ICF’s Greatest Film (2024) -> Goldfinger (1964)

[zen]

32 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Thanks guys, shall check out some of these movies in coming days. 

 

Please keep this thread alive with more recommendations @zen

Based on your picks, it appears as if you like crime-mystery films. In that case, check out The Secret in Their Eyes (2009). It is one of the best films: 

 

 

 

Hollywood did a crappy job of remaking this in 2015. 

 

[maniac]

On 7/20/2024 at 10:30 AM, zen said:

 

 

movie debatable but for another day but this specific theme song definetely ATG soundtrack material

[zen]

6 hours ago, maniac said:

movie debatable but for another day but this specific theme song definetely ATG soundtrack material

All the three Shirley Bassey’s Bond songs are pretty cool. Then there are songs like You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, Nobody Does it Better, etc.

 

Below the haunting You Only Live Twice: 

 

 

[Chakdephatte]

ICF's greatest film. 

 

Chosen unanimously by none but one ICFer 

[zen]

In my classification of Greatest, Best, & Favorite, there are nuances as highlighted below:

 

Favorite: This is more about how a film connects with you including its repeat value. The quality can take the back seat as a favorite can also include a guilty pleasure. There is more subjectivity in play here. 

 

Best: Here the focus is quality. How the film is made - story/screenplay, acting, cinematography, production design, score, editing, direction, etc. It can also include factors such as poeticness, ability to drive emotions, etc. Best does not necessarily have to be a favorite film. This brings in a certain degree of objectivity relatively speaking as for e.g. one can rate a Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957, Nasir Husain) as a favorite, while rating a Pathar Panchali (1955, Satyajit Ray) or Mughal-e-Azam (1960, K Asif) as the best.  

 

Greatest: This combines the elements of both the favorite (repeat value for e.g.) and best, while adding factors such its status as iconic; its impact on movies, culture, etc.; cult status; timelessness; awards or critical acclaim; etc., creating connections in multiple dimensions. 

 

 

As for general recommendation (@Gollum), below is my current list of both best and favorite films (1 film per director/series and films that are at least 10 years old):

 

 

Best (PS a streamlined list of 5 films in the order of release)

 

Black Narcissus (1947): A beautifully shot psychological drama directed by Powell-Pressburger.  It deals with the challenges a group of nuns face in a remote location in the Himalayas. 

 

Late Spring (1949): A film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. His films dwell in the transcendental style, brimming with zen like quality. Ozu’s films also tend to sport low angle photography which tries to capture the PoV from the traditional Japanese sitting position (Seiza). I could also go with Tokyo Story (1953). Both are part of the Noriko trilogy. 

 

Vertigo (1958): Hitchcock’s classic film noir. A story of deceit, passion, and obsession. An example of filmmaking at its best. 

 

Le Mépris (1963): A thought provoking multi-layered French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The subject, screenplay, cinematography, locations, etc., are mind blowing. 

 

In the Mood for Love (2000): Directed by Wong Kar-wai. This story is by and large set in 1960s Hong Kong.  Almost everything about this film hits the mark. 

 

 

Bollywood

 

Teesri Manzil (1966): A nearly perfect Bollywood film treasured by those who love the Bollywood style of filmmaking. The songs are integrated into the storyline in such a fashion that they do not appear “inserted”. Cinematography is worth mentioning for its use of frames with frames. The smart editing makes almost nothing feel out its place in a film with a run time of around 3 hours. This timeless film is as Hitchcockian as a Bollywood film can be. 

 

 

Favorites (a tentative list of 10-12 films in no particular order while excluding films listed above):

 

Action/Adventure:

King Solomon’s Mines (1950)

The Guns of Navarone (1961) 

 

Crime/Thriller:

Purple Noon (1960)

Mississippi Mermaid (1969)

 

Drama:

La Verite (1960) 

Three Colors trilogy (1993-1994)

 

Comedy:

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

 

Film Noir / Neo Noir:

Branded to Kill (1967)

Le Samourai (1967)

 

Bollywood:

Kala Bazar (1960)

Junglee (1961)

 

 

PS

 

 

Edited August 31, 2024 by zen

[BacktoCricaddict]

23 minutes ago, zen said:

In my classification of Greatest, Best, & Favorite, there are nuances as highlighted below:

 

Favorite: This is more about how a film connects with you including its repeat value. The quality can take the back seat as a favorite can also include a guilty pleasure. There is more subjectivity in play here. 

 

Best: Here the focus is quality. How the film is made - story/screenplay, acting, cinematography, production design, score, editing, direction, etc. It can also include factors such as poeticness, ability to drive emotions, etc. Best does not necessarily have to be a favorite film. This brings in a certain degree of objectivity relatively speaking as for e.g. one can rate a Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957, Nasir Husain) as a favorite, while rating a Pathak Panchali (1955, Satyajit Ray) or Mughal-e-Azam (1960, K Asif) as the best.  

 

Greatest: This combines the elements of both the favorite (repeat value for e.g.) and best, while adding factors such as being iconic; its impact on movies, culture, etc.; cult status; timelessness; etc., creating connections in multiple dimensions. 

 

 

As for general recommendation (@Gollum), below is my current list of both best and favorite films (1 film per director/series and films that are at least 10 years old):

 

 

Best (Say 10 films)

 

Having watched and analyzed tons of films over the last few years, two films stand out: 

 

The top 2: Vertigo (1958) and In the Mood for Love (2000). They are like almost perfect examples of filmmaking esp. when you add emotions to the mix. Either can be #1. On the Sight & Sounds Critics Poll 2022, one was ranked #1 and the other at #5. 

 

After the top 2, the field opens up. 

 

#3: There are many films that can come in at #3 but I am going with a film directed by Yasujiro Ozu, whose films dwell in the transcendental style, brimming with zen like quality. Ozu’s films also tend to sport low angle photography which tries to capture the PoV from the traditional Japanese sitting position (Seiza). I could either go with Late Spring (1949) or Tokyo Story (1953). Both are part of the Noriko trilogy. On the S&S poll, Late Spring came in at #21, while Tokyo Story was at #4, just above In the Mood for Love to be Asia’s highest ranked film. 

 

After the top 3, the field opens up even more.

 

Pick any 7 from films such as Sherlock Jr. (1924), Man with a Movie Camera (1929), City Lights (1931), Singin’ In the Rain (1951), Seven Samurai (1954), Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Persona (1966), Teesri Manzil (1966; I find Teesri Manzil as an almost perfect Bollywood film. An important entry for those who value the Bollywood style of filmmaking), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Conformist (1970), The Godfather (1972), Do the Right Thing (1989), The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), A Separation (2011), etc.

 

 

Favorites (a tentative list in no particular order while excluding films listed above)

 

A Deborah Kerr film: Black Narcissus (1947) or King Solomon’s Mines (1950) or Quo Vadis (1951) or The Innocents (1961)

 

A Catherine Deneuve film: Let’s go with Mississippi Mermaid (1969). 

 

A Grace Kelly film: One from Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) and To Catch a Thief (1955).

 

A Shammi Kapoor film: Junglee (1961) or Professor (1962)

 

A Dev Anand film: Maybe Kala Bazar (1960). Waheeda Rehman does a good job in it too.

 

An Audrey Hepburn film: Roman Holiday (1953) or Sabrina (1954) or Charade (1963) or How to Steal a Million (1966)

 

An action-adventure film: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

 

A Film Noir: Leave Her to Heaven (1945) or Stray Dog (1949)

 

A Pink Panther film: A Shot in the Dark (1964)

 

A crazy film: Branded to Kill (1967)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(b) is very difficult for me to judge. Overall, I can say why I felt a film was well-made but I cannot articulate exactly what the reason is - in terms of screenplay, cinematography etc etc. 

 

For me, it's almost always all about (a). And the reason something might connect is because if (b), but I would not be able to explain it like that.

 

So, help me out, zen. Agneepath (original) is one of my favorites. Where, in your mind, does it stand on (b)?

 

 

 

[zen]

On 7/24/2024 at 4:27 PM, BacktoCricaddict said:

 

(b) is very difficult for me to judge. Overall, I can say why I felt a film was well-made but I cannot articulate exactly what the reason is - in terms of screenplay, cinematography etc etc. 

 

For me, it's almost always all about (a). And the reason something might connect is because if (b), but I would not be able to explain it like that.

 

So, help me out, zen. Agneepath (original) is one of my favorites. Where, in your mind, does it stand on (b)?

 

 

Agneepath (1990) “was” among my favorite Big B films too. It is not a typical masala film, falling more in the gangster/crime genre. It is known for Big B’s “Vijay Dinanath Chauhan”. 

 

From a big picture PoV:

 

* I would probably not slot it among top 5 Bollywood films (Maybe among best Big B films), It is Scarfacesque (tons of Hollywood influence). I want my Bollywood film to be like Bollywood. For Hollywood films there is Hollywood. 

 

* Among gangsters/crime films on a global list, it would compete with films like The Godfather, Scarface (as mentioned where Al Pacino shines too),  Goodfellas, Reservior Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Casino, The Usual Suspects, Heat, etc. 

 

 

When evaluating Bollywood films for quality, I also look for a relative consistency in tone. Take Sholay for e.g., it is among my favorite masala films. But I find its tone inconsistent esp. in 2024. For e.g. the sequences involving the jail (Asrani), Surma Bhopali, etc., can feel like they have been wedged in (even though they have some memorable characters). If I were to do a Zen’s cut, I would edit most or all of those out, and from when Thakur talks about Jai & Veeru, probably move straight to when Jai & Veeru are coming out of the jail. Maybe even look to streamline Hangal’s parts, parts where Dharmendra talks about having kids and stuff, etc. 

 

Another example is Arzoo (1965). It is a serious romantic drama film whose tone can be negatively impacted by some unnecessary Mehmood’s comedy thrown in (a change in tone). I understand that Mehmood was popular in that time and his presence would drive audiences to the cinemas.

 

One of the reasons, I rate Teesri Manzil (1966) high now is that it feels like an almost perfect “Bollywood” film. The tone is relatively consistent. The songs feel as if they have not been inserted (The lead, “Rocky”, has his band). The editing is smart, where it does not feel it has unwarranted parts despite its 3 hours run time. The cinematography, soundtrack, acting (for the genre), and production design are top notch. Almost everything in it fits in place, showing that perfection, relatively speaking, can be achieved in Bollywood style of filmmaking too.

 

PS 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2024 by zen

[coffee_rules]

3 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

 

(b) is very difficult for me to judge. Overall, I can say why I felt a film was well-made but I cannot articulate exactly what the reason is - in terms of screenplay, cinematography etc etc. 

 

For me, it's almost always all about (a). And the reason something might connect is because if (b), but I would not be able to explain it like that.

 

So, help me out, zen. Agneepath (original) is one of my favorites. Where, in your mind, does it stand on (b)?

 

 

 

 

IOW (a) -> guilty pleasure , makes you feel good. (b) -> some critics, IMDb/Rotten Tamatar ratings favorite, that makes them feel good discussing it seriously in cocktail parties.  

[zen]

^ A nice video on Goldfinger and its status as a movie icon!

 

PS This video made me feel like reading many of my own writings on Bond films (some quite old). Has he followed my writings?

Edited July 26, 2024 by zen

[zen]

 

^

[zen]

Le Mepris / Contempt (1963)

 

I talked about this on one of my movies thread but it also deserves a mention here. 

 

In the past, on a few occasions, I tried to watch this film but could not complete it. Maybe I remembered something else or I was like I will watch this later, let me watch that now.

 

Recently, this was restored and released in 4K so I added it to my collection. In a way, it worked well as I got to see it in its latest transfer and my current taste aligned with it.

 

I was blown away by the subject, locations, cinematography, score, etc. I can’t still get it out of my mind.

 

This is a shining example of the French New Wave!

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2024 by zen

[zen]

PS
 

Camille theme from Contempt:

 

 

Edited August 15, 2024 by zen

[zen]

Below is a nice write up on Contempt: 

 

Contempt: The Story of a Marriage

 

 

[zen]

A timeless classic Sherlock Jr (1924):

 

^ full movie (around 45 minutes)

[zen]

Btw, talking about “favorites” list, I have watched quite a few French films that I can do one exclusively with French films, and I would be happy with such a list. I can easily pick 10 or so from below which are in the order of release:

 

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Grand Illusion (1937)

Pepe le Moko (1937)

Rules of the Game (1939)

Le Corbeau (1943)

Panique (1946)

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953)

Wages of Fear (1953)

Diabolique (1955)

And God Created Woman (1956)

A Man Escaped (1956)

Elevator to the Gallows (1958)

Mon Oncle (1958)

Pickpocket (1959)

Breathless (1960)

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

La Verite (1960)

Purple Noon (1960)

Last Year at Marienbad (1961)

Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)

La Jette (1962)

Vivre sa vie (1962)

Judex (1963)

Le Mepris (1963)

Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

Pierrot le Fou (1965)

Au hazard Balthazar (1966)

Battle of Algiers (1966)

Le Samourai (1967)

Playtime (1967)

Mississipi Mermaid (1969)

Z (1969)

Day for Night (1973)

The Three Colors Trilogy (1990s)

Amelie (2001)

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

The Artist (2011)

The Intouchables (2011)

 

and many more … … … 

Edited August 30, 2024 by zen