Just came in here to see if anyone had posted about this, because I just received an email from my movie/music friend Doug entitled "Astounding shakeup!" He said that upon his quick review, it seemed to be the most radical revision of any decade. I haven't reviewed yet. What are your thoughts? Doug's view on fast scan:
"Good part: I'm thrilled to see many worthy modern films on the list. I thought the 2012 list excluded too many newer movies or ranked them too low.
Bad part: When the list changes too much decade to decade, it loses its authority, like a SC with no stare decisis.
Obviously, I will spend a LOT more time with this list, but for now, it feels a bit cheapened."
Here are some of my assorted thoughts:
- It is an interesting perspective on how tight "the cannon" should be held. The original Sight and Sound had something like 60 critics voting. This time around it was 1600- more than the total of every previous poll combined. Should film cannon be determined by a small very select group or should it be a large diverse body? Not sure I have answer, but it is a key question.
- As always, comedy gets the short end of the stick. Only 6 or so movies I would consider primarily comedies. Maybe comedy struggles to cross cultural barriers? Maybe it's just the same reason the Oscars rarely honor comedies. Only 1 musical on the list. I am surprised there is no love for Wizard of Oz, Cabaret or one of the Demy musicals. This bias for super serious films likely never changes.
- Even with some big changes, it's not too far from what I would expect and is still very old guard
By country:
- US- 32 films
- France- 20 films
- Italy and Japan- 8 films
- UK- 6 films
By decade:
- -50s and 60s- 20 films
- 70s- 14 films
- 90s- 9 films
- 40s- 8 films
- 80s- 7 films
- 20s- 7 films
- 00s- 6 films
- 30s- 5 films
- 2010s- 4 films
Seems like the newer films are probably chopping away at the 20s-40s era of films which I guess makes sense as critics become further and further from that older era.
- Finally, as for the big shake-up at the top, can't say Jeanne Dielman would make my list. It's extremely interesting and is what I would consider a high concept film about a pretty low concept topic. It is boring and that's part of it's genius. Still it is a tough watch (which I do think is the point). I don't think it's deserving of the top spot and it will certainly create unwarranted expectations for people seeking it out. It's being set up to fail. The same thing was true of Citizen Kane and Vertigo. Ranking anything as the best movie ever creates impossible expectations. I also think this vote makes this list seem like some serious gatekeping. People who might have found Kane or Vertigo interesting but boring will likely turn Jeanne Dielman off an hour into it. I do think it is interesting when you consider the roles of women in Kane and Vertigo now in conversation with Dielman. Still, I do like my movies to be entertaining and I can't say i found entertainment in Dielman.
-These movies dropped out from the last list that I think deserved a spot:
Godfather 2, Raging Bull, Grand Illusion, Nashville, Chinatown, Lawrence of Arabia
-These movies were new to the top 100 and I think well deserving
Goodfellas, The Apartment, Parasite, Chungking Express, Killer of Sheep, Do the Right Thing