1990s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 2)

[Michael]

Michael: Safe will be on my list, somewhere. Easily my favourite Haynes film.

My favorite Haynes film too (revisited I'm Not There very recently, still didn't like it at all). I still need to catch up with a few more 90s film, still waiting for Chabrol's Ceremonie from Netflix. Chungking Express will most certainly reign my 90s list. I love that film to death.

Other solid 90s faves beside Safe and Chungking Express: Veronika Voss (my #2), Happy Together, Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train, the Lynches: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway and The Straight Story, Les roseaux sauvages, Waiting For Guffman, Fucking Amal (domino, I'm really thrilled that you love that movie), J'ai pas sommeil, Ratcatcher

[swo17]

Veronika Voss (my #2)

I hate to break up the equilibrium of your list, but unless this is something other than the Fassbinder that I don't know about, it misses the '90s by a fair margin. (Though you should be pleased to see it fared well during our '80s project!)

[ptatler]

Chungking Express will most certainly reign my 90s list. I love that film to death.

I swear I'm not trying to start a film geek melee, but am I the only one who actively loathes Chungking on these boards? Judging from other posts, it's going to place pretty high on the list. Other than Christopher Doyle and the mildly interesting first segment, what does it have going for it? And don't say Faye Wong. Her character stomps on my every last nerve and is an exemplar of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, just one grating shade away fom Natalie Portman in Garden State. And I can never listen to California Dreaming without looking over my shoulder for some crazy bitch rearranging the stuff in my apartment.

On another subject, Domino marvels at the 7/50 for Woody Allen. Before I pared my list down, I had three Kiarostamis, two Scorseses, two Mike Leighs, three PTAs, four Woodys (in case you're wondering: Deconstructing Harry, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Sweet and Lowdown, and Husbands & Wives), etc. etc. and decided to only include the favorite film by whichever director. Otherwise, my fifty would probably only be composed of about 15 directors.

Anybody else showing auteur restraint or are you finding your lists weighted toward certain directors?

[Michael]

Veronika Voss (my #2)

I hate to break up the equilibrium of your list, but unless this is something other than the Fassbinder that I don't know about, it misses the '90s by a fair margin. (Though you should be pleased to see it fared well during our '80s project!)

Laughing at myself. I have no clue how Veronika Voss steeped through my mind this morning, obviously I was still asleep and dreaming. Thanks for correcting me before I finalize my list and give zedz extra unnecessary labor and migraines.

[roujin]

Anybody else showing auteur restraint or are you finding your lists weighted toward certain directors?

I ultimately decided to limit myself to two films per director otherwise mylist would've been overtaken by three or four directors (Almodovar, WKW, Hartley, etc). One per director is too restricting for me.

[Michael]

Chungking Express will most certainly reign my 90s list. I love that film to death.

I swear I'm not trying to start a film geek melee, but am I the only one who actively loathes Chungking on these boards? Judging from other posts, it's going to place pretty high on the list. Other than Christopher Doyle and the mildly interesting first segment, what does it have going for it? And don't say Faye Wong. Her character stomps on my every last nerve and is an exemplar of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, just one grating shade away fom Natalie Portman in Garden State. And I can never listen to California Dreaming without looking over my shoulder for some crazy bitch rearranging the stuff in my apartment.

The first time I saw Chungking Express, I didn't really care for it. I thought it was charming and cute. But on the other hand, In the Mood for Love blew me away instantly upon first viewing. The strange thing is that after watching the latter a few more times, it struggled to hold up. It became tiresome. But Chungking Express does the opposite. A few more viewings later, I keep finding new things in it and it is truly an untangiable masterpiece of cinematic style. It's so soaked in melancholy, something I appreciate and embrace more in cinema as I get older. And so gorgeously urbane.

So if you have seen it only once, maybe the next viewing will be a new experience for you. Never know. It's magic as Doris Day's song goes.

Wong Kar-wai's next best film is Happy Together.

[domino harvey]

On another subject, Domino marvels at the 7/50 for Woody Allen. Before I pared my list down, I had three Kiarostamis, two Scorseses, two Mike Leighs, three PTAs, four Woodys (in case you're wondering: Deconstructing Harry, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Sweet and Lowdown, and Husbands & Wives), etc. etc. and decided to only include the favorite film by whichever director. Otherwise, my fifty would probably only be composed of about 15 directors.

Anybody else showing auteur restraint or are you finding your lists weighted toward certain directors?

I went through my list and realized I'd overlooked a lot of great movies, so the Woody Allen count is already down. But sticking to one film, one director just would not accurately represent the decade for me. And though I don't hate it, Chungking Express doesn't make my list

[Tom Hagen]

I have three Kieslowski's in my top ten alone. So obviously one film per autuer wouldn't work for me . . .

[Fiery Angel]

I could (maybe) see 3 Kieslowskis from the 80s, but the 90s? :-k

[Murdoch]

Is anybody actually trying to do one film per director?

[swo17]

I'm looking at including 3 films from the Coen brothers, but I swear it is the good three. 8-[

[knives]

Hudsucker Proxy?

[swo17]

That's one of them...

[domino harvey]

Is it just Hudsucker Proxy three times, because that's your only excuse

[Murdoch]

Barton Fink made mine, but that's it for the Coens. However it is low down so don't scold me. 8-[

[knives]

Barton Fink is mine only also, but probably too high.

[domino harvey]

You guys are just MIchael Lerner loyalists, and I'm right there with you, as Blank Check will be resting comfortably in my Top 10

[GringoTex]

My preliminary list has seven Woody Allen films on it. This seems excessive

My preliminary list has one Woody Allen film on it, and that seems excessive to me.

[ptatler]

Is anybody actually trying to do one film per director?

Yes: Me.

I took a page from Schrader's Film Canon. Multiple films from the same director would squeeze out some of my precious underdogs.

I had four Coens films in mine (Hudsucker, Leibowski, Miller's Crossing, and Fink) but picked the most representative/rewatchable. I'll keep it anonymous.

Who do you guys reckon the Auteur of the Decade will be? My vote would be either the Coens or PTA (commence eye-rolling) though the latter didn't make his best films (to date) until the '00s. The former really hit their stride during the decade and -- excepting Man Who Wasn't There, Blood Simple, and Burn After Reading -- haven't made anything close to the four films mentioned above.

Of course, both filmmakers betray my America-centrism/Philistinism. If I had to reach out of my English language comfort zone, I'd hand the Auteur of the '90s laurel to Kiarostami.

I guess we'll see who the real deal is within ten days or so.

[domino harvey]

At the risk of self-parody, the auteur of the decade was Woody Allen. As far as the final list's auteur tally is concerned, Kieslowski is the only director I can guarantee will have at least three films on the board's final list (Blue, Red and the Double Life of Veronique). I think the Coens (who receive zero votes from me) and Allen will both spread themselves too thin over too many films to make any huge dent

[mikeohhh]

looking through my list, it looks like I don't have more than two films by any director although I think I have about 7 different folks (counting the brothers Coen and Dardenne as single entities) with that quantity. A much different affair from when I had 5 each from Altman and Fassbinder on my '70s list and probably 6 or 7 Godards on my '60s ballot. Speaking of the Coens, I think domino is underestimating their support on this board based on his own disinterest. I think they placed, what, 6 or 7 films in our last '90s list (which was admittedly a lot more IMDB-y than this year's model will be), so I wouldn't rule them out.

[domino harvey]

Oh, I know they have broad support, I just think there won't be any real agreement over which of their nineties films gets the majority of votes.

[GringoTex]

At the risk of self-parody, the auteur of the decade was Woody Allen.

I'm not a Woody Allen fan, but there's one film I had to put on my list because I think it's the only honest film he made. I don't like his comedy but this one made me squirm because it's so raw and emotionally agonizing.

As for my 90s auteurs, I have four films by Godard, and three by Wong Kar-wai and Scorsese.

[knives]

Something tells me it would be impossible for them to have six even spread over the full hundred. As for me only Lynch is doing double duty in the top ten right now, but that will change after I finally get to the colors trilogy/ Eyes Wide Shut.
As for Woody, I'm kind of shocked I don't have him any where on my list, seems I skipped over his work from that decade completely. #-o
Also (dumb question) when is the final day for entry?

[ptatler]

At the risk of self-parody, the auteur of the decade was Woody Allen.

It's a close call for me, too. My initial cull had Woody tied with the Coens for first (though PTA's entire 90s output was in my top 20 until I pulled myself together).

Is it just me, or does a survey of the best films of the '90s suddenly make the '80s (and '00s) seem much better in relief?