Seth Paxton

I was already about to. Mainly to give us an idea of how we might "vote" if we were the Academy or something. I'll use a couple of voting methods based on current results.

Nothing serious, since most lists aren't done. Just a fun bit to see what we are like as a group of voters. I bet it looks a lot like some of the groups we are ragging on.

BTW, all, feel free to also go back and just change lists upon reflection if you feel it's appropriate. Like I'm moving Traffic down just to show Edwin. It's changing threads, mister, if you keep it up. (you know which thread it'll go to)

Edwin Pereyra

The good thing is, at least we can all have a sense of humor about all this.

~Edwin

Pascal A

I only described the under-represented films on the list, since most people are already familiar with the others.

1. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai) - Graceful, sensual, and unabashedly romantic film on a relationship that develops between two married neighbors. Maggie Cheung is a revelation.
2. Dolce (Alexander Sokurov) - Spare, elegiacal, and other-worldly documentary on Japanese writer, Toshio Shimao, as seen through the eyes of his surviving family.
3. Yi Yi (Edward Yang) - Simple, yet profound observation on the beauty of mundane ritual and the passage of life.
4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis) - Lush, visually poetic examination of military training, adapted from Herman Melville's Billy Budd.
5. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)
6. The Gleaners and I (Agnes Varda) - Simple, beautiful and poetic documentary filmed in exposition style about the traditional process of gleaning as it is practiced by a diverse group of people in contemporary France.
7. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)
8. High Fidelity (Stephen Frears)
9. Best in Show (Christopher Guest)
10. Gohatto (Nagisa Oshima) - Oshima returns to fine form in this incisive exploration of repressed sexuality in a training camp for Samurais.

Updated on 3/21/01: Removed The Terrorist from #10, added The Gleaners and I. Ranking order revised.
------------------
Strictly Film School

John Spencer

Damn Pascal, where did you get to see In the Mood for Love? I might have to get the HK DVD. And I've been revelatin' on Maggie Cheung for quite some time now.

OK, I now have found my choice for best short film of 2000:
Golden Shower! For those of you that haven't seen this, you must watch! It is such a back-in-the-day buffet!
http://www.newvenue.com/archives/fea...ure44_site.mov

Pascal A

That's how I got to see it. The DVD transfer is pretty good by the way, with selectable/removeable subtitles.


Methinks that someone has been playing the rubber suit fitting scene in Irma Vep in super slow motion!


------------------
Strictly Film School

Ted Todorov

Quote: "4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis) - Lush, visually poetic examination of military training, adapted from Herman Melville's Billy Budd."

I would have put it in my top 10 list, except that I saw it (in NYC) in September 1999.

I’ll bet that In The Mood for Love will be appearing in people’s 2001 lists because of the ridiculous US commercial release schedules. I did see it last year, but it didn’t make my list because I’m just not in tune with Wong Kar Wai – I enjoyed it, but not enough.

I guess that the confusion in top 10 lists will persist until US distributors start releasing films in a timely fashion (forced to do so by multi-region DVD players, we hope). As a particularly egregious example Croupier kicked around for over 2 years before it was finally rescued by Shooting Gallery.

Ted

Rich Malloy

Pascal, which Wong Kar-Wai dvds would you recommend for someone with only a region 1 player?

Pascal A

Wong Kar-Wai can run the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous. I think that In the Mood for Love is his best work to date. On the other hand, Chungking Express and Fallen Angels left me disoriented and hollow.

The HK DVD for In the Mood for Love is non-region coded, so it will play on a Region 1 player (NTSC video). The only difference is, you have to pick up the DVD from a specialty store like Poker Industries or Five Star Laser (which also sells through Amazon z-shops). Note: It is Five Star Laser not DVD, which I embarrasingly found out was porn.

I also like Ashes of Time and Happy Together, both of which are on Region 1 DVD.

By the way, with regards to the Top 10 list, I excluded Croupier because I saw it in 1999. I agree that this survey is going to get complicated, especially with international participants.

------------------
Strictly Film School

Ted Todorov

Quote: "Pascal, which Wong Kar-Wai dvds would you recommend for someone with only a region 1 player?"


Al,

What's a film buff like you without an all region player? I think that you can get a Sampo 620 from 800.com in the $130 range. Don't wait until the MPAA cracks down.

If you like Truffaut for example MK2 is starting to release some pretty amazing sounding (16:9 with all sorts of great suplements) DVDs in R2. Compare that to the lousy pan & scan atrocities from Fox Lorber.

That way we can all watch the same movies tfor top 10 list purposes, to get this back on topic :-).

Ted

Adrian_C

as of 02/25/01

Best of 2000 :

1. Wonder Boys (****)
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (****)
1. You Can Count on Me (****)
4. Almost Famous (****)
5. Traffic (****)
6. Thirteen Days (*** 1/2)
7. High Fidelity (*** 1/2)
8. Quills (*** 1/2)
9. Jesus Son (*** 1/2)
10. Chocolat (***)

------------------------------------------------------------

Highly Recommended :

Keeping The Faith (***)
The Virgin Suicides (***)
Frequency (***)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (***)
Emperor's New Groove (***)
Chicken Run (***)
Erin Brockovich (***)
The Cell (***)
Titan A.E. (***)
Cast Away (***)
The Gift (***)
Meet The Parents (***)
Boiler Room (***)
Small Time Crooks (***)
Dr. T and the Women (***)
Center Stage (***)
Fantasia 2000 (***)
What Lies Beneath (***)

------------------------------------------------------------

the so so and the terrible and the guilty pleasures :

The Patriot (**), Perfect Storm (** 1/2), Gladiator (** 1/2), MI-2 (** 1/2), X-Men (** 1/2), Scary Movie (** 1/2), Way of the Gun (** 1/2), Shanghai Noon (**), Coyote Ugly (** 1/2), 28 Days (**), After Sex (* 1/2), Autumn in New York (* 1/2), Woman on Top (**), American Psycho (** 1/2), U-571 (**), Whipped (*), The Whole Nine Yards (** 1/2), The Ninth Gate (**), The Road to El Dorado (** 1/2), Me, Myself and Irene (**)

still to see :

Requiem for a Dream, Yi-yi, The House of Mirth, The Contender, State and Main,

2001 Films seen so far :

Hannibal (**)
3000 Miles to Graceland (* 1/2)

Terrific 1999 Films just seen :

Mansfield Park (****)
Croupier (*** 1/2)
Topsy-turvy (*** 1/2)
Princess Mononoke (*** 1/2)
The Limey (***)
Titus (***)

Eric Howell

You can't prove anything. And even if I did, it is a free country, man. Oh wait, were you talking to me?