MC Yearly Consensus - 1953

[Spinal]

Submit your five favorite films from this year and in a week I will give you a top ten. IMDb dates will be used.

The point system is as follows

1st Place-5 points
2nd Place-4 points
3rd Place-3.5 points
4th Place-3 points
5th Place-2.5 points

There will be no restrictions on short films. A minimum of three films must be listed. You may edit your post freely up until the time that the voting is closed, which will be in about a week. I will give at least 24 hours warning before tallying votes.

You may begin now.

IMDB Power Search (http://www.imdb.com/list)

[Spinal]

1. Tokyo Story
2. El
3. Duck Amuck
4. Ugetsu
5. Summer with Monika

[Russ]

1. Duck Amuck
2. The Wages of Fear
3. Pickup on South Street
4. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday
5. Eaux d’artifice

[Melville]

1. Eaux d'artifice
2. Sawdust and Tinsel
3. The Tell-Tale Heart
4. Ugetsu monogatari

[Weeping_Guitar]

1. Tokyo Story
2. M. Hulot's Holiday
3. I Vitelloni
4. Ugetsu
5. I Confess

[Pop Trash]

1. The Wages of Fear
2. The Wild One
3. Pickup on South Street
4. Glen or Glenda
5. The War of the Worlds

[Russ]

4. Glen or Glenda
Fwiw, that was my #6. Which probably means I need to get off my lazy ass and see Tokyo Story and Ugetsu. ;)

[Pop Trash]

Fwiw, that was my #6. Which probably means I need to get off my lazy ass and see Tokyo Story and Ugetsu. ;)
Despite it's low production value, I thought it was a genuinely interesting film. It has a strange, almost experimental structure that bounces around from found footage documentary to fake documentary to narrative film. I also thought it was Wood's way of trying to make some sense of his "condition." It felt personal and from the heart.

[Raiders]

1. Ugetsu (Mizoguchi)
2. Duck Amuck (Jones)
3. El (Bunuel)
4. The Earrings of Madame de... (Ophuls)
5. Glen or Glenda (Wood)

----------------------------------------

6. Pickup on South Street (Fuller)
7. It Came from Outer Space (Arnold)
8. I Confess (Hitchcock)
9. I Vitelloni (Fellini)
10. The Naked Spur (Mann)

It was tough leaving off Arnold and Hitch's films.

[Dead & Messed Up]

1. The Wages of Fear
2. The Naked Spur
3. Duck Amuck
4. Tokyo Story
5. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

[Derek]

1. The Earrings of Madame de... (Max Ophuls)
2. Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi)
3. Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller)
4. All I Desire (Douglas Sirk)
5. El (Luis Bunuel)
***************************
6. A Geisha (Kenji Mizoguchi)
7. The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann)
8. Monika (Ingmar Bergman)
9. Roman Holiday (William Wyler)
10. Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones)

HMs: The Big Heat (Fritz Lang)
The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
I Confess (Alfred Hitchcock)
The Sun Shines Bright (John Ford)
Peter Pan (Geronomi, Luske & Jackson)

[Yxklyx]

1. Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones)
2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks)
3. Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati)
4. The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
5. The Tell-Tale Heart (Ted Parmelee)

6. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu)
7. I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini)
8. Glen or Glenda (Edward D. Wood Jr.)
9. The Earrings of Madame de... (Max Ophüls)
10. The Big Heat (Fritz Lang)

[Yxklyx]

The Tell-Tale Heart is an excellent animated short - it's online somewhere...

[Raiders]

1. Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones)

Whoops. Edited.

[Philosophe_rouge]

The Tell-Tale Heart is an excellent animated short - it's online somewhere...
That it is, it's on youtube. Unfortunately, missed my list :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4s9V8aQu4c

1. Roman Holiday
2. The Big Heat
3. Madame de...
4. Duck Amuck
5. I Confess
----
6. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
7. The Tell-Tale Heart
8. The Naked Spur
9. Les Statues meurent aussi
10. Stalag 17

[monolith94]

1. Roman Holiday
2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
3. Niagara

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Glen or Glenda is a bad movie.

[soitgoes...]

1. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu)
2. Earrings of Madame de... (Max Ophüls)
3. El (Luis Buñuel)
4. Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones)
5. Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller)
------------------------------------------------------------
6. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (Chuck Jones)
7. Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi)
8. The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann)
9. Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman)
10. I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini)
11. The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
12. Crazeologie (Louis Malle)

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

1. The Wages of Fear
2. Sawdust and Tinsel
3. Eaux d'Artifice
4. Ugestu
5. Summer With Monika

[MadMan]

I have seen at least three films, but aside from Shane I don't like any of them enough to put them on a list. So I'm abstaining from this year.

[Boner M]

1. The Wages of Fear
2. Pickup On South Street
3. M. Hulot's Holiday
4. Tokyo Story
5. Ugetsu

Need to see: Madame De..., Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, I Vitelloni, El, The Naked Spur

Need to re-see: #'s 4 & 5, The Big Heat

[Grouchy]

1. Tales of Ugetsu
2. The Big Heat
3. Shane
4. Hondo
5. Beat the Devil

[Robby P]

1. The Naked Spur
2. The Wages of Fear
3. Ugetsu
4. Stalag 17
5. Duck Dodgers in the 241/2th Century

Surprised by the absence of Wilder. Might be 2nd tier, but still listworthy.

[baby doll]

1. Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi)
2. Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati)
3. All I Desire (Douglas Sirk)
4. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu)
5. Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller)
6. The Big Heat (Fritz Lang)
7. Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones)
8. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (Roy Rowland)
9. Beat the Devil (John Huston)
10. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks)

[Duncan]

1. Tokyo Story
2. Duck Amuck
3. Ugetsu
4. The Tell-Tale Heart
5. The Wild One

[origami_mustache]

1. Ugetsu
2. Eaux d'artifice
3. I Vitelloni
4. Wages of Fear
5. Tokyo Story

HM: Roman Holiday, Duck Amuck, Stalag 17

[Derek]

Need to see: El

Damn you, IMdB. Edited.

[Kurosawa Fan]

1. The Wages of Fear
2. Ugetsu
3. Duck Amuck
4. Tokyo Story
5. The Tell-Tale Heart

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Ugetsu
2. The Tell-Tale Heart
3. Pickup on South Street
4. Roman Holiday
5. Little Fugitive

[Kurosawa Fan]

The Tell-Tale Heart was pretty great. I've edited my list to include it.

[Melville]

Edited for The Tell-Tale Heart.

[Spinal]

I requested Wages of Fear from the library. Hopefully, I'll get to watch it in time.

[Qrazy]

1. Ugetsu
2. Wages of Fear
3. Tokyo Story
4. M Hulot's Holiday
5. I Vitelloni

[ledfloyd]

1. Roman Holiday
2. Duck Amuck
3. Stalag 17
4. The Band Wagon

[Lazlo]

1. Beat the Devil
2. Roman Holiday
3. Peter Pan
4. I Confess

[dreamdead]

1. Ugetsu
2. Tokyo Story
3. Duck Amuck
4. Pickup On South Street
5. Roman Holiday

HM: I Confess

[Spinal]

more?

[Kurosawa Fan]

more?

As soon as you watch Wages of Fear and put it at #1 we'll be all set.

[Spinal]

As soon as you watch Wages of Fear and put it at #1 we'll be all set.

I'm next in line at the library, but I don't think it's going to happen in time. I know I'm going to feel bad about this when I actually see the film.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm next in line at the library, but I don't think it's going to happen in time. I know I'm going to feel bad about this when I actually see the film.

Is it weird of me to respond to this post with "I hope so"?

[SirNewt]

1. Ugetsu
2. Tokyo Story
3. M. Hulot's Holiday
4. Wages of Fear
5. Roman Holiday

[Spinal]

Counted, but I probably won't be able to start posting results until tonight. New ballots can be submitted up until then. Any edits must now have a new post below this one explaining the change clearly.

[Spinal]

#10

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/anger2.jpg

Eaux d’artifice

Director: Kenneth Anger

Country: USA

A woman dressed elegantly walks purposely through the water gardens at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, as Vivaldi plays. Heavy red filters give a blue cast to the light; water plays across stone, and fountains send it into the air.

Anger chose a dwarf to play the part of the lady, so the fountains would look bigger than they really were. Born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, Anger is said to have concocted his stage name at age 5.

"Part trance film, part landscape study, part rapturous abstraction, Eaux d'Artifice floats along on sensuous dissolves and builds to one of the most visionary (and moist) climaxes in the Anger oeuvre ... It is, somehow, his sexiest film." - Nathan Lee

[Spinal]

#8 (tie)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/amaxophulsthemadamedeMadameDe-11.jpg

The Earrings of Madame de...

Director: Max Ophüls

Country: France

In late 19th century France, the wife of a wealthy general sells the earrings her husband gave her on their wedding day to pay off debts, and then claims to have lost them. Her husband quickly learns of the deceit and many tragic misunderstandings follow.

Earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design (Black-and-White). An adaptation of Louise de Vilmorin's novel. In 1956, de Vilmorin served as a member of the jury at Cannes.

"Evanescence is an integral part of cinema, and no other director captured it as lyrically and yet as savagely as Ophüls. His tracking, dollying, gliding camera was never more mellifluous, or his visualization of life's inexorable flow more tangible, than in The Earrings of Madame de…" - Fernando F. Croce

[Spinal]

#8 (tie)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/poe.jpg

The Tell-Tale Heart

Director: Ted Parmelee

Country: USA

A deranged boarder calmly tells the police of an unnatural revulsion with his landlord's "strange" eye that leads him to murder the landlord and hide his dismembered body under the floorboards of a rooming house.

Earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short. Narrated by James Mason and based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe. At the time of the film's release, the American animation studio UPA was best known for producing Mr. Magoo shorts in the late 40s.

"Chock full of surrealist imagery, the look of the movie feels like what would result when Salvador Dali had a nightmare. Undeniably painterly, but no less disturbing for it, the short still looks distinctive today." - Jeremy Heilman

[Spinal]

#7

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/image-2.jpg

Mr. Hulot's Holiday

Director: Jacques Tati

Country: France

Monsieur Hulot goes on a holiday to a seaside resort, but accidents and misunderstandings follow him where ever he goes.

Earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay. In the English version, Christopher Lee dubbed the entire film. A bronze statue of M. Hulot was later erected overlooking the beach where the film was made (in the French town of Saint-Marc-sur-Mer).

"When has a film so subtly and yet so completely captured nostalgia for past happiness? The movie is about the simplest of human pleasures: The desire to get away for a few days, to play instead of work, to breathe in the sea air, and maybe meet someone nice. It is about the hope that underlies all vacations, and the sadness that ends them." - Roger Ebert

[Spinal]

#6

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/PickupOnSouthStreet.jpg

Pickup on South Street

Director: Samuel Fuller

Country: USA

On a crowded subway, a pickpocket thieves a purse containing a piece of top-secret microfilm from a woman who was unwittingly making a delivery for her ex-boyfriend, a Communist agent. She attempts to seduce the thief in order to recover the goods, but ends up falling for him instead.

Earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter). Twentieth Century Fox put Betty Grable on suspension after she turned down the part of Candy, not wanting to accept a downcast role. The film was shot in 20 days.

"[Fuller] understood better than anyone the elemental power of the camera and the value of lean, economical storytelling. Some of Fuller's films may be more personal and idiosyncratic than 1953's Pickup On South Street, but none have better exemplified his no-nonsense journalistic ethos." - Scott Tobias

[dreamdead]

#8 (tie)

The Earrings of Madame de...



There are few films that I've wanted to see for the longest time more so than this one. I suspect it'll appear on more lists when the Criterion has been available for a longer time...

[Spinal]

#5

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/Audrey_Hepburn_and_Gregory_Pec k_on_.jpg

Roman Holiday

Director: William Wyler

Country: USA

A princess embarks on a highly publicized tour of Europian capitals. When she and her royal entourage arrive in Rome, she begins to rebel against her restricted, regimented schedule. One night she sneaks out of her room, hops into the back of a delivery truck and escapes her luxurious confinement.

Won three Oscars including Best Actress (Audrey Hepburn). Nominated for seven other Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Albert). The Oscar for Best Writing, Story was originally awarded to Ian Mclellan Hunter who fronted for blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. In 1992, the Academy decided to change the records and rightfully award the Oscar to Trumbo. The Oscar was posthumously awarded to Trumbo's widow in 1993.

"[Wyler] lets much of the film pass without dialogue, allowing Hepburn's immediate reactions (as enchantingly passionate now as they were 50 years ago, in what was her Hollywood debut) and her increasing physical closeness to Peck say what the characters can't. The leisurely pace of Roman Holiday also allows for plenty of touristy gawking at the sights of Rome, and for viewers to project themselves into the sidewalk cafés, gelato stands, and crumbling ruins." - Noel Murray

[Spinal]

#4

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/DuckAmuck.jpg

Duck Amuck

Director: Chuck Jones

Country: USA

The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.

In animation historian Jerry Beck's 1994 poll of animators, film historians and directors, it was rated the second greatest cartoon of all time. Inspired a Nintendo DS game in which players use their stylus to "interact with the feisty Duck hoping to fill his rage-o-meter to the max and send Daffy into an uncontrollable frenzy."

"This is one of the loosest, funniest, most inventive classic Warner Brothers shorts, with Jones and his creative team throwing a barrage of ideas at their unfortunate main character, overwhelming the screen with the sheer inventiveness of their concept and the never-ending well of ideas they draw from it." - Ed Howard

[Spinal]

#2 (tie)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/8Henri-GeorgesClouzotWagesofFearSal.j pg

The Wages of Fear

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Country: France

In the South American jungle, supplies of nitroglycerene are needed at a remote oil field. The oil company pays four men to deliver the supplies in two trucks. A tense rivalry develops between the two sets of drivers and on the rough remote roads the slightest jolt can result in death.

Won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Won the Grand Prize of the Festival at Cannes. Charles Vanel also earned a Special Mention at Cannes for his performance. Named Best Film at the BAFTA Awards. Yves Montand and Charles Vanel both contracted conjunctivitis after filming in a pool of crude oil and being exposed to gas fumes.

"You sit there waiting for the theatre to explode." - Bosley Crowther (1955)

[Spinal]

#2 (tie)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/500Tokyo_Story_Scr_1.jpg
Tokyo Story

Director: Yasujiro Ozu

Country: Japan

An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their children and are confronted by indifference, ingratitude and selfishness. After the parents are packed off to a resort by their impatient children, a new revelation forces them to reconsider their previous behavior.

The original negative was lost soon after the film was completed, due to a fire at the vault of the lab in Yokohama city. The film had to be released using prints made from a dupe protective negative. Placed #5 in the 2002 Sight and Sound critic's poll of the best films of all-time.

"Tokyo Story lacks sentimental triggers and contrived emotion; it looks away from moments a lesser movie would have exploited. It doesn't want to force our emotions, but to share its understanding ... It ennobles the cinema. It says, yes, a movie can help us make small steps against our imperfections." - Roger Ebert

[Spinal]

#1

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/image-3.jpg

Ugetsu

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Country: Japan

In the civil wars of 16th century Japan, two ambitious peasants want to make their fortunes. The potter Genjuro intends to sell his wares for vast profits in the local city, while his brother-in-law Tobei wishes to become a samurai. Their village is sacked by the marauding armies, but Genjuro's kiln miraculously survives, and they and their wives head for the city.

Earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design (Black-and-White). Won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the Venice Film Festival. The film has made multiple appearances in Sight and Sound magazine's top ten critics poll of the greatest movies ever made.

"In Ugetsu, Mizoguchi's female characters are as always put through the wringer ... but interestingly enough, it's the men who end up shouldering the emotional toll. With all due respect to Mizoguchi's mysterious, incantory, gorgeous parable, is it this crucial variation on the filmmaker's approach to feminism that causes Ugetsu's pinnacular reputation in the film critic boys' club?" - Eric Henderson

[Spinal]

1. Ugetsu 69.5
2t. Tokyo Story 46
2t. The Wages of Fear 46
4. Duck Amuck 42
5. Roman Holiday 27
6. Pickup on South Street 26
7. Mr. Hulot’s Holiday 24.5
8t. The Tell-Tale Heart 15.5
8t. The Earrings of Madame de … 15.5
10. Eaux d’artifice 15

Not quite:
El 13.5

[Raiders]

Indeed.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Awesome results.

[Spinal]

Awesome results.

Except for El not making the list. But, I suppose it's a hard film to track down.

[Pop Trash]

Except for El not making the list. But, I suppose it's a hard film to track down.
Criterion (or someone but preferably Criterion) needs to put out more of Bunuel's films from the 50s.

[baby doll]

Wow, an Ophuls film I haven't even seen managing to crack the list, and my personal favorite--a Mizoguchi, no less--taking the top spot is something of a surprise indeed. Still, I wish Tati's film were higher and the inclusion of any Audrey Hepburn vehicle on any list is always regrettable (I haven't seen this particular film but one can extrapolate from experience). Do the people who voted for it actually like it that much, or were they simply pressed for a fifth film? (Fun trivia: apparently it was one of Carl Dreyer's favorite films.)

[Kurosawa Fan]

Do the people who voted for it actually like it that much, or were they simply pressed for a fifth film?

:|

[Grouchy]

Do the people who voted for it actually like it that much, or were they simply pressed for a fifth film?
Obviously the first one.

[Mysterious Dude]

Roman Holiday is a wonderful film. Very unexpected.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Wow, an Ophuls film I haven't even seen managing to crack the list, and my personal favorite--a Mizoguchi, no less--taking the top spot is something of a surprise indeed. Still, I wish Tati's film were higher and the inclusion of any Audrey Hepburn vehicle on any list is always regrettable (I haven't seen this particular film but one can extrapolate from experience). Do the people who voted for it actually like it that much, or were they simply pressed for a fifth film? (Fun trivia: apparently it was one of Carl Dreyer's favorite films.)
The Hepburn film is among my all time favourites, easily my favourite from what I've seen for this year :/

[Raiders]

I didn't think it was possible to have disdain for a film simply because it starred Audrey Hepburn.

[monolith94]

If it's good enough for Dreyer, it's good enough for you. (I adore the film)

[origami_mustache]

I unexpectedly loved Roman Holiday as well, even though it was just out of my top five from this wonderful year. Hepburn is adorable and I think Wyler is a great director from what I've seen.

[Spinal]

Amusing how a Wyler film gets dismissed as an Audrey Hepburn vehicle.

[baby doll]

Amusing how a Wyler film gets dismissed as an Audrey Hepburn vehicle.Well, I'm a fan of The Little Foxes and The Best Years of Our Lives, but Stella Dallas bored me silly (obvious, heavy-handed melodrama--nothing to see, folks), so my overall impression is that he was talented but far from a major figure. Incidentally, as much as I like Billy Wilder, did he ever make a less interesting or memorable film than Sabrina? Wait, don't answer that. I'll concede that she can be nominally charming in a script tailored to her limited talents. I think Charade is a fine diversion but far from being a classic; I personally don't see anything wrong with Jonathan Demme remaking it that would justify the lashing it got from reviewers, especially since Thandi Newton is a far better actress than Hepburn. Simply put, she never made a film that would be challenging for a nine-year-old girl.

[Ezee E]

Well, I'm a fan of The Little Foxes and The Best Years of Our Lives, but Stella Dallas bored me silly (obvious, heavy-handed melodrama--nothing to see, folks), so my overall impression is that he was talented but far from a major figure. Incidentally, as much as I like Billy Wilder, did he ever make a less interesting or memorable film than Sabrina? Wait, don't answer that. I'll concede that she can be nominally charming in a script tailored to her limited talents. I think Charade is a fine diversion but far from being a classic; I personally don't see anything wrong with Jonathan Demme remaking it that would justify the lashing it got from reviewers, especially since Thandi Newton is a far better actress than Hepburn. Simply put, she never made a film that would be challenging for a nine-year-old girl.
nice new av.

[Yxklyx]

Well, I'm a fan of The Little Foxes and The Best Years of Our Lives, but Stella Dallas bored me silly (obvious, heavy-handed melodrama--nothing to see, folks), so my overall impression is that he was talented but far from a major figure...

Eh, Vidor directed Stella Dallas.

Counsellor at Law - 8
The Good Fairy - 7
Dodsworth - 9
Dead End - 7
Jezebel - 8
The Letter - 7
The Little Foxes - 7
Mrs. Miniver - 8
The Best Years of Our Lives - 8
The Heiress - 8
Roman Holiday - 8
Ben-Hur - 8

pretty solid director, IMHO.

[baby doll]

nice new av.Thanks.

[baby doll]

Eh, Vidor directed Stella Dallas.That makes sense. The Mrs. and I tried watching War and Peace a couple months ago (speaking of Hepburn) and it was so boring we had to turn it off half-way.

[Watashi]

Wait... soori is married?

[baby doll]

Wait... soori is married?No.