Sight & Sound's best films - of the last 25 years

[jaime marzol]

Sight & Sound's Best Films Of The Last 25 Years:

1. "Apocalypse Now" (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

2. "Raging Bull" (Martin Scorsese, 1980).

3. "Fanny and Alexander" (Ingmar Bergman, 1982).

4. "GoodFellas" (Martin Scorsese, 1990).

5. "Blue Velvet" (David Lynch, 1986).

6. "Do the Right Thing" (Spike Lee, 1989).

7. "Blade Runner" (Ridley Scott, 1982).

8. "Chungking Express" (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994).

9. . "Distant Voices, Still Lives" (Terence Davies, 1988).

10. (tie) "Once Upon a Time in America" (Sergio Leone, 1983).

10. (tie) "Yi yi (A One and a Two ... ) (Edward Yang, 1999).

Though I love Apocalypse, I think Goodfellas is a better film than Apocalypse.

Blue Velvet i liked a lot, but i think the only reason it's on this list is because of the rotten competition.

I've always said that the last trully great film made was Goodfellas, so according to Sight $ Sound, i'm not so far off the mark.

have not seen:
"Yi yi
Distant Voices, Still Lives
Chungking Express
Fanny and Alexander

did not like:
Do the Right Thing
Blade Runner

but i need to give Blade Runner another look since i discovered Ridley is good. i loved The Duelist.

[Welles Fan]

Jaime: If you liked The Duellists you will be pleased to know a DVD SE is coming out next month. I like Blade Runner OK, particularly for its look (which has not aged badly, either).

I could have done without several on the list. Besides the aformentioned Do the Right Thing, I don't particularly care for Apocalypse Now (surely the most heavy-handed dose of Conrad I've ever received-the Redux is even worse IMO), and Once Upon a Time in America is the only Leone film I don't like. have not seen the foreign films mentioned except for the Bergman one.

Have not seen Fanny and Alexander for a long time (back in the early 80's, when Bravo was a premier movie network-particularly foreign films: they showed virtually all of Bergman's films) but I remember it as a an epic, intense Hansel and Gretel type story with suspense and humor.

[Jeff Wilson]

I don't care much for Apocalypse Now either, though it has some brilliant stuff in it. Raging Bull I haven't seen in ages, but liked it a lot. I'd need to see it again. Fanny and Alexander is a great film, but I've only seen the shortened version; I've considered getting the full five hour cut that's on DVD in the UK, but just haven't. Goodfellas and Blue Velvet I love. I've never seen a Spike Lee film, and can't say I have much interest in doing so. He is coming here to Detroit in a couple weeks to premiere his new documentary on Jim Brown, which sounds interesting. Blade Runner is a film that's been hugely influential, but it doesn't wow me like some others. I like it, though. I liked Chungking Express, but not nearly as much as Wong's In the Mood For Love. Haven't seen the Davies or Leone films. And finally, Yi Yi was absolutely great. One of my favorite films of the past few years. The US DVD is really crappy, though.

I'll have to come up with an alternate list of my own picks, and I'd encourage anyone else willing to put forth their choices as well...

[jaime marzol]

................
The Duelist on DVD is tremendous news. I always lamented that i didn't have it in lbx. ridley's stuff sure has a look. when i saw Blade Runner i knew nothing about the artistry of film. as entertainment it did not turn my screws. i need to give it another shot.

Apocalypse is indeed heavy handed, pretentous, has vague plot points, no ending to speak of, but i like it. i have the LD that storaro mixed for home theater systems, so it sounds pretty cool. i agree with you on The Redux, i thought it was terrible. could be called Apocalypse Light, has none of the ominous feel of Apocalypse Original Flavor. The documentary, Hearts Of Darkness, about the making is superb. i also have the 4-hr rough cut that coppola first assembled, and beleive me it's nothing compared to the release version. coppola is a genius when it comes to cutting crap out.

Raging Bull is a great film. i think it has some incredibly slow moments, but the good moments are good enough to get you past the slow moments.

[jaime marzol]

I can’t imagine what my Top 10 of the last 25 years would be, but here are the most modern films I’ve added to my film collection.

Woody Allan: MANHATTAN, STARDUST MEMORIES

Felini’s documentary, ENTREVISTA

Eastwood’s WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART

Branagh’s HAMLET, HENRY THE V

Burton’s ED WOOD

Scorsese’s CAPE FEAR, LAST TEMPTATION, TAXI DRIVER, AFTER HOURS, GOODFELLAS, CASINO, RAGING BULL

Huston’s PRIZZI’S HONOR, UNDER THE VOLCANO, OBSERVATIONS FROM UNDER THE VOLCANO, JOHN HUSTON AND THE DUBLINERS

GLENNGARY GLENN ROSS

james gray's LITTLE ODESSA (wish i had it in lbx)

HBO’S GOTTI, RKO281, RAT PACK, all 3 seasons of SOPRANOS

Last and least, TOMBSTONE, can only be seen in lbx, and not the version shown on tv, everything that is enjoyable about it is cut out. and it's not a good movie, but it has some moments. val kilmner has the best lines. and the director (s) did their homework, they looked at classic westerns before designing this one, that is always cool. and it suffers from Apocalypse Now Syndrome, vague plot points, no ending to speak of.

TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA would be on my list if i could find it in lbx

[LA]

Jeff said: "I'll have to come up with an alternate list of my own picks, and I'd encourage anyone else willing to put forth their choices as well..."

So here goes...

The thing is, the two Scorseses at least would probably be on my own list, but to avoid repetitiveness, this is my top ten of the last 25 years not including those already covered by the Sight & Sound list (and not in any order other than chronological):

Stalker (1979, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Fitzcarraldo (1982, Werner Herzog)

Sans Soleil (1982, Chris Marker)

Kagemusha (1983, Akira Kurosawa)

Zelig (1983, Woody Allen)

After Hours (1985, Martin Scorsese)

The Dead (1987, John Huston)

Vincent And Theo (1992, Robert Altman)

Wittgenstein (1992, Derek Jarman)

Casino (1995, Martin Scorsese)

Bubbling under (i.e., I wasn't sure whether to include them but I feel they need a mention):
The American Friend (1977, Wim Wenders)
The King Of Comedy (1983, Martin Scorsese)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, James Foley)

I'm not sure whether I would call this a best list or a favourites list, as I think it might not be entirely objective. I'm sure there's a lot to be said against my selections, there are some big oversights in my knowledge of 'nineties cinema in particular, and I suspect there are dozens of other films that haven't come to mind now but will tommorow, but for the moment, those are my picks.

[Welles Fan]

I have the letterbox laserdisc of THE DUELLISTS, though it could use a remastering. The DVD will feature its first release in stereo, and it will have lots of other cool stuff like isolated music score, etc. I think my intwerest in all things Napoleonic spurs my interest in this one.

Last time I watched Apocalypse: I couldn't stand the long pauses between brando and Sheen
Kurtz: "Do you find my methods unsound.....Willard?"
Willard: "I...don't... see...any..method...at..all"
They were really killing me there! But I admit there is some great stuff, loved Duvall.

Some movies I liked from the 80's are works of Philip Kaufman like THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING and especially THE RIGHT STUFF.

I guess TAXI DRIVER missed the 25 year mark by a year....

[jaime marzol]

...................

i knew i fudged on TAXI DRIVER by one year, but if i had to pick one film from my list, it would be TAXI DRIVER, which i consider the best modern day film ever made.

i need to see more wim wenders. i have FIRE OVER WATER, which i really like, and most people that i have copied it for hated.

loved by thousands, hated by millions

[dmolson]

Late hours are perfect for lists. Let me list a few, some already mentioned, that make the last 25 years for me...
Amadeus (84)
Brazil (85)
Das Boot (81)
Diner (82)
Fargo (96)
hannah and her sisters (86)
Goodfellas (90)
the Last Temptation of Christ (88)
Manhattan (79)
the Mission (86)
My Life as a Dog (85)
Room with a View (86)
the Player (92)
Schindler's List (93)
Xiu Xiu: the sent-down girl (98)

... certainly, from my weak memory it seems 1986 was an incredible strong year (relatively speaking -- not quite modern times' 1939, but...)

[LA]

Welles Fan: "I guess TAXI DRIVER missed the 25 year mark by a year...."

One of my first thoughts on clicking onto this topic was "if only I'd be asked this a year ago".

Looking at my list again, I can't believe I didn't include Kurosawa's Yume (aka Akira Kurosawa's Dreams ). And dmolson's including Hannah And Her Sisters reminded me of it, now I'm wondering if perhaps it's better than Zelig. I knew this would happen.

[jaime marzol]

the story about the ending of apocalypse now:

brando arrives on the set, after accepting a million from coppola, did not read the book as he said he would, hugely overweight, refusing to portray himself as coppola wrote the ending: a man that had overindulged, 2 women, no shirt, constantly shoving food in his mouth. brando said, "no way."

he also was refusing to give coppola any extra time to work out the ending. i think the time frame coppola had with brando was 3 weeks. he had to decide; close down the production for 10 days to rewrite the ending, then try to film it in 11 days, or film anything he could for 3 weeks and try to edit an ending out of it. coppola was also saddled with a wacky, drugged out dennis hopper that could not read, or remember his lines. besides brando, and hopper, there was a war in the philipines and the government was constantly pulling their flying arsenal to the front, there were monsoons, hurricanes, rain storms, and coppola had hocked everything he owned betting on this horse.

the mid point, the french farmhouse diner scene was filmed, but coppola felt the budget french actors that were sent to him did not pull it off and he didn't use the scene.

all this, and much more is in the documentary, HEARTS OF DARKNESS. it's great, i highly recomend it, even if you don't like APOCALYPSE. i like the documentary better than the movie.

phone conversation with coppola after sheen's heart attack: "what the fuck is that? a rumor like that could end me. if marty dies, he's not dead till i say he's dead! you hear me?"

[Jeff Wilson]

I had a list cobbled together a few days ago, and never got round to posting it, but here it is. As always, malleable and changeable with mood.

In chronological order then:

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979, Terry Jones)
Filming Othello (1979, Orson Welles)
All That Jazz (1980, Bob Fosse)
Brazil (1985, Terry Gilliam)
Ran (1985, Akira Kurosawa)
Goodfellas (1990, Martin Scorsese)
Prospero's Books (1991, Peter Greenaway)
In the Mood for Love (2000, Wong Kar-Wai)
Yi Yi (A One and a Two) (2000, Edward Yang)
Mulholland Drive (2001, David Lynch)

Others I love: Blue Velvet, Hana-bi, Fanny and Alexander, King of Comedy, Trainspotting, Crash, The Fly, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The Baby of Macon, Monty Python's Meaning of Life, Jude, End of Evangelion, Pom Poko, Porco Rosso, Ghost in the Shell, Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Battle Royale, Boogie Nights, Gattaca, and on and on.

[jaime marzol]

i'd forgotten about ALL THAT JAZZ, MEANING OF LIFE, and CRASH, all 3 are excellent, but especially loved ALL THAT JAZZ. fosse was a real good director. i loved LENNY, and STAR 80 wasn't bad at all, i liked the cutting away to interview segments, then back to the action. how about CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, is that in the 25 year cut off point? it's a hell of a film.