Friday, September 29, 2023

Desert Island Film 62

One of France's greatest ever action films.  Watch it and also watch Friedkin's loose remake Sorcerer.


Thursday, September 28, 2023

Desert Island Film 61

For the painterly naturalism of Roizman and the docu syle of Friedkin.  I most love the way Friedkin uses natural sounds and the only very little musical score.


Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Desert Island Film 60

For the way that David Gordon Green and Tim Orr captured nature, beauty, quiet, slowness


Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Desert Island Film 59

Lynch looks at Hollywood and leaves us both in awe and confounded, like we woke up from a daytime nap unsure of where we are or how we got there.



Saturday, September 23, 2023

Desert Island Film 58

One of cinema's great descents into noir


Friday, September 22, 2023

Desert Island Film 57

As a model of how to make a personal film lyrical, funny and palatable for larger audiences.



Thursday, September 21, 2023

Desert Island Film 56

 For starters, for the collaboration of Pakula, Willis and Shire.



Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Desert Island Film 55

If you put me in a corner and ask my my favorite use of a score in the history of film, this is what I'm telling ya.


Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Desert Island Film 54

France's most adventurous filmmaker gives France's most daring young actor a wonderfully expansive canvas to play on.



Monday, September 18, 2023

Desert Island Film 53

 Early Kubrick and one of the great early nonlinear works of film.



Sunday, September 17, 2023

Desert Island Film 52

 Simply, one of my very favorite heist films.



Saturday, September 16, 2023

Desert Island Film 51

When a great filmmaker goes back to a smaller canvas and his immense talent is still so evident.



Friday, September 15, 2023

Desert Island Film 50

Along with Welles and Ford, I consider Anthony Mann as one of our filmmakers with the keenest eye for how to frame a shot.



Thursday, September 14, 2023

Desert Island Film 49

The movie that for me best captures the feelings between a man and his dog.



Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Desert Island Film 48

A master class in the effect and power a "classic" approach to filmmaking (beautiful acting, immaculate set design, repetitive, symphonic score) can have when it's in the hands of a great director.



Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Desert Island Film 47

For the ways it breaks the fourth wall.  And the different paths it suggests where the medium can still explore the intersection of doc and narrative.



Monday, September 11, 2023

Desert Island Film 46

One of the quintessential noirs of the last 30 years.  DePalma is one of our cinema's greatest stylists.  Any doubt just watch the opening sequence.



Sunday, September 10, 2023

Desert Island Film 45

Like Holiday, it's the way the suspense element plays out (will they end up together?) that makes the romantic comedy complex and special.



Saturday, September 9, 2023

Desert Island Film 44

Want to understand how to use the film frame or the long take, Hou is as masterful as the medium has ever had.



Friday, September 8, 2023

Desert Island Film 43

Maybe the most accessible Becker film, the best entry point for exploring a director who made 10 or so films that I greatly admire.



Thursday, September 7, 2023

Desert Island Film 42

People say he was heavily influenced by 80s Godard.  I love the rhythm of his editing and the unique space that Hartley creates.



Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Desert Island Film 41

One of cinema's great immersive experiences.  One of these long films (219 minutes) where you risk entering the cinema as one person and exiting forever changed.



Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Desert Island Film 40

From a cinematography point of view, one of the top 5 most breathtaking films I've seen.



Sunday, September 3, 2023

Desert Island Film 39

 Minimal, spare noir at its finest.



Saturday, September 2, 2023

Desert Island Film 38

 Masterful in its exploration of age with Binoche and Stewart at the top of their game.



Friday, September 1, 2023

Desert Island Film 37

The Wild Bunch was my entry point into Peckinpah. This film, that I only rewatched in the last year, reminded me of Peckinpah's depth of feeling.