The Dark Knight Inception The Prestige (yes am a nolanist, sue me) Heat The Green Mile Close Encounters of The Third Kind The Wizard of OZ Once Upon a Time in America 2001 The Silence of the lambs
LOL, The Dark Knight is a brilliant masterpiece of cinema and more than deserving to be number 1 on everyone’s list, clearly you’re the one who’s ignorant for what constitute as great cinema my friend, my condolences to you.
TDK IS the greatest film of all time, deal with it
Actually, back in the day TDK was a fair to middling cassette tape (which I suppose you could call film), which I would sometimes buy when on sale, but I preferred BASF or FUJI, even Maxells...
“Your head is on the block and you worry about your whiskers?”
While it seems strange for some regulars on this Board that TDK would be considered the greatest film of all time, when the movie was released, there was a massive campaign on IMDb to get TDK to #1 on the Top 250 list.
I remember during that time that rabid TDK fans would barge in on the forum pages of other highly regarded movies and trash the film and praise TDK. Then as part of the campaign, hardcore IMDB TDK fans voted down "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Godfather" with 1/10 votes. And I think for one week TDK almost crawled up to #1.
But it didn't last because in retaliation TDK got lots of 1/10 votes and fell to its current place of #4 all time on the IMDb Top 250. (I rate it 6/10.)
Good movie? Yes. Best film of all time? Number one?
That makes me sad and laugh at the same time.
I understand it's an opinion, but I can't understand why someone would have it considering all other films ever made. I would argue it's not even nolans best film.
The Dark Knight is a brilliant masterpiece of cinema
It's another superhero, action movie. Nothing more. Just 100%, pure entertainment. The only reason anyone remembers it is because of Heath Ledger's Joker (which is pretty good), and the only reason people remember that is because he died (which is unfortunate, but true).
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Not necessarily in a correct order: 1. Malena 2. Das Boot 3. Cinema Paradiso 4. Satyricon 5. 2001: A Space Odyssey 6. La leggenda del piaista sull oceano 7. Time machine 8. La sconosciuta 9. The Godfather 1-2 10. Shawshank Redemption
I also love Kurosawa...but I have a poor memory for foreign names, so the list above is just a sample of what I enjoyed through time.
Pleased to see Satyricon on your list. While not my absolute fave Fellini, since I love ALL his movies, I'm always pleased when others like at least one of them.
The Dumpster gives a whole new meaning to "red" states.
The Dark Knight Inception The Prestige (yes am a nolanist, sue me) Heat The Green Mile Close Encounters of The Third Kind The Wizard of OZ Once Upon a Time in America 2001 The Silence of the lambs
I thought Jagten was incredibly intense, just like Villeneuve's Prisoners. Both movies examine our moral views. Jagten has a better, more ambiguous ending though.
1. Citizen Kane 2. The End of Evangelion 3. Seven Samurai 4. Vertigo 5. Once Upon a Time in America 6. Apocalypse Now 7. 2001: A Space Oddysey 8. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 9. Taxi Driver 10. Back to the Future
"[Cinema] is a labyrinth with a treacherous resemblance to reality." - Andrew Sarris
People who make Top 10 Movies of all time exclusively with US movies are hilarious. People who make Top 10 Movies of all time with The Dark Knight in there are just sad. In any case, here's a list of some of my favourite films:
L'avventura Bycicle Thieves Zerkalo Sansho the Bailiff L'eclisse Hiroshima Mon Amour La Jetée Sans Soleil Life of Oharu Stalker La Dolce Vita Andrei Rublev Wild Strawberries 2001 The Nights of Cabiria
And there are a lot more, but the list would be too large, so 15 will have to do for now.
Why? Because those films are well known and universally acclaimed masterpieces? Fair enough, here's 15 other films that are nothing short of brilliant as well, though a bit more obscure or less discussed in comparison:
Ashes and Diamonds Eternity and a Day The Bridge Trial on the Road Daybreak In the Mood for Love Siberiade The Ascent The Color of Pomegranates Westfront 1918 Komissar The Cranes are Flying Letter Never Sent The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Paisan
People who make Top 10 Movies of all time with The Dark Knight in there are just sad.
Truer words = never writ.
Like your list a lot...well, except for the Antonioni, an artist who's never charmed me. Of course, I'd also put Marienbad before Hiroshima and Julietta degli Spiriti before LDV and Cabiria...but I love all Fellini and Resnais.
And you certainly are fond of Tarkovsky...but where's Solaris???
Religion is like a rocking chair -- a lot of work to get nowhere.
Definitely a fan of Master Andrei and although I quite like Solarys, I didn't want to put more than three films by him on the list. I'm also fond of Ivan's Childhood and Nostalghia, but I still have to see Offret.
I believe you. Not only that but... there's also the photography of Mr. Nykvist. For someone like me, who worships films like Through a Glass Darkly, Persona or Wild Strawberries, the aspect means a lot too. To have Tarkovsky matched with Nykvist instead of Vadim Yusov (which is a brilliant DoP as well) is something like having Slawomir Idziak photographing a film for Bela Tarr.
Although I confess that I often indulge myself with listening music while reading, I would agree with the people that say that. I often find myself listening to music that I had heard before while shuffling some book's pages, while on a stroll, and becoming aware of details, the mood or rhythm, that I actually didn't notice before. It's obviously difficult to acknowledge simultaneously the beauty of Proust's prose while listening to the sublime melodic perfection of a violin sonata from Vivaldi. The best thing to do is, I would say, to do all of that, together at times (since it often works beautifully), but also do that separately, as you will definitely gain a lot from it as well.
The best thing to do is, I would say, to do all of that, together at times (since it often works beautifully), but also do that separately, as you will definitely gain a lot from it as well.
Of course....
Unfamiliar music usually commands my undivided attention.
And having a tv on or load conversations I find distracting.
But somehow the proper piece of music (usually not vocal) puts me in a state of mind that actually enhances comprehension and appreciation of literary works. Not always, but often enough that it is a not uncommon preference...
“Your head is on the block and you worry about your whiskers?”
I understand that and I would agree as well, since it's something that happens to me too. However, if I may ask, what kinds of vocal pieces are you talking about specifically? Often I find myself distracted from reading if there's an opera being played, as I tend to understand words or sentences, resulting in simultaneous stories being narrated, which then get mixed up, but for example choral concerts from, let's say, Russian composers, create a mood not unlike the one you mention on the last paragraph, perhaps because it's a language I don't fully understand?
In any case, even for choral pieces from other classical composers, given the usage of the same themes and text (Kyrie, Qui tollis peccata, Agnus Dei, etc.), I've grown accostumed to it and now it won't distract me anymore,
Actually, you mirrored my thoughts on this almost exactly. Language I do not understand, or those l am familiar with, as with liturgical works (masses, cantatas, etc) are mostly no longer distracting..
There are exceptions, of course. And as you say, sometimes with familiar works one may be suddenly struck by some new perspective or appreciation, in which case reading pauses, eyes may even close for a spell.
I look upon such experiences as a delightful synergy, rather than some lack of sufficient diligence...
“Your head is on the block and you worry about your whiskers?”
Seen it a couple of weeks ago and I got to say... you and hafeez112233-1 were totally right. What a fantastic film, though I think I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had seen it some 7 years ago when I first got acquainted with Master Andrei, as my taste has developed a lot during that time. Definitely agree with your statement about some of the best imagery from his oeuvre. Have you seen the documentary around the production of the film, "Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky"? What a pearl!
Definitely agree with your statement about some of the best imagery from his oeuvre
Sort of the apotheosis of his work in that regard, not unlike Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge (and no coincidence that Bach plays such an important role in this and other films of his).
What a fantastic film, though I think I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had seen it some 7 years ago
Like most great art the rewards just keep coming as one's knowledge, experience and perspective change.
Pertinently I am reminded of his film Nostahlgia. I remember seeing it first when I was about 26 back in 1983. I liked the film and appreciated it intellectually, but it is only recently that I understand the essence, that ache for the past that pierces the heart.
2001 is also such a film, rich as life is rich, in all its aspects.
“Your head is on the block and you worry about your whiskers?”
Nostalghia... that final image is something that will haunt me for the rest of my days, I would say. Tarkovsky has a very typical Russian spirit, I'm a big fan of Tchekhov, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, and I see a connection, a spirit being shared through a different artistic expression, despite all the direct references of the authors on his works, this deep probing of the human soul and thoughts, and passionate, yet subdued worship of Nature and Life as it is. The man died too early unfortunately, I wonder many times what he would have done if he had lived until the age of Dreyer's death for example. You see movies from that other master like Ordet and Gertrud and you cannot help but dream...
2001 is a film that many people fail to grasp, it appears. For me, every time I watch it, is an experience not unlike reading a novel, an element with place and time where your mind is free of any simplistic, mundane pre-conceptions, where you take active part in it. For me, that is the beauty of filmmaking, allowing the audience to dream, to interpret and revel, instead of indoctrinating, explaining everything and removing their intellectual participation, turning them into a mere passenger on a rollercoaster ride.
Sort of the apotheosis of his work in that regard, not unlike Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge (and no coincidence that Bach plays such an important role in this and other films of his).
Bach is a difficult subject for me to tackle and discuss, as there are no areas for me where he hasn't excelled and no outputs that seem less than than inspired. Beneath the mathematic perfection, there is still the human soul of a man blessed with divine inspiration, through The Art of the Fugue as you mentioned, but also through his Bradenburg Concertos, the Cello suites, the St. John and St. Matthew concertos, the many Masses (particularly the Mass in B Minor), the countless and blistering organ and harpsichord sonatas, and others, everything is pure, spotless musical bliss. One listens to Bach and though one might expect something at some point, the beauty for me is that he always manages to surprise the listener with its expressive, melodic perfection. Though I revel in many composers' works such as Liszt, Chopin, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and others, I have often said to many people, if there is a God, his name is definitely Johann Sebastian Bach.
I have often said to many people, if there is a God, his name is definitely Johann Sebastian Bach.
I cannot argue with you there, or with any of the other comments you make in this regard.
Genius is a much overused word these days; to my mind, artistic or scientific geniuses number only a handful or three throughout all of human history, those to whom we truly could not do without, whose absence would make our existence so much the poorer.
Bach is definitely at the very top of that list.
I am glad that you discern the connection of Tarkovsky's work with Russian literature. To me there is as direct a link between Dostoevsky and Tarkovsky as there also is between Dickens and Chaplin.
These days there is very little connection between anything literary or otherwise. At best, most modern movie makers know only other movies and tv from the last few years.
Is it any wonder the shallowness of so much of the product that is churned out?
“Your head is on the block and you worry about your whiskers?”
People consider Bieber a genius, they never even heard the music of Bach. I'm all for democracy and freedom of speech but perhaps it is time to initiate something like the good taste police? Wasn't there a period in history when people were told what was good or not? These days everyone seems to know better than the next guy. There is no longer a standard. Even worse, Bieber has become the standard.
Wasn't there a period in history when people were told what was good or not? These days everyone seems to know better than the next guy. There is no longer a standard. Even worse, Bieber has become the standard.
A sure sign that the end times are near!
How many disputes have we seen here about this, with some arguing so vociferously that everything in art is just a matter of personal taste, that Bieber is as good as Bach, that there are absolutely no objective standards, blah, blah, blah...
They forget that "personal taste" is not something that can be consigned entirely to the realm of innate characteristics, something somehow in our genetic makeup, never to be altered (Kubrick dealt with this topic in ACO).
They forget that one cannot have personal taste without being informed, that one cannot rebel against some status quo without first having some understanding.
They forget...or never knew...all the sublime discoveries and satisfactions that may derive from even the littlest of effort.
Instead they revel in an orgy of pablum and call it ambrosia...
“Your head is on the block and you worry about your whiskers?”
How many disputes have we seen here about this, with some arguing so vociferously that everything in art is just a matter of personal taste, that Bieber is as good as Bach, that there are absolutely no objective standards, blah, blah, blah...
I'd argue something like that, though with more subtlety.
Art has objective qualities; standards come from both personal tastes and the collective tastes of many personalities. Generally, the debate over the canon and standards is really a debate over what values from what groups should be preferred. When people praise Bach for, say, his mathematical ingenuity, the unspoken element is their preference for that ingenuity. Mozart and Beethoven may lack that aspect (at least to that level of rigorousness), but they have other qualities that it's equally fine to prefer, such as their penchant for dramatic structures and effects in music (which they learned largely from Handel), or even Mozart's ability to use nuanced musical characterization in his operas. These are things Bach lacked, so what quality you prefer is, indeed, subjective.
Even going into the realm of Bieber, I'm sure his fans would praise the catchiness of his songs (and one shouldn't overlook the "catchiness" of the great composers; Mozart, Tchaikovsky, et al. had that as a major strength). Of course, we may can say that the great composers were far more intellectual, that it requires more knowledge and craft to write melodies and utilize them within larger, more complex structures with a wealth of instruments adding different rhythmic, harmonic, and tonal variations; but there has always been something to say for simplicity as well. Even within the realm of the great composers, Debussy and Chopin are far simpler than their predecessors, and you'll still find many that prefer them for what they were able to do with melody and tone that was quite different than what came before. Hell, Bob Dylan is on my Mt. Rushmore for a reason, and it's not because of his musical complexity, but for his profound understanding of how to meld lyrics with music to create an endless variety of nuances (even within his own music it's fascinating to hear alternate takes of songs, to hear how many ways he could change minor inflections in voice or rhythm or dynamics to make for a completely different song tonally).
Anyway, there will always be an interplay of the personal/subjective, relative, and objective in art; but standards wholly fall on the personal/relative side, and there's no getting around that. Anything else is just people delusionally convincing themselves that their personal or collective standards have some basis in objective reality. There's not even anything in objective reality that says our existence is better than our non-existence; we've just decided to socially agree it is because of evolutionary program, and there's nothing objective one can use to prove someone who thinks differently wrong.
aaahmemories: Trolls are just fascists with keyboards. reply share
There's no need for good taste police, the problem lies in the education area. If you teach young people basic principles such as "chord progressions" or "rhythmic variations", they wouldn't be so ignorant, you don't have to literally explain them the difference between a "staccatto" and a "pizzicatto". Music is ubiquitous, I don't see why students all over the world shouldn't be taught simple, accessible musical concepts, the same way you have sexual education or drawing/visual arts classes. If these were implemented in primary or high school, maybe we wouldn't be living this dark age of popular music, where a two-note song with obnoxious lyrics is a world wide hit.
Obviously not everyone can be a natural born virtuous talent like Liszt or Chopin, but it is our responsibility to make the generations that come after us more informed, self-conscious and aware of our capabilities as intelligent beings. Instead, we're feeding them mind-numbingly simplistic and shallow music that an ape could produce, while reinforcing and validating their lack of empathy and respect, their ignorance, prejudice and emptiness, and deceiving them into accepting this as the norm or even the zenit of musical perfection. A truly disconcerting matter.
I respectfully disagree with you and you may call me naive, but I think that mankind still has a lot to offer, it's just a matter of making knowledge available for everyone. Obviously some of the finest achievements on Music, Film, Literature, Painting and any of the other arts have been already achieved, but that doesn't mean that many more lofty works can't be crafted by later generations. What you argue is something that could have been said in the age of Classical Antiquity, but then came Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Byron, Blake, Keats, Pushkin, Schiller, Goethe, Baudelaire, and many others. And I mention only these because I'm ignorant and don't know any Persian, Arabic, Chinese or Japanese poets that might have appeared in between, or from any other civilization existing within that time span that envelops Mankind, be it Egyptian, Gothic, Assyrian, Thracian or Roman, etc.
Ignorance is bliss and my ignorance tells me this...the same tales and rhyme have been told over and over through time. An original thought cannot even be bought.
"gonna throw, my raincoat in the river...gonna toss, my umbrella in the sea"...Sammy Turner.
There's no need for good taste police, the problem lies in the education area.
Exactly. How many people don't look further than what's playing in the charts? If you don't look further than Bieber & Co, you keep yourself musically illiterate. The same goes for cinema. What is the meaning of "it's all subjective" if the latest blockbusters are all you know? What's the value of "CSI Miami is the best TV show" when you don't have cable?
1. Citizen Kane (1941) 2. Vertigo (1958) 3. 8 1/2 (1963) 4. Adolescence of Utena (1999) 5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 6. The Mirror (1975) 7. Tale of Tales (1979) 8. Synecdoche, New York (2008) 9. Late Spring (1949) 10. Raging Bull (1980)
"Citizen Kane" fan, "Frozen" fan, and "Boyhood" fan. ;)
2001: A Space Odyssey Seven Samurai The Seventh Seal Pearl Harbor Star Wars Episode 1 Man of Steel Frozen Terminator Genesys Transformers 3 American Flatulators
1. Schindler's List 2. Raging Bull 3. The Godfather/The Godfather Part II 4. It's A Wonderful Life 5. Taxi Driver 6. Annie Hall 7. The Deer Hunter 8. Amadeus 9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 10. Dog Day Afternoon
1. The Godfather 2. The Godfather: Part 2 3. Seven Samurai 4. Apocalypse Now 5. 2001: A Space Odyssey 6. Rashomon 7. Raging Bull 8. Taxi Driver 9. Citizen Kane 10. Schindler's List
- 2001: A Space Odyssey - Seven Samurai - Apocalypse Now - Taxi Driver - The Godfather - Alien - Memento - Oldboy - Donnie Darko - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest