25th Hall of Fame

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I think I'll skip this one. Just don't feel like another HoF right now. Fortunately, @Allaby nominated a film that gets my approval so you'll hardly even notice my absence.
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This will be fun. I already know I won’t be voting my pick #1, because whoever picked The Long Goodbye kicks a$$.

Really looking forward to About Elly, love Farhadi. Second watch of Bicycle Thieves is kind overdue.



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Correction: I have also seen American Movie! I’d forgotten! So it will be practically new for me.

Really looking forward to second watches of Bicycle Thieves, Chimes, and The Long Goodbye. I’ve been wanting to see Whiplash forever - I adore JK, so very glad to have the excuse!

Re Vertigo, I have a 25-year relationship with this film, the first Hitch film I ever saw, which spoiled me for the rest, which are almost uniformly great, but not in this class. I was
surprised it only got to #20 in the countdown here as its the Sight and Sound #1 as well as far and away the best film ever made in my humble opinion. I have probably seen it 10-15
times and it honestly gets better each time.



Here's what I wrote on American Movie last year:

American Movie (1999) -


This is one of the few non-well known films I saw before I got into film. Since I wasn't used to slow pacing at all, I struggled quite a bit and, before rewatching it for this thread, I hadn't thought much about it. Now that I've finally sat down to give it another chance though, I've come to the conclusion that it's pretty excellent and criminally underseen.

When I rate and review films I dislike, I rarely think about how dedicated the director could've potentially been to their work while in production or how many hurdles they could've run into in the process of directing that film. More importantly though, I encounter films which fail to give me any insight into the mind of the director who made that film. However, learning about the personal struggles of a director or getting a sense of who the director is can be a really beautiful experience. Since I haven't watched Coven, I can't speak to whether it's a good film or not. However, this documentary reminded me that even if a movie can feel student film-y or misstep a number of times, a lot of work can still be put into that film and the director can also show a strong, overwhelming passion when making it, regardless of how much it shows in the film. Knowing this about the director can cause you to feel more sympathetic towards their work. I find that getting a sense of this is really fascinating and this film evokes this sense in spades. Not only did we get to see how determined Borchardt was in the production of this film, but we also saw him run into a number of obstacles while creating it in addition to several conflicts with other people in his life. Given this knowledge of Borchardt, this induced a truly affecting and strangely personal layer of empathy for him. Also, I say the word "personal", because watching this documentary reminded me a lot of all the times I've watched/read/played something by a close friend of mine. Though I may have my issues with what they make, I often find myself hesitant to point these issues out since I'm really close to that person and am aware of what creating that form of media means to them. Since this documentary did such a thorough job at fleshing Borchardt out and exploring his motivations and aspirations, he felt like a proxy for all the times I've encountered this.

While Mark Borchardt was at the heart of the story, the film also fleshed out a handful of other characters around Borchardt who influenced and shaped him as he went about the production of Coven. The first of which was his mother, who fervently supported him and occasionally went out of her way to help him out with his goal despite having her doubts that he'd ever succeed as a movie director. Knowledge on how she used to fight with Borchardt's father also interested me since it gave a sense of Borchardt's background. Borchardt's best friend Mike was also compelling. Little about his ambitions were known. Like, we knew he was a musician, but we didn't know whether he worked anywhere or if he was unemployed and simply played it on his own accord. Regardless, I appreciated him for his strong dedication to Borchardt, not just in the sense of how he helped him with Coven, but also how he helped him with a number of the films he made when he was younger. His prior struggles with drug addiction were also compelling to learn about. The most interesting of these characters, however, was Bill, Borchardt's uncle. He was elderly, lived alone in a trailer, and had a negative outlook on life in how he constantly expressed his dissatisfaction and indifference towards Borchardt and a number of other things which happened in the film. He seemed to have no ambitions left. In spite of this, however, Borchardt consistently tried to get him involved with the production of his film, perhaps an attempt to help him find happiness given that he recommended this to him at a few points in the film. Bill's final lines really resonated with me as they were the culmination of Borchardt's efforts.

Overall, this documentary was powerful and it lingered with me for a while after finishing it. With documentaries, I rarely find myself eager to rewatch them, but I can definitely see myself watching this one again in the future since it impressed me so much. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend doing so.
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Anyways...

American Movie (1999) Already posted my review of this one, but it's one of my favorite documentaries. Not sure how well it will do here, but glad to nominate a documentary since HoF's generally don't get many of them as I've heard.

BlacKkKlansman: One of my favorite films of 2018. Happy to revisit it.

Chimes at Midnight: Probably my favorite Shakespeare adaptation. Happy to revisit this one as well!

Vertigo: That's a top 10 film for me. It's probably going to top my ballot.

Whiplash: One of my favorite films of 2014. Happy to revisit it as well.

Haven't seen the others.



Anyways...

American Movie (1999) Already posted my review of this one, but it's one of my favorite documentaries. Not sure how well it will do here, but glad to nominate a documentary since HoF's generally don't get many of them as I've heard.

BlacKkKlansman: One of my favorite films of 2018. Happy to revisit it.

Chimes at Midnight: Probably my favorite Shakespeare adaptation. Happy to revisit this one as well!

Vertigo: That's a top 10 film for me. It's probably going to top my ballot.

Whiplash: One of my favorite films of 2014. Happy to revisit it as well.

Haven't seen the others.
I think it will do well. Pretty sure it finished second to Exit Through The Giftshop in our dc HOF a few years back.



I watched Themroc (1973) today for the first time. Directed by Claude Faraldo, the film has no understandable dialogue. There is only sounds and minimal grunts and gibberish. This is an interesting approach, but unfortunately did not work for me. At all. To pull this off, you have a really interesting story. I didn't find the story in Themroc interesting or entertaining on any level. I was not impressed by the performances and the found the characters dull and severely underdeveloped. The film dragged on and on for what felt like a long time and I was bored for much of it. No offence or disrespect to ueno_station54, but I felt this was a really bad movie. Sorry to say, my rating is
.



Wow! You guys are already pumping out those reviews, very cool. I'll do the usually links to the reviews in the 1st post, later today. Right now back to work for me.



Guess I'll do the first impressions thing.

Themroc - So for our last HoF I felt kind of lame for just picking my favourite eligible film so this time I picked something I've never seen or even really heard of. Pulled this out of my Letterboxd watchlist (which only had 8 things in it, I should probably use that more), watched like 30 seconds of it and it looked like the kind of bs I'd enjoy.

Bicycle Thieves - Honestly probably wouldn't have ever gotten around to this otherwise so I guess this will at least be a free classic to cross of the list. Expecting it to be solid.

Sundays and Cybele - It's french and from the 60's so it's gonna end up being my #1 I'm sure.

Vertigo - A film I definitely need to see again as I last saw it in high school and I had extremely mixed feelings about it.

American Movie - I remember this being fun but not something I was gonna watch again any time soon. Definitely gonna be an easy, enjoyable watch.

Les Miserable - Something I've lowkey wanted to check out for awhile, so that's exciting. Don't really know anything about Les Miz so this will be my introduction to the musical.

Chimes at Midnight - Citizen Kane and The Other Side of the Wind are both pretty great so I guess I do need to check out more Welles.

The Long Goodbye - After a recent rewatch of 3 Women that really really hit for me I definitely stoked for more Altman.

Whiplash - I thought this was solid at the time. I don't think I'll dig it quite as much this time around though.

About Elly - Farhadi doesn't really make the kind of films I go for from what I've seen but I'm ready to be proved wrong.

BlacKkKlansman - It's alright. Definitely going to be my most reluctant watch of the bunch.

The Truth - What I wrote about Sundays and Cybele but even moreso because of Bridgette Bardot and though I've seen none of his films, every clip of a Clouzot film I've seen looks incredible.

The Green Years - I have no idea what this is but could definitely be my kind of thing and again, it being from the 60's instantly makes me hype for it.

Outside of a few films I could have done without having to watch again this looks like a fun bunch of films with some stuff I'm genuinely stoked to see. I'll watch Themroc tomorrow to see what kind of garbage I've dropped on your laps.



The Green Years



+

This reminds me of another nomination but I won't say which. I don't recall hearing of this before and I don't think I've seen many Portuguese movies. I bet Lisbon would be a great place to visit. I thought it was similar to Italian films from the same era. I don't want to really say anything about the narrative, even though I don't see it as a plot focused movie. I didn't expect to feel the way I did once it was over. It's an easy watch with a modest runtime. It's one of those movies that gives off an authentic feel of a different time and place. The music is incredible. Knowing what I know now, I believe I'd enjoy and rate it higher with a second watch. Great nomination!



Guess I'll do the first impressions thing.

Themroc - So for our last HoF I felt kind of lame for just picking my favourite eligible film so this time I picked something I've never seen or even really heard of. Pulled this out of my Letterboxd watchlist (which only had 8 things in it, I should probably use that more), watched like 30 seconds of it and it looked like the kind of bs I'd enjoy.

Bicycle Thieves - Honestly probably wouldn't have ever gotten around to this otherwise so I guess this will at least be a free classic to cross of the list. Expecting it to be solid.

Sundays and Cybele - It's french and from the 60's so it's gonna end up being my #1 I'm sure.

Vertigo - A film I definitely need to see again as I last saw it in high school and I had extremely mixed feelings about it.

American Movie - I remember this being fun but not something I was gonna watch again any time soon. Definitely gonna be an easy, enjoyable watch.

Les Miserable - Something I've lowkey wanted to check out for awhile, so that's exciting. Don't really know anything about Les Miz so this will be my introduction to the musical.

Chimes at Midnight - Citizen Kane and The Other Side of the Wind are both pretty great so I guess I do need to check out more Welles.

The Long Goodbye - After a recent rewatch of 3 Women that really really hit for me I definitely stoked for more Altman.

Whiplash - I thought this was solid at the time. I don't think I'll dig it quite as much this time around though.

About Elly - Farhadi doesn't really make the kind of films I go for from what I've seen but I'm ready to be proved wrong.

BlacKkKlansman - It's alright. Definitely going to be my most reluctant watch of the bunch.

The Truth - What I wrote about Sundays and Cybele but even moreso because of Bridgette Bardot and though I've seen none of his films, every clip of a Clouzot film I've seen looks incredible.

The Green Years - I have no idea what this is but could definitely be my kind of thing and again, it being from the 60's instantly makes me hype for it.

Outside of a few films I could have done without having to watch again this looks like a fun bunch of films with some stuff I'm genuinely stoked to see. I'll watch Themroc tomorrow to see what kind of garbage I've dropped on your laps.
I expected a musical when I watched it but it's not at all. I guess there's musical versions of the same story.



I rewatched Vertigo tonight on blu ray. Directed by my all time favourite filmmaker, the great Alfred Hitchcock, Vertigo stars James Stewart and Kim Novak in a mystery thriller involving passion, obsession, and maybe even murder. I enjoyed Vertigo even more this time around. Stewart is fantastic and Novak is radiant and fantastic with a tricky role. The score is beautiful and the cinematography is gorgeous. Vertigo does some really neat stuff with its use of colour. The screenplay is very clever and the film is relentlessly entertaining. Vertigo has a strong, intriguing beginning and a great ending. My rating is a
.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


La Vérité aka The Truth(1960)

Ahhh, sweet, beautiful, intoxicating, free-spirited, Brigitte Bardot. . .

It is Paris. She is young and firmly believes that:


And, rightfully so.
So she does.
And yet, there are some who think terrible, terrible things.
That she is:


They declare them, in-depth, in a Courtroom.
At her trial.
For the murder of her lover: Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey).


This exceptional Courtroom drama is my second Henri-Georges Clouzot film. The first being Le corbeau (1943). And, as was my experience with Le Corbeau, I am extraordinarily struck by Clouzot's brilliance delving into the "hearsay" of the crowd. Speculation and insinuation dissect young Dominique Marceau (Brigitte Bardot) with relentless precision via the Prosecution's Maître Éparvier (Paul Meurisse)


Her defense supplied by an empathic Maître Guérin (Charles Vanel)

An equal in litigious combat.
Both men are clever, unyielding, and at times, sardonic in their judicial "dance" with one another. Ranking them, for me, in the echelon of Courtroom adversaries.

Dominique and the deceased Gilbert's turbulently torrent love affair play out in flashback format. The segues were executed with mercurial efficiency.

Taking from my original review a few months back, I have just, in pure pleasure, watched the end credits of my second watch of this sealed, upper ranking inductee to my Countdown List. I love this film: the nuance, the wit, Clouzot's cinematic composition. I am engaged, and even more so and, most likely, will continue to—the familiarity acting as a catalyst.
Yeah, this puppy is officially Eddie-iified as -- Unlimited Rewatch Member.
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~Mr Minio




Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica 1948)


I watched this for the first time in the Personal Recommendation III. It was one of the choices for me and so a big thanks to whoever choose it.



A perfect film for me. It's so well made that it flows effortlessly and the pieces, the individual scenes, they fit seamlessly. I felt like I was right there in the story and that's a feeling I don't get from many films.

Perhaps it was the actors that sold me on the film. The actor who played the father was very much in the moment. Without words he could express his emotions. His angst at having his bicycle stolen which meant losing his job, was palatable. There was no doubt in my mind just how life changing the loss of his bike & job was to him. Then there's his son. Wow, talk about a good kid actor. He doesn't really have many lines, but through the range of emotions that play out on his young face, I could see the desperation of his family in post war Italy. I especially liked the dynamic between the father and the boy and how at times the spacial distance between them grew as tensions rose.

I often love Italian films as they're so full of life. Even if the subject matter is depressing or dark, the films themselves are alive with the movement of life.

I think the director did an amazing job making a simple story seem so personal. Of course this isn't just a story of a stolen bicycle, it's an expose on the hardships faced by the Italians immediately following the end of World War II. We see wide spread poverty with the people fighting for jobs and pawning what few positions they own just so they can have a meal. We see how people cope with the collapse of the economy and it ranges from criminal behavior to charlatanism to prostitution and to standing in long lines for some soup and bread.

Very much my type of film.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Yeah it is a pretty nice mix here. Although I thought it was stated a best picture winner was among the nominees?
Answered my own question. Nominated I see now, not won.

But at least 2 we're nominated



About Elly -
CONTAINS SPOILERS

This is the first Iranian film I've ever seen, and it did not disappoint. First, talk about suspense! I give it credit for keeping me on the edge of my seat from the seaside incident to the sad revelation of Elly's fate. It's also a breath of fresh air to see a movie do this simply through the power of writing and acting and that my special effect-addled brain took to the attempt. I also found it interesting how Elly's disappearance revealed the true situation amongst the friends, their spouses and their children. It's not such a good sign when everyone's first impulse is to lie and make excuses about what happened - oh, and how telling is it that the children were the least willing to go along with it - instead of being truthful and forthcoming. I also like how the movie is about Sepideh as much as it is about Elly without being obvious about it. From the most uncomfortable scene in the movie - Sepideh's confrontation with husband Amir - to the most bittersweet one - Elly's expressions of joy while playing with the kite - it's one of the most heartbreaking attempts at living vicariously through someone else I can remember seeing in a movie. Speaking of, I don't know how much freedom the Iranian government allows filmmakers, but I do know the country is one of the most patriarchal in the world and thus no doubt takes the institution of marriage seriously. Regardless of what Asghar Farhadi and company could get away with, credit goes to them for producing a movie, and such a good one, that's so critical of the institution and honest in depicting the consequences of when it goes badly.

Again, Iranian cinema had been one of my most glaring blind spots. Thanks to rauldc14 for the strong introduction.