I was walking at high altitudes in New Mexico yesterday with three friends, and the conversation turned to where it inevitably goes when people know that part of what I do for a living is to watch movies.
‘So, what’s the best film ever made?’
It’s an impossible question, of course – I’m not sure that ‘best’ is even the most appealing category within which to talk about films. I mean, the cinematography in ‘The Third Man’ may outshine that in ‘Fanny and Alexander’, but Bergman’s film has more to say about relationships; ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ doesn’t exactly strive to be ‘great cinema’, but the scene at the train station is both a profoundly moving moment between a father and daughter, and is so well photographed it looks like the camera had a mist-vacuum attached to the lens. And so on.
I don’t like answering the ‘best’ question because naming one shuts out all the others; and so few films seem to me to be without reason for complaint – I have a lot of time for ‘Wings of Desire’, but the philosophical conversation at the bar between Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin isn’t sure whether it’s deep and mystical or meant to make people laugh; ‘Chinatown’ feels nearly perfect, but its world – one without kindness – seems to reflect more the tragic cynicism of some of the people who made it than the truth about being human; ‘Magnolia’, the most recent film that I’ve been trying to convince myself is my favourite, while offering something almost unique in its type (people looking up from the lives that have become miserable because they have been taught to expect things most people never have), already feels a little shaggy, although perhaps that’s because it has had so many imitators.
So I’m left with the hypothesis that perhaps there is no such thing as the ‘best’ film ever made. There are only films that grant something special, perhaps unnameable, to their audience. The films that have given me this that happen to come to mind as I write this post? Listed below, at the risk of being mocked, although I am merely following my co-host’s commitment to truth in criticism:
‘Being There’
Disney’s ‘Grand Canyon’
Abel Ferrara’s ‘The Funeral’
Peter Weir’s ‘Fearless’
‘Fanny and Alexander’
‘The Third Man’
‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’
‘The Muppet Movie’
‘The Black Hole’
‘After Life’
‘Wall-E’
‘L’appartement’
And the last five minutes of Rosselini’s ‘The Little Flowers of St Francis’.
Ask me tomorrow and the list will be entirely different. For today, however, here’s the question: Is there a best film ever made? What would have to be the criteria upon which such a selection were made? Which films come closest to meeting them?
I must have had an inate sense of good films when I was much younger because I absolutely loved Citizen Kane as a kid. Somewhere in college I learned it is actually considered one of the greatest. I'm not sure why… maybe it's because it's the story of a misunderstood man determined and driven to be successful despite the prevailing winds, extremely private despite focusing the great lens on other people's lives, and seemingly driven by memories of the mundane. An excellent movie for those building their own xanadua as a monumental “fuck you” to inconspicuous consumption and common sense.
Leolo, that's another one (foreign film) that stirs some deep part of me to have watched it about 20 times in my early 20s. That and Orlando, an awesome story whose main character spans centuries…
The American Film Institute has no problem telling you which film is the greatest.
I think I agree with you in that it is impossible to quantify. I'm not sure I could even put together a top 5 without changing the list 20 times.
Though, perhaps if you were on peyote while high in the NM hills, you might have been able to come up with the greatest film ever….
It is an annoying question, but one that crops up in all areas — sooner or later, we simply must name The Best Novel or The Best Philosopher or The Best Poet or The Best Quarterback or The Best Album of the Rock Era, or face the terrible prospect that … um, I don't know. The urgency of the question never seems to add up to anything. We seem to be breeding in large numbers without any going consensus on these questions or the thousand variations of them.
So with that said, the best film ever made is, without question, L'Avventura. No, make that La Dolce Vita. No, it's definitely Winter Light. No, on fourth thought, surely every reasonable person agrees it is The Proposition. Magnolia? Branagh's Hamlet (how could any mere film ever hope to top a complete, professional production of Hamlet????) Groundhog Day? Citizen Kane? The Godfather? The Godfather II? Casablanca? Dr. Strangelove?
It's a hopeless question. The above are some — some — of the films I think of when I face a question like this. I'm perfectly willing to add to this list, but taking anything off would be about as welcome as sawing off a finger.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang -for reasons given earlier. ..OK, for *these* reasons http://www.stanleyrumm.com/?p=8 (just in case anyone is interested)
The criteria being lots to think about as you watch it over & over _and_ be entertained at the same time.
A close 2nd would be anything by Stanley Kubrick, but if I had to pick one it'd probably be Barry Lyndon.
Happiness by Todd Solondz would be in the running too. I think it's too long, but I'd never want to cut anything out of it.
To Kill A Mockingbird
Jesus
Walt Whitman
Joe Montana
Van Halen I
My nomination may vary. The more classics I watch (on first viewing), the more it changes. One day, it's The Wicker Man (the original of course), the next it may be The Elephant Man. Citizen Kane would be an answer to fall back on. My initial reaction to The Nightmare Before Christmas was that it was the Best Animated Film I had ever seen. I've seen The Exorcist (Kermode's obessessive fav.) twice now and I've seen more how it's pretty special.
But years ago when I was young and uncritical, my favourite would've been Muppet Treasure Island, Star Wars (generic), then The Phantom Menace. Then I saw Return of the King and thought “George Lucas, eat yer heart out!”
hmmm….could help but notice that the phrasing 'the best film ever made' is repeated every week by yours truly during the TFT title sequence…i wonder if there's some sort of 'Derren Brown' NLP thing going on here! ;)
This is a great list G, and I am especially intrigued to hear more about your thoughts on Magnolia – a contemporary classic for sure. On my own blog I tried to address “best of” notions years ago: songs, books, movies. I came to similar conclusions: you can't name the “best”, but you can name the ones that have meant the most to you.
Ultimately, I surprised myself to realize that my favorite film of all time was “It's a Wonderful Life”.
I haven't changed my mind about that one yet. :)
'Magnolia' might be a pic that Gareth and I do as a retrospective 'cast -we've never really discussed the film on the show.
The Sound and the Fury
Jesus
Bob Dylan
Dan Marino
The Velvet Underground & Nico
i won't say 'Best' but definitely ONE of the best films ever made was Fritz Lang's 'M'….you watch it and think, 'this was not made in 1931, there's no way!” It's sooo ahead of it's time in themes and in lighting and in camera angles – really, it, for me, comes extremely close to perfection…
I'll second Kiley's comment on M, although I would transfer them to 1927's Metropolis. The visual effects surpass a great deal of what we see today with gigantic budgets, and it's an interesting spectacle (not just a cool-looking one).
I do want to see M.
'M' is fabulous – though am partial to 'The Testament of Dr. Mabuse', (which is a semi-sequel sorta as it features the same detective); re: Kiley's comment about being ahead of its time, 'Testament' feels like it was made in 2020!
fixin' to settle in and give it a watch! :D
I try extremely hard not to ponder this question too often; I agree that it is an impossibility, without subjecting the films I love to some rigorous philosophical theory. Perhaps I could turn to the “quality” argument in 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', but I do not want brain-freeze when watching a film – the ice cream does a great job at that!
When I was in university, a friend and I would discuss the concept of a 'pure' film; neither of us could qualify this objectively, but we instantly agreed on the film which met our idea of 'purity', without question,Terence Malik's Badlands. This is by no means my favourite film, but there is a sterility in Malik's films which transcends subjectivity.
Raising this question, you have me typing complete crap; I apologise! Let's move on…
I agree with a number of your selections and, even if I didn't, I would never criticise unless I was playing devil's advocate – sadly a part I play a great deal these days.
Placing my hand on my heart, and attempting to end this tautological nightmare as speedily as possible, the films of Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell (the Archers) are my first and will be my last loves – they are my panacea for every ill that life throws at me. I will not patronise you or your astute followers by entering into a discussion about their long list of films; there are many reasons why I love 'A Matter of Life and Death', 'A Canterbury Tale', 'I Know Where I'm Going', 'The Red Shoes', 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' and that should suffice…
'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' – saw it not to long ago and realised this it what have been like to see 'Citizen Kane' for the first time.
Without a doubt…Great films blow you away when you first watch them, on whatever format, and continue to warm your heart and mind with each and every subsequent viewing.
I agree with you there. The Red Shoes especially is one of my favourites. It makes me even contemplate maybe possibly someday going to a ballet. Possibly. Maybe.
And it features the great Robert Helpman, who played The Childcatcher in a movie I may have mentioned before. You can easily spot his ballet moves in that role too.
But besides the beauty of The Red Shoes and the before-its-time daring style, its a great look at “Art” itself and how it is created and performed and the work that goes into a collaborative artistic presentation.
One time a few years back I found myself watching King of Comedy directly after The Red Shoes and now I can't watch one without the other. KoC is like a view of the artworld from the outside-looking-in. Red Shoes is totally inside.
There aren't too many outward similarities, but it was only later that I discovered Scorsese's love of The Red Shoes. I wonder if he consciously viewed KoC as a kind of antithesis/ complementary piece to The Red Shoes. (?)
That “fencing scene” in Colonel Blimp is magical. And they don't even show it !
I'll have to get Canterbury Tale now because I don't think I've seen it before. Looking forward to it. :)
Beautiful comments! You will probably find that there are great similiarities between Scorcese films and Powell/Pressburger as Scorcese's editor of choice is Thelma Schoonmaker who was married to Michael Powell.
A Canterbury Tale is simply exquisite, if something exquisite can be simple. Classic voiceover at the start – a reading from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales leads into the WW2 setting of the film; The beautiful shot of the diving falcon becoming a spitfire… I could go on, but I will let you enjoy it on your own terms.
Thanks for reminding me about 'A Canterbury Tale' – just added to my queue!
am glad that we're making a difference! now if I can just get more people to watch Andrey Rublyov!
Divine Comedy
Gautama Buddha
Ezra Pound
John Elway
AC/DC Back in Black
Andrey Rublyov is probably the most amazing film I have ever seen, but I will NEVER watch it again. It's burned into my brain forever. Curse you, Jett!
twilight
'twihard4ever' is now my favourite user name = either that or the new Bruce Willis movie.
'twihard4ever' is now my favourite user name = either that or the new Bruce Willis movie.