Just to keep everything in one place, here’s a new thread--this is meant to be both a continuation of the nominations and also the voting thread. I’m hoping there’s enough interest for 20 ballots.
Nomination deadline: Monday, May 1. (I’ll add any nominations that come in later, though.)
Voting deadline: Thursday, May 11.
Send ballots to: sayhey at rocketmail dot com.
Ballots: pick your 25 favourite road movies. Define “road movie” however you want, but try to honor the spirit of the phrase. A film like After Hours has some key elements--it’s episodic, the protagonist meets up with lots of quirky people during the course of the film, he’s always moving--but there’s just not much physical space. I think some ground should be covered.
Scoring: I’ve got Pazz & Jop blood, so you get 200 points to split among your 25 films. The maximum for any one film is 40 points--split the 200 points up however you want.
If you don’t like math, here are five other ways you could score your ballot:
1) Unranked, 8 points per film.
2) Top 5 films get 20 points each; other 20 get 5 points each.
3) Top 10 films get 14 points each; other 15 get 4 points each.
4) Top 10 films get 11 points each; other 15 get 6 points each
5) Top 5 films get 24 points each; next 15 films get 5 each; bottom 5 films get 1 each.
They all add up to 200 points. Just depends how strongly you feel about the films near the top of your list.
Here’s the list of nominated films:http://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Vo7swLaeS1ZCbciqrHKrSzlOm-DozyZBi_lpKIGGtI/edit
Write-ins are fine. Shorter ballots are fine--I'll adjust the scoring as necessary.
Sorry for the extra-long post.
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/paradise_zpsfplx89aq.png
― clemenza, Tuesday, 25 April 2017 22:44 (seven years ago) link
will vote! May even watch things I haven't seen in preparation
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 25 April 2017 23:30 (seven years ago) link
I generally go with what I already know, music polls included; finding time for films is even harder. But I did find Je Tu Il Elle on YouTube, so I'm going to watch that, and also Stroszek, which I haven't seen for 30+ years but really liked at the time.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 00:39 (seven years ago) link
is Inside LLewyn Davis a road movie?
― piscesx, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 01:08 (seven years ago) link
That seems reasonable--I put it on the list. It's kind of the opposite of Midnight Cowboy/Goin' Down the Road, which begin and end as road movies but stay put in the middle; Llewyn has the road movie in the middle.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 01:25 (seven years ago) link
Interesting that you disqualify After Hours in the op - i assume its LA analogue Into the Night is disqualified for similar readons?
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 02:26 (seven years ago) link
I didn't mean to give that impression--I don't want to disqualify anything that someone thinks should be on the list, so I've added both. It doesn't feel like a road movie to me, but if three or four people vote for it, I'll assume I'm missing something. (I do like After Hours, by the way--more than any non-documentary Scorsese's done since at least Casino.)
― clemenza, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 02:33 (seven years ago) link
I dont really disagree that they dont fit. I just take any opportunity to mention those films (they belong in a special subcategory: Films That Take Place Almost Entirely in Cities at Night)
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 03:09 (seven years ago) link
Collateral?
― lion in winter, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 03:10 (seven years ago) link
I mean, it's in one city. But the whole thing is on the road.
But I did find Je Tu Il Elle on YouTube, so I'm going to watch that
I can speak for whatever else you watch on YouTube, but you might get some, er, exotic recommendations after viewing it.
Speaking of Ackerman, Travels With Anna should be on the list if it isn't already.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 04:55 (seven years ago) link
"I can't speak..." not a hacker here.
More noms:Bless the Beasts and ChildrenDamnation AlleyInto The Wild
― nickn, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 05:18 (seven years ago) link
What was the original thread?
Road Movie Poll (If There's Enough Interest, This Becomes the Nominations Thread)
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 05:37 (seven years ago) link
Also:Crystal Fairy & the Magical CactusFestival Express (if documentaries are allowed)
― nickn, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 06:01 (seven years ago) link
12 Monkeys might almost qualify
― Clay, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 06:04 (seven years ago) link
Another one I liked: Hideous Kinky
maybe The Sheltering Sky qualifies as well.
― nickn, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 06:48 (seven years ago) link
A couple of those seem dicey to me, but I added everything.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 11:27 (seven years ago) link
ha forgot I already made this thread: Movies that take place entirely at night in the city
many xps
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 17:36 (seven years ago) link
Two-Lane BlacktopCannonball Run
― calstars, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 18:22 (seven years ago) link
We're in business, we have a ballot. (I sent you--whoever "you" is--an e-mail about a duplicated film.)
― clemenza, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 19:43 (seven years ago) link
I got a bit confused in the other thread when someone mentioned Homeward Bound, because I thought that it was the US title for The Incredible Journey, but in fact it's the title of the remake, I think? I would nominate the original Incredible Journey, anyway, just for fond childhood memories (the remake was made when I was still a kid, but a bit too late for proper tiny child-me to have watched it, and I'm 99% sure there were no zany '90s in-jokes in the version I saw). And it is definitely a road movie.
Anyone seen Until the End of the World by Wim Wenders? Its tagline is "the ultimate road movie" so it should probably be on the list.
The Hitcher counts as well, right?
― emil.y, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 19:58 (seven years ago) link
Also the Hitch-Hiker by Ida Lupino.
― emil.y, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 20:02 (seven years ago) link
The Blues Brothers? A little deadline-based, it's true.
― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 20:04 (seven years ago) link
I picked up American Honey from the library today thanks to this poll, even though I'm nervous about it (Shia + something about it just gives off Larry Clark vibes to me) and while I was there, I also grabbed L'Avventura and Gun Crazy, neither of which I've ever seen.
Beyond that, trying to prioritize what I re/watch. There are a few movies (Paper Moon, Wild Strawberries) which I haven't seen in a long while, but I remember loving enough that including them here is a no-brainer. There are others (Bonnie and Clyde, It Happened One Night) that I remember liking a lot, but saw long enough ago that my memory is fuzzy. And then there's something like Easy Rider, which I liked okay the one time I saw it years ago, and which might plausibly benefit from another look.
And while the campaigning/voting window is completely reasonable, this poll also comes around just as I am in the last weeks of preparing for my final qualifying exam, which is held the day after ballots are due. So, while I'd love to just binge on as many of these movies as possible right now, I can realistically only afford the time to watch one movie every couple of days until its time to submit.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 20:43 (seven years ago) link
I'll be tabulating votes and putting images together the weekend after the 11th, cs, so feel free to submit on the weekend, if that helps.
I saw the 4-5 hour cut of Until the End of the World last year. I really liked the sci-fi half. Just checked what I posted at the time, and I called the first half "a rag-tag, elephantine road movie"--so yes, it belongs! (Probably a little harsh.) I think that's the fourth Wenders film on the list, and there are no doubt others, too.
Is Jonathan Demme on the list? Something like Melvin and Howard has the feel of a road film, and there's the great opening scene with Dummar and Hughes in the car, but that might be a stretch. I don't know about Handle with Care/Citizen's Band, which I haven't seen in ages.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 22:19 (seven years ago) link
Found two books on the subject.
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/road%20books_zpskulr0i8b.jpg
Don't know anything about either, but I ordered a copy of the one on the right from Abe that was three times cheaper than the overpriced Amazon copy. Won't get here in time to be of any help in catching omissions, but the indices for both are on Amazon, so I'm going to try to skim through them on the weekend.
― clemenza, Friday, 28 April 2017 00:22 (seven years ago) link
Demme on the road: Something Wild
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 28 April 2017 00:29 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, dumb question--that was one of the first to go on the list. I just added about 20 more from those two indices (things I'd already come across mention of elsewhere).
― clemenza, Friday, 28 April 2017 00:44 (seven years ago) link
I suppose they need to be pretty well-known to make the nomination list, so maybe only one of mine qualifies:
GüerosThe Bird People in ChinaThe Passenger
― Cherish, Friday, 28 April 2017 02:08 (seven years ago) link
Pop Aye (2017)
A man and his elephant walk into a bar: well, not quite -- but close. POP AYE is the story of a successful Bangkok architect whose late-midlife crisis leads him to an encounter with the elephant (Pop Aye) with whom he spent an idyllic childhood in the Thai countryside. Together they embark on a road trip to deliver both man and beast to their origins. The local police cite him for not having a permit to travel with an elephant; a transgendered prostitute joins him in a karaoke duet at a roadside dive; and a poetic, possibly delusional, pauper offers companionship. But the real star is the big guy: Pop Aye lumbers along with great dignity and endless fortitude. He is the center of a mysterious, funny and often absurd universe that while seemingly particular to Thailand is, ultimately, not unlike our own.
The genre lives on, it seems! Coming soon to Film Forum.
― ✓ (Doctor Casino), Friday, 28 April 2017 02:35 (seven years ago) link
I suppose they need to be pretty well-known to make the nomination list
No way! I mean, it's unlikely that something super-obscure will make the final top howevermanywe'redoing, but nominating is a great way to get other people to check out things you like.
― emil.y, Friday, 28 April 2017 03:23 (seven years ago) link
tati - trafic
haven't seen in ages & not entirely sure if it fits, but: bunuel's the milky way?
― no lime tangier, Friday, 28 April 2017 03:53 (seven years ago) link
Milky Way is on the list.
― nickn, Friday, 28 April 2017 04:45 (seven years ago) link
so it is: sub with goodbye pork pie
― no lime tangier, Friday, 28 April 2017 05:09 (seven years ago) link
I haven't seen Holy Motors but isn't it, like, all set in a car?
Mind you, I also keep perversely wanting to nominate Fitzcarraldo and I know that doesn't actually fit, so feel free to ignore any of my suggestions.
― emil.y, Friday, 28 April 2017 17:27 (seven years ago) link
Oh, one thing: you've got Sightseers missing an 's' from the end on the nominations list.
― emil.y, Friday, 28 April 2017 17:28 (seven years ago) link
Not Holy Motors, but there is the Croenenberg with Robert Pattison?
― Andrew Farrell, Friday, 28 April 2017 17:44 (seven years ago) link
Crash?
I kid, I kid, though that is, er, a road movie of sorts. No, I looked it up and you mean Cosmopolis, which I think I might actually have been entirely conflating in my head with Holy Motors?
― emil.y, Friday, 28 April 2017 17:53 (seven years ago) link
Important book from 1982
http://68.media.tumblr.com/4106ce1889cfd59fee679303291cdb7c/tumblr_ol5sxew1NI1ucnbv4o1_500.png
― Elvis Telecom, Saturday, 29 April 2017 22:08 (seven years ago) link
Was about to suggest Goodbye Pork Pie
A couple more nominations:
Slow WestLeningrad Cowboys Go America
― Cherish, Saturday, 29 April 2017 23:41 (seven years ago) link
Thanks. The list is up over 200 now, most of which passed the "(title) + road movie" Google test. Nominations technically close Monday, but that's fluid. I would like to finish up by mid-month, so hopefully ballots will start to trickle in next week. There are a few copies of that book on Abe--new ones expensive, used about half that.
This is such an amorphous genre. When voting in the comedy poll, I could always fall back on "Does this film make me laugh?"; in the horror poll, "Does this film scare me?" (or, sometimes, "Does this film look great and creep me out?"). Here it's something like "Does this film capture my restlessness and vague feelings of unfulfillment in an atmospherically elliptical way--and do people drive a lot?"
I really want to see Eight Miles High.
http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/2007_Eight_Miles_High/007EMH_Natalia_Avelon_004.jpg
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 April 2017 00:54 (seven years ago) link
"Does this film capture my restlessness and vague feelings of unfulfillment in an atmospherically elliptical way--and do people drive a lot?"
Results thread title
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Sunday, 30 April 2017 01:08 (seven years ago) link
As I said, keeps my mind off work.
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/poster_zpszjqxih7n.jpg
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 April 2017 14:23 (seven years ago) link
it's a shame the true winner The Dog of the South is a book.
― devvvine, Sunday, 30 April 2017 15:26 (seven years ago) link
Some more:
La Nuit de VarennesStagecoachKill ListOn the RoadArigato-san (Mr. Thank You)The Motorcycle DiariesRace with the DevilDetour (1945)
Haven't seen Detour, but sounds like a solid noir. It's up on youtube, will watch.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Sunday, 30 April 2017 15:35 (seven years ago) link
I guess this never happened:
http://filmschoolrejects.com/hilarity-ensues-bill-hader-greg-mottola-adapting-dog-of-the-south-e9227032291e
Does it have lots of unexpected enounters?
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 April 2017 15:37 (seven years ago) link
Yes, almost all of which involve the protagonist being mocked.
Probably for the best that never worked out. In a perfect world the Coens would do it with Goodman as Symes.
― devvvine, Sunday, 30 April 2017 16:12 (seven years ago) link
I don't know if I've seen enough of these to come up with a decent list, but I rewatched Cold Fever recently and really enjoyed it, I'd seen it at age 15 or so and was a little concerned it would be painfully quirky but it holds up.
― JoeStork, Sunday, 30 April 2017 16:20 (seven years ago) link
An abbreviated ballot of 10 (maybe 15 points each?) is fine.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 April 2017 18:23 (seven years ago) link
Just rewatched The Milky Way in preparation for voting, got Wanda lined up for later in the week.
I think I might just be squeezing into the nominating deadline, but to add to the 'no driving but surely a road movie' list - I nominate El Topo.
By the way, I'm assuming the Breathless that's on the list is A Bout de Souffle and not the American remake, right? I don't want to accidentally vote for the remake.
― emil.y, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 03:00 (seven years ago) link
Likewise with Vanishing Point.
I assume originals unless otherwise stated.
― nickn, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 03:15 (seven years ago) link
Yes for both (didn't realize they remade Vanishing Point...I have the original on DVD but still haven't watched it).
Always had it in my mind that Jack Nicholson's Drive, He Said must be a road movie, but evidently not.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 03:21 (seven years ago) link
I think you'll be really impressed by Wanda.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 03:22 (seven years ago) link
Second the Wanda rec, I saw it on cable when I first got it and was really impressed (with the movie and with cable TV in general for unlocking such a vast archive that would otherwise be unavailable) but as the years progressed cable TV just drifted more and more into lowest common denominator shit.
― nickn, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 03:37 (seven years ago) link
I want to nominate Basilicata Coast to Coast, but it's going to get crossed off my list pretty early.
The remake of Vanishing Point is... not great. It's tries to tie in with the 90s-era militia movement and... bleh.
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 06:15 (seven years ago) link
The only vote will come from me, so I'll post my favourite road-movie still here:
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/sugarland_zpsjceqdg6p.jpg
I don't think I've ever encountered anyone, here or elsewhere, who loves that film as much as I do. I suspect it's still relatively (i.e., for a Spielberg film) unseen. Kael's review, which I'd read before I ever saw the film, undoubtedly influenced me a lot there.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 3 May 2017 02:02 (seven years ago) link
I tried to track it down for this poll, but neither my library nor my On Demand selection has it.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 3 May 2017 02:17 (seven years ago) link
It was around in remainder bins a few years ago, but I haven't seen it recently. It won't help you for the poll, but I'm pretty sure I bought an extra copy at the time that I could send along if you're really interested in seeing it.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 3 May 2017 12:48 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, if you have an extra, I'll definitely take it! Need me to email you with my info, or do you still have it?
Thanks a bunch!
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 3 May 2017 13:18 (seven years ago) link
Went through my stash of doubles, and I guess I gave it to someone at some point. But I'll keep an eye open; I still see it around.
And, while I wouldn't vote for it, Magical Mystery Tour must count... emil.y
I've never seen it, but I just came across this line in Dreaming the Beatles: "And what does it mean that their next project without Brian was a road movie?"
― clemenza, Thursday, 4 May 2017 03:37 (seven years ago) link
I just saw that its gonna be on TCM on Friday! Scarecrow as well. The night's theme is "Cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond. I'll be PVRing both.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Thursday, 4 May 2017 03:41 (seven years ago) link
(whether or not I'll be able to squeeze all of these in by the deadline is another matter. I just grabbed Paris, Texas and Stranger Than Paradise from the library, and I still haven't watched L'Avventura yet)
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Thursday, 4 May 2017 03:44 (seven years ago) link
Excellent. May rewatch Scarecrow myself.
― clemenza, Thursday, 4 May 2017 03:46 (seven years ago) link
Wow, so Wanda is truly a great film. Very beautiful pacing, and I found Loden's performance really moving.
― emil.y, Friday, 5 May 2017 09:25 (seven years ago) link
Love the non-ending.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-76PV0XanjUA/U0Rn96uZcpI/AAAAAAAAAnI/F3T5ahqqQt0/s1600/Wanda+9.png
― clemenza, Friday, 5 May 2017 16:18 (seven years ago) link
First two ballots shared five films, one which I would have said looks like a cheesy '90s American film that I guess is much better than that--just ordered it off of Amazon.
― clemenza, Friday, 5 May 2017 16:19 (seven years ago) link
I'm gonna be trying to squeeze in a film a day until the due date, but I'm not sure if I'll get to 25. How do I structure the points if I want to submit a ballot of, say, 20?
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Friday, 5 May 2017 16:21 (seven years ago) link
That's 80% of 200, so 160 points? But if you want to split up the full 200, no big deal.
― clemenza, Friday, 5 May 2017 16:24 (seven years ago) link
As pointed out above, TCM tonight:
8:00 PM – The Sugarland Express (1974)An ex-convict springs her husband from prison to keep their child from being adopted
11:45 PM – Scarecrow (1973)Two hitchhikers with wildly different backgrounds become fast friends.
(Doesn't appear to be a road movie, but it's actually the film between those two I want to watch, Jerry Schatzberg's Sweet Revenge. Came out in '76--never even heard of it, to my surprise.)
― clemenza, Friday, 5 May 2017 21:17 (seven years ago) link
Typically conked out--I'm basically the "I'm tired, I'm tired" Cuckoo's Nest guy these days. I watched about the first third of Sugarland Express, took a break before Sweet Revenge, fell asleep and missed the beginning, didn't even try to last for Scarecrow. Loved this one shot in Sugarland Express:
http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/1970/01/file_571671_sugarland-express-movie-club-old-couple-1142012-235502.jpg
Yes, the real purpose of this post is as a reminder: need ballots!
― clemenza, Saturday, 6 May 2017 13:37 (seven years ago) link
Voted!
― Cherish, Monday, 8 May 2017 06:21 (seven years ago) link
Great. That's five, including me--still hoping for 20.
The road, it's a lonely place.
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/empty%20road_zpsw5yf6eyq.jpg
― clemenza, Monday, 8 May 2017 11:35 (seven years ago) link
I'm out of deadline hell, so I'll put my ballot together this morning.
― 20-lol pileup (WilliamC), Monday, 8 May 2017 11:58 (seven years ago) link
Wow @ Smokey and the Bandit not being on the nominations list.
― 20-lol pileup (WilliamC), Monday, 8 May 2017 12:05 (seven years ago) link
All write-ins count, so don't hesitate to vote for it.
― clemenza, Monday, 8 May 2017 12:22 (seven years ago) link
I watched six that were new to me before I voted. Had plans for more, but I ran out of gas. :)
Yeah, I found it kind of hard to think of things that would qualify. I'd often have them filed away as something else in my head.
― Cherish, Monday, 8 May 2017 12:33 (seven years ago) link
25 seems like a lot considering it's a somewhat short nomination list. Also, is there a reason for including Fitzcarraldo but not Aguirre?
― gospodin simmel, Monday, 8 May 2017 12:50 (seven years ago) link
The reason is that you have not yet written 'Aguirre' on your ballot.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 8 May 2017 13:54 (seven years ago) link
I think only because I mentioned the former and not the latter. Actually, I think Aguirre fits the remit better, and I was half-joking at my stretching of the definition of road movie.
Also, remember: All write-ins count, so don't hesitate to vote for it.
There are a couple more things I want to watch before my ballot gets sent in, but I have most of the rest sorted. Am currently struggling with the maths to make mine staggered in points the way I want them, though.
― emil.y, Monday, 8 May 2017 14:11 (seven years ago) link
Added Aguirre, also a write-in vote that makes sense to me: No Country for Old Men.
Llewelyn: "Are we in a road movie right now?"Anton: "Not in the sense that you mean."
― clemenza, Monday, 8 May 2017 22:49 (seven years ago) link
Voted.
― 20-lol pileup (WilliamC), Tuesday, 9 May 2017 01:13 (seven years ago) link
Thanks for the ballots so far--now up to...eight. I guess I'll keep the window open through the weekend. Short of 20, I don't know if it's worth tabulating everything. Just jot down 20 or 25 films; don't fuss over the order. You can't see everything--go for what you know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN2i5G03P2c
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:08 (seven years ago) link
I do kinda wanna vote for this but yeah compiling a film ballot takes me a lot longer than a songs ballot, for reasons that I would think are obvious
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:11 (seven years ago) link
has this been nominated yet?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_(2015_film)
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:12 (seven years ago) link
Shakey, the nominations were in the previous thread and there's a link to the noms at the top. You don't have to start from scratch to put a ballot together.
I completely forgot about Entertainment -- I probably would have voted for it if I'd remembered.
― 20-lol pileup (WilliamC), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:21 (seven years ago) link
I know I don't have to start from scratch, but it takes time to watch movies, and one of the things I like about these polls is discovering stuff. If I just vote for things I've already seen/have already been nominated it feels less worth it.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:23 (seven years ago) link
but I suppose if the preference is just for thrown together ballots sure I can do that to
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:24 (seven years ago) link
too!
Ah, if you can keep it open over the weekend that would be great for me.
― emil.y, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:28 (seven years ago) link
I feel like there's gotta be some great horror movies that qualify here but I'm blanking ("The Hitcher" is not really great imo)
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:32 (seven years ago) link
working on pulling together a ballot, thanks for the extension. trying to watch some new stuff. watched Holy Motors (good, though left with a couple images I'd rather not keep) last night and started Detour (fair noir).
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:33 (seven years ago) link
xp Never seen it but doesn't 'Jeepers Creepers' happen on a road trip,
Messidor is up on youtube and is good if people are interested.
― devvvine, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:36 (seven years ago) link
Texas Chainsaw Massacre's kind of a road film, come to think of it.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:16 (seven years ago) link
YellowBrickRoad involves a road:
http://weirdfictionreview.com/2012/04/at-the-end-of-the-path-a-review-of-yellowbrickroad/
Enjoyed it when I saw it, sound design was very well done.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:04 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, I only ended up watching six films for this. Two of them made it into the bottom half of my list. The rest are just favorites that happen also to be road movies, mostly.
― Cherish, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 19:57 (seven years ago) link
is fury road a road movie
― Mordy, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 20:01 (seven years ago) link
^ I was just going to ask how come no-one listed any of the Mad Max/Road Warrior films. First thing I thought of.
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 20:49 (seven years ago) link
Nevermind, I do see The Road Warrior listed. Didn't check the The's.
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 20:50 (seven years ago) link
Wolf Creek maybe?
― i know kore-eda (or something), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 22:12 (seven years ago) link
re: road horror: Carnival of Souls def on my ballot. Stopped at the current incarnation of the Saltair pier on a family road trip last year.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 23:15 (seven years ago) link
Oh, good shout!
― emil.y, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 23:38 (seven years ago) link
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/reminder_zpsezt0xis9.jpg
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 23:57 (seven years ago) link
I'll do my best to get something in to you by the end of the weekend. I love the idea of this poll and really wanna participate, but this week has turned out to be a shitshow in both expected and unexpected ways.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Thursday, 11 May 2017 00:00 (seven years ago) link
You know what'll clear your head? Get in the car and drive.
― clemenza, Thursday, 11 May 2017 00:24 (seven years ago) link
There are ten things I want to vote for but 25 is just too much. Will sit this one out.
― gospodin simmel, Thursday, 11 May 2017 00:25 (seven years ago) link
No problem at all with a ballot of 10--take 100 points and split them up.
― clemenza, Thursday, 11 May 2017 00:29 (seven years ago) link
Because I suck so bad at math, I have to ask: how would I split up the points for a ballot of 15?
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Thursday, 11 May 2017 00:29 (seven years ago) link
I've had a couple of 20 films/200-point ballots...For 15 films, I'd say 150?
― clemenza, Thursday, 11 May 2017 00:32 (seven years ago) link
If a 25-film ballot gets 200 points, a 15-film ballot (60% of 25) should get 60% of the points, or 120. Sorry not sorry to be a pedant, but it's worth doing the math to make sure that short ballots aren't disproportionately weighted.
― 20-lol pileup (WilliamC), Thursday, 11 May 2017 01:43 (seven years ago) link
Fair enough. I'll do 120 pts.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Thursday, 11 May 2017 01:50 (seven years ago) link
So 8 points per film in your list? Is there a maximum votes per film in a list? Like, could someone list 10 films, give 71 pts to one and 1 point each to the other 9? I thought I saw a 20-pt max per film early in the thread, though that may have just been an example.
― nickn, Thursday, 11 May 2017 03:59 (seven years ago) link
Ok, I see 40 points max in the original post.
Driving Visions, that book I ordered, got here today. The key films from each chapter are highlighted upfront--these five weren't nominated, so I added them to the list.
The Wild OneThe Wild AngelsRepo ManRaising ArizonaDelusion
Haven't seen Repo Man in ages, but I don't remember it being a road movie myself.
From the first chapter ("Paving the Way"):
"The road movie appears a a dynamic manifestation of American society's fascination with the road. Comprised of an intricate matrix of cultural predilections, the genre of the road movie explores the 'borders' (the status quo conventions) of American society. Often from a culturally critical perspective, the road movie asks, What does it mean to exceed the boundaries, to transgress the limits, of American society?"
My brain doesn't really work that way--and "transgress" is something close to a red-flag word--but I guess that's an accurate enough description of the Bobby Dupeas and Willies and Stars who capture a kind of aimlessness I find very appealing (even if I don't live that out in real life--I do partly).
Just past halfway to 20 ballots. We're taking the Alvin Straight route.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fryGyqTJPU
― clemenza, Thursday, 11 May 2017 23:22 (seven years ago) link
Wtf Raising Arizona? No.
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 11 May 2017 23:40 (seven years ago) link
That seems pretty dubious too. I mean, I know there's stuff with choppers, but Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter don't really go anywhere, do they? Again, it's been a while for me.
― clemenza, Thursday, 11 May 2017 23:43 (seven years ago) link
Nobody goes anywhere!
― Οὖτις, Friday, 12 May 2017 00:02 (seven years ago) link
They go to pick up some Huggies...
apologies for dallying, rather than posting my ballot, but two that I very much love and had overlooked: Coogan/Brydon's The Trip and The Trip to Italy.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Friday, 12 May 2017 00:37 (seven years ago) link
Wait, what? Isn't that a TV series? Did they make a film too?
― emil.y, Friday, 12 May 2017 02:25 (seven years ago) link
Hey, The Straight Story sits at #1,000 right now on TSPDT's big list:
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_all1000films_table.php
― clemenza, Friday, 12 May 2017 03:02 (seven years ago) link
xp
yes, both series were edited and released as films. that's the way I saw them. loved them enough that I will eventually get around to watching the original episodes.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Friday, 12 May 2017 03:07 (seven years ago) link
Just finished Stroszek, which I hadn't seen since '79 or '80. I remember that my university roommate and I thought it was pretty much the damnedest thing we'd ever seen. I'm sure that whatever print we saw wasn't nearly as beautiful as what I lifted off YouTube.
The bank guy reminded me a lot of Harold Ramis in the earliest SCTV episodes. Like some of the Wenders films from the same era, felt like a European attempt at one of the early '70s American attempts at a '60s European art film. Which probably sounds negative, but no, not at all--liked it a lot. The ending was like a perfect mix of Fassbinder and Five Easy Pieces. Was just reminded of the Ian Curtis connection.
Made me feel nostalgic for that first viewing. I would have 18 or 19--everything was new, everything was ahead.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n35PfUpWyak/SeM4xSxyOdI/AAAAAAAANIw/NarqzAm1XSY/s1600-h/Stroszek+6.JPG
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 01:13 (seven years ago) link
"would have been"
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/herzog_zpswhtxdaoo.jpg
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 01:17 (seven years ago) link
It's a lovely film, but like Goin' Down The Road, one of those that doesn't feature quite enough road to qualify as a road movie for me. But then again, at this point, I gotta stop being so picky if I'm ever gonna get a ballot together.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Saturday, 13 May 2017 01:43 (seven years ago) link
Actual on-the-road footage probably totals two or three minutes. But I think emotionally it fits perfectly--unhappiness, leaving one bad situation and finding something just as bad or worse--and some of those road shots look incredible.
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 01:59 (seven years ago) link
Completely fits the emotional character for me because Stroszek is permanently out of place. Even if most of the travel happens offscreen America seems to be arbitrarily moving around him and his 'family' and home are ultimately transitory. Also for me the most poignant scenes all happen on the road: driving out of New York, Eva leaving with the truckers, the house driven off, Stroszek's final drive.
― devvvine, Saturday, 13 May 2017 11:31 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, it definitely feels like a road movie. And the feel is honestly the most important factor to me.
(I am gonna try to get this done by tonight, I swear!)
― emil.y, Saturday, 13 May 2017 11:39 (seven years ago) link
It's definitely a matter of feel for me. A vague, amorphous definition of a vague, amorphous genre.
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 12:23 (seven years ago) link
Goin' Down the Road comes and goes on YouTube. If you've got the capability of downloading it and watching it on a big screen, it's up there at the moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khvy2-Qxuzw
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 12:34 (seven years ago) link
Errr... it looks like my top five might all be 'road movies on foot'. Is that okay?
― emil.y, Saturday, 13 May 2017 12:41 (seven years ago) link
Of course! Planes and boats would seem weird, but on foot works.
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 12:56 (seven years ago) link
Finally took a couple of minutes to learn how to grab screenshots. This is the kind of thing I'll obsess over. Stroszek:
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/screenshot_zpsswfc3e1x.jpg
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 13:05 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, I've actually cut out Fitzcarraldo entirely in favour of other Herzog, and iirc I refrained from nominating Knife in the Water because "too boaty, not roady enough".
― emil.y, Saturday, 13 May 2017 13:21 (seven years ago) link
I always like to use song lyrics or quoted dialogue for poll titles, otherwise I'd go with "Too Boaty, Not Roady Enough."
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 May 2017 13:44 (seven years ago) link
Funny that there are three movies in release right now that qualify - Like Crazy, Folk Hero & Funny Guy, and Paris Can Wait.
― nickn, Saturday, 13 May 2017 23:22 (seven years ago) link
I had planned to watch Je, tu, il, elle tonight, but turns out the YouTube I lifted is without subtitles. I take it there's not a whole lot of dialogue anyway, but I still need subtitles. Then I went to watch The American Friend--not nominated, but I came across a couple of great road images online--same thing. (And when I realized I had it on DVD anyway, I couldn't find it after a 20-minute search--maddening.) So I'm going with what I know.
Up to 13 ballots--would really appreciate seven more tomorrow. Coming up a bit short won't be all that bad--there are 40 films with at least three votes right now, and 25 with at least four--but I always think of 20 ballots as a reasonable floor for these polls.
(Looks like Like Crazy came out six years ago, unless it's a different one.)
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 00:34 (seven years ago) link
Because I can't deal with numbers right now--my mathematical incompetence + this week's stress has left my brain fried--would it be cool if I just sent you a list of 15 and then you can assign points accordingly? Obviously, I don't care much about point distribution, just that I like my #1 film better than my #9 film and so forth (and even that I'm not all that fussy about).
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Sunday, 14 May 2017 00:43 (seven years ago) link
That's no problem. Actually, if you take 120 points, 15 + 14 + 13 ... + 1 works out to exactly 120.
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 00:52 (seven years ago) link
This Like Crazy is in Italian - two women from mental facility take car on the road. It's being presented as new here in Los Angeles.
Also, I just sent my ballot via your ILX email.
― nickn, Sunday, 14 May 2017 00:57 (seven years ago) link
Got it--thanks, appreciate that.
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 01:00 (seven years ago) link
Oh! That's great. I'll get this to you tomorrow, then (one more thing I wanna rewatch first).
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Sunday, 14 May 2017 01:01 (seven years ago) link
Just sent one in there. Didn't say but just weight it equally, 1 most points to 25 least ta
― i know kore-eda (or something), Sunday, 14 May 2017 09:54 (seven years ago) link
Would you like me to change the title to give a finishing date for ballots?
― mod, Sunday, 14 May 2017 13:32 (seven years ago) link
Thanks, that'd be great: midnight, May 15.
or something: 25-1 doesn't work--it adds up to 325 points. I sent you an alternative, see if that works.
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 13:40 (seven years ago) link
Watched The Scarecrow (1973) for this last night. Previously unaware of it, shared the grand prize at Cannes. Hackman and a nice comic turn from Pacino, beautifully shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. A happy find.
Also saw Lupino's The Hitch-Hiker. William Talman (the DA on Perry Mason) has a great time playing the baddie.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Sunday, 14 May 2017 15:00 (seven years ago) link
nobody's mentioned "Dumb and Dumber" yet.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 14 May 2017 15:14 (seven years ago) link
It's in the nomination list.
http://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Vo7swLaeS1ZCbciqrHKrSzlOm-DozyZBi_lpKIGGtI/edit
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 15:57 (seven years ago) link
Emil.y and cryptsicko, wherever I may find them: we're on the clock now--get those damn ballots in! I do appreciate that you're putting care and thought into this. But if your third favourite is actually your fifth favourite, or if you leave off something that should have been #22, it's not a big deal. On the road of life, this poll is but a five-minute detour for drive-through coffee in the middle of Wisconsin.
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 22:19 (seven years ago) link
Hoping for those two, plus two more--that'd be 20.
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 22:20 (seven years ago) link
Coming up shortly! Btw, I read 'midnight, May 15th' as being midnight tomorrow, not midnight tonight, if you get what I mean?
― emil.y, Sunday, 14 May 2017 22:48 (seven years ago) link
Okay, sent. I actually ended up with too many films that I wanted to put on the list, but I think it's a solid ballot in the end.
― emil.y, Sunday, 14 May 2017 22:59 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, I goofed there--meant midnight tonight, which is more accurately the 14th.
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 23:13 (seven years ago) link
xpYeah, I had about eight that I finally decided to cut, so I didn't end up giving a lot of films 1 or 2 points.
― nickn, Sunday, 14 May 2017 23:13 (seven years ago) link
It's coming! After dinner + walking the dogs, I'm watching one more road movie, just in time to squeeze the ballot in before midnight.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Sunday, 14 May 2017 23:39 (seven years ago) link
One more road movie for the road...
― clemenza, Sunday, 14 May 2017 23:44 (seven years ago) link
Voted with three mins to spare. In my haste, I forgot the points breakdown but the one you quoted to me upthread works.
Here's a surprise: the actor to appear in the most number of films on my ballot is Randy Quaid.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Monday, 15 May 2017 03:59 (seven years ago) link
Thanks, everyone. I'll get images ready the next couple of nights, then do #40-21 on Wednesday, #20-1 on Thursday. Nineteen ballots, so just missed 20. I won't start embedding text into images until tomorrow night; I'm working from an easily updateable spreadsheet, so if any ballots show up overnight or through the day tomorrow, I'll count them.
― clemenza, Monday, 15 May 2017 04:11 (seven years ago) link
Really looking forward to the images in the countdown! Realised I forgot Something Wild on my ballot so hoping others didn't.
― devvvine, Monday, 15 May 2017 04:23 (seven years ago) link
Something Wild was one of the ones I cut. Kind of a Sophie's Choice with each of them.
― nickn, Monday, 15 May 2017 04:42 (seven years ago) link
Sent!
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 15 May 2017 05:13 (seven years ago) link
Which was the elusive 20th ballot I was hoping for--thanks...#41-50 are strong, so I'll do #50-31 on Wednesday, #30-11 on Thursday, and the Top 10 on Friday. I want to do it during the day, which'll mean posting from work; the posts will be half-an-hour apart, but I'll get everything set up ahead of time so I can work that. ("Teacher, teacher--" "Just give me 15 seconds here.")
― clemenza, Monday, 15 May 2017 21:47 (seven years ago) link