MC Yearly Consensus - 1976

[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 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)

[Spinal]

1. A Real Young Girl
2. In the Realm of the Senses
3. Carrie
4. C'etait un rendez-vous

[Qrazy]

1. Network
2. Taxi Driver
3. Killing of a Chinese Bookie
4. Assault on Precinct 13
5. All the President's Men

[Russ]

1, Taxi Driver
2. All The President's Men
3. Network
4. Assault on Precinct 13
5. Don's Party

[origami_mustache]

1. Taxi Driver
2. Logan's Run
3. The Bad News Bears


need to see more from this year...don't even want to give votes to Rocky, Carrie, or The Omen

edited: I guess Seven Beauties is 1975 on IMDB

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Taxi Driver
2. Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
3. Up!
4. The Tenant
5. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

[balmakboor]

I'll toss my vote in for these three masterpieces as well:

1. Network
2. Taxi Driver
3. Killing of a Chinese Bookie

And I'll round it out with:

4. God Told Me To
5. Carrie

Edit: Oh damn, I forgot about Bound for Glory and The Bad News Bears. Oh well, I'll keep it the same anyway.

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Taxi Driver
2. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
3. All the President's Men
4. Mr. Klein
5. Small Change

[Derek]

1. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
2. Ici et Ailleurs (Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Anne-Marie Mieville & Groupe Dziga Vertov)
3. Network (Sydney Lumet)
4. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes)
5. Harlan County, U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple)
****************************** **********
6. The Marquise of O (Eric Rohmer)
7. Buffalo Bill and the Indians Or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (Robert Altman)
8. Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter)
9. Mr. Klein (Joseph Losey)
10. Small Change (Francois Truffaut)

HMs: The Tenant (Roman Polanski)
Chinese Roulette (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston)
God Told Me To (Larry Cohen)
All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula)

[balmakboor]

5. Harlan County, U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple)


Another great pick! I'm also encouraged by the votes for Buffalo Bill to finally seek it out. It's one of very few Altmans I haven't seen yet.

[MadMan]

Well I thought I had seen more from 1976. But I haven't seen a bad film from that year yet, and everything I have seen ranges from good to brilliant.

1. The Shootist
2. The Outlaw Josey Wales
3. Rocky
4. Network
5. Assault on Precinct 13

[Ezee E]

1. Taxi Driver
2. Network
3. The Outlaw Josey Wales
4. Rocky
5. Marathon Man

[soitgoes...]

1. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
2. Harlan County U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple)
3. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood)
4. Network (Sidney Lumet)
5. Carrie (Brian De Palma)
----------------------------------------
6. CrÃ*a cuervos (Carlos Saura)
7. Rendezvouz (Claude Lelouch)

[monolith94]

1. Carrie
2. The Tenant
3. Small Change

[Boner M]

Great year for Cassavetes & horror.

1. Taxi Driver
2. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
3. Mikey & Nicky
4. The Tenant
5. Assault on Precinct 13

HM: God Told Me To, Carrie, Alice Sweet Alice, The Omen, All The President's Men

[Qrazy]

Mikey and Nickey was pretty good but I'll be damned if there weren't a ton of fuck ups. I counted 3-5 super obvious boom shots/crew/crew shadows.

[ledfloyd]

anyway Taxi Driver won't win this one? i'm not voting for it simply to propel All the President's Men further upwards, since i believe it's the better film. probably a fool's errand.

1. All the President's Men
2. The Bad News Bears
3. Buffalo Bill and the Indians

[Raiders]

1. Assault on Precinct 13
2. God Told Me To
3. Mikey and Nicky
4. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
5. The Tenant

[balmakboor]

One knows he's on MC when he sees this much support for God Told Me To.

[Benny Profane]

1. Rocky
2. Taxi Driver
3. Network
4. The Bad News Bears
5. Carrie

[Kurosawa Fan]

Whoops. My fault. I'll still tally this Spinal. Sorry for forgetting to post it.

[Kurosawa Fan]

1. All the President's Men
2. The Front
3. Taxi Driver
4. Rocky
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales

6. Network
7. Assault on Precinct 13

[Derek]

1. All the President's Men
2. The Front
3. Taxi Driver
4. Rocky
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales

6. Network
7. Assault on Precinct 13

No Chinese Roulette? :twisted:

[Kurosawa Fan]

No Chinese Roulette? :twisted:

I wanted to start a new rule that we could all vote for one film to lose 5 points. It would have been called The Chinese Roulette Rule. I didn't think Spinal would go for it, so I didn't bring it up.

[balmakboor]

I wanted to start a new rule that we could all vote for one film to lose 5 points. It would have been called The Chinese Roulette Rule. I didn't think Spinal would go for it, so I didn't bring it up.

I like that new rule idea.

[Qrazy]

I wanted to start a new rule that we could all vote for one film to lose 5 points. It would have been called The Chinese Roulette Rule. I didn't think Spinal would go for it, so I didn't bring it up.

That honestly might be an interesting balancing rule... next consensus we ought to try it... tally with and tally with out and see what comes about.

[Kurosawa Fan]

My joke doesn't seem to be working out.

[Spinal]

Whoops. My fault. I'll still tally this Spinal. Sorry for forgetting to post it.

No problem. We're still sort of trying to get back on schedule.

[Watashi]

1. Network
2. Assault on Precinct 13
3. All the President's Men
4. Rocky
5. Taxi Driver

[Pop Trash]

1. Taxi Driver
2. Network
3. Rendezvous
4. Harlan County USA
5. Carrie

6. The Omen
7. Silver Streak
8. All the President's Men
9. Marathon Man
10.Rocky

[Derek]

My joke doesn't seem to be working out.

And it might even lead one or two people to check out Chinese Roulette. :P

[balmakboor]

My joke doesn't seem to be working out.

Hmm, I guess not. Did you say a funny?

[Derek]

Hmm, I guess not. Did you say a funny?

He was professing his hatred for Chinese Roulette by suggesting that rule. That's Chinese Roulette directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder...a 1976 film...available now on Netflix...

Chinese Roulette

[balmakboor]

He was professing his hatred for Chinese Roulette by suggesting that rule. That's Chinese Roulette directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder...a 1976 film...available now on Netflix...

Chinese Roulette

Yes, I know what Chinese Roulette is. I am FASozupow after all. I guess I just didn't catch it as a joke. Maybe because CR is one of the few Fassbinders that I don't particularly care for either.

[Derek]

Yes, I know what Chinese Roulette is. I am FASozupow after all.

I know you know. I'm just rubbing KF's failure in by giving the film more attention. Thanks for ruining it for me.

;)

[Qrazy]

My joke doesn't seem to be working out.

No it is I just honestly think it could be interesting to see how it effects a consensus.

[Kurosawa Fan]

He was professing his hatred for Chinese Roulette by suggesting that rule. That's Chinese Roulette directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder...a 1976 film...available now on Netflix...

Chinese Roulette

Ha! Even a man with FAS in his name doesn't think that film is any good! You've been thwarted!!! :pritch:

[EyesWideOpen]

1. Taxi Driver
2. Network
3. The Omen
4. King Kong
5. Carrie

[Yum-Yum]

Great year for Cassavetes & horror.

Where's Don's Party?

[Yxklyx]

1. I Claudius (Herbert Wise)
2. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
3. Network (Sidney Lumet)
4. Small Change (François Truffaut)
5. All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula)

6. CrÃ*a cuervos (Carlos Saura)
7. Marathon Man (John Schlesinger)
8. Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May)
9. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood)
10. The Front (Martin Ritt)

[dreamdead]

1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
2. Taxi Driver
3. Carrie
4. Network

[Yum-Yum]

1. A Real Young Girl
2. Taxi Driver
3. Carrie
4. Alice, Sweet Alice
5. Logan's Run

Prepubescent girls have cooties.

[Boner M]

Where's Don's Party?
Should've added it to my HM's. Good flick.

[Melville]

1. Taxi Driver
2. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
3. The Tenant

[koji]

1. Black and White in Color (Jean-Jacques Annaud)
2. The Tenant (Polanski)
3. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Eastwood)
4. Desert of the Tartars (Valerio Zurlini)
5. Yakuza Graveyard (Kinji Fukasaku)

[baby doll]

A good year for French-language films and chick directors.

1. Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May)
2. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman)
3. Ici et ailleurs (Jean-Luc Godard / Jean-Pierre Gorrin / Anne-Marie Mieville)
4. L'Argent de poche (Francois Truffaut)
5. Le Locataire (Roman Polanski)

Runners-up: Family Plot (Alfred Hitchcock), Fellini's Casanova (Federico Fellini), The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg), Migration (Bill Viola), Une vraie jeune fille (Catherine Breillat).

Haven't seen: Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes).

Unnecessary to vote for: Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese).

[MacGuffin]

2. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman)

I should check this one out because it looks fascinating. I'm always hesitant with a new director, however.

[Grouchy]

1. The Tenant
2. Taxi Driver
3. Assault on Precinct 13
4. Carrie
5. The Man Who Fell to Earth

[Lazlo]

1. All the President’s Men
2. Taxi Driver
3. Network
4. Rocky
5. Logan’s Run

[balmakboor]

I should check this one out because it looks fascinating. I'm always hesitant with a new director, however.

I remember loving Jeanne Dielman... I didn't vote for it here because I don't quite trust my 25-year-old memories.

[Grouchy]

No way someone actually enjoys that Jeanne Dielman stuff. That's the perfect example of something that sounds clever on paper, but should never actually be made by someone. Or it should, so that none else has to.

[Sven]

No way someone actually enjoys that Jeanne Dielman stuff. That's the perfect example of something that sounds clever on paper, but should never actually be made by someone. Or it should, so that none else has to.

As I said to baby doll before, who said something to the effect of "Jeanne Dielman is anything but boring," is that the tedium is the expression. You HAVE to find it tedious in order for Akerman's themes of banality (ultimately transgressed through a moment of true feeling) to really situate. That may thrill some, but to deny its potential for boredom is to dismiss the film altogether.

[Grouchy]

As I said to baby doll before, who said something to the effect of "Jeanne Dielman is anything but boring," is that the tedium is the expression. You HAVE to find it tedious in order for Akerman's themes of banality (ultimately transgressed through a moment of true feeling) to really situate. That may thrill some, but to deny its potential for boredom is to dismiss the film altogether.
Yes and I agree, the whole point is that it's boring as hell. I know.

I'm just arguing that it's a movie that, if someone explains it to you verbally, you understand it and that's it, it's the same as watching it. Why actually expose yourself to 200 minutes of dullness?

[Raiders]

I'm just arguing that it's a movie that, if someone explains it to you verbally, you understand it and that's it, it's the same as watching it. Why actually expose yourself to 200 minutes of dullness?

I don't understand. Do you really think the film is just 200 minutes of stressing boredom and dullness? This isn't Warhol. I haven't seen it, but I know those who have, and not one of them has come to me and said "I just saw 200 minutes of boredom. It was awesome."

[Grouchy]

I don't understand. Do you really think the film is just 200 minutes of stressing boredom and dullness? This isn't Warhol. I haven't seen it, but I know those who have, and not one of them has come to me and said "I just saw 200 minutes of boredom. It was awesome."
I've fast-forwarded through it and seen enough at normal speed. It is 200 minutes of boredom. If it was 40 minutes long instead of 200, it wouldn't make any difference, it'd just be a little better.

No, of course it isn't Warhol, because it actually manages to be a character portrait. But, like I said, it's not a movie that actually needs to be watched. Just heard about it is enough.

[Pop Trash]

As I said to baby doll before, who said something to the effect of "Jeanne Dielman is anything but boring," is that the tedium is the expression. You HAVE to find it tedious in order for Akerman's themes of banality (ultimately transgressed through a moment of true feeling) to really situate. That may thrill some, but to deny its potential for boredom is to dismiss the film altogether.
The only Akerman I've seen was called Je Tu Il Elle. I had never heard of her and I rented it after having a conversation about The Brown Bunny with one of my friends. I was defensive of The Brown Bunny, basically saying that "it's boring" or "pointless" are retarded criticisms. He told me check out Je Tu Il Elle describing it as a "lesbian Brown Bunny." He was pretty right on in the sense that the movie is basically (spoilers here) Akerman hanging out (naked I might add) in her apartment for nearly half the movie before a rendevous with her lesbian lover where they proceed to have some lengthy steamy lesbian sex. It's a bit too minimal to be a great film (same with the Brown Bunny) but it is interesting.

[Qrazy]

Yeah... The Brown Bunny doesn't fail because it's boring... it fails because it's insipid.

[Pop Trash]

Yeah... The Brown Bunny doesn't fail because it's boring... it fails because it's insipid.
Thanks for that brilliant insight.

[Qrazy]

Thanks for that brilliant insight.

No problem.

[Sven]

"Pointless" means you were unable to derive a point, which means you, the viewer, are culpable. "Boring" means the filmmaker was unable to maintain interest, therefore they are culpable. I don't think "boring" is a bad criticism at all, so long as your reasoning is sound.

[Raiders]

No, of course it isn't Warhol, because it actually manages to be a character portrait. But, like I said, it's not a movie that actually needs to be watched. Just heard about it is enough.

And yet, after hearing all about it, I am still dying to see it.

[Qrazy]

And yet, after hearing all about it, I am still dying to see it.

Yeah after being pleasantly surprised by News from Home I'm interested in checking out more Akerman as well... at first the minimalist approach in New from Home just bored me, but something about the overall aesthetic and the tone of loneliness it gradually develops eventually won me over.

[Derek]

"Pointless" means you were unable to derive a point, which means you, the viewer, are culpable. "Boring" means the filmmaker was unable to maintain interest, therefore they are culpable. I don't think "boring" is a bad criticism at all, so long as your reasoning is sound.

I would say the opposite could also be true which is why both words are more often than not useless in terms of criticism. "Boring" can be fine, but it's so often used as a complaint against films which are not designed to be entertaining in any traditional sense of the word. Calling a film like Indy 4 boring like you did makes perfect sense as a complaint since it's explicitly designed to be the antithesis of boredom. Calling a Tarkovsky, Ackerman, Antonioni, etc. film boring, however, is useless as a criticism because it implies the viewer is looking for the film to provide something it has no intention of providing and says more about their ability to focus and get on the filmmaker's wavelength than it does about the quality of the film. It's not the word that's the problem though, but that a lot of people tend to judge all films as if they were following the Hollywood model.

[Spinal]

I don't know. I think Tarkovsky and Bergman are working in similar territory, except Bergman isn't boring. I think it is OK to expect the viewer to have patience. But I don't think it's ever a good thing to have the viewer be disengaged from what you are presenting.

[Qrazy]

But I don't think it's ever a good thing to have the viewer be disengaged from what you are presenting.

Sometimes that's exactly the point (emotional disengagement at least).

[Spinal]

Sometimes that's exactly the point (emotional disengagement at least).

Well, yes, emotional disengagement is characteristic of many great directors, but I still think you have to be engaged in some way and that it's not necessarily your fault if you aren't.

[Derek]

I don't know. I think Tarkovsky and Bergman are working in similar territory, except Bergman isn't boring. I think it is OK to expect the viewer to have patience. But I don't think it's ever a good thing to have the viewer be disengaged from what you are presenting.

But Tarkovsky had no intention of disengaging the viewer, so this is more a Spinal problem than an Andrei problem. This isn't to say you shouldn't say you find his films boring, but that it shouldn't be considered a failure of the Tark, but of you as a viewer. :)

[Spinal]

But Tarkovsky had no intention of disengaging the viewer, so this is more a Spinal problem than an Andrei problem. This isn't to say you shouldn't say you find his films boring, but that it shouldn't be considered a failure of the Tark, but of you as a viewer. :)

You will understand why I resist this conclusion, I trust. :)

[Qrazy]

Well, yes, emotional disengagement is characteristic of many great directors, but I still think you have to be engaged in some way and that it's not necessarily your fault if you aren't.

Agreed.

(But you're wrong about Tarkovsky, that is your fault)

[Grouchy]

And yet, after hearing all about it, I am still dying to see it.
Good luck then.

After reading Sculpting in Time, I decided I find Tarkovsky's ideas on paper more interesting than his films, which bore me shitless. But, unlike the Ackerman movie, I'm willing to admit that's my personality and not the actual quality of them. The Ackerman movie is just a gimmick.

[Boner M]

The Ackerman movie is just a gimmick.
I dunno... I haven't seen Jeanne Dielman yet, but News From Home (one of my very favorite experimental/non-narrative films) definitely had a lot more going for it than Warhol-ian concept, despite seeming otherwise on paper; from the composition of shots, the editing rhythm, sequencing... the fact that Mike D'Angelo (for instance) likes JD despite being notoriously unsympathetic to avant-garde filmmaking tells me that there's definitely more to it than just an endurance test.

[Grouchy]

I dunno... I haven't seen Jeanne Dielman yet, but News From Home (one of my very favorite experimental/non-narrative films) definitely had a lot more going for it than Warhol-ian concept, despite seeming otherwise on paper; from the composition of shots, the editing rhythm, sequencing... the fact that Mike D'Angelo (for instance) likes JD despite being notoriously unsympathetic to avant-garde filmmaking tells me that there's definitely more to it than just an endurance test.
No, it's not an endurance test, it's a portrait of a repressed woman that shows nothing but repression until the very end. So, basically, you watch the boring shit she does every day while the drama is completely internal.

For the same class we had to watch Jeanne Dielman for, we saw some other experimental (and shorter) films by Ackerman and I liked them. I'm just saying that I find anyone who puts a movie like JD on a Top5 for 1976... well, I find that person an unrealistic person. I don't buy it. Are you really gonna tell me you enjoy watching it? You'd buy it on DVD?

[Boner M]

No, it's not an endurance test, it's a portrait of a repressed woman that shows nothing but repression until the very end. So, basically, you watch the boring shit she does every day while the drama is completely internal.

For the same class we had to watch Jeanne Dielman for, we saw some other experimental (and shorter) films by Ackerman and I liked them. I'm just saying that I find anyone who puts a movie like JD on a Top5 for 1976... well, I find that person an unrealistic person. I don't buy it. Are you really gonna tell me you enjoy watching it? You'd buy it on DVD?
At the risk of getting into another excruciating art vs. entertainment debate, who said that a film has to be enjoyable/rewatchable to be engaging or rewarding?

[Grouchy]

At the risk of getting into another excruciating art vs. entertainment debate, who said that a film has to be enjoyable/rewatchable to be engaging or rewarding?
Well, that's the whole axis of the matter, I guess. And it depends on how anyone ranks his movies. I rank them because of quality, but also because of how enjoyable they are to me, because movies as different as Carrie and In the Realm of the Senses are not really comparable - they just came out the same year. Carrie made my list and the other one didn't because, while I think both are very well-made, I enjoy Carrie a lot more. And that's fully subjective.

So, while I recognize the merit and the ideas on Jeanne Dielman, I find it hard to put it on any "best of" list. Because it's a movie I know I'm never going to enjoy while watching it.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
2. Coup de Grace (Schlondorff)
3. Cria Cuervos
4. The Tenant
5. Network

[Derek]

So, while I recognize the merit and the ideas on Jeanne Dielman, I find it hard to put it on any "best of" list. Because it's a movie I know I'm never going to enjoy while watching it.

Since you consider some MatchCutters unrealistic and don't believe them, I'll give you a little hint to help you out. Not everyone takes a film's rewatch value into account when making a, you know, best of list. If it helps though, I find your perspective equally unrealistic.

[Grouchy]

Since you consider some MatchCutters unrealistic and don't believe them, I'll give you a little hint to help you out. Not everyone takes a film's rewatch value into account when making a, you know, best of list. If it helps though, I find your perspective equally unrealistic.
I don't believe you.

Seriously, now, I can respect that. I guess.

[Derek]

You will understand why I resist this conclusion, I trust. :)

Sure thing, Pop. But I had to try. ;)

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'll be closing and tabulating these results tomorrow morning.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Voting is closed.

[Kurosawa Fan]

#10(TIE)
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1430/smallchangeda5.jpg
Small Change
Francois Truffaut

Small Change tells the stories of several kids in a French provincial town, and of their parents and teachers.

When released, Small Change amassed critical acclaim. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. Vincent Canby of the New York
Times called Small Change, "an original, a major work in minor keys". Pauline Kael raved, "that rarity, a poetic comedy that's really funny". Roger Ebert named it his favorite of the year, calling it a "magical film" and singled out the windowsill scene as "Truffaut at his best"

"(Truffaut) tells the stories of several kids in a French provincial town, and of their parents and teachers. His method is episodic; only gradually do we begin to recognize faces, to pick the central characters out from the rest. He correctly remembers that childhood itself is episodic: Each day seems separate from any other, each new experience is sharply etched, and important discoveries and revelations become great events surrounded by a void. It's the accumulation of all those separate moments that create, at last, a person." - Roger Ebert

[Kurosawa Fan]

#10(TIE)
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/7417/mikeyandnickyai1.jpg
Mikey and Nicky
Elaine May

When Nicky calls Mikey yet again to bail him out of trouble—this time a contract on his life for money that he stole from his mob boss—Mikey, as always, shows up to help. Overcoming the obstacles of Nicky's paranoia and blind fear, Mikey gets him out of the hotel where he has holed up, and starts to help him plan his escape; however, Nicky keeps changing the plan, and a hit man is hot on their trail. As they try to make their escape, the two friends have to confront issues of betrayal, regret, and the value of friendship versus self-preservation.

The film's original $1.8 million budget ballooned to nearly $4.3 million by the time May turned the film over to Paramount. May missed the film's delivery date by almost a year because of her well-known perfectionism in the editing process. Litigation followed between the director and Paramount, with Paramount gaining possession of the film with final cut privilege. May didn't direct again for nearly twelve years. Angered over May's contentiousness during filming and editing, Paramount booked the completed film into theaters for a few days to satisfy contractual obligations, but they failed to give the film its full support. Ten years later, a new version of the film--approved by May--was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (Directors Guild of America, Fiftieth Anniversary Tribute), November 17, 1986.

"The movie is fractured, disorienting, out of control. There are fleeting moments of quirky insight, even of brilliance, but they serve to make the whole even more disconcerting. Throughout the film, the sense persists that May lost track of what she had wanted to do. Small points and moments are worried past endurance, while the main plot wanders. Watching the picture is an unsettling and eventually oppressive experience, like observing a person having a nervous breakdown." - Jay Cocks, Time Magazine, 1977

[Kurosawa Fan]

#9
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/5247/joseywalesxk8.jpg
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Clint Eastwood

A Missouri farmer joins a Confederate guerilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.

Philip Kaufman started to direct the film but was replaced by Clint Eastwood, a controversial move which prompted the DGA to institute a ban on any current cast or crew member replacing the director on a film - a rule which has ever since been titled the "Eastwood rule." In all his Westerns, Clint Eastwood has never killed any Indians. Josey Wales' friendship with various Indians underlines this fact.

"Eastwood is such a taciturn and action-oriented performer that it's easy to overlook the fact that he directs many of his movies -- and many of the best, most intelligent ones. Here, with the moody, gloomily beautiful, photography of Bruce Surtees, he creates a magnificent Western feeling." - Roger Ebert

[Kurosawa Fan]

#8
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5609/rockyyb7.jpg
Rocky
John G. Avildson

A small time boxer gets a once in a lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champ in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

When the movie was released, United Artists' publicity department released a story that an unknown actor called Sylvester Stallone had approached them with a script for a boxing picture but had insisted that they could only have the script if he were allowed to star in it himself. When they refused, so the story went, he threatened to take his script elsewhere so they offered him $18,000 which he gratefully accepted and the movie was made. Gabe Sumner, who was UA's head of publicity at the time, has since admitted that the story was a complete fabrication but that it served them extremely well and that it "promoted the whole underdog concept".

"Rocky is widely considered to be Stallone's movie - in addition to writing and starring in it, he also choreographed the boxing sequences. But he did not direct the movie. That job went to John Avildson, a filmmaker of no particular distinction at the time who was propelled by his success here to a modestly rewarding career. Avildson's work here should not be underestimated. Rocky has a lot of heart, and, while Stallone deserves some credit for this, Avildson's contributions were equally important. And the direction of the climactic fight is masterful - Avildson's handling of this 15-minute segment makes us believe we're watching a real boxing match. In addition to the adrenaline rush, there's the sense of not knowing who's going to emerge victorious." - James Berardinelli

[Kurosawa Fan]

#7
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9981/assault13bjw2.jpg
Assault on Precinct 13
John Carpenter

The lone inhabitants of an abandoned police station are under attack by the overwhelming numbers of a seemingly unstoppable street gang.

Many have noted the title misnomer, since there is no "Precinct 13" in the film. At first, Carpenter wanted to call the film "The Anderson Alamo" (the original title of his screenplay), and, at one point, he changed the working title to "The Siege." CKK, the film's distributor, was responsible for the misnomer; they rejected Carpenter's titles and came up with the name "Assault on Precinct 13" (which they felt was more ominous sounding) during post-production.

"Carpenter's doesn't allow his characters to play any sort of blame games, and despite any lingering hang-ups they may have with each other's color, the director acknowledges that our problems with race are obscuring larger issues dealing with misguided authority and rampant political deception." - Ed Gonzalez

[Raiders]

Capping Berardinelli? That desperate for good quotes?

[Kurosawa Fan]

#6
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The Tenant
Roman Polanski

A quiet and inconspicuous man rents an apartment in France where the previous tenant committed suicide, and begins to suspect his landlord and neighbors are trying to subtly change him into the last tenant so that he too will kill himself.

Although Roman Polanski plays the leading role in the film, he is given no screen credit as an actor. Philippe Sarde (the composer) chose the glass harmonica after having seen Polanski, at the restaurant, mimicking with his finger the action of making the glass sing. There was only one person left in the world that could play this instrument, for which Mozart wrote a few pieces.

"The film's nihilist point is clear: It's the world against Trelkovsky and not the other way around. There's an overwhelming sense here that the world is a stage and the people in Trelkovsky's immediate realm are in constant performance mode. Because everyone in the film seems to exist solely for his benefit, it's sometimes easy to brush Trelkovsky off as an egomaniacal loser. (Imagine a more up-tempo remake of the film with Tom Cruise in the lead.) The film's actors stand in center frame, staring not only at Trelkovsky but at the spectator as well. They pass judgment, whisper mischievously, and spread their idle gossip. This is the power of Polanski's image—to so chillingly summon the self-consciousness and fear of the individual and the pervasive gaze of threatening others." - Nick Schager

[Kurosawa Fan]

Capping Berardinelli? That desperate for good quotes?

:P

To be honest, I'm just in a hurry.

[Spinal]

Capping Berardinelli? That desperate for good quotes?

:lol:

I've tried to look for something usable in his reviews before and I can never find anything. I don't even bother scanning them any more.

[Grouchy]

Kudos to the best action movie of all time being on the list.

[Kurosawa Fan]

#4(TIE)
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Carrie
Brian De Palma

A mousy and abused girl with telekinetic powers gets pushed too far on one special night.

Sissy Spacek wasn't considered for the role of Carrie until her husband, Jack Fisk, convinced director Brian De Palma to allow her to audition. Her audition so pleased De Palma that she got the lead role. The script called for a model of the White home to be crushed by a hail of rocks. The filmmakers spent an evening trying unsuccessfully to pull off the effect, and as dawn approached, they abandoned the rocks and decided to burn it down. They liked what they saw so it stayed in the film.

"Wickedly reckless and deliriously tasteless, Carrie is about the creation of a sorceress, a geek-girl fantasy—what nerdy high-school chick hasn’t longed to zap the popular bitches?—rife with hilarious sexual symbolism (my personal favorite is Carrie’s control of a wildly leaping fire hose). No movie ever needed to end with an orgasm as much as this one, and De Palma rises to the occasion with a scene many have imitated but none have duplicated. Even when his heroine is post mortem, it seems De Palma can’t stop watching." - Jeannette Catsoulis

[Kurosawa Fan]

#4(TIE)
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All the President's Men
Alan J. Pakula

Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon's resignation.

British director John Schlesinger declined an offer to direct as he felt the story of Watergate should be told by an American. One scene involving Robert Redford on the phone is done in a continuous six-minute single take with the camera tracking in slowly. Towards the end Redford makes a mistake - he calls the phone caller by the wrong name - but as he stays in character it simply appears genuine and this was the take used in the final cut.

"Directed by Alan Pakula from William Goldman's script, President's Men works as drama as well as thriller; fencing with each other like dogs in a pen, Redford's Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman's Carl Bernstein develop an uneasy (and, inevitably, temporary) truce between Democrat and Republican, Jew and Gentile, to bring down the common enemy. The movie that launched a thousand J-school admissions, All the President's Men does journalists the service of making them human." - Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper

[Kurosawa Fan]

#3
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The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
John Cassavettes

A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man, when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.

This was actually a story idea developed by John Cassavetes and Martin Scorsese years previously. Ben Gazzara was unhappy with the role initially, unable to find a way to connect to Cosmo Vitelli. That changed when shooting a scene, Cassavetes spoke to Gazzara about the gangsters in the film as a metaphor for the people who are constantly trying to steal or ruin people's dreams. Cassavetes started to cry and Gazzara saw that playing Cosmo was representing John Cassavetes and the movie was a metaphor for the director's struggles for his own dreams.

"Fascinating in its originality, the film is somewhat undercut by an unsteady blend of naturalism and artifice. Originally developed with Martin Scorsese, the movie is ostensibly a gangster film, but the genre is bent into a demented character study. Cassavetes regular Ben Gazzara delivers an absorbing performance as the man forced into a moral quandary and barely aware of it." - Brendon Hanley

[Kurosawa Fan]

#2
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Network
Sidney Lumet

A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.

Henry Fonda turned down the role of Howard Beale, saying that it was "too hysterical." Director Sidney Lumet said that he shot the film using a specific lighting scheme. He said in the film's opening scenes, he shot with as little light as possible, almost shooting the film like a documentary. As the film progressed, he added more light and more camera moves and by the end of the film, it was as brightly lit and "slick" as he could make it.

"There's so much high-blooded speechifying going on, it's no wonder the cast rose to the occasion like a battery of thoroughbreds, and selecting standouts from William Holden's leathery old lion, Faye Dunaway's babbling clockwork orange, Peter Finch's exploded psychotic, and Robert Duvall's ferocious bullethead is a losers' game. But the film, in retrospect, is something of a rueful dinosaur, as the filmmakers must've known: It exemplifies exactly the dense, grown-up, meaning-seeking culture that Chayefsky saw being replaced by amoral bastardization. Look around, then look at the film: He was right. " - Michael Atkinson

[Kurosawa Fan]

#1
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Taxi Driver
Martin Scorsese

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as nighttime taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.

Various studios considered producing this film; one suggested Neil Diamond for the lead role. The scene where Travis Bickle is talking to himself in the mirror was completely ad-libbed by Robert De Niro. The screenplay details just said, "Travis looks in the mirror." Martin Scorsese claims that he got the inspiration for the scene from Marlon Brando mouthing words in front of a mirror in Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). Harvey Keitel rehearsed with actual pimps to prepare for his role. The scene where his character and Iris dance is improvised, and is one of only two scenes in the film that don't focus on Bickle.

"In short, thanks to what can only be termed the transformation of Taxi Driver's experimental and European elements into razzle-dazzle Hollywood effects, the spectator is invited to identify with a violently Calvinist, racist, sexist, and apocalyptic fantasy, complete with extended bloodbath, that's given all the allure of glittering expressionist art and involves very few moral consequences for most members of the audience. Because the whole thing takes place inside one glamorous character's head, the social ramifications are effectively rationalized to the point of nonexistence." - Jonathan Rosenbaum

[Kurosawa Fan]

Final Scores:

1. Taxi Driver - 93
2. Network - 56
3. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - 35
4. All the President's Men - 31
4. Carrie - 31
6. The Tenant - 30.5
7. Assault on Precinct 13 - 23.5
8. Rocky - 20.5
9. The Outlaw Josey Wales - 17
10. Mikey and Nicky - 12
10. Small Change - 12

11. The Bad News Bears - 10.5
12. A Real Young Girl - 10
13. Harlan County, USA - 9.5
14. Logan's Run - 9

[Spinal]

12. A Real Young Girl - 10

Well, Yum-Yum, we gave it out best shot. :lol:

[Qrazy]

Network is exceptional, glad to see it getting the credit it deserves.