Originally posted by Johann
You're a kindred spirit, oscar.

Oh, I know it. Some would say we have the same screw loose :)

The silents part of the list is what I really like. You've pretty much nailed every important work, save Gance's Napoleon and Haxan.
Lang's epic Die Niebelungen comes highly recommended from me as well. Kino just put out a gorgeous 2-disc set.

I will rent Die Niebelungen as soon as I'm done with a little project: two friends in their early 20s plan to open an "alternative" rental shop in the cultural wastelands of suburbia. They've asked me to stock the foreign language section. I've bought close to $1000 worth of vhs and dvd, new and used, so far. But it's taking a lot of my leisure time to find the best deals.
I seem to prefer German and American silent films. Marty Scorsese's list would probably start with the Italian Cabiria (which I haven't seen) and would certainly include the two excellent films you mention (which I don't quite love). Others that fall into that category: Berlin:Symphony of a Great City, The Birth of a Nation, Man with a Moving Camera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Scarlett Letter, The Love of Jeanne Ney.


I just saw Eraserhead again two nights ago. Pure brilliance. I was in a trance once again. The soundtrack is an ear invasion. That low "hum" or whatever you call it just adds so much to the trippy black & white images.

Excellent observation.

These names also deserve some discussion: Paradjanov, Sternberg, Visconti (The Leopard is a Criterion I want), Vigo, Berlanga and Olmi. All great directors who have a limited audience.

J, do you think these directors have a limited audience because their films are not widely available (the long wait for a proper The Leopard appears finally over, eh?)? Or do you think the films themselves have features that would alienate mainstream audiences? Don't people want to see at least six of the Sternbergs, if only to watch Marlene Dietrich? Maybe not. Visconti and Olmi are expert storytellers, but maybe subtitles and period costumes shrink their potential audience. Vigo and Berlanga have been largely ignored (only Vigo's L'Atalante is available on video). Paradjanov is reserved for audiences interested in pictorial art, folklore and poetry (but not necessarily all of them).