The 1980s List: Discussion and Suggestions (Decade Project Vol. 4)

[swo17]

New orphans:

Mur murs [Mural Murals] (Agnès Varda, 1981) 42
Mélo (Alain Resnais, 1986) 14
Le Livre de Marie [The Book of Mary] (Anne-Marie Miéville, 1985) 32
Possibly in Michigan (Cecelia Condit, 1983) 44
Sudden Impact (Clint Eastwood, 1983) 47
Phenomena (Dario Argento, 1985) 50
Passion (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982) 20
Scénario du film 'Passion' (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982) 22
بيروت مدينتي [Beyrouth madinati] [Beyrouth, ma ville] [Beirut, My City] (Jocelyn Saab, 1982) 45
Barres (Luc Moullet, 1984) 11
Les Sièges de l'Alcazar (Luc Moullet, 1989) 49
Les Enfants [The Children] (Marguerite Duras, 1985) 31
Pièce touchée (Martin Arnold, 1989) 30
Grown-Ups (Mike Leigh, 1980) 26
Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) 39
The Dante Quartet (Stan Brakhage, 1987) 16
Rouen [Souvenirs] (Teo Hernández, 1983) 50

Rescued orphans:

My Brother's Wedding (Charles Burnett, 1983)
孩子王 [Hai zi wang] [King of the Children] (Chen Kaige, 1987)
'ليلى والذئاب [Leila wa al ziap] [Leila and the Wolves] (Heiny Srour, 1984)
悲情城市 [Bei qing cheng shi] [A City of Sadness] (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)
警察故事 [Ging chaat goo si] [Police Story] (Jackie Chan, 1985)
King Lear (Jean-Luc Godard, 1987)
Boy Meets Girl (Leos Carax, 1984)
Mammame (Raúl Ruiz, 1986)
აშიკ-ქერიბი [Ashik kerib] (Sergei Parajanov & Dodo Abashidze, 1988)
Thunder (Takashi Itō, 1982)

[domino harvey]

I didn't vote for Possibly in Michigan, but certainly everyone should watch it regardless

[ryannichols7]

I sent mine but I'm not sure it went in?

[swo17]

I got it, check your PMs

[swo17]

Thanks to everyone for your participation this round. I'll be releasing the results shortly in the next three posts. Here as usual is a guide to what the figures listed after each film represent, each separated with a slash mark:

1. Total points (50 for each #1 placement, 49 for each #2, etc.)
2. Number of lists the film appeared on (out of 20 submitted). If the film appeared in anyone's top 10, the number of top 10 appearances is also denoted in parentheses.
3. Highest placement of the film on any one list. If more than one person ranked the film this high, this is also denoted in parentheses.
4. Change in position from the 2014 list, with movements of 10 or more highlighted.

So for example, the 236/7(3)/1(x2)/+19 shown for Brazil means that it scored 236 points and appeared on 7 lists (and three top 10s), with two people ranking it as high as #1. The film also moved up 19 positions from its placement on the prior list.

For the list of orphans, only figure #3 is displayed (the highest rank, not the score given).

If anyone would like me to PM them a list of how all of their picks fared in the overall tally (rather than having to scour through all of the results) it's a simple thing for me to do. Just let me know.

[swo17]

01. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) 528/13(9)/1/--
02. Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1980) 404/10(6)/3(x2)/+3
03. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986) 358/10(6)/2/-1
04. خانه دوست کجاست [Khane-ye dust kojast] [Where Is the Friend's Home?] (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987) 355/10(6)/1/+30
05. Fanny och Alexander [Fanny and Alexander] (Ingmar Bergman, 1982) 326/8(5)/1(x2)/-2
06. Иди и смотри [Idi i smotri] [Come and See] (Elem Klimov, 1985) 317/9(3)/1(x2)/--
07. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) 309/9(4)/1/+8
08. L'Argent [Money] (Robert Bresson, 1983) 301/8(2)/5/--
09. Broadcast News (James L. Brooks, 1987) 286/8(5)/1/+30
10. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) 246/7(3)/1/--
11. The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) 237/8(2)/7/+13
12. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) 236/7(3)/1(x2)/+19
13. Sans soleil [Sunless] (Chris Marker, 1983) 226/7(2)/5/-9
14. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) 225/8(3)/1/+9
15. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, 1985) 224/8(3)/3/+26
16. Histoire(s) du cinéma (Jean-Luc Godard, 1988-1998) 221/6(3)/2/New
17. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989) 213/7(2)/2/+36
18. Le Rayon vert [The Green Ray] (Éric Rohmer, 1986) 210/7(2)/3/+83
19. The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986) 208/7(2)/1/+31
20. My Dinner with André (Louis Malle, 1981) 201/7(1)/2/+48
21. The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1982) 199/7(1)/9/-3
22. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Steven Soderbergh, 1989) 198/7(1)/7/+73
23. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981) 195/6(2)/1/+25
24. Sans toit ni loi [Vagabond] (Agnès Varda, 1985) 191/6(3)/5/+13
25. Modern Romance (Albert Brooks, 1981) 185/6(2)/4/+18
26. They All Laughed (Peter Bogdanovich, 1981) 184/6(2)/5/+35
27. The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988) 181/6/11/+53
28. Der Himmel über Berlin [Wings of Desire] (Wim Wenders, 1987) 175/5(2)/2/-15
29. となりのトトロ [Tonari no totoro] [My Neighbor Totoro] (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988) 167/7(1)/9/-17
30. Dekalog [The Decalogue] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) 166/4(3)/3/-9
(tie) Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984) 166/5(2)/2/-1
(tie) The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen, 1985) 166/8(2)/2/+3
33. 恐怖分子 [Kong bu fen zi] [Terrorizers] (Edward Yang, 1986) 165/5(3)/4(x2)/-14
34. Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, 1980) 161/5(2)/8/+59
35. Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) 157/6(2)/1/-21
36. Matewan (John Sayles, 1987) 150/4(2)/8/+186
37. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985) 149/5(2)/3/+81
38. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) 148/5(1)/1/-29
39. Mauvais sang [Bad Blood] (Leos Carax, 1986) 146/4(2)/6/+5
40. Lola (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1981) 145/6/24(x2)/+88
41. タンポポ [Tanpopo] [Tampopo] (Jūzō Itami, 1985) 142/6/20(x2)/+164
42. Ностальгия [Nostalghia] (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983) 141/4(2)/4/+5
(tie) Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982) 141/7/16/-17
44. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Robert Zemeckis, 1988) 140/5(1)/5/+201
45. La Ville des pirates [City of Pirates] (Raúl Ruiz, 1983) 139/4(2)/7(x2)/-1
(tie) RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) 139/4/11/-18
47. La Femme de l'aviateur [The Aviator's Wife] (Éric Rohmer, 1981) 130/5(2)/5/+45
48. Maine Océan (Jacques Rozier, 1986) 129/4(2)/7/New
(tie) Blood Simple (Joel & Ethan Coen, 1984) 129/6/11/+29
(tie) Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986) 129/6/13/+50
(tie) Mona Lisa (Neil Jordan, 1986) 129/6/16/+120
52. Je vous salue, Marie [Hail Mary] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1985) 125/3(2)/2/+25
(tie) Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios [Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown] (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988) 125/5(1)/8/+74
54. Manoël dans l'île des merveilles [Les Destins de Manoël] [Manuel on the Island of Marvels] (Raúl Ruiz, 1984) 123/3(1)/1/+48
55. L'Ami de mon amie [My Girlfriend's Boyfriend] (Éric Rohmer, 1987) 119/4(1)/5/+103
56. When Harry Met Sally... (Rob Reiner, 1989) 117/3(2)/3/New
(tie) Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983) 117/5/14/-49
58. Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986) 116/4(1)/5/+79
59. After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985) 115/4/11/-18
(tie) Possession (Andrzej Żuławski, 1981) 115/4(1)/3/-30
(tie) Pauline à la plage [Pauline at the Beach] (Éric Rohmer, 1983) 115/4(1)/9/+194
(tie) Le Pont du Nord [The North Bridge] (Jacques Rivette, 1981) 115/5(1)/3/-24
63. Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988) 114/5(2)/4/-5
(tie) Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984) 114/4(1)/10/-32
(tie) Choose Me (Alan Rudolph, 1984) 114/5(1)/6/+165
66. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1983) 111/4(2)/3/+183
(tie) Body Heat (Lawrence Kasdan, 1981) 111/5/13/+36
68. Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 1983) 107/4/11/+137
(tie) The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980) 107/4/16/-48
70. À nos amours [To Our Loves] (Maurice Pialat, 1983) 106/3(1)/1/-54
(tie) Τοπίο στην ομίχλη [Topio stin omichli] [Landscape in the Mist] (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 1988) 106/4(1)/9/+4
72. Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981) 105/3(1)/3/+162
73. 4 Aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle [Four Aventures of Reinette and Mirabelle] (Éric Rohmer, 1987) 104/6(1)/10/+97
74. 青梅竹馬 [Qing mei zhu ma] [Taipei Story] (Edward Yang, 1985) 102/4/12/+13
75. Angyali üdvözlet [The Annunciation] (András Jeles, 1984) 99/3/13/+75
(tie) To Live and Die in L.A. (William Friedkin, 1985) 99/4/12/+237
77. 投奔怒海 [Tau ban no hoi] [Boat People] (Ann Hui, 1982) 98/3(1)/8/+38
78. White Dog (Samuel Fuller, 1982) 96/5/20/+161
79. Le Cri du hibou [The Cry of the Owl] (Claude Chabrol, 1987) 94/4(2)/6/+107
(tie) Au revoir les enfants [Goodbye, Children] (Louis Malle, 1987) 94/3/11/-20
81. Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988) 93/5/11/+4
82. שואה [Shoah] (Claude Lanzmann, 1985) 90/3(1)/6/-36
83. Housekeeping (Bill Forsyth, 1987) 89/3(2)/8/+220
(tie) Missing (Costa-Gavras, 1982) 89/3/18/+103
85. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982) 88/2(1)/3/+6
86. So Is This (Michael Snow, 1982) 86/2(2)/7/New
(tie) Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981) 86/3(1)/2/-60
(tie) Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Every Man for Himself] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1980) 86/3(1)/2/+204
(tie) Amadeus (Miloš Forman, 1984) 86/3/13/-26
90. Aliens (James Cameron, 1986) 85/2(1)/4/+78
(tie) House of Games (David Mamet, 1987) 85/2(2)/7/-19
(tie) Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1984) 85/3/12/New
93. Pee Wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985) 84/3(1)/6/-39
94. 盗马贼 [Dao ma zei] [The Horse Thief] (Tian Zhuangzhuang, 1986) 82/2(1)/3/+24
95. 喋血雙雄 [Dip huet seung hung] [The Killer] (John Woo, 1989) 81/3(1)/7/+14
(tie) 火垂るの墓 [Hotaru no haka] [Grave of the Fireflies] (Isao Takahata, 1988) 81/3/14/-78
97. Offret [The Sacrifice] (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986) 80/2(1)/5/-57
(tie) Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984) 80/4/19/-33
99. Chameleon Street (Wendell B. Harris Jr., 1989) 79/2/11/-37
100. Zelig (Woody Allen, 1983) 77/2(1)/8/+90
(tie) Das Boot [The Boat] (Wolfgang Petersen, 1981) 77/4(1)/9/+50
(tie) 乱 [Ran] [Revolt] (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) 77/4/21/-89


Top Directors

Woody Allen (7 films, 884 points)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (4 films, 718 points)
Éric Rohmer (5 films, 678 points)
Martin Scorsese (4 films, 593 points)
Jean-Luc Godard (7 films, 563 points)
Spike Lee (1 film, 528 points)
Wim Wenders (3 films, 489 points)
David Lynch (2 films, 465 points)
David Cronenberg (4 films, 385 points)
Abbas Kiarostami (1 film, 355 points)

Louis Malle (3 films, 349 points)
Terry Gilliam (3 films, 333 points)
Jim Jarmusch (3 films, 332 points)
Ingmar Bergman (1 film, 326 points)
Elem Klimov (1 film, 317 points)
Raúl Ruiz (4 films, 317 points)
Steven Spielberg (3 films, 315 points)
Brian De Palma (5 films, 315 points)
John Carpenter (3 films, 314 points)
Paul Schrader (3 films, 313 points)

Robert Bresson (1 film, 301 points)
James L. Brooks (2 films, 299 points)
Edward Yang (3 films, 297 points)
Robert Zemeckis (2 films, 289 points)
Albert Brooks (2 films, 248 points)
Rob Reiner (4 films, 235 points)
Chris Marker (1 film, 226 points)
Ridley Scott (1 film, 225 points)
Andrei Tarkovsky (2 films, 221 points)
Krzysztof Kieślowski (4 films, 219 points)

Hayao Miyazaki (4 films, 214 points)
Agnès Varda (2 films, 200 points)
Bill Forsyth (3 films, 199 points)
Steven Soderbergh (1 film, 198 points)
John Sayles (2 films, 191 points)
Joel & Ethan Coen (2 films, 189 points)
James Cameron (3 films, 185 points)
Peter Bogdanovich (1 film, 184 points)
Paul Verhoeven (3 films, 184 points)
Robert Altman (6 films, 183 points)

Jūzō Itami (2 films, 183 points)
Hou Hsiao-hsien (5 films, 182 points)
Errol Morris (1 film, 181 points)
Leos Carax (2 films, 175 points)
Peter Greenaway (5 films, 173 points)
Stanley Kubrick (2 films, 162 points)
Jonathan Demme (4 films, 147 points)
Werner Herzog (1 film, 141 points)
Yoshimitsu Morita (4 films, 139 points)
Shinji Sōmai (2 films, 137 points)


Results by Country

USA (190 films, 46% of points)
France (45 films, 12% of points)
UK (41 films, 6.5% of points)
Japan (29 films, 5.9% of points)
West Germany (13 films, 5.3% of points)
Italy (15 films, 2.2% of points)
Canada (8 films, 2.2% of points)
Switzerland (6 films, 2% of points)
Taiwan (8 films, 1.9% of points)
Sweden (3 films, 1.7% of points)

Poland (13 films, 1.6% of points)
USSR (4 films, 1.5% of points)
Iran (2 films, 1.4% of points)
Hong Kong (9 films, 1.3% of points)
Spain (7 films, 1% of points)
China (5 films, 1% of points)
Hungary (6 films, 0.8% of points)
India (7 films, 0.7% of points)
Portugal (4 films, 0.6% of points)
Czechoslovakia (3 films, 0.5% of points)

Australia (4 films, 0.4% of points)
Greece (1 film, 0.4% of points)
Netherlands (3 films, 0.3% of points)
Austria (2 films, 0.3% of points)
Yugoslavia (3 films, 0.3% of points)
Denmark (2 films, 0.3% of points)
Finland (3 films, 0.2% of points)
Philippines (1 film, 0.2% of points)
Cameroon (1 film, 0.2% of points)
South Korea (3 films, 0.2% of points)

Argentina (1 film, 0.2% of points)
Burkina Faso (1 film, 0.2% of points)
Belgium (1 film, 0.2% of points)
Lebanon (1 film, 0.1% of points)
Thailand (1 film, 0.1% of points)
Turkey (1 film, 0.1% of points)
Mali (1 film, 0.1% of points)
Senegal (1 film, 0.1% of points)
Vietnam (1 film, 0.1% of points)
Mexico (1 film, <0.1% of points)


Casualties from the Prior List

22. Něco z Alenky [Alice] (now an also-ran)
28. 黒い雨 [Kuroi ame] [Black Rain] (now an also-ran)
35. Dead Ringers (now an also-ran)
38. Heaven's Gate (now an orphan)
49. 悲情城市 [Bei qing cheng shi] [A City of Sadness] (now an also-ran)
51. El sur [The South] (now an also-ran)
52. This Is Spinal Tap (now an also-ran)
55. Spoorloos [The Vanishing] (now an orphan)
56. The Right Stuff (now an also-ran)
57. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (now an also-ran)
63. Broadway Danny Rose (now an also-ran)
64. 楢山節考 [Narayama bushikō] [The Ballad of Narayama] (now an orphan)
66. Full Metal Jacket (now an also-ran)
67. Chocolat (now an also-ran)
68. Астенический синдром [Astenicheskiy sindrom] [The Asthenic Syndrome] (now an also-ran)
70. Sherman's March (now an orphan)
72. Možnosti dialogu [Dimensions of Dialogue] (now an also-ran)
73. Mystery Train (now an also-ran)
74. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso [Cinema Paradiso] (now an also-ran)
76. Comrades (now an orphan)
77. Der siebente Kontinent [The Seventh Continent] (now an also-ran)
81. Krótki film o miłości [A Short Film About Love] (now an also-ran)
82. 黃土地 [Huang tu di] [Yellow Earth] (now an orphan)
83. The Empire Strikes Back (now an also-ran)
83. Heimat – Eine deutsche Chronik [Homeland: A Chronicle of Germany] (now an orphan)
85. Withnail & I (now an also-ran)
87. The Last Temptation of Christ (now an also-ran)
87. The Falls (now an orphan)
90. 火まつり [Himatsuri] [Fire Festival] (now voteless)
94. Radio Days (now an also-ran)
95. 風の谷のナウシカ [Kaze no tani no naushika] [Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind] (now an orphan)
97. Ms. 45 (now voteless)
98. Thief (now an also-ran)
100. Excalibur (now an also-ran)

[swo17]

A Zed & Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway, 1985) 76/2/11/+123
黒い雨 [Kuroi ame] [Black Rain] (Shōhei Imamura, 1989) 75/2(1)/1/-76
Broadway Danny Rose (Woody Allen, 1984) 73/4/24/-42
La Petite Bande [The Little Gang] (Michel Deville, 1983) 72/2(1)/7/New
The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1980) 72/3/19/+105
This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984) 72/4/16/-54
ションベン・ライダー [Shonben raidā] [P.P. Rider] (Shinji Sōmai, 1983) 71/2/14/New
King Lear (Jean-Luc Godard, 1987) 69/2(1)/9/New
Coup de torchon [Clean Slate] (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981) 68/3/11/+7
孩子王 [Hai zi wang] [King of the Children] (Chen Kaige, 1987) 67/2(1)/5/New

The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983) 67/3/21/-56
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) 66/2/15/-57
台風クラブ [Taifū kurabu] [Typhoon Club] (Shinji Sōmai, 1985) 66/3/14/+143
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso [Cinema Paradiso] (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988) 65/2(1)/4/-42
Radio Days (Woody Allen, 1987) 65/4/16/-22
Drowning by Numbers (Peter Greenaway, 1988) 64/2(1)/4/+135
Thunder (Takashi Itō, 1982) 64/2(1)/4/New
Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989) 64/2(1)/7/New
Tongues Untied (Marlon Riggs, 1989) 64/2/17/New
An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981) 63/3(1)/5/+178

The Killing Fields (Roland Joffé, 1984) 63/2(1)/10/+94
Možnosti dialogu [Dimensions of Dialogue] (Jan Švankmajer, 1982) 63/2/14/-50
Vengeance Is Mine (Michael Roemer, 1984) 63/2/17/New
Lost in America (Albert Brooks, 1985) 63/3/25/+56
Thief (Michael Mann, 1981) 62/3(1)/5/-29
Moonlighting (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1982) 62/2/14/+126
O.C. and Stiggs (Robert Altman, 1985) 62/3/18/New
Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983) 61/2(1)/8/-4
The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982) 61/2/15/+52
The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985) 60/2/14/+63

警察故事 [Ging chaat goo si] [Police Story] (Jackie Chan, 1985) 60/2/18/New
Lonesome Dove (Simon Wincer, 1989) 60/2/18/New
Raising Arizona (Joel & Ethan Coen, 1987) 60/2/19/+10
Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, 1987) 60/3/16/-47
American Gigolo (Paul Schrader, 1980) 59/3/15/New
Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983) 58/2(1)/7/+107
Street of Crocodiles (Stephen & Timothy Quay, 1986) 57/3(1)/2/+18
The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984) 57/3(1)/10/-33
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes, 1986) 57/2/17/New
ゆきゆきて、神軍 [Yuki yukite shingun] [The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On] (Kazuo Hara, 1987) 57/2/18/+169

Near Death (Frederick Wiseman, 1989) 57/3/22/+7
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling, 1982) 57/3/20/New
童年往事 [Tong nian wang shi] [A Time to Live, a Time to Die] (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1985) 56/2/12/New
Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982) 55/3/14/+120
The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985) 55/2/22/New
Der siebente Kontinent [The Seventh Continent] (Michael Haneke, 1989) 55/3/16/-69
Atlantic City (Louis Malle, 1980) 54/2/19/+156
Landscape Suicide (James Benning, 1986) 53/2/12/+116
家族ゲーム [Kazoku gēmu] [The Family Game] (Yoshimitsu Morita, 1983) 51/2(1)/9/New
Runaway Train (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1985) 51/2/17/+19

La notte di San Lorenzo [The Night of the Shooting Stars] (Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, 1982) 50/2(1)/8/New
Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989) 50/2/17/-80
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam, 1988) 50/2/23/+42
My Brother's Wedding (Charles Burnett, 1983) 49/2/15/-6
El Norte [The North] (Gregory Nava, 1983) 48/2/25/+128
Chocolat (Claire Denis, 1988) 48/3/20/-90
Secret Honor (Robert Altman, 1984) 47/2(1)/10/+80
Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam, 1981) 47/2/18/+144
Miracle Mile (Steve De Jarnatt, 1988) 46/2(1)/6/New
Tiempo de revancha [Time for Revenge] (Adolfo Aristarain, 1981) 44/2(1)/10/New

The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein, 1984) 44/2/18/+66
Mammame (Raúl Ruiz, 1986) 43/2/18/New
Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988) 43/2/19/-129
The Abyss (James Cameron, 1989) 43/2/25/New
Elephant (Alan Clarke, 1989) 42/2/25/+38
Excalibur (John Boorman, 1981) 41/2/14/-68
マルサの女 [Marusa no onna ni] [A Taxing Woman] (Jūzō Itami, 1987) 41/2/23/New
Beverly Hills Cop (Martin Brest, 1984) 41/2/23/New
A Room with a View (James Ivory, 1986) 39/2/13/New
აშიკ-ქერიბი [Ashik kerib] (Sergei Parajanov & Dodo Abashidze, 1988) 39/2/30/New

Danton (Andrzej Wajda, 1982) 39/2/31/+63
Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards, 1982) 38/2/14/New
The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987) 38/2/23/-20
Witness (Peter Weir, 1985) 38/2/23/New
Něco z Alenky [Alice] (Jan Švankmajer, 1988) 38/3/33/-152
Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, 1987) 37/2/16/New
El sur [The South] (Víctor Erice, 1983) 37/2/16/-127
Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982) 37/2/28/New
魔女の宅急便 [Majo no takkyūbin] [Kiki's Delivery Service] (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989) 37/3/36(x2)/-72
The Big Red One (Samuel Fuller, 1980) 36/2/32/-54

Krótki film o miłości [A Short Film About Love] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) 35/2/18/-102
'ليلى والذئاب [Leila wa al ziap] [Leila and the Wolves] (Heiny Srour, 1984) 35/2/24/New
Water and Power (Pat O'Neill, 1989) 35/2/30/-22
De vierde man [The 4th Man] (Paul Verhoeven, 1983) 35/2/33/New
悲情城市 [Bei qing cheng shi] [A City of Sadness] (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989) 34/2/31/-138
Астенический синдром [Astenicheskiy sindrom] [The Asthenic Syndrome] (Kira Muratova, 1989) 33/2/20/-120
The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988) 33/2/27/-101
Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988) 31/2/27/+23
Melvin and Howard (Jonathan Demme, 1980) 30/3/27/+116
Ethnic Notions (Marlon Riggs, 1986) 30/2/28/New

Boy Meets Girl (Leos Carax, 1984) 29/2/24/+7
Ariel (Aki Kaurismäki, 1988) 29/2/31/-32
影武者 [Kagemusha] [The Shadow Warrior] (Akira Kurosawa, 1980) 28/2/27/-71
Az én XX. századom [My 20th Century] (Ildikó Enyedi, 1989) 27/2/26/-50
Kárhozat [Damnation] (Béla Tarr, 1988) 27/2/29/-6
The Man Who Could Not See Far Enough (Peter Rose, 1981) 27/2/32/New
Mitt liv som hund [My Life as a Dog] (Lasse Hallström, 1985) 26/2/31/+70
Visions in Meditation (Stan Brakhage, 1989-1990) 26/2/34/New
Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988) 23/2/32/New
Something Wild (Jonathan Demme, 1986) 23/2/34/-90

The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980) 23/2/38/-118
Camp de Thiaroye (Ousmane Sembène & Thierno Faty Sow, 1988) 19/2/35/-76
蜀山 新蜀山劍俠 [Suk saan san suk saan gim hap] [Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain] (Tsui Hark, 1983) 19/2/37/+9
Golem (Piotr Szulkin, 1980) 18/2/38/New
The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg, 1983) 17/2/36/New
Media (Zbigniew Rybczyński, 1980) 15/2/38/New
La Bande des quatre [The Gang of Four] (Jacques Rivette, 1989) 15/2/41/-92
Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987) 14/2/41/-144
Varjoja paratiisissa [Shadows in Paradise] (Aki Kaurismäki, 1986) 13/2/44/New
Meantime (Mike Leigh, 1983) 11/2/43/New

[swo17]

അനന്തരം [Anantaram] [Monologue] (Adoor Gopalakrishnan, 1987) 16
Mur murs [Mural Murals] (Agnès Varda, 1981) 42
Bittere Ernte [Angry Harvest] (Agnieszka Holland, 1985) 15
Tras el cristal [In a Glass Cage] (Agustí Villaronga, 1986) 17
Leningrad Cowboys Go America (Aki Kaurismäki, 1989) 34
For All Mankind (Al Reinert, 1989) 7
Le Choix des armes [Choice of Arms] (Alain Corneau, 1981) 13
Visages perdus [Lost Faces] (Alain Mazars, 1983) 44
Mélo (Alain Resnais, 1986) 14

Fame (Alan Parker, 1980) 49
Pink Floyd: The Wall (Alan Parker, 1982) 44
Mississippi Burning (Alan Parker, 1988) 17

Santa sangre (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989) 48
Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984) 15
Alphabet City (Amos Poe, 1984) 18
The Slumber Party Massacre (Amy Holden Jones, 1982) 30
Les Possédés [The Possessed] (Andrzej Wajda, 1988) 49
Na srebrnym globie [On the Silver Globe] (Andrzej Żuławski, 1988) 38
Le Livre de Marie [The Book of Mary] (Anne-Marie Miéville, 1985) 32
달마가 동쪽으로 간 까닭은? [Dalmaga dongjjok-euro gan ggadakeun] [Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?] (Bae Yong-kyun, 1989) 14
Diner (Barry Levinson, 1982) 48
Tenue de soirée [Ménage] (Bertrand Blier, 1986) 48
Variety (Bette Gordon, 1983) 35
Angustia [Anguish] (Bigas Luna, 1987) 20
Comrades (Bill Douglas, 1986) 23
Gregory's Girl (Bill Forsyth, 1980) 48

Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, 1980) 3
The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987) 8

Society (Brian Yuzna, 1989) 48

Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 1980) 8
Tender Mercies (Bruce Beresford, 1983) 15

Carmen (Carlos Saura, 1983) 36
Possibly in Michigan (Cecelia Condit, 1983) 44
Toute une nuit [All Night Long] (Chantal Akerman, 1982) 11
A Fish Called Wanda (Charles Crichton, 1988) 28
黃土地 [Huang tu di] [Yellow Earth] (Chen Kaige, 1984) 31
Jean de Florette (Claude Berri, 1986) 24
Masques [Masks] (Claude Chabrol, 1987) 32
Die Reise nach Lyon [Blind Spot] (Claudia von Alemann, 1981) 32

Sudden Impact (Clint Eastwood, 1983) 47
Pale Rider (Clint Eastwood, 1985) 5

Bao giờ cho đến tháng mười [When the Tenth Month Comes] (Đặng Nhật Minh, 1984) 33

Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980) 29
Phenomena (Dario Argento, 1985) 50
Opera (Dario Argento, 1987) 12

Hoosiers (David Anspaugh, 1986) 40
聖誕奇遇結良緣 [Sing daan kei yue git leung yuen] [It's a Drink! It's a Bomb!] (David Chung, 1985) 31

Airplane! (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker, 1980) 48
Top Secret! (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker, 1984) 47
Ruthless People (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker, 1986) 42

Surviving Edged Weapons (Dennis Anderson, 1988) 25
The Land Before Time (Don Bluth, 1988) 10
Desert Hearts (Donna Deitch, 1985) 21
کلید [Kelid] [The Key] (Ebrahim Forouzesh, 1987) 39
Heimat – Eine deutsche Chronik [Homeland: A Chronicle of Germany] (Edgar Reitz, 1984) 6
海灘的一天 [Hai tan de yi tian] [That Day, on the Beach] (Edward Yang, 1983) 21
Ishtar (Elaine May, 1987) 18

Che ora è? [What Time Is It?] (Ettore Scola, 1989) 4
Splendor (Ettore Scola, 1989) 24

ผีเสื้อและดอกไม้ [Peesua lae dokmai] [Butterfly and Flowers] (Euthana Mukdasanit, 1985) 20
A Dry White Season (Euzhan Palcy, 1989) 44

La città delle donne [City of Women] (Federico Fellini, 1980) 13
E la nave va [And the Ship Sails On] (Federico Fellini, 1983) 39
Ginger e Fred [Ginger and Fred] (Federico Fellini, 1986) 38
Intervista [Interview] (Federico Fellini, 1987) 28

Carmen (Francesco Rosi, 1984) 12

One from the Heart (Francis Ford Coppola, 1982) 47
The Outsiders (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983) 45

La Femme d'à côté [The Woman Next Door] (François Truffaut, 1981) 13
Lady in White (Frank LaLoggia, 1988) 45
Little Shop of Horrors (Frank Oz, 1986) 35
Babettes gæstebud [Babette's Feast] (Gabriel Axel, 1987) 18

爆裂都市 バースト・シティ[Bakuretsu toshi bāsuto shiti] [Burst City] (Gakuryū Ishii, 1982) 43
逆噴射家族 [Gyaku-funsha kazoku] [The Crazy Family] (Gakuryū Ishii, 1984) 38

Wênd Kûuni [God's Gift] (Gaston Kaboré, 1982) 10
Weather Diary 1 (George Kuchar, 1986) 40
Mad Max 2: The Road Runner (George Miller, 1981) 21
Spoorloos [The Vanishing] (George Sluizer, 1988) 14
Mrs. Soffel (Gillian Armstrong, 1984) 38
The Girl in a Swing (Gordon Hessler, 1988) 39
എസ്തപ്പാൻ [Esthappan] [Stephen] (Govindan Aravindan, 1980) 30
The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley, 1989) 23

風の谷のナウシカ [Kaze no tani no naushika] [Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind] (Hayao Miyazaki, 1984) 43
天空の城ラピュタ [Tenkuu no shiro laputa] [Castle in the Sky] (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986) 49

十手舞 [Jittemai] [Death Shadows] (Hideo Gosha, 1986) 30

冬冬的假期 [Dong dong de jia qi] [A Summer at Grandpa's] (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1984) 32
戀戀風塵 [Lian lian feng chen] [Dust in the Wind] (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986) 19
尼羅河的女兒 [Ni luo he de nu er] [Daughter of the Nile] (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1987) 10

Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981) 42

짝코 [Jagko] [Pursuit of Death] (Im Kwon-taek, 1980) 50
만다라 [Mandala] (Im Kwon-taek, 1981) 44

Bizalom [Confidence] (István Szabó, 1980) 41
Mephisto (István Szabó, 1981) 30
Oberst Redl [Redl ezredes] [Colonel Redl] (István Szabó, 1985) 33

A計劃續集 [A gai wak xu ji] [Project A Part II] (Jackie Chan, 1987) 41
Une chambre en ville [A Room in Town] (Jacques Demy, 1982) 47
American Dreams (Lost and Found) (James Benning, 1984) 7
Maurice (James Ivory, 1987) 46
Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983) 38
Mužné hry [Virile Games] (Jan Švankmajer, 1988) 22
Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989) 35
The Name of the Rose (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986) 27

Passion (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982) 20
Scénario du film 'Passion' (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982) 22
Détective (Jean-Luc Godard, 1985) 49

Trop tot/trop tard [Too Early, Too Late] (Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, 1981) 28
Troop Beverly Hills (Jeff Kanew, 1989) 26
Christmas Vacation (Jeremiah Chechik, 1989) 13
Austeria [The Inn] (Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1982) 4
The Big Easy (Jim McBride, 1986) 26
Recordações da Casa Amarela [Recollections of the Yellow House] (João César Monteiro, 1989) 38
بيروت مدينتي [Beyrouth madinati] [Beyrouth, ma ville] [Beirut, My City] (Jocelyn Saab, 1982) 45

Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) 30
The 'Burbs (Joe Dante, 1989) 38

The Fog (John Carpenter, 1980) 22
Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986) 3

The Dead (John Huston, 1987) 28
Into the Night (John Landis, 1985) 46
Predator (John McTiernan, 1987) 45
Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, 1982) 16
The Little Mermaid (John Musker & Ron Clements, 1989) 14
Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988) 10
Polyester (John Waters, 1981) 30
The Singing Detective (Jon Amiel, 1986) 48
Married to the Mob (Jonathan Demme, 1988) 42
El bosque animado [The Enchanted Forest] (José Luis Cuerda, 1987) 43
The Stepfather (Joseph Ruben, 1987) 50
Бал на води [Bal na vodi] [Hey Babu Riba] (Jovan Aćin, 1985) 31
Vabank [Hit the Bank] (Juliusz Machulski, 1981) 46
శంకరాభరణం [Sankarabharanam] [The Jewel of Shiva] (K. Viswanath, 1980) 13
The French Lieutenant's Woman (Karel Reisz, 1981) 40
Hollywood (Kevin Brownlow & David Gill, 1980) 34

Przypadek [Blind Chance] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1981) 48
Dekalog, cztery [The Decalogue: Four] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) 36

The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan, 1983) 32
Den offentlige røst [The Public Voice] (Lejf Marcussen, 1988) 19
Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (Les Blank, 1980) 46

Barres (Luc Moullet, 1984) 11
Les Sièges de l'Alcazar (Luc Moullet, 1989) 49

Testament (Lynne Littman, 1983) 47
秋天的童話 [Chau tin dik tung wa] [An Autumn's Tale] (Mabel Cheung, 1987) 41
सतह से उठता आदमी [Satah Se Uthata Aadmi] [Arising from the Surface] (Mani Kaul, 1980) 49
Francisca (Manoel de Oliveira, 1981) 47
Świadkowie [Witnesses] (Marcel Łoziński, 1987) 39
Hôtel Terminus (Marcel Ophuls, 1988) 16
Storie di ordinaria follia [Tales of Ordinary Madness] (Marco Ferreri, 1981) 5
Les Enfants [The Children] (Marguerite Duras, 1985) 31
Napló gyermekeimnek [Diary for My Children] (Márta Mészáros, 1984) 32
Pièce touchée (Martin Arnold, 1989) 30
Coal Miner's Daughter (Michael Apted, 1980) 35

Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980) 37
Year of the Dragon (Michael Cimino, 1985) 32

Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) 26
Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986) 29
1984 (Michael Radford, 1984) 38
Grown-Ups (Mike Leigh, 1980) 26
Working Girl (Mike Nichols, 1988) 46
খারিজ [Kharij] [The Case Is Closed] (Mrinal Sen, 1982) 24
戦場のメリークリスマス [Senjō no merī kurisumasu] [Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence] (Nagisa Ōshima, 1983) 21
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982) 32
Eureka (Nicolas Roeg, 1983) 25
Очи чёрные [Oci ciornie] [Dark Eyes] (Nikita Mikhalkov, 1987) 46
Magdalena Viraga (Nina Menkes, 1986) 26

A Soldier's Story (Norman Jewison, 1984) 49
In Country (Norman Jewison, 1989) 43

Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986) 49
Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989) 17

森の伝説 [Mori no densetsu] [Legend of the Forest] (Osamu Tezuka, 1987) 19
Miami Connection (Park Woo-sang, 1987) 50
L'Ange [The Angel] (Patrick Bokanowski, 1982) 4
名劍 [Ming kim] [The Sword] (Patrick Tam, 1980) 48
Eating Raoul (Paul Bartel, 1982) 50
Enemies, a Love Story (Paul Mazursky, 1989) 29
Patty Hearst (Paul Schrader, 1988) 21
Spetters (Paul Verhoeven, 1980) 41
¡Átame! [Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!] (Pedro Almodóvar, 1989) 40
Oro, plata, mata [Gold, Silver, Death] (Peque Gallaga, 1982) 1

The Falls (Peter Greenaway, 1980) 44
The Draughtsman's Contract (Peter Greenaway, 1982) 40
The Belly of an Architect (Peter Greenaway, 1987) 36

New York Portrait: Chapter II (Peter Hutton, 1981) 15

The Year of Living Dangerously (Peter Weir, 1982) 28
Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989) 19

What's Out Tonight Is Lost (Phil Solomon, 1983) 25
Remains to Be Seen (Phil Solomon, 1989) 29

O-bi, o-ba, koniec cywilizacji [The End of Civilization] (Piotr Szulkin, 1985) 39
Ga, ga, chwała bohaterom [Glory to the Heroes] (Piotr Szulkin, 1986) 31

Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) 39
L'Île au trésor [Treasure Island] (Raúl Ruiz, 1986) 39
Gandahar (René Laloux, 1988) 49
Lethal Weapon (Richard Donner, 1987) 32

Stand by Me (Rob Reiner, 1986) 17
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987) 39

HealtH (Robert Altman, 1980) 36
Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Robert Altman, 1982) 39
Tanner '88 (Robert Altman, 1988) 15
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Robert Altman, 1988) 40

Nadine (Robert Benton, 1987) 41
The Hitcher (Robert Harmon, 1986) 42
Ordinary People (Robert Redford, 1980) 35
The Mission (Roland Joffé, 1986) 21
Sherman's March (Ross McElwee, 1985) 15
Przesłuchanie [Interrogation] (Ryszard Bugajski, 1982) 2
ツィゴイネルワイゼン [Tsigoineruwaizen] [Zigeunerweisen] (Seijun Suzuki, 1980) 39
ამბავი სურამის ციხისა [Ambavi suramis tsikhisa] [The Legend of Suram Fortress] (Sergei Parajanov, 1985) 45
Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone, 1984) 9
楢山節考 [Narayama bushikō] [The Ballad of Narayama] (Shōhei Imamura, 1983) 43
मंडी [Mandi] [Market Place] (Shyam Benegal, 1983) 21
The Entity (Sidney J. Furie, 1982) 36
Prince of the City (Sidney Lumet, 1981) 40
Yeelen [Brightness] (Souleymane Cissé, 1987) 31
Petrijin venac [Petria's Wreath] (Srđan Karanović, 1980) 44

The Garden of Earthly Delights (Stan Brakhage, 1981) 41
The Dante Quartet (Stan Brakhage, 1987) 16

Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) 41
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg, 1984) 19
Smithereens (Susan Seidelman, 1982) 50
Spacy (Takashi Itō, 1981) 8
その男、凶暴につき [So no otoko kyōbō ni tsuki] [Violent Cop] (Takeshi Kitano, 1989) 43
Rouen [Souvenirs] (Teo Hernández, 1983) 50
Death and Transfiguration (Terence Davies, 1983) 50
Fright Night (Tom Holland, 1985) 50
The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983) 27
刀馬旦 [Do ma daan] [Peking Opera Blues] (Tsui Hark, 1986) 28
Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar [Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite] (Tunç Başaran, 1989) 30
Un amour de Swann [Eine Liebe von Swann] [Swann in Love] (Volker Schlöndorff, 1984) 50
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (W.D. Richter, 1984) 21
Reds (Warren Beatty, 1981) 48
Der Rosenkönig [The Rose King] (Werner Schroeter, 1986) 48
A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984) 37
Der Stand der Dinge [The State of Things] (Wim Wenders, 1982) 46
天云山传奇 [Tian yun shan chuan qi] [Legend of Tianyun Mountain] (Xie Jin, 1980) 2
सिलसिला [Silsila] [Continuation] (Yash Chopra, 1981) 33
遙かなる山の呼び声 [Haruka naru yama no yobigoe] [A Distant Cry from Spring] (Yōji Yamada, 1980) 9

の・ようなもの [No yōna mono] [Something Like It] (Yoshimitsu Morita, 1981) 39
ときめきに死す [Tokimeki ni shisu] [Deaths in Tokimeki] (Yoshimitsu Morita, 1984) 22
それから [Sorekara] [And Then] (Yoshimitsu Morita, 1985) 4

Journeys from Berlin/1971 (Yvonne Rainer, 1980) 44
Steps (Zbigniew Rybczyński, 1987) 25
Лепота порока [Lepota poroka] [The Beauty of Vice] (Živko Nikolić, 1986) 13

[domino harvey]

Thanks swo! As somehow the only person who voted for our number one film AS the number one film, lemme get my Kim Basinger on and say y'all crazy

[swo17]

Last time it was also the #1 without it topping anyone's list

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks swo!

1. Broadcast News
2. Blow Out
3. Diva
4. Drowning By Numbers
5. Down By Law
6. Mauvais Sang
7. So is This
8. Do The Right Thing
9. They All Laughed
10. Where is the Friend’s Home?

[swo17]

So Is This is probably the most surprising addition to the all-time eligibility list

[Toland's Mitchell]

Big huge thanks to swo for everything! The 80s were an interesting decade. I wouldn't say it was a very good decade, but interesting. It was a transitional time. For examples, the home video format wars, the corporate conglomerations of the major Hollywood studios (resulting in less creative freedom and more productions in action and comedy genres, moving towards the blockbuster mindset), rise of cable TV, the beginnings of the modern independent scene, the twilight years of many great directors of the 50s and 60s, while many great directors of more recent decades were just getting their start, new cinema movements in countries that didn't previously have international attention. 1979 vs. 1990...I can imagine the cultural shifts between those years had to be hard to keep up. I wasn't around for it, but someone here was, right?

Anyway, we see these shifts in our list. Kurosawa and Soderbergh on the same decade list; Taiwan and Hong Kong representation; Jarmusch and the Coens from the indie scene, etc. It's cool to see so much variety.

I like seeing the huge leaps for To Live and Die in LA and Pauline at the Beach. As well as sex, lies, and videotape, which coincidentally landed at #22 on my personal list and the overall list. Overall, I've seen 75/100 of our choices. I made huge progress on this decade during this project, but still have many blind spots.

My Top 12:

1. Come and See
2. The Purple Rose of Cairo
3. Back to the Future
4. Die Hard
5. Paris, Texas
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. Field of Dreams
8. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
9. Pauline at the Beach
10. The Terminator
11. The Thing
12. Fanny and Alexander

My full list of 100 is on LB, so this is merely the cover. My 10th spot was a toss-up between those 10-12 films. I went with Terminator because it didn't seem like Thing and Fanny would have any trouble becoming eligible for the all-time list, based on the 1982 results (which turned out accurate). So I thought I'd try to get Terminator eligible. It didn't happen, and I understand it was a stretch. I see there were fellow fans of other beloved action films...Back to the Future, Die Hard, and Raiders, three films I couldn't get enough of in my earlier years.

Anyway, great list!

[domino harvey]

My top 10:

01 Do the Right Thing
02 My Dinner With Andre
03 Broadcast News
04 the Purple Rose of Cairo
05 They All Laughed
06 Le cri du hibou
07 La petite bande
08 L’argent
09 Maine Ocean
10 4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle

[swo17]

I like seeing the huge leaps for To Live and Die in LA and Pauline at the Beach

To Live and Die in L.A. went from not even making my top 25 for 1985 to surging onto my top 50 for the decade. I blame Wang Chung and Jon Mulaney

[brundlefly]

Thank you swo for the tabulating and the presentation and the patience.

Thanks swo! As somehow the only person who voted for our number one film AS the number one film, lemme get my Kim Basinger on and say y'all crazy

Like foxes? I know you're kidding, but one of the benefits of consensus picks rising to the top is that the group can do the heavy lifting. So even though I'd be appalled by a final '80s list that didn't have the Lee at/near the top, I completely understand the third of the listers who left it off. It was still #1 by some distance. Some titles take care of themselves, and I was confident ignoring several necessary ones so I could squeeze in what stray faves I could. Hard enough to winnow things to 50 without including the full canon. I cut out so much and my breakdown wound up 22 listed/10 also-rans/18 orphans, which still feels a little normcore.

My top ten:

1. The Fly
2. Street of Crocodiles
3. Possession
4. L'Ange
5. L'Argent
6. Do the Right Thing
7. City of Pirates
8. Where is the Friend's Home
9. Vagabond
10. Mishima

[Altair]

Cobra (George P. Cosmatos, 1986)

Hysterically reactionary action film, with Sylvester Stallone as the barely-disguised fascist cop blowing away a death cult of low lifes. The plot hardly exists, which is a help, because Cosmatos (or Stallone, depending on who you think was really calling the shots) shoots the film like a MTV video directed by Dario Argento. Actually, it starts relatively promisingly: there's a serial killer on the loose in LA, taking out victims in giallo-esque ways. Some of the cross-cutting between Stallone, killer, and victim is pretty hilarious - it's so po-faced that it verges on camp. But Stallone takes over, dispenses with the burgeoning mystery and becomes a succession of scenes of Stallone wasting the scum of the city (imagine if Travis Bickle became a cop and with better taste in eye ware). He even has a photo of Ronald Reagan in his apartment! Thankfully, Stallone, in order to compete with Top Gun, had it cut down to 87 minutes, so spared us another half an hour. In other words, trash of the highest order.

Can't fault Stallone's choice of a 1950 Mercury though...

Choice quotation: You're a disease, and I'm the cure.

[TechnicolorAcid]

I’m shocked that no one voted for any of Mark Zakharov’s 80s films (and equally ashamed that I didn’t watch them until a couple of days ago, otherwise I 100% would’ve voted for them) so I figured I’d go to bat for them.

Formula of Love (1984): Possibly Zakharov’s funniest movie and also the shortest out of what I’d call his Abdulov Cycle (which consists of the 5 films he did with Aleksandr Abdulov) at a little under 90 minutes. At once a delightful conman movie, a humorous satire on the objection of women revolving around a man falling in love with a statue, and a wonderfully earnest redemption movie. Out of all of his films, it’s also probably his most accessible and I would definitely understand if someone chose this as an introduction to his work, although it does lack that wonderful sense of melancholy that Zakharov is so wonderfully great at.

The House That Swift Built (1985): This is debatably the weakest of the Abdulov Cycle (I personally could’ve done without the Lilliputian soap opera that happens 30 minutes into the first half) and it’s undeniably his most unorthodox film, being possibly the loosest version of a biopic I’ve ever seen with its leading subject never speaking for a majority of the film’s runtime, if anything it’s more a film about Johnathan Swift’s legacy than his life. But there’s a tremendously engrossing dreamlike logic to everything that somehow makes the film really work, the film itself refusing to ever admit what is or isn’t real, twisting our reality along with the doctor tasked to help Swift, taking consistent pleasure in the artifice of the cinema to the point where even the filmmakers end up getting tossed into the film itself. At its core, it’s basically what would happen if the “Anything can happen and it probably will” motto of Hellzapoppin got tossed into the Russian gothic stylings of films like Savage Hunt of King Stakh, it shouldn’t work at all but yet somehow it does and even if I think it’s Zakharov’s weakest, I think everyone should absolutely watch this for how mind-melting it gets.

To Kill a Dragon (1988): By all accounts this was the last truly cinematic film Zakharov did (he recorded a shitton of his theatrical productions but I’m not really sure those count) and he ended his career with probably one of cinema’s most pointed affects on how fascism affects its nation, transposing fascist ideology into a medieval landscape lead by a cruel and tyrannical three-headed dragon as it’s put against a descendant of Lancelot and in turn creating a fairly standard tale of good vs. evil, in many ways the majority of the film seems to echo similar works like Piotr Szulkin’s War of the Worlds film. And while that section is very good, where the film really peaks is its final stretch which, without revealing anything, dabbles in the what now part of a country consumed by tyranny. What should happen to the people who thrived because of tyrants and what happens to those will forever live in fear of another beating by another tyrant, even in times of peace? How long must good keep fighting until it can truly rid the evil of the world or will they forever be locked in an unstoppable battle? The film’s strength is that it doesn’t provide an easy answer to any of these questions and I think, especially in a climate like the one in America right now, it’s important for us to confront those questions head on. I still think that The Very Same Munchausen is his best film but To Kill a Dragon is undeniably his most important.