The Top 10 Films I Watched for the First Time in 2020
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*In the Mood For Love (2000) Directed by Wong Kar Wai
*A Face in the Crowd (1957) Directed by Elia Kazan *Elevator to the Gallows (1958) Directed by Louis Malle *Ace in the Hole (1951) Directed by Billy Wilder *Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Directed by Celine Sciamma *The Battle of Algiers (1966) Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo *The Hidden Fortress (1958) Directed by Akira Kurosawa *Elmer Gantry (1960) Directed by Richard Brooks *Notorious (1946) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock *Moonrise (1948) Directed by Frank Borzage |
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With the exception of Portrait of a Lady on Fire there is no excuse to my having not having seen these films before this year. The wonderful thing about studying film, however, is that a lifetime can be spent trying to see all the classics, but there are always more avenues to explore & more films to see! With that in mind, here are the best films I watched this year for the first time. Some I've been saving, some came to me as part of research for Top 10 lists for the blog & others were suggested in my reading or by friends. Forgive me if you're saddened that it's taken me this long to see some of these films, but always remember that once you've seen a particularly great film you'll never have that specific feeling again. With that in mind, here are my 10 favorites form this year, in no particular order.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire was actually released theatrically in the US in early 2020, before theatres shut down, & tells the story of 2 women normally forced to conform to patriarchal rules, who break free on a remote island in 18th century Brittany. Marianne is a painter commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Heloise, forced into an arranged marriage she opposes. What is most striking about this film is the patience director Sciamma takes in letting the story unfold, instead focussing on the simple, yet stunningly beautiful images of the 2 women's relationship. Each image is captured as a moving painting, developing as if brushstrokes painted the screen, The passion of the 2 women is remarkable as they momentarily break free from the constrictive nature of a male dominated culture. As is similar to In the Mood for Love, regret & longing play a deep & emotional part in this amazing film made solely about women, by women.
The Hidden Fortress is one of the minor masterpieces made by Kurosawa, which alone speaks to its greatness. Many people know The Hidden Fortress as the source material that George Lucas noted as his inspiration the original Star Wars movie. The story of a princess, her general & 2 greedy peasants, as they travel through enemy territory, transporting gold & bringing the princess to safety, The Hidden Fortress is an adventure story, mixed with humor. The 2 unwitting peasants, who have no idea of the princesses identity, clash with the general, whom they believe is a fellow scavenger, as he leads them through the perilous & lunar-like landscape. Kurosawa mainstay & one of the greatest actors of all time, Toshiro Mifune, plays the general in his typical brilliance.
Frank Borzage, one of the greatest forgotten directors of early Hollywood, was largely forgotten as early as 1948, but with the release of Moonrise that year, he cemented his legacy as a pioneer of American filmmaking. The film is the story of Danny, who is forever shadowed by the hanging of his father for murder & the emotional impact as he grows to a man. The film has a southern gothic ethos that mixes brilliantly with the Film Noir elements of crime, claustrophobic environments & the impressive use of light & shadow.
In the pantheon of Alfred Hitchcock's career, Notorious has a special place because it starred 2 of Hitch's favorite actors, Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman, Before Grace Kelly, Bergman was Hitchcock's favorite actress & here she gives one of her best performances as a disgraced American who is forced to spy on a band of Nazi's in post war South America. Grant plays her government handler/lover with a touch of tenderness & a heavy dose of cold masochism. The performance is completely against type for Grant & makes the film all the more enjoyable as the 2 lovers sway back & forth between loving & loathing.
The Battle of Algiers illustrates the personal side of the very impersonal French-Algerian war during the 1950's. Told primarily from the perspective of the Algerian rebels, in what clearly has echoes to the last 20 years in the Middle East, Battle of Algiers shows the devastation colonialism has on a native population & the emotional elements that drive individuals to fight for a cause against an overwhelming opposition. Named one of the Top 50 films every made by Sight & Sound, The Battle of Algiers looks as current today as when it was made in the mid-60's.
Elmer Gantry & A Face in the Crowd are 2 films that closely predict & reflect the times we live in today, with charlatans & hucksters manipulating the masses through lies told often enough that they become truth & where personality rules over substance. Lancaster, playing Gantry, puts the full weight of his physicality & powerful presence to inhabit the traveling preacher/con man, a man who views every convert through the eyes of a seducer. In his Academy Award winning performance, Lancaster teeters on the edge of sincerity, but never ventures to the good side of the ledger. Similarly, Andy Griffith's big screen debut as 'Lonesome' Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd, shows a man always on the make, willing to exploit any person, or situation for his personal advancement. He is a small town drifter who uses the media to rise to a position of political power, a huckster in sheep's clothing. Both films offer powerful individual performances for their stars, but it is in the supporting performances that the eyes of the viewers are reflected. Jean Simmons & Shirley Jones provide Gantry the yin/yang of purity & seduction, while Jennifer O'Neal reflects all her hopes onto Rhodes, only to be heartbreakingly let down. In the end, both films are tragedies, but amazing in their singular reflection of the pull between good & evil within us all.
If cynicism wasn't cornered in A Face in the Crowd or Elmer Gantry its only because Ace in the Hole is also among the best films I've seen this year. Billy Wilder's story of a manipulative newspaperman (Kirk Douglas) out to turn a minor news item into Greek tragedy, shows the ugly face of yellow journalism at its very worst. If the other 2 films place the struggle between good & evil solely at the feet of the manipulators, then Ace in the Hole expands that struggle to include society's insatiable consumption of tragedy as the root cause. Douglas is a disgraced reporter out for the big story that will catapult him back to national prominence when he stumbles across a story of a man trapped in an abandoned mining shaft. His unwavering manipulation of the injured victim, his family, the authorities & ultimately the public becomes a carnival attraction where souvenirs are sold & food stands cater to the always ravenous crowd. Sadly, when tragedy does strike, the ever cynical Wilder has the crowd pack up & move on, searching for the next adventure to capture their attention. A news cycle practice that has only been shortened and perfected in the 70 years since the film released.
Elevator to the Gallows is Louis Malle's early masterwork that utilized established Film Noir techniques, but in new ways with editing & sound to help usher in the French New Wave. Starring Jeanne Moreau & Maurice Ronet, the film's murder plot unravels around a malfunctioning elevator & a series of random events. Miles Davis' amazing soundtrack punctuates the drama & brings an immediacy to the perfect crime gone wrong.
In the Mood for Love may be the best film made so far in the 21st century. Told in a series of elliptical scenes that jump in time & space, the film focuses on neighbors who realize their respective spouses are having an affair with each other & the relationship that results. A story of unrequited love, wrapped in a sensual color palette of rich reds & soft greens, the film is a visual banquet. The couple, played by Maggie Cheung & Tony Leung, engage in one of the most sincere & truly loving relationships ever shown on film as the brilliant Wong Kar Wei weaves the intimate story by underscoring emotion with slow motion, a soft repetitive musical motif & the simplest of gestures & glances. In the Mood for Love has earned a place in my Top 10 Films of all-time. It's the type of film that you can watch dozens of times & see new things with every wiewing!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire was actually released theatrically in the US in early 2020, before theatres shut down, & tells the story of 2 women normally forced to conform to patriarchal rules, who break free on a remote island in 18th century Brittany. Marianne is a painter commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Heloise, forced into an arranged marriage she opposes. What is most striking about this film is the patience director Sciamma takes in letting the story unfold, instead focussing on the simple, yet stunningly beautiful images of the 2 women's relationship. Each image is captured as a moving painting, developing as if brushstrokes painted the screen, The passion of the 2 women is remarkable as they momentarily break free from the constrictive nature of a male dominated culture. As is similar to In the Mood for Love, regret & longing play a deep & emotional part in this amazing film made solely about women, by women.
The Hidden Fortress is one of the minor masterpieces made by Kurosawa, which alone speaks to its greatness. Many people know The Hidden Fortress as the source material that George Lucas noted as his inspiration the original Star Wars movie. The story of a princess, her general & 2 greedy peasants, as they travel through enemy territory, transporting gold & bringing the princess to safety, The Hidden Fortress is an adventure story, mixed with humor. The 2 unwitting peasants, who have no idea of the princesses identity, clash with the general, whom they believe is a fellow scavenger, as he leads them through the perilous & lunar-like landscape. Kurosawa mainstay & one of the greatest actors of all time, Toshiro Mifune, plays the general in his typical brilliance.
Frank Borzage, one of the greatest forgotten directors of early Hollywood, was largely forgotten as early as 1948, but with the release of Moonrise that year, he cemented his legacy as a pioneer of American filmmaking. The film is the story of Danny, who is forever shadowed by the hanging of his father for murder & the emotional impact as he grows to a man. The film has a southern gothic ethos that mixes brilliantly with the Film Noir elements of crime, claustrophobic environments & the impressive use of light & shadow.
In the pantheon of Alfred Hitchcock's career, Notorious has a special place because it starred 2 of Hitch's favorite actors, Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman, Before Grace Kelly, Bergman was Hitchcock's favorite actress & here she gives one of her best performances as a disgraced American who is forced to spy on a band of Nazi's in post war South America. Grant plays her government handler/lover with a touch of tenderness & a heavy dose of cold masochism. The performance is completely against type for Grant & makes the film all the more enjoyable as the 2 lovers sway back & forth between loving & loathing.
The Battle of Algiers illustrates the personal side of the very impersonal French-Algerian war during the 1950's. Told primarily from the perspective of the Algerian rebels, in what clearly has echoes to the last 20 years in the Middle East, Battle of Algiers shows the devastation colonialism has on a native population & the emotional elements that drive individuals to fight for a cause against an overwhelming opposition. Named one of the Top 50 films every made by Sight & Sound, The Battle of Algiers looks as current today as when it was made in the mid-60's.
Elmer Gantry & A Face in the Crowd are 2 films that closely predict & reflect the times we live in today, with charlatans & hucksters manipulating the masses through lies told often enough that they become truth & where personality rules over substance. Lancaster, playing Gantry, puts the full weight of his physicality & powerful presence to inhabit the traveling preacher/con man, a man who views every convert through the eyes of a seducer. In his Academy Award winning performance, Lancaster teeters on the edge of sincerity, but never ventures to the good side of the ledger. Similarly, Andy Griffith's big screen debut as 'Lonesome' Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd, shows a man always on the make, willing to exploit any person, or situation for his personal advancement. He is a small town drifter who uses the media to rise to a position of political power, a huckster in sheep's clothing. Both films offer powerful individual performances for their stars, but it is in the supporting performances that the eyes of the viewers are reflected. Jean Simmons & Shirley Jones provide Gantry the yin/yang of purity & seduction, while Jennifer O'Neal reflects all her hopes onto Rhodes, only to be heartbreakingly let down. In the end, both films are tragedies, but amazing in their singular reflection of the pull between good & evil within us all.
If cynicism wasn't cornered in A Face in the Crowd or Elmer Gantry its only because Ace in the Hole is also among the best films I've seen this year. Billy Wilder's story of a manipulative newspaperman (Kirk Douglas) out to turn a minor news item into Greek tragedy, shows the ugly face of yellow journalism at its very worst. If the other 2 films place the struggle between good & evil solely at the feet of the manipulators, then Ace in the Hole expands that struggle to include society's insatiable consumption of tragedy as the root cause. Douglas is a disgraced reporter out for the big story that will catapult him back to national prominence when he stumbles across a story of a man trapped in an abandoned mining shaft. His unwavering manipulation of the injured victim, his family, the authorities & ultimately the public becomes a carnival attraction where souvenirs are sold & food stands cater to the always ravenous crowd. Sadly, when tragedy does strike, the ever cynical Wilder has the crowd pack up & move on, searching for the next adventure to capture their attention. A news cycle practice that has only been shortened and perfected in the 70 years since the film released.
Elevator to the Gallows is Louis Malle's early masterwork that utilized established Film Noir techniques, but in new ways with editing & sound to help usher in the French New Wave. Starring Jeanne Moreau & Maurice Ronet, the film's murder plot unravels around a malfunctioning elevator & a series of random events. Miles Davis' amazing soundtrack punctuates the drama & brings an immediacy to the perfect crime gone wrong.
In the Mood for Love may be the best film made so far in the 21st century. Told in a series of elliptical scenes that jump in time & space, the film focuses on neighbors who realize their respective spouses are having an affair with each other & the relationship that results. A story of unrequited love, wrapped in a sensual color palette of rich reds & soft greens, the film is a visual banquet. The couple, played by Maggie Cheung & Tony Leung, engage in one of the most sincere & truly loving relationships ever shown on film as the brilliant Wong Kar Wei weaves the intimate story by underscoring emotion with slow motion, a soft repetitive musical motif & the simplest of gestures & glances. In the Mood for Love has earned a place in my Top 10 Films of all-time. It's the type of film that you can watch dozens of times & see new things with every wiewing!
