Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Positif Films, since 1952. (two lists)

For anyone interested in the French film magazine Positif, here are two of their lists that are worth highlighting for a better understanding of their approach to film history and their taste. - D.D.

The most striking films of the decade 2000-2009 (Positif, February 2010, N.588)
1. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
2. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2005)
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2008)
4. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
5. We Own the Night (James Gray, 2007)
5. Still Life (Jia Zhangke, 2007)
7. De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (Jacques Audiard, 2005)
7. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
7. Sarabande (Ingmar Bergman, 2003)
7. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
11. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)
11. Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2004)
13. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)
13. Coeurs (Alain Resnais, 2006)
13. La Graine et le Mulet (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2007)
13. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
13. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar, 2002)
13. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)
13. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)
20. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)
20. Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
20. The Best of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003)
20. Un prophète (Jacques Audiard, 2009)
24. Climates (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2007)
24. Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, 2003)
24. Oasis (Lee Chang-dong, 2003)
24. The Yards (James Gray, 2000)

*****
For the thirtieth anniversary of Positif in May, 1982 (N.254-255) the magazine polled its critics on "what were the films that have had the biggest impact on you," since in the inception of the magazine in Lyon, 1952.
1. 2001, A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
2. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1957)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
4. 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1962)
4. Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi, 1961)
6. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
6. Pierrot le fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
8. Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
8. The Barefoot Contessa (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1954)
8. Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953)
8. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
13. The Searcher (John Ford, 1956)
13. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)
13. The Traveling Players (Theo Angelopoulos, 1975)
16. Amacord (Federico Fellini, 1973)
16. L'Annee derniere a Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961)
16. Lola Montes (Max Ophuls, 1955)
19. Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders, 1976)
19. Wild River (Elia Kazan, 1960)
19. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
19. Senso (Luchino Visconti, 1953)
19. The Spider's Stratagem (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1969)
19. A Star is Born (George Cukor, 1953)
25. Andrei Roublev (Andrei Tarkovski, 1966)
25. Casque d'or (Jacques Becker, 1952)
25. Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958)
25. Written on the wind (Douglas Sirk, 1957)
25. Man of Marble (Andrzej Wajda, 1978)
25. Ma nuit chez Maud (Eric Rohmer, 1969)
25. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
25. Persona (Ingmar Bergman,1966)
25. Le Plaisir (Max Ophuls, 1952)
25. The Servant (Joseph Losey, 1963)
35. A bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
35. America, America (Elia Kazan, 1963)
35. Barry Lindon (Stanley Kubrick, 1976)
35. The Ceremony (Nagisa Oshima, 1971)
35. Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel, 1972)
35. Moonfleet (Fritz Lang, 1955)
35. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1973)
35. Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972)
35. La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
35. Fellini's Roma (Federico Fellini, 1971)
35. Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 1961)
35. The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963)
35. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
35. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
35. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
35. The Music Room (Satyajit Ray, 1959)
35. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
52. The American Friend (Wim Wenders, 1975)
52. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, 1962)
52. L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)
52. Belle de jour (Luis Bunuel, 1966)
52. Le Carrose d'or (Jean Renoir, 1952)
52. Some like it hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
52. Elmer Gantry (Richard Brooks, 1960)
52. Fat City (John Huston, 1972)
52. Le Amiche (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1955)
52. Incompreso (Luigi Comencini, 1966)
52. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)
52. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
52. The French Lieutenant's Woman (Karel Reisz, 1981)
52. La Maman et la putain (Jean Eustache, 1972)
52. The Go Between (Joseph Losey, 1971)
52. The Miracle Worker (Arthur Penn, 1962)
52. The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovski, 1974)
52. The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1975)
52. Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
52. Puzzle of a Downfall Child (Jerry Schatzberg, 1970)
52. The Trial (Orson Welles, 1962)
52. Providence (Alain Resnais, 1976)
52. Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, 1955)
52. Les Vacances de M. Hulot (Jacques Tati, 1953)
52. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)

3 comments:

Marcus said...

this is GREAT! also makes me realize how great 2004/5 was for movies even if some arent on the list (cache, 2046, battle in heaven, history of violence, last days, manderlay, the new world, wassup rockers, etc etc)

David D. said...

Marcus, But History of Violence and 2046 are on the list!

David D. said...

And The New World is #1!