my personal canon, part III

[sleepingjpb]

So, OK, time to branch out and get some more non-English-language stuff on this list.

We're going to start off with a quick tour of Europe. From Italy, the director I feel is most important is the great Federico Fellini: it's hard to beat his two masterpieces La Dolce Vita (1960) and 8 1/2 (1963). I'm also quite fond of his whacked-out, near-

Comments

[anaskyfish]

This is a tricky list! I'm thinking about giving it a shot -- my friend Olesia is (painfully) working through the AFI Top 100, so it'd be useful if I had an available corrective, but just thinking about it makes me all confused and indecisive. That said, I'd definitely like to speak up for Kenji Mizoguchi's film Ugetsu, which might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. There's some directors that definitely deserve a spot, but they don't necessarily have a definitive film -- I'm thinking of Krzysztof Kieslowski, in particular, of which any of his films would probably work (though I personally wouldn't include Blue as I can't stand Juliette Binoche). I guess I can see Triumph of the Will as an inclusion, but if you're not gonna include M, well, that's just crazy talk. Like I said, it's tricky.

[sleepingjpb]

Kieslowski is tricky in exactly the way you articulate: I sort of wish I could count the "Three Colors" trilogy as a single entrant, which I might yet do anyway. Have you seen any of the films from The Decalogue? (I haven't.)

I was hoping no one would catch that I hadn't mentioned M: I haven't seen it, and I thought maybe I could slip on by.

And while we're on the subject of Germany, it occured to me this morning (while looking at my friend Darren D.'s own "canonical" list) that I'd completely forgotten Wings of Desire somehow. Incredibly stupid, as it's probably one of my ten favorite films of all time. It'll get a slot soon.

So, yes, in conclusion, it's "tricky" indeed, but it's also been very personally engrossing: it's a lot of fun to raid the memory banks and try to take what you remember and compare it against what you "know" and try to shape it into something "definitive," even if it's only "pretend-definitive." I am certain that the second I get to 100, I'll be like "oh shit! what about..."

[ricercares]

Hi JPB,

Well, I've been dragged kicking and screaming into the social side of the internet - so... nice to see you! Hope you're doing well - I've been keeping an eye on Racooon for a couple of years and really digging it.

Interesting list of films you've chosen - eclectic, but with a marked lack of the kind of ultra-obscure/pretentious flicks I'd usually expect to see in a friend's list! ... or will Flaming Creatures et al feature in your next post? ;)

On the subject of Asian film, I'd place Kobayashi's Seppuku very high in my personal canon. It's got a great electro-acoustic/traditional japanese/wild west score by Toru Takemitsu too!

I'm surely going to be keeping an eye out for Nostalghia from now on...

[sleepingjpb]

Well hello there.

I heard a rumor that you were soon to be a father: is it true?

eclectic, but with a marked lack of the kind of ultra-obscure/pretentious flicks I'd usually expect to see in a friend's list

On a list of my own personal favorites there would probably be more films of that variety. With this list, though, I'm trying to pick films that are broadly representative of the whole total body of film, which necessitates choosing a good amount of pretty populist stuff.

On the other hand, I have pretty democratic tastes, so maybe my personal favorites list would skew populist too.