MC Yearly Consensus - 1977

[Kurosawa Fan]

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 thread is locked, 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)

[Raiders]

1. Ascent (Shepitko)
2. Martin (Romero)
3. Killer of Sheep (Burnett)
4. Citizens Band/Handle With Care (Demme)
5. Sorcerer (Friedkin)

[soitgoes...]

1. Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
2. Soldier of Orange (Paul Verhoeven)
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg)
4. Martin (George A. Romero)
5. Padre Padrone (Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani)

For whatever reason, my 1976 through 1978 years are fairly weak. I've seen at least five films I am comfortable with posting here, but that is all. I need to work on strengthening these years' lists.

[Spinal]

1. Eraserhead
2. That Obscure Object of Desire
3. Stroszek
4. 21 Up
5. Star Wars

[Eleven]

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
2. Annie Hall
3. Stroszek
4. Eraserhead
5. 3 Women

HMs: Star Wars, Killer of Sheep, That Obscure Object of Desire, Suspiria, The Last Wave.

[Lazlo]

1. Star Wars
2. Annie Hall
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. The Last Wave
5. A Bridge Too Far

[Yxklyx]

1. Eraserhead (David Lynch)
2. Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
3. Star Wars (George Lucas)
4. The Stationmaster's Wife (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
5. 3 Women (Robert Altman)

6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg)
7. Saturday Night Fever (John Badham)
8. Man of Marble (Andrzej Wajda)
9. Suspiria (Dario Argento)
10. Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah)

[Qrazy]

1. The Ascent
2. Annie Hall
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. Soldier of Orange
5. Opening Night

6. That obscure object of desire
7. Eraserhead
8. The Sand Castle (available on youtube)
9. Star Wars
10. Stroszek

HMs: Saturday night fever, 3 Women, Suspiria, Man of Marble, Cross of Iron, The Last Wave

[Raiders]

1. The Ascent


:|

Fuck you, imdb. I have edited my list.

[Qrazy]

5. Sorcerer (Friedkin)

I really want to see this given how much I love Wages of Fear.

[Russ]

1. Stroszek
2. Eraserhead
3. Desperate Living
4. Annie Hall
5. Star Wars

[Qrazy]

The Sand Castle

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=77970742497685 10401

[Kurosawa Fan]

I really want to see this given how much I love Wages of Fear.

I think The Wages of Fear is one of the greatest films ever made, yet I'm not a big fan of Sorcerer.

[Stay Puft]

1. Stroszek
2. Eraserhead
3. Killer of Sheep
4. Suspiria
5. Star Wars

[Qrazy]

I think The Wages of Fear is one of the greatest films ever made, yet I'm not a big fan of Sorcerer.

Well that's a shame... I'm more a fan of Frankenheimer than Friedkin anyway.

[Raiders]

Well that's a shame... I'm more a fan of Frankenheimer than Friedkin anyway.

What does that have to do with anything?

[Qrazy]

What does that have to do with anything?

Their names both start with F.

[dreamdead]

1. 3 Woman
2. Annie Hall
3. Soldier of Orange
4. That Obscure Object of Desire
5. Martin

[Spinal]

1. 3 Woman (not my fave of this batch, but it needs the bump)


Manipulator.

[Watashi]

1. Annie Hall
2. Star Wars
3. Stroszek
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Hopefully I'll get to The Duellists and Allegro Non Troppo before the deadline.

[Eleven]

Yeah, I'm not sure why you'd intentionally skew the votes of a consensus. I mean, I can see why, just not why you'd say that's what you're doing outright.

[dreamdead]

Manipulator.

Though I still need to examine more of his '70s work (I keep meaning to get to A Wedding), that one's my fave of Altman's. Just incredibly cerebral and haunting all at the same time. And it has Duvall and Spacek looking dreamy throughout. Since I typically underrate Altman's work, I figure I should counteract that tendency for my fave.

[dreamdead]

Yeah, I'm not sure why you'd intentionally skew the votes of a consensus. I mean, I can see why, just not why you'd say that's what you're doing outright.

Actually I'm pretty sure that 3 Women is the only film that placed on my top 50, so I guess it actually is my fave. I'll edit the comment about manipulating the vote accordingly...

[soitgoes...]

Has anyone been doing this? I've been listing my top 5 just as they are, without regards to whether anyone else has seen/voted for it. I think it makes for a more accurate consensus.

[Eleven]

My Top 11s blog has made this much easier, as I just copy my top 5 from that and make changes if need be. I don't care what anyone else puts down unless I'm tallying.

[Ezee E]

Has anyone been doing this? I've been listing my top 5 just as they are, without regards to whether anyone else has seen/voted for it. I think it makes for a more accurate consensus.
I've manipulated a few times. And I manage to sleep at night too.

[Boner M]

1. Stroszek (Herzog)
2. Eraserhead (Lynch)
3. News From Home (Akerman)
4. 3 Women (Altman)
5. The Duellists (Scott)

6. Annie Hall (Allen)
7. That Obscure Object of Desire (Bunuel)
8. La Soufrière (Herzog)
9. Opening Night (Cassavetes)
10. Killer of Sheep (Burnett)

[EyesWideOpen]

1. Hausu (Obayashi)
2. Annie Hall (Allen)
3. Suspiria (Argento)
4. Eraserhead (Lynch)

[Boner M]

1. Hausu (Obayashi)
My copy of that went missing in my house. Sooo pissed off.

[monolith94]

1. Annie Hall
2. Suspiria
3. Star Wars
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[EyesWideOpen]

My copy of that went missing in my house. Sooo pissed off.

That sucks, I actually own a rare copy that has english subtitles.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1, That Obscure Object of Desire
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
3. Annie Hall
4. Slap Shot

[Gizmo]

1. Star Wars






2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind










3. Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
4. Eraserhead
5. Annie Hall

[Weeping_Guitar]

1. Star Wars
2. Annie Hall
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[ledfloyd]

1. Annie Hall
2. Star Wars
3. Slap Shot
4. Eraserhead
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Annie Hall
2. 3 Women
3. Martin
4. Star Wars
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[Melville]

1. Eraserhead
2. Stroszek
3. The Ascent


4. Annie Hall
5. Killer of Sheep

[SirNewt]

After the prequels, the general opinion of Lucas seemed pretty low. But with so little respect paid to the original here, I can't imagine what the average match-cutter's opinion must be.

[Melville]

After the prequels, the general opinion of Lucas seemed pretty low. But with so little respect paid to the original here, I can't imagine what the average match-cutter's opinion must be.
I thought Revenge of the Sith was better than any of the original three.

[Eleven]

After the prequels, the general opinion of Lucas seemed pretty low. But with so little respect paid to the original here, I can't imagine what the average match-cutter's opinion must be.

I've counted (ironically) 11 Top 5 mentions so far, 3 at #1, out of 20 ballots. That doesn't seem too bad.

Lucas's first three features are pretty terrific, and interesting to boot. But those next three throw his overall quality off big time.

[Winston*]

I thought Revenge of the Sith was better than any of the original three.
It doesn't make sense to me that anyone would think this. You don't think this, Melville.

[Melville]

It doesn't make sense to me that anyone would think this. You don't think this, Melville.
Hm. Maybe I don't. I'll have to consider. But I'm a sucker for operatic melodrama, and I don't have a whole lot of love for the original trilogy, so I'm pretty sure I do think what I thought I thought.

[Philosophe_rouge]

After the prequels, the general opinion of Lucas seemed pretty low. But with so little respect paid to the original here, I can't imagine what the average match-cutter's opinion must be.
I can't say I'm a huge fan, I didn't grow up with the film and watching it for the first time last year I was mostly bored, although it has it's saving graces. I liked Empire quite a bit thugh.

[Winston*]

Hm. Maybe I don't. I'll have to consider. But I'm a sucker for operatic melodrama, and I don't have a whole lot of love for the original trilogy, so I'm pretty sure I do think what I thought I thought.
I'll tell you what you do and don't think.

[Qrazy]

After the prequels, the general opinion of Lucas seemed pretty low. But with so little respect paid to the original here, I can't imagine what the average match-cutter's opinion must be.

I've never been that big a fan of the original really, I think the story arc/plot flow is pretty unwhelming... way too much time spent dawdling around the death star... I'm a big fan of Empire Strikes Back though, the pacing is much sharper and there's a greater diversity of locales.

[Melville]

I'll tell you what you do and don't think.
Well, my girlfriend hasn't seen any of the Star Wars movies, so we'll probably watch the original trilogy one of these days. When we do, I'll keep your instructions in mind.

[Winston*]

Well, my girlfriend hasn't seen any of the Star Wars movies, so we'll probably watch the original trilogy one of these days. When we do, I'll keep your instructions in mind.

She's free to think what she wants.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

1. Stroszek
2. Obscure Object of Desire
3. Suspiria
4. Eraserhead
5. Hausu
-------------
6. Annie Hall
7. The Last Wave
8. Opening Night
9. Providence
10. 3 Women

[Dead & Messed Up]

1) Close Encounters of the Third Kind
2) Star Wars
3) Annie Hall
4) Martin
5) Suspiria

[baby doll]

1. Cet obscur objet du desir (Luis Bunuel)
2. Eraserhead (David Lynch)
3. Stroszek (Werner Herzog)
4. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett)
5. 3 Women (Robert Altman)
6. Providence (Alain Resnais)
7. Le Diable probablement (Robert Bresson)
8. Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
9. Dear Phone (Peter Greenaway)
10. Saturday Night Fever (John Badham)

[origami_mustache]

1. Stroszek
2. Killer of Sheep
3. Eraserhead
4. Annie Hall
5. Star Wars

[Spinal]

9. Dear Phone (Peter Greenaway)


Yes, one of his better shorts, I think.

[Duncan]

1. Stroszek
2. The Ascent
3. Eraserhead
4. Killer of Sheep
5. Annie hall

[Qrazy]

Watch The Sand Castle people.

[Grouchy]

1. Suspiria
2. Eraserhead
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. Annie Hall
5. New York, New York

[Ezee E]

1. Star Wars
2. Annie Hall
3. Suspiria
4. Eraserhead
5. Stroszek

[Yxklyx]

So, we're doing 2002 after 1937?:confused:

[Spinal]

So, we're doing 2002 after 1937?:confused:

Yes.

[MadMan]

Honestly I think that Revenge of the Sith is the second best of the entire series. And there's nothing you can do about that Winston. Nothing! *Cue sinister villain laugh* That said, I seem to have neglected 1977 in favor of 1975 and 1976, which are two amazing years for cinema.

1. Star Wars
2. Martin
3. Suspiria

[Kurosawa Fan]

1. Annie Hall
2. 3 Women
3. Eraserhead
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
5. That Obscure Object of Desire

[SirNewt]

I'll tell you what you do and don't think.

And I'll quietly agree.


She's free to think what she wants.

I'll concede to this. It's okay if she doesn't like the originals.

I guess when I think Star Wars, I think of the whole trilogy as a jumbled peanut butter ball in my brain. Thinking of just 'Star Wars', it really does have a lot of problems and wouldn't be what it is today without the sequels, especially 'Empire'.

[Spinal]

Top Songs of 1977:

1. "Tonight's The Night", Rod Stewart
2. "I Just Want To Be Your Everything", Andy Gibb
3. "Best Of My Love", Emotions
4. "Love Theme From A Star Is Born", Barbra Streisand
5. "Angel In Your Arms", Hot
6. "I Like Dreamin'", Kenny Nolan
7. "Don't Leave Me This Way", Thelma Houston
8. "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher", Rita Coolidge
9. "Undercover Angel", Alan O'Day
10. "Torn Between Two Lovers", Mary MacGregor

source: musicoutfitters.com

[balmakboor]

I thought Revenge of the Sith was better than any of the original three.

I bought the PT a few months ago when they were cheap and must admit a liking to all three. But no, I don't think RotS is better than all three in the OT. It goes like this for me:

IV = V > III > II > I = VI

[MadMan]

To me its: Empire>ROTS>ANH>ROTJ>TPM>AOTC

I think everyone can be in agreement that the second flick is the worst of the series. At least the first one didn't have really god awful love scenes. I actually like all of the films, and find them all watchable however.

[Sycophant]

1. Allegro non troppo
2. Eraserhead
3. Strozek
4. Killer of Sheep
5. Annie Hall

HMs: Star Wars, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

[Watashi]

Wait, someone actually thinks Attack of the Clones is a better film than Return of the Jedi?

To the loony bin with you!

[Sycophant]

I'm doing everything I can to turn a blind eye to any positive things being said about the prequel trilogy in this thread. So I can look you all straight in the eye in the morning.

[MadMan]

I recently revisited Revenge of the Sith thanks to SpikeTV. I left firmly and utterly convinced that my previous thoughts after seeing it in theaters were dead on. While I didn't see all of Return of the Jedi I saw pretty much the entire thing, and I realized that my previous rating for the film was actually too low. Alas I didn't catch The Empire Strikes Back, which I've sadly only seen once despite the fact that its the best of the series.

[Qrazy]

To me its: Empire>ROTS>ANH>ROTJ>TPM>AOTC

I think everyone can be in agreement that the second flick is the worst of the series. At least the first one didn't have really god awful love scenes. I actually like all of the films, and find them all watchable however.

I don't think everyone is agreement on that at all as is apparent from the posts right above you.

[Yum-Yum]

1. Suspiria
2. Eraserhead
3. Desperate Living
4. Annie Hall
5. Outrageous!

[Russ]

3. Desperate Living
Yee-ha


Outrageous!
Double yee-ha. Just missed my list.

[Melville]

ROTS > ROTJ ≈ Empire > ANH >> AOTC ≈ TPM

[Mysterious Dude]

original trilogy > new trilogy

[balmakboor]

ROTJ > ANH

While I like all six movies, this just doesn't compute for me. I'm sorry.

[Derek]

original trilogy > new trilogy

Good call - the only equation that matters.

[Melville]

original trilogy > new trilogy
I'll agree to that.


While I like all six movies, this just doesn't compute for me. I'm sorry.
I've never understood the hate that ROTJ gets. Awesome things: Jabba, the Emperor, the battle on the forest moon of Endor, the duel between Luke and Darth Vader, and the space battle outside the Death Star. Less awesome things: everything in ANH.

[Spinal]

... the battle on the forest moon of Endor ...

Soooo unawesome.

[Qrazy]

I'll agree to that.


I've never understood the hate that ROTJ gets. Awesome things: Jabba, the Emperor, the battle on the forest moon of Endor, the duel between Luke and Darth Vader, and the space battle outside the Death Star. Less awesome things: everything in ANH.

It's a traaaaaaaaaaaaaap.

[Melville]

Soooo unawesome.
Pssht. Apparently you weren't paying attention when that AT-ST got its head smashed in with giant logs.


It's a traaaaaaaaaaaaaap.
Exactly.

[Spinal]

Pssht. Apparently you weren't paying attention when that AT-ST got its head smashed in with giant logs.


Or perhaps I couldn't see through the tears, Melville. Did you ever consider that?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/more/deadewok_1190226639.jpg

[Melville]

Or perhaps I couldn't see through the tears, Melville. Did you ever consider that?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/more/deadewok_1190226639.jpg

See? That scene has it all. Giant head-smashing logs and the pathos of the ewoks.

[Watashi]

Ewoks are awesome.

[balmakboor]

I'll agree that OT > PT with one qualification. I think the PT really benefits from a consistent directorial touch throughout. It feels more of a piece. It may not be a great piece, but it is a piece. The OT feels too much like three different visions playing leapfrog, or rather two visions and one non-vision. Lucas is in the process of invention in IV and if he fails it is by not commiting enough to a compelling tone. It's still my favorite storyline of the six (except for the ceremonial ending). V has Kirshner going for it and crafting a gloriously dark and very satisfying tone. I don't quite like the story as much, but it's a close call.

VI has Marquand on board and he/Lucus seemed to have no idea what tone to go for, so they went for none. The film, in spite of many exciting set pieces (and a few really lame ones involving Ewoks), just feels totally phoned in to me. It is the one film of the six that feels like little more than a commercial for action figures. It also has the worst ending of the six, imho. I thought so back in the 80s and no amount of time and Lucas tinkering has improved it.

[MadMan]

Ewoks are awesome.Amen. How can people hate them? They are both extremely adorable, and yet they also know how to kick ass. In response to "How did the Empire's shock troops get beat by Ewoks" I respond "Hey its pretty much a metaphor for Vietnam, where the US got beat by a bunch of rag tag villagers." Plus come on those guys can't shoot for shit. My little sister could kill a storm trooper.


I don't think everyone is agreement on that at all as is apparent from the posts right above you.I assumed apparently. My old Tech Ed teacher from 7th grade told me to never assumed. That has always stuck with me, even if I don't always follow it.

[balmakboor]

Amen. How can people hate them? They are both extremely adorable, and yet they also know how to kick ass.

I think it boils down to the tools available to Lucas not being up to the task. They aren't expressive enough or convincing as individuals. I can't get beyond them being kids (or whatever) moving around awkwardly in suits and masks with fixed expressions. I find Jar Jar and his kin more convincing as characters thanks to the more advanced tools available.

As I've said before, Lucas made a big mistake by listening to his fans with the PT. He should've followed through with Jar Jar and made him evolve into a pivotal heroic character by ep. III. As he is, he's just annoying for one movie and then fizzles out. We get the annoying without the heroic payoff.

[transmogrifier]

Wait, someone actually thinks Attack of the Clones is a better film than Return of the Jedi?

To the loony bin with you!


I, shockingly, agree completely with this statement.

Anyway, I rewatched Annie Hall recently, and I'm doubly impressed with the grabbag of cinematic tricks which actually come together to bury Alvy, rather than sympathize with him. It is a marvelous film.

[Spinal]

Time Man of the Year for 1977:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/more/Anwar20Sadat.jpg

Anwar Sadat

[MadMan]

I think it boils down to the tools available to Lucas not being up to the task. They aren't expressive enough or convincing as individuals. I can't get beyond them being kids (or whatever) moving around awkwardly in suits and masks with fixed expressions. I find Jar Jar and his kin more convincing as characters thanks to the more advanced tools available.

As I've said before, Lucas made a big mistake by listening to his fans with the PT. He should've followed through with Jar Jar and made him evolve into a pivotal heroic character by ep. III. As he is, he's just annoying for one movie and then fizzles out. We get the annoying without the heroic payoff.Ah, I do see your point. And honestly I guess after the darkness of "Empire," (plus the fact that its the most thought provoking and intelligent film of the entire series) "Jedi" may have been too damn light. While I utterly loathe Jar Jar, I do agree that the technology now available as opposed to the FX back then made him seem more convincing.

I do sort of admire that Lucus did take the time to flesh Jar Jar out, even though he was one of the most annoying film characters of all time. However I can't say I agree that marginalizing him by Episode III was a bad idea. He just doesn't jive with the overall material presented in the third film.

[Qrazy]

As I've said before, Lucas made a big mistake by listening to his fans with the PT. He should've followed through with Jar Jar and made him evolve into a pivotal heroic character by ep. III. As he is, he's just annoying for one movie and then fizzles out. We get the annoying without the heroic payoff.

Um no, he was probably thinking misguided kiddie racist fan service when he conceived him in the first place.

[Sycophant]

I loathe Jar-Jar for the numerous reasons stated above. However, I do feel like his diminished (and nearly obliterated in the the third film) role in episodes II and III reeks of cop-out.

We ought to redub this thread " MC Yearly Consensus - 1977 dba The Star Wars Series Discussion Thread"

[SirNewt]

Amen. How can people hate them? They are both extremely adorable, and yet they also know how to kick ass. In response to "How did the Empire's shock troops get beat by Ewoks" I respond "Hey its pretty much a metaphor for Vietnam, where the US got beat by a bunch of rag tag villagers." Plus come on those guys can't shoot for shit. My little sister could kill a storm trooper.

I assumed apparently. My old Tech Ed teacher from 7th grade told me to never assumed. That has always stuck with me, even if I don't always follow it.

Hey, do you have a review for 'All About Eve'? If so I'd love to read it.

[MadMan]

I loathe Jar-Jar for the numerous reasons stated above. However, I do feel like his diminished (and nearly obliterated in the the third film) role in episodes II and III reeks of cop-out.

We ought to redub this thread " MC Yearly Consensus - 1977 dba The Star Wars Series Discussion Thread"I donno why we don't have a thread dedicated to discussing Star Wars or Star Trek in the first place, seeing as both have their fair share of fans around here. I'm surprised that it didn't show up in the 1980 thread seeing as The Empire Strikes Back received a lot of votes there.


Hey, do you have a review for 'All About Eve'? If so I'd love to read it.Actually I do. Its not the most well written or really well thought out piece but I did scribble down in a notebook my review of it. I'll have to get around to finally posting it this weekend. Your post also makes me happy that someone read the sig. I'm surprised that not too many folks around here actually use the color tags.

[Llopin]

1. Opening Night (Cassavetes)
2. Star Wars (Lucas)
3. The Yellow Handkerchief (Yamada)
4. The Man Who Loved Women (Truffaut)
5. Elisa, Vida Mia (Saura)

For me: IV > V = VI >> III > I = II

[transmogrifier]

Empire > Jedi = Star Wars >>>>>>>>>good >> Sith > Menace >>>> Clones

[Spinal]

The following television programs debuted in 1977:

Circus of the Stars
Three's Company
Eight is Enough
This Week in Baseball
The Love Boat
Lou Grant
Soap
CHiPs
Roots

* Bill Murray replaces Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live.

The top rated television program for 1977 in the Nielsen ratings:

Happy Days

[koji]

1. Sroszek (Herzog)
2. The Chess Players (Satyajit Ray)
3. Handle with Care (Jonathan Demme)
4. Annie Hall (Allen)
5. 21 Up (Apted)
****************************** **************
6. The Man Who Loved Women (François Truffaut)
7. Star Wars (Lucas)
8. The Late Show (Robert Benton)
9. That Obscure Object of Desire (Bunuel)
10. Eraserhead (Lynch)

[Pop Trash]

1. Stroszek
2. Star Wars
3. Annie Hall
4. Eraserhead
5. Killer of Sheep

6. Rolling Thunder
7. Saturday Night Fever
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
9. That Obscure Object of Desire
10.Three Women

And on the Star Wars debate:
Episdode 6>5>4>3>2>1...interesting how it descends

[Kurosawa Fan]

The voting will be closed tomorrow afternoon.

[Boner M]

Added The Duellists to my top 5... completely didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

[SirNewt]

The following television programs debuted in 1977:

Circus of the Stars
Three's Company
Eight is Enough
This Week in Baseball
The Love Boat
Lou Grant
Soap
CHiPs
Roots


watching this, appreciate the spirit, but not impressed

It gets a lot better as it goes along, though.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm not going to get to this until tomorrow. I'll leave it open until then.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Voting is closed. Tabulating.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I've had a bit of a delay, so I may not get to posting the results until the weekend. My apologies for making everyone wait.

[Qrazy]

I loathe Jar-Jar for the numerous reasons stated above. However, I do feel like his diminished (and nearly obliterated in the the third film) role in episodes II and III reeks of cop-out.

We ought to redub this thread " MC Yearly Consensus - 1977 dba The Star Wars Series Discussion Thread"

Why? It's not like every character introduced in the OT had a protracted story arc... did Watto need a lengthy reprise in ep 3 as well?

[Kurosawa Fan]

#10
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/5716/martinseshot4lle9.jpg
Martin
George A. Romero

A young man, who believes himself to be a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin in a small Pennsylvania town where he tries to redeem his blood-craving urges.

The original cut of the film ran nearly 2 hours 45 minutes. Romero has confirmed that there is no known existing copy of the legendary 2 hour 45 minute cut at a recent screening of the film in New York City. During a screening and interview at USC, director George Romero related that the MPAA objected to a shot of Martin slicing someone's arm open with a razor blade. The entire shot would've earned the film the notorious "X" rating, and so he had to trim it by several seconds. The length of the shot, not the subject matter, was objectionable.

"Romero leaves the central issue of whether Martin is undead ambiguous, which lends greater creepiness to the protagonist’s romantic black-and-white flashbacks to past crimes and flights from torch-bearing mobs, as well as more suspense to his present-day slayings. The writer/director’s employment of disorienting camera angles and perspectives contributes to the low-budget feature’s scraggly tension, while his portrait of urban decay and discontent brings a measure of sly social commentary to Martin’s spree, which seems driven by sexual (rather than nutritional) hunger." - Nick Schager

[Kurosawa Fan]

#8 (TIE)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3343/3womenux1.jpg
3 Women
Robert Altman

Shy, reclusive girl Pinky starts work at a solarium and becomes emotionally attached to her fellow worker, Millie. After an accident, the women seem to inexplicably swap personalities.

Director Robert Altman based the film's title, locations, and cast members on a series of dreams he had. Altman received a green light from 20th Century Fox without a finished screenplay - and with Altman's expressed desire that he make the film without one. Altman had a believer in the head of production at 20th Century Fox, Alan Ladd Jr. He felt that he could indulge Altman's offbeat projects, while the studio's more commercial films like Star Wars (1977) would make up for any financial loss. Peter Biskind, author of "Easy Riders," reports in his book that Altman and Tommy Thompson were driving to the airport, when Altman said, "Let's stop at 20th. I had a dream last night, I want to sell it to Laddie. Keep the engine running, it'll only take a minute." Altman darted into Ladd's office, made a deal for "3 Women," and was back in the car in time to make his flight.

"But, for all its lumpy qualities, 3 Women is a daring piece of cinema that glides along the edge of weirdness and somehow manages not to fall off. And I've never seen a film that's more poetic and accurate about the radical extent that the human personality will bend and morph in an effort to cleave to its object of desire." - Eric Henderson

[Kurosawa Fan]

#8 (TIE)
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That Obscure Object of Desire
Luis Bunuel

Just after boarding a train, much to the surprise of his fellow passengers, a man pours a bucket of water over a young girl on the platform. Over the next few hours he explains how he became obsessed by her, and how she tantalised him, but would never allow him to satisfy his desire for her.

Maria Schneider, frequently nude in Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972) (Last Tango in Paris), walked off the film in protest at the amount of nude scenes.

"Not unlike The Phantom of Liberty, That Obscure Object of Desire is very much about those irrational and mysterious acts that bring us together. It toys with our curiosity but seemingly shuns our inquisitiveness. Buñuel was a great moralist, but one of the things that makes That Obscure Object of Desire so fascinating is how Mathieu's moral justifications are betrayed by the director's own irrational defilements. Mathieu attempts to excuse his rank misogyny, but by the time Conchita pours water on his head we've come to realize that they're both equally to blame for their sex war." - Ed Gonzalez

[Kurosawa Fan]

#7
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Killer of Sheep
Charles Burnett

Stan works in drudgery at a slaughterhouse. His personal life is drab. Dissatisfaction and ennui keep him unresponsive to the needs of his adoring wife, and he must struggle against influences which would dishonor and endanger him and his family.

The film was completed in 1973, but not released until 1977. Charles Burnett made this film when he was still at UCLA and for a budget of $5000. Burnett encountered actor Henry G. Sanders in the elevator of the building where he worked. He immediately asked him to do a screen test for the film, because he found he had an unusual face. No permits were obtained in the filming of the movie.

"You have to be prepared to see a film like this, or able to relax and allow it to unfold. It doesn't come, as most films do, with built-in instructions about how to view it. One scene follows another with no apparent pattern, reflecting how the lives of its family combine endless routine with the interruptions of random events. The day they all pile into a car to go to the races, for example, a lesser film would have had them winning or losing. In this film, they have a flat tire, and no spare. Thus does poverty become your companion on every journey." - Roger Ebert

[Kurosawa Fan]

#6
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Suspiria
Dario Argento

A young American dancer travels to Europe to join a famous ballet school. As she arrives, the camera turns to another young woman, who appears to be fleeing from the school. She returns to her apartment where she is gruesomely murdered by a hideous creature. Meanwhile, the young American is trying to settle in at the ballet school, but hears strange noises and is troubled by bizarre occurrences. She eventually discovers that the school is merely a front for a much more sinister organization.

The first part (with Inferno (1980) and Terza madre, La (2007)) of a trilogy of films about the "Three Mothers". Director Dario Argento, composed the creepy music with the band Goblin and played it at full blast on set to unnerve the actors and elicit a truly scared performance. It is often incorrectly assumed that, to achieve the rich color palette, the film was shot using the outdated 3-strip Technicolor process. This is untrue: no film after the mid-1950s was shot using this method. The film was instead shot on normal Eastman Color Kodak stock and was then printed using the 3-strip Technicolor process, utilizing one of the last remaining machines.

"His main character mostly passive, Argento depends upon the archetypal power of borrowed images (and his ability to riff on those images) to move the film with its own animal logic; once the term "archetype" is dropped, it goes without saying that Suspiria is the stuff of fairy tale and myth (particularly in Suspiria's case, that of "Amor & Psyche"). Going a little deeper than the magnificent gore effects (and the surplus of them) and the expert establishment of tension and peril, the success of Suspiria reaches all the way into collective night and the fear of meaninglessness in the midst of an ephemeral illusion of order." - Walter Chaw

[Kurosawa Fan]

#5
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Steven Spielberg

Cableman Roy Neary is one of several people who experience a close encounter of the first kind, witnessing UFOs flying through the night sky. He is subsequently haunted by a mountainlike image in his head and becomes obsessed with discovering what it represents, putting severe strain on his marriage. Meanwhile, government agents around the world have a close encounter of the second kind, discovering physical evidence of otherworldly visitors in the form of military vehicles that went missing decades ago suddenly appearing in the middle of nowhere. Roy and the agents both follow the clues they have been given to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind: contact.

Paul Schrader wrote the original script. When Steven Spielberg, changed a great deal of it, Schrader decided to remove his credit. Since the film couldn't be left with no credit for writing, Spielberg claimed it for himself. It is possible to see an upside down R2-D2 (from Star Wars (1977), etc) in part of the large spacecraft that flies over Devil's Mountain. The SFX people needed more detail, and so supposedly there are many more such items, such as a shark from Jaws (1975) (also directed by Steven Spielberg), etc. R2-D2 is visible as Jillian first sees the mothership up close from her hiding place in the rocks. The entire landing strip complex behind Devil's Tower was actually constructed and filmed in an abandoned aircraft hangar at Brookley AFB in Mobile, Alabama.

"Spielberg creates an uneasy tension throughout these first 100 minutes, though the tension eventually is more self-defeating. He has a rather misanthropic viewpoint of contemporary suburbia; add to this a tendency to many closeups (in Panavision, yet) and you have some irritating visual jerkiness; throw in what sounds like over-dubbed noise effects, overlapping dialog, a Dreyfuss household consisting of bewildered spouse Teri Garr (her second such casting this season) and three repulsive children, Truffaut talking French through interpreter Bob Balaban, and you have an audio cacophony as well." - A.D. Murphy, Variety Staff, 1977

[dreamdead]

Excellent to see Romero, Altman, and Bunuel make the list. I'll be interested to see whether AH or SW wins out...

And I really need to get to Burnett's film. :-(

[Kurosawa Fan]

#4
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Stroszek
Werner Herzog

In Berlin, an alcoholic man, recently released from prison, joins his elderly friend and a prostitute in a determined dream to leave Germany and seek a better life in Wisconsin.

Director Werner Herzog was originally going to film the story of Woyzeck (1979) with his star Bruno S. However, a few days before production, he decided that story required Klaus Kinski in the starring role. He told Bruno, who responded that he had already taken vacation and a leave of absence from his job in a steel mill. As a result, Herzog wrote this film in 3 1/2 days, deliberately choosing a similar sounding title. The entire crew disliked the last sequence so much that Herzog had to shoot it by himself. Incidentally, he considers this scene the best he has filmed.

"Herzog presents the U.S. as beautiful, but also weird and forbidding. Although the characters don't adjust well to life in their new country, the picture is not really a critique of American society. It's a tragicomedy about the modern predicament in general, the American milieu only accentuating the spiritual malaise that was already present, opening it up and giving it a wider metaphorical field on which to play." - Chris Dashiell

[Kurosawa Fan]

#3
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Star Wars
George Lucas

Luke Skywalker leaves his home planet, teams up with other rebels, and tries to save Princess Leia from the evil clutches of Darth Vader.

Alec Guinness always recalled the experience of making the movie as a bad one, and consistently claimed that it was his idea to have his character killed in the first film, so he "wouldn't have to carry on saying these rubbish lines". Contrary to this, George Lucas has said he made the decision to kill off Kenobi, that Guinness was "less than happy" his character was dying earlier than expected, and that Guinness appeared to enjoy his time on set. Lucas acknowledges his debt to Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress (1958) in the first conference room scene on the Death Star. Just as an Imperial Officer is saying the line "...the Rebel's hidden fort..." he is telekinetically strangled by Darth Vader, shutting him up before he can say the full title.

"Star Wars is "Buck Rogers" with a doctoral degree but not a trace of neuroticism or cynicism, a slam-bang, rip-roaring gallop through a distantly future world full of exotic vocabularies, creatures and customs, existing cheek by cowl with the boy and girl next door and a couple of friendly leftovers from the planet of the apes and possibly one from Oz (a Tin Woodsman robot who may have got a gold-plating as a graduation present)." - Charles Champlin, L.A. Times, 1977

[Kurosawa Fan]

#2
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Eraserhead
David Lynch

Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

The film was created in a piecemeal fashion over five years, with many of the sets rebuilt after they had been torn down at one point to make way for other work. Jack Nance kept his hair in the same frizzy style for the duration of filming - almost five years. The mutant baby was apparently created from the embalmed fetus of a calf, although David Lynch has never confirmed this or described how he articulated it. During filming when he watched rushes, he would even go so far as to have the projectionist cover his eyes when takes with the baby were playing so that no one would know how it was made.

"Just as you’re assimilating and deciphering one composition (say, the ailing infant recovering next to something so commonplace as a humidifier), Lynch hits you with another (an immense close-up of the gaping chicken’s maw spewing frothy blood), and as soon as some meaning is generated between shocking juxtapositions, the scene is changed again. In these cases, the cerebral subordinates itself to visual overload, and the most minute connections are overlooked. The concealed (and fairly obvious) content becomes readily available because the second time around, the images are familiar. The connections and arguments Lynch makes are fairly straightforward (e.g. “In Heaven, everything is fine,” while this physical world is resolutely fucked up) but are rendered in a bewilderingly destabilizing fashion." - James Crawford

[Kurosawa Fan]

#1
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Annie Hall
Woody Allen

Romantic adventures of neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer and his equally neurotic girlfriend Annie Hall. The film traces the course of their relationship from their first meeting, and serves as an interesting historical document about love in the 1970s.

Alvy's (Woody Allen's) sneezing into the cocaine was an unscripted accident. When previewed, the audience laughed so loud that director Allen decided to leave it in, and had to add footage to compensate for people missing the next few jokes from laughing too much. Allen originally envisioned this movie as a murder mystery, with a subplot about a romance. During script revisions, Allen decided to drop the murder plot, which he and Marshall Brickman later revitalized in Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).

"This is a movie that establishes its tone by constantly switching between tones: The switches reflect the restless mind of the filmmaker, turning away from the apparent subject of a scene to find the angle that reveals the joke. Annie Hall is a movie about a man who is always looking for the loopholes in perfection. Who can turn everything into a joke, and wishes he couldn't." - Roger Ebert

[Kurosawa Fan]

Final Scores:

1. Annie Hall - 98
2. Eraserhead - 74.5
3. Star Wars - 65
4. Stroszek - 64
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 49.5
6. Suspiria - 33.5
7. Killer of Sheep - 25
8. That Obscure Object of Desire - 23.5
8. 3 Women - 23.5
10. Martin - 20

11. The Ascent - 17.5
12. Soldier of Orange - 10.5
13. Opening Night - 7.5
13. Hausu - 7.5

[Qrazy]

11. The Ascent - 17.5

Lame that we couldn't kick it up the list.