26th Hall of Fame

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My thoughts on the nominations:

All the President's Men: Overall, I'm a pretty big fan. The acting and the story progression are all top notch. Looking forward to a rewatch.

And Then There Were None: Haven't seen it.

Angel-A: Haven't seen it.

The Celebration: My nomination. I watched it during the foreign language film countdown we had here and was really blown away by it. I might even rate it a 10/10 this time around. Hopefully, the rest of you will respond well to it

Daisies: I saw it once a while ago. I enjoyed it as a curiosity, but felt it flew over my head. Hopefully, I get more out of it this time around.

Last Year At Marienbad: This is another film I saw a while ago, but felt it flew over my head. Given what I've read about it over the years though, I think I'm better equipped for it, so I'm looking forward to it.

The Passion of Joan of Arc: It's a brilliant film for a handful of reasons and I'm excited to revisit it for this thread.

Sweet Smell of Success: I saw this once a while ago, but I barely remember it.

Tower: Haven't seen it.

The Wizard of Oz: I saw this a few times as a kid, and loved it back then. I've been meaning to revisit it for a while, so I guess now's the time to do it. Hopefully, I respond well to it.



Well look at that I got two noms...very happy to see Tower in a proper Hall. It's heartwarming when people nominate films that I had nominated for them.

And Then There Were None (2015) is my pick and let me explain why I choose this one. The story has been adapted many times yet the film versions have never really worked mostly because of age and time constraints. This is more of a cinematic version told in chapters with a top of the line cast that doesn't feature stars.

All The Presidents Men (1976) saw it years ago not really that impressed by it but I always meant to rewatch it as an older man.

Wizard of Oz (1939) I think some people hate this movie but it's likely the front runner. I wonder if I can find a 4k version but something I look forward to revisit.

Last Year At Marienbad (1960) great French New Wave nomination, definitely worth the rewatch I might actually start with this one.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927) Dreyer shows up again...y'know wasn't a fan of this one when I first saw it but I'll give it fair chance.

The Daisies (1966) I remember it being very short and fun.

Sweet Smell of Success (1955) good film...don't know if this is a top film but the rewatch will decide if I love this film or not.

Angel-A (2005) I think this visually stunning but I never watched it

Celebration (1998) VInterberg is a favorite of mine and after The Hunt won I'm happy to see another one of his films make the rounds.



Let the night air cool you off
I'll probably add a couple of these films to the list of films I'd be okay with winning this whole thing, but from the jump I'd prefer my film or The Wizard of Oz winning. The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the greatest films of all-time directed by one of the greatest directors of all-time. It is iconic, a large part of that due to one of the greatest acting performances of all-time, made even more legendary by the fact that Falconetti was not a prolific actress. She shows up here to drop a nuke on us and then she peaced out.

The Wizard of Oz is classic and belongs in the hall eventually. I don't think I've seen any of the others. I'm most looking forward to Marienbad and Daisies.

EDIT: I've seen Sweet Smell of Success and it's pretty damn good too. I'd rather the other two I mentioned before win, but I wouldn't be angry at this one taking it.



All the President's Men - Never heard of this. Doesn't look like my kind of thing but it being from the 70s gives me hope.

And Then There Were None - This looks like some Netflix trash ngl.

Angel-A - I don't actually know anything about this but its one of those movies I *almost* rented from Blockbuster countless times when I was in high school. Jazzed to see what I've been missing out on.

The Celebration - A film I maybe would have gotten to in my own time eventually. Never seen anything from Vinterberg but this is definitely the first of his I'd watch.

Daisies - My pick! A top 10 all time for me and I can't imagine someone stuffy enough to actually dislike it. Its just fun.

Last Year at Marienbad - Now this should be right up my alley but I've bounced off it once before so who knows??

The Passion of Joan of Arc - Can't see this not winning by a colossal landslide. And it should.

The Sweet Smell of Success - No idea. Expectations low.

Tower - No idea but that poster is horrendous.

The Wizard of Oz - Never seen this as an adult. I know the technical aspects will be fun at least.



I jumped the gun and watched my pick last night so I guess I'll write a few sentences about why it rules.


Daisies (Věra Chytilová, 1966)

No art has meaning. The idea of a work of art having a meaning has always been a grift to attempt adding value to a piece. The "meaning" in every film ever made boils down to "Hey, what if I took [insert societal concern or philosophical musing] and presented it like this, that would be cool" and what rocks about Daisies is that it never feels like its pretending to be more than that. This film has some unambiguous themes of rebellion, gender roles and the bourgeoisie lifestyle but Chytilová doesn't try to present these as anything more than they are: building blocks. She extrapolates those themes into fun ideas for scenes, like everyone else does but just does it in such an honest, unpretentious way with the goal of simply being entertaining.

Above all else, Daisies is cool and fun. Every frame of it. And if you're making a film and its not cool or fun as often as humanly possible, you flat-out did it wrong. The presentation is so bold that there's nothing to really unpack. It's just doing cool stuff all the time. Just look at it, it rules. The two leads are super iconic and they're a joy to watch. Everything about the film is a joy to watch. An all-timer without doubt.



Oh, for anyone who hasn't seen The Passion of Joan of Arc, its very very worth tracking down the 20fps version.
Could you send me a link to that version? I'm curious.



Could you send me a link to that version? I'm curious.
I'd have to dig around, I just have it on disc but the most recent Criterion release has that version if that makes it easier to track down. Basically just makes the film look normal lmao. Silent era films forced into 24fps always look like they're moving too fast.

EDIT: Found it lol.



Let the night air cool you off
I'd have to dig around, I just have it on disc but the most recent Criterion release has that version if that makes it easier to track down. Basically just makes the film look normal lmao. Silent era films forced into 24fps always look like they're moving too fast.

EDIT: Found it lol.
Do you know if the version on the Criterion Channel is 24 or 20?



Do you know if the version on the Criterion Channel is 24 or 20?

No idea, check the runtime. If it's like 1h36m its the 20fps. The 24fps is a little over 1h20 I think. Would be surprised if they didn't have both since the bluray does.



I don't really have any preconceived thoughts on the noms that I haven't seen, which is most of them.

But I have seen these:
All the President's Men (1976, Pakula)....I've been wanting to rewatch this one as it's been decades since I last saw it.

The Passion of Joan of Arc
(1928, Dreyer)....seen this recently and very impressed. Always glad to see silent films get nominated.

The Wizard of Oz
(1939, Fleming)....Believe it or not, I did not grow up watching this. In fact I've only seen it once as an adult. I liked it.

Sweet Smell of Success
(1957, Mackendrick)....One of my favorite movies, I love the characters and the dialogue.

Not seen these and in most case not heard of them:

And Then There Were None
(2015, Viveiros)
Angel-A (2005, Besson)
The Celebration (1998, Vinterberg)
Daisies (1966, Chytilová}
Last Year At Marienbad
(1960, Resnais)
Tower
(2016, Maitland)



I might try and watch the 20fps version of The Passion of Joan of Arc towards the end of the HoF. But I'll post my review from the last time I watched it now.


The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

No denying that this film is powerful! I mean just look at that close-up that is packed with emotion. Scene after scene the forlorn, doomed Joan of Arc's face fills the screen with her misery...we can't escape it. It's uncomfortable watching her in such close detail as she's tormented by her over zealot Catholic persecutors. The dementedly gleeful faces of the Catholic inquisitors are just as potent. They reek of hypocrisy as they set in self serving judgement of Joan who's being persecuted for heresy. We know what horror awaits Joan at the end of the film and that makes her suffering all the worse.

As uncomfortable as we might be watching Joan's plight, that's mere piddleness compared to Joan's torment which ends with this young girl being burnt alive by pious men.