Top Three...

The other day I reconnected with an old film buddy...mentor if you will, or instigator as I like to think of it.

A long time ago when I was just a kid who liked movies...a lot, he pointed me in the direction that lead to my current state of a "cineste" if you will.

During this phone call he asked me the most dreaded and aggravating of questions for a cinephile:

"what are your top three films of all time?"

First...f* you, Joe! Seriously!

Second: why not five? Or ten? Why three? For god's sake, man!

After I moved through my state of frustration and anguish...I really felt the challenge of it, and thinking about it for just a couple mins tops, this is the list I came up with, in no particular order (but if you know me you can probably guess what order)

1. The Thin Red Line

2. Taxi Driver

3. Batman (1989)

I was a little surprised at my choices...especially Taxi Driver...but it was an awesome exercise to have to think of this on the fly. And it really forced me to evaluate what films I hold to high regard and why. There is an incredible amount of processing invested in creating a list like this. And almost immediately I started running through alternates.
I started thinking of my choices in terms of what I took into account with each one. Personal connection?, visual and artistic merit?, writing? Are all things I felt needed to be balanced and represented in my choices. In delving into this thought process I came to the realization of how ridiculous "top # films" lists are...and how inherently different any "top #" list is from one individual to another. I mean, sure, you could get professionals together and run through the films with a fine tooth comb, but really, all artistic value is perceived subjectively anyway...that's part of the beauty of film (and other art forms) is that there is no one right choice for a "top list"...

...well...maybe a Uwe Boll film would be considered a "wrong" choice for a top list...cause seriously...fuck that guy.

So lets talk about my "off the cuff" list.

1. The Thin Red Line

It's no secret that I adore this film. Also featured on this blog is an analysis of my favorite sequence in the entire movie. Funny enough...it also happens to be the most read post on this blog...hmmmm

This choice I feel, represents the all of what I'm talking about. All the elements I look for in a film, the elements I, personally, find to be the most attractive and revered in an art form, are beautifully represented here. There is a poetic, tragic, and complex design of emotions, philosophies, and ideas included in this film. They dance...fluidly...and without restriction.

Einstein suggested a method in which a movie should be made. "The method has nothing to do with following a protagonist around but rather is a succession of images juxtaposed so that the contrast between these images moves the story forward in the mind of the audience."
-On Directing, David Mamet

This suggestion is on perfect display in The Thin Red Line. I think Malick must have read the same quote Mamet included in his book. Because he illustrates the method exactly. And it's a beautiful thing to witness, and a method of movie making that I firmly believe in.


*It should also be mentioned for those MA student types, that yes, this method also started with the Neo-realists, and continued with the french new-wave...probably, and obviously, originally made famous by "Breathless"...but that's another post.

2. Taxi Driver

There is a boldness that runs through the films of the late 1960's-mid 1970's. It was argued in the phone call mentioned above, that this boldness continued into the early 80's. I don't disagree with that but the "bulk" was specifically late 60's-mid-late-70's. By the time the 80's rolled around the boldness had definitely thinned.

This is the time period of "The Godfather", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Network", and "Straw Dogs".

In that time there was this film..."Taxi Driver". I love the fact that this film, displays without filters, a pure decent into insanity....but is that what's really happening? Or is it rather an individual poking holes through the cultural and social indecencies and projections that have been passed off as "proper" behavior, and the decent as it were is rather an awakening?

It's a complex story that shows a ferocity of film making that the great Scorsese used to have in spades.

I appreciate the boldness. The style, the grit. It all seems like a real New York story. The honesty of it is I think what draws people in to Travis Bickles almost spiritual dilemma. You believe him. You believe in his journey. The examples of the emotional corruption inherent in all people, being shown to Travis over and over again, can only bring us further into his world. It creates a reality that becomes our reality.

As a studio made independent film, a rare risk in these times, there are amazing ideas and performances
that elevate this film to an example of social art.

3. BATMAN (1989)

Batman will always be in my top three because of the overwhelming personal connection I have to it. I also think its a damn cool movie, but the personal vastly outweighs the "technical" if you will.

A lot of people believe "Edward Scissorhands" to be Tim Burton's love letter to the type of tragic horror films from his youth. With the inclusion of the small casting of Vincent Price, it's hard to argue that fact. But I would attempt to argue that "BATMAN" is in fact much more the love letter to old Hollywood magic than "Edward" ever will be.

*it should be noted that as an "original" Tim Burton fan, I feel "Edward Scissorhands" is his best film by far...yes even more so than "Ed Wood"...ahhhh!!!! Getting off track!


The pure scope of the film, with what I feel is the most theatrical set built for a film since...I dunno..."Spartacus", it shows a level of production and love of building a "world" that severely lacks in these modern computer created worlds.
It was a risk taking prospect, and you can see the risk in the style and story. And maybe thats just what I miss about movies now, and why I love this movie so much. To take such a risk with higher budget, blockbuster type movies, is something that is too far and few between. The new Batman movies did it a bit. But the risks that those films took, were made safe by the fact that this film already laid the ground work for its success.

It's also wonderfully romantic, sweeping, funny, scary. Prince music, a badass car, practical effects...I could go on and on....
It's my "Casablanca".


...To come, is my alternate top list that I came up with immediately after the above phone conversation.