My favorite film (and
thus my favorite lister) begins with these words sung by Jim Morrison of The
Doors. I’m trying to think now if Apocalypse Now (1978) was my favorite
movie when I bought the 1001 text seven years ago. I certainly loved it, but at that point my
favorite film was probably Stephen Frears’ High
Fidelity (2000; not on the 1001 list). That film has only been surpassed by one or
two others in that time, so I think it is safe to say that I am fairly adverse
to changing my own lists of all-time favorite anythings. That being said, it’s important to remember
that one takes on a challenge like the 1001 Movies You Have to See Before
You Die for the reason of expanding their taste and taking in the gamut of
culture that the cinematic art form can offer.
I’ve certainly done that, and in doing so I’ve been forced to look
beyond the list as well. I’m currently
also trying to see the entire Criterion Collection DVD/Blu-ray series, many of
which I was initially prompted to by this list.
I figured it might be a good idea to see everything that they had to
offer (even though I’ve been putting off the Stan Brakhage anthologies after
seeing and loathing Dog Star Man),
and without having to blog them I should be able to get done with the
Collection (with a few hard-to-find exceptions) by the close of this
summer.
Does that mean that I’m done writing for this webpage? Heck no! Obviously my output has slowed significantly
in the last year because the titles got so hard to come by. In fact, without the help of my friend and research
assistant Matt Sands, I’d never have been able to make it this far. (I owe you
big time brother) But with his help and
the support and encouragement of many others I’ve done it! Just under two and a half years ago I sat
down at my dinner table and typed out the initial post for this blog. Now I’m sitting at that same table, and hour
and a half away from the deadline of my 27th birthday, and I’ve
gotten to the top of the mountain. This
was a hard journey, but as I said, I had invaluable support and help along the
way. I doubt that I’ll be able to get
out of the habit of posting film reviews and opinions, but I don’t know that I’ll
be taking on any other significant long-term blogging projects in the near
future. Along the way, I’ve been quietly
viewing the supplemental films to the list, and I have only three of the most
recent crop left to tackle. So I’d
expect to see reviews of Shame, A Separation, and La Harve here sometime in the near future, as well as those of any
other film I feel like spewing my two cents on.
The 1001 text suggests that it is unlikely that
most people who pick up the tome will have already seen all of the entries. This is, of course, true, because without
this book many of the films would be even more obscure than they are with it,
and even fewer people would have motivation to see them (Flaming Creatures I am coughing and looking in your general
direction). I can’t tell you the number
of times I viewed a title and began to research it more by heading to the
Internet Movie Database (IMDb), only to find that the single note in the “Did
You Know?” section of the film’s page read, “Included in the book 1001
Movies You Have to See Before You Die.” But that’s what this book is about; guiding
those of us who can’t get drunk enough on the sweet nectar of cinema toward
those titles that even the people of that endless information superhighway haven’t
yet seen on their radar. My copy of the
book, seven years removed from purchase, now sits tattered and torn on my
bedside table. It has been a constant
companion and a treasure trove of knowledge.
Yes, my wife has threatened to hit me over the head with it, but
weaponized uses aside, it has guided me through this journey. So now without further ado, here are my top
and bottom ten titles from these final 200 movies.
1. Faster,
Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
2.
A Matter of Life and Death
3.
Seconds
4.
The Last Battle
5.
Report
6.
Shanghai Express
7.
Zero for Conduct
8.
High School
9.
The Cool World*
10. Winter Light
*Not
available (Come on Wiseman!)
1.
The Color of Pomegranates (worst; even worse on recollection than initial
ranking)
2.
Touch of Zen
3.
Heaven and Earth Magic
4.
Blonde Cobra
5. The
Asthenic Syndrome
6. Come
Drink with Me
7. Black
God, White Devil
8. Caravaggio
9.
Celine and Julie Go Boating
10. Flaming
Creatures
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