tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6521264355802891201.post1570911318712637633..comments2023-09-22T10:43:18.826-07:00Comments on ...this pig's alley: The Lonely Double-Zeros : Ten Favourite Films of the DecadeArthur S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07563254207473213494noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6521264355802891201.post-6023832044609187632010-01-12T23:49:42.079-08:002010-01-12T23:49:42.079-08:00I haven't seen anything on Wang Bing though I ...I haven't seen anything on Wang Bing though I am very interested in his works. I am especially interesting in <i>Fengming : Chronicle of a Chinese Woman,</i> His runtimes makes Bela Tarr look like Edgar G. Ulmer...Arthur S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07563254207473213494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6521264355802891201.post-42068582004316383082010-01-12T23:27:30.151-08:002010-01-12T23:27:30.151-08:00Okay Arthur, I'll play, but here's the thi...Okay Arthur, I'll play, but here's the thing: I'm a pedant, so the decade doesn't end for me for another year. This means that I can't include anything registered in the year 2000 (no Yang, sadly, but it was my favourite film of the nineties, if that's any consolation), and I might have to update in twelve month's time if something else classic comes along.<br /><br />Plus, I think your list is absolutely first-rate, with the exception of the Scorsese, which, as I've said to you before, I can't see anything worth salvaging from, so I'm not including anything of yours. Twelve different films (I couldn't cut it down to ten, sorry!), in chronological order, which are...<br /><br />MULHOLLAND DR. (01/US) - David Lynch<br />One film per director, so no INLAND EMPIRE, but Lynch's mastery of the form, for me, is now absolute: this is scary and entertaining and the most perfect commentary on cinema as an art form ever made. I don't think there's a single shot here I would wish changed.<br /><br />SPIRITED AWAY (01/Jap) - Hayao Miyazaki<br />A great decade for animation, but only room for one, so this must be it.<br /><br />VENDREDI SOIR (02/Fra) - Claire Denis<br />The best French director currently working, and her most sublime piece. Snow and sex and traffic jams and strange romance.<br /><br />FIVE (03/Iran) - Abbas Kiarostami<br />Every film this man makes demands attention, and this is as good as they come. Like the Lynch, a perfect commentary on the act of seeing.<br /><br />WEST OF THE TRACKS (03/Chi) - Bang Wing<br />Again, a great decade for documentary, and here's the daddy of them all. 900 minutes on the changing face of a small part of China made universal. Simply superb. (And if anyone reading this should be interested, there's a first-rate French three-disc set available).<br /><br />BEFORE SUNSET (04/US) - Richard Linklater<br />Swooning romance in Paris again, but as sunny as the Denis is wintry. Linklater has not had a great decade, but this is fantastic.<br /><br />THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS (04/Den) - Lars von Trier, Jorgen Leth<br />Von Trier, on the other hand, has had a fabulous decade: every film has had immediate importance. This examination of what goes to make up a movie is his very, very best.<br /><br />TROPICAL MALADY (04/Thai) - Apichatpong Weerasethakul<br />Brilliant Buddhist acid trip about, erm, tigers and stuff. All of his stuff is great.<br /><br />COLOSSAL YOUTH (06/Por) - Pedro Costa<br />A kind of anti-cinema. Immerse oneself in an alien world for a time, and then record a very slightly fictionalised version of it. Costa will, I think, be seen as hugely important in the future.<br /><br />THE NEW WORLD (06/US) - Terrence Malick<br />Malick's best film, a dream-like meditation on destruction and the end of the world. Utterly sublime.<br /><br />THERE WILL BE BLOOD (07/US) - Paul Thomas Anderson<br />A creation-legend for American capitalism that wrenches one's guts out. Indulgent, yes, but it earns it.<br /><br />HUNGER (08/UK) - Steve McQueen<br />An artist, rather than a director, and something like a whole new grammar for cinema. Rivetting.<br /><br />And that's your lot.Thomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6521264355802891201.post-88813967498054069732010-01-04T19:12:48.221-08:002010-01-04T19:12:48.221-08:00Well obviously I can update the list later on. Thi...Well obviously I can update the list later on. This list was important to me in so far that it was in this decade I became a serious cinephile, rediscovering old cinema. As a result, most of the contemporary films I like are from from established film-makers rather than new talents. It's obviously not a definitive list, although I do believe each film on this list qualifies as a serious major work. <br /><br />Other movies I liked include <i>Tokyo Sonata, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Paranoid Park, A Talking Picture, Merci pour le chocolat, Ne touchez pas le hache, Cassandra's Dream, Match Point, Colossal Youth</i>. I was also impressed with Apichatpong Weersethakul's films but I feel that I need to see them a few more times to appreciate them.Arthur S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07563254207473213494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6521264355802891201.post-90146786810970243932010-01-04T13:58:47.299-08:002010-01-04T13:58:47.299-08:00Nice list, though I'm far from as enamored of ...Nice list, though I'm far from as enamored of the Godard and the Marty as you are. I would have included <i>Star Spangled To Death, Son Frere, I'm Not There,</i> and <i>Pas Sur La Bouche.</i>DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6521264355802891201.post-24947106242295352462010-01-01T14:05:09.112-08:002010-01-01T14:05:09.112-08:00A very, very unique list. The only choice we have ...A very, very unique list. The only choice we have in common that's remotely similar is that I also included a Terence Davies film, the only one I've seen--THE HOUSE OF MIRTH. I'm really interested in seeing more of Davies' work, his bittersweet love letters to his country. And now that I'm better understanding Godard, I'll be seeking out his filmography.Ruby Tuesdayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18272212062464813710noreply@blogger.com