The MoFo Top 100 Foreign Language Film Countdown

I liked the directions that the movie took, but I felt the story was pretty weak in comparison to most Japenese movies I've seen.

There’s another surprise. I liked Das Boot, but nowhere near this much. Needs a revisit though.

Late Spring is still further down my Ozu list than most people, even after a second watch . I like it though, and know more than a couple people will be pleased it showed so high. The surprise for me is not that it’s here but that it’s so much higher than Tokyo Story. Still hope for Tokyo Twilight? No way Jose

Wow okay then. Surprise Late Spring got this high and totally forgot about Das Boot making the list - which now seems obvious (Thursday called it)

Both great films, not on my list, and happy it's this high up and the list isn't guaranteed.

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I prefer An Autumn Afternoon to Late Spring, although it's more or less the same movie. I think I just like the colour.

Das Boot is great. It didn't make my list in the end but it got two 1st place votes and I'm glad to see it here.

I really hated La Dolce Vita, but I maybe I should give it another chance. I haven't seen The Cranes are Flying yet.

I've seen Late Spring twice (both times for the HOF) and didn't like it either time.

I also watched Das Boot for a HOF. I think it is a very well made film, but it's too long and war movies just aren't my thing.

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If my calculations are correct, there are 9 foreign language movies on the Top 100 Refresh that are yet to appear on this list. Will they all be here? How high will they get? Will they be in the same order?

(Also, a correction: I previously said there was a movie on the Top 100 Refresh that got no votes for this countdown. This was incorrect. Well, it definitely didn't get any votes, but that was because it wasn't a foreign language movie - I had mixed it up with a different movie. Sorry for the confusion.)

Late Spring is decent but was never really in contention for my ballot, personally I prefer Tokyo Story. On the other hand Das Boot definitely was a contender, but sadly just failed to make it when the plus-size lady began her dulcet warbling.

Seen: 55/76 (Own: 33/76)


Faildictions ((バージョン 1.01):
24. odaeiye Nader az Simin [A Separation] (2011)
23. Mon Oncle (1958)

Nice batch. I haven't seen Das Boot in a very long time, but I remember liking it a lot. I really need to rewatch it, though, so it wasn't on my list.

Late Spring, I saw for the first time in December and it really blew me away. It was my first Ozu and I thought it was beautiful. Here's what I wrote back then.



Based on that, I had it pretty high on my list at #2.


My Summary:

Seen: 30/76
My list: 7/25

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Das Boot is my #4, certified German War Masterpiece.

Movies Seen: 36/76

My Ballot: 11/25
25. Mongol (1-pointer)
22. The Wages of Fear (#67)
21. Fireworks (#78)
19. In The Mood For Love (#34)
17. High and Low (#41)
11. Le Samouraï (#30)
7. Samurai Rebellion (#79)
6. The Battle of Algiers (#56)
5. War and Peace (#59)
4. Das Boot (#25)
2. La Haine (#53)

Countries represented on my ballot:

• Italy x6
• France x4
• China x4
• Japan x3
• Germany x2
• Korea x2
• Russia x2
• Mongolia x1
• Brazil x1

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Late Spring is a perfect example of Ozu's style and thematic concerns, and it may have held special meaning for him concerning his relationship with Satsuko Hara.

My #25, Das Boot, is a classic and is one of those movies which is certainly better in its unabridged version. It was originally shown as a mini-series on German TV, but even so, it was the highest-budgeted German "film" ever until the 2000s. To give you a comparison, the 15 1/2 hour German mini-series Berlin Alexanderplatz was made at about the same time, and it cost about $6 million, an enormous amount, but it was shot on 16mm. Das Boot was always intended to be released theatrically in foreign countries, so they shot on 35mm and it cost $15 million. Das Boot has to be the greatest submarine movie ever made and certainly one of the better WWII flicks.

My List

1. War and Peace
2. Z
6. Night and Fog
13. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
17. The Celebration [Festen]
21. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
25. Das Boot

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Das Boot is great, but it's been so many years since I seen it that I didn't vote for it. I do have it ready to watch whenever I get a chance to.

Late Spring My #4 Love this movie and Ozu is my favorite foreign language director. Review by CR...


Rarely am I moved emotionally by a film. I can enjoy a movie but it's not often that a film actually touches me emotionally...Late Spring profoundly touched me.

I found the film to be very humanly realistic. While I could understand the feelings the father had, it was Setsuku Hara as the daughter who wanted to go on living her life with her father, that touched me the most. Setsuku was so good in relaying her emotions that I could image just how she felt about her decision to stay in a safe place with her father who loved her. I could also understand her apprehension about going out into the world and marrying a near complete stranger. Her happiness was infectious and her sadness palatable. Setusku was utterly charming in this!

I just love that photo and the feeling of unbridled happiness as Norkio is yet to move away from the safe life she has has known, her joy is abundantly clear.

I'm impressed by the way the director filmed this. Ozu's technique makes everything seem so personal in his film, like we're part of the household and are watching the quiet moments of life unfold before our eyes. Nothing feels rushed or contrived, it all flows so effortlessly as Ozu takes his time. It feels like time could stand still and Noriko could stay forever in the safety of her childhood home. I loved the way Ozu filmed not only the actors, especially the lovely Setsuku, but also the way he filmed the scenes...Ozu often gives us a view from afar or a view from a low angle, which makes the people seem so familiar like we're in the room with them.

I appreciated the script too, especially in the polite way two people would argue with their back and forth conversations: yes you would, no I wouldn't...yes you would. If I recall that dialogue style was repeated three times in the film, which imparts a feeling that life and people are tied together in a commonality that spans generations.

I haven't seen Das Boot yet, but I have seen Late Spring and it was #2 on my ballot.

I was really drawn to the way Late Spring builds upon its themes as it rolls along. Many scenes serve to provide emotional tension between Noriko and Shukichi, each one further hinting that Noriko's preferred life style with her father is coming to an end. Since this feeling kept growing in intensity as the film rolled along with more and more threats to this lifestyle being introduced, this made the final few scenes hit as hard as they did, and man, they really hit me hard. Sort of like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I sometimes forget how powerful both these films are only to be blown away by them all over again when I rewatch them.

Updated ballot:

1.
2. Late Spring (1949, Ozu) #26
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Le Samouraï (1967, Melville) #30
11.
12. Sansho the Bailiff (1954, Mizoguchi) #50
13.
14.
15.
16. The Battle of Algiers (1966, Pontecorvo) #56
17.
18.
19. The Mirror (1975, Tarkovsky) #86
20.
21. Red Desert (1964, Antonioni) #64
22.
23. Vampyr (1932, Dreyer) #84
24.
25.

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+1 on that. It's the Ozu I listed - spoiler alert!

No notes from me but 2 great movies.

Late Spring or An Autumn Afternoon is my favorite from Ozu. I'd have a decent shot at picking one of I could tell one from the other.

I'm pretty sure Das Boot was the first foreign language film I ever watched.

and mess up the algorithm?? Are you MAD!?!?!? It would have been utter pandemonium! Worlds crashing - dogs and cats, living together. . .

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Had Late Spring at #22.
Haven't seen Das Boot since the nineties when I owned a double VHS for the 4 hour version. Which, from what I've heard is the better rendition the 2hr+ that is out there.
Even for its immense length I remember being thoroughly engrossed when I used to watch this. Top submarine/War flick.




Movies Seen: 41 of 76 (53.94%)
1. Severely doubt it
2. Still possible
3. Shoplifters (2018) #72
4. Rome, Open City (1945) #93
5. Rififi (1955) #76
6. Army of Shadows (1969) #90
7. The Cranes are Flying (1957) #28
8. Yojimbo (1961) #42
9. Quite possible
10. Not gonna happen
11. Harakiri (1962) #37
12. Le Samouraï (1967) #30
13. Samurai Rebellion (1967) #79
14. Definitely
15. Very possible
16. Sincerely doubt it, but who knows
17. The 400 Blows (1959) #35
18. Hell no
19. Paprika (2006) #100
20. La dolce vita (1960) #27
21. High and Low (1963) #41
22. Late Spring (1949) #26
23. No idea --
24. Wild Strawberries (1957) #33
25. In This Corner of the World (2016) One Pointer

Rectification List
1. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) #43[/quote]

I'm pretty happy Das Boot made the top 25. I was beginning to fear it wasn't going to show, which would have confounded me. It was my number 5 - I have the German DVD which runs 282 minutes, and the normal theatrical version. It's one of my favourite movies of all time. The greatest submarine movie by a considerable margin - and one of the greatest war films ever made. Rivets pop. Metal screeches and compacts. Men go mad. Cinematographer Jost Vacano was tested - but it was worth it - we feel like we're cramped in there as well. The film's final scene makes a powerful statement, but there's no one part of the film that towers above the rest. It's all glorious filmmaking.

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Films I've seen : 21
Films that have been on my radar : 8
Films I've never even heard of : 43
Films I've heard of : 4

Films from my list : 6


#25 - My #5 - Das Boot - (1981) - Germany
#43 - My #4 - Grave of the Fireflies - (1988) - Japan
#33 - My #10 - Wild Strawberries - (1957) - Sweden
#57 - My #21 - Memories of Murder - (2003) - South Korea
#70 - My #24 - Run Lola Run - (1998) - Germany
One pointer - My #25 - Audition - (1999) - Japan

My ballot so far:

3. Night and Fog (#63)
5. Yojimbo (#42)
8. Suspiria (#87)
10. The Cranes Are Flying (#28)
12. War and Peace (#59)
15. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (#36)
16. Late Spring (#26)
17. Pather Panchali (#47)
19. Shoplifters (#72)
25. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1-pointer)

Good turnout for my list so far, with a few others that will no doubt make the list. I already hate my list though, which happens every time we do this.