This page is a work in progress until I make a serious effort to update and edit it to a respectable length and degree, respectively, at which point I only need to add new entries as I encounter them. Right now, I sporadically write entries when I feel like it. I also intend to write a separate essay explaining how I define what a "great movie" is, some of the terminology I use, how I try to write, etc. For now, all I have is what you see below.
The Awful Truth (1937) dir. Leo McCarey
Fantastically funny screwball comedy about love between two cynics. It might cost a lot, but being understood by the Other is worth it. If you like Beatrice & Benedick, you'll like Jerry & Lucy. Unlike some of the other classic screwball comedies of the error—and My Man Godfrey and Easy Living come to mind—this movie is not, as Adorno persuasively argues, ideologically compromised. That is, it is not a cheaply sentimental and completely unbelievable "social commentary" on class relations that, in my least charitable moods, is a misleading distortion of reality and even a self-congratulatory apologetic for the status quo. No, at the heart of this movie are human relations, set against the background of a certain class environment, yes, but beneath it all, relations you or I might really stand in one day ourselves. It does them very well.
Fantastically funny screwball comedy about love between two cynics. It might cost a lot, but being understood by the Other is worth it. If you like Beatrice & Benedick, you'll like Jerry & Lucy. Unlike some of the other classic screwball comedies of the error—and My Man Godfrey and Easy Living come to mind—this movie is not, as Adorno persuasively argues, ideologically compromised. That is, it is not a cheaply sentimental and completely unbelievable "social commentary" on class relations that, in my least charitable moods, is a misleading distortion of reality and even a self-congratulatory apologetic for the status quo. No, at the heart of this movie are human relations, set against the background of a certain class environment, yes, but beneath it all, relations you or I might really stand in one day ourselves. It does them very well.
His Girl Friday (1940) dir. Howard Hawks
The Big Sleep (1946) dir. Howard Hawks
Good noirs usually have plots, but this one does not. Vibes movie. It doesn't matter what the content of the scenes are, it just matters that they're happening.
Bicycle Thieves (1948) dir. Vittorio De Sica
In Plato's Republic, Socrates discusses with Cephalus the benefits of having great wealth. The conversation goes as follows:
Socrates: What’s the greatest good you’ve received from being very wealthy?Cephalus: What I have to say probably wouldn’t persuade most people. But you know, Socrates, that when someone thinks his end is near, he becomes frightened and concerned about things he didn’t fear before...he is filled with foreboding and fear, and he examines himself to see whether he has been unjust to anyone. If he finds many injustices in his life, he awakes from sleep in terror, as children do, and lives in anticipation of bad things to come. But someone who knows that he hasn’t been unjust has sweet good hope as his constant companion...It’s in this connection that wealth is most valuable, I’d say, not for every man but for a decent and orderly one. Wealth can do a lot to save us from having to cheat or deceive someone against our will and from having to depart for that other place in fear because we owe sacrifice to a god or money to a person. It has many other uses, but, benefit for benefit, I’d say that this is how it is most useful to a man of any understanding.
This is a rather strange, but perceptive answer, and, one not returned to at any point later in the dialogue. This movie is about those not lucky enough to have such wealth.
In A Lonely Place (1950) dir. Nicholas Ray
A masterpiece. One of the greatest noirs ever, maybe the greatest. About a love that was not fated to end, that really could have happened. But due to the ways events unfolded, it did not. The hardest kind of love to let go. Gloria Grahame is stunning, and Bogart is at his finest.
Tokyo Story (1953) dir. Yasijuro Ozu
This movie is not so much (nor merely) about how, in modern life and culture, we drift away from our parents; it is about much more than that. It is about how we choose to organise our lives in such a way that we never have to answer tough questions about what it is to live a good life, beyond merely being prescribed roles to play; about what it is live well with others, beyond merely being prescribed a position next to them; about what it is we should value and how we ought to balance such values: self, work, and other; and perhaps, above all, about the fact that we defer and rationalise our own disengagement with others and these questions, rather than face up to them. This is why (human) "life is disappointing", because it so often barely even becomes what it purports to be, and so often gets in the way of itself.
Seven Samurai (1954) dir. Akira Kurosawa
This movie is all it is cracked up to be. At once Ozu and Leone. Great on despair, desperation, virtue, solidarity, and, it cannot be forgotten, pre-modern warfare. The kind of movie that makes you believe in the Jungian collective unconscious.
The Cranes are Flying (1957) dir. Mikhail Kalatozov
One of the few ways to truly grasp the scale of large tragedies is through closely told stories of representative individuals involved in them. But, in focusing on the individuals, the bigger picture risks distorting our grasp of the whole, and its scale. In The Cranes are Flying, we are shown a story of relentless personal tragedy during World War 2 in Soviet Russia, but one that is effortlessly embedded in the preponderance of tragedy that plagued Russia at the time. This is done through monumental set pieces involving desperate crowds in the same bind and scenes with no clear villains, just people sharing the same complicated anxieties. The immediate sense of tragedy we get watching our main characters therefore emanates outwards to all others. So while the story we see is unique and tragic, it is also clearly just one story among many others, without thereby diminishing its individual significance.
Imitation of Life (1959) dir. Douglas Sirk
This movie is really two movies playing at once. The first is an old-school Hollywood melodrama, whose maximalism borders on (and often is) parodic, without somehow sacrificing itself to it (just like Sirk's Written In The Wind somehow manages the same). Further, its plot is not uninstructive. It is about ambition, love, parenthood, double standards, and the harsh realities of show business and money (rich and poor). You do not see all of the second movie directly, not the least because the characters of the first forget to ask, or just keep telling it to stop talking. However, its function is to be an ironic parallel to the first for purposes both of reconciliation and trivialisation. It is about how living in a sick society means that those suffering it either must suffer it quietly, get lucky, or make some awful choices to escape it. And that those not suffering it can barely imagine what they don't experience themselves. Somehow Sirk weaves these two movies together successfully, and he pulls no punches, at every moment where you think he would. A bizarre and surreal experience.
I Am Cuba (1964) dir. Mikhail Kalatozov
I Am Cuba (1964) dir. Mikhail Kalatozov
From a technical, filmmaking perspective, this movie is unquestionably a masterpiece. The camera work, which is both dynamic and expressive, breathtakingly captures public spectacle, inner turmoil, and performance alike. And while the rest of the elements, including some of the acting, dubbing, and plotting, do not fully come together, a real democratic sense of powerlessness and then empowerment is portrayed with an impactful sincerity. This is especially so in the first two vignettes, which powerfully convey the psychic indignities of injustice, and the same powerlessness that will later be channeled on Do the Right Thing (1989).
The Train (1964) dir. John Frankenheimer
An entry from the ever-underrated John Frankenheimer. Extremely well-crafted WW2 film: costumes, sets, pyrotechnics, camera angles, plot, characters. It's a blast. Like Dr Strangelove (and perhaps Bridge On The River Kwai), it is (at least partially) an ode to extremely talented and hard-working people that put their lives on the line for (what they take to be, and sometimes what is) The Good.
An entry from the ever-underrated John Frankenheimer. Extremely well-crafted WW2 film: costumes, sets, pyrotechnics, camera angles, plot, characters. It's a blast. Like Dr Strangelove (and perhaps Bridge On The River Kwai), it is (at least partially) an ode to extremely talented and hard-working people that put their lives on the line for (what they take to be, and sometimes what is) The Good.
A Bullet for the General (1967) dir. Damiano Damiani
A spaghetti western about how capital frustrates, captures, and even co-opts revolutionary forces, and that even very solid things, melt into air.
Samurai Rebellion (1967) dir. Masaki Kobayashi
A movie consisting of two hours of meetings, and then finally a climax. And it's great. Full of real emotion and a thrilling plot. One of the great Japanese samurai movies of this era. Shares with some of its contemporaries (notably, Ikiru and Harakiri) the very Japanese theme of a forgotten struggle wiped from the history books by a buck-passing bureaucracy.
The Ear (1970) dir. Karel Kachyna
The finest entry in one of many (so-called) "Czech new wave" movies to skewer authoritarian regimes past and, in this case, present (it was made about, and outlawed under, the Czech communist party). Like other great entries in this tradition (cf. Closely Watched Trains, The Cremator) The Ear is very cynical and makes sure to dressing up all political actors as incompetent, hypocritical buffoons, though self-consciously so, and for that reason dangerous. However, what sets this move apart from others is twofold: (1) it is played as a thriller, and effectively so; (2) the couple depicted are a very real couple—already clearly broken down by their marriage and situation—being broken down, in a very real way, by the events of the movie. Like Dr. Strangelove meets Repulsion meets The Passion of Anna, or something.
A spaghetti western about how capital frustrates, captures, and even co-opts revolutionary forces, and that even very solid things, melt into air.
Samurai Rebellion (1967) dir. Masaki Kobayashi
A movie consisting of two hours of meetings, and then finally a climax. And it's great. Full of real emotion and a thrilling plot. One of the great Japanese samurai movies of this era. Shares with some of its contemporaries (notably, Ikiru and Harakiri) the very Japanese theme of a forgotten struggle wiped from the history books by a buck-passing bureaucracy.
The Ear (1970) dir. Karel Kachyna
The finest entry in one of many (so-called) "Czech new wave" movies to skewer authoritarian regimes past and, in this case, present (it was made about, and outlawed under, the Czech communist party). Like other great entries in this tradition (cf. Closely Watched Trains, The Cremator) The Ear is very cynical and makes sure to dressing up all political actors as incompetent, hypocritical buffoons, though self-consciously so, and for that reason dangerous. However, what sets this move apart from others is twofold: (1) it is played as a thriller, and effectively so; (2) the couple depicted are a very real couple—already clearly broken down by their marriage and situation—being broken down, in a very real way, by the events of the movie. Like Dr. Strangelove meets Repulsion meets The Passion of Anna, or something.
Walkabout (1971) dir. Nicholas Roeg
To criticise this movie for indulging in an all to easy glorification of the ‘noble savage’ would be too quick, and mostly wrong. This is the story of two children whose father—who has been sapped by a certain way of living in the modern world—inadvertently inflicts upon them an ordeal (after failing to kill them): to escape their being stranded in the Australian outback. In doing so, they do not learn of a 'better' way of life, they learn that there are other ways, and that their father’s—and by extension theirs—forecloses on them. And indeed, all of this is besides the (cinematic) point. Walkabout can be watched and enjoyed without having a single thought about whether, and if so what, it is ‘trying to say’, if it is trying to do such a thing at all. The movie can be watched as (and is) an adventure-survival movie with arthouse sensibilities, featuring a spellbinding and beautiful depiction of the Australian outback, the vitality of their guide, and his life.
Chinatown (1974) dir. Roman Polanski
There are (at least) three things that are great about this movie: (1) how the plot unfolds and how you (and Jake) unfold alongside it; (2) the character arc qua personal character of Jake Gittes. The plot cumulatively reveals a new aspect of his character with each new development (oscillating between virtue and vice, climaxing in virtue, but left, no doubt, in a smouldering cynicism). (3) The scope of concern zooms in and out, between small and large, from personal drama to political intrigue and back again, and back again; (4) that sometimes we are powerless to prevent evil, both in the sphere of the private and in the sphere of the public, and that we should not have even tried in the first place. Ah, forget it. One of the greatest.
There are (at least) three things that are great about this movie: (1) how the plot unfolds and how you (and Jake) unfold alongside it; (2) the character arc qua personal character of Jake Gittes. The plot cumulatively reveals a new aspect of his character with each new development (oscillating between virtue and vice, climaxing in virtue, but left, no doubt, in a smouldering cynicism). (3) The scope of concern zooms in and out, between small and large, from personal drama to political intrigue and back again, and back again; (4) that sometimes we are powerless to prevent evil, both in the sphere of the private and in the sphere of the public, and that we should not have even tried in the first place. Ah, forget it. One of the greatest.
Swept Away (1974) dir. Lina Wertmüller
Not merely a critique of class politics, but also a parable on the psychology of status, loving recognition, and the socio-cultural-economic conditions that make it—recognition—possible.
Not merely a critique of class politics, but also a parable on the psychology of status, loving recognition, and the socio-cultural-economic conditions that make it—recognition—possible.
The American Friend (1977) dir. Wim Wenders
Probably the most beautiful movie I have ever seen. I do not know what he does to his cameras and how he does his lights (I'm looking at you, Müller), and I do not know how he selects and frames his shots, but he does. Mostly a vibes movie but has a pretty good plot too (though it could lack a plot and still be a great movie). It's about those deep but transient friendships you have with someone you don't really understand or know for very long. A buddy cop film.
Killer of Sheep (1977) dir. Charles Burnett
A bittersweet portrait of life in a poor black American neighbourhood at the time of filming, centring roughly around a disaffected slaughterhouse worker and his family. Unfolds mostly through mood and vignette. It owes as much to minimalist world cinema (Bresson, De Sica, Ozu) as it does to the conditions it depicts. While I like this style of movie, this is not the best execution of it I have ever seen. What pushes it into being a great movie is, in my opinion, the incredibly well-placed and -curated needle drops. In this respect it rivals Scorsese.
Blood Simple (1984) dir. Ethan & Joel Coen
A solid thriller elevated to a great movie by the particular distribution of information among the characters at any given moment, as well as the way this distribution shifts: in steps, and unevenly.Body Double (1984) dir. Brian De Palma
De Palma takes his greatest vice, his writing, and uses it, rather unconventionally, to craft a plot that stretches credulity so thin—much thinner than Hitchcock (successfully) stretches it in Vertigo—and which is so contrived, but so brilliantly orchestrated as a single whole, from beginning to end, he essentially turns bad writing into good writing, doing so in a way both ironic and sincere. In concert with his always-impressive command over the technical aspects of film-making, his Hitchcok-ian sensitivity to human finitude, and for thrills; this is surely De Palma's masterpiece.
Full Moon In Paris (1984) dir. Eric Rohmer
A movie that draws you into the world horizon of a complex individual and then deftly reminds you that there are others, and they are just as complex—and just as free.
Vagabond (1985) dir. Agnes Varda
A movie that does not endorse any particular way of living, but serves to remind us of our agency to choose the life we live. (Cf. Walkabout.)
Unforgiven (1992) dir. Clint Eastwood
Often touted as the 'death of the western' movie, on account of its intentional 'deconstruction' of the wild west's mythic image, as it is depicted by movies of the past. Unlike those movies of the past, this one has us follow anti-heroes, is ultimately morally grey, and depicts the west in all its dying brutality. This is an entirely superficial reading of film history. Anyone who has actually watched a few westerns could tell you that they have been concerned with anti-heroes, the morally grey, and the true nature of life and death in the west, since the genre's inception. Indeed, it is one of peculiar preoccupations of them. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed westerns ever, The Searchers (1956), could clearly be described in the same was as above. Yet for all the misunderstanding of this movie, and its place in film history, it must be admitted that its particularly grey brutality almost invites it. One of the finest westerns ever made. Probably Eastwood's greatest directorial effort, and certainly one of his best performances. Scenes movie.
Often touted as the 'death of the western' movie, on account of its intentional 'deconstruction' of the wild west's mythic image, as it is depicted by movies of the past. Unlike those movies of the past, this one has us follow anti-heroes, is ultimately morally grey, and depicts the west in all its dying brutality. This is an entirely superficial reading of film history. Anyone who has actually watched a few westerns could tell you that they have been concerned with anti-heroes, the morally grey, and the true nature of life and death in the west, since the genre's inception. Indeed, it is one of peculiar preoccupations of them. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed westerns ever, The Searchers (1956), could clearly be described in the same was as above. Yet for all the misunderstanding of this movie, and its place in film history, it must be admitted that its particularly grey brutality almost invites it. One of the finest westerns ever made. Probably Eastwood's greatest directorial effort, and certainly one of his best performances. Scenes movie.
Life Is Sweet (1996) dir. Mike Leigh
A perceptive and unflinching portrait of working class and family life; of human life, a place where everyone has a depth to them, their own desires, preferences, and frailties. Leigh remains unrivalled at bringing life, our sweet life—in this sense—to the screen.
The Big Lebowski (1998) dir. Ethan & Joel Coen
Scene for scene one of the funniest movies ever made. The convoluted private detective plotting ("You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous. And, uh, a lotta strands to keep in my head, man") is a kind of meta-homage to the old noirs of the same name (The Big Sleep, The Big Clock, The Big Combo, The Big Knife), but especially to the plotlessness of The Big Sleep. The joke is that the sharp-talking do-it-all is replaced by a bumbling stoner. Genius.
Breathless (2008) dir. Yang Ik-Joon
South Korean Buffalo 66. Much less stylised. More violent. Bears no relation to Godard (which is good).
The Hunt (2012) dir. Thomas Vinterberg
Very real, very uncomfortable, and often very funny. A deeply human film: brotherhood, deception, rumours, suspicion, grief, violence, love, isolation, loneliness. In the class of new European films (last 30 years) that look great and have an interesting, fucked up plot. (Cf. Haneke, von Trier, and similar.)
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) dir. Justine Triet
Very real, very uncomfortable, and often very funny. A deeply human film: brotherhood, deception, rumours, suspicion, grief, violence, love, isolation, loneliness. In the class of new European films (last 30 years) that look great and have an interesting, fucked up plot. (Cf. Haneke, von Trier, and similar.)
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) dir. Justine Triet
Works on multiple levels. An intriguing courtroom drama, the facts and procedures on display are well-suited to scratch our itch to uncover a mystery. About the inscrutability of ourselves and of others (but especially about the blindspots that emerge out of our particular sense of entitlements). Finally, it is about the gulf between lived experience and (in this case, legal) description (between being-there and hearing-that)—a gulf crossed by art, and by Bergman, in particular.
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