What Essentials Must I Watch?

Well, I don't know when I'll get to it. To be honest nothing I've seen or heard about it makes me especially excited to see it. It's almost like a chore,where I just think I have to because people say you have to. But I hope that it will be better than I'm expecting. I did avoid reading the spoilers you gave though. I'm trying not to see anything that describes scenes in too much detail because I like going into movies as blind as possible.


Thanks, I'll look into these.

Yeah, it is a good suggestion. I do take notes on lots of things and carry a pocket notebook with me everywhere I go. Have you seen my film watching diary thread?

When I watched my first Ozu, Tokyo Story, at the recommendation of some MoFo's, I was really struck by the interesting camera positions and the way characters walked in and out of the frame. I think I've seen 4 now, and I recently found Summer Interlude second-hand, so I'll watch that soon.

I just watched Noi Albinoi and it gave me very similar vibes to Lilya 4-ever and Show Me Love. I think it's safe to put those two films by Lukas Moodysson among the essentials. I think most people who love them prefer Show Me Love, but I prefer Lilya 4-ever, in fact Lilya 4-ever has had more of an impact on me than any other movie in my entire life. It was the catalyst that completely changed my perspective on cinema and started my journey into more obscure and artistic movies.

Edit:The first Mizoguchi I saw was Sansho the Bailif. It's my place-holder for him at the moment. Such a powerful film and set in an era I haven't seen explored before.

Hard to choose between the three 50's classics for him IMHO, I went with Ugestu just because the highpoints of it are so strong although I love the end of Oharu with her wandering the town at night. You could argue these days he's a bit of a Charlie Parker? that is his influence is indirect though Tarkovsky as Parkers is though Coltrane so he gets less prominent mention on things like the Sight and Sound lists than he did in the 50's and 60's.

I do think his drama stands out as well though beyond the visuals, I mean Chrysanthemum's is maybe more of its era in terms of the script relative to the 50's films but the way it handles slow atmospheric melancholy feels incredibly ahead of its time for something made in 1939. Maybe blasphemy but to me it beats Citizen Kane in terms of predicting the future of cinema and using it to tell a story effectively. Maybe highlights as well that the explosion of creativity in 50's Japanese cinema wasn't just about new US influences(although I'm sure Mizoguchi had seen plenty of US cinema pre war) but also Japanese ones such as noh theatre were body performance sold drama rather than facial closeups.

Ozu as well for me feels like his visual style is an outgrowth of Japanese architecture that tends to dominate his films, all those geometrics and strange angles of staircases and the like.

The problem with asking about essentials is that you will, obviously, get the essentials which isn't too bad itself, especially when you're just starting out, but has its problems. You shouldn't mindlessly abide by the canon. You gotta create your own.

A very underseen silent cinema gem would be J'accuse (1919). Seriously, it's the best film of its decade, and one of the best silent films ever made. Abel Gance was the ultimate master, so make sure to watch the incredibly fast-cut La Roue (1924), and grandiosely epic Napoleon (1927), too! Here's an example of montage (take that, Soviet Montage!) from the arguably weakest of the tree, but still amazing La Roue:



When it comes to silent masterpieces from Russia, people are going to scream Einsenstein, and then maybe the very few more knowledgeable chaps will give a shout-out to Vertov, Dovzhenko, Pudovkin and Kuleshov, which are all great and worth watching, but I don't think anyone's going to mention Fridrikh Ermler who happened to direct perhaps my favourite Russian silent Fragment of an Empire (1929). The movie can be found on YouTube in its entirety:



Also, the soundtrack in this version is incredible and really adds to the movie. I can't imagine watching it with any other audio track! Just look at 13:48 and that climax at 16:40. One of the most moving montages I've ever seen! And then onwards to 18:00. So haunting!

The New Babylon (1929) by Kozintsev & Trauberg is great, too. And then you have Russians portrayed by non-Russians in The Last Command (1928) with an outstanding performance by Emil Jannings.

For more contemporary Russian cinema, you gotta watch the movies of Alexander Sokurov. Just don't make the rookie mistake of watching his newer films. They're pretty good, but nowhere as accomplished as his earlier works including Mother and Son (1997), Days of Eclipse (1988), Stone (1992) and Whispering Pages (1994).

And in case you don't know what to watch, just watch some Japanese masterpiece, and don't be afraid to watch contemporary films, too. Like Obayashi's Hanagatami, his best film. I'm sick of entry-level film buffs pretending he only directed one film - Hausu (1977) while it's not even his best work. -_-



If you're still craving for masterpieces just look up my 5s and 4.5s on RYM. You won't find better recs.

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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

I'm always the one to bring animation into the convo so I recommend the animated Lord of the Rings

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Ami-Scythe

Spirited Away
Anything else by Miyazaki

If that's your attitude about Citizen Kane then you're hardly going into it blind as you say. Why waste your time even watching it.

For Animation I would have to say the three movies by Rene Laloux.

Gandahar (1987)




Time Masters (1982)




Fantastic Planet (1973)




I'm also a big fan of Oshii, and I think the most artistic film he made was Angel's Egg (1985).




I usually go by director when I'm attributing the overall work to a single man, but I think the writer Hideyuki Kikuchi's work has produced some of the most interesting films.


Vampire Hunter D (1985)



There are actually a couple of different English dubs, and it's crucial to find the right one. It makes a huge difference even though it's a subtle aspect. This one shines above it's sequel with really crisp animation for it's time, great composition, and very creative themes. It's a classic portrayal of vampires done so perfectly right. You can feel the lore in subtle things the characters say (again, some of this is lost if you use the worse dub/sub).


Wicked City (1987)




Demon City Shinjuku (1988)




A Wind Named Amnesia (1990)



A Wind Named Amnesia is an exceptionally beautiful story set in a post-apocalypse after a wind sweeps across the whole Earth erasing everyone's memory. Everyone forgets how to drive, planes, cars, trains, and boats crash, civilization breaks down completely. Humanity basically reverts to the stone age because they even forgot how to speak languages. One man learns how to talk and meets a mysterious woman.

Darkside Blues (1994)



Darkside Blues is a really interesting hidden gem.


Leaving Hideyuki Kikuchi behind there are a few more animated films that are mind blowing.


Genocyber (1994)



Genocyber is ultraviolence to the max, psychics and cyborgs with brain and guts hanging from the ceiling. The English dub is excellent.


The Dagger of Kamui (1985)



The Dagger of Kamui is by far the best Ninja animation there is. It far surpasses the likes of Ninja Scroll.


Perfect Blue (1997)



Perfect Blue is one of my favorite movies of all time, and in my opinion it's Satoshi Kon's best work. The detail and quality of the artwork and animation looks like something that was made in 2003. The deeply psychological writing has so many layers thst it will take multiple watches to understand the extent of exactly what happened. I learn something more about the movie every time I watch it.


Dragon's Heaven (1988)



Dragon's Heaven is a shorter movie, only about 40 minutes. It's possibly the most futuristic thing I've seen in terms of how far in the future it is.


The Animatrix (2003)



In my opinion The Animatrix is better than the original Matrix. While the original gave me an epiphany the first time I saw it, The Animatrix gave me multiple epiphanies. The Matrix lost it's impact after the first watch, because it relied so heavily on a twist. But The Animatrix gets better every time I watch it. I think it has a purer philosophy of the nature of the world. The way that Neo woke up to the reality of the world didn't go beyond the actual Matrix, and explained little. But the Animatrix tells much more realistic and compelling stories.


Memories (1995)



Memories is three short stories.


Kite (1998)



I think Kite is Yasuomi Umetsu's best work. He also worked on Akira, Grave of the Fireflies, Mezzo Forte, Lily C.A.T., Kimera, Robot Carnival, Barefoot Gen, Lupin III, Angel Cop (another favorite of mine), Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counter Attack, Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, Megazone 23, and Galactic Patrol Lensman. So yeah, those in my opinion are great stuff he's worked on, but he has done tons more stuff. Kite is one that he really made himself, not just worked on.

Personally I'm not a big Miyazaki fan. I think he's had a ton of influence on the medium, and been very prolific. Many animation artists consider him the greatest, but I think the writing quality of his stories lacks enough depth of insight into human psychology and philosophy.

Whisper of the Heart (1995)



This is my placeholder for Miyazaki. I think Whisper of the Heart is his most powerful story.


Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (1987)



This has a level of detail and animation quality as well as art style identical to Akira, but it came out one year prior, it also has a lot more focus on story and character relationships.

"To be honest nothing I've seen or heard about it makes me especially excited to see it. It's almost like a chore,where I just think I have to because people say you have to. But I hope that it will be better than I'm expecting."

I don't really mean it to come across strongly like that. Maybe I should have worded it differently. I'm still looking forward to it. I think it's an important film to watch, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. I just don't feel, excited, that being the key word. I'm still interested and curious.

This summer I got a movie that was $90 second hand. I found it in a book store actually. The description on the back of the case really caught my attention, and the movie lived up to it.

Le Corbeau (1943)



It kept me guessing until the very end. It makes you think you know who the author of the poison pen letters is, and then makes you doubt everything you think you know, and it does this multiple times. It's criticism of its characters cuts to the heart of people. Made during the Nazi occupation of France it was hated by the Nazi's, the French Resistance, and the Pope.

I think that Yuan Zhang could be one of the greatest Chinese Directors ever. He has quite the reputation, and even though I've only seen one of his movies I really did get that impression.

Seventeen Years (1999)





For Japanese cinema there are a couple of brilliant coming of age dramas that I think everyone should watch.

Blue (2002)



Directed by Hiroshi Ando, a subtle passionate romance between two teenage girls.


Noriko's Dinner Table (2005)



Directed by Sion Sono, two sisters run away from home to join up with an online cult involved in family rental and suicide.

There's no such thing as a movie you "absolutely have to watch." I use ratings only as a guide and I'm not necessarily going to like a particular movie just because it got 4 stars. I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and liked it. Citizen Kane I didn't like. I found it very boring. Use your judgement. Watch what you want and don't waste your time with nonsense.

I'm trying not to see anything that describes scenes in too much detail because I like going into movies as blind as possible.

What a great habit! I also never read anything about a film I am going to see. I want to discover the secret mystery of each film.

I always saw those ten greatest films lists and I always wondered why Citizen ‘boring” Kane was always near the top. It wasn’t until the fifth time I saw the film that I began to slowly appreciate its depth, it’s a film that ages well.

If that's the case, then Vozvrachenye (2003) is an undeniable must-see. There's always more going on than meets the eye, not just in the story, but in what it's alluding to. Zvyagintsev is a genius who can make a simple story about two boys and their mafioso dad feel biblical.

I want to create the purest sense of the height of cinematic excellence I can.

You sure are an Enigma Mr.Minio. I had no idea you were so well versed when it came to the silent era.

I'm well-versed in everything. And I mean everything just like I proved it to you a couple of days ago.