In an effort to highlight older films, here are the best films I watched this year that were not released in 2025 or 2024. Entries are unranked and listed below by release date. I'm starting with the oldest ones this time around.
Go West (1925) - This is the Buster Keaton feature, not the '40s Marx Brothers movie of the same name. A western romp, "Go West" features herds of stampeding cattle, lots of cowboy antics, and Buster making friends with cinema's most adorable cow, Brown Eyes. This isn't one of the better known Keaton features, but it's got charm to spare and I'm surprised I had overlooked it for this long. Ironically, it's one of the only Buster Keaton films where he's the sole writer and director.
The Scarlet Letter (1926) - I have no love for the source material, and I still have some trouble with the silents, but I found Victor Sjostrom's version of "The Scarlet Letter" powerful and entertaining. A lot of the credit should go to the leading lady, Lilian Gish, who helped to get the film made despite its controversial subject matter, and recruited Sjostrom to direct. She also helps to humanize Hester Prynne, who comes across as vulnerable and sympathetic, instead of a cipher from a morality lesson.
Way Out West (1937) - Another comedic western, this time featuring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy getting themselves mixed up in an inheritance dispute in a frontier town. The gags and jokes are the main event, of course. However, many of the Laurel and Hardy films were also musicals, and "Way Out West" is best known as the feature with the dapper duo's famous saloon soft-shoe routine - the one that was lovingly recreated at the climax of their "Stan & Ollie" biopic many decades later.
Martha (1974) - This is the film that Rainer Werner Fassbinder made immediately before "Fear Eats the Soul," and is likewise heavily influenced by the work of Douglas Sirk. It's a paranoid thriller about the downfall of a spinster, who comes under the influence of a sinister, controlling man. Though originally made for German television, it was a bigger budget production than usual for Fassbinder, and features terrific performances from Margit Carstensen and Karlheinz Bohm in the lead roles.
Rosie the Riveter (1980) - Of all the documentaries I watched this year for various projects, this is the one that I consider the most important, the one that I'd have everyone see if I could. It gets across two very important points. First, gender is a construct, and gender roles have and will continue to change as needed. Second, the American government's biggest target of propaganda has always been Americans, and it's breathtaking to see how drastically the messaging can switch on a dime when they want it to.
That's Entertainment! III (1994) - Easily the best of the "That's Entertainment!" films. It not only compiles more clips from classic MGM musicals, but this time focuses more on the craft and the historical context, inviting a more diverse group of presenters to participate. MGM also raided its vault for deleted musical numbers, alternate takes, behind the scenes footage, and other priceless ephemera that were unseen until the release of this film. Classic Hollywood fans shouldn't pass this one up.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) - I watched a lot of Angela Bassett movies this year. And when you're my age, "Stella" is an inevitable watch. It is the best version of this story I've ever seen onscreen, long before the term "cougar" became popular. It's all thanks to Angela Bassett delivering every second she's onscreen, backed up by an all-star cast. I also watched the other great Terry McMillan adaptation, "Waiting to Exhale," but "Stella" is more memorable, a fantasy that doesn't forget real world concerns.
Analyze This (1999) - This got its own post earlier in the year, and I continue to marvel at how well Robert DeNiro's menace is deployed in the service of a comedy. An entirely new phase of his career came about thanks to the success of "Analyze This," which we're still seeing the benefits of to this day. This was also the last Billy Crystal vehicle that really worked, and the last Harold Raimis directed movie that really hit. And it's always good to see Lisa Kudrow killing it, to remind us that there are no small parts.
You Can Count on Me (2000) - Kenneth Lonergan's first major film is a fantastic character piece about a long estranged brother and sister and how they try to fit in each other's lives as adults. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo give such layered, complex performances, as very different siblings who are both imperfect and tragic in their own ways. And as we get to know the two of them, we get to know their rural New York community and the tangle of relationships that they have with a collection of other people.
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) - Last but not least, the most timely film on this list is Alex Gibney's examination of the death of an Afghan taxi driver after his extrajudicial incarceration at Bagram by American soldiers. With plenty of context about similar practices at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Gibney shows us exactly how we got here. What struck me the most was not only the heinous nature of the programs, but the almost total lack of accountability when these abuses were finally brought to light.
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