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

[domino harvey]

Heavenly Creatures, duh

[SoyCuba]

I haven't submitted my list yet as I still have some films I plan to watch before the deadline but my current list can be seen here. Riget that I watched just today will be somewhere on that list as well. Yeah, I'm not that proud of the list but oh well, maybe next time I'll have seen much more from this decade. I also should rewatch some films like The Matrix and The Sixth Sense which I liked when I first saw it at the very beginning of my interest in films but haven't seen it in many years after that. Needless to say that I might have very different opinion of those now. I do have to confess that there are going to be some childhood favourites there, most notably Terminator 2 which I just rewatched and still highly enjoyed.

Of the swapsies I've this far watched Bringing Out the Dead and Dick both of which I liked far more than I expected but neither don't quite make it to my list. Of domino's recommendations I also watched Miami Blues which I enjoyed as well but perhaps surprisingly less so than Dick.

[domino harvey]

Miami Blues might be the most successful swapsie of all time in just that so far I think it's encountered universal praise, a first in the lists threads as far as I know

[Camera Obscura]

Well, my actual number one would have been the outstanding allegoric fantasy Little Arvan and His Goats in Heaven (1992) by obscure Uzbek author Humoyun Almatov. Don't bother looking for it on IMDb, where Uzbek filmmaking has always been completely ignored. But the greatest tragedy is that all remaining copies got lost in the great Tasjkent Fire of 2001, but reportedly there might still be a few heavily damaged reels left. I just got lucky catching this at the last edition of The Central Asian Film Retropective at the (now sadly cancelled) Öland Film Festival in 1998, lovely people who always supported Uzbek film culture, and - this is where they really found their niche - really stuck their neck out for struggling film makers of the Solomon Islands and films in the Melanesian languages in particular, also completely ignored by Western Film Festivals.

Come on guys, expand your horizon a little - there's so much out there!

[ptatler]

Well, my actual number one would have been the outstanding allegoric fantasy Little Arvan and His Goats in Heaven (1992) by obscure Uzbek author Humoyun Almatov. Don't bother looking for it on IMDb, where Uzbek filmmaking have always been completely ignored. But the greatest tragedy is that all remaining copies got lost in the great Tasjkent Fire of 2001, but reportedly there might still be a few heavily damaged reels left. I just got lucky catching this at the last edition of The Central Asian Film Retropective at the (now sadly cancelled) Öland Film Festival in 1998, lovely people who always supported Uzbek film culture, and - this is where they really found their niche - really stuck their neck out for struggling film makers of the Solomon Islands and films in the Melanesian languages in particular, also completely ignored by Western Film Festivals.

Come on guys, expand your horizon a little - there's so much out there!

I'm impressed. I thought about posting a similar obscurantist recommendation for my number one. My hat's off to you, Mr. Obscura.

[Camera Obscura]

Well, to be honest, Almatov's reputation mostly rested on the writings of two now sadly deceased Walloon critics Jean-Luc de Borinage and Paul Dekerne, who always championed Almatov's work in countless French and Belgian film journals. Mysteriously, his films always took a pretty severe beating from the Uzbek critics and he wasn't well received in Russian circles as well, allegedly because of anti-Russian pamphlets he issued in the '60s and '70s.

[zedz]

But the greatest tragedy is that all remaining copies got lost in the great Tasjkent Fire of 2001, but reportedly there might still be a few heavily damaged reels left.

Well that certainly makes my attempt at Swapsies - Xtreme look strictly amateur hour!

[Gropius]

Well, to be honest, Almatov's reputation mostly rested on the writings of two now sadly deceased Walloon critics Jean-Luc de Borinage and Paul Dekerne, who always championed Almatov's work in countless French and Belgian film journals. Mysteriously, his films always took a pretty severe beating from the Uzbek critics and he wasn't well received in Russian circles as well, allegedly because of anti-Russian pamphlets he issued in the '60s and '70s.

I gather he was also fairly popular in Ruritania.

This reminds me a bit of the entertaining Michael Glawogger documentary Kino im Kopf (1996), which I've been contemplating putting on my list.

[Tom Hagen]

I have Goodfellas as the top of the decade, and have given solid votes for Bringing Out the Dead (obviously) and Age of Innocence as well. "Sunday, May 11, 1980" is one of my favorite set pieces in all of cinema; it's Jules and Jim gone coke. The only sequence of the decade that comes close to matching it's levels of virtuoso kineticism -- the firecrackers and "Sister Christian" drug deal gone bad of Boogie Nights -- owes it backrent.

[GringoTex]

I did my last 90s dvd-watching before I submit my list. The dvd quality of All the Vermeers in New York wa so bad I couldn't finish it and the cinema quality of My Friends and Neighbors was so bad I couldn't finish it.

[Shrew]

I noticed it was off the previous list and no one's mentioned it, though seeing how it's a Criterion title now maybe it's obvious, but is there really no love for La Haine?

[LQ]

Oh there's love: La Haine's my number #9.

[ptatler]

is there really no love for La Haine?

It ended up as #61. Speaking of, here's my "bubblin' under" list:

51 Three Colors: Blue
52 Basquiat
53 Pulp Fiction
54 Vive L’Amour
55 “Let Forever Be” (Chemical Brothers video)
56 Ed Wood
57 Festen
58 Quiz Show
59 The Ice Storm
60 Crumb

One fella who I'm kind of surprised hasn't been mentioned around here is Tom Tykwer. He's a helluva stylist and made two really enjoyable films during the decade (Run Lola Run and Winter Sleepers). Neither sneaked into my top fifty but both are quite fun.

With just a few days left, let me go ahead and tout my idiosyncratic faves:

My Soderbergh pick is The Limey. It's a perfect intersection of his art house pretensions and genre savvy. I like it better than Out of Sight (by a narrow margin) thanks to the editorial noodling (which gives a rather simplistic revenge tale a meditative weight that I doubt it would have otherwise) and Terrance Stamp's performance.

The Blair Witch Project - Any horror film that can pack multiplex auditoriums without resorting to rote creature scares (zombies, etc.) or gore is an achievement. The film evokes dread out of a pile of rocks and a bundle of twigs; 'nuff said.

Blue - No, not THAT Blue. Jarman's heart-wrenching swan song appeals to my "much less is much more" bias but it's essential viewing for anyone who wants to see (or, more accurately, hear) an artist grapple literally with death and the legacy of their work.

And I'd also love to see Black Ice place in the top fifty. It's on Youtube, but try to find a way to watch it on a big screen with the lights off. It'll invade your soul (in a good way).

[swo17]

Miami Blues might be the most successful swapsie of all time in just that so far I think it's encountered universal praise, a first in the lists threads as far as I know

In contrast, mine would have to be the least successful of all time. So far, everyone has either hated it, or remained ominously silent about it. Oh well. I promise next time I will try to pick a more likable film! 8-[

[Camera Obscura]

But the greatest tragedy is that all remaining copies got lost in the great Tasjkent Fire of 2001, but reportedly there might still be a few heavily damaged reels left.

Well that certainly makes my attempt at Swapsies - Xtreme look strictly amateur hour!

Are you kidding? The Terrorizer, Brighter Summer Day? These titles can be found on Blu-Ray HD-quality bootlegs in the bargain bins at my local Asian supermarket. These guys don't kid around, and if there would be a substantial Uzbek community in my town, I would have nothing to moan about. And don't even get me started on the cause of the many excellent Namib family dramas from the '90s. Best known is Bavane Tskunkwe's politically charged Animal Trilogy, Borrie and His Wounded Aardwolf (1991), The Korhaan of Namaqualand (1994) and Aardvarks in the Bushveld (1996), as well as his 8 hour pièce de résistance The Lost Treasures of Skeleton Coast (1999), of which all remaining copies mysteriously disappeared from The South-African Film Archive, supposedly due to interference by the now ANC-dominated SA Secret Service, because these films portrayed the last remains of Afrikaner Youth Culture in Windhoek en Walvis Baai. I guess it all boils down to politics eventually.

Well, to be honest, Almatov's reputation mostly rested on the writings of two now sadly deceased Walloon critics Jean-Luc de Borinage and Paul Dekerne, who always championed Almatov's work in countless French and Belgian film journals. Mysteriously, his films always took a pretty severe beating from the Uzbek critics and he wasn't well received in Russian circles as well, allegedly because of anti-Russian pamphlets he issued in the '60s and '70s.

I gather he was also fairly popular in Ruritania.

This reminds me a bit of the entertaining Michael Glawogger documentary Kino im Kopf (1996), which I've been contemplating putting on my list.

Sounds interesting.. is there a dvd out there? Ah, I see it played at the 1997 Rotterdam Film Festival. If only I wasn't so busy embracing Uzbek film culture back then..

[ptatler]

Best known is Bavane Tskunkwe's politically charged Animal Trilogy, Borrie and His Wounded Aardwolf (1991), The Korhaan of Namaqualand (1994) and Aardvarks in the Bushveld (1996), as well as his 8 hour pièce de résistance The Lost Treasures of Skeleton Coast (1999).

I know everyone has their favorite Tskunkwe and will quibble over the merits of Aardvark vs. Aardwolf until sleep finally takes over, but I've always thought the Animal Trilogy works best as a nine-hour whole. I had the pleasure of seeing it projected twice: once as a Peace Corps volunteer in Windhoek and again, much later, at BAM. The BAM screening went south, however, once us geeks realized it was not being shown at the 1.91 OAR native to Namibia. Nerdy sermonizing ensued.

I find Lost Treasures to be a bit rubbish. The centerpiece -- the children playing for what seems like hours in fly-infested mud bogs -- just derails the whole thing for me.

The coda with the traditional Owambo wedding ceremony is, however, pure magic.

[Camera Obscura]

The BAM screening went south, however, once us geeks realized it was not being shown at the 1.91 OAR native to Namibia. Nerdy sermonizing ensued.

I find Lost Treasures to be a bit rubbish. The centerpiece -- the children playing for what seems like hours in fly-infested mud bogs -- just derails the whole thing for me.

The coda with the traditional Owambo wedding ceremony is, however, pure magic.

Some sources indicate Tskunkwe's Animal Trilogy was originally shot and processed in 2.45:1 Afroscope. Others claim it was 2.26:1 Sovscope. This would explain the many scenes in which it seems little Bwanga is just talking to himself, but actually, he was talking to his off-screen Aardvark.

In Lost Treasures Tskunkwe is reaching - many of the themes he already tackled in his earlier work from the '70s, but the Owambo wedding ceremony is mesmerizing, and the only Owambo wedding ever caught on film to my knowledge.

[Lemmy Caution]

Documentaries were strong in the 90's.

I'd make a minor plea, extremely late in the game, for people to watch Brother's Keeper (1992), which is really a heartrending story of a bunch of poor old bachelor brothers in upstate New York. A view of lives and living which I imagine few of us have encountered this close, as the rural poor are usually swept under the American rug easily enough. There's also an actual murder investigation and a town coming together.

My Voyage to Italy would be my top Scorsese of rge 90's and will probably fit in on my list.

I need to search around a bit more on the doc front.
Other 90's documentaries that people tout?
There's something nagging me, that I'm forgetting.

[Edit: I was thinking about Murder on a Sunday Morning, but see that that was a 2001 release]

[swo17]

Off the top of my head:

Time Indefinite
The Cruise
Mr. Death
Fast Cheap & Out of Control
Waco: The Rules of Engagement
The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison

[Lemmy Caution]

Thanks.
That Angola Prison doc sounds very interesting.

[ptatler]

the Owambo wedding ceremony is mesmerizing

The butchering of the kudu is one of the most haunting/beautiful moments from ANY film. Still, none of the films made my list (the Animal Trilogy would be around 7 if I could include it as one film).

As far as documentaries go, I'm a big fan of Hands on a Hard Body, Crumb, [/i]American Movie[/i], and the already mentioned Brother's Keeper and Waco docs. I totally forgot about Barbara Kopple's Fallen Champ when making my list. It's worth a look if you can find it. Also, Hearts of Darkness.

[domino harvey]

Can we count Histoire(s) du cinema as one entity?

[swo17]

Per my IMDb rule (i.e. if IMDb counts it under separate listings, then they count as separate films) no. Of course, that means this is a good time to debate the merits of the IMDb rule. And if Histoires du cinema goes out the window, what else goes along with it?

[knives]

I second. Far too sloppy a thing to manage otherwise. Anyways the Ivans count as one.

[domino harvey]

Per my IMDb rule (i.e. if IMDb counts it under separate listings, then they count as separate films) no. Of course, that means this is a good time to debate the merits of the IMDb rule. And if Histoires du cinema goes out the window, what else goes along with it?

I'm not voting for it at all if I can't vote for it as one film