They Shoot Pictures: Over 900

I didn't think it was possible at the time, but since my last post about my progress through the "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They" list of the Top 1000 films (henceforth to be referred to as the TSPDT), I've pushed my total up to over 900 films. Thanks to the yearly update of the list shaking up the standings, and services like Hulu Plus offering more obscure titles, I've pushed ahead to complete over 90% of the list. Instead of writing yet another post on what it took to get to this point, and why it's almost impossible for me to actually complete the list, I thought I'd get the point across by spotlighting the ten highest ranked films on the list that I haven't seen yet. These represent the most inaccessible of the inaccessible, and the most obscure of the obscure:

90. SÁTÁNTANGÓ (Béla Tarr / 1994) - Tarr's seven-hour black and white film is very high on my to-watch list, as I've admired his shorter, less demanding films. I actually have ready access to a DVD copy, but the problem is that I don't have the time to watch the film in one sitting, the way I keep hearing I'm supposed to. I expect I'm going to have to compromise eventually, because I just don't have the time to do extended screenings anymore.

115. HISTOIRE(S) DU CINÉMA (Jean-Luc Godard / 1998) - A series of eight film essays running about four hours in total, begun by Godard in the late 80s and completed in 1998. I've had a lot of trouble with Godard films, but I expect this would be an easier watch for me since it involves a topic I actually have some interest in. The whole thing was released on Region 1 discs in 2011, finally, so it's just a matter of me working up the impetus to go and track down a copy.

201. TOUKI BOUKI (Djibril Diop Mambéty / 1973) - An early Senegalese film that had been down near the bottom of the list in previous years, but has become more of a priority now that it's moved so much higher in the standings. I've also seen it make appearances on a couple of other world cinema lists, and today it's considered one of the major works of African film - and of course I don't have nearly as much experience with African film as I should. Available on streaming and disc.

221. CITY OF SADNESS, A (Hou Hsiao-hsien / 1989) - Not especially hard to find, but I've been putting off watching more Hou Hsiao-hsien films because while they're lovely, they also tend to be slow-paced and introspective character pieces. Between him and Edward Yang, Taiwanese cinema feels like a brilliant slog through hours and hours of well-observed familial relationships. I'll get back around to this eventually, but as Hou is rarely in a hurry, neither am I.

279. OUT 1, NOLI ME TANGERE (Jacques Rivette / 1971) - An influential French film made up of eight episodes, playing with parallel narratives and other storytelling techniques. At over twelve hours in length, it is listed as the third-longest non-experimental films ever made. A shorter four-hour version, titled "Out 1, Spectre," is considered an entirely different work, which is understandable. I'd need to import this one to watch it, as there is no Region 1 release.

280. KINGS OF THE ROAD (Wim Wenders / 1976) - I still haven't seen this, have I? I keep thinking I've already watched this one, because I keep getting it mixed up with a Michaelangelo Antoniono film, "The Passenger," and I keep thinking the cover images of Hanns Zischler are Jack Nicholson. Anyway, it's not one of Wenders' more popular films and seems to be perpetually out of print in the English-speaking world. A shame, since it looks fascinating.

284. BLACK GOD, WHITE DEVIL (Glauber Rocha / 1964) - I've only seen one of Rocha's films so far, "Entranced Earth," because the provocative Brazilian director is almost unknown in the U.S., and his work can be tough to come by. So far, my efforts to find "Black God" and the other Glauber Rocha title further down on the list, "Antonio Das Mortes," haven't been fruitful, but I know they're both on disc and I'm sure they're bound to turn up somewhere eventually.

396. DEVIL, PROBABLY, THE (Robert Bresson / 1977) - I am not a fan of Robert Bresson, but his influence is undeniable. I've dutifully gone out and watched as many of his films as I could find, but there always seem to be one or two more titles cropping up on the list every year. This is the latest, a morality play involving religion, suicide and justice. Who knows? This might be the film of his that finally clues me in on why he's so admired, though I really doubt it.

406. BLISSFULLY YOURS (Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 2002) and 417. TROPICAL MALADY (Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 2004) - The Thai director Weerasethakul has quietly become one of the major auteurs of the past decade, and I'm sorry to say that I've only seen one of his films so far, "Uncle Boonmee," which I enjoyed very much. Both of the listed films won prizes at Cannes and are readily available on disc, so just need to make time for them.
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