Foreign Favorites

Thanks for the kind words. I've read "Atlas Shrugged" by Rand but not "The Fountainhead" yet. While I can't deny some of the greatest films I've seen were obscure foreign films, my 10 favorite films are probably more mainstream than most film buffs. That wide appeal is certainly one of the reasons I have them on my list. Having worked at a high-end video store (and watching movies every night) I had the chance to see something from every corner of the world and I'm glad I had that chance because you certainly learn to look at film as a tool or an art: something more than just diversion or entertainment. The best films (in my book) can act as both.

I saw "Satan's Brew" this week. Anyone see this bizarro film?

I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or just admire from a distance.

I haven't seen it Johann and I'm not sure you think I should. The Fassbinder I want to see but may never get a chance is the longest film ever made: BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ.
By the way, I am sharing my experience attending THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in a thread in the General Forum for y'all foreign film fans.

Actually oscar in retrospect, Satan's Brew was quite enjoyable.

I 've heard of "Berlin A", and I would like to see it. I've seen "The Chelsea Girls" which is an 8 hour flick- 4 if you see it in split-screen (I did not).
Anyone see the 5-hour workprint for Apocalypse Now? I have!!

I had a moment of honor when 16 film nuts & myself were awarded a certificate for sitting thru Andy Warhol's "Sleep"
(which was another 8 hour viewing) in Toronto in 1995. It was just a guy on a mattress sleeping for 6 hours! They tacked on 2 hours of the same footage at the end! It was worth it, though. Ushers stood in the aisles with flashlights scoping for people who were snoozing. It was a packed house when it began- only the brave, insane warriors stood at the end. I'd never do it again...

Satan's Brew goes into my RENT list.

I am definitely too old to sit through Warhol's Sleep. My wife is an encephalogram tech and she has brought home vhs of patients subjected to a 24-hr EEG so I have an idea of what you've accomplished. Incidentally I attended the Toronto FF in 1995.

Please tell me more about the 5-hr Apocalypse. Will I get a chance?

Ah, Apocalypse Now. It's on my ten best list of all-time.

The workprint was a copy I got from a collector. (I'll never tell who) It doesn't flow like the original cut or the redux cut. It is extended scenes mainly, and lots more of "going up river".
The original cut was perfect. Only the really curious should seek out the gargantuan version. If you loved the film then it's definitely worth seeing, but you're not missing a whole lot with the studio versions. They are fine.

I liked Redux best. It fleshed out the original to a degree yet didn't take away from the powerful scenes. I noticed the cinematography more seeing the extended footage, perhaps because I have seen the original so many times.

has anyone seen CENTRAL STATION? i don't know who did it, but it is foreign and has subtitles. it's very beautiful. the look of it. no one famous.... at least not known in U.S. i'm a crybaby, and it did me in! VAGABOND sounds like something i need to see.

i agree about jack in ABOUT SCHMIDT. i think he saved that movie. no one could have pulled that off and made that movie worth sitting thru.

Central Station was seen by a lot of people, few foreign films get adequate publicity and this one did. I enjoyed watching the protagonist's gradual thawing. But it was the widescreen cinematography that brought me back for seconds.
For a South American film that will bring you to tears guaranteed, rent The Official Story (Oscar winner from Argentina).

I highly recommend Vagabond,anniedoa.
I warn you that it is INCREDIBLY sad. Very depressing to watch-but so was Ikiru, and that was a masterpiece. It is incredibly interesting to see what happens to the girl. Varda opens it exactly like Kubrick's Lolita, with the climax of the story.
I only watched it once-and so will you- unless you're a sucker for punishment. I cried like a baby. Glad I was alone...

has anyone seen the grande buffet? i think it's italian??? anyway... this one is a must see for all. i saw it in the 70's, and i had purchased a box of junior mints. i was unable to eat even one single piece of candy.... my mouth was agape thru the entire film. i left the theatre in kind of a trance. years later, when i wanted to see it again, it was impossible to find. i looked thru all kinds movie books to find it. it wasnt until a couple of years ago, i finally got to see it again. the quality was so poor, i couln't even watch it. i'm dying to know if anyone has heard of it or seen it. i'd love to hear your comments.

La Grande Bouffe won at Cannes in '73 then got released here with a rating of "X". Four bourgeois middle aged men meet at a villa to eat until dead. Check out the cast y'all: Ugo Tognazzi, Phillip Noiret, Marcello Mastroianni and Michel Piccoli (don't miss him in 2002's I'm Going Home). The American equivalent at the time would be: Newman, Nicholson, De Niro, Brando. At the time, the film had considerable impact; nowadays I'd rather watch The Mother and The Whore, another Cannes winner that year.

anniedoa, I don't understand what you mean by "quality was so poor", the film or the print/video you watch recently? The dvd version I saw two yrs ago looked fine.

hey oscar!!! i meant the print/video. it was really grainy and blurry. i was so disappointed.

what a movie!!! i couldn't eat my junior mints !!!! i loved that movie and told everyone i could find about it... no one had ever heard of it. you are great!!! i did'nt know that about the cast. that even makes it better. originally i saw it in a theatre in denver. it is really great on the big screen. the awesomeness of all the food... and still alive food... and more food. and the scene with the hookers!!!! when the girls are at first happy to eat. then decide the guys are insane. and of course they have over eaten.so funny.

A brief word of warning to readers unaware of the high gross-out factor of the film in discussion here. Grand Bouffe is not for the squeamish. It has an anarchic spirit and provides a powerful critique of consumerism. You salivate at the sight of exquisite edibles which are put to such nefarious uses. The film asks us identify with the hookers whom, as you say, go from delight to disgust. The cast was world-famous. Tognazzi was Renato in the original La Cage aux Folles. Noiret was seen in the hit Il Postino playing poet Pablo Neruda. Piccoli and Mastroianni are gods. It's really a shame you had to contend with a bad print annie. I salute your wide-open, big-hearted joy of cinema.

hey oscar!!! you always amaze me!! i was sure that evn tho there were some serious movie buffs in this site, there would be no one who had heard of this movie... let alone seen it!!! that's great. i love to read eveyone's comments. i can't wait for dave durbin to get back from vacation. i need to give him some crap about moulin rouge.

I loved Moulin Rouge so much I saw it 5 times at the theatre.I worked for 3 years as a part-time stage door person (security)at the Citadel, so I have a soft spot for live theatre. I saw about 25 productions-each with a 3 week run.(I used to come home from work singing songs like Uncle Tom's Cabin & Into The Woods-friends thought I was turning gay).Moulin Rouge captured the essence of the theatre life & performances, No surprise, considering the career of "big gay Baz".

johann!!! yeah, i'm told that dave is someplace really cool like either florida or louisianna. what a dog!!! anyway... i had a great conversation with dave on the phone when moulin rouge came out. we were alternately screaming into the phone. we were nuts over that film!! i've seen it twice in the theatre and twice on video. i also am guilty of listening to the "secret song" on the headphones at the bookstores. i can't resist stealing a listen!!!! i can't even make myself go to see chicago!!! i'm still too scared. i noticed a lot of you say you went to see chicago reluctantly. that would be me, too. only i've got it worse. i havent even seen it!! dave told me he had seen moulin rouge 10 times or something close to that in about the first week it was out!!!! he is too funny. do you know him??? other than in here?? i found this site thru my son who is a very good friend of dave's. my original plan was to get into this site and totally bash moulin rouge to get dave's attention. but alas he is on vacation and the fun idea is losing steam. however, it would be great if everyone would kind of "gang up " on him.... even if we totally agree with any of his comments.

So long, farewell, auwiiedersein, adieu

Hello everyone. Glad to arrive. Some very interesting posts and a long thread already. I was delighted to see Mizoguchi mentioned (Oscar, Johann)- yes, Kurosawa is far from the only great Japanese director- and i second Johann's recommendation of the Quays' macabre Street of Crocodiles.

Anyway, in reply to the original question. My (50) favourite films not in English.

1.Sansho Dayu (Mizoguchi)
2.Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
3.La Regle du Jeu (Renoir)
4.Alice in the Cities (Wenders)
5.The Green Ray (Rohmer)
6.Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi)
7.Maborosi (Kore-eda)
8.Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
9.Mirror (Tarkovsky)
10 Abraham Valley (Oliveira)

and; Late Spring (Ozu)
A Day in the Country (Renoir)
Celine and Julie go Boating (Rivette)
Tales of the Taira Clan (Mizoguchi)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
The Colour of Pomegranates (Paradjanov)
Pather Panchali (Ray)
Pierrot le Fou (Godard)
L'Atalante (Vigo)
Metropolis (Lang)
Eternity and a Day (Angelopoulos)
Spirit of the Beehive (Erice)
Aguirre Wrath of God (Herzog)
Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi)
Pakeezah (Amrohi)
8 1/2 (Fellini)
Persona (Bergman)
Orphee (Cocteau)
Ordet (Dreyer)
The Leopard (Visconti)
Alexander Nevsky (Eisenstein)
Hidden Fortress (Kurosawa)
Kings of the Road (Wenders)
Claire's Knee (Rohmer)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)
The Double Life of Veronique (Kieslowski)
Hiroshima mon Amour (Resnais)
Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov)
Stalker (Tarkovsky)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
The Life of Oharu (Mizoguchi)
Rosetta (Dardenne bros)
Les Enfants du Paradis (Carné)
The Loyal 47 Ronin (Mizoguchi)
Senso (Visconti)
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai)
L'Avventura (Antonioni)
Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein)
Madame de (Ophuls)
Close Up (Kirostami)


not forgetting some in USA by European directors;
Sunrise (Murnau), Paris Texas (Wenders), Letter from an Unknown Woman (Ophuls).

Obviously, i have a preference for Japanese films and older classics.

Great to see another champion of fine foreign classics.
Your list is well chosen, sansho-san. Spread the word!

Great list, Sansho (presumably in homage to the Mizoguchi film at the top). I’m looking forward to more of your postings. As a lover of the classics, what is your take on the latest release of METROPOLIS?

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Originally posted by sansho
I was delighted to see Mizoguchi mentioned (Oscar, Johann)

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When are his films going to be given the deserved high quality restoration and release on dvd???
My (50) favourite films not in English.
And not a single dud!
Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
His most popular. I just happen to prefer Rashomon
10 Abraham Valley (Oliveira)
A lot of film buffs don't know Manoel de Oliveira. The portuguese director is now in his 90s and still directing. He is the only major figure in cinema whose career dates back to the silent era, when Mr. de Oliveira was an actor. Abraham's Valley did not get a U.S release(except for a week in N.Y. years late). The Covent with Malkovich and I'm Going Home got a wider release. Still, most of his best films are unknown to me, such as Inquietude. Regarding Abraham, let me say that the dvd available in North America is not in the original language as claimed in the box, but dubbed in French. Also, it's not presented in the correct aspect ratio. Given that this is a 3 hour period film about portuguese aristocracy, narrated with the idiosyncrasy of a 19th century novel, I find the perhaps inferior I'm Going Home a more suitable first exposure to Oliveira.
Tales of the Taira Clan (Mizoguchi)
It's there on my wish list.
The Colour of Pomegranates (Paradjanov)
This absolutely astonishing visual, heck sensual, experience has gained enormous popularity since the nice dvd came out. A theatrical screening would be sublime.
Eternity and a Day (Angelopoulos)
I prefer Landscape in the Mist and perhaps The Travelling Players. All three shrink at home though.
Spirit of the Beehive (Erice)
Three features=three masterpieces. The Quince Tree Sun and Sur completing the trilogy. But the film Spirit brings to mind is Saura's Cria, also with the best child actress ever Miss Ana Torrent, set in 1940s post-civil war Spain and deep as an ocean.
The Double Life of Veronique (Kieslowski)
This is where I part Sansho, because Decalogue and Three Colours are superior films, if I may be so blunt.
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
That this is the best JoA film, does not mean you can graduate without watching Jacques Rivette's Joan The Maid. Essential Cinema.
Rosetta (Dardenne bros) These former documentarians are superbly talented humanists. My favorite kind.
Senso (Visconti) Pity that the censors in Italy excised scenes required for the film to have maximum impact and meaning. So, my choice here would go to Visconti's final film, his erotic adaptation of D'Annunzio's The Innocent.
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai)
Ashes of Time is not better but I love it more.
Sunrise (Murnau)
Gets my vote for the most poetic film made in America.

I appreciate the 2 replies above! I've not seen the latest incarnation of Metropolis. I've not been able to get to the cinema (or even rent as often as usual) in the last year.

I did get a Mizoguchi dvd, with English subtitles not long ago; the slow, majestic Loyal 47 Ronin (incredible spatial explorations, an anti-action film), from Fnac internet shopping in France. It was expensive (in 2 parts) but worth every penny. Also some other of his videos, unavailable in Britain, from there- cheap- but with French rather than English subtitles.

Double Life of Veronique is less important than Dekalog and Three Colours but, much as i admire them, i happen to like it more. A Short Film about Love (Dklg 6) is also superb.

Oliveira; yes, I'm Going Home, though i enjoyed its wistful elegance, is less ambitious and distinguished than some. "No or the Vain Glory of Command" (Portuguese soldiers in Angola discuss episodes in their country's history, which are shown) is interesting and well worth seeing, but flawed. Aniki Bobo, his neo-realist classic from 1942, is one i particularly want to see; and Amor de Perdicao (1978).

The Innocent is indeed one of Visconti's best; typically refined, lush and sumptuous and with his sharp sting in the tail. The ending of Senso is almost too cynical, but the film is magnificent.

Spirit of the Beehive; quite right again. Ana Torrent's performance is the finest by a child. It has a lovely intimacy and child's sense of mystery.

Quote:

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Originally posted by sansho
I've not seen the latest incarnation of Metropolis.

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Metropolis is better than I had concluded after watching the old incarnation.

I did get a Mizoguchi dvd; the slow, majestic Loyal 47 Ronin (incredible spatial explorations, an anti-action film)
My mint copy arrived about a week ago. I plan to watch it in one seating late at night sipping coffee. Will opine here.

Oliveira; "No or the Vain Glory of Command" (Portuguese soldiers in Angola discuss episodes in their country's history, which are shown) is interesting and well worth seeing, but flawed. Aniki Bobo, his neo-realist classic from 1942, is one i particularly want to see; and Amor de Perdicao (1978).
How can cinema this essential be so unavailable. I'm basically just getting to know him, but I know the old man is a true original, very idiosyncratic. For example, on Abraham, a father and daughter sit at a restaurant, a man approaches and stands. The three talk for 59 seconds before we see the man's face. Often, de Oliveira points the camera down at characters' feet as if showing their faces would spoil the mystery.

The ending of Senso is almost too cynical, but the film is magnificent.
Almost too cynical, and not by design as crucial scenes critical of the ruling class during the period of risorgimento were cut by censors who deemed them inappropriate in post WWII
Italy.
Ana Torrent's performance is the finest by a child.
I haven't made up my mind if I prefer Ana Torrent in CRIA or SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE. Did you see the adult Ms. Torrent in Tesis?

Yes, i did see her in Tesis, and remembering her as a young wide-eyed innocent made her plight all the more worrying.

And yes again about Oliveira and feet- i like the cafe scene in I'm Going Home, with the new shoes. Abraham Valley is hardly known, but has a wonderful, elusive mystery. There was something almost magical about it. He has a nice dry wit, and a superb eye for composition. More prolific in his 90's than ever. And to think his film-making career has spanned 9 decades!!!