(here's his 2010 list too!)
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1. BALL OF FIREThis might be one of my favorite comedies of Howard Hawks. Barbara Stanwyck is a knockout and keeps the romantic shenanigans from getting too sappy. Billy Wilder's consistently clever dialogue really shines. (Netflix Instant Link)
2. THE PUBLIC ENEMY & WHITE HEATCagney classics from two different eras. Great ensemble in WHITE HEAT; the ending of THE PUBLIC ENEMY is memorably hardcore.
3. PATHS OF GLORYKubrick keeps things on a small scale to distressing and claustrophobic effect. One of the all-time great anti-war pictures.
4. DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIESTSaw this at Film Forum in New York and found it to be a haunting experience. The story is sad and profound; the photography is sublime.
5. LA DOLCE VITASuch a vibrant Fellini film. Had no idea it's where the term 'paparazzi' originated. Great Nino Rota score and Anita Ekberg is a vision.
6. THROUGH A GLASS DARKLYBergman's chamber film on mental illness is beautifully filmed and sensitively portrayed.
7. WOMEN IN LOVEKen Russell was a sad loss this year. His visionary work on this adaptation of D.H. Lawrence is a treasure. Few scenes are as bizarre and lovely as Glenda Jackson dancing by a lake to "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles."
8. THE BIG HEATA fun, brassy film noir. I will never look at a coffee pot the same way again.
9. ACE IN THE HOLEAnother film displaying Billy Wilder's genius. A cynical, still-relevant look at our country's obsessions and our blood thirsty media.
10. PERFORMANCESo odd and flamboyant. I couldn't take my eyes off of Mick Jagger in this druggy time capsule of '70.
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2 comments:
I watched both PERFORMANCE and PATHS OF GLORY for the first time in 2011 as well. The trench scenes in PATHS OF GLORY have an ironic beauty to them. PERFORMANCE was a huge surprised and just amazing on many levels.
Lots of favorites on this list, particularly ACE IN THE HOLE, BALL OF FIRE, PATHS OF GLORY, BIG HEAT, and PUBLIC ENEMY.
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