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What's the matter with you folks?! Why does Bava remain so neglected?!

6. The Testament of Orpheus (1960, Jean Cocteau) Were zedz and I the only ones to vote for this? Testament probably didn't get the votes it deserved because of its position on the cusp of the 50s & 60s.

12. Black Girl (1966, Ousmane Sembene) I have been a fan of Sembene's work as both a short story writer and filmmaker for quite a while. Absolutely essential as the first African feature film to be a success on the Euro festival circuit.

15. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964, Sergei Paradjanov) Were zedz and I the only one to vote for this one either? For those who have not yet obtained this film, it can be obtained with English subs under the title Chevaux de Feu (Films Sans Frontieres) from the excellent site, xploitedcinema.com. Eastern European folk tradition in psychedelic color. Amazing.

16. A Woman Is A Woman (1961, Jean-Luc Godard) Godard realizes his dream to make a "neo-realist musical." "T'es infâmes. Non. Je suis un femme."

24. Report (1966, Bruce Conner) Zedz says Guy Maddin's Heart of the World renders Metropolis superfluous. I say that Report renders Oliver Stone's JFK superfluous, before Oliver Stone directed his first film.

35. Les Carabiniers (1963, Jean-Luc Godard) Vastly underrated early Godard that makes parodic hash of any war film ever made.

40. Wavelength (1967, Michael Snow) The pinnacle of the 1960s gestalt that "Anything can be a film, man!" Structuralist film hides a film noir plot just out of frame.

42. Symbiotaxiplasm: Part One (1968, William Greaves) Ever watch one of those "the making of" films that are included as supplements on DVD's? Now imagine that somebody made such a film as an avant-garde experiment, but there is no "real" film that it refers to. Fascinating slice of the American 60s zeitgeist.

43. Mister Freedom (1969, William Klein) This brilliant spoof by an American expatriate in France is an amazing dissection of how the American cowboy mentality, comic book myths, Europhobia, and "we had to destroy them in order to save them" mentality influences American foreign policy and how Americans look at the world. Sadly, it is still strikingly relevant to us today. Show it to anybody who was duped into thinking that South Park's Team America: World Police actually counts as cutting-edge satire.

44. The Alphabet (1968, David Lynch) Imagine an American version of the videotape that killed people in the movie, the Ring, but the little girl in the video actually enjoys being there. A surrealistic trip into the world of childhood nightmares.

47. The War Game (1965, Peter Watkins) A pioneer of the pseudo-documentary format. Let's hope Watkins gets more respect in the 1970s poll.

48. Medium Cool (1969, Haskell Wexler) Still ahead of its time in the way it weaves dramatic characters into real-life events.

49. Targets (1968, Peter Bogdanovich) It's an elegy for the era of Boris Karloff and Universal horror films, but it's dramatization of the Charles Whitman shootings also makes it relevant in the wake of Columbine and Virginia Tech.

Michael wrote:What's the matter with you folks?! Why does Bava remain so neglected?!

I knew you were going to say that!

Shocked and dismayed that both Pierrot le fou and especially Red Desert finished so low on the list, but pleasantly surprised to see Shame made it as high as it did, and that La Chinoise managed to chart (I think I put it at like 12, I guess that helped). I maintain Breathless is a 1959 film and protest its inclusion but this argument is yawn amirite

jonp72 wrote:6. The Testament of Orpheus (1960, Jean Cocteau) Were zedz and I the only ones to vote for this? Testament probably didn't get the votes it deserved because of its position on the cusp of the 50s & 60s.

Sorry Jon, this got bumped (ended up at number 53 for me), so you were the lone voice, but yeah, what's wrong with you all!?

15. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964, Sergei Paradjanov) Were zedz and I the only one to vote for this one either? For those who have not yet obtained this film, it can be obtained with English subs under the title Chevaux de Feu (Films Sans Frontieres) from the excellent site, xploitedcinema.com. Eastern European folk tradition in psychedelic color. Amazing.

This one did make it: number 58. So you are all forgiven.

PS thanks for undertaking this herculean compiling task zedz

jonp72 wrote:15. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964, Sergei Paradjanov) Were zedz and I the only one to vote for this one either?

I think it did make the list, partly no doubt because I had it at number 3, behind 2001 and Last Year at Marienbad.

Farewell, then, to:

4 Franju Thomas l'imposteur
5 Fellini Satyricon
7 Resnais Muriel
12 Conner "Breakaway"
13 Hani Hatsukoi jigoshiheri [Inferno of First Love]
16 Lipsett "21-87"
18 Costa-Gavras Z
21 Polanski Cul-de-sac
22 Yoshida Story Written with Water
24 Bergman L 182 [Passion of Anna]
27 Robbe-Grillet Trans-Europ-Express
28 Pasolini Edipo Re
29 Hitchcock Marnie
31 Kubrick Lolita
32 de Antonio Point of Order
33 Kubelka "Arnulf Rainer"
34 Suzuki Kenka erijii [Fighting Elegy]
35 Wiseman High School
37 Bergman Vargtimmen [Hour of the Wolf]
41 Godard 2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle
42 Rossen The Hustler
44 Fuller The Naked Kiss
47 Teshigahara Moetsukita chizu [The Ruined Map]
48 Bresson Le procès de Jeanne d'Arc
49 Pasolini Medea
50 Oshima Shonen [Boy]

Though I guess getting 25 of my 50 in the top 100 isn't too bad.

And yes: Thanks zedz.

No What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? That can't be right. It's one of my top ten and it's superior and far more creepy than Psycho.

I still can't get over Bava being neglected by this forum. Two box sets and Tim Lucas' book came out this year. Come on, don't tell me that you haven't seen his 1960s masterpieces - Kill Baby Kill (my #3), The Whip and the Body, Black Sunday, Black Sabbath and Blood and Black Lace. My god, I remain shocked.

Michael wrote:No What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Michael, you missed you chance to say "What ever happened to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane??"

I'm all darlinged out this time around: 31 of my films failed to make the grade, and 17 of them failed even to attract a second vote.


My Top Twenty

1. The Colour of Pomegranates (Paradzhanov, 1968) – A completely unique film, even among Paradzhanov’s other work. Endlessly fascinating.

2. Andrey Rublyov (Tarkovsky, 1969)

3. Inferno of First Love (Hani, 1968) – My first darling, and it’s a doozy. I rabbited on about this in the 60s discussion thread. An incredible film that could only have come out of the Japanese New Wave. This had some strong support from other quarters, but not enough to get it into the final 100.

4. L’Enfance nue (Pialat, 1968) – For me, hands down the best French film of the decade, and one of the great debut features of all time. It has a depth and complexity that puts such rivals as Les 400 coups and Kes in the shade. Empathy is easy when your protagonist has the dramatic dice loaded against him (e.g. unthinking adults punishing the innocent or semi-innocent), but the behaviour of Pialat’s kid is genuinely hair-raising, and his adults are not simplistically demonized. There’s an amazing scene (one among many) when the desperate foster parents go to the authorities for help and they feel as panicky as we do when it’s assumed they want to hand back their difficult charge.

5. The House Is Black (Farrokhzad, 1963) – A maimed handful of enthusiasts got this masterpiece onto the list where it belongs. If you haven’t seen it, seek it out: images you’ll never forget.

6. Pigsty (Pasolini, 1969) – At the Pasolini buffet I seemed to be the only one going for Jean-Pierre Leaud. I think I raved on about this in the 60s discussion thread.

7. Au Hasard Balthasar (Bresson, 1966) – The final result doesn’t reflect this, but I was surprised to see what a struggle this film had to finish just outside the top ten. It only appeared on about half the lists submitted, so I guess it’s a polarising film. 8 ½ started out in the voting as even more radically polarising, appearing on only five of the first eleven lists submitted, but at number one on four of them (and number two on the fifth). Things settled down after that, however.

8. Violence at Noon (Oshima, 1966) – Already covered (twice!) in 60s discussion thread.

9. The Party and the Guests (Nemec, 1966) – Get the wonderful Second Run disc right away, then kick yourself for not voting for this film.

10. Signs of Life (Herzog, 1968) ) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread. It’s as good as or better than any of his better-known 70s features.

11. L‘Eclisse (Antonioni, 1962)

12. Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (Paradzhanov, 1964)

13. A Quiet Week in the House (Svankmajer, 1969) ) – Covered, I think, in the Shorts list discussion thread. Mysterious and sublime, and to my surprise the only Svankmajer film nominated.

14. Black God, White Devil (Rocha, 1964) ) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread.

15. Valley of the Bees (Vlacil, 1968) – Incredible filmmaking. Forget the Facets stigma and see this film. And Marketa Lazarova is supposed to be better than this?

16. The Round-Up (Jancso, 1966) – Jancso and Oshima were the only filmmakers to end up with three films in my top fifty, but they all fared rather dismally in the final tally. I probably jinxed Pasolini as well. This is the film in which he really starts to stretch out into his mature aesthetic, but he hasn’t deconstructed his narrative quite as radically as he would in The Red and the White (my Number 29). The US government admitted using The Battle of Algiers for training purposes in their “War on Terror”, but they haven’t yet admitted to using this film.

17. Le Samourai (Melville, 1967)

18. Dog Star Man (Brakhage, 1964) – Mothlight got a handful of nods, and Scenes from Under Childhood a lone mention, but I mistakenly thought this title would have been the lightning rod for aficionados. It’s so encompassing that I found it a very convenient stand-in for his rich body of work in this decade.

19. Scorpio Rising (Anger, 1964) – Well, I guess we’ve lived down the shame of this film’s no-show on the last sixties list with its respectable placing in the top fifty. Once again, availability makes all the difference.

20. Paris nous appartient (Rivette, 1960) - Or maybe not. This is a modern classic (or should be), from an approved auteur, from the most recognizable movement of the decade, and is available in a fine English-subtitled edition, but it still fails to make the cut. I wouldn’t trade a single viewing of this film for a lifetime of Truffauts.


And the neglected darlings on the rest of my list:

21. Red Angel (Masumura, 1966) – After watching this film, I wondered if I’d ever seen another truly anti-war film. Even the best of them (Wooden Crosses, Men in War) find something to celebrate – the camaraderie of men, the kinetic thrill of combat, the nobility fo sacrifice – but Masumura is meticulously, brutally unsentimental, aligning war with chaos, filth, gore, impotence, venality and the overwhelming stench of death.

22. The Cremator (Herz, 1968) – When I voted for this last time, it was probably the most obscure film on my list, and my ranking was based on rusty memory (but it’s not a film you can easily forget). I was thrilled to see it stand up as one of the most visually inventive films of the decade when Second Run rereleased it. Fans of Seconds – and there seem to be a few of you – should check this out.

25. Simon of the Desert (Bunuel, 1965) – A weird little film that I love much more than anything else Bunuel did in this lively decade. I’m much more partial to the climax of his Mexican period than the better-heeled French films at the end of his career. Exterminating Angel was also on here, but got edged off in the final revision.;

26. The Affair (Yoshida, 1967) ) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread. Hardly surprising that nobody else went for this: the tyranny of availability.

27. La Corne d’or (Pialat, 1964) – Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Fantastic images of Istanbul and Georges Delerue’s most swoonsome music. If you’ve only seen Pialat’s features, you’ll probably be unprepared for just how elaborate and lavish his style could be in the early shorts (see also L’Amour existe).

30. The Profound Desire of the Gods (Imamura, 1968) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread. Imamura was stiff out of luck, with even the readily accessible Pornographers coming in at number 101. This film, his masterpiece, finished some way behind Carry on Cleo.

32. Tokyo Olympiad (Ichikawa, 1965) – I was surprised to see so little support for this Criterion-endorsed documentary. I hate sports, loathe the Olympics, and find this film absolutely compelling: pure dazzling technique.

34. Goto, Island of Love (Borowczyk, 1968) – Bizarre and brilliant. No fan of the Quay Brothers or the outer fringes of Herzog (e.g. Even Dwarves Started Small) can afford to miss this film. Hell, even the modish shockettes enamoured of Jodorowsky or Arrabal would probably enjoy it.

35. Medea (Pasolini, 1969) – Location, location, location. Who else managed so often to find on the map places places you thought you could only dream? Speaking of dreams, this film’s conclusion involves one of the most arresting dream sequences ever conceived, in which we follow, at length, Medea’s dream of revenge, and then the (pretty much identical) revenge itself. Pasolini did things with film syntax and structure that nobody else would dare.

36. Double Suicide (Shinoda, 1969) ) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread.

37. The Shooting (Hellman, 1967) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread. An American classic I’ve never seen unbutchered.

38. A Man Vanishes (Imamura, 1967) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread.

41. My Way Home (Jancso, 1965) – This resembles a traditional drama much more than Jansco’s later stuff, so it’s probably the ideal starting point for newcomers. If you’re blown away by the mastery of space and movement here, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

43. An Autumn Afternoon (Ozu, 1962) – Probably the biggest surprise for me was the lack of love for Ozu’s final film, by far the favourite of his three 60s works, but nobody else’s, it seems.

44. The Night of Counting the Years (Abdelsalam, 1969) – Wonderful Arabian film set in the Valley of the Kings around the turn of the 20th century. Grave robbing (local) comes into conflict with cultural pillaging (imperial), with a boy caught in the middle. Fantastic photography and an unjustly neglected masterpiece.

45. Boy (Oshima, 1969) ) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread.

47. Love Is Colder than Death (Fassbinder, 1969) – Already covered in 60s discussion thread. One other Fassbinder vote was received, but it was for Katzelmacher

48. The Joke (Jires, 1969) – Czech New Wave? What Czech New Wave? The 60s output from Czechoslovakia was so rich, and its supporters in the vote so few, that precisely one of the fourteen films nominated made the list. For the uninitiated, those fourteen are a good place to start: Romeo, Juliet and Darkness (Weiss), When the Cat Comes (Jasny), The Hand (Trnka), Loves of a Blonde (Forman), The Shop on Main Street (Kadar / Klos), Intimate Lighting (Passer), The Party and the Guests (Nemec), Daisies (Chytilova), Closely Watched Trains (Menzel), The Fireman’s Ball (Forman), Valley of the Bees (Vlacil), The Cremator (Herz), A Quiet Week in the House (Svankmajer), The Joke (Jires).

49. Pas de deux (McLaren, 1968) – Exquisite optically-printed dance.

50. Story of a Prostitute (Suzuki, 1965) – Suzuki is generally only as good as his set-pieces, but this film has some great ones in its stylized opening and the slow-motion dream-run in the middle of the film.

Shit, how did I overlook Simon of the Desert? That would have been high on my list.

Getting late here, will defend my darlings tomorrow.

My darlings:

7. The Insect Woman (Imamura, 1963) – In my opinion, this is Imamura's masterpiece. Can't wait for the Criterion release.

8. Intentions of Murder (Imamura, 1964) – I have a special love for this film. I'm disappointed it didn't at least appear on one more list. I expect the future Criterion treatment (with a J.P. Gorin commentary??) will do it some good next time around. Formally, it functions like Flaubert (syntax). It functions like baroque music (symphonic organization baroque style). It functions like baroque art (coextensive space). Throw in some fantastic realism too. It's a beautiful film. It also features one of Imamura's best women—a dimwitted beast of burden defined by her physicality (as Imamura presents it). She lives, she breathes, she eats and it's all marvelous to watch. You get the sense that she could crush you if she only clapped her thighs together.

9. Two or Three Things I Know About Her (Godard, 1966) – I recently saw an amazing 35mm print of this and it blew me away. An amazing film on the adequacy of language. I love, among other things, the color scheme of this film.

17. The Pornographers (Imamura, 1966) – Really surprised this didn't do better. I guess it was really close to making it.

26. Cruel Story of Youth (Oshima, 1960) – This film has been covered in the 1960's discussion thread nicely by Zedz. There's a lot of Nicholas Ray in this film. It's Oshima's REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Very interesting film.

27. The Sun's Burial (Oshima, 1960) – Again, been covered nicely by Zedz. And as pointed out in the 60s discussion thread, it is very much a twin of the above thus my pairing them together on my list.

31. Intimate Lighting (Passer, 1966) – This a great little film. It has the kind of attitude that there is a world that exists that must be documented and celebrated. Like some kind of fable, city rats and country rats come together and there is music and eating and folly and life itself.

32. Fists in the Pocket (Bellocchio, 1965) – A wonderful film that speaks especially to youth.

35. The Hawks and the Sparrows (Pasolini, 1966) – Italian pathos through formal revolution. Speaks to Pasolini's quote (paraphrasing, since I don't have it in front of me): Never underestimate the revolutionary power of the past.

36. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (Straub/Huillet, 1968) – Covered nicely by Zedz in the 60's discussion thread.

40. Theorem (Pasolini, 1968) – Thanks to the BFIs magnificent new release, I was able to finally see this film. It's still very much in my head and probably is the reason it made my list.

41. The Hustler (Rossen, 1961) – see Zedz, 60's thread. I've always loved this film.

43. Violence at Noon (Oshima, 1966) – see Zedz, 60's thread. Very, very interesting film.

44. Innocence Unprotected (Makavejev, 1968) – Where's the DVD release already?

45. Dillinger is Dead (Ferreri, 1969) – Buzz word: absurdity. Waiting anxiously for the Criterion release.

46. Scenes from Under Childhood: Sections 1-3 (Brakhage, 1967-1969) – I left section four off here because it was completed in 1970 and I figured it wouldn't qualify because of that. I happily put the first three sections on my list though. It's Brakhage exploring the possibility of the optical mind, of vision without biases. It's very much how a child sees the world, where they have no name for what they're seeing, no preconceptions, and no associations. Basically, it conveys the ineffable.

47. Report (Conner, 1967) – Summed up perfectly by jonp72. Everything Conner is remarkable. I wanted to include THE WHITE ROSE on my list, but couldn't find space for it.

01 Pierrot le fou (Godard 1965)
The greatest of all films, or as it's better known on this forum, the 76th greatest film of the 1960s.
02 Red Desert (Antonioni 1964)
Sigh.
06 Les Bonnes Femmes (Chabrol 1960)
At least someone else voted for this. Claude Chabrol: Criterion Forum's Rodney Dangerfield
09 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Pollack 1969)
That no one but me voted for this film is almost as depressing as the movie itself.
10 La Chinoise (Godard 1967)
Thought this had no chance of charting, my biggest surprise on the final list.
18 Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Demy 1968)
Runs circles around Umbrellas of Cherbourg and another film that received only my vote. One of the most joyous movie-viewing experiences I've ever had.
20 Muriel (Resnais 1963)
Maybe the biggest non-main list qualifying shocker.
22 Brigitte et Brigitte (Moullet 1966)
Well, for this one I suspected I would be the only one to include it and I was right. Pity but not surprising.
24 Take the Money and Run (Allen 1969)
Allen's funniest film, besides his other funny films.
27 the Ladies' Man (Lewis 1961)
Again, only me voting for this gem and wait-- NO JERRY LEWIS MADE ANYONE'S LIST? I don't throw this around very often, but "WTF"
28 Repulsion (Polanski 1965)
So, so pleased to see this charted as high as it did.
31 La Collectionneuse (Rohmer 1967)
It was worth a shot.
32 Romeo, Juliet, and the Darkness (Weiss 1960)
The most hypnotic, beautiful film ever made about the holocaust-- another in a long line of no one else voted fors.
35 the Girls (Zetterling 1967)
If you like Bergman or Godard, which judging from these lists YOU DO, why was this beauty not on your list?
37 Les Biches (Chabrol 1968)
*pulls tie*
38 Targets (Bogdanovich 1968)
I knew it was an uphill battle on this forum to give the man his due but still
39 the Elusive Corporal (Renoir 1962)
Elusive Corporal >>>> Grand Illusion. Take that.
40 I Am Curious (Blue) (Sjoman 1967)
Better than Yellow by a country mile.
45 Sympathy For the Devil (Godard 1968)
Was I astonished that no one else singled out one of Godard's most fascinating films? In the words of Eve Democracy, "Yes."
47 the 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (Lang 1960)
Underrated curtain call from one of the masters.
48 Daisies (Chytilová 1966)
Dear Czech New Wave, here's a bone we threw to you. Signed, Criterion Forum.

Apparently most of you are not horror fans. Some of my darlings:

Kill Baby Kill (Mario Bava): one of the most beautifully lit and photographed films of all time - oh wait a min, I can say the same for just about every Bava film. I'm a fan of anything gothic (horror, Southern, etc) and I can't think of a film that oozes more gothic of any kind than this one.

Black Sunday (Mario Bava): take all the Universal monster classics and Hammers classics together and multiply that millions times more, what you get is Black Sunday. Atmosphere, atmosphere. I just watched it for the 20th time on the eve of Halloween and I still get awed by the nightmarish beauty of photography (almost as if Tarkvosky or Tarr did horror) and Barbara Steele's soul-vaccuming presence.

The Whip and the Body (Mario Bava): Among the most unique films I've seen. Again, more and more exquisite photography from Bava. Kinky, sexy, lyrical, creepy. Christopher Lee is never better.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich): I don't understand its omission. As much as I love Psycho, I rated Baby Jane higher than Psycho. Baby Jane is plain sick and oozes delicious macabre that still disturbs the hell out of me. It's full of stinky Hollywood musk.

And I must add:

Cleo From 5 to 7 rated higher than Breathless! About time.

This is a pleasantly indulgent exercise. Like Zedz, I did not lack for 'darlings' (although I was glad to see two Antonionis in the final list's top 3).

Top 10 (* denotes a placing in final list):

1. *L'Année dernière à Marienbad (Resnais, FR, 1961) - Contender for my favourite film of all time.

2. *L'eclisse (Antonioni, IT, 1962) - Another contender for favourite film of all time, and the board's, by the look of things.

3. Barrier (Skolimowski, PL, 1966) – The only Polish Skolimowski film I've seen, but I'd probably take it over anything from the Czech New Wave. Breezy, disorientating, surreal.

4. *If… (Anderson, GB, 1968)

5. Le Joli Mai (Marker, FR, 1963) – Much prefer this to the later Sans soleil. A contender for the best documentary of the 60s?

6. *The Exterminating Angel (Buñuel, MX, 1962)

7. L'Immortelle (Robbe-Grillet, FR, 1963) – Didn't expect Robbe-Grillet to make the list, but this film in particular – which I only saw for the first time this year – rivals the best of Resnais.

8. *La Chinoise (Godard, FR, 1967) - Like Domino, I rated this one high.

9. Black God, White Devil (Rocha, BR, 1964) – Rocha's absence is presumably down to his current invisibility on R1/R2 DVD.

10. Empire (Warhol, US, 1964) – I can't endorse a 60s list without Warhol. Finally had an opportunity to sit through the full version of this in the summer. In its unrelenting simplicity, one of the most formally radical documents of the century.


'Darlings' from the rest of the list:

11. The Round-Up (Jancsó, HU, 1965) – Zedz has already defended this one. In the same artistic line of absurd misery as Kafka and Beckett.

14. Je t'aime, je t'aime (Resnais, FR, 1968) – I was surprised at the absence of other Resnais, given Marienbad's high chart position. The experiments with temporal repetition in this one rival the best of the Nouveau Roman writers.

18. Wavelength (Snow, CA, 1967) – As Jonp72 notes, one of the major works of North American experimental cinema, and it actually contains a lot of incident (compared to early Warhol, at least).

19. Clouds (Gidal, GB, 1969) – Achieves the same sort of effect as Warhol, but in the space of ten minutes, and with a handheld camera.

23. The Cremator (Herz, CZ, 1968) – Given the enthusiastic reception of the DVD, I thought this might make the list.

24. Salesman (Maysles/Maysles/Zwerin, US, 1968) – No Maysles? Documentary is sadly unrepresented on the final list.

26. Simon of the Desert (Buñuel, MX, 1965) – Was I one of two voters for this?

27. Primary (Drew, US, 1960) – The touchstone work of so-called Direct Cinema, tracking the opportunism of American electioneering.

28. Earth Entranced (Rocha, BR, 1967) – A more overtly political film from Rocha, but equally delirious.

29. Stereo (Cronenberg, CA, 1969) – Early, experimental Cronenberg (like a more deadpan, scientific Peter Watkins). If only he could recapture that University of Toronto period nowadays.

30. Labyrinth (Lenica, PL, 1962) – The only animation on my list.

31. Culloden (Watkins, GB, 1964) – The first masterpiece from the pioneer of pseudo-documentary.

32. Poor Little Rich Girl (Warhol, US, 1965) – One of the many films featuring Edie Sedgwick, the first half of it lensed out of focus.

33. T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G (Sharits, US, 1968) – A brutal flicker film featuring a still of a man cutting his tongue.

35. Her Lonely Lane/A Wanderer's Notebook (Naruse, JP, 1962) – Presumably Michael Kerpan was the other voter? I saw this at the BFI earlier in the year.

36. Katzelmacher (Fassbinder, DE, 1969) – Bracing visual austerity from the early Fassbinder.

38. The Party and the Guests (Němec, CZ, 1966) – I probably should have rated this higher.

39. Un soir, un train (Delvaux, BE, 1968) – A feature from that cinematically-overlooked nation, Belgium. Yves Montand is a teacher who takes a proto-Lynchian train journey.

40. La guerre est finie (Resnais, FR, 1966) – Speaking of Montand, another of Resnais's 60s classics (the reason Muriel wasn't on my list is because it's the only one I haven't seen).

41. Pitfall (Teshigahara, JP, 1962) – A less obvious choice than Woman of the Dunes, but the combination of industrial injustice and ghostly limbo is beguiling.

42. L'Homme qui ment (Robbe-Grillet, FR, 1968) – Maybe not as perfect as L'Immortelle, and already showing signs of his later tendency towards softcore erotica, but it's another classic intellectual game from R-G.

44. Meet Marlon Brando (Maysles/Maysles, US, 1965) –Think I prefer this short to any of Brando's actual acting roles.

46. The Naked Island (Shindo, JP, 1960) – I haven't seen much 60s Japanese work (hence the absence of Oshima and Imamura), but I'm willing to bet this wordless piece from Shindo is one of the best.

47. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Reisz, GB, 1960) – I'd generally agree that next to France and Italy, 60s British narrative cinema (excepting Lindsay Anderson) is somewhat underwhelming, but this one deserves a mention.

49. Paris nous appartient (Rivette, FR, 1960) – I haven't yet got to appreciate this as much as Zedz, but agree it trumps Truffaut for atmosphere.

50. Accattone (Pasolini, IT, 1961) – Pasolini had to fit in somewhere, so I went for the late neo-realist version.

Plus, a ‘phantom' entry – i.e., one which was not on my list because I did not receive the new French DVD in time, but would be guaranteed to make any future cut:

Not Reconciled (Straub/Huillet, DE, 1965)

I'm feeling a little down. 29 of my 50 made the master list (so I'm a conformist), and the remainder have a Joe Sixpackish streak to them (so I have no taste). It was my first list attempt, and in grappling with the problem of best versus favorite, I indulged personal fondness at the expense of quality to some degree.

I'll just mention a few, mostly ones I had no voting buddy on:

12. The Producers (Brooks) and 23. Bedazzled (Donen) "No comedy please, we're Cineastes".

15. How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Swift) I'm guessing every last one of you hates this (or at least Robert Morse in general). Some of my favorite Bob Fosse work.

21. Manji (Masumura) At least he got Giants and Toys on the 50s list.

25. The Swimmer (Perry) Didn't this make the last 60s list? And this time only my vote?

33. Being Two Isn't Easy (Ichikawa) Perhaps it's because I was the father of a two year old boy when I saw it, but I'm quite attached. It suggests the cacaphony of physical and emotional experiences that must be going on in those little bodies in a compelling way.

35. The Servant (Losey) So this is my favorite Losey. There are other candidates, but not one of them could attract even two votes. Sorry Joe, there's a lot of Godard to get in.

36. The Music Man (DaCosta) I know, crazy isn't it? I mean there's even Buddy Hackett to contend with, and still I vote for it. I'll just say this, if I feel like indulging in that ephemeral term "Americana", I'm not reaching for any John Ford, I'm going for Professor Harold Hill and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

46. Pretty Poison (Black) The subversion of expectations is like one slow plot twist that takes most of the movie to play out. Perkins and Weld play so nicely off each other, which I really would have bet against.

47. Black Sunday (Bava) Come on people! Can't you see how much this means to Michael?

50. Carry On Cleo (Thomas) Yeah I did it. And I'd do it again. Come and get me coppers! Infamy! Amanda Barrie > Liz Taylor! David Hare - I almost gave this spot to Beat Girl just to put a smile on your face. But then I didn't. So...sorry.

And I'd like to congratulate myself for ranking The Innocents #6, without which it probably doesn't make the final 100 at all.

And massive thanks to Zedz.

I don't submit lists, so I really should be shunned out of this thread, but I raise a glass to those who tried valiently to get Targets, The Cremator, 2 Or 3 Things I Know About Her, and Medium Cool on the list. They all would have held a place in my 50 as well.

-Toilet Dcuk

Miscellaneous comments and apologies, or, fooling around with other people's darlings:

Dave41n wrote:8. Intentions of Murder (Imamura, 1964) - I have a special love for this film. I'm disappointed it didn't at least appear on one more list.

This was third Imamura in line for me, but it got rationalised off when my “absolutely finalâ€

06 Les Bonnes Femmes (Chabrol 1960)
At least someone else voted for this. Claude Chabrol: Criterion Forum's Rodney Dangerfield

I forgot about that one. DAMN!

My list ended up being rather canonical so I have very few pandas to defend and even most of those ended up in the also-rans. Here are my eleven that didn't make the cut:

16. Mafioso (Lattuada) – I was shocked to see that I was the only one to vote for this film. What starts out as an excellent provincial Italian comedy builds to and then quickly turns into something else entirely. The film uses a circular motif to show that, by the end, everyone seems to be able to return to the way things were except for the protagonist, Nino, and, ourselves. The final list(s) had little to no Italian comedy other than the noteworthy ‘Seduced and Abandoned' and ‘Divorce Italian Style' so I would imagine it's simply a case of limited/unavailability. Criterion will no doubt remedy this at some point in 2008. I sincerely hope that the next time around we'll see this film at least chart.

17. Teorema (Pasolini) – Another one that I thought would make the cut but Pasolini had some many great 60's films there was bound to be some vote-splitting. Stamp's performance in this one had me mesmerized and by the end I felt like I pile of dust that was about to be blown away. Fantastic film.

23. Naked Island (Shindo) – The use of water and sunlight in this film really sets it apart for me. It could have made a great silent film, as there is virtually no dialogue but the sounds of water, work and rest. This minimalist masterpiece ranked much higher last time around and it saddens me to think that the critical opinion of this film is on the decline.

28. Tokyo Drifter (Suzuki) – This one is just good fun. Great set pieces and, goodness, the colors; it's always seemed like a comic book come to life.

30. Firemen's Ball (Forman) – I've always really enjoyed political critiques using comedy and for some reason this one sticks with me. The mostly nonprofessional actors add a slice-of-life quality to the film that always seems very touching and innocent but it's quite serious about it's intent. A relevant message about fools with power and darned funny to boot.

33. The Shop on Main Street (Kadar & Klos) – A general synopsis would sound messy and melodramatic but everything just clicks here. One of best WWII films of the 60's as well as a film that deals so well with individuals' racial, religious and political divisions. The dramatic buildup leads to such a satisfying and heartbreaking conclusion, it took me a very long time to re-watch, and that's a good thing.

36. The Hustler (Rossen) – zedz summed it up nicely but I'd like to add that, for me, this is Paul Newman's greatest performance. Plus, the jazz score is fantastic.

39. The Killers (Siegel) – Every version of this film is wonderful but this is the one I prefer. Gritty slice of reality and everyone could use more Lee Marvin in their lives.

40. Branded to Kill (Suzuki) – I hesitated to put two Suzuki's in my top 50 but I just couldn't leave this one behind. The first time I watched this I had only a vague sense of what was happening but I loved every minute of the insanity. Repeated viewings have only increased my joy for this film and respect for what Suzuki was able to do with such weak source material.

43. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Naruse) – Was I the only one to vote for this? Strange, considering the recent dvd release and relative respect accorded Naruse. This is the only Naruse film I've seen and I'm very much looking forward to exploring more of his films in the future. I was expecting a sort of “weepyâ€

As always, most of the fun is in reading these appraisals of the personal favorites that did not make the final list, and as always I feel much like starmanof51 – someone who was invited to the party, came, got drunk in the anonymity of the crowd, and left at the end of the night alone. In other words, I do not have much to defend, as only 13 of the films from my list did not make the final list, and only four of my entries were apparently complete orphans.

13. Her Lonely Lane (Naruse) – I have only seen a small handful of Naruse's films, and excellent as they have been, this was the first of his films that truly spoke to me. Much of the credit goes to Hideko Takamine, who gives such a truly empathic performance in the central role as author Fumiko Hayashi. A beautiful film that I really wish was in sight from one of the major DVD companies.

18. River Fuefuki (Kinoshita) – Another film with Takamine in a central role. Like so many of the Japanese films of the ‘60s, the black and white scope compositions are breathtaking. The use of splashes of color to underscore mood will probably make or break this particular film for many viewers. To me the excellence of the film was in the way Kinoshita took such a broad perspective of history, depicting several generations in the existence of a peasant family, the sons of which constantly end up running off to war. The scenes of war, like the splashes of color, appear in short bursts throughout the film – visually gorgeous, these short scenes of battle become the monotonous sound of the bass drum that underscores the lives of these peasants.

20. Valley of the Bees (Vlacil) – zedz already raved about this Czech film set in medieval times. Incredible filmmaking from a formal perspective, indeed, and it concerns amongst other things incestuous/oedipal longing and the brotherhood of a sect of Christian knights – maybe that will be incentive to overcome the Facets logo.

22. Hands Over the City (Rosi) – I suppose most people threw a vote for Salvatore Giuliano and skipped this film. The size of the canvas that Rosi works on is fascinating in both films, and the sense of authenticity and sincerity with which both films are invested make them very compelling to me. Here Rosi investigates real estate speculation on the grand political scale in post war Naples (the DVD from Criterion is a treasure, richly contextualizing the film, and offering a second feature film about Naples that Rosi made 30 years later).

26. Violence at Noon (Oshima) – See the ‘60s discussion thread.

32. Insect Woman (Imamura) – Already covered by someone above. Imamura, like so many of the directors on discussion in this thread, really made only very good films. Yet, to me personally, of the films that I have seen by Imamura, only Black Rain comes close to rivalling the emotional impact of this film that charts the depressing fate of a young Japanese woman in post war Japan.

34. The Virgin Spring (Bergman) – I have actually not seen that many of Bergman's sixties films, and I cannot say that I am a huge fan of his in general, although I respect him very much. However, I recently saw this film, and I admit that I found it an extremely raw and powerful film -- raw, both in the beauty of its images, and, raw in its depiction of very base actions and emotions. Sydow's performance in the final reel took my breath away.

37. Doctor Zhivago (Lean) – I know, the token ‘60s Lean blockbuster entry on the list of any serious and self-respecting film buff must be Lawrence of Arabia. This film goes back to my early love affair with film, and that final scene is a buried shard of glass in my heart, just as Christie is imprinted on my imagination as one of the archetypes of elusive female beauty. There is so much about Zhivago that is intrinsic with the romance of the cinema for me.

38. Zorba the Greek (Cacoyannis) – Another very personal favourite that I suppose has fallen out of fashion. I loved the depiction of the two main characters – I wished that I could have had a little more of Zorba in me, but just as surely I knew that I was the Alan Bates up on the screen.

46. Mother Joan of Angels (Kawalerowicz) – Second Run's DVD of this film has not received very good notices, and probably deservedly so, but the film is amazing and should be seen anyway. The depiction of possession and religious hysteria is truly unsettling. I remember the horror I felt as a young teenager, seeing (parts of) The Exorcist on television. Twenty years later, as I sat and viewed this film very late at night, I almost had the same experience. The way Kawalerowicz recreated the period, the lighting of those sombre medieval chambers and rooms, and those very disturbing performances (especially from the lead actress), give the film an almost documentary feel.

47. She & He (Hani) – I suppose this is Japanese new wave a la neo-realism. Its excellence for me again lies in its strong sense of authenticity – both with respect to the performances and the urban setting in which the film takes place. It is the parallel story of a woman, who lives in a lonely and childless marriage, and a vagrant rag-peddler, his dog and backwards daughter.

49. Midnight Cowboy and 50. Easy Rider – I have not seen either of these films in a dog's age, but they are token entries for me, as they meant a lot in kindling my interest in film, when I was still very young. I still think they are excellent films, and certainly iconic examples of ‘60s American film and culture.

In closing, much respect to zedz for doing the hard work, and for always providing such great motivations to go and see more films.

Great work, zedz.
Glad to see 24 lists were dropped on you, as I never got my 60's viewing in gear. I made a skeletal list, but never pulled my 60's dvd's out and filled in the gaps. Felt I missed too much, especially Japanese and Czech, to make a viable list. A broad sweeping decade.

A few films I was surprised didn't make it on the list of 100:

The Shop on Main Street (Kadar, 1965)
A complete gem of a film. The Holocaust writ small and personal.
The Cremator (Herz, 1968)
Discussed elsewhere. A creepy, metaphoric journey.
and my main 60's darling,
Darling (John Schlesinger, 1965)
A much better Julie Christie performance than Petulia, and in a better film. Just sweeps the viewer along in a surprising rich world of dissatisfaction.
I think of it as a female companion piece to The Hustler.

Other great films mentioned in this darling little thread:
Les Bonnes Femmes (Chabrol 1960)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Goto, Island of Love (Borowczyk, 1968)
Mother Joan of the Angels
(Possible that the last two weren't seen by enough folks, though readily available on dvd).

I would have expected Bonnie & Clyde and Pasolini to have done better. But can understand how Mamma Roma and Accatone would split votes.

davidhare wrote:Bonnes Femmes and the sublimely radical, trippy La Rupture would have been my Chabrols.

Certainly the events of the first five minutes never quite leave your head, even with all the truly novel twists that follow, but unfortunately it's a 1970 film-- ineligible!

Secret Ceremony (am I the only person on the planet who loves this beautiful mysterious movie?)

As a big fan of Mia Farrow, Liz Taylor and strange late 1960's dramas, I really want to see it, and Scarecrow Video has the R2 DVD, but alas, I currently have no multi-region player, my laptop region changes are up, and no region-free software (Remote Selector, etc.) will work on my laptop...this obviously ruled out viewings of numerous films, but I really did want to check this out. Soon, perhaps.

Meanwhile, here is my top ten:

8½
La Dolce Vita
Seconds
Contempt
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Before the Revolution
Blow-Up
Persona
Rosemary's Baby
The Graduate

Although every film on here made it, my personal "darlings" to defend would certainly be #6 (#100 on the final list) and #9 (#99 on the final list), neither of which would've made the final cut had I not placed them so high here. The former is my favorite film about people in their twenties, the latter is quite simply the greatest, most gorgeously-written and dynamically-acted horror film in the galaxy.

Favorites of mine nobody else voted for: John & Mary by Peter Yates and Bob & Carrol & Ted & Alice by Paul Mazursky. The former, which demands rediscovery (especially from all of the Woody Allen fans here - trust me, you'll love it - in 1969 it was, in terms of feel and technique, the closest thing that existed to what we now call a "Woody Allen film" until Allen made Annie Hall eight years later) is certainly too obscure, the latter perhaps hasn't aged as well with the rest of you (it is firmly lodged in the 60's in almost every way, but I found it very funny with an absorbing script that ends the story in the most perfect place imaginable for the material...Natalie Wood is also the lovliest woman in the universe to gaze upon).

And also, A Patch of Blue...has anybody else seen this? One of my very, very favorite love stories (one that never fails to bring, at the least, several tears to my eyes and many more lumps in the throat), with two of the most unique and powerful performances on film, amazing 'Scope photography by Robert Burks and a delicate, heartbreaking score by Jerry Goldsmith.

As far as the also-rans list goes, one film I wish to personally recommend to everybody here is When the Cat Comes - the finest fairy tale ever put on celluloid, and an absolute feast for the senses.

Most of mine made at least the second list, but a few things struck me about the final tally. Antonioni and Bergman both did better than in the previous 1960s list. They didn't need obituary boosts for reassessment, but they look very good here. Despite that, I miss

32. Hour of the Wolf (1968)

on the list, though I was glad to see the remarkable Shame ranked so high.

Given that

12. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

got some press on its anniversary, I'm more than a little surprised that it didn't make the top 100, especially since Psycho and The Birds made the American Top Four. Someone will have to explain this to me. I don't get those high rankings for the Hitchcocks at all. Maybe A.O. Scott's squeamishness about Bonnie and Clyde's violence killed a bit of support. But can anyone really resist Faye Dunaway here? Fetching, and that hot-and-bothered routine at the start sizzles.

And I suspect the forum is holding Roman Polanski's killing of chapter stops on

10. Knife in the Water (1962)

against him.

Otherwise, just my usual smattering of also rans, mostly from Hollywood's down years.

23. Closely Watched Trains (Menzel, 1967). Richard Schickel's crusade for this film only goes so far, I guess. Wry.

25. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Hill, 1969). Hall's photography is one of the film's enduring pleasures.

26. Oh! What a Lovely War (Attenborough, 1969). A cheap but pleasing DVD release from Paramount after years of waiting, and no one else voted for this one? A remarkable film featuring the cream of 1960s British stage and screen in one of the most innovative and incendiary musicals ever made.

33. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Enrico, 1962). Released several ways, as part of a larger three part feature, as a short, and as a Twilight Zone episode, it captures Bierce's flashback/nightmare/death thought so very well.

34. Bullitt (Yates, 1968). Too cool to vote for Steve McQueen, eh?

35. Simon of the Desert (Bunuel, 1965). What the others said.

38. West Side Story (Wise & Robbins, 1961). Warhorse is finally retired. Just try to get the Bernstein music out of your head, though. Mambo!

40. Stolen Kisses (Truffaut, 1968). Just a pleasing little Doinel number.

41. Yellow Submarine (Dunning, 1968). I saw this as a child and had Blue Meanie nightmares. This is one hip flick.

42. Major Dundee (Peckinpah, 1965). Interesting that The Wild Bunch got a big boost this time when I would have expected it to drop if its companion in blood, Bonnie and Clyde, bit the dust. Saw this on the big screen on rerelease and it really makes me wonder what might have been. A failed masterpiece.

43. Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969).

45. The Misfits (Huston, 1961). One of the strangest American films of its era. Monroe is actually effective in her overacting, and some of the wild symbolism and real-life congruencies with the Monroe-Arthur Miller marriage make this a pleasingly lurid spectacle.

46. A Raisin in the Sun (Petrie, 1961). Hard to recapture now how significant Hansberry's play was at the time. The film version features one of Poitier's more tortured performances.

47. Antoine and Colette (Truffaut, 1962).

48. Who's That Knocking at My Door (Scorsese, 1968).

49. The Lion in Winter (Harvey, 1968). Hepburn and O'Toole are really frosty in this one. A talker. Look for young Anthony Hopkins as well. I actually have a thing for the Brit costume dramas of the day. This one, Becket, Cromwell, A Man for All Seasons.

50. Judgment at Nuremberg (Kramer, 1961). Actually, I was tempted to use this slot for Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which is not by any stretch a good movie, but has it ever made me laugh with foolish, mindless glee over the years.