Movie Forum Movie Hall of Fame

Okay, count me in for the next nomination come Jan.

Can I join the next nomination?

From the 5th Hall of Fame - New members are always welcomed and encouraged to join. This was always meant to have members with varying taste in film. Not to speak for Godoggo but i know she wont have a problem with you joining .

That 400 blows poster is awesome

Of course you can. Now the very next one is going to be a specialized one for documentaries and then an open one will start very soon afterwords. You are welcome to join either one or both. The pacing is set at a movie a week, so anyone that decides to join both should expect to watch two movies a week to keep up. That's not really all that time consuming if you're not a super busy person.

I'm going to keep track of people that are interested and I'll send a reminder pm when it gets closer to the date.

I would love to join whenever a new one begins!

Keep me as a maybe for the Documentaries one Godoggo, please . I'd really like to take part in that one but would have to see if i had enough to time to watch all of the nominations.

i'm gonna rank all the ones i've seen

Stalker
Bigger than Life
Singin in the Rain
Synecdoche, New York
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8 1/2
Sweet Smell of Success
Sex, lies, and Videotape
On the Waterfront
The Wind Will Carry Us
After Hours
Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall... and Spring
Psycho
Trouble in Paradise
Eyes Wide Shut
Memento (probably go down on rewatch)
Yojimbo
The 400 Blows
House
The Swimmer
Autumn Sonata
Purple Rose of Cairo
Punch Drunk Love
RoboCop
Some like it Hot
Duck Soup
PMMM
Ed Wood
The Hedghog
Once Were Warriors
Sansho the Bailiff
Dr. Zhivago
The Insider
The Straight Story
Mary and Max
Cherry Blossoms
The Apartment
Nausicaa of the Valley Of the Wind
Primal Fear
Faces
Gone Baby Gone
Nashville
UTENA

Hey, Godoggo, is there anyway we can make the shorts hall of fame a regular or semi-regular thing?

I'd like to join the next nomination, too. (:

Give you plus rep because of Stalker even though you ranked my other nominations way lower. Well, Utena is just not a very accessible film and watching the TV series is a requirement as well as having substantial experience with anime. I though Nausicaa was accessible but apparently it is not, even though it is on the IMDB top 250 as well.

Yeah, I was thinking of doing it once every six months, but if enough people are interested I don't see why we couldn't do one soon. Like right after the tv countdown is done.

If anyone is interested in doing a short film Hall of Fame, pm me instead of putting it in the thread. If I can get seven or eight, it's a go.

There was a tie for first place in the 4th Hall of Fame so also being inducted:

Autumn Sonata ~ Ingmar Bergman

Written by Seanc



I feel ill equipped to write anything about a Bergman film. He has really been the first director that I have begun to watch who would be defined as art house. I was pretty thrilled to see one of his movies show up in the HOF. Up to that point I had only watched Fanny & Alexander and Cries & Whispers. I loved both of them, but frankly it was not easy for me to put into words exactly why. The tone of his films is not something that I normally respond to. In fact in a lot of cases it has led to me mostly dismissing those movies as not for me. Bergman is different though. Autumn Sonata exemplifies what I think I am responding so strongly to in Bergman films. It centers around the relationship of an estranged mother and daughter played by Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Bergman. The scenes between these two women are extremely intense, engaging, and poignant. It is very hard for me to put into words what I felt while watching this relationship unfold. Both these women appear strong yet broken, sympathetic and cold, all at the same time. No screen writer that I have come across writes relationships like Bergman. The way he writes is poetic. There are no zingers, no one liners, nothing that you are going to be repeating to your co-workers on Monday. Every line is of a piece. The characters are easy to become engaged with because their emotions are coming through in every line of dialogue. In Autumn Sonata you will feel multiple emotions with each character. At times we feel on their side, other times we feel angry with them, and many times we feel their pain and frustration.

The other aspect of Bergman I appreciate is his meticulousness. Most of Autumn Sonata takes place in a small cottage which can make it feel a little claustrophobic, this is by design though. Despite the small space I can imagine this movie looks amazing up on a big screen. I would say this is due to Bergman's amazing use of color, and this certainly is part of it. I have seen some of his black and white however, and they are equally as stunning. The great directors care about every single thing that is within the scope of their camera, which is what Bergman does here. I am sure there are people out there that could write a book on what I am talking about, but I am not that person. I don't pretend to know why the drapes are yellow or why a red dress is chosen. What I do know is I respond to these choices, they evoke emotion, and I have to believe they are doing that in just the way Bergman intended.

Bergman is the type of director who you could put his entire filmography in the HOF and no one would bat an eye. His movies are a treasure and any that are inducted will be fine choices I am sure. I really love that Autumn Sonata is the first one though. I know there are others that are more highly regarded. I am certainly not an expert on him, and never will be. From what I have seen so far this movie is a nice picture of all the things Bergman does well. Amazing script, lush visuals, superior performances by the two leads, and a central relationship that will knock you out emotionally. I greatly appreciate Swan nominating this picture and for allowing me to write down my very rudimentary thoughts on this amazing film and its iconic director.

Thank you to seanc for writing that wonderful review for me!

The more I think about it the more I'm glad Autumn Sonata got nominated. I never considered it one of my favorite Bergman's but I was much more appreciative of it this go around.

The subject is a taboo one and Bergman never shies away from the subject matter or gives the character's an easy way out, like I've seen every other movie that attempts to tackle the subject do.

It's long overdue, but I'm ready to announce the very first winner of the short films edition of the Hall of Fame!

First the nominees and their nominators:




1. A Trip to the Moon (1902 George Mélies) nominated by : Cobpyth

It's probably the oldest piece of film that is able to truly impress me. In 1902, George
Mélies already understood that Cinema was meant to be creative and inventive. The result of that understanding is a piece of unforgettable cinema that is still able to generate admiration with audiences today. Extraordinary, very satisfying and of course a MUST SEE for every cinephile out there.

2. Un Chien Andalou (1929; Luis Bunuel) nominated by Jiraffejustin



It's hard to wrap this one up with a tidy little bow. I don't think it was supposed to be anything more than nightmares put on film. Nightmares to haunt, to anger, to shock, to get under your skin. The infamous eyeball scene will never leave you. You won't be happy at the end of this, but you will be thinking. You won't be right either. I don't think anybody knows what this means. Dali doesn't know what it means, and neither did Bunuel. That's why I am nominating it. I want to hear what others think of it. I love it, but I don't know why.

3. "High Note" (1960 Chuck Jones) nominated by: gbgoodies



I nominated this because I love it, and I love that it is all done with just music and animation, but no talking.

http://www.downvids.net/high-note-ch...60-549195.html


4. La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)
nominated by: Skepsis




I've got a feeling this will have already been nominated so I'll hold off on the explanation until I know I'm not wasting my time. Let me know if I'm the first and I'll send you something over. Note - You never did, but I'll let this stand as the write-up; the assumption that someone must have already nominated as it's so good and so revered speaks to the quality of the film in and of itself.


5. Tango (Zbigniew Rybczynski, Poland 1981) nominated by Tyler1



SYNOPSIS:
Comprised of a single static shot of a simple room, then animated as a collage of live action film clips. Zbigniew Rybczynski drew and painted about 16,000 cell-mattes, and made thousands of exposures on an optical printer.

Some of the most impressive short films I have ever seen are those that distill the complex down to the essential. This highly under-appreciated short Polish animation takes on the concepts of time, memory and repetition. Basically, life is a constant loop. Our daily routines overlap, and every place holds a history that is alive and breathing. It's also a nasty little test of the limits of the viewer's attention to detail and his reconstruction of reality - a sequence of events. An endless tango.




6. Darkness Light Darkness (1989 Jan Svankmajer) nominated by Swan

Stop-motion is one of my favorite things ever, and Jan Svankmajer is one of the masters of the art. I think Darkness Light Darkness is one of the first shorts I saw by him, but I forgot about it until recently rediscovering it. It's a clever little short that I get a lot of enjoyment out of.



7. Jidlo (1993 Jan Svankmajer) nominated by donniedarko



Daily motion link

I usually pimp out another Svankmajer film- Dimesnions of Dialogue- when discussing short films, but since i nominated that one for the tournament I'll go with this for the Hall of Fame. Very interesting short film, and I love the stop motion animation. Hope someone else gets something out of it too

8. The Wrong Trousers (1993 Nick Park) nominated by: Daniel M




If someone hasn't already, I'll nominate The Wrong Trousers. I grew up watching Wallace and Gromit and always found their shorts delightful and just a whole lot of fun. Whilst I'vee enjoyed all their shorts and recent feature film, I think The Wrong Trousers is their masterpiece with the best storyline and a great villain in the penguin.

9. When It Rains (Charles Burnett, 1995) nominated by bluedeed



I've only seen 3 features and one short in Charles Burnett's small oeuvre, but I don't feel like calling him one of the finest contemporary American filmmakers is any kind of overstatement. Full credit to Jonathan Rosenbaum for turning me on to Burnett, and particularly this extraordinary, jazzy short. The film takes place in Burnett's hometown, and involves a smooth and swift narrative about a local griot trying to find money to help a woman pay rent. Burnett turns the town into a jazz song, with voice and song intersecting rather than traveling parallel. The movie is both overt and subtle, emotional and technical, specific and universal, jazz and blues. If it seems too tidy or easily resolved, you may be missing the point.

A note, When It Rains is available on youtube here:

10. The Old Man and The Sea (Alexander Petrov 1999) (nominated by Guaporense)



The Old Man and the Sea is my favorite short film. It is an exceptional film in many ways, specially among animated films in it's realistic style and reflecting mature sensibilities even though it is a western film . It is also the most beautiful short film I ever watched and is my favorite western animation. I loved the pain in glass style and the film's exceptional elegance and it's capability in evoking a strong sense of poignancy.

11. La Lettre (2001 Michel Gondrey) nominated by godoggo



I am a big Gondry fan (president and only member of his Mofo fan club) and I love this short. La Lettre has Gondry's trademark infusion of surrealism into a simple straightforward narrative. It also showcases his visual flair and I'm crazy about his usage of shadow.

I hope this doesn't get lost among the other nominations do to the simpleness of the story. Their still is a complexity in the way that it is told and Gondry had a knack for understanding and communicating the awkwardness of a situation.

12. Garden of Words (2013- Makoto Shinkai) nominated by Sane



Shinkai is a genius when it comes to creating both beautiful animated images and thoughtful characters. This short packs as much of those things into 45 minutes as possible.

13. Scorpio Rising (1964 Kenneth Anger) nominated by Thursday Next

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058555/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



Once again, thanks to all the participants. There were some really great shorts in this group. However, one short stood apart to win it all. So without further ado, the first short film to be inducted into the MoFo Hall of Fame is.....

La Jetée (1962 Chris Marker)



Artwork by Godoggo

It's not any wonder that this is the winner of the first short film Hall of Fame. La Jetée is a remarkable film that has been highly influential and was more than the inspiration for the well-loved movie 12 Monkeys.

In it's 28 minute running time we are told a story of the aftermath of war, time travel, romance and memory. There is a quote by Charles Bukowski that I have always loved. "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. " If ever there was a piece of work to prove the validity of that quote, it's La Jetée. Through narration and still photos alone we are told a complex story that is concise, articulate, artistic and haunting.

He is also a poet. This is an example of the rich narration: "This time he is close to her, he speaks to her. She welcomes him without surprise. They are without memories, without plans. Time builds itself painlessly around them. Their only landmarks are the flavor of the moment they are living and the markings on the walls."

I didn't nominate La Jetée, but I am proud to induct this most worthy of short films into the Hall of Fame. ~ Written by Godoggo

Didn't realize you made this, Godoggo. Fantastic work!

__________________
Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

Thanks, Cobpyth! I'm currently working on something for the next entry. I hope it turns out as good, but I'm using colored pencils this time, so we will see.

Good luck! Looking forward to the result.