Foreign Favorites

[docraven]

Have you noticed how few top ten lists on this forum include more than one or two foreign films? It seems to me that every year there are fewer foreign films released in the U.S. What a shame. The practice seems to be that if a foreign film is very successful, American movie moguls will remake it with American box office favorites. A recent example is INSOMNIA. One of the biggest disappointments was a wonderful little French film released in 1987. LE GRAND CHEMIN [The Grand Highway] is a great French film about a young boy coming of age in a provincial country town, and his impact on a childless couple. For American consumption and box office appeal, Hollywood relocated the story to a small town on the American coast. Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (while they were married to each other) were cast in the remake called PARADISE. The remake was not a bad film, but it completely lost the magic of the original. Anyway, here’s a list of foreign films:
My Favorite Foreign Films:
1. THE SEVEN SAMURAI -- Japan
2. CARMEN (Saura) -- Spain
3. J U-DOU -- China
4. LE GRAND CHEMIN -- France
5. RUN LOLA RUN -- Germany
6. AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS -- France
7. JEAN de FLORETTE & MANON OF THE SPRING -- France
8. THREE COLORS: BLUE, WHITE, & RED -- France/Poland
9. LE GRAND ILLUSION -- France
10. THE BICYCLE THIEF -- Italy
While thinking of foreign films, it seems clear that there is a great deal of appreciation for Kurosawa here. I have been able to see most of them, including AFTER THE RAIN, which was produced posthumously by his son, and included Toshiro Mifune’s son in a central role. There is amazing versatility here. Here’s my top ten list of Kurosawa films:
My Favorite Kurosawa Films:
1. THE SEVEN SAMURAI -- 1954
2. Akira Kurosawa’s DREAMS -- 1990
3. YOJIMBO -- 1961
4. KAGEMUSHA -- 1980
5. RAN -- 1985
6. RASHOMON -- 1950
7. HIDDEN FORTRESS -- 1958
8. IKIRU -- 1952
9. THRONE OF BLOOD -- 1957
10. RED BEARD -- 1965

[Johann]

Ah, foreign films. I've seen over a thousand, I estimate. Being biased toward Kurosawa is hardly a bad thing. I think I've seen all of his films- 30 I think. While Dreams is my favorite, Red Beard really impressed me. I don't know if it was because Mifune gave his last performance, or what, but that one was REALLY powerful. (And I hear Criterion is giving it the "treatment")
Objectively, I think Rashomon is his masterpiece.

I think it's a travesty that so many films go unseen because of ignorance. I can't count how many times I've recommended a flick to someone and they said:

1. That's got subtitles. I hate subtitled movies. 2. Black and white? Too old!
3. I can't concentrate listening to a foreign language- yes someone actually said this.

and I'm the only one in my circle who watches silents fairly regularly. You can lead a horse...

[oscar jubis]

Hi Johann and docraven...I'm afraid that the audience for subtitled films is limited because reading comprehension at high school level is required.Also, our cultural reach and sheer size makes it easy to resist what is foreign. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum also blames the poor marketing and distribution of foreign films in the U.S. Notice Disney releasing Spirited Away in too few theaters and without TV spots. Notice how only the feel good, funny and/or sexy f. films are widely shown.

mmm best ever...It seems that most of the films on folks' lists are the ones available on DVD since repertory theatres disappeared . somewhere in the 80s. I love Kurosawa-my faves:Rashomon+Kagemusha-but nobody mentions Mizoguchi and Ozu. I probably prefer Ugetsu and Life of Oharu, Tokyo Story and Floating Weeds, than any of Kurosawa. There are hundreds of great films. My very favorites are those whose images refuse to leave my brain and those whose emotional impact refuses to dim. Docraven mentioned 3:Illusion,Bicycle,Au revoir. Ophuls'Earrings of Madame de...,Herzog's Aguirre. Saura's Cria and Erice's Spirit of the Beehive are best about childhood. Renoir may be my fave director-Rules of the Game is as accomplished as Illusion and Boudu saved from drowning +French Cancan make me giddy. Passion of Joan of Arc(Dreyer) is devastating. Films that may pass the test of time:Kieslowski's 3 Colors and The Decalogue, Kar-Wai's Mood and Ashes of Time, Hou-Hsien's The Puppetmaster, Stanley Kwan's Actress AKA Center Stage, Angelopoulos' Landscape in the Mist(warning:slow), Van Dormael's Toto the hero, Von Trier's Breaking the Waves, and Before the Rain.
Docraven:have u seen Shoeshine and My life as a Dog?
Johann:fave silents? which do u recommend on DVD?
Goal:to catch up on Dreyer and Tarkovsky.

[Johann]

Greetings oscar jubis! So true about Ozu & Mizoguchi. The way things seem, it's like people are only aware of one Japanese filmmaker.

I loved Sansho the Bailiff. btw, have you seen Fires on the Plain? A different movie, but very compelling. Funny you mention Saura. I just watched Blood Wedding- amazing. I'll have to see his other stuff. I immediately liked his style. And I treat The Earrings of Madame De like a silent film (Was Napoleon right when he said..)
The camera work in that film is probably the best I've ever seen. Seriously. Ophuls' DP must have the midas touch.
And, what can you say about Renoir? The Rules of the Game is a landmark, Grand Illusion literally DEFINES greatness in cinema, and considering his pedigree, by all accounts he qualifies as the premiere director. Hell, even Orson Welles called Renoir the greatest director of all-time.

As for silents on DVD, there's not a whole lot on the shelves now, but I know that will change as time goes on. Stroheim's Foolish Wives has been released restored, I have the "German Horror" box set (Golem, The Cabinet of Dr, Caligari, Nosferatu) and 2 sets of Keaton & Chaplin films. They are on fairly heavy rotation in my crib (ha)

[Gregster]

Best foriegn films for different reasons

Hard Boiled (John Woo) - It may not be a classic but I think it is an action masterpiece!

Seven Samaurai (Akira Kurosawa) - A western masterpiece remade Hollywood styleseveral times

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee) - Beautiful cinematography and a superb emotional storyline.

Das Boot (Wolfgang Peterson) - Great German submarine flick. Nerve-wracking and thrilling.

Nikita (Luc Besson) - Great French thriller that paved theway for Leon.

The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman) - Its a while since I'veseen it but it remaines beautiful yet haunting.

[Russ]

I actually have 7 foreign films in my top 10, namely

Reservoir Dogs,Raising Arizona,It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World,2001:A Space Odyssey,Dial M For Murder,Casablanca,Trainspotting,

However, by foreign, I think you mean non American, don't you - or you may even mean non English speaking.

What is the definition of a foreign film?

Realistically, I think it means simply Non english speaking. Is this right?

[docraven]

Russ: Of course, if we talked about foreign films as being anything produced in another country, the category would be different in England, Canada, Brazil, etc. So most Americans, I think, consider foreign films to be films made in some language other than English. Otherwise, I would have put an Australian film on my list -- John Duigan's "Flirting."

The language thing can be confining, too. Deepa Mehta's "Fire" is in English, but was filmed in India and purports being about middle class Indian life. She was born in India but became a Canadian as an adult. But aside from a few problems like that, foreign language is the determining factor.

American film awards generally have a category for Best Picture in a Foreign Language.

My experience has been that the American audience as a whole is quite content with English language films. Too bad. From the people I met on both my visits to Canberra (a gem of a city) my impression is that Australians are a bit less provincial. What do you think?

[oscar jubis]

I plan to rent Fires on the Plain and Foolish Wives soon. I think watching silents helps develop observation skills. Just saw What time is it there? from Taiwan which felt like a silent given how rarely characters interacted verbally. So Golem is finally available...don't know much about it...Nosferatu and Caligari are immortal.
Recommended for Gregster: Yimou's Ju-dou and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

[Russ]

Docraven

Dunno if Americans are provincial or not. Trouble is, I'm pretty provincial myself. I know a few Americans through work, and the ones I know strike me as good humoured intelligent folks (seriously).

I guess I was being abit trite about the foreign films - although i knw the Australian Film Awards always give a proze to the best foreign (ie non Australian) film - normally some huge budget American performance - ironically.

I think the last truly foreign film I saw was Run Lola Run, which I thought was pretty good.

[docraven]

Russ:

If you liked RUN LOLA, RUN, I suggest you check out THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR -- same director and lead actress. Another excellent recent foreign film you might like is AMELIE. Like RUN LOLA, RUN, it is a one of a kind (unique in quite a different way).

The reason I looked at Australians as being more aware of the rest of the world than Americans is that it seemed like everyone I met down there had travelled abroad not just once, but several times. I know, since much of Canberra is white collar, that may not be typical. I really enjoyed the National Film Museum there.

[docraven]

Originally posted by oscar jubis
Docraven:have u seen Shoeshine and My life as a Dog?

Yes. The DeSica film is excellent, and I know many people really liked My Life as a Dog, including many people who don't see many foreign films. It did not appeal to me, but I suspect I'm in the minority.

The films you mention are all good films. You mention Saura's Cria and Erice's Spirit of the Beehive, both wonderful films that I've seen both on the big screen and on TV. Saura is one of my favorite directors, but many of his films are not available. His most recent really good film is Tango. Carmen, which I think is stunning and quite memorable (The flamenco interpretation of the tobacco facory sequence is mesmerizing.), is very difficult to find since it is out of print. It was part of a great flamenco trilogy. The first, Blood Wedding, was based on Lorca's play. The last one, El Amor Brujo, was based on a major Spanish prose work. All three are currently hard to find. I hope that changes.

Another Spanish film that deals with a child is Butterfly (La Lengua de las mariposas,1999). Have you seen the Iranian film, Children of Heaven?

I like the Japanese films you mention. Have you seen Kobayashi's epic trilogy, The Human Condition? I believe it is available on DVD.

Renoir's works are amazing. I agree about Rules of the Game, but prefer Grand Illusion as more significant and with a much broader appeal. Another favorite is The Crime of Monsieur Lange.

I suspect we could go on and on. There's Mizoguchi, Bergman, and Bunuel for example.

[oscar jubis]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by docraven
[B]. Saura is one of my favorite directors, but many of his films are not available.
Absolutely right. His THE HUNT was voted best Spanish film ever by Spanish critics but few have seen it here. COUSIN ANGELICA won at Cannes and was never released. Available: AY CARMELA! and GOYA, both recommended-although some found Goya "slow". The writer of these, as well as BELLE EPOQUE and Cuerda's BUTTERFLY , is the genius Mr. Rafael Azcona.
I've seen Majidi's CHILDREN OF HEAVEN and COLOR OF PARADISE but not BARAN or FATHER(available cheap on DVD from Asia).
Thanx Docraven for THE HUMAN CONDITION, which I knew nothing about. Having just been blown away by the WW II anime The GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, I am particularly interested in the period from the Japanese point of view. I hope I can rent it somewhere.
FLIRTING is fine, but have you seen Duigan's LAWN DOGS? The way Duigan toys with our paranoic expectations about the relationship between a 10 year-old middle-class girl and a working class man is brilliant. The scene in which they compare wounds is both tense and tender. Few seem to have seen it.

[Johann]

Well docraven, I didn't find "My Life as a Dog" to be that great either, so don't feel bad!

Yes, Saura's films are difficult to locate. It appears Blood Wedding is the only title of his in my city..Just like Stan Brakhage's stuff- hard to track down without paying exorbitant rates....Also,

I'm curious what people here think of Peter Greenaway. The man makes my jaw drop with every new film. He has slowly gotten under my skin to the point where I'm spending a small fortune on materials relating to his art. Dare I say that he is one of the most important "image-makers" in the history of cinema?

Oh yeah, and The Wages of Fear is incredible. If you haven't seen this hulking nail-biter, RENT IT TONIGHT. The tension on screen should drive you starkers...

[oscar jubis]

re:Greenaway
His films can only be properly appreciated in a theatre because he crams the frame with visual info.
I like his films more the second or third viewing.
"The Cook,the thief..." is his better known film. That fluid camera gliding inside the restaurant...back and forth.
His masterpiece: PROSPERO'S BOOKS.

[docraven]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by oscar jubis
[B]

Originally posted by docraven
.
Thanx Docraven for THE HUMAN CONDITION … I am particularly interested in the period from the Japanese point of view. I hope I can rent it somewhere.

THE HUMAN CONDITION, as you probably know by now, is an epic trilogy that is over 9 1/2 hours long in total. I rented it from Netflix, and they are still listing it. It reminds me in overall tone of FIRES ON THE PLAINS and THE BURMESE HARP. The central actor is Tatsuya Nakadai, who was in many ways a competitor of Toshiro Mifune (and the lead actor in Kurosawa's KAGEMUSHA and RAN).

I'm glad you mentioned COUSIN ANGELICA. I loved the film and have been trying to find it for about the last 15 years.

I have not seen LAWN DOGS, but will try to find it.