Yearly First Viewing Top Tens

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Holy crap Sean that's a perfect ten (of those i've seen) so i can't complain.

Ratcatcher: You know what i think of this. One of my favourite films.
Love Streams: Again you know what i think from Director of the Month
Chungking Express: This might be my favourite film after my rewatch earlier this year.
In The Mood For Love: I remember you mentioning Mad Men, i hadn't considered that at the time but that's clearly a big reason why i love it.
The Exorcist: Still waiting on you telling me you're messing with me! My favourite Letterboxd moment of the year was seeing you had gave this

Vivre Sa Vie: One of my favourite films and the only Godard i really love so far, great #1.

Watching The Ascent for the Countdown of course, also long been planning on seeing Mystery Train and Children of Paradise. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof is the surprise here for me, been aware of it for ages but had no idea if it was supposed to be good or not and wasn't aware you were a fan, has went up the watchlist now,



I watched 224 films this year. My favourites (ranked somewhat loosely) would be

Punch Drunk Love
Taxi Driver
Her
Magnolia
Inside Llewyn Davis
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Paris, Texas
Dr Strangelove
The Master
The Graduate
Boogie Nights
Goodfellas
Lost in Translation
American Psycho
Zodiac
Before Midnight
Boyhood
Before Sunset
Before Sunrise
Drive
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Good Will Hunting
Alien
Fantastic Mr Fox
Full Metal Jacket
Mulholland Drive
The Social Network
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Inglourious Basterds
Barry Lyndon
There Will Be Blood
Blue Velvet
La La Land
Rushmore
The Fly
Videodrome
Children of Men
Black Swan
The Prestige
The Thin Red Line
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Nice Guys
The Matrix
Raging Bull
Manchester by the Sea
Sideways
Mystic River
The Big Sick
Adaptation
Anomalisa



Vivre sa Vie was already one of my faves but after just revisiting In the Mood for Love, that became a fave as well. Great list!



Watched tool many good ones to keep it to 10:

College (1927)
Metropolis (1927)
M (1931)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
All the Kings Men (1949)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Viy (1967)
The Wicker Man (1973)
House (1977)
All That Jazz (1979)
Dogville (2003)
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Coherence (2013)
DePalma (2015- Doc.)
Hell House LLC (2015)
Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Hell or High Water (2016)
Train to Busan (2016)
Gleason (2016 - Doc.)
The Wailing (2016)
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Don't Breathe (2016)
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
American Made (2017)



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Out of the Past and Shadow of a Doubt were probably the two best I saw for the first time this year. After that, Lady Bird, The Shining, Titanic and Nightmare on Elm Street.



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
1. Naked (Mike Leigh, 1993)
2. Mother (Darren Aronofsky, 2017)
3. It's Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt, 2012)
4. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washingon (Frank Capra, 1939)
6. Black Cat, White Cat (Emir Kusturica, 1998)
7. The Little Foxes (William Wyler, 1941)
8. Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)
9. The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)
10. Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001)

Watched way less movies than usual this year but found some gems including a all-time favourite, Naked.



Just want to post my top 15 in this thread as well, so I can look back at it next year. Loving all the lists I've read here. Seems like I wasn't the only one who had a great year! I especially like the fact that Love Streams has been mentioned a few times. It has been a favorite of mine for a few years already. I'm glad that some of you enjoyed it as much as I did back then!

TOP 15 FAVORITE FIRST WATCHES OF 2017

In this first post I want to talk about my 15 favorite new film discoveries of 2017. These are all films that I watched for the first time during 2017. It was, like always, a heartbreaking mission to leave out all the other films that deeply touched me, but one has to make choices. Here we go!

15) Diva (1981)

One of the most beautiful pieces of entertainment I've witnessed in 2017. The style of this picture is absolutely amazing, but there's also a deliciously complex plot to keep the viewer busy. I don't see how anyone could not enjoy this marvelous film.

14) My Night at Maud's (1969)

This was my first Rohmer experience and his style immediately clicked with me. He's one of the filmmakers I'll further look into in 2018, as this film was a real treat.

13) Women in Love (1969)

This is the first of two Ken Russell films that reached this top 15. It's pretty much a film that's totally in synch with what I love so much about the medium. Marvelous decors, stunning performances, emotional manipulation through editing and music... It's all mastered here in this tale of psychological decadence.

12) Youth of the Beast (1963)

Suzuki is basically one of the most stimulating directors of all time for me. After discovering his work in 2016 with Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill, I watched this fantastic film this year. It was able to entertain me just as much as the other two. I'm having difficulties finding good copies of his other work, but if I can find some, I'll definitely try and watch them in 2018.

11) The Terrorizers (1986)

This was my introduction to Edward Yang, another director I'll try to delve into a little more in 2018. This lovely Taiwanese film with its mosaic narrative hasn't left my mind all year. It's obviously created by a ridiculously talented filmmaker. Can't wait to see more of his!

10) Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

This was one of the first films I watched this year and I immediately knew it would remain one of my very favorites. It's a film that's able to be both very jazzy and laid-back, while remaining intense and erudite all the way through.
Jimmy Stewart versus George C. Scott... What else could a cinephile wish for?

9) Out of the Blue (1980)

This was one of the most emotionally resonant pictures for me. A film about forgotten people who have themselves forgotten how to live. The film's signature song by Neil Young was my "most listened to" number of the year according to Spotify. I wasn't at all surprised...

8) Under the Volcano (1984)

This film proved to me that John Huston would have been just as great if he had been born 30 years later. He could be just as remarkable as a "New Hollywood" director. This film and The Dead proved to me this year that Huston died as the great artist he always was.
This film's ending is legitimately one of the most unsettling I've ever seen, by the way. Astonishing.

7) The Stunt Man (1980)

This film has some of the most impressive setpieces I've ever seen and on top of that, it has Peter O'Toole flying through them on a director chair. It's a piece of work that needs to be seen to be believed, one of the craziest adventures I've ever witnessed. Don't miss this one!

6) Street of Shame (1956)

This was a very memorable introduction to Mizoguchi, one of the many directors I want to explore further in 2018. Who would've known that the most humanist cinematic experience I'd have in 2017 would be set in a brothel?

5) Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

After this film's opening scene, I already knew I was witnessing a legendary piece of cinema. That feeling only got confirmed by the rest of the picture. This is undoubtedly one of the coolest and most intense flicks I've ever seen.

4) Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

This was my introduction to 'Bloody' Sam Peckinpah and I immediately knew he would become one of my favorite new "discoveries" this year. He's a man who makes films with all the passion he has. I love the stories about him on the set of this film. SPOILER ALERT! There's a story of a drunk Peckinpah starting to cry because he didn't want to kill a certain character. The fact that he didn't really want to kill that character while knowing it was necessary proves to me how deeply he understood the character of Pat Garrett. It's perhaps the reason why it's the film character that I felt closest to in 2017. He's a man who understands the joy and happiness of freedom, while realizing it will never truly exist. This western is cinematic poetry at its finest.

3) The Rules of the Game (1939)

After watching this wild, hilarious and highly intelligent masterpiece by Renoir, I immediately thought that this would be the number one film on my "2017 favorite first watches" list at the end of the year. Miraculously there were two films that I wanted to put even higher, though. It proves how special a year this was for me. I can't wait to further delve into Renoir's work in 2018. I'm pretty sure he won't be able to match this film, though. That would be glorious.

2) The Devils (1971)

When I finished The Devils, I kept staring at the screen in disbelief. After Women in Love, I thought that I had seen Ken Russell's peak, but this film operates on a completely different level. It's one of those films whose sheer genius I'll keep admiring for years to come. I genuinely believe it's one of THE greatest achievements the cinematic medium has ever produced. It's almost a crime that this isn't number one on this list or on any list.

1) Walkabout (1971)

Despite my (almost) unlimited love for some of the aforementioned films, there was this one film that slowly made itself master over me. It moved me to tears when I first watched it and it only got more powerful in my head during the months that followed. In the end, I had to admit to myself that Nicolas Roeg's beautiful film about a girl, her little brother and an aboriginal in the Australian desert was my ultimate cinematic experience in 2017. I've been listening to John Barry's magnificent score for this film every two days for the past few weeks again now and I'm sporadically feeling compelled to revisit scenes from it.
The poem that's recited near the end of the film constantly clouds and clears my thinking and this film's themes will undoubtedly keep resonating with me for a long time to come.

Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?
That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.


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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019



Just want to post my top 15 in this thread as well, so I can look back at it next year. Loving all the lists I've read here. Seems like I wasn't the only one who had a great year! I especially like the fact that Love Streams has been mentioned a few times. It has been a favorite of mine for a few years already. I'm glad that some of you enjoyed it as much as I did back then!
Missed you posting that in your thread. Very interesting list, i've actually only seen three: Anatomy of Murder, Out of the Blue and Walkabout, will have to check the others out.

Me and Sean watched Love Streams for The Director of the Month which is why it ended up on both of ours.



“I was cured, all right!”
Wached 380 films last year.

1 - The Leopard (1963) by Luchino VIsconti
2 - Tokyo Story (1953) by Yasujiro Ozu
3 - The Life of Oharu (1952) by Kenji Mizoguchi
4 - Gate of Hell (1953) by Teinosuke Kinugasa
5 - Kagemusha (1980) by Akira Kurosawa
6 - Chungking Express (1994) by Wong Kar-wai



I managed around 230 features last year.
always not sure about the order but the ten best must be
1. Muddy River (1981)
2. Still Walking (2008)
3. Yi yi (2000)
4. Sleeping Man (1996)
5. When woman ascends the stair (1960)
6. Kes (1969)
7. Ikiru (1952)
8. Path of glory (1957)
9. Harakiri (1962)
10. Rear Window (1954)


Hon. mention:
nostalghia, M, floating clouds, after life, i wish, sans soleil, life of oharu, pather panchali, bicycle thieves, the general, woman in the dunes, after the storm, shin godzilla, the wailing, kazoku wa tsurai yo - etc - k its will be just too many-



I watched 494 films in 2017 (430 first-time viewings, 61 re-watches). I'm annoyed that I came up just short of my personal goal of 500. I also didn't have as much luck discovering new favorites compared to previous years. Still watched a lot of cool stuff, though, my favorites of which are as follows:


#10) Woodstock (1970)

Like looking through the window of a time machine. A defining moment in history immortalized on film. The music, courtesy of some of the greatest musicians to ever play a note, is transcendent. Yet it's the candidness with which the film captures the concertgoers, organizers and townspeople that makes the documentary so special. Peace, Love and Happiness despite the bad acid, lack of food and unsanitary conditions. I watched the Director's Cut, which is almost four hours long, and found myself wishing that it would never end. So much harmony, and I'm not just referring to the music. Good vibes, man. Good vibes.

#9) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

I've not seen the 1931 version, which most people seem to prefer. Perhaps that explains why I found Victor Fleming's take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic so much more impressive than its reputation led me to believe. I was taken aback (in a good way) by how erotically charged this film is given the strict time period in which it was released. Ingrid Bergman's steamy performance had me on the verge of a stiffy in a couple of scenes. The surreal, Freudian imagery during the transformation sequences, which sees Spencer Tracey riding and whipping Bergman and Lana Turner as if they're horses leading his carriage, felt especially risqué. I also loved that the monster of Mr. Hyde is more human than creature, allowing one to view the transformative potions as a metaphor for drink or other real-life substances, making Hyde's physical, sexual and emotional torment of Bergman's character all the more unsettling given its close proximity to everyday domestic abuse. An underrated horror classic.

#8) mother! (2017)

My faith in Aronofsky took a hit after the disappointing Noah, but with mother! he returned with a vengeance, reminding me why he's one of my favorite directors working today. This is an angry, passionate film. A visual tirade about religion, the Bible, humanity, environmental protection, the artistic process and whatever else has rankled Aronofsky as of late. An allegory wrapped in a fever dream. Blunt, divisive, controversial, yet incredibly captivating and thought-provoking due to the non-stop onslaught of ideas and themes.

#7) Portrait of Jennie (1948)

Enchanting. Ethereal. Ahead of its time. One of the best romance films I've seen.

#6) The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

The Edge of Seventeen was well received by critics, so I expected a good film, but I never expected it to place so high on this list or become one of my all-time favorite coming-of-age films. The film may hit a lot of the same beats as other films in its genre, but its voice, courtesy of writer and first-time director, Kelly Fremon Craig (a woman, so check it out before the upcoming countdown), is so fresh and sincere that it makes the familiar feel wholly original. Touching, hysterical and highly relatable, with a phenomenal lead performance from Hailee Steinfeld. The best comedy I watched in 2017.

#5) Showgirls (1995)

In terms of pure entertainment, no film I watched in 2017 came close to matching the joys of Showgirls, but not because I enjoyed it in some ironic, so-bad-it's-good sense. I genuinely think this is a great film (or at least close to it). A big-budget Hollywood (s)exploitation film that's a sleazy, trashy mish-mash of All About Eve and 42nd Street, where everybody got AIDs and sh*t. Whether you think it's satire or not (I do), intentional camp or not (I do), hilarious on purpose or not (I do), you can't say that the film isn't memorable and visually spectacular. I don't know that I've ever laughed so hard during a movie as I did in this scene.

#4) Sergeant York (1941)

Howard Hawks could do no wrong. Westerns, comedies, musicals, adventures, gangster films, noir films -- the man made all-time classics in seemingly every genre, and once again he proves his versatility by directing one of the greatest, most powerful and inspirational war films I've seen. Based on an incredible true story that bears striking resemblance to Hacksaw Ridge (which is one of my Honorable Mentions), Sergeant York arrived in theaters shortly before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, turning the film into a valuable recruiting tool. I'm not the biggest Gary Cooper fan. Despite being too old for the part, this is the best I've seen him -- earnest, likable, with just the right amount of down-to-earth, Southern charm. The war scenes are intense and impeccably choreographed, but it's the backstory and the characterization that make this film so rewarding.

#3) The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

An offbeat, revisionist, one-of-a-kind western from John Huston that's not so much about how things were but rather how things should've been. The plot is episodic, with many familiar faces popping in briefly only to never be seen again, like Anthony Perkins and a hilarious, gun-slinging, albino Stacy Keach. Shootouts are brief but gripping. The humor is kooky yet cynical. Paul Newman, already one of my favorite actors, delivers one of his best performances as the gruff, no-nonsense, self-appointed judge who worships Lillie Langtry and has an affinity for hanging. This might be my new favorite performance from him. It's certainly one of my new favorite westerns. Hugely underrated/underseen. Also: best performance ever by a black bear.

#2) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

One of six William Wyler movies I watched last year (The Children's Hour, The Heiress, The Little Foxes, The Letter and The Westerner are the others, all of which I enjoyed, especially the first three). I don't know why it took me so long to begin exploring his filmography. The Best Years of Our Lives is the only first-time viewing from last year that I awarded five stars. It deals with PTSD more honestly and sincerely than any other film I've seen. Casting Harold Russell, who had lost both hands, was especially genius. A tender, timeless, poignant classic that will forever remain relevant as long as wars are being fought. A masterful film in every facet.

#1) Logan (2017)

As a kid, I used to watch X-Men: The Animated Series every Saturday morning. I owned a ton of X-Men action figures and other merchandise, wore X-Men pajamas, played numerous X-Men video games. I've never been into comic books, but if I was, I'm sure X-Men is the series I would've read. At age 13, I was there in the theater with my mom when the first X-Men movie was released, and I've caught nearly every subsequent entry in the series at the cinema as well. To me, X-Men Origins is the only bad movie in the bunch, and I'd rank most entries in the franchise above almost anything from the MCU or any other superhero franchise. Wolverine has always been my favorite X-Men character, but I had no idea how deep of an emotional connection I had developed for this clawed, mutton-chopped rogue -- and, in particular, Hugh Jackman's portrayal of him over nine separate films (if you count the cameos, at least) -- until I watched Logan.

Not gonna lie: I cried while watching this movie. And I cried again when re-visiting it on DVD. Very few films affect me like that, but as I watched Logan/Wolverine finally come face to face with his own mortality, I remembered five-year-old me curled up in front of the television watching a cartoon character in black-and-yellow spandex slash sentinels in half. I remembered teenaged me receiving a VHS copy of the first X-Men movie as a Christmas present. I remembered my friends and I standing in line at the midnight showing of X-Men: The Last Stand. I remembered my college roommate downloading X-Men Origins before it had even been released in theaters and the disappointment we shared over its inferior quality. Now here I was, 30 years old, saying goodbye to a beloved fictional character and one of the last remnants of my childhood. I may not have been dripping pus from my knuckles, but rarely has the brevity of life felt so tangible to me. So I'm thankful that Logan turned out to be the perfect swan song for both the character as well as Hugh Jackman's embodiment of him over these last seventeen years. If you want to call this the greatest superhero film ever made, you'll get no argument from me.



HONORABLE MENTIONS
Motel Hell (1980)
The Children's Hour (1961)
Basket Case (1982)
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Pumping Iron (1977)
Savage Streets (1984)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Roar (1981)
Flesh + Blood (1985)
The Stoned Age (1994)
Perfect Blue (1997)
Excalibur (1981)
Family Plot (1976)
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Killer Party (1986)
Johnny Belinda (1948)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Class of 1984 (1982)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Red Road (2006)
42nd Street (1933)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Drunken Angel (1948)
The Big Sky (1952)
Sausage Party (2016)
Don't Breathe (2016)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Timecrimes (2007)
National Velvet (1944)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Jackie (2016)
Fallen Angel (1945)
The Guest (2014)
The Naked City (1948)
Joe (1970)

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I know I have been more than a little absent from Mofo this year but I had the best year ever watching films and wanted to share my top ten first time watches. As always I do a separate list for 2018 watches so I will include that as well. This thread has died down a bit the last couple years. Hopefully some Mofos will be compelled to share.

1) Hiroshima Mon Amour
2) The Human Condition
3) Ran
4) The Big City
5) The New World
6) Carnal Knowledge
7) Metropolis
8) The Red Shoes
9) The Earrings Of Madame De...
10) The Marriage Of Maria Braun

2018 Top Ten:

1) Old Man And The Gun
2) First Man
3) Won't You Be My Neighbor
4) Annihilation
5) Black Klansman
6) Minding The Gap
7) A Star Is Born
8) The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
9) The Sisters Brothers
10) Isle Of Dogs
__________________
Letterboxd



1. The Shape of Water
2. Out of the Blue
3. Come and See
4. Pixote
5. Shura
6. The Virgin Suicides
7. The War Zone
8. Amores Perros
9. Of Mice and Men
10. The Scarlet Empress

11. A Bittersweet Life
12. The Blue Angel
13. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
14. Los Olvidados
15. Manilla in the Claws of Light



Let the night air cool you off
Not ranked, here is some dope sh*t (all the stuff I gave five stars to) I saw for the first time this year:

Rebecca (1940; Alfred Hitchcock)
Andrei Rublev (1966; Andrei Tarkovsky)
The Mirror (1975; Andrei Tarkovsky)
The Cranes Are Flying (1957; Mikhail Kalatozov)

Lucifer Rising (1972; Kenneth Anger)
The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes (1971; Stan Brakhage)
Swing You Sinners! (1930; Fleischer Brothers)



Weird is relative.
I viewed 303 films in 2018, including re-watches.

The ones I rated a solid 4.5/5 stars...

Woman in the Dunes (1964)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
The Wild Boys (2018)
American Honey (2016)
Casablanca (1942)
Thelma & Louise (1991)

Might update this later with the favorites out of what I rated 4/5 stars.



“I was cured, all right!”
I'M BACK!
Happy new year everyone!

Watched 504 films in 2018 (re-watches included):

Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
The Face of Another (1966)
The 400 Blows (1959)
Le Samouraï (1967)
L’Avventura (1960)
La Notte (1961)
L’Eclisse (1962)
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
The Red Shoes (1948)
The Turin Horse (2011)
Satantango (1994)

I'm cheating, but who cares? he-he-he



Only saw one
last year - Ran (1985)

The best of the rest:
Ben Hur (1959)
Spartacus (1960)
Five Fingers of Death (1972)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
Altered States (1980)
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
The Departed (2006)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The Witch (2015)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
The Killing of a Scared Deer (2017)
I, Tonya (2017)
Icarus (2017)



Welcome to the human race...


1. Thief
2. Come and See
3. The Battle of Algiers
4. Los Olvidados
5. The Passion of Joan of Arc
6. Fallen Angels
7. Pickpocket
8. In a Year with 13 Moons
9. Threads
10. Los Angeles Plays Itself


Honourable mentions: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Tokyo Godfathers, Camera Buff, The Act of Killing, Taste of Cherry, The Cameraman, Man with a Movie Camera, Wolf Children, My American Uncle, Talk to Her, Tampopo, Wendy and Lucy, Morvern Callar, Odd Man Out, Leviathan, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Fish Tank, Irma Vep, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Venom and Eternity, Limelight, Mouchette, Fox and his Friends, The Tin Drum, O Lucky Man!, Night on Earth, Mystery Train, Breaking the Waves, Frankenstein (1931), Army of Shadows, Eat Drink Man Woman, Black Rain, Dead Man's Letters, The City of Lost Children, The Ballad of Narayama (1983), La Dolce Vita, Children of Paradise, The Handmaiden.

524 first-time viewings and these were the best of the bunch (excluding 2017 or 2018 releases, of course). Picking and ordering the ten best is a bit of a fool's errand (the only ones I'm remotely satisfied with are the top two) but I tried, dammit, and I could very easily swap a bunch of these around. In any case, I don't think anyone here is really going to contest any of the titles I've listed here, much less the order.
__________________
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0