The 1993 Mini-List

[Fiery Angel]

can you add Peter Sehr's "Kasper Hauser"? (I saw the 3-hour version in Toronto in '93, but it was released heavily cut the following year--I think!)

[swo17]

Done

[knives]

Some more new viewings, all mostly good.

The Puppetmaster (Hou)
I can really appreciate this intellectually and am sure will stimulate some great conversation, but also find myself at a remove. This kind of illustrated oral history is great and functions like a more personalized version of a Ken Burns film. The story it’s telling as well, due to its rare level of representation otherwise, is fascinating. My problem, with emphasis on my, has to do with HHH’s style and how it communicates to me like a mildly amusing joke which can make you smile and then forget a few minutes later. The experience is much more shallow than the actual product which to be fair is me finding the right words to describe my HHH problem more than anything specific to The Puppetmaster.

Heaven and Earth
I’m fairly down with these tortuous stories of feminine perseverance so even a relatively good entry such as this had me checking out early on. In regular passion play mode Stone provides one torture after another for this young woman. There doesn’t seem to be a point until Jones pops up and the film actually comes alive reaching the earth. The lead has reached a stasis in her misery when he pops up and offers her at least a comfortable alternative if not necessarily a happy one. I really adore how the film illustrates her guarded nature as a double sided blade. Even in a positive situation she has to function with cunning on the outside and some degree of lie on the inside. This allows even the moments of insecurity which follow to never dwell on hopelessness. Stone presents what other social violence against women filmmakers don’t which is a complete person.

In many respects the film is like an inversion of The Killing Fields taking the story of Vietnam from the Vietnamese perspective and only after some time allowing the Americans to be present. What’s really different is how these Americans are presented as ugly. It’s a purely comedic take in line with the over the top tone of Natural Born Killers. That first scene with the family had me jumping backwards it’s so explicit as to be a cartoon whereas the rest of the film is a bit more traditionally realistic in its presentation. It really allows the US to be this fantasy land of pleasurable terror.

[therewillbeblus]

I had the opposite experience with The Puppetmaster. I have no real memory or strong interest in the material, but the sensation HHH creates just invited me into the film in a manner I can't say any other film has quite accomplished in the same way. I'm usually at odds with HHH's style but for some reason this one just worked for me on a perhaps-spiritual level. It's a 'feeling' movie for me, rather than one to be dissected.

[knives]

That’s interesting, but also totally understandable. Like any half decent film on memories there’s an experiential dream quality to it.

[John Cope]

Am amazed by just how great a movie year '93 is with such a rich abundance of magnificent films. '91 always seemed to me to be a model year but this one may actually beat it. Have had a hell of a time trying to keep my list to only 25. Would really need at least 30 spots to do the year justice, and that's with me excluding a lot of the big consensus titles. There are also a staggering amount of fantastic music videos as well.

Having said all that I do want to take issue with including Oliveira's Memories and Confessions for '93. I know that's how IMDB lists it but I've never understood that as the film was shot in '82 (BFI lists it on their site for that year) and was not officially released or even screened until after Oliveira's death in '15. Where '93 ever came from I may never know.

[swo17]

And it looks like the film's title card lists 1981, which doesn't make sense if it hadn't been shot yet! I see at least a couple places saying it screened 15 Oct 1993. This site mentions a special screening at the Cinemateca Portuguesa authorized by Oliveira in 1993, which I assume was on that date or near enough. But it also says that the general intent was to wait to screen it until after his death. I'm not sure what the best solution is here. For people that like the film enough to vote for it, do you have a preference?

Also, John Cope, please do mention whichever films you consider to fall within this year's "rich abundance of magnificent films" as I'd like to make sure I've seen them all! I know you like The Music of Chance, and I suspect you would also like The Cement Garden, which knives wrote up earlier in the thread, but what else?

[John Cope]

There are just so many. There are the more obvious ones (A Perfect World, Short Cuts, Naked) but then many more obscure ones (The Baby of Mâcon; The Puppetmaster; Totally F***ed Up; Calendar; Clean, Shaven; Little Buddha; Kalifornia; Fearless; Two Small Bodies; The Bed You Sleep In; Roeg's Heart of Darkness). And then ultra obscurities like Everett Lewis's great but barely seen and never released An Ambush of Ghosts which I was lucky enough to see at a rare screening at USC back in 2001. And also Rafael Eisenman's Zalman King produced Lake Consequence which I don't expect anyone else to vote for though it being the first feature shot (beautifully) by Harris Savides might interest some. I agree about the two Jarmans (and would add the two Ferraras). And of course there is Vale Abraão and, yes, The Music of Chance. I do admire The Cement Garden but that, along with a few others such as Wide Sargasso Sea and Zero Patience, will have to be left off my list as I simply ran out of room!

As for Memories and Confessions: you're right, I have no idea really where it should go so '93 is as good as any of the other proposed dates (I will endeavor to fit it in somewhere). I tend to view it as his "final film" simply because he himself positioned it that way. It is a great but ultimately perversely ironic (which is appropriate) career and life summation several decades too early.

[swo17]

I haven't seen A Perfect World so never assume something is too obvious to bring up in the thread!

Thought I'd mention that this was an interesting year for Stan Brakhage. First, he delivers what I believe is the only traditional speaking role of his career in... Cannibal the Musical. He doesn't get many lines, but they're funnier than they perhaps should be, because they're delivered by Stan Brakhage.



He also made a number of impressive hand-painted films this year that are hard to come by but worth seeking out. Re:voir put out a VHS with a bunch of them (Hand-Painted Films 1986-1994) that's long OOP but available on back channels. The only ones represented on Criterion's BD set are Stellar (1993) and Black Ice (1994). I'd particularly recommend Three Homerics and Ephemeral Solidity

[yoshimori]

" ... Three Homerics and Ephemeral Solidity"

Saw these at LA Filmforum many, many years ago. Both excellent, iyam.

[scotty2]

Three Colors: White shows as 1994 everywhere I can find it, including a late January '94 release in France. Is it only eligible for 1993?

[swo17]

Not sure where 1993 came from, as everywhere I'm looking now says 1994. I can change it, thanks for pointing that out!

[colinr0380]

I very much second John Cope's suggestions. For a few more 1993 film recommendations, and going through my records, I'd add The Blue Kite as a really big one. Also in terms of more independent Chinese cinema there is also the musical drama Beijing Bastards, and Wang Xiaoshuai's debut film The Days.

In the year that a new version is released, it might be worth revisiting Ang Lee's breakthrough film The Wedding Banquet. In terms of South Korean cinema, Park Kwang-su's To The Starry Island.

I would really love to revisit The Hour of the Pig (known as The Advocate in the US) again at some point, which seemed to get somewhat overlooked in the post-Name of the Rose and Cadfael glut of medieval murder mysteries, the last film directed by Leslie Megahey (who also did Schlaken the Painter, which turned up in the BFI Flipside series a while back). I keep hoping that it might turn up on BBC4 in their 'archive television' strand at some point, being a BBC produced film. On a similar note, the Stephen Poliakoff film of 1993 was Century, re-teaming Poliakoff with Charles Dance again after Hidden City; and Clive Owen just after Close My Eyes.

Australian/UK co-production No Worries (which despite being classed as "1994" in that video, premiered at Cannes and in Australia in 1993, and only showed theatrically in the US in 1995!) From director David Elfick, who is probably best known for the seminal surfing movie, 1974's Crystal Voyager, with its final 20 minutes scored to Pink Floyd's Echoes.

I think this may be a 1992 film but I'd love to see the overheatedly operatic New Zealand film Desperate Remedies again some time, which I seem to remember being like a Mills & Boon heady erotic fantasy smashing head-on into Querelle.

In terms of Canadian cinema, there's I Love A Man In Uniform (or "A Man In Uniform") - another Cannes premiere in 1993 film, before getting a US theatrical release in 1994.

The Portuguese doppleganger-identity thriller The Edge of the Horizon, with Claude Brasseur as a pathologist investigating what appears to be the body of his own younger self. Speaking of misplaced identities, Julio Medem's stylish and twisty The Red Squirrel.

For US films, there is a very early attempt at a female-centric Western with the cross-dressing The Ballad of Little Jo (which was a big thing that year with Cronenberg's M. Butterfly!). The Saint of Fort Washington, which was the last big theatrical film by Tim Hunter before he went more into TV. Or Flesh and Bone, the only other film from the guy who directed The Fabulous Baker Boys, before he moved on to adapting all of the Harry Potter books for the screen. Or feel like a sci-fi TV movie remake of Hitchcock's Lifeboat in Lifepod, with Robert Loggia, CCH Pounder and Ron Silver (who also directed) duking it out for survival? I also remember really liking the Peter Weir film Fearless, which keeps teasing the central airplane accident throughout its course.

If you want more Keitel in the year of The Piano and Dangerous Game, he also appeared in The Young Americans, from the director who would go on to the ill fated Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd film afterwards. Although the most notable thing about The Young Americans is that its where Play Dead by Bjork comes from.

Selfishly, I was hoping that we would get a good Blu-ray or UHD version of Gerard Depardieu's version of Emile Zola's Germinal before he got cancelled, but at least we got Jean de Florette by a narrow margin!

We can have a debate about which of the two duelling 'rap version of This Is Spinal Tap' films of the year wins out - CB4 or Fear of a Black Hat. (Spoiler: its Fear of a Black Hat, but they are both entertaining)

And a couple of films that probably do not need the push, but I'll also throw in Six Degrees of Separation; True Romance; Suture and Romeo Is Bleedng.

It also appears that Stuart Gordon's "The Handmaid's Tale for Men" film Fortress could be eligible, since it played festivals in 1992 but only got a US release in 1993! Gordon also had a hand in Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers film of the year too.

[therewillbeblus]

The Red Squirrel is indeed excellent, and Medem has two more gems this decade also well worth seeking out (Tierra and Lovers of the Arctic Circle)

[swo17]

Thanks for that rundown, colin! Just to be clear, I have all the films you mention assigned to 1993 except the following:

The Hour of the Pig: 1994
Suture: 1994
Fortress: 1992

[Lowry_Sam]

My list for this month is limited by what I can stream, which at the moment is Criterion, Kanopy & Tubi. Most of my catch-up viewing has turned out to be just okay, maybe an interesting premise or a strong start but my interest waned over the course of the film (Madadayo, Caro Diario, Household Saints) and would end up rating 7/10. I havn't really been able to add anything to my list except to pad out the rest of it to hit 25. I was going to revisit ones I have on disc, particularly since I haven't seen many since their theatrical release and was going to use this as a reason to finally screen UHD purchases (Blue, Raise The Red Lantern, The Piano), however there are a number of mainstream titles I still haven't seen (Philadelphia, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park Bronx Tale, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Carlito's Way, In The Name Of The Father, The Age Of Innocence) and my local library doesn't have them on dvd (with the exception of Schindler's list, which I have been avoiding for all these years but wanted at least blu-ray quality to finally make the plunge). And then there are a number of titles that have been on my watchlist for a while, but can't find a good source for: The Puppetmaster, Smoking/No Smoking, The Beginning And The End, Elegy From Russia.

Glad to see at least one other person including Six Degrees Of Separation as it has a disappointing 6.8 on IMDB and has never been upgraded from dvd. Also glad to see that Jarman's Blue will be making other lists as for me it really makes a compelling argument for doing all one can do with their life til the very end & to make do with the faculties that one still has, and because of that I find it the most moving of all the 80s & 90s films to tackle AIDS. It also makes the case that sound/soundtrack/sound editing are as important as cinematography, etc.

The one film from my list that I'd urge others to seek out so that hopefully my vote isn't an orphan is Ma saison préférée (My Favorit Season) as it too has never made the upgrade from dvd and has an IMDB rating just below 7. André Téchiné (Wild Reeds) directs Catherine Deneuve and Daniel Auteuil in a very somber drama about estranged siblings coming back together to deal with an aging parent's dementia. It's probably the first film I saw to really impart the gravity of the issue on modern life as deftly as Ozu might & would make a great double feature with You Can Can Count On Me (both thematically and in tone, so only if you are up for an emotionally draining long haul). It is one of my favorite French films from the 90s & after having just gone through a similar experience with my own sister I would hate to see it become orphaned.

[swo17]

The Bed You Sleep In

Wow. I'd never seen a Jost film before but I might as well have never seen a film before because this was something else entirely. And I don't mean that as hyperbole so much as an objective description of the strangeness of its syntax. The score is too symphonic to serve as mere accompaniment. The plot is like a stick of butter that wasn't properly mixed in with the rest of the batter. The film hits its climax and then just keeps going with more examples of the mesmeric drudgery of American life. Jost makes a lot of odd choices here and they all worked splendidly for me

[Lowry_Sam]

Are you sure Clean, Shaven is 1993? The Criterion channel lists it as 1994 and although IMDB has a generic 1993 in a simple search it states a release date of April 21, 1995.

[therewillbeblus]

The Bed You Sleep In

Wow. I'd never seen a Jost film before but I might as well have never seen a film before because this was something else entirely. And I don't mean that as hyperbole so much as an objective description of the strangeness of its syntax. The score is too symphonic to serve as mere accompaniment. The plot is like a stick of butter that wasn't properly mixed in with the rest of the batter. The film hits its climax and then just keeps going with more examples of the mesmeric drudgery of American life. Jost makes a lot of odd choices here and they all worked splendidly for me

If there's a point of comparison, I felt that a few talky scenes played out similar to the experimental walk-on parts from Inland Empire, and some of the more obscure shot choices would fit in there as well, which is funny considering the skeleton of the film is essentially Twin Peaks / Blue Velvet ideas reduced down to its essentials, eliminating many of Lynch's louder qualities. But this is like Bubble with Lynchian horror bubbled to the brim of the surface with no where to hide or be repressed by phantasmagoric distractions. The extensive stalling effects create a sense of unease that has no solution or fun detour to take into another realm. It's a brutal slice of Americana, an at-times surrealistic art film far more concerned with expressing reality than its stylistic influences. It would actually make for an interesting double feature with Blue Velvet, and not just because of all the transition shots of the same surface-level decoy natural beauty in total decay!

[flyonthewall2983]

Does Twenty Bucks ring a bell for anyone here? Vague memories of watching it on The Movie Channel, in hindsight having seen some interesting stuff on there but in practice could be a bit of a chore watching something 9-10 yo me would (or indeed should) watch.

I swear I came by an ad for something recent of a similar concept to just following the money in and out of people’s lives. Reminded me of this, has some decent notices on Letterboxd.

[swo17]

Are you sure Clean, Shaven is 1993? The Criterion channel lists it as 1994 and although IMDB has a generic 1993 in a simple search it states a release date of April 21, 1995.

It won an award at a 1993 film festival. Actually, if a film even gets nominated for some kind of an award at a film festival, I will generally assign it to that year, even if it doesn't get a wide release until the next year

[zedz]

Not sure where 1993 came from, as everywhere I'm looking now says 1994. I can change it, thanks for pointing that out!

The Three Colours release dates are easy to remember, because they involve debuting at the three major European festivals, starting with Venice, so if Blue is 1993, Berlin falls at the beginning of 1994 (White) and Cannes in May (Red). I think Kieszlowski was hoping to achieve a historic grand slam, but it didn’t work out that way. He only got the Golden Lion.

[therewillbeblus]

The Bed You Sleep In

If I really enjoyed this, but didn't care for Jost's early work (e.g. Last Chants for a Slow Dance), what should I seek out next?

[cdnchris]

Does Twenty Bucks ring a bell for anyone here? Vague memories of watching it on The Movie Channel, in hindsight having seen some interesting stuff on there but in practice could be a bit of a chore watching something 9-10 yo me would (or indeed should) watch.

Oh wow! I completely forgot about this one, but recall catching it the same way and liking it, but probably haven't seen it since.

[swo17]

The Bed You Sleep In

If I really enjoyed this, but didn't care for Jost's early work (e.g. Last Chants for a Slow Dance), what should I seek out next?

I followed it up with Sure Fire because it was locally relevant to me. Didn't entirely pack the same punch but it explored similar themes and I rather liked it as well. Great juxtaposition of Utah-specific scriptural references against roving landscapes to introduce a virginal land all ready for violence