Before we turn the page, some comments about events and trends in film production and distribution from my subjective and passionate point of view. A list of 2003 favorites follows, again divided into English and Foreign language films.
The current decade is as rich in wonderful movies as any other decade in the history of cinema. The problem is that, depending on where you live, some of these films are not opening at a theatre near you. Too many good films are on "limited release" or shown exclusively at film festivals. Too many movie lovers have to resort to home video to view them. Hollywood's monopoly over screens worldwide is a major reason. As far as watching older classics on the big screen, improved home video technology is killing the repertory theatre, at least outside of a few huge markets like NYC, LA and Paris.
Watching a movie at home is better than not at all. A major development in 2003 was the increased worldwide popularity of multi-zone dvd players. These machines make it possible for you to watch any dvd made in our planet, no matter what format or zone coding. The price of multi-zone dvd players now matches the cost of conventional models. Foreign dvds increasingly feature English subtitles. If you don't mind home viewing, the number of films available to you is tremendous.
An encouraging trend is the dvd release of festival-only movies by small, alternative organizations like Film Movement (filmmovement.com). The dvds are lovingly produced, with extra features that often include an excellent short film.
The number of film festivals continues to increase in the USA, particularly "niche" festivals. Major categories of niche festivals appear to be Independent, Gay and Lesbian, Latino, Jewish, and Asian.
There were several excellent commercial/mainstream films in 2003, including the highest grossing animated film in history, the best(arguably) fantasy adventure ever, a rock 'n roll comedy for the whole family, and the first successful pirate movie in decades. But 2003 was exceptional because of the high number of superb documentary and American independent films.
My theory regarding docs is that 2002's Bowling for Columbine was such a huge hit at theatres and at home that distributors and theatre chains learned there was profit in releasing docs. Many quality ones released before BfC did not get the "push" from distributors and publicists they would get today. I hopefully anticipate that the success of low budget movies in 2003 will also be a positive influence on the film climate.
Two major concerns.
The long delayed release in North America of major movies that the rest of the world has already seen. For example, the new films by Lars von Tier and Zhang Yimou have long been available on import dvd. But Americans have to wait until 2004 for a theatrical release. Both Dogville and Hero would have made my 2003 top 10 based on home viewings, but I'll save them for 2004 since theatrical runs are forthcoming.
A lamentable new development is the split release of long films like Kill Bill so that theatres can charge admission twice and fit in more screenings per day. Pure greed at your expense.
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