1980s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 3)

[swo17]

Swo, it's not going to make my list, but as someone who grew up watching his Saturday morning television show I'll always love it.

Speaking generally as the list tabulator, there's no reason not to include a film that you love on your list just because it's a kids' film, a genre film, a mainstream comedy, not very well made, etc. Unless of course you legitimately love 50 films more than it. ("Love" is subjective of course, but I don't think I've ever loved so many films from a decade that they didn't all fit within my top 50.)

[bamwc2]

My general strategy is to vote for the films that I think are the best of the decade (not that I know what that ultimately means!), rather than the ones that I enjoyed the most. Were I to compile a list under either metric there'd be a tremendous amount of overlap, but still a bit of difference.

[domino harvey]

Whereas I voted for "Opposites Attract" at #6

[bamwc2]

Final Viewing Log:

The Death of Empedocles (Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub, 1987): Based on Friedrich Hölderlin's 19th century play about the Pre-Socratic philosopher, Huillet and Straub's adaptation fails to deliver on its promised demise. This is unfortunate since Empedocles died by jumping into an active volcano, a fate that begs to be put on film (Michael Bay, are you listening?). Thankfully what is here is a pretty interesting fictionalized account of his antics. It can be a little stuffy at times, but definitely worth a viewing.

The Flight of the Eagle (Jan Troell, 1982): This was only my third film by Troell with Hamsun and Everlasting Moments being the other two. I was a bit surprised to see this was a good deal funnier than the other two, recounting the true story of Sweden's quest to send Salomon August Andrée and his exploratory team on a hot air balloon trip over the arctic. Max von Sydow does a very good job in the starring role in what is essentially a two act work of fiction with the first half in Sweden and the second chronicling everything that could possibly go wrong on their journey. Ultimately it's a wonderful work about the wide eyed optimism of those who have no idea what they're getting themselves in to.

Francisca (Manoel de Oliveira, 1981): Manoel "How the Hell am I still alive" de Oliveira adapts this tale of the madness of eros from Agustina Bessa-Luís's novel of the same name. The film tells the story of Jose Augusto (Diogo Doria) and Camilo Castelo Branco (Mario Barroso), best friends who both fall in love with Fanny Owen (Teresa Meneses). The film is deliberately slow, often trying the watcher with both its length and frequently repeated dialogue. The two other films by the director that I watched for the project both have a serious chance of making my list. This one? Not so much.

Good Morning, Babylon (Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, 1987): This Italian epic begins with the dissolution of an early twentieth century masonry business owned by a man and his sons. In order to keep the peace amongst the squabbling siblings, two of the brothers leave Italy for America where they work a series of odd jobs before becoming production assistants to D.W. Griffith as he makes Intolerance. Like the following year's Cinema Paradiso, the film coasts by on charm and nostalgia for old timey cinema without any terribly substantial underneath its shell. But its charm is more than enough for a recommendation.

Improper Conduct (Néstor Almendros and Orlando Jiménez Leal, 1984): This wonderful documentary chronicles the story of Cuban dissidents arrested for non-conformity. The main focus, however, is on the homosexuals imprisoned and beaten for their proclivities. I have several leftist friends who are often willing to overlook some of the abuses under Castro. This powerful look at his denial of human rights should be required viewing for anyone at all sympathetic to him.

Knightriders (George Romero, 1981): What the fuck was this? Ed Harris plays the leader (or "king") of a group of modern day knights who hold Medieval Times type jousting tournaments on motorcycles and fret about selling out to the man. Nothing works here. This is a very silly movie, and not in a good way. This is Romero's worst by a long shot.

Mapantsula (Oliver Schmitz, 1987): This overly broad dramedy centers on Panic (Thomas Mogotlane) a self-centered South-African thug who undergoes a political and moral awakening after suffering at the hands of the Apartheid police force. I wanted to like this film much more than I actually did. Unfortunately, there aren't any real standout performances in it, though it is fascinating to watch the shifts in Panic's power structure as he go from a big fish in his pond to being utterly powerless whenever he's in the police office.

Montenegro (Dusan Makavejev, 1981): Makavejev's film tells the umpteenth million story of a bored housewife (Susan Anspach) who finds herself by running away from it all and having lots of sex with men more attractive than her old, fat, and inattentive husband. Though its cliched as hell, it works well enough in Makavejev's hands with a sufficient stylish panache to elevate the story into something special. Also, I really dug the soundtrack to this one.

Proba de microfon (Mircea Daneliuc, 1980): This experimental film from Romania combines both documentary footage and a narrative about a part of a television news crew. However, the real star here is is a deep and thoughtful meditation on the nature of surveillance and reporting in a totalitarian state. I had a rough time with this one, perhaps I'd get more out of it on a second viewing.

Red Sorghum (Yimou Zhang, 1987): Red Sorghum stars an impossibly beautiful Gong Li in a chronicle of roughly a decade in the life an unnamed woman who goes from being a child bride married off to a provincial sorghum manufacturer to a badass mom who protects her winery and family against the invading Japanese army. The film's pacing drags a bit at times, but Li is amazing here and the cinematography is often breathtaking.

The Runner (Amir Naderi, 1984): I started this one on Youtube a while back, but unfortunately it left out the film's final third. Thankfully after tracking down a complete version, I can say that it is a spellbindingly wonderful film centered on a day in the life of a Amiro (Majid Niroumand) an impoverished Iranian youth who takes whatever odd jobs that he finds in order to save money for school. Niroumand delivers a spectacularly naturalistic performance and Naderi has a way of making every even seem like a magical reality unto itself. I'm not sure if it'll ultimately make my list, but this is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Somewhere in Time (Jeannot Szwarc, 1980): Christopher Reeves stars as playwright Richard Collier, a man who's destiny is trapped in a strange time loop where his lifelong attraction to a woman many decades his senior begins when she gives him the gift of a watch at the night that his first play debuted. Eight years later he learns that the mystery woman was turn of the century stage star Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), who Richard manages to visit in 1912 by...thinking about going there really hard. The romance between the two leads is a little flat, as is Reeves's acting, but the film is a wonderfully complex tale that works well as a meditation on time travel. How did their connection ever begin? Would Elise have visited Richard without first having met him in the past? Would Richard travel to 1912 without first having met Elise in the present? It seems that both of these required the other to occur. What a lovely mystery!

Swamp Thing (Wes Craven, 1982): I call this movie Shit Thing, because it was a shit thing.

A Tale of the Wind (Joris Ivens, 1988): My first Joris Ivens film is also his last. He stars as himself in this story about his visit to China in an attempt to reclaim his "wind" or breath which he's lost to a lifelong battle with asthma. He visits martial artists and other masters of breath to learn their secrets before the film goes into a full out fantasy in vivid and breathtaking colors. The imdb lists the film as a documentary, but I'd estimate that at most 5-10 percent of it is unscripted. Bracketing categorization concerns, this is one hell of a fun movie that stands a good chance of making my final list.

Talking to Strangers (Rob Tregenza, 1988): This anthology is an early entry into the modern indie landscape featuring nine vignettes of strangers talking with one another. The acting here is mostly pretty rough, and like any collection the quality of the segments varies greatly. Unfortunately there are only two of the segments in here that I felt cut the mustard, with most falling very flat. Sadly a .285 batting average isn't enough to make the team. Thumbs down.

The Territory (Raoul Ruiz, 1981): The Territory is another dreamlike fantasy from Ruiz. This time we follow a group of English speaking, bourgeois tourists and their families who get stuck in a metaphysical loop of a forest. We follow these civilized folk as they gradually give up their veneer of civilization and begin murdering one another. This is one wickedly fun ride; an Exterminating Angel with cannibalism and an outdoor setting. It's available in an all things considered decent upload on Youtube in case anyone's interested. Another strong contender for my list!

Tokyo-Ga (Wim Wenders, 1985): Although I watched Criterion's release of Late Spring, I've just gotten around to checking this out now. Ostensibly it's Wenders's tribute to Yasujiro Ozu, and while Ozu's material bookends the film, it's really more of a general love letter to the city of Tokyo. Featuring everything from interviews with Ozu's crew to an up close examination of pachinko, this eclectic film has it all. However, the film's best part is undoubtedly Wenders's introducing Chris Marker as "the cat enthusiast".

Yellow Earth (Kaige Chen, 1984): Xueqi Wang stars as Gu Quing, a soldier in the communist army who is tasked with traveling to the country side to record happy folk songs. Sadly he finds that the peasant folk are far from happy, but comes to love their way of life. After he gets recalled his heart longs for the village and a young woman there named Cuiqiao (Bai Xue). It's a bit tepid, but there's still enough here for a mild recommendation.

Yol (Serif Gören and Yilmaz Güney, 1982): This Turkish classic tells the story of five prisoners on a week long leave from their prison sentence, and follows them as they adjust to their short lived freedom. This deeply humanistic film tale does a wonderful job showcasing the inhumanity of the penal conditions and the pain of hope.

You Are Not I (Sara Driver, 1981): Driver's directorial debut focus on a mentally disturbed woman (Suzanne Fletcher) who wanders off from her home in an insane asylum and manages to hitchhike her way back to her sister's house where an extraordinary act of violence begins to brew. Since the film is told from the point of view of a mentally disturbed individual, the narrative is disjointed and frequently confusing. Of course this makes viewing it more difficult, but not necessarily any less rewarding. Even though I watched this over a week ago, I'm still processing my feelings on it.

Well, that's it for my viewings for the project. Now it's time to make the list, rejoin the war films project, and and gearing up for the 90s.

[bamwc2]

Whereas I voted for "Opposites Attract" at #6

Now I know why you always get to be Paula Abdul.

[swo17]

The Territory (Raoul Ruiz, 1981): It's available in an all things considered decent upload on Youtube in case anyone's interested.

If you weren't aware, it's also available in this DVD set. And make sure to see Wenders' The State of Things as well, made at the same time with the same cast and crew.

[Tommaso]

Talking of Wenders in Japan, my favourite is Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) about fashion designer Yoji Yamamoto. A fascinating view on the creative process, new technology, and life in cities, and a very memorable soundtrack by Laurent Petitgand.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Speaking of Makavejev, has anyone seen 'Manifesto'? Unfortunately I can't locate a copy anywhere. I'm reading Simon Callow's 'Shooting the Actor', which is mostly his diary of the filming and his increasing frustrations with the maverick director.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Also, Yellow Earth was in my top ten last time and probably will be again. It's anything but tepid. Not only did it kickstart the Fifth Generation but it's deeply ironic and completely critical of the impact the Communist Party has had on rural China.

Chen Kaige will feature MUCH more prominently in my 90s list with at least two films high up.

[Satori]

I second the recommendation for Yellow Earth. It's a beautiful film that powerfully captures the contradictions of the cultural revolution. The folk song plot device is such a powerful way to critique the Party's nostalgia for the ways of the rural peasantry. I didn't read the film as completely critical of the cultural revolution, though, but rather its failure to deliver on its promises. I think the gender politics are important: the young woman in the film, who is about to be married off to a middle-aged man when she is only 14 or so, realizes for the first time that she has more options than just domestic servitude and what amounts to sexual slavery. There is a Utopian dimension to the film here, I think, just not the Utopia of the Party, who end up failing her. But she is able to use what the young Communist Party member told her about ideas of gender equality, ect, to desire a different future.

[Shrew]

Yellow Earth will also be fairly high up on my list. However, I think it's addressing much broader issues than the Cultural Revolution (and I think you mean the Communist Revolution of 1949 rather than the specific Cultural Revolution of 66-76), mainly China's relation to its history and the Communist Party's role in that history. Up until the 80s, the Party idealized peasants but it was also trying to root out "traditional" culture in the Chinese countryside. This included not only marriage practices and female servitude, but also regional dialects (which would be reflected in folk songs) and "superstitions" like the rain ceremony seen at the end of the film. Many of the Fifth Generation films are about looking back into a past that was quashed and overwritten by Communism and confronting both negative (often the treatment of women) and positive or unique aspects of those lost traditions.

That said, it is treading a fine line in its criticism of Communism and the Party. Like Satori says, it does set up the arrival of the CCP as the harbinger of female liberation. Even if he's ultimately unable to deliver in the film, the intentions of the Party officer toward the girl are obviously meant to be good. This is still a radical break from previous Chinese films (like The Red Detachment of Women or The White-Haired Woman), in which a suffering woman would ally with a representative of the party and successfully break free from her situation. But the criticism is more that the Party has been unable to hear or respond to the concerns of the Chinese people, rather than actively exploiting them. Anyway it's great, and I'm particularly a fan of the haunting ending.

Also, friendly FYI bam, Gong Li's surname is Gong. It's a confusing name because Li is a much more common as a surname, but the Li in her name is actually a different character.

Other viewing:
Empire of the Sun- I generally enjoy Spielberg's films. Not to Armond levels, but I don't really gag on his sentimental tendencies in Schindler's List or Jurassic Park or A.I. However, this film is an awful combination of filmmaker and material. Some moments work (the surreal trip to the stadium filled with abandoned riches), but there's an inherent perversity to the material that seems to escape Spielberg. Jaime's adulation of the Japanese and their planes may be a product of naivete (and a child's respect for power and authority), but there's something inherently dark about that. Something like Forbidden Games[/b[ kind of gets this, in that it acknowledges how callous the little girl seems because she doesn't understand war and death, eschewing judgment. But Empire frames Jaime's idolatry with gung-ho enthusiasm--the biggest sin being Williams's overpowering and obnoxious score. I will give credit to the depiction of Malkovich's Basie, who is both an understandable hero figure to the boy while also being a bastard who will readily let the kid die in order to survive. Maybe that's Spielberg's knack for complicated father figures kicking in.

[Michael Kerpan]

Still waiting for a decent release of Yellow Earth (did one come out when I wasn't paying attention).

[bamwc2]

I don't suppose that there's a chance in hell that I could get away with voting for Berri's Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring as one film since that's pretty much what they are... [-o<

[swo17]

Marcel Pagnol's 1953 film Manon des Sources was four hours long, and subsequently cut by its distributor. The end result left Pagnol dissatisfied, and led him to retell the story as a novel. The first part of the novel, titled Jean de Florette, was an exploration of the background for the film; a prequel of sorts. Together the two volumes made up the work Pagnol called L'Eau des collines (The Water of the Hills). Berri came across Pagnol's book by chance in a hotel room, and was captivated by it. He decided that in order to do the story justice it had to be made in two parts.

Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources were filmed together, over a period of thirty weeks, from May to December 1985. This allowed Berri to show the dramatic seasonal changes of the Provençal landscape. At $17 million, it was at the time the most expensive film project in French history. The long filming period and the constantly increasing cost put a great burden on the actors, many of whom frequently had to return to Paris for television or theatre work. Once completed, the release of the film was a great national event.

Sounds similar to the Indian epic or those two Troell films. I'm inclined to allow it. (Especially if it will give you room for Pee Wee. )

[John Cope]

Francisca (Manoel de Oliveira, 1981): Manoel "How the Hell am I still alive" de Oliveira adapts this tale of the madness of eros from Agustina Bessa-Luís's novel of the same name. The film tells the story of Jose Augusto (Diogo Doria) and Camilo Castelo Branco (Mario Barroso), best friends who both fall in love with Fanny Owen (Teresa Meneses). The film is deliberately slow, often trying the watcher with both its length and frequently repeated dialogue. The two other films by the director that I watched for the project both have a serious chance of making my list. This one? Not so much.

Interesting reaction, especially for me as this remains my favorite of Oliveira's 80's work (at least as far as that's able to be assessed--his Jean Vigo doc remains frustratingly unavailable, as does, of course, Memories and Confessions). It's all excellent but in recent years I've begun moving more and more heavily toward a preference for his work with Bessa-Luís or those films adapted from her texts. This is probably not the consensus view and is certainly the opposite of that of someone like Rosenbaum who seems inclined to generally rate those least highly. But again for me the richness of the language and insight in these films is unparalleled and Oliveira puts himself at the service of that while adding to it and complementing it via his aesthetics (as well as in his sensibility for though it resonates with hers it is crucially different in certain fundamental ways). Anyway, it doesn't appear as though you've seen Mon Cas either which you should as it too is great and I suspect you'd rate that higher than this.

[zedz]

Marcel Pagnol's 1953 film Manon des Sources was four hours long, and subsequently cut by its distributor. The end result left Pagnol dissatisfied, and led him to retell the story as a novel. The first part of the novel, titled Jean de Florette, was an exploration of the background for the film; a prequel of sorts. Together the two volumes made up the work Pagnol called L'Eau des collines (The Water of the Hills). Berri came across Pagnol's book by chance in a hotel room, and was captivated by it. He decided that in order to do the story justice it had to be made in two parts.

Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources were filmed together, over a period of thirty weeks, from May to December 1985. This allowed Berri to show the dramatic seasonal changes of the Provençal landscape. At $17 million, it was at the time the most expensive film project in French history. The long filming period and the constantly increasing cost put a great burden on the actors, many of whom frequently had to return to Paris for television or theatre work. Once completed, the release of the film was a great national event.

Sounds similar to the Indian epic or those two Troell films. I'm inclined to allow it. (Especially if it will give you room for Pee Wee. )

I thought two part films were automatically considered as one work for the purposes of these lists?

[swo17]

Yes, but I just wanted to verify that this wasn't an original + sequel situation.

[zedz]

Oh, I see. It's been ages since I saw it, but I think Jean de Florette actually concluded with a 'to be continued in Manon des Sources' teaser when I saw it on release.

[the preacher]

Glad to see some love for "Yellow Earth", which is Chen Kaige's best. I don't think it gets place on my ballot, though. To compensate for this lack, political melodrama "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" will be very HIGH on my list, with Xie Jin's following efforts "The Herdsman" and "Hibiscus Town" as honorable mentions. Tianyun's complex non-linear narrative structure was a brilliant achievement.

[Michael Kerpan]

Are any of these Xie Jin films available on subbed DVD?

[Shrew]

It's like a (probably not too great) version of The Herdsman is available on Amazon Instant (and free with Prime)

There's also the usual subpar DVD of Tianyun Mountain but it does have English subs.

[bamwc2]

List submitted. Here's my usual spoiler free wrap up:

Combined Run Time of My First Three Films: 29 hours and 48 minutes.

Number of Films Viewed for Project That Made My List: 13

Number of Films on My List Released by Criterion: 14

Strangest Reoccurring Theme: There sure seemed to be a lot of underage nudity in my viewing for this project. Don't know why...

Year with the Most Entries on My List: 1986

Directors with More than One Entry On My List: None

Choice Almost Made to Piss Off Domino: Life Is a Bed of Roses at number 50.

List Breakdown by Country: Canada: 1, France: 11, Hong Kong: 1, Iran: 2, Italy: 1, Japan: 5, Poland: 1,
Portugal: 1, Sweden: 1, Taiwan: 2, UK: 5, USA: 16, West Germany: 3

51-60:51. La ville des pirates (Raúl Ruiz, 1983)
52. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
53. Manhunter(Michael Mann, 1986)
54. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
55. Made in Britain (Alan Clarke, 1982)
56. Black Rain (Shoei Imamura, 1989)
57. Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg, 1987)
58. Landscape Suicide (James Benning, 1986)
59. Born on the 4th of July (Oliver Stone, 1989)
60. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1984)

10 Films That I Couldn't Get My Grubby Hands On This Time Around:
Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986)
Fellow Citizen (Abbas Kiarostami, 1983)
The Green Ray (Eric Rohmer, 1986)
Images of the World and Inscriptions of War (Harun Farocki, 1989)
King Lear (Jean-Luc Godard, 1988)
Labyrinth of Passion (Pedro Almodóvar, 1982)
Lamentations a Monument for the Dead World (R. Bruce Elder, 1985)
The Little Richard Story (William Klein, 1980)
On The Silver Globe (Andrzej Zulawski, 1988)
Our Nazi (Robert Kramer, 1984)

Bring on the 90s!

[domino harvey]

Choice Almost Made to Piss Off Domino: Life Is a Bed of Roses at number 50.

That would have been clearly insane, of course, but the idea that there are 53 better films made in the 80s than Do the Right Thing is truly bonkers.

If we're doing almosts, my almost 50 was Slumber Party Massacre, but I bumped it at the last moment for a good mainstream comedy exemplar (Three sorta slashers did make my top fifty though-- one in the top ten!). And after all the Chevy Chase ballyhoo earlier in the thread, it isn't Fletch either!

Number of Films Viewed for Project That Made My List: 13

I like this category. Surprisingly, only eight for me, and that's with some carryover with the simultaneous War List Project

[bamwc2]

I honestly thought that I'd have Do the Right Thing on my final list. It was a painful cut. For what it's worth, I even consider my next top ten masterpieces, and probably a good deal more approaching the end of the top 100.

[bamwc2]

Also, I can think of some truly amazing slasher films, but one of them were from the 80s. You gots good taste, Domino, so I can't think of what they'd be...

Edit: Thinking back on one of your comments to one of my viewing log entries from a few months ago, I'm pretty sure that I know what one of them is. If so, it was a good film, but nowhere near my list.