I will admit, I've never heard of Blue Spring before nor am I familiar with the director (nor any of their other movies).

I have this forum and the Hall of Fames to thank for finding out about it (oh, and SpelingError for finding a link to it since it's hard to come by in the U.S.) Here's a review I wrote if you're interested.

Re: Yearly First Viewing Top Tens
 

Let's just say these were my top 20 first time viewings of the year, in basic most best to least best order.



Skinamarink
Banshees of Inisherin
Coherence
The Velvet Underground
Deadbeat at Dawn
World's Greatest Sinner
Sweet Thing
Moonage Daydream
What Happened Was....
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Terrorizers
Hyenas
Bullet Ballet
A Wonderful Cloud
Yakuza Apocalypse
Johnny Corncob
May/December
Teenage Emotions
Gaby on the Roof in July
Death Spa

Re: Yearly First Viewing Top Tens
 

Top Ten would be something like this (groups are in order, but order within each group is much less set in stone).

★★★★

When Evil Lurks

★★★½

In My Mother's Skin
The Equalizer 3
Alice
Cocaine Bear

★★★

Venus
The Sacrifice Game
Adipurush
Lawrence of Arabia
Project Wolf Hunting

My 10 Best First Viewings for 2023 - in no particular order :

Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)

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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

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3 Women (1977)

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A Hero (2021)

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Short Cuts (1993)

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Saltburn (2023)

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A Matter of Dignity (1958)

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Past Lives (2023)

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The Lion in Winter (1968)

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Sick of Myself (2022)

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Re: Yearly First Viewing Top Tens
 

My Top 10 for 2023 (in alphabetical order):

All is Lost (2013)
All the President's Men (1976)
Come and See (1985)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
La La Land (2016)
Minari (2020)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
RRR (2022)
Shirkers (2018)

Honorable Mentions (also alphabetical):

The Apartment (1960)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
The Farewell (2019)
Get Out (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Tender Mercies (1983)
Whiplash (2014)

I was able to watch a bit more films this year compared to the previous few. Apparently I'm getting better at balancing work and life. I managed to discover some great pieces of cinema along the way. As usual, I'm not including new releases in my list below.

My Top Ten Favorite First Viewings of 2023:



1) Harakiri (1962)

Pretty much a perfect film. An incredible script that is brought to life by Kobayashi in the best possible way. Holds up wonderfully. No wonder it's regarded as one of the best ever.

2) The Great Silence (1968)

The gorgeous snowy setting, Morricone's incredible score, the pitch blackness of the story, Klaus Kinski's eyes... This is such a fantastic film! Rewatched the ending more than ten times already.

3) Yearning (1964)

Naruse topped my list in 2022 with When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. So I decided to grab another film of his as the first film I watched this year. I was not disappointed. During the next twelve months, only two films were barely able to top its impact on me. Gut-wrenching stuff. Fantastic cinema.

4) Seven Samurai (1954)

I'd watched more than ten Kurosawa films before this year (some of them among my absolute favorites). But probably due to its length, I'd never watched his most famous film yet. Which is of course an absolute disgrace for someone who calls himself a cinephile. I finally rectified that this year. Don't have much more to say about this one than others already have. It's one of the most talked about pieces of cinema ever. And rightly so. A perfect film.

5) The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb (1959)

Two different films in this slot, because together they tell one whole epic story. You can't watch the one without the other. I absolutely loved this Indian duology by legendary director Fritz Lang. This probably won't be for everyone. But if The Temple of Doom is your favorite Indiana Jones picture, this is a must watch. It will offer you the same kind of exotic pleasures and setpieces. With Debra Paget's notorious snake dance as one of the highlights!

6) Excalibur (1981)

In many ways this is probably a flawed picture. I can imagine that many audiences today would consider this film dated. But I seldom had this much fun. This film completely embraces the epicness and magic of its legendary content. John Boorman went all in with this one. And I believe he very much succeeded. This is sword and sorcery at its absolute best.

7) There's Always Tomorrow (1956)

A deeply felt film by Douglas Sirk. It's a bit more subdued than some of his other melodramas. In my opinion, that's for the better. This film hits the sweet spot of what a good human drama should be. And it looks fantastic. The fact that I really like both MacMurray and Stanwyck, especially when they are together, helps as well. They are so great together.

8) Exiled (2006)

My first Johnnie To film. And man, did he not disappoint. Incredible entertainment. I've also seen his Election films this year. They could've easily featured here as well. Hope to explore his filmography a bit further in 2024. I already feel like I can't go wrong with To at the director's helm. I like his vision and he's obviously completely in control of its execution.

9) Ulzana's Raid (1972)

This seems like a pretty standard western at first. But when the first event of violence takes place, you immediately know you're in for something way more brutal and dark. And boy does it deliver. I can't really compare this film with anything. It contrasts a very methodical rendition of the war strategies between the Apache and the cavalry with the resulting chaotic brutality and human drama. A really cool film.

10) Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

I'm always down for a good wild hippie era flick. This must be one of the wildest and most enjoyable of them all. A new guilty pleasure, with some awesome music!


Almost all of the films I watch are high quality films, so there were many others that could've easily qualified as well. Some honorable mentions:

The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Deep End (1970)
The Parallax View (1974)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
The Double Life of Véronique (1991)
Light Sleeper (1992)
Coherence (2013)
Election (2005) and Election 2 (2006)

There were many more films I really liked. It's been a good year. Feel free to follow me on Letterboxd if you want to see which other great films I've seen and am seeing this year (I'll gladly follow back): https://letterboxd.com/PhilKerck/.

From my personal thread:

Re: Yearly First Viewing Top Tens
 

I've seen zero of Minio's films.


But that's probably to be expected.



Regardless, it is nice to read a list that I know **** all about.


Some of us have got to dig.

I already commented on this list (it’s very interesting and gives me more to look into).
I’ve heard of several, including the few Ichikawa films. Suzuki and Fukasaku as well.
Message from Space is one I’ve had ready to go but I just haven’t pulled the trigger quite yet. Hoping it’s better than Virus.

Re: Yearly First Viewing Top Tens
 

Another year with a pretty low count, but here are twelve that I liked a good bit this year:

High Sierra (1941)
Kiss of Death (1947)
Brighton Rock (1948)
Key Largo (1948)
White Heat (1949)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
The Turin Horse (2011)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
Embrace of the Serpent (2015)
After the Storm (2016)
Batman Ninja (2018)

2023 Top 20 Movies from beginning to end of the year.
January
Three Women
Favorite Part: Millie quitting her job after they show little concern for Pinky and more about their business. Millie's personality charmed me throughout the whole movie.
It Happened One Night
Favorite Part: The famous hitchhiking scene where Claudette Colbert flashes her leg at the car while Clark Gable fails to use his thumb to stop cars.
Deep End
Favorite Part: Michael's crush on Susan as a whole. It gets so out of hand that it eventually leads to him killing her by knocking a lamp to the back of her head. Can and Cat Stevens music is wonderful as well.
February
Wings of Desire
Favorite Part: The b&w cinematography along with the poetic dialogue. In terms of scenes, I like the part where Bruno Ganz's character is at the circus watching the person that he is in love with.
March
Black Narcissus
Favorite Part: Obviously the gorgeous technicolor is at its best in this movie. Sister Ruth losing her mentality to the point of dressing in black, her eyes turning red, and losing her life after trying to push Sister Clodaugh off the mountain.
Zazie dans le Metro
Favorite Part: Zazie running from a man and evading him in really strange ways. The bar fight scene at the end of the film. Hormosessual!
The Graduate
Favorite Part: Ben saving Elaine from her wedding and going on the bus with her to the song Sound of Silence. Jackie Brown based its opening credits on this movie.
April
The Wicker Man
Favorite Part: Edward Woodward's character being lured onto an island where he is burned to death in the Wicker Man.
June
Elephant Man
Favorite Part: The chemistry between Treves and John Merrick. Merrick reading the psalm. He is not an animal, he is a human being.
Five Easy Pieces
Favorite Part: "You shouldn't even be in the same room with her, you pompous celibate... You're totally full of shit! You're all full of shit." Way to go Nicholson!
July
Out 1
Favorite Part: Colin's pursuit of Pauline as well as his childlike behavior and fascination of the "thirteen". I love Jean-Pierre Leaud! All of the scenes where the troupes are doing theatre exercises
Sweet Charity
Favorite Part: The Rich Man's Frug sequence is one of the best musical dance sequences I have ever seen in a movie. Shirley MacLaine is so wonderful!
August
Desperately Seeking Susan
Favorite Part: All of the 80s fashion shown in this movie especially clothes worn by Madonna and Rosanna Arquette. Roberta becoming a magician's assistant and later stopping the thief who gave her amnesia.
September
Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown
Favorite Part: The chase scene between Pepa, Ana, and the cab driver against Lucia who plans to kill Pepa's lover Ivan. The movie's music also sounds beautiful.
Synecdoche New York
Favorite Part: Caden Cotard coming up with how to do his play as he is about to die within the ruins of the warehouse. This has got to be one of the bleakest movies I have ever seen.
The Apartment
Favorite Part: Bud helping Fran back to health after she had passed out in his apartment. His chemistry with both Fran and Dr. Dreyfuss is very nice to watch. This one was a very warm movie that would actually make for a great Christmas/New Years movie.
Woman in The Dunes
Favorite Part: All the ways Niki tries to escape the pit that he is trapped in. Him discovering capillary action and staying in the pit is also a highlight.
October
Gang of Four
Favorite Part: The titular gang taking on Thomas and knocking him out. Like Out 1, the play scenes are also appealing to look at. They even forshadow La Belle Noiseuse(Rivettes next film) in this movie.
November
Gloria
Favorite Part: The score by Bill Conti is so beautiful to listen to. I got chills hearing it. Gena Rowlands' Gloria character showing mother like care to her neighbors' son by shooting down anybody who tries to mess with him. This is one of the best movies of all time in my book. I am the man!!! YOU HEAR ME!!! I AM THE MAN!!!!!!!
December
Happiness
Favorite Part: Bill Maplewood confessing to his son that he raped his friends. I was shocked and disgusted by this scene even though the rape was not shown on screen. I was also shocked by the multiple masturbation scenes in this movie since I last saw one in Matador. The kid in that movie had a strange fascination for "cumming" which is the last thing that happens in this movie. I also liked watching Joy attempt to teach Russians only for them to boo her.

Honorable Mentions: Cabaret, Aguirre the Wrath of God, Bullets Over Broadway, Johnny Guitar, The Last Detail, Mulholland Drive.

Best Picture of 2023: WOTVOANB
Best Picture of 2022: Cleo From 5 to 7

Bottom 5
The Mikado
Reason: Too dated and quite boring. Quite like the Tit willow scene though.
Adoption
Reason: Not too memorable. Great theme song however.
The Innocent
Reason: Made me uncomfortable throughout and was also unsatisfied with the ending. I just can never enjoy movies made in the 2020s.
Live Flesh
Reason: Unsatisfying story and also the lack of an urge to watch this. I was bored by it but the infinitely better Apartment cleansed my pallets.
The Divorcee
Reason: This one was also too dated, but Norma Shearer puts on a great and charming performance as Jerry.

Now for a collage of some of my favorites:

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https://cokieblume.files.wordpress.c...7180ac5a5c.jpghttps://img.thedailybeast.com/image/...n-tease_pn4mok
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I'd include 3 Women, The Graduate, The Wicker Man, The Elephant Man, Five Easy Pieces, Woman in The Dunes, Gloria and Happiness amongst my most favourite films of all time. Synecdoche New York is really good and I also saw Sweet Charity for the first time this year and really liked it.

https://images.mubicdn.net/images/fi...mage-w1280.jpg

1. A Touch of Zen
2. Satantango
3. Raise the Red Lantern
4. Demons (1971)
5. Exotica
6. Deep Cover
7. Dangerous Game
8. What's Up, Doc?
9. Light Sleeper
10. Monterey Pop

Honourable mentions: Seven Chances, The Hands of Orlac, Day of Wrath, Faces, There Was A Father, Centre Stage (1991), Black Book, The Funeral (1996), Mon Oncle, Beauty and the Beast [size](1978)[/size]. 35 Shots of Rum, The Devil (1988), Mr. Vampire, Atman, Green Snake, Velvet Goldmine, Pusher II, Ball of Fire, Sisters (1972), Minnie and Moskowitz, A New Leaf, Lola Montes, Cop, Letters From Iwo Jima, Three Outlaw Samurai, The Ballad of Narayama (1958), La Notte, Le Trou, Affliction, Tongues Untied, Code Unknown, Bodied, Christiane F., Entertainment, J'accuse (1919), The Lost Letter, The Honeymoon Killers, Don't Look Back, This Is Not A Burial It's A Resurrection, The Magnificent Ambersons, The World (2004), Prospero's Books, To Sleep With Anger, A City of Sadness, The Scarlet Empress, Death By Hanging, Europe '51, Insiang, Cemetery of Splendour, A Tale of the Wind, The Flowers of St. Francis, Air Doll, Safety Last!, Monterey Pop, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, Drive (1997), Kanal, Shadows, Mother Joan of the Angels, The Boy and the Wind, The Child of Another, The Wind (1928), Story of Women, Pale Flower, Only Angels Have Wings, Titicut Follies, Offside, Storm Over Asia, The Heroic Trio, The Man Who Left His Will On Film, Last Night