Movies and Television

7076. Raskolnikov--April 15, 1998--7:37 a.m. PST

Kurt, clldr: Just to stir the pot a little, your two lists surprise me with their complete emphasis on more obscure, artier works, and even more obscure works by directors much more famous for other films. The reason this surprises me is that every film enthusiast I know was turned on to cinema by a film like Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, or Singin' in the Rain. Only later did they seek out more esoteric films. My top 20 list includes some Renoir, Kurosawa, Eisenstein, and the like, but I wouldn't be being honest with myself if I excluded the films which turned me on to the magic of cinema, such as some of the ones I listed above. Does no more popular film, whether it be a Welles, Scorsese, Wilder, Ford, Spielberg, or other, stand up with the greats? Do you draw a distinction between "great films" and "favorite films" (a distinction I personally abhor) Or were you trying to draw attention to more obscure films that are usually ignored on lists like this (if so, it was not done in vain, since I have seen very few of the films you listed, and will now be more likely to seek them out)?

7077. cllrdr--April 15, 1998--7:42 a.m. PST

Rask--

Lists are prime opportunities to go for the obscure and devil take the hindermost. In fact I forgot to mention "Les Amants du Pont-Neuf--Leos Carax (1992)

7078. KurtMondaugen--April 15, 1998--8:26 a.m. PST

Rask:

Good question. While it's certainly true that I can "enjoy" (digest?), say, a "GoodFellas" or what have you more readily than "Wavelength", for example, I do see them as existing on separate planes. This is not to say that I draw the distinction between 'great' and 'favorite' films; if that were so, Ken Russell would probably not have shown on the list (though my 'favorite' films from last year--"Irma Vep", "The Designated Mourner", "Mabarosi", "Cyclo"--would hardly be considered 'great' by most definitions of the word). I tried to pick the films that had the most direct, formative impact (for whatever reason) on me (of course, the first films I remember seeing as a child was Hubley's "Cosmic Eye" and Bergman's "Magic Flute", so maybe I'm coming at this differently than the "Gone With the Wind" crowd). Plus, you make an interesting point, which cllrdr corroborates...why add yet another vote for "GWTW" when the films of Melies are languishing?