Penultimate recap :
With only
Angel-A to go, I've been introduced to two new great films during this Hall of Fame -
Last Year at Marienbad and
Sweet Smell of Success. I've been introduced to an iconic Czechoslovakian filmmaker - Vera Chytilová. I've also come to really appreciate
All the President's Men after seeing it a few times, but not really
seeing it. I found it pretty easy to watch classics such as
The Wizard of Oz and
The Passion of Joan of Arc again.
The Celebration is a film that I distinctly didn't like the first time I saw it - but it really grew on me after a rewatch soon after it's appearance on the top 100 Foreign Language Film countdown. I actually enjoyed
Daisies, especially in relation to it's filmmaker and place in film history - but I agonized over what rating to give it, and I'm still not sure. I think I rated a little too low...but it stands alone really. I rate movies easily by comparison, and I have
nothing to compare
Daisies to. I'm really looking forward to going through Chytilová's output in the near future, and perhaps some others that were part of the Czechoslovakian New Wave. I don't think
Daisies is going to win this - but it did for me what I hoped my nomination would do for others - I never would have seen it or heard of Chytilová without being prompted to.
All in all I've really liked everything in this Hall of Fame - it has a 100% success rate for me so far. I'm only sorry I missed the first 25 (and countless specialty ones.) I thought I was going to go against the grain and rate
All the President's Men a
or less but after looking at it again the film has gained a lot in appreciation for me. I saw a rerun at the cinema year before last, and after it finished I kind of sat there and thought, "Why did I agree to come and see this again?" I didn't think it was cinematic enough for the time and expense. Something changed after I looked at the film for this - and it's actually prompted me to read the book again.
I'm still not sure of my voting order. I'm still not even sure of which film I'd really like to see win this Hall of Fame - I was at the start, but seeing all the films has shaken things up a lot.