Film canon

Fysh

I'm starting this thread for a couple of reasons - firstly, the statement in several threads about this year's blockbusters that as a group the regular posters in this forum tend to focus more time and attention on relatively shallow films than we do on films that are more meaty and arguably deserving of greater analysis and dissection. And secondly, because although I watch a fair amount of films, the number of classic or historically significant films I have not seen is embarrassingly high and I'm making an effort to correct this.

I thought it would be good to have a thread for discussing these sorts of films that are effectively film canon, and to keep track of what I've watched.

I've pulled together a starting list from a combination of the Sight & Sound Top 250 (2012), Roger Ebert's Great Movies List, and Tim Dirk's Top 100.

The initial list, which will take me a year if I try to make it one film a week, is as follows:

• The Godfather
• The Godfather II
• Gone With The Wind
• Casablanca
• Citizen Kane
• It's A Wonderful Life
• Psycho
• The Wizard Of Oz
• To Kill A Mockingbird
• Vertigo
• North By Northwest
• Singin' In The Rain
• The Grapes Of Wrath
• On The Waterfront
• Chinatown
• Sunset Boulevard
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• The Graduate
• All About Eve
• Lawrence of Arabia
• The Bridge On The River Kwai
• Ben-Hur
• The Maltese Falcon
• Dr Strangelove
• The Searchers
• West Side Story
• All Quiet On The Western Front
• The Third Man
• The Wild Bunch
• Night Of THe Hunter
• Annie Hall
• A Night At The Opera
• The General
• Birth Of A Nation
• Sunrise
• The Man Who Laughed
• Dr Mabuse
• Greed
• The Passion of Joan Of Arc
• Das Blaue Licht
• Fritz Lang's M
• The Blue Angel
• Der Golem
• House On Haunted Hill
• Der Weisse Rausch
• The Omega Man
• White Zombie
• La Belle Et La Bete
• Kagemusha
• Vertigo
• The Guns of Navarone
• Das Boot

Another reason for this thread is that I've owned a number of these films on DVD for years, but keep putting off watching them, so I want a reason to work through them....

To start off with, I finally watched my DVD of the Masters of Cinema Passion Of Joan Of Arc restoration recently, and I thought it was excellent. I watched the 20fps version with the recent score as accompaniament; at some point I'll try and take a look at the 24fps version to try and discern the difference.

It's a testament to the excellent performance by Maria Falconetti that a film that could have been extremely dull given its subject matter. I was reminded of 12 Angry Men in the way that a script consisting largely of individuals arguing over technicalities was nonetheless a gripping tale. Falconetti's appearance emphasised Jeanne's character, wide-eyed innocence clashing with a growing awareness that the men interrogating her clearly see her as a threat to be eliminated.

Elsewhere the film is visually strong as well, with some particularly neat shots standing out like the moving mace shot near the end when the castle guards are preparing to hold off the rioters, or the low-angle high-contrast-lit panning shot focusing on the interrogators that made them appear almost like grotesque parodies of themselves.

It's not an easygoing film, but I'm most definitely glad that I watched it and it's a good starting point for what I hope will be a very interesting year of film-viewing.

johnny_ultimate

Yeah, Passion... is breathtaking filmmaking. There are few films as emotionally draining and devastating. Dreyer's relentless close-ups deny us any form of relief, instead bringing us on one of cinema's most intimate, intense psychological journeys - aided by a startlingly raw lead performance. Has lost none of its powers to leave us shaken and stirred.

As for the list hard to dispute all the choices (ones I've seen anyway) are worthy of our time. I would perhaps aim to mix it up a little bit with some more offbeat and international voices. Vertigo, for example, is best followed by a viewing of Chris Marker's San Soleil - they complement and contrast (given Marker's direct allusions to Hitchcock's film) in fascinating ways, despite being two very different types of film. Would certainly add a few more Eastern voices too - especially given that Kagemusha, as impressive and worthy as it is, is one of Kurosawa's less vital productions, let alone Japanese cinema as a whole!

Fysh

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

As for the list hard to dispute all the choices (ones I've seen anyway) are worthy of our time. I would perhaps aim to mix it up a little bit with some more offbeat and international voices. Vertigo, for example, is best followed by a viewing of Chris Marker's San Soleil - they complement and contrast (given Marker's direct allusions to Hitchcock's film) in fascinating ways, despite being two very different types of film. Would certainly add a few more Eastern voices too - especially given that Kagemusha, as impressive and worthy as it is, is one of Kurosawa's less vital productions, let alone Japanese cinema as a whole!

Part of my rationale with the films on the initial list is to get through the stuff I've had on DVD for ages but keep forgetting to get around to - I have a Hitchcock Collection, for instance, of which I think I've only actually watched Rear Window . Similarly, I've had Kagemusha for years but keep failing to actually watch it.

I'll keep an eye out for San Soleil though; if I can get at it easily once I watch Vertigo I'll make it next on the list, as it sounds like there are some interesting contrasts between the two.

Fysh

I missed my target of getting in a classic last week, but have just finished watching The Godfather. It was predictably excellent, and even those scenes that have since been referenced/parodied so much that they are clichés were still powerful moments. It's not short by any means but every scene has a purpose, and unlike many films of similar duration I never felt myself losing interest.

I'm not decided yet on what's next - i'm thinking either Fritz Lang's M or La Belle Et La Bete over the weekend, to catch up with the one-a-week goal.