CAHIERS DU CINEMA 1999 Top 10 list
Steve Erickson
Since the CAHIERS DU CINEMA 90s Top 10 list provoked so much discussion,
here's their list for '99.
1. EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick)
2. THE WIND WILL CARRY US (Abbas Kiarostami)
3. SICILIA! (Jean-Marie Straub/Daniele Huillet)
4. eXistenZ (David Cronenberg)
5. NIGHT WIND (Philippe Garrel)
6. TRUE CRIME (Clint Eastwood)
7. THE LETTER (Manoel de Oliveira)
8. THE STRAIGHT STORY (David Lynch)
9. GHOST DOG (Jim Jarmusch)
10. LES NOCES DE DIEU (Joao César Monteiro)
I have no idea what they see in TRUE CRIME beyond Clint's name and face,
but it's nice to see Jean-Marie, Daniele and Manoel get their props.
Will someone in New York *please* show Monteiro's films? I'm still waiting
for GOD'S COMEDY, which graced the 1996 CAHIERS list, but was reportedly
rejected by the New York Film Festival as "sexist and offensive."
Jeff McCloud will be happy to see that NEW ROSE HOTEL got several votes.
Other surprises: Tsui Hark's KNOCK OFF, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, Allen
Dwan's THE RIVER'S EDGE, a Jose Mojica Marins (aka Coffin Joe) film.
--
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Andrew Johnston
ste...@NOSPAMearthlink.net (Steve Erickson) wrote:
> Since the CAHIERS DU CINEMA 90s Top 10 list provoked so much discussion,
> here's their list for '99.
>
> 1. EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick)
> 2. THE WIND WILL CARRY US (Abbas Kiarostami)
> 3. SICILIA! (Jean-Marie Straub/Daniele Huillet)
> 4. eXistenZ (David Cronenberg)
> 5. NIGHT WIND (Philippe Garrel)
> 6. TRUE CRIME (Clint Eastwood)
> 7. THE LETTER (Manoel de Oliveira)
> 8. THE STRAIGHT STORY (David Lynch)
> 9. GHOST DOG (Jim Jarmusch)
> 10. LES NOCES DE DIEU (Joao César Monteiro)
>
> I have no idea what they see in TRUE CRIME beyond Clint's name and face
Well, there's the terrific supporting performances (near-cameos, really)
by James Woods and Denis Leary, but they're no reason to put it on a Top
10 list...
Jeff McCloud
message
news:steevee-ya0240800...@news.earthlink
.net...
>
> Since the CAHIERS DU CINEMA 90s Top 10 list provoked
so much discussion,
> here's their list for '99.
>
> 1. EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick)
> 2. THE WIND WILL CARRY US (Abbas Kiarostami)
> 3. SICILIA! (Jean-Marie Straub/Daniele Huillet)
> 4. eXistenZ (David Cronenberg)
> 5. NIGHT WIND (Philippe Garrel)
> 6. TRUE CRIME (Clint Eastwood)
> 7. THE LETTER (Manoel de Oliveira)
> 8. THE STRAIGHT STORY (David Lynch)
> 9. GHOST DOG (Jim Jarmusch)
> 10. LES NOCES DE DIEU (Joao César Monteiro)
Now that is a list. I'd trade THE LIMEY or NEW ROSE
HOTEL for TRUE CRIME or eXistenZ but other than that,
this thing is grrreat. I look forward to the films
that I haven't seen on that list even more now.
I am going to spoil some movies now. Don't read if you
care about any of the above getting spoiled, mm-kay.
> I have no idea what they see in TRUE CRIME beyond
Clint's name and face,
> but it's nice to see Jean-Marie, Daniele and Manoel
get their props.
I liked TRUE CRIME's lean mean feel. I also thought
the scene in the bar with Clint and that young broad
who gets wasted in taht car accident was pretty great,
almost making my best scene list. I almost gave Clint
a best actor nod as well. I know I am in the minority
but I kind of like the latter day Clint pulps like this
and ABSOLUTE POWER.
Oh, SICILIA! and THE LETTER both deserve whatever
positive attention they get.
> Will someone in New York *please* show Monteiro's
films? I'm still waiting
> for GOD'S COMEDY, which graced the 1996 CAHIERS list,
but was reportedly
> rejected by the New York Film Festival as "sexist and
offensive."
Well, it is almost a frigging masterpiece of dirty old
man mythologizing. I can't even describe in mixed
company some of the brilliant scenes that happen.
Let's just say that our elderly protagonist does this
chick in the rear and accidently causes a rip in her
asshole and then, later, he takes this 14 year old,
gets her naked and has her piss in a tub full of milk
from which he plans to make ice-cream. Oh yeah, he has
a scrap-book full of pubes. It rules.
> Jeff McCloud will be happy to see that NEW ROSE HOTEL
got several votes.
> Other surprises: Tsui Hark's KNOCK OFF, THE THOMAS
CROWN AFFAIR, Allen
> Dwan's THE RIVER'S EDGE, a Jose Mojica Marins (aka
Coffin Joe) film.
I am pleased, dammit, KNOCK OFF is pretty underrated
even if it doesn't match the total brilliance of DOUBLE
TEAM. Did they have a Coffin Joe retro or something?
Why the heck are those French always one step ahead in
the cinematic game?
Jeff
*****************
Thanks again man you are my #1 supporter in my opinion
other than arguably God. --Vern
Mike D'Angelo
: Now that is a list. I'd trade THE LIMEY or NEW ROSE
: HOTEL for TRUE CRIME or eXistenZ but other than that,
: this thing is grrreat. I look forward to the films
: that I haven't seen on that list even more now.
I am reminded yet again of how very very different is my own taste in
movies from that of the French (as well as Francosympathetic Americans
like Jeff and Steve). I haven't yet seen the Kiarostami, Garrel or
Monteiro films (the first two play in NY this month; I already have my
WIND WILL CARRY US ticket), but TRUE CRIME, SICILIA!, EXISTENZ and THE
LETTER rank among my *least* favorite films of '99, and both GHOST DOG
and THE STRAIGHT STORY struck me as pleasant trifles, not remotely in the
same league as their respective directors' best work. They're all very
idiosyncratic, though, and the Cahiers crew seem to prize that quality
above all else.
Mike "fighting words R us" D'Angelo
-The Man Who Viewed Too Much-
http://www.panix.com/~dangelo
Jeff McCloud
Mike D'Angelo <dan...@panix.com> wrote in message
> I am reminded yet again of how very very different is
my own taste in
> movies from that of the French (as well as
Francosympathetic Americans
> like Jeff and Steve).
Well, just because I like Spaghettios, don't mean I'm a
fruitcake. It's odd Mike but I kind of got this same
feeling about my own taste when I looked over the poll
results yesterday. A lot of ok stuff, but not much
that suckerpunched my ass and made me see the world
anew like, you know, GOODBY SOUTH, GOODBYE.
> I haven't yet seen the Kiarostami, Garrel or
> Monteiro films (the first two play in NY this month;
I already have my
> WIND WILL CARRY US ticket), but TRUE CRIME, SICILIA!,
EXISTENZ and THE
> LETTER rank among my *least* favorite films of '99,
and both GHOST DOG
> and THE STRAIGHT STORY struck me as pleasant trifles,
not remotely in the
> same league as their respective directors' best work.
Let's put all the cards on the table here. I haven't
seen the Kiarostami, Garrel, Monteiro, or Jarmusch.
These are directors whom I hold in somewhat high regard
(Garrel mostly through legend) so I am anticipating the
films with fevered desire. I do find it a bit odd that
David Lynch's quietist depiction of Middle America and
a dying generation of Americans is a pleasant trifle,
when TOY STORY 2 is considered an unquestionable
masterpiece (I mean it's fine and all with a few yuks,
but that treacly song-montage almost made me bolt, not
because of the montage which could have been moving but
because of the horribly performed song). But you
probably think I am crazy for having more fun at THE
LETTER than at GO.
>They're all very idiosyncratic, though, and the
Cahiers crew seem to
> prize that quality above all else.
OK, Mr. Populist man with the top three films in your
top ten grossing a zillion dollars. I honestly don't
think that this is idiosyncasy for its own sake. If
anything there is a bit of an old-fashioned allegiance
to auterism (a quality that can be detected in our own
fine poll) and a preference for a certain strain of
high-modernism a la Huilet/Straub and Olivera. It
isn't *that* wacky (except for TRUE CRIME I guess).
> Mike "fighting words R us" D'Angelo
No need to bust out the big guns bud. I am sorta
sympathetic with your "man of the people" stance and
all. Anyhoo, if we want to talk idiosyncratic I gotta
admit it takes guts to publicly admit that you think
TRULY MADLY DEEPLY is one of the best films of the
decade.
Jeff
Jeff McCloud
Mike D'Angelo wrote in message <89n5i8$gq9$1...@news.panix.com>...
>(And of course I
>still don't understand what Hou fans are getting out of GS,G, though I'm
>willing to give it another chance; Charles F., who didn't like it either
>the first time around, tells me it worked better for him on second
>viewing.) It's been a dry couple of years.
It actually had more impact on me the first time I saw it. So, I ain't sure
if another go round would do it for you. As for the dry couple of years, I
can't totally agree (I have seen some great stuff) except to say that it
*is* about time Quentin made another movie.
>I didn't like the song either, but a three-minute glitch I can
>forgive. And I genuinely think TS2 is far more profound and discerning
>than Lynch's opus, with its tired folk wisdom (the bundle of sticks thing
>has been kicking around forever -- it's even in RAN, believe it or
>not) and sorta generic humanism (but with Lynchian oddities like the deer
>lady thrown in to keep the cultists happy). I mean, I liked it and all,
>but ERASERHEAD or BLUE VELVET it ain't.
No it isn't, but I had less of a problem with the tired folk wisdom by the
time the film ended. The scene in the bar with the two war veterans struck
me as completely honest and perfectly pitched, and it raised my respect for
all that tired folk stuff that I had smirked at earlier. Howard Hampton
wrote a pretty good piece on it a few months ago in ARTFORUM comparing it to
Kiarostami and I actually think that is pretty apt. The deer lady was
totally out of place and pissed me off. I don't think it is as good as BLUE
VELVET or even the underrated FIRE WALK WITH ME, but I was moved a lot more
by the way Lynch captured the life on Farnsworth's face than the dilemma
faced by that toy cowboy.
>(And Jarmusch has yet to equal
>STRANGER THAN PARADISE in my opinion, though I liked DEAD MAN a bit more
>when I saw it again a couple weeks back. That should've been a silent
>film, except for Neil Young's guitar.)
I can't really choose between the two to tell you the truth (aside needed--I
spent about a year writing near 70 pages on STRANGER THAN PARADISE
recently--yup, that is about a page a shot [67 if you were interested]).
What I definitley don't agree with is the statement about DEAD MAN as a
silent film. It is probably one of my favorite screenplays ever--blending
Blake and Lee Hazlewood references like there is no difference, incredibly
funny at one moment and profoundly sad the next. It would work as a silent
film, but a lot of the playfulness would be lost.
>I guess that's my beef: I think more like Kael than like Sarris. I'm
>not one of those people who thinks certain directors can do no wrong, the
>way the French lionize crap Eastwood along with genius Eastwood. And I
>believe that great work doesn't *necessarily* require a strong personal
>vision, whereas I doubt that anyone at Cahiers would even spit at a
>committee-produced gem like any of the Pixar films. I acknowledge that a
>flawed film like RAVENOUS is maybe more interesting in certain respects
>than, say, TUMBLEWEEDS, but I still like TUMBLEWEEDS better. Whereas for
>most French critics it really does seem to me like "strong personal
>vision" outweighs all other qualities.
I am somewhere in the middle. I've got my faves who please me even with
their missteps (NIGHT ON EARTH, THE ADDICTION, TRUE CRIME). I'm not
delusional enought to think that BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY is one of the
best films of the decade, but I do appreciate its personal vision. I know
I'm in for an ass-wooping for saying it, but I thought SMALL SOLDIERS was
more interesting *and* fun than TOY STORY (1 or 2), even though it wasn't
nearly as polished as the Pixar piece.
>I read something by Assayas once
>where he said he was more interested in the director than in the film,
>and I'm just not coming at it from that perspective. (No slight to
>Olivier who's 4-for-4 of the films I've seen so far; I swiped an idea
>from NOUVELLE VIE for my latest script.)
Assayas was speaking as a filmmaker at that point (in fact I think it was in
an interview in, what's that, FILMMAKER that he made that comment), and it
reminds me a lot of Scorsese whose cinephilia is completely driven by
auterism. If I gotta choose sides, I'm with Olivier and Marty I guess.
But that is just me, and I put SLEEPY HOLLOW in my 1999 top 10 without
being a complete Burtonphile, so what the heck do I know.
Jeff
Farber-ite (rhymes with Dolemite)
Mike D'Angelo
: Well, just because I like Spaghettios, don't mean I'm a
: fruitcake. It's odd Mike but I kind of got this same
: feeling about my own taste when I looked over the poll
: results yesterday. A lot of ok stuff, but not much
: that suckerpunched my ass and made me see the world
: anew like, you know, GOODBY SOUTH, GOODBYE.
Personally, the last film that truly suckerpunched my ass and made me see
the world anew was PARADISE LOST three years ago now. So even I don't
exactly feel like genuflecting when I look at this year's survey results,
though they're certainly more to my taste than yours. (And of course I
still don't understand what Hou fans are getting out of GS,G, though I'm
willing to give it another chance; Charles F., who didn't like it either
the first time around, tells me it worked better for him on second
viewing.) It's been a dry couple of years.
: I do find it a bit odd that David Lynch's quietist depiction of Middle
: America and a dying generation of Americans is a pleasant trifle, when
: TOY STORY 2 is considered an unquestionable masterpiece (I mean it's
: fine and all with a few yuks, but that treacly song-montage almost made
: me bolt, not because of the montage which could have been moving but
: because of the horribly performed song).
I didn't like the song either, but a three-minute glitch I can
forgive. And I genuinely think TS2 is far more profound and discerning
than Lynch's opus, with its tired folk wisdom (the bundle of sticks thing
has been kicking around forever -- it's even in RAN, believe it or
not) and sorta generic humanism (but with Lynchian oddities like the deer
lady thrown in to keep the cultists happy). I mean, I liked it and all,
but ERASERHEAD or BLUE VELVET it ain't. (And Jarmusch has yet to equal
STRANGER THAN PARADISE in my opinion, though I liked DEAD MAN a bit more
when I saw it again a couple weeks back. That should've been a silent
film, except for Neil Young's guitar.)
: But you probably think I am crazy for having more fun at THE
: LETTER than at GO.
Well, yeah, I do, but that's okay. I just like my comedy a little less
determinedly droll than Oliveira provides. Now William Fichtner: that
guy is funny. Doesn't need perpetual sunglasses, either.
: OK, Mr. Populist man with the top three films in your
: top ten grossing a zillion dollars. I honestly don't
: think that this is idiosyncasy for its own sake. If
: anything there is a bit of an old-fashioned allegiance
: to auterism [...]
I guess that's my beef: I think more like Kael than like Sarris. I'm
not one of those people who thinks certain directors can do no wrong, the
way the French lionize crap Eastwood along with genius Eastwood. And I
believe that great work doesn't *necessarily* require a strong personal
vision, whereas I doubt that anyone at Cahiers would even spit at a
committee-produced gem like any of the Pixar films. I acknowledge that a
flawed film like RAVENOUS is maybe more interesting in certain respects
than, say, TUMBLEWEEDS, but I still like TUMBLEWEEDS better. Whereas for
most French critics it really does seem to me like "strong personal
vision" outweighs all other qualities. I read something by Assayas once
where he said he was more interested in the director than in the film,
and I'm just not coming at it from that perspective. (No slight to
Olivier who's 4-for-4 of the films I've seen so far; I swiped an idea
from NOUVELLE VIE for my latest script.)
: Anyhoo, if we want to talk idiosyncratic I gotta
: admit it takes guts to publicly admit that you think
: TRULY MADLY DEEPLY is one of the best films of the
: decade.
I wouldn't say 'best.' But I can't get through the thing without crying,
and the number of films about which I can say that is maybe five.
Mike "not that I know offhand what the other four are" D'Angelo
John H
>
>I guess that's my beef: I think more like Kael than like Sarris. I'm
>not one of those people who thinks certain directors can do no wrong, the
>way the French lionize crap Eastwood along with genius Eastwood.
Come on, Mike, who was more slavishly auteurist late in her career
than Pauline? She'd twist herself into the weirdest logic pretzels
justifying some idiocy by DePalma. I still remember her citing
dialogue from Dressed to Kill as example of DePalma's great gifts as a
writer, of all things.
John Harkness
Sarris-ite (rhymes with parasite)
agnes...@my-deja.com
> Other surprises: Tsui Hark's KNOCK OFF, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, Allen
> Dwan's THE RIVER'S EDGE, a Jose Mojica Marins (aka Coffin Joe) film.
>
What to make of Tsui Hark's post-colonial career? Probably
the single most important talent in modern HK cinema
and all he's done are two Van Damme vehicles, back to back.
Having said that, both DOUBLE TEAM and especially KNOCK OFF
demonstrate his gift for unhinged formalism and
expressionistic zeal(as well as his penchant for incoherent
narrative). So, given the traits described above, I guess
it's no surprise Tsui isn't making A-list Hollywood projects
like John Woo. Still, I'll take KNOCK OFF over FACE OFF any ol day.
agnes
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Steve Erickson
wrote:
> I guess that's my beef: I think more like Kael than like Sarris. I'm
> not one of those people who thinks certain directors can do no wrong, the
> way the French lionize crap Eastwood along with genius Eastwood. And I
> believe that great work doesn't *necessarily* require a strong personal
> vision, whereas I doubt that anyone at Cahiers would even spit at a
> committee-produced gem like any of the Pixar films.
This isn't true. The latest CAHIERS has a lengthy, quite positive review of
TOY STORY 2. But they have certain blind spots, especially when it comes to
American filmmakers who haven't yet entered their auteurist pantheon.
Neither POSITIF nor CAHIERS treated RUSHMORE as a major film, and CAHIERS
even compared it to AUSTIN POWERS! While TRUE CRIME and THE STRAIGHT STORY
(which I agree with you about) made their Top 10 list, RUSHMORE, THE BLAIR
WITCH PROJECT & BEING JOHN MALKOVICH didn't get a single vote from the
staff critics.
Matthew Butcher
>This isn't true. The latest CAHIERS has a lengthy, quite positive review of
>TOY STORY 2. But they have certain blind spots, especially when it comes to
>American filmmakers who haven't yet entered their auteurist pantheon.
>Neither POSITIF nor CAHIERS treated RUSHMORE as a major film, and CAHIERS
>even compared it to AUSTIN POWERS! [...]
Was "Bottle Rocket" even released in France? There's no review in the
latest Time Out guide, so I assume it's never been out in Britain.
--
Matthew Butcher | At my house I've got no shackles; you can come
but...@math.ubc.ca | and look if you want to. -- Arthur Lee
weepi...@earthlink.net
> What to make of Tsui Hark's post-colonial career? Probably
> the single most important talent in modern HK cinema
> and all he's done are two Van Damme vehicles, back to back.
> Having said that, both DOUBLE TEAM and especially KNOCK OFF
> demonstrate his gift for unhinged formalism and
> expressionistic zeal(as well as his penchant for incoherent
> narrative). So, given the traits described above, I guess
> it's no surprise Tsui isn't making A-list Hollywood projects
> like John Woo. Still, I'll take KNOCK OFF over FACE OFF any ol day.
Man... I think I agree. KNOCK OFF may have the worst cast ever assembled in
one place, but it is amazing looking - routine conversations shot from the
floorboards or extreme overhead angles, and then he cuts between the two -
it's a blessing given the butchery Van Damme and company wreak on their
lines. Though the lines in KNOCK OFF are made to be butchered.... turn off
the sound an marvel.....