To prove Drew’s post:
Law’s Top 3 films by David Lynch:
1. Mulholland Dr.
2. Blue Velvet
3. Eraserhead
“It just seems like the majority consider Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. to be his best films.”
you’re still proving my theory,it’s not all about determining or compiling lists,it’s for the commercialization then,hehe.
because what you just said stands correct: “It doesn’t…. what do you mean? Its all opinion”
if one wants to LOVE DUNE and DESPISE BLUE VELVET,that sounds more logical than a continuous railroad of Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway or whatever being in endless best of the year or best of the decade lists…
“if you created your own list and screamed the film titles you loved from the roof tops”
nope,that would be reversed elitism…it would mean i’m SOLELY popularizing “obscure” titles,i’d believe a list more when it has both a Shaft and a Chekhov’s Motives than a list filled with just unreleased titles or just art-house favorites like the list in the beginning…
“if one wants to LOVE DUNE and DESPISE BLUE VELVET,that sounds more logical than a continuous railroad of Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway or whatever being in endless best of the year or best of the decade lists…”
It does? Both are equally logic and valid to me.
“Both are equally logic and valid to me.”
really?welcome to the club then because no “real” critic would place Badlands in more best lists than New World or Days of Being Wild more than In the Mood for Love,and that’s a statistical fact dear Law…
if one wants to LOVE DUNE and DESPISE BLUE VELVET,that sounds more logical than a continuous railroad of Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway or whatever being in endless best of the year or best of the decade lists…
Ahhh you’re missing my point! Liking Dune is not better than liking Mulholland Dr. People should like the films they like because of their own opinion. I don’t like Mulholland Dr. more than Lost Highway because critics told me to, but because in my opinion it is a better film.
nope,that would be reversed elitism…it would mean i’m SOLELY popularizing “obscure” titles,i’d believe a list more when it has both a Shaft and a Chekhov’s Motives than a list filled with unreleased titles…
But would your list only be obscure films? That seems odd to me. Wouldn’t it be filled with a variety of films, and if that was the case then I could say Oh he likes this film I like, but I have not heard of that other film he likes. I should check it out. I wouldn’t think you were elitist. I only would think that if you were bias towards films that are obscure. However if your favorite films are all obscure then those should be the ones you list! Just like how I see no shame in expressing love for Mulholland Dr.
The key is going with your personal opinion, not going against the general opinion.
“really?welcome to the club then because no “real” critic would place Badlands in more best lists than New World or Days of Being Wild more than In the Mood for Love,and that’s a statistical fact dear Law…”
Why? Can’t people prefer New World to Badlands or In the Mood for Love to Days of Being Wild? Or is only your opinion valid?
“The key is going with your personal opinion, not going against the general opinion.”
but the canon always wins,do you really think Beethoven will ever be considered inferior to Schubert in the eyes of the “official” critical canon?
and that’s where we come to:
“I don’t like Mulholland Dr. more than Lost Highway because critics told me to, but because in my opinion it is a better film.”
for you me,for me,for everyone we know,this is a well-worth notion…so how many will dare to express their sentiments in case an Imamura film moves them a lot more than a Mizoguchi film?and i mean the ones who know their cinema,not the casual “i change the TV channels and i stumble into a film” viewer……because even established critics who know their cinema don’t really trust anyone outside the usual suspects…so it is all a predetermined elitism or lists have caused more harm than benefit?
“Why? Can’t people prefer New World to Badlands or In the Mood for Love to Days of Being Wild? Or is only your opinion valid?”
no one said the opposite but lists influence and they influence badly most of the times…..the ones who saw Thin Red Line had no idea who Malick was (me too) but thankfully,i had no interest in lists….assuming one DOES follow a list knowing Malick’s film is close to the 5 first spots for instance…why should a list be an influence to him/her and not the other way around,through encyclopedic education abut Malick,learning his previous short career and deciding by himself/herself?is a list’s finishing line so significant?
Well, I know that I genuinely prefer Mulholland Dr. to Lost Highway and did not read any reviews before seeing each film. I saw Mulholland Dr. by accident when reading up on unreliable narrators. I saw Lost Highway because I had seen Mulholland Dr. and wanted to see more. So, I must be wrong.
The canon usually wins because the canon is usually the canon for a reason. Are you saying Beethoven is not great because he is famous?
how many will dare to express their sentiments in case an Imamura film moves them a lot more than a Mizoguchi film?
I would hope a lot! Are you really accusing all of us of only going with the canon because we are afraid of looking foolish? I love The Dreamers. Most people hate it. I’m fine with that. I would never pretend like I don’t love it!
And a lot of “art” films I like were extremely frowned upon by those I had talked to (before the Auteurs). Eyes Wide Shut???? The rare chance where I talked to someone who had seen it, they would rip it apart. That didn’t change my opinion (I was very shocked when I came to the Auteurs how many films I loved were also loved by the people on here).
Although my parents both disliked Eyes Wide Shut and critics don’t love it either, I defended it vehemently in front of them the night I saw the film. Was I just conforming to canon?
“I love The Dreamers. Most people hate it. I’m fine with that. I would never pretend like I don’t love it!”
and let no one accuse you for that….Dreamers might never be in a top 10 list but for what it’s worth,this is better than all the No Countries in the world!
see,that’s just my opinion and yours too,and no lists will change that,yes?
so….
“The canon usually wins because the canon is usually the canon for a reason”
why should this exist since we can easily alter the possibilities?how you’ll ask?perhaps without it someone will hear Schubert before Beethoven for a freakin’ change!
of course none of them tops the other (in my opinion),but my main complaint is the same with all other arts too….what if someone like Law sees Hong Sang-soo (counting fingers lists?) before Fritz Lang (endless lists) …will he/she be called a fuckin’ moron because he/she hasn’t seen Metropolis yet and wants to postpone it for the next 20 years and why?because he/she wants to?
“Was I just conforming to canon?”
if it is YOUR canon,then it is YOUR canon,down with lists ;)
Aha! I forgot Eraserhead was made by David Lynch! I have seen 2 David Lynch films. I prefer Eraserhead but not by much. In all seriousness though, I denounce David Lynch for all of eternity if I don’t like Mulholland Drive.
You are a fuckin’ moron for not seeing The Red Shoes. ;)
and let no one accuse you for that….Dreamers might never be in a top 10 list but for what it’s worth,this is better than all the No Countries in the world!
But why do you celebrate my love for a hated film? Its all just opinions. My love for The Dreamers is no different than my love for Mulholland Dr. except for that people agree with me on the later. So what? I find it just as foolish to try and go against the canon, as trying to go with it.
“I find it just as foolish to try and go against the canon, as trying to go with it.”
that’s why we need a new wave of criticism…
“But why do you celebrate my love for a hated film? Its all just opinions.”
it’s all about variety too,i love Animal House and Saragossa Manuscript at the same time and (surprise,surprise) the lists these two films were included in are as vague and forgotten as the tip of my mustache.
i cannot determine if they’re better than other films,but no lists or “established” critics will determine that Animal House (mainstream film) and Saragossa (art-house) don’t deserve to belong in a 60’s or a 70’s list like La Jetee or Clockwork Orange are,yes?
In my opinion it is not about variety. Its only about what I prefer. I don’t make sure to put a film from each genre on my top 10 list. I don’t even try and diversify the directors. My lists represent my opinion. Plain and simple.
diversifying or not,no lists will prevent you from stating your Dreamers love (including me,if i ever present myself as a huge boulder rolling towards Eva Green :P )
I guess I just don’t see a difference between my opinions on The Dreamers and mine on Mulholland Dr.
And I wasn’t really kidding about The Red Shoes….
Drew Gregory
I just think you’re setting yourself up to be disappointed by critics then.
It seems like you would be much more successful, if you created your own list and screamed the film titles you loved from the roof tops, instead of complaining about the predictability of the lists of others (who have seen less variety of films).
why does this have to be Lynch’s best
It doesn’t…. what do you mean? Its all opinion. It just seems like the majority consider Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. to be his best films.