesting subtext when you consider what was going on in Germany at that time. In the highly unlikely case you aren't aware of what I'm referring to, please stop surfing the net and pick up a history book.
-Atalante, l'/France/Vigo/1934: A story that is at times both humorous and deeply poetic. The collaboration between Vigo, who would die a year after completing his masterpiece (and only feature length film), and cameramen Boris Kaufman, Dziga Vertov's half-brother, yields results of tremendous evocative power
-39 steps/UK/Hitchcock/1935: This is one hell of a charming movie. Hitchcock invented the guy&girl (both glamorous of course) who're in trouble with the law/bad guys/etc and must join force to succeed while their mutual contempt tinted attraction fluctuate according to exterior circumstances. Basically a romantic comedy where the typical obstacles to the protagonists love are replaced by elements taken from thrillers.
-Grand illusion, the/Grande Illusion, la/France/Renoir/1937: Renoir once again sets his penetrating gaze on the change of class dynamics after WWI, just looming in the horizon in this case, with this tale of French POW planning their escape from German camps
-Alexander Nevski/URSS/Eisenstein/1938: Made at a time when Russo-Germanic relations weren't at their all time high to say the least, this movie delivers its pro-Russian message with maestria. Observe how clothing, equipment and battle formations, by the judicious use of geometric shapes, contributes to the overall feeling you get from each army.

Thanks! This is great. Are you attending film school? (I'm going to dig into this list when I get home. Seems very similar to mine, though I'm a fanboy so I couldn't possibly keep it down to one choice per director.)

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

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I am in your corner in terms of Requiem, I did not like it at all.

The Fountain however is definitely a movie worth seeing. It is full of greatness in terms of performances, story, camera and light . I have to warn you though it is a very melancholic movie, but not boring by any stretch of imagination.

I also would like to recommend one of my favorite film if not the greatest film ever (and I am not ashamed to use such exalted characterization in this case) "The secret life of Veronique" which is out on DVD. Finally, for god sake. If you like EU cinema it is a must. Very few people ever heard of this gem. I discovered it by accident one night at a local rental store (no not a Blockbusters) and I was blown away by mastrefull direction, music and performance by Irene Jacob.

It correctly translates to The Double Life of Veronique, and yeah, it's brilliant. Check out Kieslowski's The Dekalog, which is probably the best "film" (actually a series of 10 television "episodes") of the 1990s along with his Three Colours Trilogy. Iranians be damned, I think Kieslowski is far and away the best director of the 1990s, with his 80s output being nearly as strong.

I still haven't had a chance to read all of Fuuma's list.

Originally Posted by jonglover

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Breathless might be my favorite Godard, though it and Histoire(s) du Cinema are both equally important to me.
BLASPHEMY!!! Le Mépris is the best Godard. It is actually (IMO of course) the best film of all times (quite simply)

Originally Posted by jonglover

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It correctly translates to The Double Life of Veronique, and yeah, it's brilliant. Check out Kieslowski's The Dekalog, which is probably the best "film" (actually a series of 10 television "episodes") of the 1990s along with his Three Colours Trilogy. Iranians be damned, I think Kieslowski is far and away the best director of the 1990s, with his 80s output being nearly as strong.

I still haven't had a chance to read all of Fuuma's list.

No, no, no, Jonglover!
Dekalog are Sovietski era, preachy films full of Catholic fatalism. Very didactic in a naive-religious way.
"The Double Life of Veronique" now that is a "religious" experience.

I also like Fassbinder's The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, and Veronika Voss. A good film should plumb the depths of human poignancy like a numbing catheter.

Originally Posted by pinchi22

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It´s nice to see a film thread where Superman isn´t considered one of the best films of all time...
Everyone knows that Superman II was vastly superior in almost every way to the original. And yes, to whomever mentiond it earlier while I was in exile, I love Brazil. I have it ranked an 8 out of 10 on my IMDB list of movies I own.

I love this:

Some films I recently re-watched and was blown away by all over again:

Reflections in a Golden Eye--Next to Streetcar and On the Waterfront, this is arguably Brando's most incredible performance; a truly strange and compelling film from Huston.

Panic in the Streets--Kazan's first real masterpiece; I was absolutely shocked to find out this was Jack Palance's first film--it certainly must be one of the most spectacular film debuts in history.

I Never Sang for my Father--Melvyn Douglas and Gene Hackman are brilliant.

The Life of Emile Zola--Paul Muni; enough said.

koji

60s
-Breathless/À bout de souffle/France/Godard/1960: Frantic, fun, irreverential, innovative. It's a monument but without any of the pomposity associated with that concept.
-Avventura, l'/Italy/Antonioni/1960: This could be called sex and architecture, the attention given to bodies, shapes and forms is amazing. So modern in its aesthetic and mindset, pretty much everything else looks dated when compared to it. "-Godard: The drama is no longer psychological, but plastic.-Antonioni: It's the same thing" (okay this conversation was about Red Desert but still...)
-Dolce vita, la/Italy/Fellini/1960: So stylish
-Last year at Marienbad/L'annà e dernière à Marienbad/France/Resnais/1961: Based on a scenario by Alain Robbe-Grillet, one of the main figures of the "nouveau roman" literary movement. Not so much a film that unfolds in a logical way as one made to evoke concepts and memories. A great discussion starter, you can talk about its meaning for hours after a viewing
-Leopard, the/Italy/Visconti/1963: The last days of the aristocratic era presented by a communist prince (I'm talking about Visconti here), who, by virtue of his dual nature, conveys the right mix of hope and melancholy
-Band of outsiders/Bande à part/France/Godard/1964: Godard successfully re-arranges the polar for his own device
-Woman in the dunes/Japan/Teshigahara/1964: The most tactile film I've ever seen and a powerful existentialist allegory.
-Battle of Algiers, theAlgeria/Pontecorvo/1965: At times you feel like you're watching a documentary. I attended a screening where a couple of the actors where present (some of them are now important members of the Algerian government) and they were basically playing themselves, blurring the line between reality and fiction. This is essential viewing in these times of terrorism hysteria
-Blow-up/Italy/Antonioni/1966: Swinging London meet Antonioni's take on reality and bourgeois existential ennui. Asks a lot of interesting questions about art, representation and truth.
-Persona/Sweden/Bergman/1966: If you're interested in the nature of identity and individuality see this.
-Belle de jour/France/Bunuel/1967: Threads the murkier depths of human sexuality
Samouraï, le/France/Melville/1967: Delon is the height of laconic cool in this. Melville's hieratic characters, reminiscent of the style of Bresson, seem to be unable or unwilling to escape the highly codified destinies the filmmaker has in store for them
-Stolen kisses/Baisàs volà s/France/Truffaut/1968: Breezy and fun without being inconsequential. Every man can recognize at least part of himself in eternal adolescent Antoine Doinel
-Once upon a time in the west/Italy/Leone/1968: The western to end all westerns, so epic it hasn't been topped yet.
Unfaithful one, the/Femme infidèle, la/France/Chabrol/1969: Had to pick a Chabrol, any number of his movies could have been included. Chabrol is the master of thrillers illustrating the "bourgeois malaise"
Z/France/Costa-Gavras/1969: Major entry in the political film genre
My night at Maud's/Ma nuit chez Maud/France/Rohmer/1969: Be warned that Rohmer's movies are ultra talkative and unabashedly intellectual (that's a good thing, right?) but the ethical dilemmas he poses are always fascinating