Cobpyth's Top 101 Favorite Feature Films

→ in
Tools    





After a solid 2 to 3 years of serious film watching, I can conclude that so far, Kubrick has not been parallelled by any director yet, in terms of satisfying me both visually and content-wise. I just love watching and admiring his films. Kubrick knew how to make ambitious and refreshing films and his movies never lose my interest for one second. They're pieces of art that very much reward periodic revisits. His last movie is not an exception and the fact that, over time, the praise for this film only increases, is not a coincidence! It's just a very memorable film experience that doesn't easily escape the minds of the people who have witnessed it...
It's my favorite American director as well. His work is extremely impressive in that regard and I agree that he is very top notch. I would guess he would be comparable to Kurosawa, Ozu and Tarkovsky in the "technical" live action film department.

I posted this scene, because I'd like to demonstrate that Kubrick also knew that (both subtle and more excessive) sparkles of oddity and humor can help to retain a viewer's attention and to actually even strengthen the profoundness of the film experience. It's something that certain "serious" directors completely lack and that's why they're often perceived as much more boring by the mainstream public.
Like Tarkovsky, Bresson and Tarr?



42. The Long Goodbye (1973)



And yet another film appears that could be categorized under the (neo-)noir genre. This time it's Robert Altman's highly original, darkly comical '70s version of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective story, The Long Goodbye!

There isn't really anything I don't love about this movie. I love every single quirk of it and I admire how everything it seems to do can be seen as some sort of clever commentary on the clichés of the classic noir genre or the '70s itself as a time period, which beautifully contrasts, but also at the same time brilliantly accompanies the main character (flawlessly played in a very unique way by Elliott Gould) who still kind of seems stuck in the '40s or '50s.



Besides the fact that it's simply a very smart film conceptually, I also believe that you have to be a fan of all the small elements in it that make it so unique and the atmosphere it provokes. If you're not, then it will be much harder to love this film.
The different versions of the music score, Marlowe lighting a cigarette in every scene he's in, Marlowe's dry mumbling throughout the film ("It's okay with me"), the naked girls who live next door, all the great supporting characters and background characters (Arnold Schwarzenegger is in this film!), Marlowe trying to feed his cat, the guy imitating famous movie stars, etc. I love all of it! They make the film livelier, more realistic or more stylish. Every single moment or scene in this film somehow adds to its quality for me. It's a very rich film that offers much more than just a complex detective mystery with some cool dialogue (not that I have any problems with that kind of films). This film seems to aim for something higher and even more satisfying, both concept-wise and execution-wise. It totally worked for me (like most Altman films).

I'm very pleased to see that it seems to have gained a large popularity during the last few months around here and that it ranked so high on the '70s list. This film definitely deserves all that praise! I think it's very plausible that this film will rank even higher the next time I'll make a top 101 list (2 years from now or something), because it's one of those movies that only gets better and better for me.


One of my favorite opening sequences of all time! It perfectly sets the tone for the film, it's effortlessly funny and you just know you're in for a unique treat!

--------------------------------------
__________________
Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019



The Long Goodbye is nearly a masterpiece if not definitely. Altman's second best film that I've seen.



I watched The Long Goodbye for the 70's list; it's not quite a favorite, but I thought it was awfully good. It's one of those movies that I think could become a favorite with repeat viewings.



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
I prefer the Big Sleep Marlowe, but Altman's take is good too.
__________________
Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



Haven't watched The Long Goodbye yet. I think i'll take the time to read through this thread either later tonight or tommorow, it looks like you've put a ton of effort into it . Also that pic of the guy in the supermarket will always be what Daniel M looks like in my head, i was half hoping that was an unexpected snapshot taking in Tesco of him .



I think it's very plausible that this film will rank even higher the next time I'll make a top 101 list (2 years from now or something)
At this pace, it'll be two years before you even finish this one!

I think The Long Goodbye is a very good movie, but the praise it gets on this forum is a little overboard, in my opinion.

Good write-up, though, as always.
__________________



The Long Goodbye is one great movie of Altman that I actually really appreciate nice pick !
__________________
''Haters are my favourite. I've built an empire with the bricks they've thrown at me... Keep On Hating''
- CM Punk
http://threemanbooth.files.wordpress...unkshrug02.gif



Love every word you said about Nashville...hands down, Altman's masterpiece.

Love Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love, and Magnolia, but I found this film a real chore to get through...Daniel Day Lewis is brilliant but the film is not worthy of its length. JMO.

So pleased to see Notorious on your list...the film features my personal favorite Ingrid Bergman performance.