I’m not very familiar with Turkish cinema, but as a starter, my own recommendations>>>>
Yumurta (Kaplanoglu)
Climates (Ceylan0
Yol (Guney)
Times and Winds (Erdem)
Journey to the Sun (Ustaoglu)
Hope (Guney)
for more, based also on reputation, my list
Umm…OK, that sounds hopeful but not so much….for instance, this one:
“We’re still deciding how we’re going to present the list”
What do you exactly mean by that? I.e. the best 100, 200, 500 Turkish films of all time or just a random order of selected films based on Turkish critical appraisal, public reaction and / or trusting the users’ input?
Moreover, why all of a sudden an individual thread about a neglected nation? Does that mean we don’t need a “The Best French Films of All Time” catalog since most French films are already in enough Sight and Sound polls and “best films of all time” lists or does that mean that since few to none Turkish films exist in best list, we should separate them and create a “special” list for specific “neglected” nations?
The “project” (because it’s a project we’re dealing with here) is promising indeed but I’ll only suggest “stuff” until I comprehend HOW is this project gonna work out, regarding a strict “canon” or regarding an infinite variety of films from the Turkish cinematography?
Some favorites….
Crossing the Bridge (Akin)
The Bride (Akad)
Kader (Demirkubuz)
Distant (Ceylan)
Kibar Feyzo (Yimaz)
Dry Summer (Erksan)
Eskiya (Turgul)
The Road (Goren)
Yol (Guney)
The Girl With the Red Scarf (Yilmaz)
Three Monkeys (Ceylan)
@Dim
Because “Efe” is Turkish. ha-ha ^ ^ . Just kidding. And you’re some right. This list idea seems like It’s came from nowhere :) Some more information wouldn’t bother us, Mubi.
Çetin İnanç’s The Man Who Saves the World (1982)
Yavuz Turgul’s The Bandit (1996)
Yılmaz Erdoğan’s Vizontele (2001)
Dervis Zaim’s Çamur (Mud) 2003
Yesim Ustaoglu’s Bulutlari Beklerken (Waiting for the Clouds) 2004
Metin Erksan’s Dry Summer
Ceylan’s Uzak
The best way to compile such a list would probably be to get the opinions by some renowned Turkish film critics (not sure if we got any on this site). Let alone for the lack of subtitles most of us haven’t been able to watch a lot of classical Turkish films which means the selections would predominantly be limited to widely available films made during the last 30 years rather than giving a real impression of what the “best” Turkish films are.
Yeah, i agree- there are quite a few Turks who’ve been on mubi but i can’t say i’ve noticed many on the forum. Maybe the international polls specialist Angel has a list of films according to Turkish critics, In 96 there was a top 10 Turkish films list for Variety International Film Guide (which sadly i had to offload when moving house this year), but Turkish films haven’t been promoted much worldwide.
Here’s a list of the 10 best Turkish films based on a vote by the Ankara Cinema Association:
DISTANT / Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Turkey, 2002, 110′, Colour
THE BRIDE / Ömer Lütfi Akad
Turkey, 1973, 35mm, 97′, Colour
DRY SUMMER / Metin Erksan
Turkey, 1964, 35mm, 80′, b&w
MOTHERLAND HOTEL / Ömer Kavur
Turkey 1986, 35mm, 110′, Colour
THE GIRL WITH RED SCARF / Atıf Yılmaz
Turkey, 1977, 35mm, 90′, Colour
INNOCENCE / Zeki Demirkubuz
Turkey 1997, 35mm, 110′, Colour
MUHSİN BEY / Yavuz Turgul
Turkey, 1987, 35mm, 145′, Colour
THE WAY / Şerif Gören
Turkey – İsviçre, 1982, 35mm, 114′, Colour
THE HERD / Zeki Ökten
Turkey, 1979, 35mm, 125′, Colour
HOPE / Yılmaz Güney
Turkey, 1970, 35mm, 100′, b&w
Semih Kaplan’s triology Yumurta-Süt-Bal
Ömer Kavur’s Anayurt Oteli
Yeşim Ustaoğlu’s Pandora’s Box
Metin Erksan’ Yılanların Öcü-1962, Susuz Yaz-1964
Derviş Zaim’s Tabutta Rövaşata
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Distant
Mustafa Altıoklar’s Ağır Roman(Colera Street)-1996
Zeki Demirkubuz’s Innocence-1997
Tunç Başaran’s Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar-1989
Erden Kıral’s Hakkaride Dört Mevsim-1983
Matt, i think most of the films in the top 10 you’ve provided were also in the Variety selection- maybe the popular hit Hababam Sinifi was also included.
Midnight Express
A few more favorites (no claim made as to the “greatest/best” anything)
Mutluluk (Bliss) (Oguz)
Head-On (Akin)
Lovelorn (Turgul)
The Wall (Duvar) (Guney)
Journey of Hope (Koller)
Bal (Kaplanoglu)
Midnight Express has been quite popular among Turkish authorities, but that doesn’t make it a Turkish film. ;)
Atilla Dorsay’s favorites (probably the most famous film critic of the country):
“Yol” (Şerif Gören), “Uzak” (Nuri Bilge Ceylan), “Eşkıya” (Yavuz Turgul), ”Üç Arkadaş” (Memduh Ün), “Sürü” (Zeki Ökten), ”Beş Vakit” (Reha Erdem), “Adı: Vasfiye” (Atıf Yılmaz), “Susuz Yaz” (Metin Erksan), “Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim” (Erden Kıral), “Anayurt Oteli” (Ömer Kavur), “Hayallerim, Aşkım ve Sen” (Atıf Yılmaz), “Hanım” (Halit Refiğ), “Karpuz Kabuğundan Gemiler Yapmak” (Ahmet Uluçay), ”Güneşe Yolculuk” (Yeşim Ustaoğlu), “Büyük Adam Küçük Aşk” (Handan İpekçi), “Babam ve Oğlum” (Çağan Irmak), “Issız Adam” (Çağan Irmak), ”Gemide” (Serdar Akar), ”Korkuyorum Anne” (Reha Erdem), ”C-Blok” (Zeki Demirkubuz),”İz” (Yeşim Ustaoğlu),”Denize Hançer Düştü” (Mustafa Altıoklar), “Hiçbir Yerde” (Tayfun Pirselimoğlu), ”Kanun Namına” (Lütfi Akad), “Beyaz Mendil” (Lütfi Akad), “Yalnızlar Rıhtımı” (Lütfi Akad), “Düşman Yolları Kesti” (Osman Seden), “Yılanların Öcü” (Metin Erksan), “Sevmek Zamanı” (Metin Erksan), ”Haremde Dört Kadın” (Halit Refiğ), ”Erkek Ali” (Atıf Yılmaz), “Kalbe Vuran Düşman” (Atıf Yılmaz), ”Kızılırmak Karakoyun” (Lütfi Akad),”Hudutların Kanunu” (Lütfi Akad), “Vesikalı Yarim” (Lütfi Akad), “Ana” (Lütfi Akad), ”Bitmeyen Yol” (Duygu Sağıroğlu), ”Balatlı Arif” (Atıf Yılmaz).
It would be great a monthly special dedicated to a particular country, although I do not know the most appropiate format. A boarder recently conducted a very interesting poll on Korean movies with not much success…
“Hamam” by Ferzan Ozpetek.
A beautiful film that came on late one night and the only Turkish film I have seen.
So maybe the reationale for the thread could be opening our eyes to their cinema , as if there isn’t already enough films I want to see ;-)
I’m Turkish but it would be a mistake to take my decisions seriously. Cause I can’t really give much focus to my country’s cinema unfortunately. I don’t love and didn’t watch many movies from the “Yeşilcam” era, the golden years of our cinema ‘sector’. Most of the films of this era was exploitation films. Now I’m not saying that I don’t like exploitation cinema but that was too much. Hundreds of exploitations films per year is too much I think. But towards the 90s, Yeşilcam began to die (most of the Turkish people won’t accept this, but really, Yeşilcam died already) . In 1990, Turkey became a member of “Eurimages” and that was a big step if you ask me. The number of Independent Filmmakers in Turkey began to raise and with the filmmakers like Ceylan, Zaim, Erdem, Ustaoğlu and Demirkubuz, New Turkish Cinema’s birth began.
I like New Turkish Cinema more than Yeşilcam. It’s more independent, young and energic. It doesnt try to take control over the audiences’ feelings. I see it as more close to my taste. But of course there are many exceptions in both. I’ll just cut the crap and write my decisions:
Uzak (Distant) – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Kosmos – Reha Erdem
A Ay (Oh, Moon!) – Reha Erdem
Pandora’nın Kutusu (Pandora’s Box) – Yeşim Ustaoğlu
C-Blok (Block C) – Zeki Demirkubuz
Sonbahar (Autumn) – Özcan Alper
Çoğunluk (Majority) – Seren Yüce
Yumurta/Süt/Bal (Egg/Milk/Honey) – Semih Kaplanoğlu
Meleğin Düşüşü (Angel’s Fall) – Semih Kaplanoğlu
Sürü (The Herd) – Zeki Ökten
Yol (The Way) – Şerif Gören
Dünya’yı Kurtaran Adam (The Man who Saves the World) – Çetin İnanç
Duvara Karşı (Head-On) – Fatih Akın
Şeytan – Metin Erksan
Nokta (Dot) – Derviş Zaim
Tabutta Rövaşata (Somersault in a Coffin) – Derviş Zaim
Takva (Takva: a Man’s Fear of God) – Özer Kızıltan
İki Dil Bir Bavul (On the Way to School) – Orhan Eskiköy, Özgür Doğan
Kasaba – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Aya Seyahat (Journey to the Moon) – Kutluğ Ataman
Masumiyet (Innocence) – Zeki Demirkubuz
http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/the-space-between-a-panorama-of-turkish-cinema
Whatever films make the cut, make sure Umut is number 1.
My personal favourite is Yazı Tura (IMDb: tt0428059) , one of the [unfortunatlely] few anti-militarist Turkish films which has a honest approach to Kurdish issue, rather than creating “heroes” who “hunt terrorists”
When it comes to directors… Although Nuri Bilge Ceylan receives more international recognition (most of his films get some award at Cannes), my favourite is Zeki Demirkubuz.
I still keep Zeki Demirkubuz’s Innocence-1997 in my list. However, it is worth to think about Inside-2012. Further information about ZD’s last work is coming from his own web page as below:
http://zekidemirkubuz.com/en/film-yeralti.htm
Anayurt Oteli
Çoğunluk
Gemide
Masumiyet
Sonbahar
Sürü
Teyzem
Uzak
Yılanların Öcü
Züğürt Ağa
MUBI
Hello users,
We’re working on creating a list of the best Turkish films of all time and could use your valued input! We’re still deciding how we’re going to present the list, but in the meantime, feel free to suggest as many films as you can think of below!