Sight and Sound 2022 Round 6: 101-120

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Onward...

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003) 9
Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) 7
Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975) 7
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) 6
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938) 5
To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942) 4
Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985) 4
Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1958) 4
La Maman et la Putain (Jean Eustache, 1973) 3
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) 3
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) 3
Come and See (Elem Klimov, 1985) 3
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) 3
Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) 3
A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974) 3
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973) 2
The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) 2
The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) 1
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) 1
The House Is Black (Forough Forkhzad, 1962) 1


ryan, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:25 (one year ago) link

I've all of these but The House is Black and Come and See and I guess what I want to know is...do I really need to watch Come and See?

ryan, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:26 (one year ago) link

This is where I vote very much in character: 1) Nashville, 2) Jaws, 3) GodfatherII. My guess for the winner will be Not Those.

clemenza, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:35 (one year ago) link

it's good and the harrowing reputation is a bit overstated imo. probably prefer The Ascent tho.

a lot more blind spots for me this time: not seen The House is Black, La Maman et La Putain, Bringing up Baby, Liberty Valance or Touch of Evil

from what I have seen i think Texas Chain Saw, Don't Look Now, Goodbye Dragon Inn and Jaws all made the ranked portion of my film ballot last year and Vagabond wouldn't be far away either. tough one

or something, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:40 (one year ago) link

xp

or something, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:40 (one year ago) link

oh The Conformist made my ballot too

or something, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:41 (one year ago) link

Still haven't seen La Maman et la Putain or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but Wild Strawberries, Come and See, Vagabond, Goodbye Dragon Inn and The Conformist are among my favorite films of all time

The Wizard of Oz, Rio Bravo, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Thing, Nashville, A Woman Under the Influence - those films are also all iconic

voting for Wild Strawberries, my favorite of Bergman and one of his most optimistic films

Dan S, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:47 (one year ago) link

I like a lot of these, love some of them, but didn't have to think before voting Goodbye Dragon Inn. (I mean, I was literally just talking about it with my wife, who hasn't seen it — we were talking about signing up for Metrograph just to watch it.)

Regarding Goodbye, Dragon Inn, I watched it by myself, and a friend joined me toward the end. He was totally nonplussed, which kind of confirmed its greatness to me.

It could be the definition of slow cinema. You have to lose yourself by existing in the moment in a haunted theater about to close, in a rainstorm, which is showing a movie from the past where nothing really happens

...with all of the intimations of history, details of the lives of workers, explorations of the boundaries of sexual expression, and nostalgia for lost cinema that accompany it.

So many of the good theaters have closed recently in SF and Berkeley, so this film has extra resonance

Dan S, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 02:53 (one year ago) link

Vagabond is my fave Varda but I have to vote for Come and See or Wild Strawberries but loads of good films in this section.

Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:10 (one year ago) link

my fave cassavetes is here too

Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:10 (one year ago) link

do I really need to watch Come and See?

https://i.imgur.com/yJFhoEQ.gif

Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:14 (one year ago) link

The Conformist still amazes me.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:17 (one year ago) link

The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

TOO LOW

xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:20 (one year ago) link

A couple of weeks ago I convinced some random person on twitter to spend Saturday night alone in their place to watch Come and See. A really great film.

Not seen:

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)

Voting for Eustache. I think when the this is widely available it will be in it's rightful place in 2032 and hopefully knock off bilge that's currently in the top 20.

xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:26 (one year ago) link

I watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance not long ago and was not amused.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:44 (one year ago) link

"So they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt!"

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:45 (one year ago) link

lol all the old Hollywood heavy hitters are here: Rio Bravo, Bringing Up Baby, Liberty Vallance, Touch Of Evil, Wizard Of Oz.

Saw La Maman Et La Putain at Cine Lumiere some time ago. It's good, not really top20 material (and the top20 doesn't need any more white male boomers anyway), but def worth it for Jean Pierre Léaud's fits if nothing else.

Vagabond is really a remarkable film and I think prob Varda's "best" in many ways but also so unlike the rest of her world that I'd hate it to be anyone's introduction.

Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:56 (one year ago) link

It was my introduction! It worked fine. But then my favorite Varda is Le Bonheur.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 10:10 (one year ago) link

"(and the top20 doesn't need any more white male boomers anyway)"

Two of the main characters are women...and I'd rather have Leaud than Brando xp

xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 10:11 (one year ago) link

I Saw La Maman Et La Putain on a dodgy dvdr a few years ago when I first got into film. I need to see it again.

Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 10:37 (one year ago) link

It's obviously Goodbye, Dragon Inn for me, but Texas Chain Saw and Nashville are both also top-10-consideration great:

Also very very great:

The House Is Black (Forough Forkhzad, 1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973)

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 12:47 (one year ago) link

So much good stuff on this list

Think Fast, Mr. Mojo Risin’ (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 13:15 (one year ago) link

texas chainsaw

if you haven’t seen a theatrical screening of it, you haven’t seen it, you feel like a small speck in someone’s panicked eyeball

flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 13:52 (one year ago) link

I Saw La Maman Et La Putain on a dodgy dvdr a few years ago when I first got into film. I need to see it again.

― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, March 15, 2023 6:37 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Hoping that Janus/Criterion make this and Eustache's other films more available in R1.

This is a tough for list for me; I finally went with THIB because of the virtues of brevity.

Infanta Terrible (j.lu), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 14:10 (one year ago) link

Going to give myself a few days to think about it before I vote, but it'll probably be Come and See.

The Terroir of Tiny Town (WmC), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 14:13 (one year ago) link

Come and See -- now that's a war film.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 14:15 (one year ago) link

the longer poll duration (3ish weeks now) means i'll have time to work up the courage to watch it.

ryan, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 14:37 (one year ago) link

this is a horror-rich part of the list...very tempted by The Thing or Jaws...though I'm gonna rewatch Dragon Inn.

ryan, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 14:43 (one year ago) link

Come and See is hard to take, but there's a point to sitting through it.

― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, January 24, 2021 5:54 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Can you share the point in a sentence or two, bearing in mind that I already know that war is bad and that people will often mistreat each other given the opportunity?

― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, February 3, 2021 7:16 PM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

unperson, the "point" of Come and See is that even through all the atrocities the main character encounters, there's a scene near the end showing his ability to retain his sense of compassion and mercy. But I wouldn't tell anyone "you must sit through" any film, and this one is certainly tougher than most.

― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, February 4, 2021 2:28 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 14:50 (one year ago) link

I'll continue with my totally uncool trend of voting for classic Hollywood stuff and go with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence over Touch of Evil.

niall horanburger (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:04 (one year ago) link

evidently I missed something in Liberty Valence. Visually rich, elegiac, etc. But I've seen Wayne and Stewart in less musty Westerns and wearing better hairpieces. Lee Marvin was cool, though.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:08 (one year ago) link

I should also add that though I haven't seen Come and See, The House Is Black, or La Maman et la Putain, I basically like or at the very least appreciate everything else on this list. Just as a standalone selection of films, this is a good list.

niall horanburger (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:09 (one year ago) link

Liberty Valence is the classic Western that I would recommend to people who have never seen one and don't think they'd be into them. I don't find it musty at all (no comment on the hair).

niall horanburger (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:10 (one year ago) link

I'm not as high on Bringing Up Baby as everyone else, but, yeah, it belongs.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:10 (one year ago) link

iberty Valence is the classic Western that I would recommend to people who have never seen one

ha, see, I've recommended a couple of Stewart's Anthony Mann pictures, My Darling Clementine, and Fort Apache.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:11 (one year ago) link

this is a horror-rich part of the list

Yep, but TCM >>> Don't Look Now >>>>> The Thing >>>>>>>>>>>> Jaws

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:39 (one year ago) link

I guess many would categorize Come and See as horror too but meh

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:39 (one year ago) link

Alfred, aside from the elegiac and visually gorgeous aspect, I think Liberty Vallance attracts people because it's such a clear thesis film - "our myths are bullshit but without them there is only barbarity". I don't agree with the stance at all but it's refreshing to see it laid out like that.

Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:40 (one year ago) link

Refresh my memory, Alfred, outside of My Darling Clementine (and maybe Stagecoach?) are you into many Fords?

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:42 (one year ago) link

That scene with Woody Strode is very bad I'll admit.

Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:47 (one year ago) link

Refresh my memory, Alfred, outside of My Darling Clementine (and maybe Stagecoach?) are you into many Fords?

― عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.)

Oh yeah!

1. My Darling Clementine
2. Young Mr. Lincoln
3. Rio Grande
4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
5. Stagecoach
6. How Green Was My Valley
7. The Prisoner of Shark Island
8. The Grapes of Wrath
9. The Long Voyage Home
10. The Searchers
11. Cheyenne Autumn
12. Two Rode Together

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:51 (one year ago) link

this is a horror-rich part of the list...

Margaret Hamilton in Oz scared the crap out of me as a kid

jmm, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 16:55 (one year ago) link

xp see I must've misremembered because I thought you more or less hated The Searchers

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 17:01 (one year ago) link

i'm so basic but i can't deny that wizard of oz is one of my very favorite films. time spent watching it flies by, it's like a magic trick

it's a new day in the international landscape (z_tbd), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 17:04 (one year ago) link

i love liberty valence but it seems very specifically pointless to recommend to someone who hasn't seen any westerns

difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 17:05 (one year ago) link

3. Rio Grande

find this the weakest of the cavalry trilogy by such a distance that anytime anyone praises it i can't shake the suspicion they're thinking of rio bravo

yellow ribbon + voyage home are faves

difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 17:13 (one year ago) link

lol I don't hate The Searchers, but I do hate Natalie Wood's makeup in it.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 17:13 (one year ago) link

The Prisoner of Shark Island is a real fun movie you can kick it with on a Saturday afternoon.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 17:14 (one year ago) link

There are five of these I haven't seen; the further we get from the top of the list, the less pull the canon has on my viewing habits.

I pretty much hated A Woman Under the Influence for being an acting exercise with pretentions to making a serious statement, and disliked Don’t Look Now for wallowing in negativity (without the invention and energy ofTexas Chainsaw Massacre).

I'll vote Il Conformista over Nashville.

Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 19:58 (one year ago) link

I thought Don’t Look Now was an amazing film about a man who is desperate to turn back time because of a tragic event in his life, to escape from the randomness of existence and cruelty of nature. He comes to Venice, where order is imposed on chaos, but ultimately finds that chaos prevails and he can’t escape

Dan S, Monday, 20 March 2023 00:18 (one year ago) link

with Vagabond, it’s initially easy to relate to her and not accept her passivity, until you realize she just wants to bring her life to an end

Dan S, Monday, 20 March 2023 00:45 (one year ago) link

I don't get any human feeling from Don't Look Now other than a clammy nihilism. Roeg was a good cinematographer who became convinced (or decided to act like) he was a visionary; to me, he's the actual example of "cold-hearted director manipulating the audience" that some people accuse Kubrick and Greenaway of being. Walkabout is quite good, though.

Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 02:18 (one year ago) link

I don't much care for Roeg either; even The Man Who Fell to Earth can't find a rhythm.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 02:22 (one year ago) link

I don't think 'cold-hearted director manipulating the audience' is an accurate description of it at all - the whole thing is about human feeling

Dan S, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 02:34 (one year ago) link

Have y'all read the Daphne Du Maurier story.

Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 11:25 (one year ago) link

Roeg isn't cold (nor is "cold" a bad thing, esp in a director); his movies just don't hold my attention.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 11:50 (one year ago) link

"I don't get any human feeling from Don't Look Now other than a clammy nihilism."

A couple go to Venice as an aftermath to their child's death. The 'clinical' shooting of scenes is maybe a balance to this obviously, potentially cheaply, manipulative background.

xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 12:59 (one year ago) link

it's been a while so i reserve the right to change my mind but DLN is full of the horror of mortality and loss

satori enabler (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 13:02 (one year ago) link

That’s what I remember although it’s been a while for me too.

Bringing Up Initials B.B. (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 13:04 (one year ago) link

I rewatched DLN a few weeks ago and accusing it of lacking human feeling is baffling

or something, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 13:26 (one year ago) link

There is also a famous scene of married people doing something that I don’t think has been mentioned yet.

Bringing Up Initials B.B. (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 13:27 (one year ago) link

Yeah, but we're all firmly against being shown sex scenes without our consent now

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 13:32 (one year ago) link

The film is dealing with a heavy subject (and Sutherland does his best), but it's more interested in throwing up chic enigmas than dealing with the emotional ramifications of that subject.

Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 15:17 (one year ago) link

TIL the tide has very much turned against Don’t Look Now. How annoying

عباس کیارستمی (Eric H.), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 15:29 (one year ago) link

agreed... idk i don't find that movie nihilistic at all

flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 15:49 (one year ago) link

I still have a week to watch Come and See...but will I? Stay tuned. Barring that....might be that guy and go for Jaws

ryan, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 15:57 (one year ago) link

The Man Who Fell to Earth is more legit concerned with chic enigmas, i.e. "How good will David Bowie look shirtless in bed?"

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 16:03 (one year ago) link

but it's more interested in throwing up chic enigmas than dealing with the emotional ramifications of that subject.

― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 bookmarkflaglink

Or it's dealing with a highly charged subject in a way you aren't expecting.

xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 16:05 (one year ago) link

the chic enigma that is death

satori enabler (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 16:37 (one year ago) link

Sounds like the title of one of tyler’s vu boots

Bringing Up Initials B.B. (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 22 March 2023 16:38 (one year ago) link

the chic enigma that is death

I can't get this phrase out of my head

Austin Film Society is running Don't Look Now this week...never been a huge fan of it but trying to decide if I should give it a re-view or not..sometimes actually seeing something in a theater totally changes how I feel about it.

ryan, Monday, 27 March 2023 14:47 (one year ago) link

Go!

It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 15:43 (one year ago) link

What theater do they do screenings in?

It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 15:44 (one year ago) link

Lol

It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 16:02 (one year ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Monday, 3 April 2023 00:01 (one year ago) link

with this one I can't imagine what the result will be

thank you for doing this Ryan, and please continue

Dan S, Monday, 3 April 2023 00:21 (one year ago) link

I don’t wanna have to vote

Little Big Man Yells at Red Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 April 2023 00:57 (one year ago) link

Cross-posted from the John Wayne thread:

Watching Rio Bravo again (fourth time?), I'm struck by John Wayne's beautiful serenity. He's always observing the other characters, as an actor and as Chance. He's relaxed but wary. His best performance.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 3 April 2023 00:58 (one year ago) link

Yes.

Little Big Man Yells at Red Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 April 2023 01:05 (one year ago) link

His relationship with Angie Dickinson as Feathers is kind of charming too, and doesn’t approach the crepeyness of other such parings of aging male stars with younger actresses.

Little Big Man Yells at Red Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 April 2023 01:08 (one year ago) link

Pairings even

Little Big Man Yells at Red Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 April 2023 01:10 (one year ago) link

Well, he ceded space to her: it's understood she has her own thing going on, and Chance respects it.

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 3 April 2023 01:15 (one year ago) link

thank you for doing this Ryan, and please continue

thank y'all for indulging me! the next round will be delayed a day because i am traveling tomorrow...but i'll get it posted ASAP after this one closes.

ryan, Monday, 3 April 2023 03:26 (one year ago) link

I can post it tomorrow if you want, so long as I get to accidentally leave off There Will Be Blood.

fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Monday, 3 April 2023 14:25 (one year ago) link

hahaha. yes go for it!

ryan, Monday, 3 April 2023 14:34 (one year ago) link

I saw The Thing last week and almost want to vote for it, but I'm going with Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

jmm, Monday, 3 April 2023 14:36 (one year ago) link

I guess with this next 20 I'm going to vote for two Bergmans in a row

Dan S, Monday, 3 April 2023 23:06 (one year ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Tuesday, 4 April 2023 00:01 (one year ago) link

good choice

Dan S, Tuesday, 4 April 2023 00:20 (one year ago) link

Oh snap

fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Tuesday, 4 April 2023 00:49 (one year ago) link

WOW

the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 April 2023 00:54 (one year ago) link

😎

ꙮ (map), Tuesday, 4 April 2023 01:02 (one year ago) link

great turnout, every film received a vote. there's your answer if it's worth carrying on, ryan!

voted TCM in the end but happy with that winner

or something, Tuesday, 4 April 2023 05:53 (one year ago) link

Result!!

xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 4 April 2023 07:42 (one year ago) link

Lol victory

satori enabler (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 April 2023 08:00 (one year ago) link

As someone who does like The Thing considerably, also happy to see TCM trounce it here

fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Tuesday, 4 April 2023 12:51 (one year ago) link

Will post 121-140 later this morning

fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Tuesday, 4 April 2023 12:51 (one year ago) link


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