Friday, May 25, 2012

THE HEDONIST JIVE CINEMATIC 75


Fat City (1972) - directed by John Huston
The very first web page I ever created was a pseudo-blog post around 1998 or 1999 listing the 50 Best Films I’d Ever Seen, which as you’d imagine contains a lot of overlap with THE HEDONIST JIVE CINEMATIC 75. I had just switched dial-up providers from “The MSN Network” to “Earthlink”, and as part of my package I got a hideous set of templates and tools with which to create a single page of content. I chose a film list, if only to settle the score in my head. It disappeared years ago, but I kept that list stored away in my cranium. Over the years I’ve had a raging battle playing out internally about the “greatest film of all time”, and in my rank-ordered, meticulously-cataloged brain, it’s not even a question to just leave it to the standard, “Ah, well, I have a lot of favorites” sort of list the way normal people do.

When I was a teenager, the greatest film I’d seen to that point was “MARATHON MAN”, the thrilling 1976 John Schlesinger adaptation of William Goldman’s novel about a man’s chance (or is it?) run-in with an ex-Nazi murderer, hiding in plain sight in New York City. I could still watch that one any time, any place. Then I saw “CHINATOWN”, and for many years that was my favorite. At various times that was replaced in the subsequent two-plus decades with “Apocalypse Now”, “A Woman Under The Influence” and, now, “3 WOMEN”. (Note a bit of a 1970s bias here? Guilty as charged).

I’ve seen Robert Altman’s 1977 “3 WOMEN” four times now and I never finish it short of amazed, invigorated and even a little baffled. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why it doesn’t get more play from both Altman lovers and film lovers in general, except for the fact that until recently, it was extremely hard to see (It’s now available in a fully-restored print by Criterion). It is a surreal combination of dreamy mood, avant-garde music, comedy, tragedy, setting (the California desert), story (an homage to “PERSONA”, my fourth-favorite film), feminist statement and two career-defining acting performances by Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duvall. A masterpiece in every sense of the word, and I guess I’ll call it the greatest film ever for now.

My list, which is only a mere 75 films, heavies up on certain directors – Altman, Bergman, Cassavetes, Scorsese, Coppola, Hitchcock. Polanski shows up twice, as does Paul Greengrass (!). Because I’m not a film critic, and because I’ve seen only a mere fraction of the films I want to see, this list obviously shortchanges many great directors and films that I simply haven’t seen yet. I’m embarrassed – embarrassed – at the almost complete lack of film from the 30s, 40s and 50s. As an argument-settler, well, this doesn’t quite cut it. You may have to supplement it with other lists. Yet I hope that you’ll find a place in your queue, or however it is you choose to watch film in 2012, for some of these that you haven’t seen. Every one of them blew me away the first time I saw it, and every one of them is on my list to watch again. 

    1. 3 WOMEN  (1977 – Robert Altman)
    2. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979 – Francis Ford Coppola)
    3. CASABLANCA  (1942 – Michael Curtiz)
    4. PERSONA (1966 – Ingmar Bergman)
    5. THE DECALOGUE (1989 - Krzysztof Kieslowski)
    6. SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1973 – Ingmar Bergman)
    7. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974 – John Cassavetes)
    8. MEMENTO  (2000 – Christopher Nolan)
    9. NASHVILLE (1975 – Robert Altman)
  10. CHINATOWN  (1974 – Roman Polanski)
  11. THE CELEBRATION  (1998 – Thomas Vinterberg)
  12. TAXI DRIVER  (1976 – Martin Scorsese)
  13. MARATHON MAN  (1976 – John Schlesinger)
  14. RESERVOIR DOGS  (1992 – Quentin Tarantino)
  15. BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS  (1970 – Russ Meyer)
  16. THERE WILL BE BLOOD  (2007 – Paul Thomas Anderson)
  17. FAT CITY  (1972 – John Huston)
  18. BREAKING THE WAVES  (1996 – Lars Von Trier)
  19. McCABE & MRS. MILLER  (1971 – Robert Altman)
  20. FACES  (1968 – John Cassavetes)
  21. CITIZEN KANE (1941 – Orson Wells)
  22. CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2003 – Andrew Jarecki)
  23. DOG DAY AFTERNOON  (1975 – Sidney Lumet)
  24. DAS BOOT  (1981 – Wolfgang Peterson)
  25. UNITED 93  (2006 – Paul Greengrass)
  26. CONTEMPT  (1963 – Jean-Luc Godard)
  27. THE EXORCIST (1973 – William Friedkin)
  28. BREAKER MORANT (1980 – Bruce Beresford)
  29. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW  (1971 – Peter Bogdonovich)
  30. NAKED  (1993 – Mike Leigh)
  31. GIMME SHELTER  (1970 – Albert & David Maysles)
  32. BLOW-UP  (1966 – Michaelangelo Antonioni)
  33. BLOODY SUNDAY  (2002 – Paul Greengrass)
  34. PARIS, TEXAS  (1984 – Wim Wenders)
  35. THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK  (1971 – Jerry Schatzberg)
  36. CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972 – Ingmar Bergman)
  37. DUEL  (1971 – Steven Spielberg)
  38. VERTIGO  (1958 – Alfred Hitchcock)
  39. THE KING OF COMEDY  (1983 – Martin Scorsese)
  40. MEAN STREETS  (1973 – Martin Scorsese)
  41. CHILDREN OF MEN  (2006 – Alfonso Cuaron)
  42. THE BIRDS  (1963 – Alfred Hitchcock)
  43. KLUTE  (1971 – Alan J. Pakula)
  44. THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS  (1966 – Gillo Pontecorvo)
  45. BLACK SWAN  (2010 – Darren Aronovsky)
  46. THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION  (1981 – Penelope Spheeris)
  47. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE  (1971 – Mike Nichols)
  48. THE GREAT SANTINI  (1979 – Lewis John Carlino)
  49. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL  (1997 – Curtis Hanson)
  50. PAYDAY  (1973 – Daryl Duke)
  51. THE CONVERSATION  (1974 – Francis Ford Coppola)
  52. OPENING NIGHT  (1977 – John Cassavetes)
  53. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS  (2009 – Quentin Tarantino)
  54. THE SWEET HEREAFTER  (1997 – Atom Egoyan)
  55. MIDNIGHT COWBOY  (1969 – John Schlesinger)
  56. THE GODFATHER  (1972 – Francis Ford Coppola)
  57. NORTH BY NORTHWEST  (1959 – Alfred Hitchcock)
  58. THE SEVENTH SEAL  (1957 – Ingmar Bergman)
  59. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST  (1975 – Milos Forman)
  60. AFTER HOURS  (1985 – Martin Scorsese)
  61. LOVE STREAMS  (1984 – John Cassavetes)
  62. BONNIE AND CLYDE  (1967 – Arthur Penn)
  63. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN  (2007 – Joel & Ethan Coen)
  64. CITY OF HOPE  (1991 – John Sayles)
  65. GHOST WORLD  (2001 – Terry Zwigoff)
  66. ANNIE HALL  (1977 – Woody Allen)
  67. BADLANDS  (1973 – Terence Malick)
  68. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM  (2000 – Darren Aronofsky)
  69. NOBODY KNOWS  (2004 – Hirokazu Koreeda)
  70. REPULSION  (1965 – Roman Polanski)
  71. FARGO  (1996 – Joel & Ethan Coen)
  72. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN  (2001 – Alfonso Cuaron)
  73. PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK  (1975 – Peter Weir)
  74. EATING RAOUL  (1982 – Paul Bartel)
  75. HUSBANDS (1970 – John Cassavetes)
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7 comments:

  1. I would have guessed that my taste in movies would be way more mainstream than yours, but I have seen and enjoyed most of these movies, and a good number of them would make my list were I to ever sit down and make one. I would have a lot more straight up comedies. I think Car Wash is brilliant, and love Young Frankenstein, What's Up Doc?, Animal House and Superbad, along with the Marx Brothers and Woody Allen back when his sense of humor was more slapstick than sophisticated.

    I am also a big fan of Hollywood epics, so (probably) Gone with the Wind and (certainly) Lawrence of Arabia would find a spot on the list. And while I am at it, I'd find a spot for The Professional, the original Get Carter with Michael Caine, The Third Man, and the remake of Breathless with Richard Gere which I maintain is better than Godard's original.

    I know it is a bit of a cliche on these sort of lists, but I think La Dolce Vita is a masterpiece. I watch it about once a year. It took me a while to get a grip on it, and the first 2 or 3 times I didn't get it but watched it because I felt like I should watch it and like it, but when it started to click with me, I loved it.

    Finally, I'd list #26 as Le Mepris, but only because doing so would give me an air of sophistication, which I need as much of as I can fake.

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  2. great list jay, and you have inspired me finally to do same. even so, a rebuttal may be in order -- let me stew over it for awhile. (joe candora)

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  3. Great list, quite a few I always recommend to people. For a few older things you may want to check out (if you haven't already) "Bad Day at Black Rock" with Lee Marvin, Spencer Tracy, and Ernest Borgnine, "12 Angry Men" with Henry Fonda, Lee J Cobb, Jack Klugman, etc., "The Third Man" (Orson Welles), "Rififi" (french heist film), Asphalt Jungle (sterling hayden) . And just some others, some of which you've probably seen- Being There, Local Hero, Half Nelson, Straight Time, Capricorn One, 3 days of the Condor, Withnail & I, Atlantic City (the burt lancaster one), All the President's Men, True Confessions. I could go on but you've probably seen a lot of these. Thanks for your list I'll be seeing checking some of these out.

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  4. Feminist statement? More like a well-made film marred by hatred for half of humanity. I doubt a film that had only a stock female character bearing every negative stereotype about women and no depth herself, would not be hailed for empowering men.

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  5. I guess I'm confused by which half of humanity you're referring to. The male characters in this film are drunken dolts, and the women are held up as psychological hostages to these men. Are you complaining that the portrayal of the drunk oaf that plays Willie's husband is unfair?

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  6. As concerns 3 Women, I'm talking about hatred of the male half of humanity. Yes, I think the portrayal of the drunken oaf is unfair. He's the only male of any significance in the film, and he is completely flat, a collection of every negative stereotype about men (drunken, obsessed with guns, promiscuous, interpersonally retarded, etc.). The ending of the film is a triumphant self-liberation of women from Man, as archetypally symbolised by this one collection of negative stereotypes.

    It's fine if someone wants to make a film like this (although that doesn't mean I have to like it). What really galls me though is that this film can be called something like a "feminist statement" whereas if it were the other way around, it would be called misogynistic. In fact, films are called misogynistic for doing a lot less to women than 3 WOMEN does to men, I think. For example, I've heard THE KILLING and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST called misogynistic for apparently no other reason than it portrays a woman negatively, by which standard not only 3 WOMEN but even THE SHINING should be considered misandristic.

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  7. Anonymous, putting on my feminist hat here. I think the status and position and history of women in 1977, which was only then begin to morph into something less patriarchal and more societally "equal" than ever before, forgives Altman a great deal for portraying men as pigs and women as releasing themselves from those pigs. If the films you mention are "misogynistic" (and I don't believe they are), then it's fair game for an equally great film to be reverse-misogynistic and a great work of art at the same time. So the problem is, what, exactly?

    Again, I briefly tossed off the words "feminist statement" in my little blurb and I think it's fair to say that's not an inaccurate shorthand description of the film.

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