Fat City (1972) - directed by John Huston |
When I was a teenager, the greatest film I’d
seen to that point was “MARATHON MAN”, the thrilling 1976 John Schlesinger
adaptation of William Goldman’s novel about a man’s chance (or is it?) run-in with an ex-Nazi murderer,
hiding in plain sight in New York City. I could still watch that one any time,
any place. Then I saw “CHINATOWN”, and for many years that was my favorite. At various times that was replaced in the
subsequent two-plus decades with “Apocalypse Now”, “A Woman Under The Influence” and, now, “3 WOMEN”. (Note a bit of a 1970s bias here? Guilty as
charged).
I’ve seen Robert Altman’s 1977 “3 WOMEN” four
times now and I never finish it short of amazed, invigorated and even a little
baffled. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why it doesn’t get more play
from both Altman lovers and film lovers in general, except for the fact that
until recently, it was extremely hard to see (It’s now available in a fully-restored print by Criterion). It is a surreal combination of dreamy mood,
avant-garde music, comedy, tragedy, setting (the California desert), story (an
homage to “PERSONA”, my fourth-favorite film), feminist statement and two
career-defining acting performances by Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duvall. A
masterpiece in every sense of the word, and I guess I’ll call it the greatest
film ever for now.
1. 3
WOMEN (1977 – Robert Altman)
2. APOCALYPSE
NOW (1979
– Francis Ford Coppola)
3. CASABLANCA
(1942
– Michael Curtiz)
4. PERSONA
(1966 – Ingmar Bergman)
5. THE
DECALOGUE (1989
- Krzysztof Kieslowski)
6. SCENES
FROM A MARRIAGE (1973
– Ingmar Bergman)
7. A
WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974
– John Cassavetes)
8. MEMENTO
(2000
– Christopher Nolan)
9. NASHVILLE
(1975 – Robert Altman)
10. CHINATOWN (1974 –
Roman Polanski)
11. THE
CELEBRATION (1998 – Thomas Vinterberg)
12. TAXI DRIVER
(1976 – Martin Scorsese)
13. MARATHON
MAN (1976 – John Schlesinger)
14. RESERVOIR
DOGS (1992 – Quentin Tarantino)
15. BEYOND THE VALLEY
OF THE DOLLS (1970 – Russ Meyer)
16. THERE
WILL BE BLOOD (2007 – Paul Thomas Anderson)
17. FAT
CITY (1972 – John Huston)
18. BREAKING
THE WAVES (1996 – Lars Von Trier)
19. McCABE
& MRS. MILLER (1971 –
Robert Altman)
20. FACES (1968 –
John Cassavetes)
21. CITIZEN
KANE (1941
– Orson Wells)
22. CAPTURING
THE FRIEDMANS (2003
– Andrew Jarecki)
23. DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975 –
Sidney Lumet)
24. DAS
BOOT (1981 – Wolfgang Peterson)
25. UNITED 93 (2006 – Paul Greengrass)
25. UNITED 93 (2006 – Paul Greengrass)
26. CONTEMPT
(1963
– Jean-Luc Godard)
27. THE
EXORCIST (1973 – William Friedkin)
28. BREAKER
MORANT (1980
– Bruce Beresford)
29. THE
LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971
– Peter Bogdonovich)
30. NAKED
(1993
– Mike Leigh)
31. GIMME
SHELTER (1970 – Albert & David Maysles)
32. BLOW-UP
(1966 – Michaelangelo Antonioni)
33. BLOODY
SUNDAY (2002 – Paul Greengrass)
34. PARIS, TEXAS (1984 – Wim Wenders)
34. PARIS, TEXAS (1984 – Wim Wenders)
35. THE PANIC IN NEEDLE
PARK (1971 – Jerry Schatzberg)
36. CRIES
AND WHISPERS (1972 – Ingmar Bergman)
37. DUEL
(1971 – Steven Spielberg)
38. VERTIGO
(1958 – Alfred Hitchcock)
39. THE
KING OF COMEDY (1983 – Martin Scorsese)
40. MEAN
STREETS (1973 – Martin Scorsese)
41. CHILDREN
OF MEN (2006 – Alfonso Cuaron)
42. THE
BIRDS (1963 – Alfred Hitchcock)
43. KLUTE
(1971 – Alan J. Pakula)
44. THE
BATTLE OF ALGIERS
(1966 – Gillo Pontecorvo)
45. BLACK
SWAN (2010 – Darren Aronovsky)
46. THE
DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION (1981 –
Penelope Spheeris)
47. CARNAL
KNOWLEDGE (1971 – Mike Nichols)
48. THE
GREAT SANTINI (1979 – Lewis John Carlino)
49. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997 – Curtis Hanson)
50. PAYDAY
(1973 – Daryl Duke)
51. THE CONVERSATION
(1974 – Francis Ford Coppola)
52. OPENING NIGHT (1977 –
John Cassavetes)
53. INGLOURIOUS
BASTERDS (2009 – Quentin Tarantino)
54. THE SWEET HEREAFTER (1997 –
Atom Egoyan)
55. MIDNIGHT COWBOY
(1969 – John Schlesinger)
56. THE GODFATHER
(1972 – Francis Ford Coppola)
57. NORTH
BY NORTHWEST (1959 – Alfred Hitchcock)
58. THE
SEVENTH SEAL (1957 – Ingmar Bergman)
59. ONE
FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
(1975 – Milos Forman)
60. AFTER
HOURS (1985 – Martin Scorsese)
61. LOVE
STREAMS (1984 – John Cassavetes)
62. BONNIE
AND CLYDE (1967 – Arthur Penn)
63. NO
COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
(2007 – Joel & Ethan Coen)
64. CITY OF HOPE (1991 –
John Sayles)
65. GHOST
WORLD (2001 – Terry Zwigoff)
66. ANNIE HALL
(1977 – Woody Allen)
67. BADLANDS
(1973 – Terence Malick)
68. REQUIEM
FOR A DREAM (2000 – Darren Aronofsky)
69. NOBODY
KNOWS (2004 – Hirokazu Koreeda)
70. REPULSION (1965 –
Roman Polanski)
71. FARGO (1996 –
Joel & Ethan Coen)
72. Y
TU MAMA TAMBIEN
(2001 – Alfonso Cuaron)
73. PICNIC
AT HANGING ROCK
(1975 – Peter Weir)
74. EATING
RAOUL (1982 – Paul Bartel)
75. HUSBANDS
(1970 – John Cassavetes)