Challenge: Join the Experimental Mafia

[Ebbywebby]

The entry requirement is simple: Reach 600 checks on the below list. No time limit.

https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/icm+ ... /joachimt/

Already accepted:

allisoncm (913 checks)
Apu (745)
Armoreska (1127)
BaalMan (653)
bal3x (777)
beavis (739)
blueboybob (796)
Ceyyhun (631)
cobac (805)
Dark Pilgrim (813)
Dimitris Psachos Springer (779)
Ebbywebby (1138)
epp (769)
Fitz of Fury (666)
Gary OldMan (638)
GlassMoon (706)
greennui (886)
GregT (802)
Gremlo (697)
hugus (631))
insomnius (1139)
JamesCameronScholar (692)
jerry warton (629)
JF-UK (915)
jlfitz (723)
joachimt (765)
kierkegaardian (628)
Limbesdautomne (634)
mogliss (659)
Mothravka (733)
nymets138 (714)
onuryz (775)
OttoElPiloto (670)
Perceval (832)
Rich (656)
RonJensen (733)
russa03 (664)
san-te (778)
SanderO (736)
serriform (799)
shakha (738)
Sien (741)
sinapsis (1067)
spheric (627)
sushantv10 (624)
theBlackLodge (687)
TigerLily76 (698)
tourdesb (707)
tristanb (651)
videographico (875)
vivresavie (609)
WalterNeff (638)
winds (605)
XxXApathy420XxX (810)
yormovies (808)
Zuma (735)

Gain membership or, if you're already a member, work on boosting your stature within the intricate EM power hierarchy.

(The above member list is not necessarily complete. It also may include a couple of scoundrels who slinked in via dubious means.)

[funkybusiness]

1 check = 1 point, right?

also, I'm pretty sure I still have my laminated, old forum AV/Exp mafia membership card somewhere around here...

[Ebbywebby]

also, I'm pretty sure I still have my laminated, old forum AV/Exp mafia membership card somewhere around here...

Hrm, sounds sketchy. Did you get that from Dolwphin?

[funkybusiness]

also, I'm pretty sure I still have my laminated, old forum AV/Exp mafia membership card somewhere around here...

Hrm, sounds sketchy. Did you get that from Dolwphin?

No, the return address was someone named Doll Finn, who I assumed must be some attractive woman from Finland.

[funkybusiness]

waitasecond FINLAND DOESN'T EVEN EXIST

[peeptoad]

I'll try... be in the next life before I get that many viewed though (currently only have ~90 checked). Good list.

[joachimt]

I'm already in, yet I don't feel part of the experimental mafia.

[zuma]

I'm already in, yet I don't feel part of the experimental mafia.

That's because you got in by being a shorts check whore. (like me)

[Onderhond]

waitasecond FINLAND DOESN'T EVEN EXIST

It does. Watch Finland Empire, it's on the list.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I am already a part of it, but I'm always down to see more experimental films. My last 2 10/10s were experimental shorts (although one of them is not on the list for this challenge).

I'll probably see Text of Light soon because this brilliant video really makes me wanna see it

[Ebbywebby]

Should any of these hoods be rubbed out for dubious checking practices? videographico, sinapsis, RonJensen, JohnCameronSwayzeScholar?

Also, it's tempting to ban WalterNeff just because he hates Godard so much.

[OldAle1]

If we banned people just cuz they hate lots of stuff that they watch anyway, we'd have a pretty small forum.

Anyway I'm at 588 now, so close, and I might hit 600 just with some of the stuff I have lined up for the official challenges this month. Easy!

[maxwelldeux]

I'm at 258... and if Arnulf Rainer is any indication, this is going to be a LONG slog to join the mafia...

[funkybusiness]

I'm at 258... and if Arnulf Rainer is any indication, this is going to be a LONG slog to join the mafia...

if Arnulf Rainer is a stumbling block...yeah man you ain't gonna make it

[maxwelldeux]

I'm at 258... and if Arnulf Rainer is any indication, this is going to be a LONG slog to join the mafia...

if Arnulf Rainer is a stumbling block...yeah man you ain't gonna make it

I just watched that (got me bronze on Brief Encounters), and when Wife walked by, she saw my screen and said "Are you trying to give yourself a seizure?!?" "Yes - it's on four official lists, dear."

There's plenty of interesting stuff on that list, so I'll make it eventually. But this probably isn't going to be my focus anytime soon...

[Pretentious Hipster]

I'm at 258... and if Arnulf Rainer is any indication, this is going to be a LONG slog to join the mafia...

if Arnulf Rainer is a stumbling block...yeah man you ain't gonna make it

I just watched that (got me bronze on Brief Encounters), and when Wife walked by, she saw my screen and said "Are you trying to give yourself a seizure?!?" "Yes - it's on four official lists, dear."

There's plenty of interesting stuff on that list, so I'll make it eventually. But this probably isn't going to be my focus anytime soon...

If I was showing experimental films to someone not into them I would show them these 2:

https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/fue ... l+espanto/ (which you've already seen)
https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/film+portrait/

The latter works as a documentary, and could be a good gateway film to experimental films.

[Ebbywebby]

If we banned people just cuz they hate lots of stuff that they watch anyway, we'd have a pretty small forum.

Anyway I'm at 588 now, so close, and I might hit 600 just with some of the stuff I have lined up for the official challenges this month. Easy!

There were a few close calls...the one that really jumped out at me was "kusagami." This person is at 593 (!), and I routinely come across his/her name when I see some esoteric film with just a few checks and wonder who else saw it.

[maxwelldeux]

If I was showing experimental films to someone not into them I would show them these 2:

https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/fue ... l+espanto/ (which you've already seen)
https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/film+portrait/

The latter works as a documentary, and could be a good gateway film to experimental films.

Fire in Castilla I have at a 6/10 - which is fairly high from me for experimental films. Film Portrait looks pretty interesting... from that description, I could see myself digging it.

I have plenty of favorites/strong likes from that list in the OP - I guess it might just depend on how "experimental" the film gets...

[OldAle1]

If we banned people just cuz they hate lots of stuff that they watch anyway, we'd have a pretty small forum.

Anyway I'm at 588 now, so close, and I might hit 600 just with some of the stuff I have lined up for the official challenges this month. Easy!

There was a few close calls...the one that really jumped out at me was "kusagami." This person is at 593 (!), and I routinely come across his/her name when I see some esoteric film with just a few checks and wonder who else saw it.

Pretty sure there's some quite rare stuff that I saw in Chicago back in the 90s that I never remembered or didn't have records for when I started logging films on IMDb in 2005, but probably not much is in the "what, you saw that? where? you liar, you cheat, you should have your checks removed" category And most of the rarest stuff - things I saw at the Chicago Underground Film Festival for example - probably isn't even listed. Wish I had all the old programs, or knew where they were.

[Pretentious Hipster]

If we banned people just cuz they hate lots of stuff that they watch anyway, we'd have a pretty small forum.

Anyway I'm at 588 now, so close, and I might hit 600 just with some of the stuff I have lined up for the official challenges this month. Easy!

There was a few close calls...the one that really jumped out at me was "kusagami." This person is at 593 (!), and I routinely come across his/her name when I see some esoteric film with just a few checks and wonder who else saw it.

Pretty sure there's some quite rare stuff that I saw in Chicago back in the 90s that I never remembered or didn't have records for when I started logging films on IMDb in 2005, but probably not much is in the "what, you saw that? where? you liar, you cheat, you should have your checks removed" category And most of the rarest stuff - things I saw at the Chicago Underground Film Festival for example - probably isn't even listed. Wish I had all the old programs, or knew where they were.

Maybe you saw some stuff from this list? https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/rari ... /joachimt/

I've seen two and wasn't accused of cheating (yet)

[OldAle1]

There was a few close calls...the one that really jumped out at me was "kusagami." This person is at 593 (!), and I routinely come across his/her name when I see some esoteric film with just a few checks and wonder who else saw it.

Pretty sure there's some quite rare stuff that I saw in Chicago back in the 90s that I never remembered or didn't have records for when I started logging films on IMDb in 2005, but probably not much is in the "what, you saw that? where? you liar, you cheat, you should have your checks removed" category And most of the rarest stuff - things I saw at the Chicago Underground Film Festival for example - probably isn't even listed. Wish I had all the old programs, or knew where they were.

Maybe you saw some stuff from this list? https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/rari ... /joachimt/

I've seen two and wasn't accused of cheating (yet)

Probably not. Maybe some of the Brakhage - I saw quite a few Brakhage films that I never checked, didn't really have an understanding of that stuff at the time but remember seeing at least two 1 - 1 1/2 hour programs devoted to him. Nah most of my unchecked short stuff would be things of the Nick Zedd/Richard Kern type, more overtly "underground", though there's probably a variety of things.

I actually saw a quite rare film on Sunday, been meaning to write it up and definitely will before next weeks' weekly thread -

https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/seed-1931/

Never on TV or video, and if it's on the internet I'd be surprised - only 6 checks. The UW-Madison did a Universal Pictures retrospective this spring, this was the last one - wish I'd gotten to some of the others, most were films from major directors (James Whale for example) that are similarly obscure & not generally available. It's good to know that you still have to see some things in the cinema.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Just noticed that Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is on the experimental/avant-garde list avant-garde for an action/horror movie, sure, but overall dunno if I'd call it that. Still, it's a great watch.

[insomnius]

Surely, being "mafia" is a reflection of how you feel about a certain genre, and not measurable in amount of 'checks'.

[rnilsson19]

Surely, being "mafia" is a reflection of how you feel about a certain genre, and not measurable in amount of 'checks'.

Word, especially given the nature of icheckmovies, many people are watching lots of experimental shorts despite it not being their thing.

I find letterboxd to be a much more harmonious enviroment for experimental shorts where you sometimes get insightful comments instead of the usual ’boring 1/10 how is this on so many toplists Brakhage sucks’ comments.

[joachimt]

"Yes - it's on four official lists, dear."

The ultimate excuse to watch crap.
Does your wife understand the "value" of official lists? Talking in iCM-terms to non-iCM-people always results in frowns when I try.

[maxwelldeux]

"Yes - it's on four official lists, dear."

The ultimate excuse to watch crap.
Does your wife understand the "value" of official lists? Talking in iCM-terms to non-iCM-people always results in frowns when I try.

To a certain extent - I've nerded out enough to where she "understands" the ICM language. She knows "official" and that the number of lists is a rough proxy for "quality" and why I'm wanting to watch certain films that appear on a bunch of lists. Of course, this has no sway on her opinions/interest in a film, but that's a different story.

She also is pretty good at trying to accommodate the official challenges and finding things she's interested in that will fit the challenges. Of course, Iranian, Westerns, and Cannes aren't exactly floating her boat, but I can usually find a few things that pique her interest now and again.

[Ebbywebby]

Surely, being "mafia" is a reflection of how you feel about a certain genre, and not measurable in amount of 'checks'.

Well, that's why I measured the "mafia" by a large unofficial list rather than, say, how many checks one has from the official Amos Vogel and Jonathan Rosenbaum lists.

It looks like 729 of the 1503 films in the experimental poll results are unofficial. It's unlikely one could accumulate 600 checks from the list without having some solid personal interest in viewing films of the genre. Regardless of "competition" issues. Remember that only 56 people have reached this tally. This includes GlassMoon (user rank #1121), mogliss (#431) and Perceval (#439), among others.

And jeezus, let's not pretend this post was entirely serious. Talk about "mafias" is obviously a running forum joke.

[funkybusiness]

And jeezus, let's not pretend this post was entirely serious. Talk about "mafias" is obviously a running forum joke.

this is the officially unofficial iCM forum, bub. we take everything seriously here, especially the jokes.

[joachimt]

"Yes - it's on four official lists, dear."

The ultimate excuse to watch crap.
Does your wife understand the "value" of official lists? Talking in iCM-terms to non-iCM-people always results in frowns when I try.

To a certain extent - I've nerded out enough to where she "understands" the ICM language. She knows "official" and that the number of lists is a rough proxy for "quality" and why I'm wanting to watch certain films that appear on a bunch of lists. Of course, this has no sway on her opinions/interest in a film, but that's a different story.

She also is pretty good at trying to accommodate the official challenges and finding things she's interested in that will fit the challenges. Of course, Iranian, Westerns, and Cannes aren't exactly floating her boat, but I can usually find a few things that pique her interest now and again.

Wow, you trained your wife to pick movies that fit challenges! Good boy!!
When my wife asks why I'm watching a certain movie, I just say "it's on a certain list". I'm still not talking in terms of official and number of lists etc... She still frowns.

[maxwelldeux]

Wow, you trained your wife to pick movies that fit challenges! Good boy!!
When my wife asks why I'm watching a certain movie, I just say "it's on a certain list". I'm still not talking in terms of official and number of lists etc... She still frowns.

We're accommodating of each others' weird hobbies - she's an obsessive GTA5 player, I'm a film fan. I play some video games with her, she watches a movie with me now and again. My only failing is that I'm getting about 1 movie/week, at best.

But we have a decent system of picking movies. She'll randomly express interest in certain films, and I'll suggest them when they fit specific challenges. When we're just picking something out for fun, we use a 5-2-1 system; Person A will pick five movies, Person B will narrow those 5 down to 2, and Person A will pick from those 2. When I'm Person A, I usually pick films that fit one of the challenges. When she's Person A, I usually narrow it to official checks and/or challenge films.

[Ebbywebby]

But we have a decent system of picking movies. She'll randomly express interest in certain films, and I'll suggest them when they fit specific challenges. When we're just picking something out for fun, we use a 5-2-1 system; Person A will pick five movies, Person B will narrow those 5 down to 2, and Person A will pick from those 2. When I'm Person A, I usually pick films that fit one of the challenges. When she's Person A, I usually narrow it to official checks and/or challenge films.

WOW. That may be brilliant.

[insomnius]

And jeezus, let's not pretend this post was entirely serious. Talk about "mafias" is obviously a running forum joke.

Wiseguy.

[Dolwphin]

427/1503

[joachimt]

427/1503

It's clear that you don't appreciate experimental films enough. I challenge you to dive into it. Maybe you'll like it.

[Ebbywebby]

Since my survey of ICM users was incomplete, I was hoping some ExpMafia member I overlooked would speak up.

(I think I just looked at the top 125 users and something like the top 200 users on the Amos Vogel list. Of course, many people were in both groups.)

[Ebbywebby]

1139. LA Plays Itself
Well, yes, it's gay porn. But it does have some artistic value with its reflective nature footage and two-layer imagery. And about half the film is just one or two guys hiking around in creeks or the woods. It all feels very, very '70s, and "Los Angeles Plays Itself" is far superior.

1140. Passion
Not easy to sit through at 50+ minutes. Punishing, industrial score plus endless, wordless montage. Apparently a tribute to the pregnancy of the filmmaker's wife, so the mix includes plenty of birth imagery, both metaphorical and literal.

1141. The Exception and the Rule
https://myvideo.cc/movies/dzNTMHdaK0Qxd ... 2w2cGVlVT0
Interesting, duelling-directors document of Pakistani unrest and street life, with lots of experimental editing, Steve Reich-esque sound loops and disruptive meta-commentary about political filmmaking and the process of shooting the film. It even has an "Intermission"...ha. Feels more European than Middle Eastern, despite the subject matter. Frustrating that a couple of segments are left unsubtitled. Wow...I'm only the second one to check this.

I put off watching #1141 for awhile...had it bookmarked for months. Now that I've seen it, I have just 36 unseen shorts left from the poll and lack a solid way to see any of them. I think "Plot Point" is on KG and it looked like maybe "Tarahumaras 78" was recently shared here.... Otherwise, I don't know. Lots of issues with missing subs.

[OldAle1]

That last one looks interesting to me, due in part to the Middle Eastern origin - there are actually loads of Iranian experimental works, a few of which I'll be seeing over the next 3 weeks, and a fair amount from India, so not surprised that there's some stuff from Pakistan out there that can be accessed. I'll have to check it out.

[Ebbywebby]

I'm always intrigued at the prevalence of Iranian films that are all about puncturing the wall between reality and film fiction. I don't know how that motif began. There's a few of these that I'd still like to see. Like "Ayneh," for instance (I had to look up the title).

[Dolwphin]

427/1503

It's clear that you don't appreciate experimental films enough. I challenge you to dive into it. Maybe you'll like it.

I have As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty & La région centrale in my top 10.

[jvv]

I'm at 590 now. I guess I will accidentally enter the club some time in the future.