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I know there are people who make favorite lists. If you have one, Id like to see whats on it. What were the best films of 2001? Even if you dont have a list, Id like to know. Need more rental suggestions. NetFlix probably doesnt want the abuse Im going to try and give it. Id like to have a constant flow of dvds coming in the mail ;>
Solang
I'm never quite sure what year movies came out, but Amelie was definitely 2001, and so was Donnie Darko. You've probably at least read about Amelie, but Donnie Darko is a little more unknown. It is a very insightful and intelligent movie, and is also very very weird. I can't really say a lot without giving it away, but it is about a boy who has these "visions" and he is given warnings of impending doom... And he must choose, if he can, how to do what is best for everyone.
I'm going to try and start a forum on it, so you will probaly see more there.
Fermented
Amelie was cool. I think Ive heard of Donnie Darko, but havent seen it? Whos in it? Wonder if its out on video yet?
Thanks for the recomendation.
Sola
Yah, Donnie Darko was pretty cool. Not many people have heard of it but in my opinion it was one of the better movies of 2001.
Some flicks from last year you should definitely check out:
A.I.
Apocalypse Now Redux
Ghost World (good god was this one awesome)
Ali ( most people hated it- of course, I LOVED it)
Moulin Rouge
Iris -stunning
From Hell
The Royal Tenenbaums (BEST FILM OF THE YEAR)
In the Bedroom (Nick Nightingale directs! Kubrick inspired?)
I'll add my favorites from 2001, though I won't be able to name 10 of them, because I can't remember 10 movies from that year that were worthy of consideration:
"The Man Who Wasn't There" - I'm surprised other lists I've seen don't include this movie. The Coen Brothers are at the top of their form right now, and the last few movies they've made (this one and "O Brother") are flawless, in my opinion. Every time I watch one of their movies, I pick up on something new, and I'm constantly amazed at how perfect the film is, from the writing to the acting, to the directing. I consider them to be the best filmakers in the history of film, and they're still only in their mid 40's. This was a funny and thoughtful movie, beautifully written and filmed. Billy Bob Thorton was perfect for the part; The Coens Brothers hit the nail on the head in casting the lead in every picture they make.
"Ghost World" - Really an original, funny, poignant film about growing up and entering the real world. Why wasn't Thora Birch nominated for this role? Same with Steve Buschemi.
"Royal Tennebaums" - Another completely original film from W. Anderson, though it tended to wander at times. I laughed from start to finish, except during the suicide scene.
"Apocolypse Now Redux" - I liked the original version much more, and I think the added scenes make the movie more choppy and reduce its rather mystic mood. Still, got to include it because the original was so good.
I'm ashamed.
How did "The Man" slip my list? It may well be the Coens' best. (Although I'm REALLY partial to Barton Fink & The Big Lebowski, for sheer entertainment)
Cinematography students would do well to look long & hard at "The Man Who Wasn't There". Who says black & white is crap?
My favourite Coen films are Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski too. Favourites of 2001 include "The Fellowship of the Ring" (I've been waiting years to see this made), "Moulin Rouge", "The Man Who Wasn't There", and "A.I." I can't think of many more I could really recommend as being quite outstanding. Too many average or poor films released last year.
I have lists for everything...feel free to check out my site below. I have Top Tens by Year, Decade, categories(just starting).
Top Ten for 2001
A Beautiful Mind
i am sam
The Others
Blackhawk Down
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Das Experiment
Enemy at the Gates
Monsters, Inc.
Shrek
Lantana
I actually posted this on a movie group site a few days ago, so I'm tickled to get to discuss it again!
First of all, there are still SEVERAL key 2001 movies I have yet to see! It takes me a while to catch up on newer films, so my list never looks the same as other people's! lol Yet I have trouble imagining any of these top 5 being knocked out of the top 10.
1. The Shipping News (Lasse Hallstrom) -- A gem of movie craftsmanship. The trailers & video boxes do not do its plot justice. It has a nice combination of romance, determination, supernatural & a touch of dark humor. It is also a gorgeously filmed movie with great diologue and a tremendous cast. I can't recommend this one enough!
2. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson) -- I am now a Wes Anderson fan! What superb craftmanship. I disagree with those who say that it is bogged down by TRYING TO PORTRAY an artistic gem. This is not for those who cannot laugh without a groin being crushed or pay attention without buildings exploding. I think most serious film fans will love it. This entertaining film works on several levels & takes at LEAST two viewings to really digest & interpret. And, may I ask, has Gene Hackman EVER disappointed????
3. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Juenet) -- I just saw this one last night & found it very much on the order of the two films listed in front of it. Striking cinematography, clever and innovating film editing, snappy dialogue, dark humor and poignancy and a fine cast make this one a real keeper.
4. Conspiracy (Frank Pierson) -- This HBO story of the infamous Wannessee Conference in Jan., 1942, at which "The Final Solution" to the Nazi's Jewish "problem" was discussed over an elegant dinner, is a chilling & rivoting movie. Kenneth Bronaugh will give one nightmares with his charming, erudite, yet (immediately below the surface) inhumanely cruel Oberstgruppenfuhrer Reinhard Hydrich. Kuddos to HBO for having the guts to tackle something like this -- and for doing it so well!
5. 61* (Billy Chrystal) -- One of the best baseball films ever made, 61* is a treat for baseball fans and non-fans. The story of Roger Maris & Mickey Mantle and their 1961 chase of Babe Ruth's legendary home run record is very accurate, historically, perfectly casted & very well-done. Another grand slam for HBO!
That's my humble top 5. Like I said, there are at least half a dozen from 2001 that I still really want to see. My list might well change after I do!
MarkMyWord
If one DOESN'T allow me to count HBO movies on my list, then Rat Race & Ali would probably be # 4 & 5 on my list. I found Rat Race refreshingly funny. It was a perfect tribute by David Zucker to the old chase/race classics of the 1960s. I loved it. Ali was good, too, especially the incredible fight scenes! It could have been better, though. Am I the only one a bit miffed that it seemed to slam M.L. King & the peaceful Civil Rights movement?
Speaking of Donnie Darko, that is definitely one of the 2001 movies I plan to see. I love a good horror flick, though not the stupid slasher types. I'm a "dark fantasist" rather than a "splatter punk," to borrow two terms from horror novels.
MarkMyWord
Whether it makes sense or not, making Best Lists becomes a focus for the obsessive filmgoer. It's a way of organizing the experience of many evenings out. And for those stay-at-homes, one's list can be useful for lining the pockets of Netflix et al. and catching up. I've begun making two Ten Best lists, one domestic and one foreign, because there seem to be so many good foreign movies (especially French) lately, but I don't want to be a snob and have them outnumber the local products.
T E N B E S T O F 2 0 0 1 ( U. S.)_______________________________________________
THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY (LEIGH, CUMMING)
A.I. (SPIELBERG)
BULLY (CLARK)
MEMENTO (NOLAN)
GHOST WORLD (ZWIGOFF)
L.I.E. (CUESTA)
WAKING LIFE (LINKLATER)
OCEAN’S ELEVEN (SODERBERGH)
IN THE BEDROOM (FIELD)
GOSFORD PARK (ALTMAN)
T E N B E S T F O R E I G N (2 0 0 1 )_____________________________________________
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (KAR-WAI)
WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY (MOLL)
SEXY BEAST (GLAZER)
COME UNDONE (LIFSHITZ)
TOGETHER (MOODYSSON)
CURE (KIYOSHI KUROSAWA)
BANGKOK DANGEROUS (PANG AND PANG)
VA SAVOIR (RIVETTE)
AMORES PERROS (INNARITU)
LANTANA (LAWRENCE)
These are the lists I made at the end of 2001. They're in the order that I originally saw them. The problem with lists for the non-professional is that you may not be able to see all the good stuff from that year till the following year. That's why I make another list:
O N E S I W I S H I ’ D S E E N B E F O R E I M A D E T H E S E L I S T S (2001)
_________________________________________________
TIME OUT (LAURENT CANTET)
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (CUARON)
CODE UNKNOWN (HANEKE)
FAITHLESS (ULLMANN)
ELOGE D’AMOUR (GODARD)
A WINTER’S TALE (ROHMER)
LOIN (TECHINE)
LUMUMBA (PECK)
If these are mostly foreign, that's my problem (I'm sure there were US movies I ought to have seen but missed but I didn't even know what they were). I have still not caught up on this list, by the way, except for TIME OUT and Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. They are so good I would probably have moved a couple of the original foreign ones out -- maybe BANGKOK DANGEROUS and COME UNDONE -- to make room for them. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN is a truly great and deliriously enjoyable movie and looks better at each successive viewing.
Before I made up the American list I saw most of the titles others have included, but chose to include lesser known movies such as BULLY and A.I.E., and also the generally unpopular A.I., because I happened to have liked them very much and I want to get other people to see them.
This year, perhaps my favorite American movie actually was to have been released in 2001 -- Henry Bean's amazing and powerful THE BELIEVER. It's gotten a raw deal, supposedly because of 9/11 but really because it's controversial and smart. The brilliant star can't be nominated for an Academy Award, and the movie was hardly seen by anyone in theaters, and it's still not available yet on a US video or DVD.
I did see DONNIE DARKO and found it interesting, especially the promising young star, but though it's potential cult material I don't think it quite hangs together enough to put on any Ten Best list -- and I can clearly see by now that it doesn't need me to hype it. It's being released in England now with much hype, and it's getting a lot of video word of mouth support these days. It's looking like its director and its star will both go on to great things.
P.s. I loved BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. I didn't quite think it was Ten Best material, though. But a really fun, mainstream movie fully deserves to be on any list: OCEAN'S ELEVEN.
The problem with making lists is it's all personal. Considering there are over 300+ films released a year, it's easy to miss great stuff & be prejudiced only to what you have seen. That's why the "Academy" rankles me every year. Those voters are severely prejudiced (dare I say bribed) into handing the golden dude to whoever tickles their fancy. That said, I love to hate watching the ceremony. (I usually get completely wasted on oscar night and the next day mumble while puking: Denzel is not better than Sean Penn ugggghh Denzel is not better.....)
I'm glad you mentioned Va Savoir- I saw it three times I liked it so much. Even got the poster. Great lists- you have some titles I haven't seen. I thought From Hell was a great movie-it's on my list for the ten best of 2001.
Gotta see this Donnie Darko I hear so much about.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TOP 10
1. Mulholland Drive
2. Apocalypse Now Redux
3. A.I
4. Gosford Park
The Lord of the Rings:Fellowship
6. George Washington
In the bedroom
8. Ghost World
Our Song
Waking Life
Runners Up
The Royal Tenenbaums
Lantana
Memento
Bully
The Deep End
Monster's Ball
Monsters Inc.
Donnie Darko
The Others
Iris
Man Who Wasn't There.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE TOP 10
1. In the mood for love (Hong Kong)
2. Code Unknown (France/Norway)
The Swamp (Argentina)
4. Amores Perros (Mexico)
Divided we fall (Czech Rep.)
Eureka (Japan)
6. The Circle (Iran)
7. Chunhyang (South Korea)
The Gleaners and I (France)
Me, You, Them (Brasil)
One fine spring day (South Korea)
Runners Up
Together (Sweden)
Day I became a woman (Iran)
Faithless (Denmark)
My Sassy Girl (South Korea)
Under The Sand (Fra)
Perfume de Violetas (Mexico)
Our Lady of the assassins (Colombia)
Cure (Japan)
Nueve Reinas (Argentina)
Audition (Japan).
Johan--Sure, lists are personal, is that bad? True, I'm not seeing 300 movies a year. But I’m seeing a lot of movies: that’s what made me start making Best Lists. I don't see everything but I try really hard to see all the ones there's a clear chance I'll like. I miss some of those due to logistics if I’m not in NY or LA the end of the year. Some of the best year's end releases don’t make it to northern California where I live till early the next year. That's where my Ones I Wish I'd Seen Before I Made This List comes in. Maybe I don't see enough out and out bad movies. That's my resolution: to try to see more movies I expect to be bad. Maybe I'll find some good ones among them. If not, at least I'll know more about what's out there. Yes, do see DONNIE DARKO.
I haven't seen FROM HELL.
Oscar Jubis--I like your list and we have quite a few choices in common. The only one of your Ten Best I have any reservations about is ROYAL TENNENBAUMS, which seemed too cute and contrived to me, but of course many discerning individuals liked it. GEORGE WASHINGTON came out in 2000, not 2001. I know because I was in NYC in late 2000 and just missed it. I still haven't managed to see it, but it sounded excellent and was on many critics' Best Lists. I want to see it, but I go out to see so many new movies, I don't have much time to stay home and rent a video. I have still missed CODE UNKNOWN. After seeing LA PIANISTE I definitely want to see it. I have to say I hated THE CIRCLE. Too relentlessly bleak; but then that is typical of Iranian films as I see them, and I'm not much of a fan of them. I would like to see those of your other foreign choices that I've missed; your lists look good. I just saw NUEVE REINAS in London. It was great. I'd heard about it, but it came and went here in a single week.
I urge everyone to see Henry Bean's THE BELIEVER as soon as you can get hold of a video of it, if you didn't see it in a theater, which is very possible. It was supposed to be released in 2001 and is dated 2001 officially.
My Best List for 2002 so far is this:
THE BELIEVER (Henry Bean)
THE GOOD GIRL (Miguel Arteta)
IGBY GOES DOWN (Burr Steers)
ONE HOUR PHOTO (Mark Romanek)
PUMPKIN (Anthony Adams and Adam Larson Broder)
PUNCH DRUNK LOVE (P.T. Anderson)
TADPOLE (Gary Winick)
My Best Foreign list for 2002 so far is this:
ALL OR NOTHING (Mike Leigh)
ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER (Zacharias Kunuk)
LA PIANISTE (Michael Haneke)
TALK TO HER (HABLE CON ELLA, Pedro Almodovar)
THE SON'S ROOM (LA STANZA DEL FIGLIO, Nanni Moretti)
READ MY LIPS (SUR MES LEVRES, Jacques Audiard)
TIME OUT (L'EMPLOI DU TEMPS, Laurent Cantet)
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (Ming-Liang Tsai)
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (Alfonso Cuaron)
Of course as usual many of the foreign ones originally showed somewhere a year or two before they came here.
FAR FROM HEAVEN (Todd Haynes) is going to be on a lot of Ten Best lists. I'm hoping to find other candidates because I found it overrated, as I did MONSTER'S BALL and THE DEEP END last year.
I usually wait until my birthday(3/12) to compile my best lists so I can catch up with films released in NYC and L.A. at the end of the year. These usually make the bulk of my english language list. For instance, all the films in your 2002 lists are good, but tell me, isn't your foreign list significantly stronger? Besides THE BELIEVER, I mean.Quote:
[i]Originally posted by Chris Knipp [ Some of the best year's end releases don’t make it to northern California where I live till early the next year. The only one of your Ten Best I have any reservations about is ROYAL TENNENBAUMS, which seemed too cute and contrived to me, but of course many discerning individuals liked it. I have still missed CODE UNKNOWN. After seeing LA PIANISTE I definitely want to see it. I have to say I hated THE CIRCLE. Too relentlessly bleak;
ROYAL TENNENBAUMS snuck into my top 10 after a second viewing. It seems to me more ambitious and original than runner ups like Monster's Ball and The Deep End. Your complaints about it are warranted though.
THE CIRCLE is bleak. I just react differently to bleakness: There are people trapped in bleak situations, suffering from all kinds of injustices. I am glad there are filmakers documenting their plight with grace and wit. And I'm sure they appreciate it. I also like how intensely moved I am by many "sad" films. Now, I don't think that bleakness makes a film great. The usually great Todd Solondz released a very bleak, and pretty bad, film this year:Storytelling.I also have great admiration for purely escapist fare such as Lord of the Rings and Amelie.
CODE UNKNOWN has a performance by J. Binoche as strong as I. Huppert's in La Pianiste. Besides, its scope is wider and its themes are more relevant to the average person. I love its novel use of film-within-a-film devices and how the narrative explodes in three directions before coming together again at the end. I think you would like it.
Your system of waiting till March makes sense, I agree. It would be better for me to wait till later to make my best lists. The game may seem a little stale if you wait that long, that’s all. You’re right that my 2002 Best Foreign list is somewhat better than the American Best List, so far. After all the Best Foreign list comes from many countries and several years, and the American one from only the US and this year’s releases. Both lists are tentative, and I’ll knock off some entries if better things come along.
I may have been turned off by the way some Americans idolize Iranian directors excessively. But I want to explain that by “relentlessly bleak,” I meant not just sad, but hopeless. If the characters don’t have a chance, and don’t experience a single happy moment, as in THE CIRCLE, I find that manipulative. But sad is different from bleak. I agree that you should pay attention to how much a film moves you and be suspicious of ones that don't. But "relentlessly bleak" movies precisely can't make me feel sad, because they don't seem real.
This list discussion has made me realize I need to go to out and rent some things I’ve missed, including CODE UNKNOWN and GEORGE WASHINGTON as well as the other foreign films you mention that I haven't seen: THE GLEANERS, CHUNHYANG, DIVIDED WE FALL, and TOGETHER -- none of which I seem to have even heard of other than THE GLEANERS.
ROYAL TENNENBAUMS could easily be better than either THE DEEP END (which I thought totally overrated) and MONSTER’S BALL (which I thought at least somewhat overrated). I’m always willing to revise my opinions and ratings. But no two people (or critics) can pick exactly the same Ten Bests, can they?
After a year or two goes by, not everything I picked for a Best List still seems important. Only a few do.
No, they cannot because a person's list reveals his/her individual aesthetic sensibilities. I enjoy figuring out what is it about a film that I respond to, and even more, to step away from my comfort zone and assume the perspective of others like you who appreciate cinema.Quote:
Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I’m always willing to revise my opinions and ratings. But no two people (or critics) can pick exactly the same Ten Bests, can they?
After a year or two goes by, not everything I picked for a Best List still seems important. Only a few do. [/B]
For instance, I can tell you that many iranian films remind me of Ray's Apu trilogy and the films of Ozu and Bresson. They seem to find a shortcut to the essence of issues. They strike me as clear-headed without being simple. Censorship restraints force iranian directors to be creative when dealing with sensitive matters. You'll always find something "between the lines", " only hinted at", in a Kiarostami film. This turns me on.
I think I understand your criticism of The Circle. There are moments of whimsy and levity in every life , even the most desperate. Your comments moved me to contrast Circle with DIVIDED WE FALL, which I prefer. A holocaust movie with mucho irony and humor that even manages to show compassion towards nazi collaborators.
I also try to revise my opinion about a film by watching it again. Code Unknown and Memento got better the second time. MULHOLLAND DRIVE kept getting better and better. Some films require at least 2 viewings to unravel: Time Regained, most Godard and Hou-Hsien.
Top 10
1. Apocalypse Now: Redux - Francis Ford Coppola / U.S.
2. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch / U.S.
3. Intimacy - Patrice Chéreau / France-U.K.
(rest alphabetical)
La Ciénaga - Lucrecia Martel / Argentina
Eureka - Shinji Aoyama / Japan
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Peter Jackson / U.S.-New Zealand
Memento - Christopher Nolan / U.S.
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
(Une Journee d'Andrei Arsenevitch) - Chris Marker / France
The Pledge - Sean Penn / U.S.
Va Savoir - Jacques Rivette / France
Runners-up
(alphabetical order only)
Ameros Perros - Alejandro González Iñárritu / Mexico
Center of the World - Wayne Wang / U.S.
Code Unknown (Code Inconnu) - Michael Haneke / France
The Devil's Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo)
Guillermo del Toro / Spain-Mexico
In the Mood for Love (Hua yang nian hua)
Wong Kar-wai / Hong Kong
The Man Who Wasn't There - Joel & Ethan Coen / U.S.
No Man's Land - Danis Tanovic / Bosnia-Herzegovina
Tape - Richard Linklater / U.S.
Under the Sand (Sous le Sable) - François Ozon / France
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Mua he Chieu Thang Dung)
Anh Hung Tran / Vietnam
Honorable Mention
(alphabetical order only)
Bread and Roses - Ken Loach / U.K.
Bully - Larry Clark / U.S.
Children Underground - Edet Belzberg / U.S.
The Circle (Dayereh) - Jafar Panahi / Iran
Fat Girl (À ma soeur!) - Catherine Breillat / France
From Hell - Allen & Albert Hughes / U.S.
Ghost World - Terry Zwigoff / U.S.
Monsters, Inc. - Peter Docter+David Silverman+Lee Unkrich / U.S.
The Tailor of Panama - John Boorman / U.S.
Waking Life - Richard Linklater / U.S.
*All films listed were "officialy distributed" theatrically in the U.S. during the year 2001. (Their eligibility was deemed by me.) Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies would've made the "Top Ten" if its release was official.
*Re-releases are included in my lists only when films are not in their original form.
Good list as before. I differ as follows:
Agree:
Apocalypse Now REdux
Mulholland Drive
LoR
Memento
Amores Perros
Code Unknown
The Pledge
Va Savoir
Tape
Bully
Ghost World
Waking Life
Monsters, Inc
Haven't seen:
Intimacy
La Cienega
Eureka
One Day in the Life
Center of the World
CHildren Underground
Disagree:
Devil's Backbone
Man Who Wasn't There
No Man's Land
Under the Sand
Vertical Ray of the Sun
The Circle
Fat Girl
From Hell
Tailor of Panama
--there were better.
(Obviously I saw Code Unknown after making my 2001 lists.)
I'm surprised to see Bully get recognition. Although the film was overdone, and exploitative, I thought it represented teenage/high school life better than probably any film I had ever seen. Maybe my friends were just that messed up, who knows?
I'm surprised I didn't see this, and it is a little late, but . . .
1. Mulholland Drive
2. Moulin Rouge
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Vanilla Sky
5. Memento
6. LOTR - The Fellowship of the Ring
7. Amores Perros
8. The Road Home
9. Apocalypse Now Redux (I don't think it counts but . . .)
10. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (pardon me for liking crap)
I like arsaib4's list a lot. Of course, I could nitpick and argue that In the Mood for Love, The Circle and Waking Life are "better" than Intimacy, La Cienaga and Memento. But this is entirely a matter of subjective opinion and a matter of degree. Unless you tell me otherwise, I'll assume you watched The Gleaners and I, Divided We Fall and Gosford Park and concluded they are not among the top 30 for 2001.
wpqx, did you get to watch Open Your Eyes? It's the original that exposes the remake as inferior, especially but not exclusively the character played by Ms. Cameron Diaz.
Still more evidence that Mulholland Drive is a film that a remarkable number and variety of cinephiles absolutely love.
I feel ignorant but I still haven't gotten to see Open Your Eyes. With Vanilla Sky most people loved it or hated it, and I found myself in the first category. Perhaps I just feel that any use of surrealism in a film is worth something, and although a lot of people seem to hate him, I think Tom Cruise is great. I am not in a position to nitpick this version vs. the original, so I'm pleading ignorance.
A good list, wpqx. It has a personality.
I have not seen Open Your Eyes (actually Spanish, no?) but Vanilla Sky genuinely sucked, in my view, perhaps because it was a remake. Tom was trying too hard, perhaps to please Penelope. But I'd have to see Open Your Eyes to see if it was the production or the whole story I dislike. Maybe both though.
(wpqx) 10. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (pardon me for liking crap)
Why apologize? Follow your bliss.
I have to confess I did not see Zhang's The Road Home. I do not absolutely love Mulholland Drive and have tired of Lynch's narrative incoherence+wonderful images, but I acknowledge he is a sugnificant director and this is one of his stronger movies.
Thanks for your comments. I think it's great that most of the earlier films you mentioned above made both of our lists. Where they finished is even more subjective, as you stated.Quote:
Originally posted by oscar jubis
I like arsaib4's list a lot. Of course, I could nitpick and argue that In the Mood for Love, The Circle and Waking Life are "better" than Intimacy, La Cienaga and Memento. But this is entirely a matter of subjective opinion and a matter of degree. Unless you tell me otherwise, I'll assume you watched The Gleaners and I, Divided We Fall and Gosford Park and concluded they are not among the top 30 for 2001.
Well, when you try to see so many neglected and underappreciated films from all corners of the globe (and I do take pride in that), once in a while you don't end up watching the more celebrated ones like the films from Varda and Altman. I've heard a lot about both The Gleaners and I and Gosford Park and will make time to watch them.
Personally I found Gosford Park disappointing. Generally I'm a huge Robert Altman fan, but perhaps my expectations were too high for this film.
Actually, I've heard that from more than a few people I trust; maybe that was one of the reasons I didn't pursue Gosford Park when it was released. Hopefully it'll play on cable soon.
1. Promises
2. La Cienaga
3. Yi Yi
4. Chunhyang
5. A.I.
6. I'm Going Home
7. Son of the Bride
8. Royal Tenenbaums
9. Beijing Bicycle
10. Donnie Darko
11. L.I.E
12. The Circle.
Thanks for posting your list Howard. I'm assuming that you simply mentioned the best films you saw in 2001. In my case, I've only listed films that were officially distributed in the U.S., so films like Yi Yi and I'm Going Home aren't on my 2001 list.
It gets very confusing so more often than not I will go with the IMdb date. I'm Going Home was shown at the New York Film Festival in 2001 but not released theatrically until the following May. The opposite is true for Yi Yi. I ususally list the films in the year that they either had their first theatrical release or DVD release here in Canada, so I could legitimately put Promises and La Cienaga on lists for 2002. So the dates really don't mean too much. You get the general idea that I really liked these films regardless of what year they show up on my list.Quote:
Originally posted by arsaib4
Thanks for posting your list Howard. I'm assuming that you simply mentioned the best films you saw in 2001. In my case, I've only listed films that were officially distributed in the U.S., so films like Yi Yi and I'm Going Home aren't on my 2001 list.
I've certainly spent a lot of time figuring out the details but I believe this way I avoid films that get distributed down the road: I mean two to three years which isn't uncommon. J. Hoberman does something similar and I've studied the way he makes his. But you're right in saying that as long the film is there it really doesn't matter which year it belongs to.Quote:
Originally posted by Howard Schumann
It gets very confusing so more often than not I will go with the IMdb date. I'm Going Home was shown at the New York Film Festival in 2001 but not released theatrically until the following May. The opposite is true for Yi Yi. I ususally list the films in the year that they either had their first theatrical release or DVD release here in Canada, so I could legitimately put Promises and La Cienaga on lists for 2002. So the dates really don't mean too much. You get the general idea that I really liked these films regardless of what year they show up on my list.
As far as I can see only two of these are the wrong year (2000) on IMDb, Yi Yi, and Chunhyang; the rest are legitimately 2001. (I love Yi Yi; I saw it at Film Forum in NYC in December 2000.) We all have this problem, that a film that opens late one year may not be available to us to see till early the next year. Still, four years later, one may as well stick to the release dates. But this year I listed de Pallières' Adieu because I thought it important to mention it, but I don't know if it'll ever got a US release. Your taste is unusual. I may be on the way to figuring it out, but I'm not there yet. As a matter of my own taste, I like five of your choices, the other five I've either not seen or don't like at all! By that time I was up to my habit of choosing ten US and ten foreign, and I've already posted my lists on this thread. I don't know which ones arsaib4 would disqualify. I would not hold to these now. For instance, I would certainly have listed Y Tu Mamá También if I'd seen it by then, but I hadn't. A splendid film: how can one omit it? I tend to keep more to mainstream US choices, because then my lists will relate more to other US lists. I'm not trying to teach or set an example, but to make distinctions of taste and quality within an established field. (Of course it's still subjective. And I have cheated, as with Adieu.) I also think it's helpful to list the director, to avoid confusion, and out of respect for the director's importance.
I'm Going Home wasn't officially distributed till 2002 so that's probably the only other one. This year I'm gonna make a separate list for the best "undistributed" films so this way I can cover the other great films I've seen.
Will comment on the list later.
I was thinking of I'm Going Home. I think a "best undistributed" list is the way to go, and some of the magazine and newspaper critics use it. I'll do it too, if my "undistributed" list grows for the year, as it should, partly due to tips I get from you and others on this site. I clearly see the importance of the "undistributed" Hou films, though I can really be dense: I missed Millenium Mambo even though it showed in Berkeley.
Figure it out and you will unravel the mystery of life. Seriously, there's no way to figure out someone's taste and it isn't worth the effort. Just get that some films I like and some I dunt. By the way Y Tu Mama Tambien was on my 10 best list for 2002.Quote:
Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Your taste is unusual. I may be on the way to figuring it out, but I'm not there yet.
Glad to hear about Y tu mama'. But of course it should go on the 2001 list even if we both saw it in 2002, no?
I don't agree with you that taste is a mystery. One can predict what films various people will like. Not with absolute certainty, but one can say, ah, yes, of course he would pick that one. Taste is a coherent outgrowth of personality and values, but maybe one's own taste is the one thing one can't figure out. We're too close to it.
I took a stab at writing a personal "cinephile manifesto". If curious:
http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/show...=6731#post6731
That's all fine, and most of what you say is unexceptionable, but I don't think it alters the fact that it's hard for a person to define his own taste. I'm not sure this defines yours, except where you give away hints, e.g., by mentioning certain directors whom you take as authorities.
*I'm certainly not saying that it's easy to define one's own taste. I had to do a lot of thinking to come up with those statements.
*I was trying to avoid mentioning any directors. I felt I had to mention Antonioni and Kiarostami to illustrate the term "unfinished cinema" because I don't think it's become part of the lingo.
*I posted those statements only after I tested their ability to explain why I chose the films that made my Top 10 Favorites of 2003. They go a long way towards explaining why I like what I like, but I consider them a "work in progress". For instance, I probably need to add a paragraph about "emotional impact", or a film's ability to induce strong emotions, to "hit you in the gut", to "put a knot on your throat". You like examples, let's try...Magdalene Sisters made me feel such deep feelings of empathy and compassion towards these women (including the nuns themselves). I felt that something happened to me in that theatre, I wasn't exactly the same person that had walked in. That is something I value in cinema that my post does not address. Sometimes films meant to be "moving" or "touching" make me snicker, Magdalene disarmed me.
Liv Ullmann stated during her tribute tuesday that what she values most about cinema is its ability to sharpen your sense of who you are and your place in the world. My "personal disclosure" post is an attempt to put into words my sense of who I am as a moviegoer.
It was released on March 15th, 2002. This is just one of the reasons why I use official release dates.Quote:
Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Glad to hear about Y tu mama'. But of course it should go on the 2001 list even if we both saw it in 2002, no?