So, in my recent attempt to get myself out there among the incredible movie bloggers out there, I have come across some really interesting ideas for post series. This one, started up a few years ago by Ryan McNeil over at The Matinee, is my favorite so far.
Many of the newest, great blogs I'm reading regularly are in on this one. So, thank you also to the incredible blog Big Screen, Small Words, the wonderful Brittani Burnham at Rambling Film, and my Twice a Best Actress partner, Josh at The Cinematic Spectacle, for making this project really seem worth trying.
The basic idea is to make a list of 12 movies deemed great and that you have never seen, watch one per month, and then post about your thoughts. Not really a review but, my favorite thing, just a responsive musing on what it did for you.
My list is comprised of movies from the late Roger Ebert's essay series The Great Movies. That's a movie list I hope to, at least partially, tackle in my lifetime.
Here it is…Blind Spot 2015:
It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982)
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977)
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977)
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975)
I would love to hear your thoughts on these and any words of encouragement. Really looking forward to finally seeing all of these. There are some I can't believe I haven't seen.
See you at the end of January with my thoughts on Frank Capra's Christmas fantasy extraordinaire.
Oh 3 Women is superb. Amazing performance and very surreal atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteReally excited about it. It's one of the few 70s Altman I haven't seen. I have a little documented but major thing for Sissy Spacek.
DeleteOMG! 3 Women, The Best Years of Our Lives, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mean Streets, It's a Wonderful Life...all marvelous films!
ReplyDeleteYessir. I'm doing work next year. It's really sad that a Scorsese nut like me has never seen any of his stuff pre-Taxi Driver. And it's doubly sad that a nice American lad like me has never seen It's a Wonderful Life. This is going to be rewarding, I believe.
DeleteI've only seen 12 Angry Men from your list, and it was fantastic. I hope you enjoy it and your other choices as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to doing this. Can't wait to see 12 Angry Men. I've wanted to watch it for years. Thanks for coming by.
DeleteGreat list! Hope you make it by the end of 2015!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. Can't wait to get this going! I appreciate you stopping by.
DeleteWelcome to the dark side! You are in for one HELL of a year
ReplyDeleteGreat to be here, man!
DeleteOh wow, you've got a few treats on hand. It's A Wonderful Life is a classic for a reason. Jimmy Stewart's great and the basic message (that one man can make a huge difference in the lives of those around him) is still relevant today. However, it may take a while before you understand why it's considered a "Christmas Classic", since the parts that you always see stills from only happen right at the end.
ReplyDeleteLawrence of Arabia is a great film, though you'll want to make sure you have a lot of time on your hands before you watch it (it's almost four hours long). 12 Angry Men is also appropriately tense and keeps you interested throughout despite having a premise that should be extremely boring. Bonnie and Clyde is a great film but you might want to be prepared to see a lot of violence. There were a bunch of films in the 60's that affected the way violence was shown on film, and that was one of the most famous.
However, I'd strongly suggest you stay away from Playtime. That movie was incredibly excruciating and lacked any kind of actual plot. Instead it was a bunch of disjointed scenes that all go on far longer than they needed to without so much as a single moment of anything that was actually funny.
I actually just put together my 2015 list last month, mostly made up of films I own that I've put off watching (plus a personal recommendation from my professor and two films that everybody always seems to be talking about, even though the first rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club). Perhaps you'd like to look at it and tell me what you think of my choices:
http://hitchcocksworld.blogspot.ca/2014/11/2015-blindspot-challenge-final-list.html
If you're looking to open yourself up to more bloggers, you could try joining in on some blogathons. The basic concept is simple enough: one blogger comes up with an idea and invites others to write submissions based off of it. In most cases they're based on having users submit film reviews based on a common theme, which can include genre, time period, a specific year, a specific element, or a combination thereof. Really, though, they come in all shapes and sizes (my first blogathon was simply encouraging people to list their favorite scenes from movies). In any case, they're a lot of fun and a great way to meet other bloggers. I've got something of a reputation now for running a lot of them, and I've got three going on at the moment:
http://hitchcocksworld.blogspot.ca/2014/10/voyage-to-stars-blogathon.html
http://hitchcocksworld.blogspot.ca/2014/12/the-gay-on-film-blogathon.html
http://hitchcocksworld.blogspot.ca/2014/11/women-in-film-blogathon-part-ii.html
I also know a couple of classic film bloggers hosting a blogathon dedicated to challenging popular opinions about classic movies. You might enjoy that as well:
http://sistercelluloid.com/2014/12/04/please-join-us-for-the-contrary-to-popular-opinion-blogathon/
Wow! Thanks for all the great recommendations. I'll certainly look into all this. I follow these Criterion Collection enthusiasts on Instagram, so I've been getting Jacques Tati jammed into my brain for the past couple months as the Tati BluRay set just came out. Thought, well, I'll give this one a try. I'll check out your list, for sure. Very much looking forward to the coming year. Thanks so much for stopping by with so much great info.
Delete12 Angry Men and Picnic at Hanging Rock are the only ones I've seen so I am looking forward to finding if you like them...especially Picnic at Hanging Rock since its the lesser known one of the two.
ReplyDeleteWandering through the Shelves
I am super excited about both of those. I've wanted to get into Peter Weir's earlier stuff for years. Looking forward to getting into this.
DeleteI, of course, have not seen any of these.
ReplyDeleteIt's ok. You will now.
DeleteI've seen exactly half of your 12 and highly recommend four of them. I'll try to save my actual thoughts on each for when you post about them. You should be in for a fun year of watching.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing what you have to say on those you've seen.
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