It's not necessary to discredit a film in advance simply because it keeps one from finishing a list on iCM. By most accounts, this is one of the most important films to ever come out of Pakistan, and as film lovers, we should be appreciative of the fact that its mention on these lists has given it exposure that it otherwise would lack.
Poetry is not a melodrama. It is not about the underdog coming out victorious. As Mija writes her poem, there is a solemn tone of acceptance that the world will go on—but we know this acceptance has a price, and what's important is that we fight with her so that only she, independently, gets to judge its true value. •••
During this ride, which can effectively be described as a classic noir tale with a penchant for real violence, there is nary a hole that can be poked. Every second is necessary, every shot elegant, every piece of music supports the action on the screen. Every question normally asked of a film, this one answers either with some level of extrapolation or faith in its characters. Gosling, credited simply as "Driver," is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's The Man with No Name. We gradually discover over time that he's exactly the kind of person missing in 99% of Hollywood cinema: One that doesn't cop out. That, in itself, is a tremendous victory. •••
There are no other ways to describe this than with the kind of love and admiration one has for the medium itself, and how glad I am to have finally witnessed the kind of work that makes watching cinema a necessary part of life. •••
Tekkon Kinkreet paints a portrait of adolescence with the right pigments and shades, with beauty and sorrow, loneliness and anger all packed into tight spaces that refuse to go away once the credits roll. •••
While it may be a ridiculous musical with an abrasive color palette, misplaced violence and oodles of sexual innuendo, it also ends up falling just short of being a masterpiece of human resilience. •••
Much to Churchill's annoyance, Powell & Pressburger question the gentleman's rules of warfare underneath the veil of a romantic epic. Wonderful, epic and subtly heartbreaking. •••
mi-16evil, don't forget that the IMDb 250 only counts votes from "regular voters," hence it's 8.5 rating is actually much lower than the arithmetic mean of 9.2 and will often neglect votes from those who sign up simply to spam. Has there been some level of voter manipulation? Possibly, but I'd argue that it's also possible that many have actually loved the film that much. At least the reviews coming out of Venice and Telluride suggest so.
A Separation just played at the Telluride Film Festival, and Jeffrey Wells from Hollywood Elsewhere had this to say about it:
Jeffrey Wells wrote:
Asghar Farhadi's A Separation, a forthcoming Sony Classics release which won the Golden Bear at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival, is far and away the finest film I've seen at the 2011 Telluride Film Festival...and I didn't even see the first 40 minutes' worth. But soon after I slipped into the Chuck Jones theatre early yesterday afternoon I knew I was in the presence of something genuine, compassionate, complex and unflinching. This Iranian film is affecting and profound in a way that transcends nationality and culture and any other obstacle you can think of.
Indeed, the anticipation is building with every beaming review.
Well said, ThyCaptain. Many consider Iranian cinema to be of the highest regard. Iranian films have won awards at almost every major film festival (including the top prize for A Separation at Berlin this year). In addition, Abbas Kiarostami is consistently ranked as one of the best contemporary directors by a multitude of critics and cinephiles.
I gather some people often have an initial reaction of "low quality" when thinking about "a film from Iran" (or Turkey, for that matter), but these are not poor countries. Iran has the 26th largest economy in the world (and Turkey is 17th). Undermining the quality of the cinema from these countries only adds to the level of ignorance that the West (especially America, since we're so used to the being overexposed to Hollywood) embodies.
For those confused by why certain well-respected films are so "low" on this list, please keep in mind #1-#25 consists of the 1908-1957 list, and #26-#100 is the 1958-2000 list. In other words, Andrei Rublev is actually the #1 film on the 1958-2000 poll.
From what I gather, IMDb's classification of "Independent" simply means the film was not directly financed by one of the large film studios. Hence, you can see the presence of a few "big name" movies such as The Big Lebowski (which came from PolyGram when it was still owned by Philips and not Universal) and Seven (which came from New Line Cinema when it was a subsidiary of TBS even though TBS was owned by Time Warner, whose primary studio was Warner Bros). Dances with Wolves was produced by Tig Productions, which is Kevin Costner's own studio.
The anger over this film being on so many lists without having been released theatrically is equally as irrational as so-called fanboys voting it 10s across the board.
olem92, each category has a different number of required votes. For Action, it's 1,000. For Comedy, it's 5,000. For Film-Noir, it's only 200. From what I gather, these minimums change over time depending on how many films and votes exist in each category. However, it may also depend on the ratio of votes-per-film, as Drama, which should theoretically be the widest of categories, only requires 1,000 as of now.
ltarex, understanding the system helps. The decade lists need a minimum of 5,000 votes, and generally, it takes quite a while for smaller, independent films as well as foreign films to reach that number. In good time, this list will change drastically. For example, Lee Chang-dong's Poetry, my favorite film of the decade (so far), has only 1,470 votes even with a limited release in the United States and abroad. But if it stays at its 7.7 rating when it breaks 5,000 votes, it'll enter the list at around #25.
While the up-voting initially did its job of bringing attention to the film, nobody likes being manipulated. That's exactly why the film is now being unfairly downvoted. In the end, vote on films you've seen and rate them what you feel they deserve. That's the only way to keep the system "fair." I realize this is an ideal thought, but if we each do our part, we can help streamline the process instead of being part of the problem.
Gershwin, "completely unknown" is a bit of a stretch as it just won the top prize at Berlinale. However, I'd imagine it comes down slowly as it opens in countries other than Iran (including France in June and the UK in July). Then again, there's always a possibility that it really is that good.
Comments 76 - 100 of 101
Movie comment on Bol
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It's not necessary to discredit a film in advance simply because it keeps one from finishing a list on iCM. By most accounts, this is one of the most important films to ever come out of Pakistan, and as film lovers, we should be appreciative of the fact that its mention on these lists has given it exposure that it otherwise would lack.Movie comment on Shi
Life as Fiction
Poetry is not a melodrama. It is not about the underdog coming out victorious. As Mija writes her poem, there is a solemn tone of acceptance that the world will go on—but we know this acceptance has a price, and what's important is that we fight with her so that only she, independently, gets to judge its true value. •••Movie comment on Drive
Life as Fiction
During this ride, which can effectively be described as a classic noir tale with a penchant for real violence, there is nary a hole that can be poked. Every second is necessary, every shot elegant, every piece of music supports the action on the screen. Every question normally asked of a film, this one answers either with some level of extrapolation or faith in its characters. Gosling, credited simply as "Driver," is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's The Man with No Name. We gradually discover over time that he's exactly the kind of person missing in 99% of Hollywood cinema: One that doesn't cop out. That, in itself, is a tremendous victory. •••Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
Life as Fiction
It's interesting to see A Separation gradually go back up the rankings now that it's finally been made available in many parts of Europe.Movie comment on La dolce vita
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There are no other ways to describe this than with the kind of love and admiration one has for the medium itself, and how glad I am to have finally witnessed the kind of work that makes watching cinema a necessary part of life. •••Movie comment on Tekkon kinkurîto
Life as Fiction
Tekkon Kinkreet paints a portrait of adolescence with the right pigments and shades, with beauty and sorrow, loneliness and anger all packed into tight spaces that refuse to go away once the credits roll. •••Movie comment on Kiraware Matsuko no isshô
Life as Fiction
While it may be a ridiculous musical with an abrasive color palette, misplaced violence and oodles of sexual innuendo, it also ends up falling just short of being a masterpiece of human resilience. •••Movie comment on The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Life as Fiction
Much to Churchill's annoyance, Powell & Pressburger question the gentleman's rules of warfare underneath the veil of a romantic epic. Wonderful, epic and subtly heartbreaking. •••Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
Life as Fiction
mi-16evil, don't forget that the IMDb 250 only counts votes from "regular voters," hence it's 8.5 rating is actually much lower than the arithmetic mean of 9.2 and will often neglect votes from those who sign up simply to spam. Has there been some level of voter manipulation? Possibly, but I'd argue that it's also possible that many have actually loved the film that much. At least the reviews coming out of Venice and Telluride suggest so.Movie comment on Jodaeiye Nader az Simin
Life as Fiction
A Separation just played at the Telluride Film Festival, and Jeffrey Wells from Hollywood Elsewhere had this to say about it:Indeed, the anticipation is building with every beaming review.
Movie comment on Jodaeiye Nader az Simin
Life as Fiction
Heads up: Amazon UK lists A Separation's DVD release date as October 24, 2011.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
Life as Fiction
Well said, ThyCaptain. Many consider Iranian cinema to be of the highest regard. Iranian films have won awards at almost every major film festival (including the top prize for A Separation at Berlin this year). In addition, Abbas Kiarostami is consistently ranked as one of the best contemporary directors by a multitude of critics and cinephiles.I gather some people often have an initial reaction of "low quality" when thinking about "a film from Iran" (or Turkey, for that matter), but these are not poor countries. Iran has the 26th largest economy in the world (and Turkey is 17th). Undermining the quality of the cinema from these countries only adds to the level of ignorance that the West (especially America, since we're so used to the being overexposed to Hollywood) embodies.
Toplist comment on Russian Guild of Film Critics's Best Russian Films
Life as Fiction
For those confused by why certain well-respected films are so "low" on this list, please keep in mind #1-#25 consists of the 1908-1957 list, and #26-#100 is the 1958-2000 list. In other words, Andrei Rublev is actually the #1 film on the 1958-2000 poll.Toplist comment on IMDb's Independent Top 50
Life as Fiction
From what I gather, IMDb's classification of "Independent" simply means the film was not directly financed by one of the large film studios. Hence, you can see the presence of a few "big name" movies such as The Big Lebowski (which came from PolyGram when it was still owned by Philips and not Universal) and Seven (which came from New Line Cinema when it was a subsidiary of TBS even though TBS was owned by Time Warner, whose primary studio was Warner Bros). Dances with Wolves was produced by Tig Productions, which is Kevin Costner's own studio.Movie comment on Drive
Life as Fiction
The anger over this film being on so many lists without having been released theatrically is equally as irrational as so-called fanboys voting it 10s across the board.Movie comment on Drive
Life as Fiction
olem92, each category has a different number of required votes. For Action, it's 1,000. For Comedy, it's 5,000. For Film-Noir, it's only 200. From what I gather, these minimums change over time depending on how many films and votes exist in each category. However, it may also depend on the ratio of votes-per-film, as Drama, which should theoretically be the widest of categories, only requires 1,000 as of now.Toplist comment on IMDb's 2010s Top 50
Life as Fiction
ltarex, understanding the system helps. The decade lists need a minimum of 5,000 votes, and generally, it takes quite a while for smaller, independent films as well as foreign films to reach that number. In good time, this list will change drastically. For example, Lee Chang-dong's Poetry, my favorite film of the decade (so far), has only 1,470 votes even with a limited release in the United States and abroad. But if it stays at its 7.7 rating when it breaks 5,000 votes, it'll enter the list at around #25.Blog comment on 50.000+ users
Life as Fiction
Well deserved!Movie comment on Jodaeiye Nader az Simin
Life as Fiction
While the up-voting initially did its job of bringing attention to the film, nobody likes being manipulated. That's exactly why the film is now being unfairly downvoted. In the end, vote on films you've seen and rate them what you feel they deserve. That's the only way to keep the system "fair." I realize this is an ideal thought, but if we each do our part, we can help streamline the process instead of being part of the problem.Toplist comment on IMDb's Drama Top 50
Life as Fiction
Gershwin, "completely unknown" is a bit of a stretch as it just won the top prize at Berlinale. However, I'd imagine it comes down slowly as it opens in countries other than Iran (including France in June and the UK in July). Then again, there's always a possibility that it really is that good.Movie comment on Der blaue Engel
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This is the English language version of The Blue Angel. Below is a link to the more popular German version.Movie comment on Der blaue Engel
Life as Fiction
http://www.icheckmovies.com/movie/der+blaue+engel/Blog comment on Import any movie
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Fantastic work. Love the ease with which it imports. Curious if the box art will show up at any time?Movie comment on The Pacific
Life as Fiction
Swiz, it looked like some people are quite trigger happy.Blog comment on Intermediate release
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As a fan of Korean Cinema, I've been trying to find a list of the "greatest" films from Korea but am having no luck. Can anyone else help?Showing items 76 – 100 of 101