Top 100 Movies (2014 Edition): Scenes from Numbers 34, 12, 59, 57, and 76

Does the title confuse you? Let’s break it down together. First, it’s my annual top 100 Movies List time. Every year I update my top 100 movies list with things newly watched and rewatched, and newly ordered based on whatever whims were coursing through me roughly 2 hours ago, when I (mostly) finalized my list for 2014. I say mostly because summer has become my most fruitful movie watching season and it isn’t quite over yet, so I want to give myself some room to mess around with the back end of the list by having only 99 movies on the list as currently composed and with the last two in the list holding temporary spots. This leaves between 1 and 3 spots available for movies that wow me in the next month or so, and that’s certainly possible, as two movies that I watched over the weekend will be appearing here at some point in the future.

Now, for the format of the presentation. I’ve grown tired of just doing a mini paragraph about each movie with a quote and a link to a full review. If you want that, go to last year’s version of the list. For this year I’m doing something completely different. I’ll be picking one outstanding scene from each film and doing a write up about just that scene. And, to make it even more fun, I’ve run my list through a randomizer and will present five random movies from it every other day or so (don’t worry, fans of order, my full ordered list is available on letterboxd). Wherever possible, I’ll link to a youtube or vimeo version of the scene so you can play along. Where that isn’t possible, I’ll do a quick recap of the scene so that we’re all on the same page. And as always, the title of each movie will link to my full review if I’ve written one. Ready, begin.

34. The Long Day Closes – A Boy’s Places

The Long Day Closes is one of a good few coming of age movies on my list. It’s something I’m really attracted to in stories, for whatever reason. This particular one is a fictionalized autobiography of director Terence Davies focuses on four places which shaped him: his house, his church, his school, and the movie theater in which he would escape the above three for a few hours at a time. The conclusion of the film takes us back to all of those places and does so in a way that emphasizes their similarities and differences. The entire sequence is shot from above and tracking to the left and as church pews fade into school desks and one authority figure dissolves into another, we see the summation of the forces that guide an shape a young man, this young man. And that song is just perfect.

12. Modern Times – The Tramp Eats

Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp is one of the most indelible characters of cinema. Always disrespected but never disrespectful, he is the hero of genteel politeness in a body that distracts everybody but the lucky few from his underlying humanity. In this scene he is the test subject of a new machine which will allow factory workers to continue eating while they work, doubling their efficiency. The first fourth or so of the film is as lucid a critique of the modern factory system as we have and the silly invention is the height of both hilarity and satire. When it fails spectacularly, the boss rejects it: “It isn’t practical.” Nevermind the human toll, as the Tramp has collapsed on the floor from the invention’s cruel(ly funny) aberrations.

59. The Seventh Seal – Burning a Witch

“Will you every stop asking questions,” Death asks Antonius Block. Max von Sydow’s voice answers, but it’s director Ingmar Bergman’s words, “No, never.” The three Bergman movies I’ve seen are all about questions without answers, and the sometimes joy and sometimes terror they can bring. Here, it’s terror, as a young woman is burned for consorting with the devil. Block inquires about the devil, if only to ask him about God. His constant search brings him to much suffering, and only Death remains absolute.

57. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – A Phone Call

Max von Sydow makes another appearance here, this time towards the end of his acting career. It’s 50 years after The Seventh Seal and he’s playing the father to Mathieu Amalric’s Jean-Do, a paralyzed man who can only move his left eye. This scene captures the difficult relationship between the two, as they are both trapped, one by age and the other by his body. The movie is about the failings of our physical beings and the triumphs of our spirits, but it’s the gradual defocusing at the end of this scene that seals the movie for me. Throughout the film, the camera often takes the POV of Jean-Do and here, as elsewhere, it tells as much as the words through just the image. 

76. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs – Snowball!

There is something to be said for silliness. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs has silliness in spades, and rarely is it more on display than in this fun scene that involve karate, ice cream, breaking and entering, poop, and weather reportage. Sometimes you’re asking questions about if God exists, other times you’re throwing mint chocolate chip snowballs at a grown woman’s face.

Do you have a favorite scene from any of these movies, or anything else to add? Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you!

Top 27 Movie Discoveries in 2013 Part 2: 13-1

Part 1 of this list can be found here. This post will count down from 13 to 1 for all of the movies I saw in 2013 that were made in earlier years and to which I gave at least 4 stars on Letterboxd. Any questions? Remember, each title is a link to my full review.

13. Cabaret (1972)

It doesn’t get much better than the opening of this film. We’re thrust into a world of escape and sex and sadness all through the power of dance and music and the great framing. Liza Minnelli is a wonder in this film, a combination of razzle dazzle and loneliness that feels so real. But boy can she light up a stage.

12. Videodrome (1983)

Although videotape has long been obsolete, this film loses none of its punch thanks to a fantastic performance by James Woods and David Cronenberg’s patented body horror imagination. He creates a world that feels alive and breathing, thanks in large part to the seemingly alive and breathing television set that serves as the film’s centerpiece and most iconic image.

11. American Movie (1999)

Mark Borchardt is a character, man. He’s just a normal movie nerd trying to make a film with no budget and the help of his friends and family. This documentary doesn’t hide any of his flaws but it’s much more of a celebration of him and his dream than it is a biting look at failure. As such, and since Borchardt is so much fun, it’s a really entertaining and enlightening film.

10. Tesis (1996)

From the director of the fantastic gothic horror film The Others comes this earlier film that doesn’t stray into the supernatural but also doesn’t skimp on the scares. It’s similar to Videodrome in theme but different in execution as it uses some of the found footage tropes years before they became popularized by the likes of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

9. The Fog of War (2003)

What ho! Another documentary! It’s like I was expanding my horizons or something last year. Anyways, this one is super great because Robert McNamera, former Secretary of Defense and subject of this documentary, is almost ridiculously intelligent and able to speak articulately about the triumphs and mistakes he made in his career. I’ve also been catching up with The West Wing and seeing the real deal makes that show all the sweeter.

8. The Seventh Seal (1957)

2013 was the year I started watching Ingmar Bergman movies. Don’t ask me why I took so long, I have no reasonable explanation for you. I’m just glad I finally got there. The Seventh Seal shows off his directorial abilities as he makes what might have been the depressing movie into an often comedic little movie about life and death. It’s all so great.

7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

You’ll notice this is the third musical on this list. Whenever I finally do my list of 2013 movies you’ll probably also notice that movies which feature even one musical scene often make a strong impression on me. So this really lovely tale of romance interrupted feels like it was made for me, even though I was more than 20 years away from being born when it was released. The last scene which takes place in a snowstorm at Christmas is just wonderful.

6. Sleuth (1972)

To say too much about this movie would spoil some of the fun of it. And make no mistake, this is maybe one of the most fun movies I watched all last year. You’ve got two of the best British actors working at the time matched up against each other with a hyper-literate script and some fantastic set design thrown into a pot boiling thanks to a fire of deception and lies. Fun fun fun.

5. Modern Times (1936)

Is there anything funnier than Chaplin at the hands of an automatic feeder machine? Or more thrilling than his blindfolded rollerskating next to a several story drop in a huge department store? Not really. Chaplin likes to stick up for the little man in his movies and this time it really works to sell the existential crises normal people were facing in the mid thirties. Also, it’s hilarious.

4. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

I’ve been told a few times that I messed up by having this be the first spaghetti western film I watched, since none will likely compare to it favorably. Well, if that’s truly the case, at least I got to see one amazing movie out of the genre. The title warns us that what we’re getting isn’t just a western by a kind of fairy tale version of the end of the old west. And what an ending it is, filled with standoffs and harmonicas and good guys and bad guys.

3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Not only is this movie consistently very funny, it also has a huge heart that makes it worth of standing alongside such holiday movies as It’s a Wonderful Life and The Shop Around the Corner. It is probably the best Thanksgiving movie there is thanks (heh) to Steve Martin and John Candy’s fantastic chemistry. Of course, they can’t help but get in each other’s way but this film sells that thing better than most in the genre and the ending is a great topper to an excellent film.

2. Before Sunset (2004)

I caught up with the Before films just as Before Midnight was leaving the theaters (in fact, I caught the last showing of the last day) and I’m so glad I did. I liked this entry better than the first as it built upon the solid foundation laid by Before Sunrise with great dialogue and an amazing final scene. People often say it’s the more pessimistic of the first two films in the series but I don’t get that at all. Just look at the end and what happens in Before Midnight.

1. Fanny and Alexander (1982)

The title links to my initial impressions, after which I wrote a two part blog post (Part 1, Part 2) proclaiming it as my new favorite movie of all time. So any of you following that kind of stuff probably aren’t that surprised by this choice or placement. It truly is a singular work of art, comparable to any masterpiece of any form, media, or genre. Somebody find me a better movie than this and I’ll eat my shoe.

And that’s the end. What were your discoveries last year? Leave a comment! Find the full list at Letterboxd. Stay tuned for a books list!