Thursday, January 17, 2008

Top 10: 1997


1. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
3. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
4. Kundun (Martin Scorsese)
5. The Ice Storm (Ang Lee)
6. Crash (David Cronenberg)
7. Waiting for Guffman (Christopher Guest)
8. Lost Highway (David Lynch)
9. Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai)
10. Titanic (James Cameron)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hell yes, I'm with you on Boogie Nights, Jackie Brown and Waiting for Guffman. I still gotta check out Ice Storm however: I ocassionally like a bit of coming of age family melodrama

Anonymous said...

This is a good list, but I'm not down with "Crash." I agree that it was a pretty compelling and original film, but ultimately, what did it say? And it wasn't sexy at all in my opinion, a fatal flaw.

Nigoki: said...

As I think said before: I have yet to see a PTA film I haven't liked.

Andrew Bemis said...

Jenny - There's a Criterion edition of The Ice Storm (complete with striking cover art) coming out in March - might make a good introduction to the film. I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Marilyn - Perhaps I'll write about Crash in greater detail in the near future. It's a cold, contentious film, I'll grant you, but I think it has a great deal to say not only about fetishism but about attempting to make any kind of human connection - sexual or otherwise - in an increasingly depersonalized world. I don't particularly think car crashes are sexy, but that urge to connect that can be perverted or imprisoned but never truly dies - that's sexy.

Doug: You sure need to see There Will Be Blood.

Anonymous said...

Bemis - I would look forward to that essay. For me, the idea of examining fetishism is incredibly interesting, but Cronenberg, by making a flat and unsexy film, blew the opportunity. As to the idea of "attempting to make any king of connection in an increasingly depersonalized world" has been a subject of films since the silent era--Modern Times--leaps to mind. I don't buy that the present times are any more depersonalized that previous generations, so that theme just doesn't resonate for me.

Paul C. said...

Well, I can mark you off for this category...

So, I'm guessing Boogie Nights is probably the frontrunner for the 10th-Anniversary Award? What else could win? The Sweet Hereafter? Jackie Brown? Fast, Cheap and Out of Control is my #1 but I don't think it's all that popular.

Andrew Bemis said...

For what it's worth, I like Fast Cheap and Out of Control quite a bit as well.