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I was looking through your past posts. Great job there….

Ed Banger Records is casting the new Uffie music video. \”This is a great opportunity to work with some amazing producers and artists.\” Bischoff Hervey Entertainment (Scott Baio is 45 and Single) & Saddle Ranch Chop House are casting a docusoap se…

The Big Lebowski? Is that a joke?

Terrence Malick- for Days Of Heaven, Thin Red Line, or Badlands
Kieslowski- for the Tri-color trilogy (Blue), Double Life of Veronique
Kustarica- for Time Of The Gypsies or Underground
Coen Brothers- for Fargo
PT Anderson- for Magnolia, Boogie Nights, or There Will Be Blood
Mike Leigh- for Secrets And Lies, or Naked
Soukorov- Mother And Son
Wan Kar Wai- In the Mood For Love or Chung King Express
Von Trier- Breaking The Waves, Zentropa, or Dancer In The Dark
Juenet- Amelie, City Of Lost Children, or A Very Long Engagement
Ahn Trung- Cyclo or Scent Of Green Papaya
Almodovar- Woman on the Verge… , or All About Mother
Kiarostami- Close Up, Taste Of Cherry, or The Wind Will Carry Us
Makmahlbaf- Moment of Innocence
Zhang Yimou- Raise The Red Lantern
Haneke- Code Unknown

Other contemporary favorites include Before The Rain, Sex And Lucia, The Return, Cabeza De Vaca, Amores Perros, L’America, Maborosi, Brothers, The Holy Girl, City Of God, and Behind The Sun

While I understand the argument that “the classics” are
determined in time, it reaks of a stodgy parochialism that
traditonalists have used throughout time against all new
great ideas, whether they be scientific or artistic. We
have only to consider how the church and establishment
treated scientists in recent centuries, or how the
impressionist painters were viewed by the established
artworld in their time to understand my point.

In the film world, the same is true today. There is no
respect for filmmakers working with the medium outside the
established credos or entertainment industry (hollywood).
To poke a further hole in the argument that film canons
must be made up of films that “stand the test of time,” we
need only consider Sight And Sound’s 1972 List, where 8
1/2, L’aventura, and Persona (all made in the 60’s)
made the top 5 of all time. Sight And Sound’s top ten
lists, over the years, have probably been the most
respected film lists out there, and yet, in the past, they
never let “time” stand in the way of recognizing greatness
in the medium.

In my previous letters, I spoke about the ignorance of
great films made after 1985, but many of those included for
10-15 years prior seem to have been chosen because they
were made by “great filmmakers” who established themselves
in an earlier era (the 50’s and 60’s).

The gist of my complaint about the list is two-fold: A lack
of respect given to filmmakers who began making films after
the mid-70’s, and lack of recognition for contemporary
filmmakers from other places in the world (beyond the U.S.
and Western Europe) who are part of the global film
explosion that began in the mid-1980’s, and continues to a
greater extent, today

There are more quality, groundbreaking films being made now (and in more places of the world) than ever before, and yet the film community refuses to acknowledge the best of them when it comes time to come up with a list of the “greats.”

Probably the biggest reason for this is that not enough time has passed for the great films of the modern era to be recognized or “rediscovered” as emblematic or outstanding. The last 25 years is still, perhaps, to close at hand for film critics to have enough perspective on what is being created in their own life times.

Perhaps, as well, there is a bias towards ancient history- in honor of a craft whose early pioneers made such great strides forward in developing the art form and establishing a formula for success in the medium. Perhaps, there is even some nostalghia for the old standards that were achieved.

I am ok with this. But I think every era should be represented by its best in fair numbers. Are there fewer, or lower quality films being made today in the world? Did the art form peak in the 50’s and 60’s? I don’t think so. The medium has continued to evolve, and not only become more sophisticated in many ways, but more innovative at the same time.

In the last 15-20 years film has truly become a medium of expression that is world wide, and the films being made throughout the world not only reflect these different cultural sensibilities, but inform the medium with unique approaches to film narrative, all of which deserve recognition among the film canons.

How many John Ford films do we need to recognize before we understand his valuable contribution to cinema? Certainly not more than what make up the entire list of films recognized from the new millenium…. just a thought….