Very curious about your response to the film, Johann.

Currently thinking about the issue of best-of lists, which I deem essential in terms of reflecting what one considers to be the films that provide the most compelling rationale for all the time, energy and money one spends watching, studying and writing about movies; a forum to declare one's love and appreciation for what some movies teach us about life and about ourselves and the inherent pleasures involved.

Most specifically, I'm thinking about the criteria for including older movies like The Exiles (1961) and Ashes of Time (1994). Both of these outstanding films have been screened before this year but it's hard to figure whether those screenings constitute a proper release or not. Another issue is whether or not the versions released in the present are sufficiently altered to consider the current "redux" or "restored" versions a diferent film. I consider the "redux" version of Apocalypse Now significantly altered by the addition of two long sequences whereas the "redux" version of Ashes of Time doesn't feel like a new movie to me. Last year I decided not to list Killer of Sheep based on research that indicates it had brief theatrical runs over the 30 years since its premiere. Sometimes I feel I should have listed it as a way to honor perhaps the best film I watched in 2007 even if it was a re-release.