S&S 100 Films HTF Forum Challenge (1 Viewer)

[DonaldB]

I haven't seen all of them, but close. Unlike Pascal, I actually have very few copies of them in any format, which causes me no little distress.
Also, I saw many of them when I was quite young, and my memory of them is a bit fuzzy, so tracking down copies for review would certainly be in order.
Maybe Pascal can make copies for us all?

 

[DonaldB]

I'm in Jung,

Ouch!

 

[JungWoo]

Jarod, I forgot to comment about the Strike.
Actually, I didn't see the Image DVD, but I just assumed that Criterion one would be better since Criterion said (I think) that there would be restoration.
It's really nice to hear that Image DVD is a great quality. I have Image DVD for October, whose transfer I found atrocious. (I never, ever buy the same movie on the same format. But I just might for October, Metropolis, and His Girl Friday.) So I guessed that Strike would be similar type. I stand corrected.
OK, the prize for the grand prize for the person who saw most movies at the end of the challenge is His Girl Friday DVD, released by D3k.
Pascal A, how do you own videos for all these movies?!!! I guess, it's a bit easier in Britain (I CAN'T believe that you live in US and own all the videos but 4), but sill, that's quite a feat. You are now officially disqualified.
Donald B, are you in or out? If you feel the need to see again for many of these movies, why not.
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My Life to Live
"Cinema is truth 24 frames per second." - Godard
My DVD Collection
Cinema: seventh art

 

[Pascal A]

Incidentally, on the topic of polls:
IMDB 250 is, by and large, a film popularity poll. Inherent in its online poling format is that it caters to predominantly younger, more technologically savvy participants, and is not necessarily a reflection of the best films ever, worldwide.
AFI 100 is a list of influential American films in the history of American cinema, as polled from people in the industry. By definition, it excludes world cinema, and is also not a reflection of the best films ever.
Sight and Sound is a worldwide poll of renowned critics and film makers. It is a fairly good indication of influential films in world cinema. The inherent problem is that it is also subject to sentimental and philosophical tides. For example, Citizen Kane was no where on the poll in 1952, but catapulted to the top in 1962 with the advent of film schools (where these authorities undoubtedly studied the film).
So, for my 2 cents, these polls only serve as guides, but inevitably, it is far more rewarding to discover these, or any other films, for yourself.
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Strictly Film School

 

[Pascal A]

Jung Woo, I actually live in the US (Reston, VA near Washington DC), but grew up in New York City, and speak passable French. So between the three (and that I've been collecting for about 18 years) and the internet, I've managed to get most of the films. Also, the PAL UK VHS is now convertable with a worldwide VCR (also for SECAM format) for viewing in the US.
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Strictly Film School

 

[DonaldB]

I'm definitely in, Jung.
My "ouch" remark is a comment on the unintended context given to Gary's "I'm in Jung" statement by its lack of a very necessary comma!

 

[Gary Tooze]

Sorry,
I'm not in Jung... but I'm in, Jung !

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"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
My DVD collection
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[Rob Willey]

I've seen 37 of these.
Yikes, AFI challenge, BFI challenge, S&S challenge, where will the madness end??
Rob

 

[Stephen R]

Just saw:
Grand Illusion
**** (out of ****)
!SPOILER WARNING!
Great movie, though I'm not sure I'd place it as high in the list as it is. One thing I really liked is the light-hearted nature of the whole thing, as opposed to most films that deal with prison camps of any kind. The officers all respect each other, because they all realize that duty is duty, and that they would do the same thing were the roles reversed. There's no evil guards...no brutality of any kind. The enemy is the war itself, and everyone in the film knows that. In one scene, a prisoner yells at a guard. When another guard asks why, he states, "Because the war is lasting too long." In another film, the guard might have displayed his power over the prisoner and beaten him. The fact that I knew he wouldn't goes to show how good Renoir set the mood and tone of the film. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Captain de Boieldieu has just been shot by Captain von Rauffenstein, and both debate with each others about their sorrows and errors about how the situation transpired. It really shows a side of comradeship rarely seen in war films...the one that transpires between supposed enemies. Of course, the two were earlier friends, but you get the feeling that he would treat anyone else in the same way.
I did have a couple problems with the film, though. The most notable is that the first act lasts too long. Though it does serve as a time for character development, I think it's a bit OVER developed. Many of the characters never even surface again, and it's just not as interesting as the rest of the film.
Other complaints aren't even worth mentioning. The acting is very good, the characters are well-developed, and nearly all technical aspects are perfect (including a wonderful score by Joseph Kosma). A refreshing viewing experience.
I've got Rules of the Game , Breathless , and Ikiru lined up for the next couple days. Short reviews, like this one, will follow.
So I guess that makes it 93 92 left for me....boy, this is gonna be quite an experience

 

[Jack Briggs]

Chris Lock: "S&S" = Sight & Sound magazine, a publication by, for, and about filmmakers and filmmaking, and the related professions associated with it. Every ten years, the editors conduct a readers' poll to list the greatest films of all time. In this case, the list actually means something--and I, of course, am most pleased with the last poll's selection of the tenth-greatest film of all time. JB

 

[Pascal A]

Good observations on Grand Illusion, Stephen R. When Renoir made the film in 1938, Europe was already in the midst of WWII, so the irony was apparent. The aristocratic officers saw their role as vestiges of a modern society, so they rode out their privileged position in the military as a final means of retaining their power and influence. It was a "grand illusion" that a war could be fought with civility. It was also a "grand illusion" that the Great War (WWI) was the war to end all wars.
As for the list, here are some additional VHS distribution info (although quite a few are PAL releases):
Playtime - (Home Vision/Criterion)
Day in the Country - (Interama)
Distant Voices, Still Lives - (Vision Video, PAL UK, OOP)
Travelling Players - (New Yorker Films)
Listen to Britain - (Classic Pictures, PAL UK)
Kings of the Road - (Connoisseur, PAL UK OOP)
Germany, Year Zero - (Connoisseur, PAL UK)
L'Age d'Or - (New York Film Annex-different from New Yorker)
Boudu Saved from Drowning - (Interama)
La Terra Trema - (Connoisseur, PAL UK)
Missing/unavailable films:
Il Gattopardo (The Leopard)
Jeanne Dielman
Spring in a Small Town
Meshes of Afternoon
Incidentally, Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman is highly recommended--a truly remarkable film from a great, underrepresented director. Unfortunately, her only film on DVD is the regrettable A Couch in New York, which leaves most people wondering why she's so highly regarded.

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Strictly Film School

 

[Evan Case]

I have a question about S&S's voting procedures. Is there a minimum number of votes required to make it onto the list? I ask because of all the films which happen to share the same "ranking."
Is one vote from one "expert" enough to make the list? If I was considered worthy enough to vote, could I theoretically choose Pokemon or Son in Law? I would be the laughing-stock of filmdom but there would sit Pokemon tied at #127 with The Wind and others.
If that's the case, then ranking the films past say, the top 25, seems rather ridiculous. Better to just call it: "The Greatest 25 Films of All Time, plus 100 other good ones you should see." Whatever lacking the AFI list displayed in its choices, at least a movie needed a lot of votes to earn its ranking.
Of course, this doesn't mean that I don't relish the thought of actually watching these babies.
Evan
(P.S. I hope you guys who've already seen the S&S 100 still find the time to enjoy a good action flick like Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Empire Strikes Back every now and then.

)
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"I don't make monkeys, I just train them!"
AFI List: 3 to go (and it'd be 1 if my crappy VCR worked)

 

[JungWoo]

Evan,
All the movies on the above list was chosen as the best 10 by at least three different critics. Theoretically, you could vote for Pokemon, and S&S would have published your choice (maybe with much chagrin ) but to reach the rank of #127, it would have to be appear in two other like-minded critics' list.
(There must be at least hundred of movies that received only a single vote, and some of them probably would be oddballs.)
However, you are right in saying that the list should be called "top 25 and 100 other good ones" because the rest are separatedy by mere few votes from one another.
Pascal A, Many Thanks for additional info about those movies.
About the Grand Illusion, I don't want to be nitpicking here, but I think it was made in 1937, and while not in the midst of WWII, I'd say that there was certainly great tension, with Sudenten crisis and all that, and any perceptible men knew that a major war was brewing.
Stephen, it's really a good review, though I would give it a higher rating, one thing about Renoir is that he approaches everything with understanding and fairness, as far as that is possible, even with things that he is actually lampooning (as in the Rules of the Game). Renoir's film is in this sense (backed by technical aspects such as depth of field and adroit tracking shot) one of best example of democratic aspect that realist film is striving to achieve.
I am not one to feel nostalgic about aristocracy, and certainly not Renoir (who supported the Popular Front), but Renoir tells the most elegiac story about passing of an age - from the age of aristocracy to the modern age.
In fact, von Rauffenstein and de Boieldieu are not friends, they have common acquaintances place they have been to, but what brings them together is basically their class.
Although Renoir is sympathetic to these aristocratic characters, he does not grieve with them about the end of the old order, which the WWI brought about. Theirs is the class that must die out (aristoracy in Europe still lingered through the thirties to the WWII, which was to be the coup de grace, especially in Germany and France.), the new beginning starts in the last third of the film with Marechal, Rosenthal, and Else.
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My Life to Live
"Cinema is truth 24 frames per second." - Godard
My DVD Collection
Cinema: seventh art

 

[Stephen R]

JungWoo:
I just rewatched "Grand Illusion", as I like to do with older films, since I dont approach them on the first viewing as open-minded as I do with a new film (I suppose this is mainly because I expect so much from a film that appears on countless "Best Films" lists). The second viewing generally yields a better response from me, and this was no exception. It's most definatly a four star film.
Goes to show how much you can trust my opinions . Oh well...guess I'll just have to watch them ALL 2 times (as if I don't have enough to watch already...hehe).

 

[Brook K]

I will join up Jung. Since I did the AFI thing a long time ago I've been feeling left out

. I've seen 29 of these, and already have quite a few on my Netflix queue. I'll have to add the rest.

 

[JungWoo]

I did my homework and saw the Nashville (1975) by Robert Altman. (I thought I was marking off both S&S and AFI list by watching this movie, and imagine my shock when I found out that Nashville is not on AFI list. I am back at zero.

I guess I'll have to see Griffith)
SPOILER WARNING
I was a bit reluctant because I am generally allergic to country music, and while Altman is a brilliant director, the Player and M.A.S.H. were great, but they weren't personal favorites; however, I am really glad that I saw this gem at last.
First of all, the first impression was the complexity of the movie - 24 characters who are generally equal in importance (although Linnea and Barbara Jean are somewhat more important characters), at first it was a bit hard to tell who is who. I was very impressed with the Player, but Nashville goes even further when it comes to packing almost every moment of the movie with something quite important going on (I mean, this must be one of the most crowded movies in both senses) and in connecting from one scene to another via characters. One of most interesting character is Jeff Goldblum, who is a sort of magician but doesn't do anything in the movie except just being there in every scene and his cycling often serves as a link between scenes or means to bring a character to the scene. I guess in that sense he gave something of a structure to the film and served as a sort of proxy for audience or narrator kind of thing. Another interesting character is Opal, a pretentious BBC journalist who is making a documentary in Nashville. I think she plays quite an important role in a sense that her European pretention and ridiculousness makes America, as represented through Nashville, not entirely ridiculous as otherwise would have appeared. I think this, music, and the death of Barbara Jean gave the movie the heart that was missing in the Player. while most characters are not sympathetic at all(with exception of Linnea), somehow I am not sarcastic about these characters or America as represented here.
For this movie is a snapshot of America, seen in its two most well-known aspects - show biz and politics. Politics is here ubiquitous as music (man, for someone who dislikes country music, there's quite a lot of it here, but for some reason, I enjoyed some of them ) in the form of campaign van. They are married in the final scene of concert at political rally, which ends in assassination.
I am yet trying to make more sense of this assasination, which is alluded to Kennedy assassination several times, but probably this is not all that important. What I think is important here is that the movie succeeds in capturing the grass-root milieu of America in 70's - its people, their quirks and imperfections, in a rather surprising sympathy and in all its complexity - I probably should see this movie one more time to catch what I no doubt missed.
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My Life to Live
"Cinema is truth 24 frames per second." - Godard
My DVD Collection
Cinema: seventh art

 

[JungWoo]

Evan and everyone concerned,
I just wanted to clear up about this confusion abut S&S (Sight and Sound) list. There is no such thing as the official S&S top 100 list. All that S&S published is the list of polled critics (I think there are 113 of them) and their choices as top 10 movies ever made, and the top 10 movies that received the most votes.
The above list is unofficial compilation of movies which received votes from more than 3 critics and ranking according to the number of received votes.
Also there is confusion about S&S director poll, which was held separately from critics poll for the first time in 1992. The above list does not include the votes of directors( of whom there were also about 100 participants). The result of this separate poll is as follows:
TOP 10 FILMS
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
8¨ö (Federico Fellini, 1963)
4. La strada (Federico Fellini, 1954)
5. L'Atalante (Jean Vigo, 1934)
6. Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1936)
The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
9. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
TOP 10 DIRECTORS
1. Federico Fellini
2. Orson Welles
3. Akira Kurosawa
4. Francis Ford Coppola
5. Martin Scorsese
Luis Bunuel
7. Ingmar Bergman
8. Charles Chaplin
John Ford
10. Alfred Hitchcock
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My Life to Live
"Cinema is truth 24 frames per second." - Godard
My DVD Collection
Cinema: seventh art

 

[Evan Case]

Hey, now The Godfather is tied for 6th. Happiness and joy!
Evan
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"I don't make monkeys, I just train them!"
AFI List: 3 to go (and it'd be 1 if my crappy VCR worked)

 

[Rich Malloy]

I'm glad to see Grand Illusion get some discussion time around here! It's a wonderful film, made all the more relevant to the membership here due to its availability on an equally wonderful DVD from Criterion.
I wanted to provide a link to one of my favorite reviews of this film, not because it's the most in-depth or most prosaic, but because I think it best facilitates an understanding in the first-time viewer of Renoir's intentions and the milieu in which the film is set. I hope it helps in your appreciation of this film as much as it did mine.
A few quotations (SPOILERS):

that distills to perfect transparency some aspect of human experience. Instead they find an apparently formless drama performed in a melange of acting styles, a supremely melancholy film that’s crowned by a note of tentative affirmation, a work that is both a plea for ecumenical brotherhood and a surprisingly felt lament for the passing of the aristocracy. The "grand illusion" itself is never spelled out, and even the film’s reputation as an "anti-war classic" is misleading – it doesn’t have a didactic bone in its body.
Set in World War I, the film follows a pair of French soldiers who are taken prisoner by the Germans and transferred through a series of POW camps, and chronicles their interactions with each other, their fellow prisoners, and their German captors. Superficially the movie is something of a shaggy-dog tale: characters disappear and reappear with a minimal amount of explanation, and elaborately planned events – a camp show, an escape – are abandoned or aborted at the last moment. But as the movie goes on, its connections keep multiplying, deepening, and eventually the seemingly haphazard events evolve into a somber and tightly-knit meditation on all the manmade barriers – class, nationality, language, religion – that separate people from one another.
The main characters stand at slight angles to each other that highlight their similarities and differences. The two career officers, the captive Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and the German commandant Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), recognize that the war heralds the end of the Old Order that they represent. The mechanic Maréchal (Jean Gabin), the Jewish couturier Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio), and the other common soldiers have more earthly concerns, the concerns of regular human beings: home and food and sex. Culture as Boeldieu and Rauffenstein know it isn’t part of their world. * * * * *
Boeldieu can see the historical transition as a joke at his own expense, but Rauffenstein is himself a prisoner to the old forms and divisions. Trapped inside the steel plating that binds up his war wounds, he can’t look on the inheritors of his world with Boeldieu’s equanimity. He pronounces their names – "a Rosenthal, a Maréchal" – as one might say "a louse, a vermin," and calls them the "happy gifts of the French Revolution." It is Boeldieu’s embrace of historical inevitability that sets the final chain of events in motion. He can be seen unlimbering himself throughout the film: by degrees he stops pulling rank (and attitude) on Maréchal and Rosenthal, and by the end he is defending them to Rauffenstein when he knows what heresy that represents to the German. So when it comes time for Maréchal and Rosenthal to escape from the prison fortress, it is Boeldieu who distracts the Germans while his comrades carry out their plan. Boldieu’s seeming madness forces the hand of the uncomprehending Rauffenstein, and what results is tantamount to a double suicide. Rauffenstein knows that he has just murdered the best part of himself, and in one of cinema’s most shattering moments, the crippled German moves to the frail geranium that he’s nurtured in his quarters and liberates it – his last connection to humanity, to himself – from its stem. * * * * *
More than sixty years after it was made, Grand Illusion remains one of cinema’s great achievements. Sitting at a potent intersection of the dramatic and the poetic, the movie is itself like Rauffenstein’s geranium – delicate, carefully nurtured, and sprouting beauty in the unlikeliest of places.
-Tom Block

 

[Evan Case]

Hey everyone, good news! I convinced my parents to order me a 4-head VCR from Buy.com so I will soon be knocking off my remaining three AFI films and then wade into the S&S library (funny, they won't pay for my car insurance or textbooks but they'll get me a VCR. Sometimes your folks can be strange).
First up will be L'Atlante followed by the Apu trilogy. This is going to be good.
Evan
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"I don't make monkeys, I just train them!"
AFI List: 3 to go (and it'd be 1 if my crappy VCR worked)