Films for a time capsule

If humanity were to make one of those capsule doodads to send into space with the best films ever made which films would be in it? (Obviously, to stop world war three breaking out, and also to keep the amount of films to a manageable number the guys putting them in there there could only choose ONE film from each country).

Japan – Rashomon

Britain – A Clockwork Orange

USA – Shawshank Redemption

France – Shoot the pianist

Taiwan/China – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

New Zealand – Return of the King

Germany – Herz Au Glas

I’ve tried not to chose obvious choices but ones I feel show a range of cultural significance in one way or another, showing mentalities and mannerisms.

Earth – Encounters at the End of the World

Everywhere else – Woodstock

China- Hard Boiled
America- Citizen Cane
Britain- Dr.Strangelove
Japan- Good Morning
Canada- Videodrome
Mexico- Woman on the verge of a nervouse breakdown

Erik –
Millenia of Chinese culture boiled down to…Hard Boiled??? You must be kidding!

(also – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a Spanish film)

Russia – The Cranes Are Flying or Andrei Rublev

Germany – M
Italy – Open City

Is it fair to consider Hong Kong as a “country” seperate from China?

I would send a generation ship populated by the families of Godard and Lynch (or any other filmmaker you adore), force their kids and grandkids to learn everything there is to know about filmmaking, give them some fake neo-realist-looking room and force them to film a whole bunch of avant garde films in it until they all die fighting each other in fits of arrogance.

I would send a generation ship populated by the families of Godard and Lynch (or any other filmmaker you adore), force their kids and grandkids to learn everything there is to know about filmmaking, give them some fake neo-realist-looking room and force them to film a whole bunch of avant garde films in it until they all die fighting each other in fits of arrogance.

ALGERIA:
The Battle of Algiers

ARGENTINA:
Hour of the Furnaces

ARMENIA:
The Colour of Pomegranates

AUSTRALIA:
Picnic at Hanging Rock

BELGIUM:
Rosetta

BRAZIL:
Ilha Das Flores (i picked this short ahead of Rocha cos it was once called a film for aliens)

BULGARIA:
The Attached Balloon

CANADA:
My Winnipeg

CHINA:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

CZECH:
Marketa Lazarova

DENMARK:
Dogville

FRANCE:
La Regle du Jeu

GEORGIA:
Salt for Svanetia

GERMANY:
Alice in the Cities

GREECE:
Eternity and a Day

HUNGARY:
Werckmeister Harmonies

INDIA:
Pather Panchali

IRAN:
And Life Goes On

ITALY:
L’Avventura

JAPAN:
Sansho the Bailiff

MALAYSIA
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone

MALI:
Yeelen

MAURITANIA:
Waiting for Happiness

MEXICO:
Silent Light

MONGOLIA:
Story of the Weeping Camel

NEW ZEALAND:
The Piano

NORWAY:
Edvard Munch

POLAND:
The Double Life of Veronique

PORTUGAL:
Abraham Valley

ROMANIA:
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

RUSSIA:
Mirror

SCOTLAND:
My Childhood

SENEGAL:
Mooladé

SPAIN:
Spirit of the Beehive

SWEDEN:
Persona

TAIWAN:
A Brighter Summer Day

THAILAND:
Blissfully Yours

TUNISIA:
Silences of the Palace

TURKEY:
Climates

UK:
2001: A Space Odyssey

UKRAINE:
Arsenal

USA:
Sunrise

VIETNAM:
At the Height of Summer

WALES
Sleep Furiously

(former) YUGOSLAVIA:
Who’s Singing over There?

so Wales finds itself up against Yugoslavia as in Euro 76 1/4 finals

Wow Kenji, another comprehensive list, as always. But no love for the Philippines? <‘,))(
This thread did make me realize how very little I’ve seen from my own home country. Of the handful of Filipino films I have seen, I have to say that even though I know this film isn’t the best film from our country, it’s probably one of the best representatives of our culture:

Ah, i’ve not seen that, and in fact very little from Phillippines, sorry, and i didn’t want to include too many countries just for the sake of it. Hopefully i’ll be very impressed with some Filippino stuff in due course…

@Kenji – Now THAT’S what I call a comprehensive reply – thanks for making a big effort.

@Kenji—Hahaha, I was just kidding, I didn’t expect you to. Our films rarely get distribution outside of our country, unlike the other countries you’ve mentioned. Silip is probably not the best place to start, either, even though it has to be the Filipino film that’s gotten the biggest distribution.

Actually I want to change my choice, how could I forget about Mike de Leon’s Bayaning 3rd World (Third World Hero)? It’s a postmodern movie-within-a-movie that has a director questioning if a film about Jose Rizal (our national hero) can be made.

The poster’s tag line roughly translates as: Do you believe in Rizal or do you not care at all ?
Which is a reflection of the Filipinos’ neglect of our own history, or even just the tendency to forget too often. The film itself is actually quite light and humorous despite its serious concerns about our National Hero. And it’s shot in beautiful black and white.

Ah i’ve heard good things too of Demons (O’Hara) and 48 Hours (De Leon), what i’ve seen of Perfumed Nightmare looked very interesting. Oh, Bona (Brocka) was fine.

Here’s a pic of Ilha das Flores from Brazil, an unsual witty but politically astute and subversive documentary about capitalist food distribution and waste, with starring roles for tomatoes and pigs and the scavenging poor.

I actually have “an urge” to watch Silip, Daughters of Eve, lol.

As for the Philippines, I obviously want to watch Brillante Mendoza’s films. And I’ve been trying to track down some Lav Diaz films without success.

Kenji—Oh yes, thanks for reminding me! Perfumed Nightmare is absolutely essential viewing, I would rank it right up there with the other two films I mentioned. I remembered when Kidlat Tahimik himself brought his own personal print of the film to our high school and afterwards I talked to him and he was really encouraging for filmmakers to start making films on digital. And 5 years later, there was boom of independent films from the Philippines, two of the filmmakers, Khavn de la Cruz and John Torres, being Kidlat Tahimik’s disciples. Kidlat Tahimik really paved the way for Independent Filipino cinema, with his Cup of Gas Filmmaking Philosophy

Island of Flowers really stood out for me on your list, Kenji. I managed to find it on google video here I’ll watch it as soon as I finish typing this.

@ Blue Kim, you should definitely check out Silip if you’re feeling adventurous. It’s pretty brutal, especially the opening. Watch it in its original Tagalog rather than the dubbed version, although you’ll see with the dubbed version of how they really marketed the film as exploitation/erotica, even changing the mood of the pivotal sex scene entirely! I think Mondo Macabro is also planning to release Snake Sisters, but no word yet on when exactly.

Based on films I’ve actually seen, not on some “best of” list :

ALGERIA:
The Battle of Algiers

ARGENTINA:
The Official Story

ARMENIA (USSR) :
The Colour of Pomegranates

AUSTRALIA:
The Adventures of Priscilla

BANGLADESH :
Titash Ekti Nadir Naam

BELGIUM:
Man Bites Dog

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA :
Esma’s Secret

BRAZIL:
Black Orpheus (or : The House Of Sand)

CANADA:
Mon Oncle Antoine

CHINA:
Shanghai Triad

CZECHOSLOVAKIA :
Closely Watched Trains

DENMARK:
Babette’s Feast

FINLAND :
Talvisota

FRANCE:
Les diaboliques

GERMANY:
Metropolis (or : Das Boot)

HOLLAND :
The Vanishing

HONG KONG :
Chungking Express

HUNGARY:
Bolse vita

INDIA (Bollywood) :
Mughal-e-Azam

INDIA (non-Bollywood) :
Pather Panchali

IRAN:
Smell Of Camphor, Fragrance Of Jasmine

ISRAEL :
Urs al-jalil

ITALY:
Umberto D

JAPAN:
Seven Samurai

KAZAKHSTAN :
Mongol

MEXICO :
The Exterminating Angel

MONGOLIA:
Story of the Weeping Camel

NEW ZEALAND:
The Quiet Earth

NORWAY:
The Bothersome Man

PHILIPPINES :
Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag

POLAND:
Knife In The Water

PORTUGAL:
Voyage to the Beginning of the World

SENEGAL:
Saaraba

SOUTH KOREA :
3-Iron (or : Windstruck)

SPAIN:
Viridiana

SRI LANKA :
Pickpocket

SWEDEN:
Persona

SWITZERLAND :
Yol

TAIWAN:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

THAILAND:
The Legend Of Suriyothai

TURKEY:
İki Genç Kız

UK:
The Red Shoes

USA:
City Lights

USSR :
Andrei Rublev

VIETNAM:
The Vertical Ray Of The Sun

YUGOSLAVIA:
When Father Was Away on Business

A few more.

The Snake King’s Wife

EGYPT :
Omaret yakobean

IRELAND :
My Left Foot

MALI :
Guimba, Un Tyran Une Epoque

PALESTINE (Israel) :
Wedding in Galilee

SOUTH AFRICA :
Tsotsi

This is actually Roger Eberts idea, not mine. (but I agree)

Baraka.

It can be enjoyed and understood by people of all languages and cultures. it speaks to the human condition. There is no way to include a film from every country otherwise.

First thought best thought. Or not:

The Motorcycle Diaries
Fata Morgana
The Bicycle Thief
West Beirut
Mysterious Object At Noon
The Brother From Another Planet
Gabbeh
Abouna
The Road Home (Zhang Yimou)
Wild Reeds
Days And Nights In The Forest
Attack The Gas Station

A pleasantly baffling Young Alien’s Field Guide To The Planet Locally Known As Earth.

From what I’ve seen—not necessarily what I think are the “best” films I’ve seen from each country, but ones I believe that reflect their respective nation’s culture and/or spirit in some way…

Argentina – Hour of the Furnaces

Brazil – City of God

China – Red Sorghum

Czechoslovakia – Closely Watched Trains

Denmark – Day of Wrath

France – Breathless

Germany – Nosferatu (Murnau)

Greece – The Traveling Players

Hong Kong – Days of Being Wild

Hungary – The Red and the White

India – Pather Panchali

Iran – Through the Olive Trees

Italy – The Bicycle Thieves

Japan – Maborosi

Mali – Yeelen

Mexico – Santa Sangre

Poland – Generation

Portugal – Ossos

Russia – Stalker

Senegal – Hyenas

South Korea – Sopyonje

Spain – Viridiana

Sweden – Silence

Taiwan – Boys from Fengkuei

Thailand – Last Life in the Universe

Turkey – Yol

Ukraine – Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

United Kingdom – Kind Hearts and Coronets

United States – 2001

Vietnam – Cyclo

Yugoslavia – When Father was Away on Business

wow i am an dumb sometimes, talked about the movie in an earlier post, but didnt mention it. here was how it was supposed to go…

BARAKA!

This is actually Roger Eberts idea, not mine. (but I agree)

It can be enjoyed and understood by people of all languages and cultures. it speaks to the human condition. There is no way to include a film from every country otherwise.

WR: Mysteries of the Organism.
haha!