hirv - You've missed something. The most important thing being that what's obscure to you isn't going to be obscure to everyone - many of the films on this are widely acknowledged classics, while others are popular "cult classics."
Yes, it could be that people just like to "favorite" obscure films - it's more likely that most people don't really care whether a movie is obscure or not and just like what they like. A lot of films have been made in the 120 year history of film - a good majority outside of the US - it shouldn't be surprising that some of those films, including some great ones, might fall under our radars. Lists like this and Jonathan Rosenbaum's help to correct that a little by showing some of those "overlooked" films. Of course, one won't like all of the films on such a list - but there's a good chance you'll at least find some you really like.
Which brings me to my next point:
"I havn't even heard of most of these movies before."
Which is what should make the list exciting. The point of lists shouldn't be to validate your current taste ("Yes! 89 of my top 100 are on the list - that means I'm officially sophisticated!"); rather, they should help introduce you to movies you wouldn't have otherwise known about or watched and thus help expand your horizons just a little bit by helping you realize that there's a huge world of quality cinema that falls beyond the range of the IMDb and AFI lists.
One of my favorite things about the film is how much attention is paid to the little details - the things going on in the background are often just as "controlled" and "fine-tuned" as the rest of the film. So I can't really agree that "lots of little things could have been improved slightly" or that the film is "overestimated" - it's simply one of the warmest, most wonderful films to come around in a long time.
On a further note, I consider Sondheim's run from "Company" to "Merrily We Roll Along" one of the greatest, most fertile and artistically rewarding periods for any artist. At that point his imagination, creativity, and wit seemed inexhaustible, and combined to create six works of great power and intelligence. His scores for "A Little Night Music," "Follies," "Pacific Overtures," and "Sweeney Todd" are among the dozen or so greatest in musical theater.
To each his own, but "tiresome" is something I'd never use to describe Sondheim's music. I've listened to the OBCs of most of his major shows dozens if not hundreds of times, and they still don't grow old and I still find something new to enjoy each time - that, to me, is the mark of great songwriting. I find his music incredibly lush and memorable, and he's quite possibly the greatest lyricist in all of musical theater, living or dead. It also helps that his music resonates with me on a very personal level.
With that said, this is probably my least favorite of his "middle period" shows, though I still like it quite a lot (his post-"Assassins" stuff, on the other hand, is rather hard for me to take.)
thestuman - Humorously, though you condemn another user for "openly discrediting someone's views," you yourself do the same thing when you use phrases like "don't delude yourselves" regarding those who come away with a different opinion of a film than you. The implication being that you somehow have the one "honest" opinion of the film, and that anyone who happens to disagree is either pretending or deluded.
In other words, you're condemning someone for doing the exact same thing you did. I'm sorry that your own medicine tastes so bad.
In other words, you're an arrogant movie-fascist who doesn't value anyone else's opinion besides your own, and so you decide to openly and publicly discredit the views of anyone who happens to disagree with you.
Visually, it's actually quite good - that is to say, it certainly doesn't look like something made for TV. Unfortunately, every thing else about the film is a pale shadow of its inspiration.
Some kind of masochist, or perhaps someone who just enjoys different things than you.
I haven't seen most of the films on the list, but the Lubitsch films, "Les Vampires," "J'accuse," and even some of the Griffith films are genuinely great films and still enormously entertaining.
As for your ears bleeding - a lot of these films have random scores written decades after the fact, so you aren't really obligated to listen to the music. You could always mute the TV and watch it in silence or put on an instrumental album that you do like.
nick_s - How I'd love to live in a world where this was an "averagely well-made war film." In this world, in terms of sheer filmmaking (cinematography, editing, directing, script, etc.) this is one of the greatest war films ever made. You may not like the story being told, or the way it's told - and that's perfectly fine - but in no way is it "averagely well-made."
Kasparius - Bravo. People are way too quick to scream "pretentious" on this and other sites.
I've never understand the mindset that condemns lists for containing films that aren't as famous as, say, "Citizen Kane" - that is, films that might lie outside of the canon. Film has been around for over a hundred years now, and it shouldn't be too outrageous to think that there might be some very good films that haven't gotten the exposure they deserve. One of the most rewarding things about lists like this is the chance of being introduced to something wonderful that, for whatever reason, hasn't made its way into the canon.
"Thats basically true about 99.99% of all movies before the ww2"
Do you mean WW1? Because if that's what you meant, I'd probably agree with you - most movies made before 1914 or so were mostly very short and were simply experimenting with the new invention by using simple camera tricks or by documenting everyday life. Though such details can be fascinating to watch nowadays, they offer only the barest of artistic pleasures (though people like Melies were doing some awfully creative stuff.)
If you meant WW2 - as in "99.99% of movies made before 1939 offer nothing" (as opposed to movies made since 1939) - well, I'd say you're crazy. The 1920s and early sound era were some of the most creative and artistically rewarding in all of the history of film. There was a lot of crap made, yes, but that's also very true of the current era.
A delightful, endlessly entertaining film. There's actually quite a lot going on, but as in many Altman films, the main narrative is found in watching how the actors/characters interact with each other.
One of the best movies I've ever seen, though I do have to be in the right mood to watch it. I've watched it about half a dozen times in the past five years, and it always strikes me as one of the most beautiful things ever made (and I don't just mean "beautiful" as in pretty pictures of pretty things - I mean "beautiful" as in all the elements of cinema coming together to form something utterly mesmerizing and transcendent.)
If you can "get into" its rhythms, it's an extraordinary experience.
An enlightening dialogue between AO Scott and Manohla Dargis (two critics far more interesting and enlightening than Zacharek - and I thought that long before seeing the latter's review of this film) regarding people's rather empty, kneejerk usage of terms like "boring" and "pretentious" to condemn less "traditional" films:
""Pretentious” functions, like “boring” elsewhere, as an accusation that it is almost impossible to refute, since it is a subjective hunch masquerading as a description. Manohla, you had some reservations about “The Tree of Life,” but your dispatch on it from Cannes emphasized its self-evident and disarming sincerity. Sincerity is the opposite of pretentiousness, and while it is certainly possible to be puzzled or annoyed by Mr. Malick’s philosophical tendencies or unmoved by the images he composes or the story he tells, I don’t think there is any pretending involved. "
chemosh - Thanks for posting that. I've been avoiding Zacharek's reviews for a while, and now I remember why. Among many other points of contention within her review (the "he doesn't care about people" line is about as misguided as criticism can come), her use of the word "pretension" is a dead giveaway that she's not actually willing to seriously consider or grapple with the film. "Pretentious" is up there with "boring" and "overrated" and "lame" as one of the emptiest, but most commonly used pejoratives.
Don't get me wrong - there's absolutely nothing wrong with disliking this film. But her snide, dismissive review offers absolutely nothing substantive or meaningful.
chemosh - That sounds more like a good percentage of modern American indie (and mainstream) films.
Besides the fact that this film was directed and produced by Germans, stars American and English actors, and is in English. Part of it was filmed in France (as well as Spain and Germany,) but it's still not a French film.
Writer's block as hell, and Hollywood as damnation. The Coens are in complete control of their craft here, and create a film in which the viewer feels the frustration and bewilderment and oppression of the protagonist. The ending scene is unexpectedly emotionally overwhelming.
One of the two or three best things the Coens have done, and an absolute masterpiece.
brian_fuller - I guess it depends on what your class conversation was about. If the professor was attempting to get the class to make sense of the narrative, then it was a futile exercise.
On the other hand, surrealism, at its best, is a strongly political and intellectual movement. Whether the artists intended it or not (judging by their other works, I would say they did), the film does have much to say about the nature of editing, of the various components that make up a film, and of narrative in general. Because we are watching a film, we are psychologically forced into finding a coherent narrative where there is none. A constructive conversation could indeed be had about the film's usurpation of traditional narrative and film grammar and for its strong psychological effect.
And, for the record, your last sentence basically says: "I dislike it when people agree with my obviously objective opinion about a film." Unfortunately, like a film or not, the Emperor is very rarely naked, and he certainly is not in this case. The film is an utter delight to watch, and there is more going on then you'd like to admit. After watching it the first time, I immediately started it over - not to find some "missing piece" that would finally allow the film to make sense, but rather to revel in its indelible imagery and hilarious "mind games."
The "16 years earlier" card in the middle of the bedroom scene still manages to crack me up every time.
This film is incredibly underrated. It's quite easily among Spielberg's two or three best films, and it's one of the best depictions of childhood in wartime. It's also surprisingly emotionally and intellectually complex.
Comments 176 - 200 of 237
Toplist comment on iCheckMovies's Most Favorited
Timec
hirv - You've missed something. The most important thing being that what's obscure to you isn't going to be obscure to everyone - many of the films on this are widely acknowledged classics, while others are popular "cult classics."Yes, it could be that people just like to "favorite" obscure films - it's more likely that most people don't really care whether a movie is obscure or not and just like what they like. A lot of films have been made in the 120 year history of film - a good majority outside of the US - it shouldn't be surprising that some of those films, including some great ones, might fall under our radars. Lists like this and Jonathan Rosenbaum's help to correct that a little by showing some of those "overlooked" films. Of course, one won't like all of the films on such a list - but there's a good chance you'll at least find some you really like.
Which brings me to my next point:
"I havn't even heard of most of these movies before."
Which is what should make the list exciting. The point of lists shouldn't be to validate your current taste ("Yes! 89 of my top 100 are on the list - that means I'm officially sophisticated!"); rather, they should help introduce you to movies you wouldn't have otherwise known about or watched and thus help expand your horizons just a little bit by helping you realize that there's a huge world of quality cinema that falls beyond the range of the IMDb and AFI lists.
Movie comment on The Royal Tenenbaums
Timec
One of my favorite things about the film is how much attention is paid to the little details - the things going on in the background are often just as "controlled" and "fine-tuned" as the rest of the film. So I can't really agree that "lots of little things could have been improved slightly" or that the film is "overestimated" - it's simply one of the warmest, most wonderful films to come around in a long time.Movie comment on Alice's Restaurant
Timec
Because IMDb ratings, while they can be useful, should not be used as the ultimate barometer for the worth of a movie.Movie comment on Funny Games
Timec
The only horror film to ever give me nightmares, and one of the few to show the truly devastating impact of violence.Movie comment on Yi yi
Timec
One of the best movies of the last decade. Yang left us too soon.Movie comment on Menschen am Sonntag
Timec
It seemed more like a Tuesday to me.Movie comment on American Playhouse: Sunday in the Park with George
Timec
On a further note, I consider Sondheim's run from "Company" to "Merrily We Roll Along" one of the greatest, most fertile and artistically rewarding periods for any artist. At that point his imagination, creativity, and wit seemed inexhaustible, and combined to create six works of great power and intelligence. His scores for "A Little Night Music," "Follies," "Pacific Overtures," and "Sweeney Todd" are among the dozen or so greatest in musical theater.Movie comment on American Playhouse: Sunday in the Park with George
Timec
To each his own, but "tiresome" is something I'd never use to describe Sondheim's music. I've listened to the OBCs of most of his major shows dozens if not hundreds of times, and they still don't grow old and I still find something new to enjoy each time - that, to me, is the mark of great songwriting. I find his music incredibly lush and memorable, and he's quite possibly the greatest lyricist in all of musical theater, living or dead. It also helps that his music resonates with me on a very personal level.With that said, this is probably my least favorite of his "middle period" shows, though I still like it quite a lot (his post-"Assassins" stuff, on the other hand, is rather hard for me to take.)
Movie comment on Marty
Timec
thestuman - Humorously, though you condemn another user for "openly discrediting someone's views," you yourself do the same thing when you use phrases like "don't delude yourselves" regarding those who come away with a different opinion of a film than you. The implication being that you somehow have the one "honest" opinion of the film, and that anyone who happens to disagree is either pretending or deluded.In other words, you're condemning someone for doing the exact same thing you did. I'm sorry that your own medicine tastes so bad.
In other words, you're an arrogant movie-fascist who doesn't value anyone else's opinion besides your own, and so you decide to openly and publicly discredit the views of anyone who happens to disagree with you.
In other words, the pot has met the kettle.
Movie comment on Psycho
Timec
Visually, it's actually quite good - that is to say, it certainly doesn't look like something made for TV. Unfortunately, every thing else about the film is a pale shadow of its inspiration.Toplist comment on IMDb's 1910s Top 50
Timec
Some kind of masochist, or perhaps someone who just enjoys different things than you.I haven't seen most of the films on the list, but the Lubitsch films, "Les Vampires," "J'accuse," and even some of the Griffith films are genuinely great films and still enormously entertaining.
As for your ears bleeding - a lot of these films have random scores written decades after the fact, so you aren't really obligated to listen to the music. You could always mute the TV and watch it in silence or put on an instrumental album that you do like.
Movie comment on The 39 Steps
Timec
One of Hitchcock's very greatest. Very witty and endlessly entertaining, with a perfect combination of humor and thrills.Movie comment on The Thin Red Line
Timec
nick_s - How I'd love to live in a world where this was an "averagely well-made war film." In this world, in terms of sheer filmmaking (cinematography, editing, directing, script, etc.) this is one of the greatest war films ever made. You may not like the story being told, or the way it's told - and that's perfectly fine - but in no way is it "averagely well-made."Toplist comment on Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
Timec
Kasparius - Bravo. People are way too quick to scream "pretentious" on this and other sites.I've never understand the mindset that condemns lists for containing films that aren't as famous as, say, "Citizen Kane" - that is, films that might lie outside of the canon. Film has been around for over a hundred years now, and it shouldn't be too outrageous to think that there might be some very good films that haven't gotten the exposure they deserve. One of the most rewarding things about lists like this is the chance of being introduced to something wonderful that, for whatever reason, hasn't made its way into the canon.
Movie comment on La sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon
Timec
"Thats basically true about 99.99% of all movies before the ww2"Do you mean WW1? Because if that's what you meant, I'd probably agree with you - most movies made before 1914 or so were mostly very short and were simply experimenting with the new invention by using simple camera tricks or by documenting everyday life. Though such details can be fascinating to watch nowadays, they offer only the barest of artistic pleasures (though people like Melies were doing some awfully creative stuff.)
If you meant WW2 - as in "99.99% of movies made before 1939 offer nothing" (as opposed to movies made since 1939) - well, I'd say you're crazy. The 1920s and early sound era were some of the most creative and artistically rewarding in all of the history of film. There was a lot of crap made, yes, but that's also very true of the current era.
Movie comment on Kuhle Wampe oder: Wem gehört die Welt?
Timec
It's been years since I watched it, but I remember this being a surprisingly wonderful film.Movie comment on A Prairie Home Companion
Timec
A delightful, endlessly entertaining film. There's actually quite a lot going on, but as in many Altman films, the main narrative is found in watching how the actors/characters interact with each other.Movie comment on The New World
Timec
One of the best movies I've ever seen, though I do have to be in the right mood to watch it. I've watched it about half a dozen times in the past five years, and it always strikes me as one of the most beautiful things ever made (and I don't just mean "beautiful" as in pretty pictures of pretty things - I mean "beautiful" as in all the elements of cinema coming together to form something utterly mesmerizing and transcendent.)If you can "get into" its rhythms, it's an extraordinary experience.
Movie comment on The Tree of Life
Timec
An enlightening dialogue between AO Scott and Manohla Dargis (two critics far more interesting and enlightening than Zacharek - and I thought that long before seeing the latter's review of this film) regarding people's rather empty, kneejerk usage of terms like "boring" and "pretentious" to condemn less "traditional" films:""Pretentious” functions, like “boring” elsewhere, as an accusation that it is almost impossible to refute, since it is a subjective hunch masquerading as a description. Manohla, you had some reservations about “The Tree of Life,” but your dispatch on it from Cannes emphasized its self-evident and disarming sincerity. Sincerity is the opposite of pretentiousness, and while it is certainly possible to be puzzled or annoyed by Mr. Malick’s philosophical tendencies or unmoved by the images he composes or the story he tells, I don’t think there is any pretending involved. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/movies/films-in-defense-of-slow-and-boring.html?_r=1
Movie comment on The Tree of Life
Timec
chemosh - Thanks for posting that. I've been avoiding Zacharek's reviews for a while, and now I remember why. Among many other points of contention within her review (the "he doesn't care about people" line is about as misguided as criticism can come), her use of the word "pretension" is a dead giveaway that she's not actually willing to seriously consider or grapple with the film. "Pretentious" is up there with "boring" and "overrated" and "lame" as one of the emptiest, but most commonly used pejoratives.Don't get me wrong - there's absolutely nothing wrong with disliking this film. But her snide, dismissive review offers absolutely nothing substantive or meaningful.
Movie comment on Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Timec
chemosh - That sounds more like a good percentage of modern American indie (and mainstream) films.Besides the fact that this film was directed and produced by Germans, stars American and English actors, and is in English. Part of it was filmed in France (as well as Spain and Germany,) but it's still not a French film.
Movie comment on Barton Fink
Timec
Writer's block as hell, and Hollywood as damnation. The Coens are in complete control of their craft here, and create a film in which the viewer feels the frustration and bewilderment and oppression of the protagonist. The ending scene is unexpectedly emotionally overwhelming.One of the two or three best things the Coens have done, and an absolute masterpiece.
Movie comment on Un chien andalou
Timec
brian_fuller - I guess it depends on what your class conversation was about. If the professor was attempting to get the class to make sense of the narrative, then it was a futile exercise.On the other hand, surrealism, at its best, is a strongly political and intellectual movement. Whether the artists intended it or not (judging by their other works, I would say they did), the film does have much to say about the nature of editing, of the various components that make up a film, and of narrative in general. Because we are watching a film, we are psychologically forced into finding a coherent narrative where there is none. A constructive conversation could indeed be had about the film's usurpation of traditional narrative and film grammar and for its strong psychological effect.
And, for the record, your last sentence basically says: "I dislike it when people agree with my obviously objective opinion about a film." Unfortunately, like a film or not, the Emperor is very rarely naked, and he certainly is not in this case. The film is an utter delight to watch, and there is more going on then you'd like to admit. After watching it the first time, I immediately started it over - not to find some "missing piece" that would finally allow the film to make sense, but rather to revel in its indelible imagery and hilarious "mind games."
The "16 years earlier" card in the middle of the bedroom scene still manages to crack me up every time.
Movie comment on Empire of the Sun
Timec
This film is incredibly underrated. It's quite easily among Spielberg's two or three best films, and it's one of the best depictions of childhood in wartime. It's also surprisingly emotionally and intellectually complex.Movie comment on Manhattan
Timec
Paper_Okami - That's actually not really interesting at all. Lots of great artists have had negative things to say about some of their best work.And, just so you know, the film isn't pretentious at all.
Showing items 176 – 200 of 237