What Is The Greatest Movie Of All Time?
#203: The Sight and Sound top 100, "Vengeance," "Jeanne Dielman," "Emily The Criminal"
The Cinephile Bucket List
I’m traveling this week, so realistically today is the last day to order one of my scratch-off movie posters if you want to get it in time for Christmas! Full details at THIS LINK.
Edition 203:
Hey movie lovers!
As always, you can find a podcast version of this newsletter on Apple or Spotify. Thank you so much for listening and spreading the word!
This week we’re talking about lists, and what makes something the greatest film of all time. Streaming suggestions include one of my favorite movies from earlier this year, which just hit Netflix, and another overlooked 2022 gem. In “Trailer Watch,” Jonah Hill sits across the table from Eddie Murphy.
The 100 Greatest Films Of All Time
Every 10 years, the enclave of the world’s foremost movie minds assemble and take the sacred oath before reaching consensus on the definitive list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.
Or, more accurately, 1,600 critics were likely sent an email and filled out their own top 10 ballots that were then tallied up for a top 100 in the British magazine Sight and Sound.
Still, this is THE list that has defined movie canon for the past 70 years. As much as it is an object to be argued over, it’s also foundational for each new generation of movie lovers who want to discover the peak of the art form for the first time. For example, the reason why Citizen Kane carries the reputation as the greatest film ever is because of its reign as No. 1 on this list from 1962-2012.
You may be surprised to learn that this year’s No. 1 is Jeanne Dielman, a three-hour-and-20-minute French movie I personally had never heard of, let alone seen. Since you’re probably curious, here’s the rest of the top 10: 2) Vertigo, 3) Citizen Kane, 4) Tokyo Story, 5) In The Mood For Love, 6) 2001: A Space Odyssey, 7) Beau travail, 8) Mulholland Drive, 9) Man With a Movie Camera, 10) Singin’ In The Rain.
The thing that’s immediately obvious from the selections all the way down the list is that this year’s poll has morphed from an official library of movie history into a reflection of our current moment. How else could one explain a list of the 100 greatest movies without a single entry directed by Steven Spielberg, arguably the most important filmmaker of all time, or Quentin Tarintino, Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coens, to name a few.
In the past 10 years, culture of the internet has changed (in case you haven’t noticed). The culture of opinion has changed, and certainly the culture of inclusion. Sight and Sound added hundreds of new and more diverse critics to its voting block, who certainly added new vitality to the list at the sacrifice of some degree of authentic reflection of decades of a white, male dominated industry.
It’s less about demographics though, in my mind, than personal identity. Critics in past decades would’ve cared more about what their personal ballots said about the big list, whereas nowadays critics care more about what their ballouts say about themselves. The effect of social media, where most individual critics posted their top 10 for all to see, is to make every waking moment both a referendum on one’s personal identity and a chance to reshape it into whatever we want it to be.
Under that environment, voting for a Jaws or Pulp Fiction marks oneself publicly as obvious, unoriginal and boring. But voting for Jeanne Dielman means you are feminist, cultured, patient, and a true scholar of the arts. It’s almost painfully obvious that the top choice would be a female-directed social statement — which could also help explain why Portrait of a Lady On Fire could be considered the 30th greatest film of all time just a little over two years after its release (another explanation: these people LOVE French films).
Elsewhere, my hunch has been all but confirmed by the first few releases of critics top 10 movies of the year lists.
I’ve watched more than 70 movies released in 2022, and follow the industry about as closely as any non-full time professional out there, and yet I’d never heard of the No. 1 movie in The New York Times (EO) or The Ringer (Aftersun). On The Atlantic’s list were three movies I actively blasted in this newsletter. And come on Variety, there’s no way in good conscience you’re going to convince me you think Bros is the fourth best movie of this year.
None of the lists included the movie this year will be remembered for, Top Gun: Maverick (except The Ringer, which did so disrespectfully by pairing it with Jackass Forever), and no love was given to Everything Everywhere All At Once, because it has apparently accumulated too much of an active bandwagon to be considered a sophisticated choice anymore — don’t worry, for the moment it’s still my No. 1.
Maybe this whole essay is a prolonged excuse for my own lists. My recent Cinephile Bucket List has my top 100 movie suggestions, and contains three movies each from Damien Chazelle and the Coens for no other reason than those are my personal favorites. Maybe my top 10 for the year will be too obvious and boring.
But here’s my promise. I’m not in it for interesting list-making. My rankings are my honest thoughts, biases and all. If you’re read this far, I hope that means something to you. So prepare yourself for New Year’s Eve, when I’ll rank every single 2022 movie I saw this year in order!
Something New
Vengeance ($VOD): It took me long enough to finally catch up on B.J. Novack’s directorial debut from earlier this year, a story about a New York journalist who travels to west Texas to report a true crime podcast on a dead woman he used to hook up with, whose family mistakenly thinks he was her girlfriend. It’s a pure indie, no question, and Novack doesn’t surprise us with unbelievable visual flair. But he really wrote the hell out of this movie. Honestly, it’s over-written within an inch of its life, but in a delightful way, and that construction works well with the familiar premise of the fancy city slicker looking down his nose at the Texan rednecks.
Our protagonist’s continual attempts to “explain America” have a Woody Allen-esque preachiness to them that I loved, equal parts insightful and ridiculous. Boyd Holbrook, Issa Rae and Ashton Kutchar fill in a colorful supporting cast (plus Gerri from “Succession” and one fantastic John Mayer cameo), ensuring constant humor, and in the end the podcast framing device doesn’t get in the way of an exciting climax. Definitely recommend this movie to anyone reading this.
Something Old
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1977, HBO Max): This week’s movie suggestion is for me as much as you. After being named the greatest movie of all time, I feel like it’s all of our collective duty to watch this movie and form our own opinions. Here’s the one-line summary given to us by HBO: “A lonely widow turns to prostitution to make ends meet.” And did I mention it’s three hours and 20 minutes long? If you take the plunge, let me know. And when I get around to it, I’ll be sure to share my thoughts.
Something to Stream
Emily The Criminal (Netflix): In case you didn’t catch this movie in theaters, and I know you didn’t because the movie made a grand total of $2.1 million at box office, I wanted to let you know that one of my favorite films of the year (it’s currently hanging tough at No. 10) just dropped on Netflix. It’s the best thing Aubrey Plaza has ever done, and yes, that does include the current season of “The White Lotus.” Here’s my full rave review from back in August. Great movie!
Trailer Watch: You People
All I know from this trailer is the Jonah Hill is returning to comedy, trying to impress Eddie Murphy enough to let him marry his daughter. That’s enough for me to want to see it.
IMDB tells me the rest of the cast is a murder’s row: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nia Long, Elliott Gould, David Duchovny, Mike Epps. So yeah, count me all the way in.