From the opening shot of "Cutter's Way" -- my favorite movie of the 1980s.
... and speaking of critical "best of" movie lists, here's a swell one called "50 Lost Movie Classics," from The Guardian. I might quibble with the terms "lost" (how "lost" can they be, when so many of them are available on DVD?) or "classics" (a "masterpiece" can be lost or overlooked, but can a "classic"?). But it is what it is. A group of British critics and filmmakers chose 50 movies (I have no quibbles with either of those terms) that... well, allow Philip French to explain:
This isn't just another list of great movies. It's a rallying cry for films that for a variety of reasons -- fashion, perhaps, or the absence of an influential advocate, or just pure bad luck -- have been unduly neglected and should be more widely available. You know that feeling when someone hasn't heard of a film you've always loved and you want to show it to them? Or, in a different way, when you get annoyed because a picture hasn't been accorded the position you think it deserves in cultural history or the cinematic canon? That's the sort of film we have included on this list.And now, please permit me to add my own huzzahs for a few of the selections, several of which have also been featured on my personal "ten-best" lists over the years -- or would have been, in the event that I had made one that year. (And some were released before I was born, OK?) Several of these have already been discussed here at Scanners. Here are just a few of the choices I'd particularly like to second:
"Petulia" (Richard Lester, 1968) -- use the link to read about the opening shot.
"The State of Things" (Wim Wenders, 1982) -- one of the best movies about movies ever. And "Stranger Than Paradise" was made using the leftover b&w stock.
"Newsfront" (Phillip Noyce, 1979) -- charming account of Aussie newsreelers.
"Fat City" (John Huston, 1972) -- best boxing movie ever (and, yes, I include "Raging Bull" and "Rocky").
"Ace In the Hole" aka "The Big Carnival" (Billy Wilder, 1951) -- no excuse for this to still be unavailable on DVD.
"3 Women" (Robert Altman, 1977) -- just watched it again the night Altman's death was announced and was thrilled to find it as mesmerizing as ever...
"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (David Lynch, 1992) -- although I think the series is by far the best work Lynch has ever done, I didn't "get" this one when it came out. Now I think it's genius (and should be double-billed with "Mulholland Drive").
"Safe" (Todd Haynes, 1995) -- my choice for best movie of 1995.
"Housekeeping" (Bill Forsyth, 1987) -- my choice for best movie of 1987.
"The Parallax View" (Alan J. Pakula, 1974) -- NOT "Alan J. Parker" as The Guardian has it, fer cripes sake!!! Gripping paranoid thriller -- with a fight atop my beloved Space Needle!
"Dreamchild" (Gavin Millar, 1985) -- nice double-bill with "Pan's Labyrinth," I think.
"The Ninth Configuration" (William Peter Blatty, 1980) -- I see a big moon risin'...
"Cutter's Way" (Ivan Passer, 1981) -- my choice for the best movie of the 1980s.
"Wise Blood" (John Huston, 1979) -- I don't think I've ever fully recovered from the scars this one left on me.
"Two-Lane Blacktop" (Monte Hellman, 1971) -- this does qualify as a cult classic.
"'Round Midnight" (Bertrand Tavernier, 1986) -- Dexter Gordon as a version of Dexter Gordon, in gorgeous widescreen. One of the best evocations of cinema as jazz, and vice-versa.
"Grace of My Heart" (Allison Anders, 1996) -- pop music history mix-and-match (not unlike "Velvet Goldmine" in that respect) with terrific songs co-authored by Brill Building vets and contemporary artists. I watch this one over and over. Made me fall in love with Illeana Douglas.
Some of the choices I haven't seen: "Ride Lonesome," "Jeremy," "Under the Skin," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Let's Scare Jessica to Death," "The Low Down," "Quiemada!," "The Hired Hand," "Le Petomane," "Bill Douglas Trilogy," "Babylon," "Day Night Day Night" (just missed it in Toronto!), "The Day the Earth Caught Fire," "The Mad Monkey," "Terence Davies Trilogy" (not sure what individual titles they mean to include, but "The Long Day Closes" was my best movie of 1992 -- or was it 1993 in the US?). And there are others the list reminds me to revisit (like Monte Hellman's "Cockfighter") because it's simply been too long.
Take a peek and let us know which ones you treasure (or don't) -- and maybe suggest some additional titles for such a list...
Jim, excellent list! I love Parker, I mean, Pakula, too! And I'm with you on Grace of My Heart and Ileana Douglas. And Matt Dillon does quite a fine job as a "Brian Wilson" type in that film, as well. And I thought Allison Anders' other music-related films, SUGAR TOWN and THINGS BEHIND THE SUN, were quite good, too. Of course, it says a lot about Hollywood that she is now directing sitcoms, such as What About Brian. Maybe she wants to. I wish she were making more personal music films.
I always thought Ted Demme's Beautiful Girls was not only Demme's and Portman's best movie but was one of the best movies that came out that year. I loved it to death, and went to see it twice at the theater.
I was about 15 at the time, and Portman too, and while my best friends were all fantasizing about bimbos like Pamela Anderson, I was madly in love with Portman's character. From the moment she appeared in the skating scene, it was clear that Portman was gonna be a star.
It is a pretty simple movie, not a very highly intellectual one, but the characters are incredibly charming. Coming from a small town, I could really relate to the "coming back" feeling, especially after seeing it again last year after spending christmas in my hometown with my parents. Anyway, great to see the movie get some mention now.
I guess I'm confused by the term lost, since some of these are on DVD. Maybe forgotten would be a better word. But I second your nomination of Housekeeping--that's a great movie that should be out on DVD. Is there a restriction on these being English language films? I'd add Il Ladro Di Bambini (Stolen Children) by Gianni Amelio and Messer Im Kopf (Knife in the Head) by Reinhard Hauff. Why these two aren't on DVD is beyond me.
Ah, The State of Things. I had just moved to Los Angeles when I saw it-- I was already feeling displaced, and then to see locations I recognized rendered in Robby Muller's disorientingly beautiful imagery made me feel displaced and alienated all over again. But it was a good kind of displaced alienation!
And I'll second the criminally absent Housekeeping.
Just off the top of my head, my own nominations would be Robert Aldrich's Emperor of the North and Roy Rowland's Rogue Cop starring Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, Steve Forrest and a host of others. Two movies, tough as nails, and not nearly as well known as they should be,
Save the Last Dance?!!!
That has to be a joke (and a very funny one, I might add).
Excellent! I certainly like all the movies here that I have seen and I would say "Cutter's Way", "Housekeeping", and "The Parallax View" are really great ones while "Top Secret", and "Less Than Zero" are a couple I'm always pushing as underrated. "Beautiful Girls" is one of my favorite winter movies: all that real snow everywhere and yet it's such a warm film. "The Wonder Boys" also fits that category. "Tin Cup" along with "The Upside of Anger" and, obviously "Bull Durham" are reminders that Kevin Costner should only play athletes. "Jessica" reminded me of "Dead of Winter" with Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowell and "Lianna" jogged my memory of "Sunshine State", my pick for underrated John Sayles. Edie Falco is great. Lastly, the list has two films by the great Stacy Keach, recently seen playing King Lear in Chicago, with my brother, Matthew, in a small role. (sorry, couldn't help myself.)
I loved reading this list. It will come in very handy for updating my netflix queue.
Unfortunately, Two Lane Blacktop is still in my Saved list and is not available yet.
Of those I have seen: I Wanna Hold Your Hand actually was the ABC movie of the night in the early 80's and I still remember how funny it was. I also can't argue with Top Secret!, Twin Peaks FWWM, 3 Women, The Parallax View, Wise Blood or especially The Ninth Configuration being on the list.
At the risk of losing my posting priveledges, I would add the orginal Black Christmas by Bob Clark. It received only limited release in the US in 1974 (and under various titles). However, it truly is, for better or worse, the first "modern" horror film. John Carpenter readily acknowledges that he borrowed from Black Christmas when he made Halloween. It is also, I think, still scary as hell.
I don't hold much hope for the remake (which looks in the trailers more like one of the Saw "torture porn" movies and goes more for gore than the first one's true scares), but hopefully it will inspire some people to check out the original classic.
Hi Jim, I couldn't help throw in two little gems:
"The Sin of Harld Diddlebock" (194?7) - A Harold Lloyd TALKIE, and his gestural silent-actor style seeps through this sweet movie. He gets fired, gets drunk, and loses a day. Despite the inappropriate alcohol use, it's hilarious. I had heard Lloyd didn't get alot of credit for his post-silent days, but he's loveable.
"Dracula's Daughter" (194?5)- almost a sequel to Lugosi's '31 Dracula, with Ed. Van Sloan. The script is very snappy, and it features one of the most brilliant 15-second montages I have ever witnessed, no really!
I have more to add, but these two movies WON'T be getting married in Massachusetts.
It's an odd list. I haven't seen most of the films mentioned, but some, like Tin Cup, Beatiful Girls, and Less Than Zero, are movies I've seen many times. They aren't the kinds of movies I'd consider classics, but they're all hard to turn off if you happen upon them while channel surfing.
My contribution to this list would be The Rules of Attraction(2002). Directed by Roger Avery, who wrote portions of Pulp Fiction, and adapted from a Bret Easton Ellis novel, this had all the makings of a hit. When the critcs panned it, and nobody saw it, I kind of forgot about it. Then I caught it late one night on cable and was pretty much blown away.
This movie has at least three sequences (The opening, pre-credit intro of the three leads, the split-screen meet/meld of two characters, and the european vaction recap)that are incredibly inventive and stylized. The movie has great, hilarious cameos from everyone from Fred Savage to Faye Dunaway.
It seems to have repulsed some critics, who took all the excess far too iterally. This is a satire of every parent's worst nightmare when they send their kids off to school. It's actually quite funny, while looking at some deeper themes like isolation and the consequences of not communicating your feelings.
I've tried to spread the word, but this film just doesn't seem to have caught on with many folks besides me. Thank you Jim, for blogs like yours!
It's hard to figure out what the article means by "Lost Movie Classics" since most of those seem pretty well-known to me. Perhaps not widely seen, but not particularly obscure, and all very much in the realm of popular, commercial narrative cinema. And all English language too (as mentioned in the article).
Some fine movies on the list: both Monte Hellman films are in my personal Top 150 or so. I am not a great Altman fan, but "3 Women"is a gem, and I think "Ace in the Hole" is Wilder's second best movie.
Keeping within the general spirit of the list, here are a couple suggestions:
Instead of "Safe", how about Todd Haynes' fantastic "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story", all told with Barbie dolls. It sounds like a gimmick or something snarky, but it's downright sad and deeply moving.
For a fine 70s B-movie, you can't do better than Larry Cohen's simple and chilling "God Told Me To." God's a scary dude.
If "Cutter's Way" (pretty well known!) counts, then so must the fabulous "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" which is the best male buddy movie ever made. And one of the funniest movies too.
It's in both Norwegian and English, but I say I can count "Edvard Munch", the masterpiece by Peter Watkins. Quite simply, the best film ever made about art, the best biopic ever made (except it's not a biopic), and one of the 20 or so best movies I have ever seen.
No rules against documentaries? How about a somewhat lesser-seen Flaherty doc "Man of Aran," which I think is his best work, and one of the prettiest movies I've ever viddied. And then I'd add in virtually everything Les Blank made... OK , just one? I go for "Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers."
Others:
"Multiple Maniacs" (John Waters)
"Archangel" (Guy Maddin)
"Culloden" (Peter Watkins)
"Parallel Lines" (Nina Davenport)
The Terence Davies Trilogy is a trio of b&w films he made; here's the link to the AMG review: http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:158404.
EXCELLENT list, except for my one gripe, Less Than Zero, which is, um, atrocious? The Man of Aran is a great Flaherty doc, as someone mentioned, as is Louisiana Story (my fave of his). I'd love to have seen Odd Man Out (my favorite Carol Reed flick) on the list or Better Off Dead (as a replacement for Less than Zero). Still, I'm so happy to see Safe (the best American movie that year), Millions (the best film I saw in 2005), Top Secret! (between that and Real Genius Val Kilmer could do no wrong for two years), Fire Walk With Me (worthy to be included along side Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr), and Two Lane Blacktop. Hellman's Shooting would have been a good fit, as would have May's Mikey and Nicky.