This is part of my continuing series looking back on films from the years before I began this blog. The ten films below are unranked and listed in no particular order. Enjoy.
Lacombe, Lucien - A brutish young Frenchman is recruited by the invading Gestapo during WWII. Lucien, played by non-actor Pierre Blaise, is an enigmatic figure, and it's never clear how much he truly understands beyond his immediate desires. Louis Malle wisely never makes Lucien too sympathetic or his arc too redemptive. Rather, it's the potential that Lucien might find his better nature that keeps the viewer engrossed, as his situation becomes more and more dire. I find Lucien an especially resonant character in the present day, as an example of an all-too common kind of evil.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - This is often billed as a departure from form for Martin Scorsese, his first real Hollywood picture, but it's the kind of film that I think only Scorsese could have made. Who else would have put a character like Harvey Keitel's terrifying gun enthusiast in the movie? However, "Alice" really belongs to Ellen Burstyn, playing a complicated woman who has a lot more to think about than meeting the right man. I love her stubbornness and uncompromising nature, both as a mother and as an artist. And sure, it has a Hollywood ending, but it's the right one for this story and this character.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - Can there be a more mismatched couple in all of cinema history? An elderly German cleaning woman befriends a young Moroccan immigrant, and the two fall in love. Rainier Warner Fassbender took his cues from Douglas Sirk melodramas, but was able to go much farther in examining the ins and outs of the unusual pairing. Familial and social pressures, sexual concerns, and the prejudices of the couple themselves all come into play. The complexity and nuance of the depiction is especially impressive given the scant resources the filmmakers had - and even less time.
Young Frankenstein - One of the greatest spoofs ever made sees Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder tackle the "Frankenstein" movies with everything they've got. Their comic takes on Herr Doctor and his creature are arguably as iconic as the originals (if not moreso), and there are such wonderful additions to the mythos - how can it be that Inga, Igor, and Frau Blucher didn't exist in the source material? And seeing them pay tribute to the earlier cinematic era is a joy. The "Puttin' on the Ritz" number will forever have a special place in my heart, as it is impossible not to recall every time I hear any version of the song.
The Conversation - A portrait of an isolated, paranoid man who slowly becomes consumed by his fears and obsessions, the film is one of the great psychological thrillers. The filmmaking features spectacular feats of sound design, editing, and cinematography, including its audacious and memorable opening shot, designed by Haskell Wexler. Gene Hackman does great work as Harry Caul, despite playing second fiddle to the film's technical achievements and bravura storytelling. I like that the film leaves so much unresolved for the main character, but still leaves the audience with a satisfying ending.
The Godfather Part II - I never liked "The Godfather Part II" as much as the original "Godfather," probably because of the way that it's structured and the major conflicts. It's much harder to watch Michael Corleone lose his soul, to commit sins and sustain wounds that can't be undone. However, it's also a minor cinematic miracle to find that so much of the film not only lives up to its predecessor, but surpasses it on every level. The performances in particular are fantastic, and I'm sure the obsession with getting Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in the same scene together stemmed from their work in this film.
Chinatown - The noir films of the '40s and '50s were dark, but the neo-noirs of the '70s could go to nihilistic places that the originals couldn't dream of. So much of the effectiveness of "Chinatown" comes from the work of Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes, who thinks he's seen it all, only to quickly find himself in over his head. The film's bleak vision of Los Angeles and its corrupt history runs counter to the usual depictions of the city, and John Huston's menacing presence in the film is arguably as important as Roman Polanski's - though Polanski was famously the one who insisted on the bitter, tragic ending.
Edvard Munch - A three and a half hour docudrama about the life of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch that takes the approach of trying to creating a film using the same mindset that Munch painted his most famous works with. Attempting to create a psychological profile of Munch as well as a factual one, the film spends a great deal of time on the hostility and the hardship that Munch faced as an artist, even going so far as to seek out his detractors. It's an insightful look at how an individual artist interacted with the artistic establishment of his day, and the effect that this had on his work and career.
A Woman Under the Influence - Of all the collaborations between John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, this may be the most impressive. It's a fiercely personal, starkly psychological character study that keeps an unwavering focus on its heroine's ugly mental breakdown and the damage that she wreaks on those around her. With a shoestring production, and a heavy reliance on Rowlands and Cassavetes' own family members, there's an unusual degree of verisimilitude to the performances that fuels their emotional impact. And ultimately the movie is one of the most fearless feats of cinema I've ever seen.
Female Trouble - Joyously vulgar, tasteless, and shocking. This one has my vote for the best John Waters film, thanks to the way ti memorably skewers American culture and middle class norms. Structured more coherently than "Pink Flamingoes," it's much easier to appreciate the various send-ups and take-downs. The characters are also more well-rounded and given the chance to really shine. The immortal Divine is enthusiastically repulsive and magnetic, playing the horrible heroine, and the film features a wide array of Waters' other Dreamlander collaborators in various roles.
Honorable Mention:
F for Fake
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