Introduce Yourselves

Long-form documentary, music videos, features. Master of DV, more a fan of film and will shoot film all day for free. Won an award in Georgetown (USA) for best use of DV in a documentary.

I'll watch almost any kind of movie, although I veer away from ones with subtitles -- simply because of where my television is, and the fact that I need to put reading glasses on to read them, but then can't see the visuals very well.

I tend to use movies the way other people use albums -- I'll have one on, be doing other things, watch half of it from the middle, sometimes even randomize the scenes on the DVD player. I watch a lot of movies as a result, more than a dozen a week.

My favourite filmmaker is Aki Kaurismaki. I think Man Without A Past is possibly his creative peak. I am also addicted to filmmaking/screenwriting books like midwestern housewives are to self-help and diet books.

Screenwriter on the loose, finishing up my second baby (my first baby's the one I'm gonna eventually do myself), so's I can sell it, quit my job, and move back to SoCal with the soon-to-be-wife... yessir, "what I really want to do is direct", but if I HAVE to make a living as a high-paid screenwriter/script doctor for a few years... then *sigh* so be it...

my friend says whenever he sees the producer in "True Romance", it makes him think of ME. I have yet to ask him if that's a good thing or what...

Les Enfants Du Paradis
Dr. Strangelove
Eraserhead
Saratossa Manuscript
The Last Unicorn
City of Lost Children
Labyrinth
Back to the Future
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Requiem for a Dream
Seventh Seal
Baran
Kurosawa's Dreams
Ghost Dog
eXistenZ
Last Year at Marienbad
Los Ovidados
Princess and the Warrior
Donnie Darko
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels/Snatch
Boy and his Dog
Brazil
Dark Crystal
The Wind Will Carry Us
Clockwork Orange
The Testament of Orpheus
Faust
Naked Lunch
O Brother, Where art Thou?
Blue Velvet
Delicatessen
Dead Man
Fight Club
Breakfast Club
Hypercube
Traffic
The Secret of NIMH
AI
Heat
The Color of Paradise
Seven
Seven Samuri
Bicycle Thief
Muholland Dr.
Open City
Begotten
Djomeh
Grand Illusion
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's delivery service
Amelie
Yojimbo
Bowling for Columbine
Royal Tenenbaums
Cemetary Man
Alphaville
Sexy Beast
400 Blows
Tetsuo
Who is Afraid of Virginia Wolf?
Rope
Sleeper
L'Age D'or
True Romance
Vanilla Sky
Wild Zero
Punch Drunk Love
Adaptation
New York Stories
Magnolia
Shower
In the Mood For Love
SLC Punk
Harry Potter
Nightmare Before Christmas
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Birth of a Nation
Rushmore
Metropolis
Dawn Of the Dead
Exorcist
Cube

I made many movies as a kid with my video camera, and have done some animation and editing of clips, but I wanted to try and become more proficient at editing, and start outputing some watchable stuff.

(Hey slutsky from Montreal, what are those two places near each other (on the same block). One is La Cinémathèque Québécoise, and the other I forget the name. What exactly do they do? I was at one this summer and wanted to order an animation collection on DVD i saw there.)

Around the corner on St-Denis is the National Film Board, aka the NFB, or at least its downtown location (they have a great big building further north). The NFB is a grand old Canadian institution--Norman McLaren did most of his work there, and they still produce tons of animation and documentaries. You can check out their website here, and they've got an online store where you might be able to locate that video.

I can understand this. movie-love is a religion though, and I have converted.

I am kind of a burgeoning film-geek who hasn't seen as many movies as he would like to. I love every movie. Even the bad ones.

Some favorites (I am a hopeless poser, as you will see)

Vertigo
2001
In the Mood For Love
Seven Samurai
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Spirited Away
Stalker
Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Anyway, hi. Trayce here, I have no connections to the film industry at all, I just love watching movies. If a film becomes a favourite I have a (bad?) habit of watching it over and over and over. I am loving DVD because of this.

Films that have been watched and loved by me repeatedly/obsessively and therefore Rule:

Pi
Donnie Darko
Withnail & I
Grosse Point Blank
High Fidelity
Empire Records
Merry Xmas Mr Lawrence

... these are just films I've seen multiple times. A Nairn's list above is nice, and I really love a lot of what is in it, also.

I'm no movie snob, and there's as many fun pop culture films I like as there are arthouse ones. I never used to watch many films at all, so DVD has a lot to answer for!

its exciting to see the ways it is changing film appreciation, much for the better as far as I can tell

And I can ask for your gratis film festival sync and master use licenses, too.

Favorite Movies in no particular order:
Waking Life
Dazed and Confused
Slacker
Paths of Glory
The Shining
Dr. Strangelove
39 Steps
Vertigo
Trainspotting
Pi
Requiem For A Dream
The Bicycle Thief
High Fidelity
Wonder Boys
The Great Escape
The Man Who Would Be King

Favorite Directors:
Richard Linklater
Stanley Kubrick
Robert Altman

These kind of rotate in and out with other films, but I'm drawn to small character pieces more than big epics or sci-fi. But really, I like almost anything, except for those very mediocre Hollywood drama/mystery types and big-budget crap (Bad Boys II). I have a soft spot for teen movies - Empire Records, She's All That, crazy/beautiful, 10 Things I Hate About You, etc.

The only catch being - probably the only reason why I still got any parental funding/am still alive haha - is that the school is the "world-famous" USC. I did not apply to the production program, instead getting in as critical-studies, and this is something I somewhat do regret in retrospect since I might as well have tried, when the standards are still as legendarily mysterious and arbitrary as you've probably heard. What kept me back was fear/ignorance of technical expertise and the fact that I had never held a camera before while growing up, as opposed to the multitudes of eager, Lucas-worshipping kids who applied. That personal fear was more intimidating than the "even-Spielberg-got-rejected.-Twice" brouhaha, which is overblown, in my opinion. As I've graduated four months ago, I'm more and more coming to realize the empty hype behind the "world-famous" USC alumni connection, but I want my suspicions to be proven wrong. Desperately =) I have few kind words to say about USC, so should probably not digress into that area! I am currently aspiring to work in a commissary at some production company/studio in La-La land, since I'm a Realist.

I am still quite buoyant in my hopes to learn more, however, as the last year and a half have been very exciting in regards to my cinematic education, as it involved more than writing critical history/theory paperz. Last spring I took the only major production class that crit-studies majors are allowed to: the one in which everyone must make 5 short DV films, all by himself or herself, with 2-3 weeks max allotted for each. It was such an overwhelmingly educational experience, almost like a baptism-by-fire thing, especially considering the fact that we all had 4 to 5 other classes to take at the same time.[They also expect you to cast real Hollywood aspiring actors/actresses, since we're in Los Angeles.] It was of course the best semester of my life, and it almost was like summer camp: everyone became close friends since we had to rely on each other for survival. I got to cast/crew/write/direct/edit/produce all on my own, and the way they structure the class is ideal: you have to do everything, every job by yourself, so that you can learn the most about each one and discover where your strengths and weaknesses lie, despite how it's unrealistic and not anything like what the real film world is like, since that is much more collaborative (we did group exercises too, however, and the production kids go onto more advanced classes which more closely resemble a real shoot, with each person doing a different job). My films were really sloppy since I had no prior experience, but I cannot put into words how invaluable the learning experience was, or stress enough that you cannot educate yourself in regards to filmmaking via books...ultimately you must pick up the camera (a fact most history/theory students know too well, which is why they keep trying to apply to get into production!). It felt like a personal revolution in the way that I looked at things, at film, at the process. We edited on Avid DV express which is identitical to "industry standard" Avid, but since Final Cut Pro is more in vogue I plan on ripping it from one of my friends, just to mess around with. My education continued over the summer, in which I took a super-8mm class and made and edited two films in that endearingly old-fashioned, pre-digital way - which teaches you a lot, especially about classical Hollywood filmmaking and editing (like one of my friends said, iMovie really is great since it limits you to only a few editing options, teaching you tons about how to make appropriate cuts before you get onto fancy MTVesque stuff). More than anything, I am glad that I took the super-8 class since it gave me some exposure (sorry horrible pun) to film, with the process being somewhat similar to 16mm. There is still SO much to learn, obviously!! I get quite excited just thinking about it, and try not to think about costly things like $.

Well that's my pointless story so far. I am really glad that this forum is here, since I'd feel less guilty "wasting" time here than I would at ILM. I have been buying some screenwriting books but haven't read any, as of yet. I want to beat my ILX addiction, but this is only going to make it so much harder!!!

(are any of the screenwriting books you bought by Syd Field, by any chance? He'll need his own thread here eventually and I'll be the one cursing and groaning all over it)

I do have Robert McKee's Story which I purchased prior to seeing Adaptation but haven't cracked open ever since. : )

A friend of mine actually took McKee's writing course with his dad, and said that Adaptation was no exaggeration.

Now he makes pretty films and, uh, I just watch movies. I don't watch arty stuff much anymore, just comedies and action flixxx.

How High was great, but I haven't seen a genuinely good thriller in a while.

(Not really - more on how musicals continued without singing in them.) Very interested in audiences primarily.

I am actually rather ambivalent about film-as-art-form

I would love to hear j0hn expand on this (new thread, maybe?).

I would also love to hear how slutsky and jimmy got a start towards doing what they are doing.

Honda- I thought you studied at Cal. They have a film programme?

Amateurist-that's a very interesting list. It's great in particular that you like Mr Hulot, Distant Voices, Terence Malick, and Umbrellas of Cherbourg - the latter is definitely one of my favourite films!

i hate picking favorites, though i could easily pick a few favorite filmmakers: peter greenaway, robert altman, john sayles, luis bunuel. especially greenaway.
favorite films: the falls, withnail and i, putney swope, drowning by numbers, the phantom of liberty, o lucky man!, a zed and two noughts, california split, bottle rocket, mccabe and mrs miller, petulia, head (monkees), buffet froid, badlands, the bed-sitting room, zardoz, 8 1/2, discreet charm of the bourgoesie

Yeah! Top 10, baby!

Last film that made me cry: The Piano Teacher

Last film that I didn't enjoy as much as I thought I wld: Adaptation

Last film that I enjoyed more than I thought I wld: About Schmidt

Last film that I watched on video: 24 Hour Party People

Last film that I saw at the cinema: Werckmeister Harmonies

Last film that I taped off the TV: Bringing out the Dead

My fave director is Robert Bresson, I think.

brilliant!

I'm julio, 23. just found out abt this. thank you nordicz.

sometimes i wonder if i should have finished my film degree

paying $8 to see a movie makes me really really want to sit through it.

I'll try a top top:

Time of the gypsies
My life as a dog
Blue velvet
Gregory's Girl
Chinatown
Mean Streets
400 Blows
Kes
Matador
Chungking Express

Ask me tomorrow and it will, of course, be completely different.
Honourable mentions to Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom (a TV series really) and to City of God and Man without a past for being the best films I've seen this year and may make it into future top tens once I've worked out if it's initial euphoria or not. Will that do?

I would start a thread titled The abominable student films that I have seen but I don't think I could stomach it.

TSS was even better the first time, when all I knew was that Lynch directed it.

My favourite films are: Ace in the Hole, Rocco and His Brothers, Almost Famous, Annie Hall and the combined works of Dave Chapelle. I'd like to write a script when I have a good enough idea.

My fave films are:
Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure
American Movie
Shanghai Noon
Dogma
O Brother Where Art Thou
Lost Boys
Return of the Jedi

I find most of the world's discourse about films tiresome, either twatmunks expecting you to marvel at how realistic some special effect is or pseuds going on about how great boring films are. In some unspecified way I hope to change that.

* King Kong (1933) Sentimental choice, of course—the four-year-old me who first saw this was spellbound. Today? It's hopelessly dated, but it still it has a marvellous sense of wonder.
* To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Based on Harper Lee's stupendous novel, this condensed but extremely faithful adaptation is near-perfect. Gregory Peck is at the height of his powers. Plus: Robert Duvall's screen debut!
* Citizen Kane (1941) A predictable choice, but who else can claim an achievement like this for their movie debut? Orson Welles really was a genius—even if he was far too aware of the fact himself.
* Shawshank Redemption (1994) Based on an excellent Stephen King novella, this is another very faithful adaptation. Superb performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Inspiring, moving and, quite simply, brilliantly done.
* Misery (1990) Faithful adaptation #3, Stephen King story #2. James Caan and the peerless Kathy Bates bring SK's impressive novel alive with tremendous skill. It's tense and ugly, as is the book. A great movie.
* Cape Fear (1962) More Gregory Peck greatness, and Robert Mitchum proving what a genuinely scary villain he could be (see also Night of the Hunter (1955)—my alternative choice for this slot). Simply excellent.
* Anatomy of a Murder (1959) One of James Stewart's finest performances (and there were many), and just about as good a courtroom drama as you'll find. Beyond reproach.
* X-Men (2000) Mentioned simply because it finally proved that a genuinely good superhero movie was possible without reservation. And because Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are brilliant.
* The Godfather (1972) Easily the best of the trilogy, and probably Brando's (and Coppola's) finest hour. You want a Mafia movie? This is the first place you go, no substitutes.
* Witchfinder General (1968) Yet another sentimental choice, because I love Vincent Price dearly in anything, even though the actual films were often poor. Not so here. Price gives it his best, in a thoroughly serious performance. Creepy!

(HTML snipped verbatim.)

I might hate some of these choices if I ponder, so I won't.

(The permalink for this list is here.)

Is this an introduction? Well, I'm old and fickle. What else do you need to know?

What the lady wants...

Man Without A Past - LA Confidential - Lift To The Scaffold - Night On Earth - Trust - The Enigma Of Kasper Hauser - Festen - Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye - The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - Ran - Hana Bi - George Washington - Drugstore Cowboy - Underground - The Tailor Of Panama - Chungking Express - Eureka - Five Easy Pieces - The Lodger - Barry Lyndon - L'Appartment - Man With A Movie Camera - Vertigo - Songs From The Second Floor - Midnight Cowboy - Giant - Shoot The Piano Player - Rules Of The Game - La Dolce Vita - Ariel - Belle Du Jour - Fargo - Down By Law - Days Of Heaven - American Movie - About Schmidt - Dear Diary - The Shining - Wings Of Desire - Buttoners - Vertigo - Emak Bakia - Stardust Memories - Heat - The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg . There's more. I never really liked the Matrix. I'm not at all keen on Darren Aronofsky. I think Joel Schumacher is a hack. I want to see more cinema, both old and new, from Brazil and Iran. I also wish I knew more about golden age Hollywood cinema, but I don't.

As with everything else, I don't enjoy entire genres but particular films that have qualities beyond generic concerns.

Anyway, I love:
Red
Ran
Thin Red Line
Ghost in The Shell
Heat/Insider
Mulholland Drive
Last Temptation of Christ
Passion of Joan of Arc
Oscar & Lucinda

And Valley Girl is fabulous!

Harold and Maude - Night Of The Hunter - Dead Man - City of God - The Thin Red Line

I'm utterly addicted to the films of the Coen brothers, Richard Linklater, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and now (having finally seen Spirited Away last night) whatever-his-first-name-is Miyazaki. Plus that dude that did Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, and Amelie is quite the shit, but I can NEVER remember his name god damnit.

Some random films I love (I'm crap at lists): Harold and Maude, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Gregory's Girl, Funny Face, Happiness, Lovers of the Arctic Circle, Sixteen Candles, Brighton Rock, The Big Lebowski...

Great idea to have an ILF...I hope more ILX folks migrate here.

I love the movies, too, though I am less knowledgable about the technical & professional aspects of it. The only thing I'm really fanatical about is the greatness of Warren Oates. :)

I wonder if I'll ever get around to posting a favourite movies list. I'm just so bad at that list stuff. But I'm a little tipsy so it's tempting.

Commit yourself! Plus (I think) you're a moderator now, so you can always delete it if you change your mind. :)

my man godfrey
to be or not to be
sunrise
man with a movie camera
superman
starship troopers
the third man
mulholland drive
days of heaven
badlands
young frankenstein
ed wood
20th century
you were never lovelier
the apartment
the great escape
safety last
night of the hunter
magnificent ambersons
goodfellas
the pianist
chinatown
the blue angel
in the mood for love
the insider
obsession
the wind
entr'acte
in the mood for love
sunrise
black narcissus
i know where i'm going!
hell's hinges
only angels have wings
grey gardens
the long goodbye
grand illusion
rules of the game
band of outsiders
rififi
bob le flambeur
roma citta aperta
the garden of the finzi-continis
la strada
8 1/2
the servant

nice title, what is it?

I fought for you! and I still fight for you!

My friend and I once floated the idea of patenting a little device that would play various Al Pacino catchphrases at the push of a button.

She's So Lovely.

(Just been floating around in New Answers for a while: ILF is an excellent addition.)

Jerry the Nipper is the name that Cary Grant is referred to by in both 'The Awful Truth' (by Irene Dunne) and 'Bringing up Baby' (by Kath Hepburn) - which gives you some idea of my taste in films. The last film I saw was 'Nothing Sacred' (made in rather odd colour in 1937 from a Ben Hecht play, featuring the gorgeous Carole Lombard swanning around in a fireman's hat). This afternoon I'm going to check out this documentary about Thomas Pynchon at the ICA.

Well, I have excellent sphincter control, so there!

Favorite Movies in no particular order:
Amadeus
Some Like It Hot
Heathers
They Shoot Horses Don't They?
American Beauty

That's almost well over twice as many as I've seen in the same time frame. (I started counting January 1992, and I'm maybe around 650?)

My favourite movies would probably be:

Farewell My Concubine
Dr. Strangelove
Pi
Human Resources
Rashômon
Stalker
Lost Highway
The Grande Bouffe
Before Sunrise
My Neigbor Totoro

My favourite directors include: Jarmusch, Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Lynch, Mizoguchi, Almodovar, Gilliam, Polanski, the Coen brothers, Shinji Aoyama, Masahito Harada, Ang Lee, Neil LaBute and Hayao Miyazaki.

Read about the movies I like on http://www.jahsonic.com/Movies.html

Fave directors: Roger Corman, Brian De Palma, Jacques Tati, Cronenberg

Fave themes: Horror - Erotica - Science Fiction - Comedy - Drugs - Food - Cult

Interested in jaw dropping movies It's been too long since I've seen a jawdropping film

Yours
Jan

Eric Henderson. Live in Burnsville (read City Pages on a very regular basis, ps). Sometimes write DVD reviews at www.slantmagazine.com and have contributed essays on "Jeanne Dielman," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Cleo from 5 to 7" and "Day of the Dead," with at least six more essays in the works.

I almost went to "Hollywood Homocide" with one of my best friends just because of an odd moment in the trailer involving Harrison Ford overacting with a kid's bicycle.

Muhahahah! My plan worked perfectly!

(Huh. The law.)

faves:

chris marker - sans soleil
aoyama shinji - eureka
pj hogan - muriel's wedding
todd haynes - superstar
blake edwards - experiment in terror

ambition: would like to attend a film festival in the next year or two (probably toronto but maybe venice)

bruce brown - the endless summer

1. Independence Day.
2. The Wizard of Oz.
3. Harry Potter Series.
4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
5. The Last Unicorn ( A 1982 animated fantasy that is really cool).
6. The Secret of NIMH.
7. The Dark Crystal.
8. Labyrinth.
9. The Princess Bride.
10. Star Wars Saga.
11. The Matrix Trilogy.
12. Gone with the Wind.
13. Jury Duty ( Pauly Shore's best movie, in my opinion).
14. Con Air.
15. Titanic.
16. The Rock.
17. Total Recall.
18. The Fifth Element.
19. Armageddon.
20. Starship Troopers.
21. The Evil Dead Trilogy.
22. Dawn of the Dead.
23. Pulp Fiction.
24. Saving Private Ryan.
25. The Hobbit.
26. Return to Oz.
27. From Dusk Till Dawn.
28. Scanners.
29. One Hour Photo.
30. Spider-Man.
31. Batman.
32. X-Men.
34. Blade Runner.
35. Akira.
36. The Crow.
37. Ghost in the Shell.
38. The Terminator Trilogy.
39. Alien Quadrilogy.
40. Pirates of the Carribean.
41. The Flight of Dragons.
42. Son-in-Law.
43. Oliver and Company.
44. Mulan.
45. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
46. Men in Black.
47. Jurassic Park Trilogy.
48. Stargate.
49. The Shining.
50. 2001: A Space Odyssey.
51. Full Metal Jacket.
52. Ghostbusters.
53. Black Hawk Down.
54. Blade.
55. Blade II.
56. Toy Story.
57. Toy Story 2.
58. The Thing ( 1982).
59. Transformers: The Movie.
60. Lilo and Stitch.
61. The Sixth Sense.
62. Final Destination.
63. Final Destination 2.
64. Vampire Hunter D.
65. Princess Mononoke.
66. Spirited Away.
67. Spaceballs.
68. Die Hard Trilogy.
69. Lethal Weapon Saga.
70. Chicago.
71. Moulin Rouge.
72. Gettysburg.
73. In The Army Now.
74. The Sword in the Stone.
75. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
76. The Green Mile.
77. Beauty and The Beast.
78. Shrek.
79. Making Contact ( a really underrated but great German fantasy from Roland Emmerich).
80. Star Trek Saga.
81. Indiana Jones Trilogy.
82. Sleepy Hollow.
83. A Bug's Life.
84. Antz.
85. Monsters Inc.
86. Pearl Harbor.
87. Schindler's List.
88. X-Files Movie.
89. Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
90. Psycho.
91. Rock & Rule.
92. The Noah's Ark Principle ( Another great German Sci-fi flick).
93. Friday The 13th Series.
94. Nightmare on Elm Street Series.
95. Freddy Vs. Jason.
96. Scarface.
97. Back to the Future Trilogy.
98. G.I. Joe: The Movie.
99. Sling Blade.
100. Fist of the North Star.
101. Catch me if you Can.
102. Groundhog Day.
103. Kevin Smith Movies.
104. Finding Nemo.
105. Encino Man.
106. The Exorcist.
107. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
108. A Boy named Charlie Brown.

So there you have it, my top 108 favorite movies of all time.

Welcome John! Stick around! Start a thread about something that has piqued your interest lately! Toy Story 2 should be above Toy Story, though... ;)

*faints*

Yes, I am in Berkeley (home)/SF (work)

and gygax! and Leee are also from hereabouts. Takeover!

Potrero Hill is great! But confusing...