I loved the new King Kong. I personally think it’s one of the best and most exciting action films of the decade, perhaps ever. Yes, it feels like it’s already an extended Director’s Cut, so I can see why that puts people off. But the incredible size and scope and excitement in the film are just astonishing, and it deserves to be remembered.
I’ve only seen Yi Yi, but I absolutely loved it and wish I could see more of his films. Criterion definitely needs to release this, or at least SOMEONE does. Everything I’ve heard about it suggests it is one of the great masterworks of cinema, and yet it is unavailable in the English-speaking world. Any of Yang’s other films would be good choices for Criterion as well, but A Brighter Summer Day seems to be the most important.
Oh, I’ve also heard it played last month in a special screening at the Lincoln Center as part of the Film Comment Selects series. That seems to imply a new/well-preserved print of the film, but whether it means a DVD release any time soon, I have no idea.
I think The New World is his greatest film, although it’s his most polarizing. I had my brother watch it first, and he fell in love with it before preceding to The Thin Red Line and others. You can really start with any of them, but even while he has a clear personal style, that style changes drastically from film to film. So if you don’t especially get or like the first film you watch, try the next one—it’ll probably feel quite different and you might have a different reaction.
That Press Play article is good, you should all check it out.
It’s good to remember that each film in a top ten ballot gets just one point, regardless of position in that person’s top ten. And there are so many voters who vote for so many films, that the lower films in the overall official Top Ten only have like 18 votes apiece. Citizen Kane and Vertigo were both in the 40-something vote range in the critics list last time, and then Rules of the Game had about 30, then the next couple were in the 20s. And then there were dozens of films that were mentioned somewhere between 10 and 15 times, and so on. So on the one hand, Kane and a couple others really do dominate, and anyone hoping they’re going to fall off the list entirely are deluding themselves. On the other, it’s easy for just a couple ballots to have a major effect on the list.
I think the list will be shaken up a bit this year because there does seem to be some genuine frustration and boredom around the traditional predictability of the last couple times. People, including the magazine’s editors, are genuinely curious and disappointed why there have been so few films from the 2-3 decades that got any support. I expect that to change. There’s also been talk about the Eurocentrism of the list, and many calls for more non-Western films.
My guesses is that several relatively recent auteurs will make strong showings, though that doesn’t mean they’ll make it into the Top 10. Major Asian filmmakers like Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Edward Yang, Wong Kar-Wai, and possibly Apichatpong Weerasethakul will probably all make appearances. Bela Tarr’s stock has risen hugely, and I bet Satantango will have a very strong showing, though still outside the Top 10. Abbas Kiarostami will also be well-represented. I think Terrence Malick has grown hugely in popularity and controversy in the last ten years, and expect quite a few votes for his films, probably several for The Tree of Life. And David Lynch strikes me as likely to make a pretty strong bid for top spots, though the division between Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. supporters may scuttle that. Tarantino will probably get more support than he did before, though still not a ton. Claire Denis will do well.
As to older auteurs, I would love to see Tarkovsky get in, probably with Andrei Rublev, which for some reason has never quite made it on the list. And Bresson, what with the recent touring retrospectives in the US and the thriving critical discussion stemming from that may finally make it in with Au Hasard Balthazar as well. I think Eisenstein may finally leave the list—really don’t get why Battleship Potemkin makes it EVERY time. With The Godfather being split up this year, I think it will fall a bit—I like the second one better anyway. Satyajit Ray and Kenji Mizoguchi may have surprisingly strong showings. The sympathy vote for Angeloupoulis won’t get him on the list, but he’ll probably be pretty high.
My rough guess is the (Critics’, but the directors’ one won’t be way different) list will be something like this:
1. Vertigo
2. Citizen Kane
3. The Rules of the Game
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Tokyo Story
6. Sunrise
7. Andrei Rublev
8. Au Hasard balthazar
9. Pather Panchali
10. Raging Bull
But with Seven Samurai, Singin’ in the Rain, City of Sadness, 8 1/2, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Satantango, In the Mood for Love, A Brighter Summer Day, Mulholland Drive, and Metropolis all close runners-up.
Peter Jackson's King Kong - Unjustly Forgotten? over 2 years ago
I loved the new King Kong. I personally think it’s one of the best and most exciting action films of the decade, perhaps ever. Yes, it feels like it’s already an extended Director’s Cut, so I can see why that puts people off. But the incredible size and scope and excitement in the film are just astonishing, and it deserves to be remembered.
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A Brighter Summer Day about 2 years ago
I’ve only seen Yi Yi, but I absolutely loved it and wish I could see more of his films. Criterion definitely needs to release this, or at least SOMEONE does. Everything I’ve heard about it suggests it is one of the great masterworks of cinema, and yet it is unavailable in the English-speaking world. Any of Yang’s other films would be good choices for Criterion as well, but A Brighter Summer Day seems to be the most important.
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A Brighter Summer Day about 2 years ago
Oh, I’ve also heard it played last month in a special screening at the Lincoln Center as part of the Film Comment Selects series. That seems to imply a new/well-preserved print of the film, but whether it means a DVD release any time soon, I have no idea.
Go to Comment
Best Malick Introduction? about 1 year ago
I think The New World is his greatest film, although it’s his most polarizing. I had my brother watch it first, and he fell in love with it before preceding to The Thin Red Line and others. You can really start with any of them, but even while he has a clear personal style, that style changes drastically from film to film. So if you don’t especially get or like the first film you watch, try the next one—it’ll probably feel quite different and you might have a different reaction.
Go to Comment
Sight and Sound 2012 — Predictions? 29 days ago
That Press Play article is good, you should all check it out.
It’s good to remember that each film in a top ten ballot gets just one point, regardless of position in that person’s top ten. And there are so many voters who vote for so many films, that the lower films in the overall official Top Ten only have like 18 votes apiece. Citizen Kane and Vertigo were both in the 40-something vote range in the critics list last time, and then Rules of the Game had about 30, then the next couple were in the 20s. And then there were dozens of films that were mentioned somewhere between 10 and 15 times, and so on. So on the one hand, Kane and a couple others really do dominate, and anyone hoping they’re going to fall off the list entirely are deluding themselves. On the other, it’s easy for just a couple ballots to have a major effect on the list.
I think the list will be shaken up a bit this year because there does seem to be some genuine frustration and boredom around the traditional predictability of the last couple times. People, including the magazine’s editors, are genuinely curious and disappointed why there have been so few films from the 2-3 decades that got any support. I expect that to change. There’s also been talk about the Eurocentrism of the list, and many calls for more non-Western films.
My guesses is that several relatively recent auteurs will make strong showings, though that doesn’t mean they’ll make it into the Top 10. Major Asian filmmakers like Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Edward Yang, Wong Kar-Wai, and possibly Apichatpong Weerasethakul will probably all make appearances. Bela Tarr’s stock has risen hugely, and I bet Satantango will have a very strong showing, though still outside the Top 10. Abbas Kiarostami will also be well-represented. I think Terrence Malick has grown hugely in popularity and controversy in the last ten years, and expect quite a few votes for his films, probably several for The Tree of Life. And David Lynch strikes me as likely to make a pretty strong bid for top spots, though the division between Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. supporters may scuttle that. Tarantino will probably get more support than he did before, though still not a ton. Claire Denis will do well.
As to older auteurs, I would love to see Tarkovsky get in, probably with Andrei Rublev, which for some reason has never quite made it on the list. And Bresson, what with the recent touring retrospectives in the US and the thriving critical discussion stemming from that may finally make it in with Au Hasard Balthazar as well. I think Eisenstein may finally leave the list—really don’t get why Battleship Potemkin makes it EVERY time. With The Godfather being split up this year, I think it will fall a bit—I like the second one better anyway. Satyajit Ray and Kenji Mizoguchi may have surprisingly strong showings. The sympathy vote for Angeloupoulis won’t get him on the list, but he’ll probably be pretty high.
My rough guess is the (Critics’, but the directors’ one won’t be way different) list will be something like this:
1. Vertigo
2. Citizen Kane
3. The Rules of the Game
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Tokyo Story
6. Sunrise
7. Andrei Rublev
8. Au Hasard balthazar
9. Pather Panchali
10. Raging Bull
But with Seven Samurai, Singin’ in the Rain, City of Sadness, 8 1/2, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Satantango, In the Mood for Love, A Brighter Summer Day, Mulholland Drive, and Metropolis all close runners-up.
Go to Comment