Yearly Consensus 1971 (Deadline Oct. 20th)

[Watashi]

I haven't seen a lot of these movies in a while, so I can't properly rank it.

I would probably put Wilder at #1 for performances though.

[Yxklyx]

1. Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg)
2. The Devils (Ken Russell)
3. The Andromeda Strain (Robert Wise)
4. Straw Dogs (Sam Peckinpah)
5. Little Murders (Alan Arkin)

1. Malcolm McDowell - A Clockwork Orange
2. Peter Finch - Sunday Bloody Sunday
3. Dustin Hoffman - Straw Dogs
4. Jüri Järvet - King Lear
5. Warren Beatty - McCabe & Mrs. Miller

[EyesWideOpen]

1. A Clockwork Orange (favorite film of all time)
2. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
3. Harold and Maude
4. A Safe Place
5. Straw Dogs

[Lazlo]

1. Harold and Maude
2. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
5. And Now For Something Completely Different

1. Gene Wilder - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
2. Ruth Gordon - Harold and Maude
3. Julie Christie - McCabe and Mrs. Miller
4. Warren Beatty - McCabe and Mrs. Miller
5. John Cleese - And Now For Something Completely Different

[soitgoes...]

1. The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (Brakhage)
2. Nostalgia (Frampton)
3. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Altman)
4. Love (Makk)
5. Sympathy for the Underdog (Fukaskau)

HM's: The Last Picture Show, Punishment Park, Walkabout, Straw Dogs and Winnie the Pooh Goes Visiting

[dreamdead]

1. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
2. Punishment Park
3. The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes
4. The French Connection
5. Get Carter

Still a lot that I need to see...

[Dukefrukem]

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. THX 1138
3. Fists of Fury
4. Duel

[Grouchy]

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. The Last Picture Show
3. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
4. The Abominable Dr. Phibes
5. Vanishing Point

[elixir]

This film has perhaps my two most wanted viewings of all time in La maison de bois and both versions of Out 1 (though specifically the longer one).

[elixir]

Though maybe I should quickly sign onto Fandor so I can watch Quick Billy...

[Llopin]

1. Murmur of the Heart
2. The Ceremony
3. The Merchant of Four Seasons
4. Sympathy for the Underdog
5. Death in Venice

1. Bulle Ogier, La Salamandre
2. Riccardo Cucciolla, Sacco and Vanzetti
3. Kenzô Kawarasaki, The Ceremony
4. Gena Rowlands, Minnie and Moskowitz
5. Dirk Bogarde, Death in Venice

[Thirdmango]

1. Bananas
2. Dirty Harry
3. Bedknobs and Broomsticks
4. Harold and Maude
5. Fiddler on the Roof

[Thirdmango]

I won't be able to get to this for another day or so, so get those votes in if you haven't.

[Gizmo]

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. Harold and Maude
3. Fiddler on the Roof
4. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

[Thirdmango]

Votes are in, I'll be getting to this shortly.

[EyesWideOpen]

Just watched The Last Picture Show. That would have easily been my number 2. Magnificent film.

[Thirdmango]

10. The French Connection

I watched the first one again (French Connection) for the first time in about ten years and it still holds up. It has such a great lived in, docudrama quality. Plus the editing is just mindblowing. I love the abrupt ending too.

-Pop Trash

Was surprised by how succinct and powerful the editing to The French Connection classic scenes (re: car chase) was--it was dynamic and kept a scene that I've always seen clips of gripping and tense throughout. I feel as though the film doesn't fully explore Hackman's racist and chauvinist tendencies, but the bitterness of the ending remains solid, and the film has enough classic moments that I let it take a pass. Really solid, and a pinnacle of the genre.

-dreamdead

[Thirdmango]

9. Punishment Park

Punishment Park is very well-made and entertaining, but boy howdy is it heavy-handed. It's a very effective sledgehammer, but I'm afraid there's nothing much left after the impact.

-StanleyK

The escalating absurdities and rising frustrations felt by the characters in Punishment Park are what make the film so powerful. Sure, the idea is conveyed very early on, but the way in which it displays the hopelessness of the situation, and, in fact, our real world situation, is brilliant.

-D_Davis

[Thirdmango]

8. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

This was the first movie I ever saw without my parents, just me and my friends. And for years when it would show up on television I would pace the room impatiently waiting through all the boring stuff so I could get to Wonkaland and Wonka himself. Then I would plunk down on the couch and be transfixed. I still think the moment at the end when he turns on an Everlasting Gobstopper from mean to embracing is the most effective "feel good" moment in movie history.

-balmakboor

The sets are dated now but just imagine yourself upon the film's release and seeing this edible chocolate-candy paradise with fresh eyes. It's a dream come true. The song gives you an inside-glimpse at Wonka's genius and what kind of character he really is. He is deranged, odd, and funny, but in his heart, he enjoys bringing joy into the world. The music and lyrics are amazing, but the scene belongs to Gene Wilder. He settles into the Wonka character like it's his normal routine and the role he was meant to play.

-Watashi talking about the song Pure Imagination

[Thirdmango]

7. Straw Dogs

I'm just pretending this remake doesn't exist. The original is a masterpiece.

-Ivan Drago

[Thirdmango]

6. Walkabout

Watched Walkabout tonight. Why did I wait so long to see this beautiful, mysterious masterpiece?

- Balmakboor

Yeah, I'm shocked you haven't seen it. Seems like a perfect fit. Top 5 film for me.

-Spinal in reply to Balmakboor

[Thirdmango]

5. The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes

It took me a long time to work up the courage to see that one. In the first 10 minutes or so (before the actual autopsy footage began), I found myself frequently looking away from the screen, still very tentative, and ready to shut if off at any moment. But I was determined to see it through, and funny thing is, the more graphic it got, the more quickly I became desensitized to the images; by the end, I was transfixed to the screen.

- Russ

[Thirdmango]

4. Harold and Maude

I watched Harold and Maude three days ago, and I have had Cat Stevens "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" in my head constantly since then, amazingly it's still pleasant more than annoying. I liked that movie; Harold reminded me of Jason Schwartzman's Max in Rushmore, quirky and oh, so endearing.

- thefourthwall

[Thirdmango]

3. The Last Picture Show

The Last Picture Show is impressive, by the way. Excellent film about the love for cinema.

- Grouchy

Just watched The Last Picture Show. That would have easily been my number 2. Magnificent film.

- EyesWideOpen

[Thirdmango]

2. McCabe & Mrs. Miller

McCabe and Mrs. Miller might crack my top 50 film characters.

-Adam

McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a strange, alluring little film that manages to elevate a helluva lot higher than its basic story, showing a portrait of a lifestyle, an era and a way of living and thinking through the eyes of the small village where the plot unfolds. Altman is telling a tragic love story, but at the same time, his "realistic", meandering approach manages to tell a lot of different snippets of stories relating to every fully fleshed character. Of course, the acting in general is superb, but it was particularly uncanny how the two well known stars (Warren Beatty and Julie Christie) completely disappeared inside their roles. Incidentally, I finally recognized that amazing character actor from Walker who plays the gossip bartender - Rene Abujernois. The music by Leonard Cohen fits the tone of the film so well that it's miraculous that the scenes weren't thought with it in mind. I'm not very well versed in Altman, tell you the truth, having only seen M.A.S.H. and Gosford Park, but this movie floored me. I'd sort of avoided his stuff so far (even though I liked what I'd seen) because of his approach to deconstructing genre, which I considered sort of mechanical judging the book strictly by the cover, but I liked how it was executed here, particularly the final shoot-out. The part where Keith Carradine's character gets shot is also very affecting, and it's obvious that Altman pulled one on us by fattening up this very minor character so that we like him and grief over his untimely kill.

-Grouchy