Major projects: Jacques Rivette
Minor projects: Charles Boyer, Powell & Pressburger, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Montgomery
Revelations: Charles Boyer, Delphine Seyrig, Joseph Cornell, Frank Borzage
Total seen: 32
Great: 17 (53%)
Good: 13 (41%)
Bad: 2 (6%)
That Most Important Thing: Love [L'important c'est d'aimer] 1975, ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI
Ever Since Eve 1937, LLOYD BACON
Le Signe du lion 1959, ERIC ROHMER
Petticoat Fever 1936, GEORGE FITZMAURICE
Devil & the Deep 1932, MARION GERING
Le Pont du Nord 1981, JACQUES RIVETTE
Ladies of Leisure 1930, FRANK CAPRA
Dan in Real Life 2007, PETER HEDGES
Aunt from Chicago [I Theia ap’ to Chicago] 1957, ALEKOS SAKELLARIOS
Atonement 2007, JOE WRIGHT
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles 1976, CHANTAL AKERMAN
Shopworn 1932, NICK GRINDE
—————- Rose Hobart 1936, JOSEPH CORNELL
Gespenster 2005, CHRISTIAN PETZOLD
Cluny Brown 1946, ERNST LUBITSCH
Noroît 1976, JACQUES RIVETTE
Duelle 1976, JACQUES RIVETTE
I Am Legend 2007, FRANCIS LAWRENCE
Gaslight 1944, GEORGE CUKOR
Accident 1967, JOSEPH LOSEY
July Rhapsody [Laam yan sei sap] 2002, ANN HUI
49th Parallel 1941, MICHAEL POWELL
Twentieth Century 1934, HOWARD HAWKS
The Bridge 2006, ERIC STEEL
Hurlevent 1985, JACQUES RIVETTE
Little Man, What Now? 1934, FRANK BORZAGE
Confidential Agent 1945, HERMAN SHUMLIN
High Noon 1952, FRED ZINNEMANN
Love on the Ground [L'Amour par terre] 1984, JACQUES RIVETTE
Liliom 1934, FRITZ LANG
I Know Where I’m Going! 1945, POWELL & PRESSBURGER
Rio Bravo 1959, HOWARD HAWKS
Major projects: Ernst Lubitsch
Minor projects: Finishing Rivette, Anton Walbrook, [nearly] finishing Irene Dunne
Revelations: Bulle Ogier
Total seen: 32
Great: 12 (38%)
Good: 19 (59%)
Bad: 1 (3%)
Miss Julie [Fröken Julie] 1951, ALF SJOBERG
Elisa, vida mía 1977, CARLOS SAURA
Together Again 1944, CHARLES VIDOR
Gaslight 1940, THOROLD DICKINSON
Angel 1937, ERNST LUBITSCH
La Ronde 1950, MAX OPHULS
Gang of Four [Les Bande des quatre] 1988, JACQUES RIVETTE
La Belle noiseuse 1991, JACQUES RIVETTE
A Woman Rebels 1936, MARK SANDRICH
The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp 1943, POWELL & PRESSBURGER
The Merry Jail [Das Fidele Gefängnis] 1917, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Mudlark 1950, JEAN NEGULESCO
That Lady in Ermine 1948, ERNST LUBITSCH
Broken Lullaby 1932, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Love Parade 1929, ERNST LUBITSCH
Monte Carlo 1930, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Smiling Lieutenant 1931, ERNST LUBITSCH
One Hour with You 1932, ERNST LUBITSCH
Lady Windermere’s Fan 1925, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg 1927, ERNST LUBITSCH
Eternal Love 1929, ERNST LUBITSCH
A Short Film About Love [Krótki film o milosci] 1988, KRZSYZTOF KIESLOWSKI
History is Made at Night 1937, FRANK BORZAGE
If I Had a Million 1932, OMNIBUS
I Don’t Want to Be a Man 1918, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Oyster Princess 1919, ERNST LUBITSCH
Wildcat 1921, ERNST LUBITSCH
One Arabian Night 1920, ERNST LUBITSCH
Anna Boleyn 1920, ERNST LUBITSCH
Carmen 1918, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Doll 1919, ERNST LUBITSCH
The Eyes of the Mummy 1918, ERNST LUBITSCH
Major projects: Female directors
Minor projects: Joan Crawford (KG MoM)
Revelations: Germaine Dulac, Marguerite Duras
Total seen: 32
Great: 14 (45%)
Good: 16 (52%)
Bad: 1 (3%)
Christopher Strong 1933, DOROTHY ARZNER
Nathalie Granger 1972, MARGUERITE DURAS
Beau travail 1999, CLAIRE DENIS
The Bride Wore Red 1937, DOROTHY ARZNER
India Song 1975, MARGUERITE DURAS
The Smiling Madame Beudet [La Souriante Madame Beudet] 1923, GERMAINE DULAC
High Art 1998, LISA CHOLODENKO
My Life Without Me 2003, ISABEL COIXET
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 2008, BHARAT NALLURI
Ratcatcher 1999, LYNNE RAMSAY
Harlan County, USA 1976, BARBARA KOPPLE
Our Blushing Brides 1930, HARRY BEAUMONT
Letty Lynton 1932, CLARENCE BROWN
Back Street 1941, ROBERT STEVENSON
They Live By Night 1948, NICHOLAS RAY
Look Back in Anger 1958, TONY RICHARDSON
Take Care of My Cat [Goyangileul butaghae] 2001, JAE-EUN JEONG
Take My Eyes [Te doy mis ojos] 2003, ICIAR BOLLAIN
The Seashell & the Clergyman [Le Coquille et le clergyman] 1928, GERMAINE DULAC
Après l’amour 1992, DIANE KURYS
Flesh & Fantasy 1943, JULIEN DUVIVIER
George Who? [George qui?] 1973, MICHELE ROSIER
—————- Dance with Me to the End of Love 2004, NELSON YU LIK-WAI
Three Comrades 1938, FRANK BORZAGE
Wanda 1970, BARBARA LODEN
The Mortal Storm 1940, FRANK BORZAGE
The Canary Murder Case 1929, MALCOLM ST CLAIR & FRANK TUTTLE
Mrs Dalloway 1997, MARLEEN GORRIS
Orlando 1992, SALLY POTTER
The Bride Wore Black [La Mariée était en noir] 1968, FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum [Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum] 1975, VOLKER SCHLONDORFF & MARGARETHE VON TROTTA
The Second Awakening of Christa Klages [Das Zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages] 1978, MARGARETHE VON TROTTA
Major projects: 30s France & Hollywood
Minor projects: Bette Davis, Jean Renoir (TLC MoM)
Revelations: Julien Duvivier
Total seen: 46
Great: 15 (33%)
Good: 28 (61%)
Bad: 3 (6%)
Pépé le Moko 1937, JULIEN DUVIVER
No More Ladies 1935, EDWARD H GRIFFITH
La Chienne 1931, JEAN RENOIR
Too Many Husbands 1940, WESLEY RUGGLES
Au bonheur des dames 1930, JULIEN DUVIVIER
Mannequin 1937, FRANK BORZAGE
All This, & Heaven Too 1940, ANATOLE LITVAK
Leatherheads 2008, GEORGE CLOONEY
The Gay Divorcee 1934, MARK SANDRICH
Algiers 1938, JOHN CROMWELL
The Mad Miss Manton 1938, LEIGH JASON
Hold Back the Dawn 1941, MITCHELL LEISEN
The Ex-Mrs Bradford 1936, STEPHEN ROBERTS
Boudu Saved from Drowning [Boudu sauvé des eaux] 1932, JEAN RENOIR
Dangerous 1935, ALFRED E GREEN
It’s Love I’m After 1937, ARCHIE MAYO
Marked Woman 1937, LLOYD BACON
Conquest 1937, CLARENCE BROWN
It’s a Wonderful World 1939, WS VAN DYKE
Top Hat 1935, MARK SANDRICH
The Old Maid 1939, EDMUND GOULDING
La Bandera 1935, JULIEN DUVIVIER
Water Lilies 2007, CELINE SCIAMMA
Housewife 1934, ALFRED E GREEN
The Other Love 1947, ANDRE DE TOTH
The Golden Arrow 1936, ALFRED E GREEN
Damned if You Don’t 1987, SU FRIEDRICH
Drôle de drame ou L’étrange aventure de Docteur Molyneux 1937, MARCEL CARNE
The Rage of Paris 1938, HENRY KOSTER
The Campus Vamp 1928, HARRY EDWARDS
Matchmaking Mama 1929, HARRY EDWARDS
Nothing Sacred 1938, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
Panique 1947, JULIEN DUVIVIER
Les Bas-fonds 1936, JEAN RENOIR
I Was Born, But… [Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo] 1932, YASUJIRO OZU
Good Morning [Ohayo] 1959, YASUJIRO OZU
La Bête humaine 1938, JEAN RENOIR
I Met Him in Paris 1937, WESLEY RUGGLES
Midnight 1939, MITCHELL LEISEN
Easy Living 1937, MITCHELL LEISEN
If You Could Only Cook 1935, WILLIAM SEITER
That Certain Woman 1937, EDMUND GOULDING
Jimmy the Gent 1934, MICHAEL CURTIZ
Gambling Lady 1935, ARCHIE MAYO
The Bride Walks Out 1936, LEIGH JASON
Breakfast for Two 1937, ALFRED SANTELL
Major projects: Pre-Code Hollywood
Total seen: 11
Great: 3 (27%)
Good: 7 (64%)
Bad: 1 (9%)
Sullivan’s Travels 1941, PRESTON STURGES
So Big! 1932, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
Quality Street 1937, GEORGE STEVENS
Port of Shadows [Le Quai des brumes] 1938, MARCEL CARNE
Dodsworth 1936, WILLIAM WYLER
The Woman Accused 1933, PAUL SLOANE
Legends of the Fall 1994, EDWARD ZWICK
Transformers 2007, MICHAEL BAY
The Story of Temple Drake 1933, STEPHEN ROBERTS
Millie 1931, JOHN FRANCIS DILLON
The Replacements 2000, HOWARD DEUTCH
Major projects: Pre-Code Hollywood
Total seen: 8
Great: 2 (25%)
Good: 5 (63%)
Bad: 1 (12%)
Sex & the City 2008, MICHAEL PATRICK KING
The Illusionist NEIL BURGER
The School of Flesh [L'École de la chair] 1998, BENOIT JACQUOT
End of Days 1999, PETER HYAMS
Night Nurse 1931, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
Kept Husbands 1931, LLOYD BACON
Red-Headed Woman 1932, JOHN FRANCIS DILLON
Waterloo Bridge 1931, JAMES WHALE
Major projects: Pre-Code Hollywood, Ruth Chatterton
Minor projects: Rewatching/finishing Thin Man series
Revelations: Ruth Chatterton
Total seen: 27
Great: 8 (30%)
Good: 19 (70%)
Bad: 0
Female 1933, Michael Curtiz
The Fall TARSEM SINGH
Shadow of the Thin Man 1941, WS VAN DYKE
The Thin Man Goes Home 1944, RICHARD THORPE
Bride & Prejudice 2004, GURINDER CHADHA
Newsies 1992, KENNY ORTEGA
The Little Foxes 1941, WILLIAM WYLER
The Lady from Shanghai 1947, ORSON WELLES
Song of the Thin Man 1947, EDWARD BUZZELL
Late Spring [Banshun] 1949, YASUJIRO OZU
Hedwig & the Angry Inch 2001, JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL
Mr Smith Goes to Washington 1939, FRANK CAPRA
Frisco Jenny 1932, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
Mamma Mia! 2008, PHYLLIDA LLOYD
Anybody’s Woman 1930, DOROTHY ARZNER
Unfaithful 1931, JOHN CROMWELL
Once a Lady 1931, GUTHRIE MCCLINTIC
Lilly Turner 1933, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
The Rich Are Always with Us 1932, ALFRED E GREEN
The Lady of Scandal 1930, SIDNEY FRANKLIN
Faithless 1932, HARRY BEAUMONT
Charming Sinners 1929, ROBERT MILTON
Early Summer [Bakushu] 1951, YASUJIRO OZU
Journal of a Crime 1934, WILLIAM KEIGHLEY
The Dark Knight 2008, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
A Free Soul 1931, CLARENCE BROWN
Three on a Match 1932, MERVYN LEROY
Major projects: John Huston
Minor projects: Ruth Chatterton, Alain Robbe-Grillet
Revelations: Cinematheque viewings
Total seen: 14
Great: 5 (36%)
Good: 9 (64%)
Bad: 0 (0%)
Girls’ Dormitory 1936, IRVING CUMMING
Sarah & Son 1930, DOROTHY ARZNER
Woman on the Beach [Haebyonui yoin] 2006, HONG SANG-SOO
Cafe Metropole 1937, EDWARD H GRIFFITH
The Crash 1932, WILLIAM DIETERLE
The Misfits 1961, JOHN HUSTON
In This Our Life 1942, JOHN HUSTON
The Great Lie 1941, EDMUND GOULDING
Vicky Cristina Barcelona 2008, WOODY ALLEN
Heaven Knows, Mr Allison 1957, JOHN HUSTON
Trans-Europ Express 1966, ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET
Still Life [Sanxia haoren] 2007, JIA ZHANG-KE
Tell No One [Ne le dis à personne] 2008, GUILLAUME CANET
The Man Who Lies [L'Homme qui ment] 1968, ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET
Major projects: YC 1956, 1946, 1926
Minor projects: Catching up on 2007
Revelations: Robert Siodmak
Total seen: 24
Great: 12 (50%)
Good: 11 (46%)
Bad: 1 (4%)
Bottle Shock 2008, RANDALL MILLER
The Magnificent Lie 1931, BERTHOLD VIERTEL
A Man Escaped [Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut] 1956, ROBERT BRESSON
Reflections in a Golden Eye 1967, JOHN HUSTON
Bigger Than Life 1956, NICHOLAS RAY
The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934, ALFRED HITCHCOCK
The Spiral Staircase 1945, ROBERT SIODMAK
Dragonwyck 1946, JOSEPH L MANKIEWICZ
Duel in the Sun 1946, KING VIDOR
La Belle et la bête 1946, JEAN COCTEAU
There Will Be Blood 2007, PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
Sweeney Todd 2007, TIM BURTON
The Mystery of Picasso 1956, HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT
Early Spring [Soshun] 1956, YASUJIRO OZU
Elena & Her Men 1956, JEAN RENOIR
A day in the Country [Partie de campagne] 1936, JEAN RENOIR
The Night of the Iguana 1964, JOHN HUSTON
Burn After Reading 2008, JOEL & ETHAN COEN
Ménilmontant 1926, DIMITRI KIRSANOFF
That Obscure Object of Desire [Cet obscure objet du désir] 1977, LUIS BUNUEL
The Adventures of Prince Achmed 1926, LOTTE REINIGER
The Strong Man 1926, FRANK CAPRA
Belle toujours 2006, MANOEL DE OLIVEIRA
The Laughing Lady 1929, VICTOR SCHERTZINGER
Major projects: Film noir
Minor projects: Stanwyck noir, Siodmak noir, Ray noir
Revelations: Godard in the cinema
Total seen: 14
Great: 4 (29%)
Good: 9 (64%)
Bad: 1 (7%)
My Reputation 1946, CURTIS BERNHARDT
Beggars of Life 1928, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
Appaloosa 2008, ED HARRIS
The Diving Bell & the Butterfly [Le Scaphandre et la papillon] 2007, JULIAN SCHNABEL
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her 1967, JEAN-LUC GODARD
The Killers 1946, ROBERT SIODMAK
The Golden Coach [Le Carrosse d'or] 1953, JEAN RENOIR
Clash By Night 1952, FRITZ LANG
Our Dancing Daughters 1928, HARRY BEAUMONT
Jeopardy 1953, JOHN STURGES
Elegy 2008, ISABEL COIXET
To Please a Lady 1950, CLARENCE BROWN
Criss Cross 1949, ROBERT SIODMAK
Mean Girls 2004, MARK WATERS
Major projects: Film noir
Minor projects: TCM binges
Revelations: Ophuls in the cinema
Total seen: 23
Great: 8 (35%)
Good: 15 (65%)
Bad: 0 (0%)
Angel Face 1952, OTTO PREMINGER
On Dangerous Ground 1952, NICHOLAS RAY
Dead Reckoning 1947, JOHN CROMWELL
Crime of Passion 1957, GERD OSWALD
Come & Get It 1936, HOWARD HAWKS
The Young in Heart 1938, RICHARD WALLACE
A Star is Born 1937, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
La Pointe-courte 1954, AGNES VARDA
Rachel Getting Married 2008, JONATHAN DEMME
Small-Town Girl 1936, WILLIAM A WELLMAN
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans 1927, FW MURNAU
Three Loves Has Nancy 1938, RICHARD THORPE
Platinum Blonde 1931, FRANK CAPRA
Middle of the Night 1959, DELBERT MANN
Stamboul Quest 1934, SAM WOOD
We Live Again 1934, ROUBEN MAMOULIAN
You Can’t Take it With You 1938, FRANK CAPRA
One Heavenly Night 1931, GEORGE FITZMAURICE
The Masquerader 1933, RICHARD WALLACE
Le Plaisir 1952, MAX OPHULS
Sorry, Wrong Number 1948, ANATOLE LITVAK
Entr’acte 1924, RENE CLAIR
Ballet mecanique 1924, FERNAND LEGER & DUDLEY MURPHY
Major projects: 2008 releases
Minor projects: Ann Todd
Revelations: Ann Todd
Total seen: 14
Great: 7 (50%)
Good: 5 (36%)
Bad: 2 (14%)
The Magnificent Ambersons 1942, ORSON WELLES
Walking the Streets of Moscow [Ya shagayu po Moskve] 1964, GEORGI DANELIYA
Synecdoche, New York 2008, CHARLIE KAUFMAN
A Christmas Tale [Un conte de Noël] 2008, ARNAUD DESPLECHIN
The Passionate Friends 1949, DAVID LEAN
The Seventh Veil 1945, COMPTON BENNETT
Dancing in the Rain [Ples v dezju] 1961, BOSTJAN HLADNIK Voted the greatest Slovenian film of all time by resident critics, it is in my view one of the greatest films among all national cinemas, a heartbreaking rumination on stultifying dissatisfaction, through daydreams and nightmares emerges the mundane truth of existence.
The Cheaters 1945, JOSEPH KANE TCM has affectionately resurrected this should-be Christmas classic which achieves the same ends as It’s a Wonderful Life with half the smarm and twice the charm. A bit screwy, a bit dark, every bit lovable.
In the Good Old Summertime 1949, ROBERT Z LEONARD Among the laziest remakes I have ever seen, reheating all the good lines from the Raphaelson script, calling for bad Stewart & Sullavan impersonations, substituting a wedding for an attempted suicide, and adding a half dozen boring showtunes.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 1967, DAVID SWIFT I have it in my mind to go off on a musicals jag sometime soon, but as a note to self: this is just exactly the sort I want nothing to do with.
Indiscreet 1958, STANLEY DONEN Surprisingly lightweight and unsatisfying, and the first Cary Grant character I wouldn’t want to woo me. The only pleasure I took was in Ingrid’s surprisingly feral itch for revenge.
Doubt 2008, JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY Top marks for acting and has some powerful scenes, but overall Shanley should not have been allowed to adapt & direct his play. As a film, it is marred by amateur camera tricks and stage-perfect dialogue which as often as not yield no impact. The ending felt entirely obvious and artificial, out of place in the film where I’m sure it succeeds stunningly on stage. Perhaps the disappointment of the year.
The Reader 2008, STEPHEN DALDRY There was about a ten-minute sequence that, taken alone, would have made me put this in a whole other rating bracket. But overall it’s very, very good and I draw the line there, like all Daldry movies. Winslet should walk away with something to show for her bravura 2008 performances.
Running in Madness, Dying in Love [Kyôsô jôshi-kô] 1969, KOJI WAKAMATSU Visuals gorgeous and well-used, increasingly bleak, as a man and a woman on the run after accidentally killing her husband retreat further and further into a world of their own, becoming lovers and driving themselves mad with guilt. Well, the film goes pretty deep into the constructed reality thing, merging the violence of sex and death, ruminating existentially on the possibilities and consequences of action when facts cannot be changed, is probably a pretty badass incipient feminist polemic, and is overall something I ought to have seen and written a term paper about when I was first immersed in critical theory in college and took these things very seriously.
