Late last year, Sight & Sound Magazine released the results of its eighth decennial critics' and directors' poll to determine "the greatest film of all times." I think it's fair to say that, due to the massive expansion of the voter pool and the consequent shake-up in results, this was the most provocative, exciting, and controversial list in the poll's history. Citizen Kane, which landed at #1 five times in a row until it was unseated by Vertigo in 2012, has now been dropped to #3. Vertigo has been pushed back as well, with a film previously ranked #36 rocketing all the way to the top spot. Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - its mouthful of a name announcing its challenge to film conventions at the outset - presents a radical detour in many ways: lengthy runtime, pared-down approach, and a female filmmaker as a stark departure from seventy years in which only men cracked the top ten (or, once longer lists began to go public in 2012, even the top thirty). Debate raged; did this - and other notable elevations of the work of female, queer, and/or people of color - represent a courageous revolution or superficial tokenism? And what of the unabashed inclusion of more recent works, following decades of midcentury emphasis with barely any forays into the eras millennials or zoomers grew up in?
Amidst all the discourse, I realized I didn't have much to say - either in the past or the present - on the top film or other major movement within these rankings (aside from breakthroughs for personal favorites like Meshes of the Afternoon). Several of the highest-ranked films had never been discussed by me on my site; some I'd never even seen. And my memories of the cinematic centerpiece were surprisingly fuzzy, although I was certain I must have seen Jeanne Dielman at some point following its Criterion release, probably between 2010 and 2012 (after all, I'd proclaimed my interest back in the blog's early days when the now-greatest-film-of-all-time was still quite hard to see). I'll save the details of that (re-?)discovery for next week's episode on Jeanne Dielman, because I ultimately decided to record podcasts on the top five films (on the combined critics' and directors' lists) about which I hadn't previously written, recorded, focused on in a video essay, or otherwise covered. Here is this week's episode announcing the miniseries:
Back in June, when I released what seemed like an epic guest conversation on Southland Tales (wait until you see the length of the Jeanne Dielman one), I thought I was concluding this Lost in the Movies podcast feed...but here we are again. I do plan to wrap up my public film/TV work in late October but I couldn't resist this opportunity, especially once a prior Twin Peaks Conversations guest (Ashley Brandt, of Twin Peaks Peeks) expressed her interest in talking about Jeanne Dielman. Even just setting up this introductory episode, I initially found myself going on way too long - the initial recording was thirty-eight minutes! - so I tried to keep it simple and pare it down. This kickoff alludes to past work on many other Sight & Sound picks; if you want to actually visit these links, scroll down and gorge to your heart's content. Aside from that, see you in a week, and then every week after that until we reach the fifth film (all five revealed in this episode as well as the line-up below)...
THE 2022 SIGHT & SOUND LIST w/ links to my previous coverage
(& awards in my alternate Oscars from 2013)
Update: If you have trouble viewing some of the links -especially those labeled "video",
USE THIS VERSION OF THE DIRECTORY INSTEAD.
CRITICS TOP 10
1. Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
*** podcast UPCOMING on Wednesday, September 27 ***
(listen ahead of time on $5/month Patreon tier)
2. Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958)
Twin Peaks Cinema podcast + archive readings/clips on Patreon / review for Favorites as #3 / loose essay for The Big Ones / featured in two chapters of Journey Through Twin Peaks video series
...awarded Feature, Actor (James Stewart), Director, Score (Bernard Herrmann), Editing (George Tomasini)
+ featured only briefly in two video projects
3. Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941)
Two chapters of incomplete video series based on my review for The Big Ones / review for Favorites as #11 / transcription of Francois Truffaut essay / archive readings/clips on Patreon
...awarded Feature, Director, Score (Bernard Herrmann), Cinematography (Gregg Toland), Screenplay (Herman Mankiewicz, Welles), Editing (Robert Wise)
4. Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953)
...awarded Supporting Actress (Setsuko Hara)
5. Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000)
...awarded Director, Cinematography (Christopher Doyle), Use of Music, #3 for 2000 after Platform & The Gleaners and I
+ featured only briefly in a video project
6. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
...awarded Director, Cinematography (Geoffrey Unsworth, John Alcott), #2 for 1968 after Rosemary's Baby
7. Claire Denis' Beau Travail (1998)
*** podcast UPCOMING on Wednesday, October 4 ***
(listen ahead of time on $5/month Patreon tier)
8. David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001)
Twin Peaks Cinema podcast / review for Favorites as #20 / essay comparison to Celine and Julie Go Boating / two podcast appearances on Twin Peaks Unwrapped / David Lynch & Mary Sweeney: Dream Souls video essay (+ another chapter of Journey Through Twin Peaks) / inclusion in Lynch retrospective w/ individual review & as part of a broader essay / my interview w/ Martha Nochimson / video essay comparison w/ Meshes of the Afternoon / mentioned in many other Lynch & Peaks pieces even when not the direct subject
...awarded Feature, Actress (Naomi Watts), Director, Score (Angelo Badalamenti), Screenplay (Lynch), Scene (What's behind the dumpster at Winkie's?)
9. Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
...awarded Feature, Director, Editing (Vertov)
+ featured only briefly in a video project
10. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly's Singin' in the Rain (1952)
...awarded Feature, Supporting Actor (Donald O'Conner), Supporting Actress (Jean Hagen), Editing (Adrienne Fazan)
DIRECTORS TOP 10
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Citizen Kane
3. Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972)
review for The Big Ones alongside The Godfather Part II / review for Favorites as #19 / visual tribute to Michael Corleone's arc
...awarded Feature, Supporting Actor (James Caan), Score (Nino Rota), Editing (William Reynolds, Paul Zinner), Ensemble, Scene (Closing the door on Kay), Line ("Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.") ...mentioned as very close calls for Actor (Al Pacino) + Cinematography (Gordon Willis) + Screenplay (Mario Puzo) + Scenes (Assassination of Sollozzo, Baptism of Blood)
...mentioned as additional close calls for Director + Actor (Marlon Brando) + Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall)
+ featured only briefly in a video project
4. (tie) Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
4. (tie) Tokyo Story
6. Vertigo
7. Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (1963)
...awarded Cinematography (Gianni di Venanzo)
8. Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror (1975)
...awarded Director, #2 for 1974 after The Godfather Part II
9. (tie) In the Mood for Love
9. (tie) Abbas Kiarostami's Close-Up (1990)
*** podcast UPCOMING on Wednesday, October 11 ***
(listen ahead of time on $5/month Patreon tier)
9. (tie) Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966)
...awarded Screenplay (Bergman), #4 for 1966 after Masculin Feminin & Daisies & Au Hasard Balthazar
...mentioned as close calls for Actress (Liv Ullman, Bibi Andersson), Director
CRITICS TOP 20
11. F.W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
*** podcast UPCOMING on Wednesday, October 18 ***
(listen ahead of time on $5/month Patreon tier)
+ featured briefly in a video project
12. The Godfather
13. Jean Renoir's La Regle du Jeu (1939)
...awarded Cinematography (Jean-Paul Alphen, Jean Bachelet)
14. Agnes Varda's Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962)
...mentioned as top 5 honorable mention for 1962
15. John Ford's The Searchers (1956)
...awarded Feature, Actor (John Wayne), Score (Max Steiner), Cinematography (Winton Hoch)
+ featured only briefly in a video project
16. Maya Deren and Alexander Hacksmied's Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
...awarded Short (tied w/ Red Hot Riding Hood)
+ featured only briefly in a video project
17. Close-Up
18. Persona
19. Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979)
...awarded Director, Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall), Editing (Lisa Fruchtman, Gerald Greenberg, Walter Much), Ensemble, Scene (Killing Kurtz), Line ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning.")
+ featured only briefly in a video project
20. Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954)
...awarded Cinematography (Asakazu Nakai), Editing (Akira Kurosawa)
DIRECTORS TOP 15
12. (tie) Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975)
...awarded Feature, Director, Cinematography (John Alcott), Scene (The final duel)
+ featured only briefly in a video project
12. (tie) Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976)
...awarded Feature, Actor (Robert De Niro), Director, Supporting Actor (Harvey Keitel), Supporting Actress (Jodie Foster), Score (Bernard Herrmann), Editing (Tom Rolf, Melvin Shapiro), Ensemble
14. (tie) Beau Travail
14. (tie) Seven Samurai
14. (tie) Jean-Luc Godard's A Bout de Souffle (1960)
...awarded Editing (Cecile Decugis, Lila Herman)
+ featured only briefly in a video project
14. (tie) Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979)
*** podcast UPCOMING on Wednesday, October 25 ***
(listen ahead of time on $5/month Patreon tier)
The next top 5 films I haven't covered would have been...
A Woman Under the Influence tied for Directors' #18
The Battle of Algiers tied for Directors' #22
The Night of the Hunter tied for Critics' #25
Andrei Rublev tied for Directors' #26
Ordet tied for Directors' #30
I've seen all of those films before
(Andrei Rublev & Ordet were featured briefly in video projects)
The others in the top 100 that I haven't seen before are...
Vagabond tied for Directors' #41
La Cienaga tied for Directors' #62
(mentioned in a Remembering the Movies round-up)
Touki Bouki at Critics' #66
A Brighter Summer Day, Where Is the Friend's House & L'Argent all tied for Directors' #72
(not sure about Critics' #72 My Neighbor Totoro - may have only seen parts of it or had in the background during a social visit)
Taste of Cherry tied for Directors' #93
The others in the top 100 I've seen, but not covered (alphabetically):
The Ascent, L'Atalante, Blade Runner, Chungking Express, The Color of Pomegranates, Come and See (though that may change soon), Daughters of the Dust (aside from images as w/ many of the films mentioned above), Hidden, Ikiru, Imitation of Life, Journey to Italy, Kes, M, Madame de..., A Matter of Life and Death, maybe My Neighbor Totoro, New from Home, North by Northwest, La Notte, Once Upon a Time in the West, Pickpocket, The Red Shoes, Sansho the Bailiff, A Separation, Sherlock Jr., Some Like It Hot, Throne of Blood, Viridiana, Wanda, Yi Yi
+ featured only briefly in video projects, alphabetically: L'Avventura (in two, also in a round-up on old IMDb comments), The Conformist, Don't Look Now, Fanny and Alexander, Fear Eats the Soul, The 400 Blows, La Jetee, Killer of Sheep, Le Mepris, Sans Soleil, The Spirit of the Beehive
The others in the top 100 I have covered before
(alphabetically w/ "*" as additional brief video project or Remembering the Movies round-up):
The Apartment, Au Hasard Balthazar *, Battleship Potemkin *, Bicycle Thieves *, Black Girl, Blue Velvet (+ video overview of Lynch) * * * *, Casablanca, Celine and Julie Go Boating, Chinatown *, City Lights * *, The Conversation, Daisies, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb *, La Dolce Vita * *, Do the Right Thing, Eraserhead (+ video overview of Lynch) * *, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The General *, Get Out, The Gleaners and I, The Godfather Part II, Goodfellas, Histoire(s) du Cinema, Jaws, Late Spring, Lawrence of Arabia, The Leopard, La Maman et la Putain *, A Man Escaped, Metropolis *, Modern Times (arranging other critics' writing w/ clips in a video essay), Moonlight, Parasite, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Pather Panchali * *, The Piano, Pierrot le fou (in non-narrated video essay & visual tribute) *, Playtime, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Psycho, Raging Bull, Rashomon, Rear Window, Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom (as focus of a video essay whose only narration is a Rimbaud poem), Satantango, The Seventh Seal *, The Shining *, Shoah, Spirited Away, La Strada (in non-narrated video essay) *, Sunset Boulevard, The Third Man, Tropical Malady, Ugetsu Monogatari * *, Wild Strawberries (in non-narrated video essay & visual tribute)
Previous Sight & Sound lists
MY RECENT WORK
New on the site
TWIN PEAKS Character Series: Margaret "The Log Lady" Lanterman (#45) & Ray Monroe (#44) & Detective Dave Macklay (#43) & notes on an old entry: FBI Agents Chester "Chet" Desmond and Sam Stanley (#42) & Bushnell Mullins (#41) & Mike Nelson (#40) & Annie Blackburn (#39) & notes on an old entry: Dick Tremayne (#38) & Bradley and Rodney Mitchum (#37) & notes on an old entry Hank Jennings (#36) & Janey-E Jones (#35) & notes on an old entry: Windom Earle (#34) & Jerry Horne (#33) & notes on an old entry: Madeleine "Maddy" Ferguson (#32) & Musicians of the Road House (#31)
New on other podcasts
Twin Peaks Cinema - Mary Sweeney's Baraboo (Long Road Home #3) & my guest appearance on Artists Love Twin Peaks group discussion
New on YouTube
Twin Peaks Conversations #21 (AUDIO) - Twin Peaks Peeks hosts Ashley Brandt & Mat Olson & #22 (AUDIO) Lost Highway: The Fist of Love author Scott Ryan
New on Patreon
(for $5/month)
ADVANCE: 6 acclaimed 2010s films: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Toni Erdmann, The Turin Horse, Amour, Moonlight, The Act of Killing (Episode 100 excerpt) & Conversation w/ Ashley Brandt on Sight & Sound #1 Jeanne Dielman 23 quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles (bonus Lost in the Movies) & Avatar: The Way of Water & The Fabelmans (Episode 100 excerpt) & The Master (Episode 100 excerpt) & Sight & Sound #7 Beau Travail (bonus Lost in the Movies) & Conversation w/ Riley MacDonald on The Lighthouse (Episode 100 excerpt) & Sight & Sound #9 Close-Up (bonus Lost in the Movies) & The Florida Project (Episode 100 excerpt) & Sight & Sound #11 Sunrise (bonus Lost in the Movies) & The Tree of Life as Twin Peaks Cinema (Episode 100 excerpt)
(for $1/month)
New updates on the site
Status update: To Sleep With Anger on Wonders in the Dark + catching up w/ conversations & more & Announcement: Lost in Twin Peaks Season 3 Finale delayed again & Lost in the Movies 15th anniversary status update: archive/gallery/Top Posts updates + (maybe) a week of activity? & TWIN PEAKS Character Series Pause (& accidental post) + upcoming podcasts & more (Last Summer status update) & Two Paths Forward in the Fall (status update)
+ cross-posts for Twin Peaks Conversations #21 - 22 & Twin Peaks Cinema & June, July, August Patreons & guest appearance
+ revised picture gallery & Top Posts, added Chapter 42: Return of the Characters (January - April 2023) & Chapter 43: Stalled Along the Way (April - June 2023)
No comments:
Post a Comment