Rankdown III - TSPDT Top 100 - Round 7, #37-#25!

[beasterne]

Everyone, confession time: There has been an error on our list of remaining films for a long time, and I only just now caught it. Also, it was my error

Going back to my post below on page one, I see that I accidentally deleted C'era una volta il West when I meant to delete Once Upon a Time in America after it was cut. This means that Once Upon a Time in the West is still in the game and has been eligible to cut even though players may not have been aware.

I hope that this doesn't ruin the game for everyone. But I've gone ahead and added the film back to our list, and the film is still eligible to be cut by anyone who wishes to cut it. Who knows, maybe everyone wanted the movie to stay in this whole time and it was spared on purpose? It's possible.

My next cut will probably be unpopular. I’m cutting Stalker. This film didn’t work on any level for me. It probably didn’t help that this was my first Tarkovsky, so I wasn’t used to his style.

Things that stuck out were the long, long cart ride into the zone, that took like 10 minutes of unbroken film. But not interesting vistas or anything. Just pointing the camera sideways and letting it go. It’s like recording 10 minutes of your morning commute out the window and calling it a day. The random shots of pools of water, trash, etc were likewise tedious. And the zone just didn’t feel special to me. It honestly just felt like these guys were walking around a construction site making a student film. And then the very last shot, again it took so long and was built up so much that it lost any suspense it might have had.

I know this is a film that I’ll revisit in another 10 years or so, to see if my opinion has changed at all. But as of right now, after one viewing, it is one of my least favorites on this list.

cuts so far

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
3 2001: A Space Odyssey
4 La règle du jeu
5 Tôkyô monogatari
6 8½
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
10 Shichinin no samurai
11 Apocalypse Now
12 Singin' in the Rain
13 Ladri di biciclette
14 Bronenosets Potemkin
15 Taxi Driver
16 À bout de souffle
17 L'Atalante
18 La passion de Jeanne d'Arc
19 Persona
20 Chelovek s kino-apparatom
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
23 Andrey Rublev
24 Les quatre cents coups
25 Raging Bull
26 The Godfather: Part II
28 Some Like It Hot
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
32 Lawrence of Arabia
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
36 Casablanca
37 L'avventura
38 Blade Runner
39 The General
40 Le mépris
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
45 Ugetsu monogatari
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
49 Playtime
50 Mulholland Dr.
51 Modern Times
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
54 Rio Bravo
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
57 Pather Panchali
58 North by Northwest
60 Metropolis
61 Smultronstället
64 Pulp Fiction
66 Viridiana
67 La strada
68 Goodfellas
69 The Wild Bunch
70 Amarcord
71 Shoah
72 Il gattopardo
73 Det sjunde inseglet
74 Viaggio in Italia
75 La battaglia di Algeri
76 The Gold Rush
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
79 Pickpocket
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
83 It's a Wonderful Life
84 The Shining
85 Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
86 Annie Hall
87 Il conformista
88 Nashville
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
93 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
95 A Woman Under the Influence
96 Once Upon a Time in America
97 Greed
98 Blowup
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection order

Coryn
beasterne
Fergenaprido
OldAle1
brokenface
jeff_v
Obgeoff
blocho
Onderhond
perceval
sol
RolandKirkSunglasses
toromash

CORRECTED list of remaining films, please use going forward:

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 1 veto remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[Onderhond]

That's actually quite convenient, I'm cutting Once Upon a Time in the West then. I generally dislike westerns as I don't care for the characters, the setting and the pacing. And this is just a very very long and tedious western.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 1 veto remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[brokenface]

Talk about a short lived reprieve!

[OldAle1]

Not a surprise. Even if Onderhond weren't part of it, I wouldn't expect Leone to last very long, very much love-it-or-hate-it, at least in the context of a list like the TSP 100. It's one of my favorites remaining but...lots of other things to save as well. Oh the choices.

[Fergenaprido]

I'm keeping a spreadsheet of the rankdown so that I can have my ratings displayed beside each film, as well as which ones were cut or vetoed in each round, so I would have noticed eventually. Though, there are a dozen films I'd cut before that, so maybe it would have snuck under the radar until the final round.

The way things are going I think I'll only have 5 or so unseen films left in the last round or two, which is fewer than I'd expected, so I'm going to try and watch those so that I can do a full vote in the last round.

[RolandKirkSunglasses]

Don't jump the gun Onderhand, Blocho hasn't had a turn yet.

[Onderhond]

Oops, beaten by the b's.

[blocho]

I'm noting Obgeoff's veto of Ordet in the results below because no one had yet. Let's try to include updated results in each post that includes a cut/veto.

I'm cutting A Woman under the Influence. I should have cut it earlier. It must have escaped my notice. I don't like Cassavetes' work (as a director -- he's a fine actor). And while I respect the acting in this movie and I would put it ahead of a true bomb like Chinese Bookie, I still find it an overlong, mostly tedious family melodrama.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[Onderhond]

So I'm still cutting Once Upon a Time in the West.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

Edit: immediately applying vetoes in the list might be a bit confusing for people looking which film to cut, but haven't read through all the posts above them, no?

[perceval]

Les quatre cents coups can try to elaborate more when I have more time if it is okay...

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[brokenface]

I'm cutting A Woman under the Influence. I should have cut it earlier. It must have escaped my notice. I don't like Cassavetes' work (as a director -- he's a fine actor). And while I respect the acting in this movie and I would put it ahead of a true bomb like Chinese Bookie, I still find it an overlong, mostly tedious family melodrama.

Partly with you there though I would watch either of them 10 times rather than sit through Faces or Husbands again

[beasterne]

Edit: immediately applying vetoes in the list might be a bit confusing for people looking which film to cut, but haven't read through all the posts above them, no?

blocho is spot on, and thanks for keeping us honest on this. We want to immediately put Ordet back in the pool because per the rules any other player can cut a film when it's vetoed. There's no 1 round restriction on a 2nd player making a cut.

[Obgeoff]

I didn't realise that. In that case I would have waited until the end of the round. At that point my veto would last until the end of the next round from jeff_v rather than just to the next voter in the present round.

[toromash]

I didn't realise that. In that case I would have waited until the end of the round. At that point my veto would last until the end of the next round from jeff_v rather than just to the next voter in the present round.

It doesn't make any sense anyway. Why would a person veto a film while the round is ongoing, if it can be cut again. No reward, only risk. It would be the same as if a bank loaned out money, but didn't charge any interest.

The idea would work if some compensation was given through the risk taken, like getting an extra cut in that round, if the vetoed film were eliminated twice. Then a person could revenge his act upon the person, who dared to challenge.

[sol]

Ah, an even-numbered round, so I'm cutting The Rules of the Game again, of course.

I love Grand Illusion. Love The River. Love Woman on the Beach and This Land is Mine. This one though? Did so very little for me...

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[cinewest]

Rules of the Game, To Be or Not to Be... hmmmm

At least my arch nemesis from the previous game (Onderhond) has turned into my knight in shining armor this time around (despite cutting 2001). Of course the game isn't finished yet...

Just watched Once Upon A Time in the West again after many years, wondering whether it would go up or down in my estimation. I always gave it points for being so distinctive, even as a Spaghetti Western, and for its play on the Western genre, but, quite honestly, I found it cartoonish and overdone in every sense, which has always detracted from Leone's stature as a filmmaker, at least for me.

In a certain sense, he predates Tarantino, the way he plays with the Hollywood genres, even to the extent that he seems to play more with the corniest, most purplish elements of those genres. I realize some people really enjoy this kind of thing, even wax poetic on the post modernist attitude (which didn't really exist, yet), but the bottom line for me is how interesting a film is, and this one started to feel like a dated comic book pretty early on, which is not what really attracts me to cinema.

[cinewest]

Comment withdrawn

[RolandKirkSunglasses]

I'll cut Rashomon, it's OK but Kurosawa and Japan made far better films in the 50s.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
4 La règle du jeu
7 The Godfather
8 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
21 Rashômon
22 Psycho
24 Les quatre cents coups
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
37 L'avventura
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
43 The Night of the Hunter
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
65 Once Upon a Time in the West
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
78 The Magnificent Ambersons
80 Banshun
81 Nema-ye Nazdik
82 Jules et Jim
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
95 A Woman Under the Influence
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 1 veto remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[cinewest]

remaining films by decade:

1920's - 3 / 8
1930's - 3 / 6
1940's - 5 / 9
1950's - 8 / 24
1960's - 8 / 25
1970's - 6 / 16
1980's - 3 / 7
1990's - 0 / 3
2000's - 1 / 2
2010's - 0 / 0
2020's- NA

[Onderhond]

At least my arch nemesis from the previous game (Onderhond) has turned into my knight in shining armor

You know how I love a high horse.

[cinewest]

At least my arch nemesis from the previous game (Onderhond) has turned into my knight in shining armor

You know how I love a high horse.

Indeed. But then you usually shoot yourself in the foot when you are no longer the “outsider,”

Any thoughts on the stats I posted above? The most obvious thing to me is that half the original list is made up of films from the 50's and 60's....

My least favorite film remaining, aside fromTo Be or Not To Be and The General, is probably Vertigo, which are among my remaining sub 8’s.

[toromash]

Cut is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. We are now over in the very good territory. When reviewing the films with the same rating, i choose the one without sound, as i would rather rewatch the other films before this one.

[Obgeoff]

Who needs sound when the visuals are as extraordinary as Sunrise.

[Onderhond]

Me, sound is crucial!

[Fergenaprido]

The last two cuts were my next two intended cuts. Sunrise deserves a second chance from me, as it was the first silent film I saw 15 years ago and I just didn't appreciate it. I think I would like it more now. Rashomon was my first Kurosawa, I think, but I'm less certain I would enjoy it more upon rewatch.

Good round for me, as the only two films I really loved were already on their second/third chance, so their cuts are less painful.

[Onderhond]

So I'll veto In The Mood For Love again. Shame on the others for not defending this one!

[sol]

So I'll veto In The Mood For Love again. Shame on the others for not defending this one!

I appreciate you defending it. Wonderful film.

[cinewest]

So I'll veto In The Mood For Love again. Shame on the others for not defending this one!

Like I said earlier, you have been a knight in shining armor this game....

[beasterne]

Round 7 has begun! We are down to these 37 films (someone please doublecheck to make sure I didn't mess anything up). Coryn, you're up first!

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
7 The Godfather
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
22 Psycho
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
80 Banshun
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 0 vetoes remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[Coryn]

I'm cutting Fanny och Alexander

Bergman is hit and miss for me. It was one of those movies i had to look up after I viewed it as I was sure I somehow missed important parts. It's on my rewatch list and future me might not agree with this decision but for now it has to go.

[beasterne]

Well, I’ve cut it twice before, maybe third time’s the charm? Cut Stalker.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
7 The Godfather
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
22 Psycho
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
80 Banshun
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 0 vetoes remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[Fergenaprido]

Round 7 has begun! We are down to these 37 films (someone please doublecheck to make sure I didn't mess anything up).

I double-checked. You are correct that it's those 37 films.

I'm cutting Au hasard Balthazar. I just watched it over the weekend, and I didn't care for it at all. It's about the same as Pickpocket for me, but in different ways. That's 3 Bresson films I've been lukewarm to, at best, and now I'm worried about some of the ones I was actually looking forward to (like Mouchette), that I my not enjoy them after all.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
7 The Godfather
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
22 Psycho
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
80 Banshun
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 0 vetoes remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[OldAle1]

Back in my pre-internet days, when I interacted with other film buffs solely in person, I would have said it's pretty impossible to like (or dislike) three Bresson films and then expect to have a different opinion of the others; I assumed that most people were as auteurist as I was - all of my friends were and all the critics I respected were. And we all loved all of Bresson's films, and all of Tarkovsky's, and all of Cassavetes -- there are some directors who maintain the same style/focus to such an extent that, for me, it's impossible to imagine having a hugely different response. Sure, I like some Tarkovsky films more than others, some Bresson more than others, etc. But you'd have to have a wildly different way of looking at film/art/maybe life in general to hate one of his films and love another - it just wouldn't be possible for me. So if you ask me, you probably won't like any of his other films, and you might as well stop now. But then, I'm wrong pretty much all the time when it comes to understanding why other people like or dislike things - it's even more obvious now than it was a decade ago on IMDb. My particular sort of cinaesthetics I think has come and gone, and there are few people who can even conceive of liking every film from a director anymore. Too soft and uncritical, every filmmaker must have at least one piece of abject crap, and hardly any filmmakers have more than one great film. At least that's the general view I see.

Don't mind me I'm drunk and depressed.

[OldAle1]

Oh and I'll get rid of To Be or Not to Be because... I dunno, I don't remember liking it all that much, at least not as much as the remaining films. Been too long though.

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
7 The Godfather
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
22 Psycho
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
80 Banshun
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 0 vetoes remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[Fergenaprido]

Ale

Well, I've seen 4 Bresson films now. I've rated them 8.2, 6.6, 6.2, 6.2, and ironically that's the order I saw them in too, so I started out loving him. I haven't given up on him just yet.

And I love To Be or Not to Be. First saw it with a fellow film buff in 2013, and I thought it was hilariously irreverent. I also have the Mel Brooks remake on hand, but haven't gotten around to seeing it yet.

There are definitely filmmakers where I really like/love all of their films. I finished Dolan's filmography this weekend, and I haven't rated a single film of his 8 features below 7.8, which is quite rare for me - I can find things to enjoy and cherish in some of his lesser films, like John F. Donovan and Tom at the Farm.

[cinewest]

I am considering handing out several awards at the end of the Rankdown:

Like, “most stubborn player,” an award Sol surely would have won in the previous game with his dogged attempts to cut and recut the same films over and over. This time, he has stiff competition from beasterne, with his 3 pronged attack of Tarkovsky’s Stalker (it's actually a single prong repeatedly kicking the same dog, as if no other mutts can catch his attention).

Other awards might be the “Onderhond” (this named for his distinction as the player who consistently upset me the most with his cuts in previous games), which is trending hard in the direction of Coryn this time around.

As for Onderhond, he’s in line for the “Redemption” and/or maybe the “Star of the Match” award for his elimination of overrated Westerns, tireless defense of one of the only 21st century gems on the list, and for reaching a rare amazing “Triple” during the course of this game... unless he screws it up in the next few rounds.

*A “Triple” is when any opinionator on this board says anything I agree with 3 times in a row, which has almost never happened. Onderhond almost achieved an even rarer “quadruple,” with his second defense of In the Mood For Love, but interceded with the elimination of a lovely film by Bergman, when others remained that deserved to go beforehand.
Knowing his dislike of the silents, I am counting on him to take care of at least one of the two remaining ones this time around, which will bring us closer to another elusive “triple” sandwiched around his mistake with Bergman.

[sol]

I'm cutting Fanny och Alexander

I personally think that this is the single best film in the list, but no veto from me; I wasn't counting on this one to make it to the end. I am surprised in fact that it lasted for so long since longer movies don't tend to do too well in this game. That said, Shoah and La Dolce Vita still haven't been cut. Yet.

[Coryn]

Honestly this is probably a cut I will look back on in shame after I rewatch it.

It's a movie I want to see in theatre, not because of the cinematography (although that was the one thing that stood out on my 1st watch) but because I really want to immerse myself in the story and the setting itself.

We're also closing in on the top 30, I only have 1 movie left I didn't like.

[brokenface]

I'll cut Kane. Bored of it being number one on Tspdt. It is very good, but it's never been one i particularly see as a personal favourite. It's hard to view free of the 'best film ever made' preconceptions, for good and bad

Balthazar was cut but had been uncrossed - i take it this was a mistake?

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
7 The Godfather
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
22 Psycho
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
80 Banshun
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 0 vetoes remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

[cinewest]

I'll cut Kane. Bored of it being number one on Tspdt. It is very good, but it's never been one i particularly see as a personal favourite. It's hard to view free of the 'best film ever made' preconceptions, for good and bad

Balthazar was cut but had been uncrossed - i take it this was a mistake?

remaining films

1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
7 The Godfather
11 Apocalypse Now
13 Ladri di biciclette
15 Taxi Driver
17 L'Atalante
19 Persona
22 Psycho
29 Zerkalo
30 La dolce vita
31 Touch of Evil
33 Sunset Blvd.
34 Au hasard Balthazar
35 Ordet
39 The General
41 Rear Window
42 Faa young nin wa
44 La grande illusion
46 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
47 The Third Man
50 Mulholland Dr.
52 Stalker
53 Fanny och Alexander
55 Chinatown
56 M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
60 Metropolis
66 Viridiana
71 Shoah
73 Det sjunde inseglet
75 La battaglia di Algeri
80 Banshun
89 Blue Velvet
91 Sanshô dayû
92 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
99 L'année dernière à Marienbad
100 To Be or Not to Be

Selection Order

1. Coryn - 1 veto remaining
2. beasterne - 0 vetoes remaining
3. Fergenaprido - 0 vetoes remaining
4. OldAle1 - 1 veto remaining
5. brokenface - 1 veto remaining
6. jeff_v - 2 vetoes remaining
7. Obgeoff - 0 vetoes remaining
8. blocho - 2 vetoes remaining
9. Onderhond - 0 vetoes remaining
10. perceval - 0 vetoes remaining
11. sol - 2 vetoes remaining
12. RolandKirkSunglasses - 1 veto remaining
13. toromash - 1 veto remaining

Do you honestly think Vertigo is better than Kane? In what sense might I ask?

Kane may not be a personal favorite of mine, but it’s clearly an important film that was way ahead of its time, and one that influenced a whole bunch of American films aspiring to be great that came afterward, including The Godfather.

Disappointing, but not surprising that Vertigo is the last untouched film from the TSP top 10, especially when I think at least 8 reach well beyond it. Will film watchers ever get tired of Hitchcock? I'll be the first to acknowledge his influence on filmmaking, particularly where psychological suspense is concerned (no doubt his influence on some of my favorite filmmakers, like Haneke, has been tremendous), but aren't his films a bit corny and old-fashioned, and hasn't he been surpassed by many who have come after him? Somehow Hitchcock's films keep getting rediscovered. In fact Vertigo was once considered a lesser work than various others.
Yet, for as long as I can remember (except perhaps at the time it was made) CITIZEN KANE has been one of the iconic American films, and one that holds up better than anything by Hitchcock. Maybe it needs to fall out of favor some so it can be rediscovered by a future generation

Do you realize that more than 1/3 of the films remaining are crime dramas. Is that primarily what cinema should be about?

I remember reading something by Pauline Kael where she said something about cinema’s ignoble origins as an art form having much too much to do with being mass entertainment...

As a side note, I would have never guessed that the two Japanese films going the furthest would be Banshun and Sansho the Balif, either.