kthejoker commented on…
Perlle's "Movie List to Simplify Movie Lists"
This list is the best starting point — 20 weeks ago
for anyone wanting to see The Great Films, mostly because it is full of “safe” films. A lot of times people really want these lists to suggest “underrated” or overlooked films. But this list really boils it down to a list of Great Films. It’s de facto definitive, because it has almost every facet of cinema represented (although the lack of animation and pre-awards ceremony films hurts it, obviously.)
There’s nothing on here that really requires a certain point of view to admire. You don’t have to be a J-horror buff, or a lover of gritty Burt Lancaster tough guys, or an admirer of Cassevetes’s intentional sloppiness or Tarkovsky’s dreamscapes or Frank Tashlin’s misogyny to appreciate these films.
Hopefully this list will get people going in the right direction – lots of threads run through this list – but distilling out the arthouse fare and some of the divisive movies – I can’t think of a better list to start with if you want to see the Great Films.
Comments
I do think it could do with quite a lot more world cinema though- plenty of accessible not too arty/divisive “foreign” ones that could have been chosen
Oh, I dunno, it has a better mix of foreign films than I expected –
it’s got Bergman, Kurosawa, Costa-Gravas, Fellini, Truffaut, and “Wild Reeds” (which actually seems out of place on this list) – of course there are omissions here both foreign and American that probably fit in with these easily (The Bicycle Thief and Rules of the Game spring to mind)
...but as a starting point, what would you add? If you hesitate for a second, it’s probably not the best choice for this sort of list. Ozu? Godard? Fassbinder? Herzog? They don’t belong on this list.
Well the list title says it simplifies lists, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s simply a starting point. So i was thinking it is based a bit too much on American taste/lists, and Americans have tended to lionise Bergman, Kurosawa + Fellini as the big 3 of world cinema, whereas that’s not a view shared everywhere; they certainly belong here but why not other missing international names that also feature high in, say, the top directors’ list of They Shoot Pictures. Even setting aside my love for Mizoguchi (why not Sansho the Bailiff?), surely Tokyo Story by Ozu and Ray’s Pather Panchali should be here. And as for starter lists for world cinema, well i’ve had a go at one myself
kthejoker