The 1996 Mini-List

[swo17]

Could you please add Sokurov's Vostochnaya elegiya Oriental Elegy? Thanks.

That was already listed

[domino harvey]

This was another great year that merited a full 20 film ballot. Had a chuckle at the apparent English title for Pedale douce though (I’m guessing some potential distro realized calling a movie “Sweet Faggot” anywhere but France was prob not going to fly)

[swo17]

I got that English title from Wikipedia. Letterboxd translates it as "What a Drag." I don't know how widely either title might have actually been used. I guess "Soft Pedal" conveys the effort to downplay homosexuality both in the plot and in the title!

[domino harvey]

Not sure it even got a release here. I thought it was infinitely better than the gay French comedies that did and were popular with American audiences, like Gazon maudit and La cage aux folles, though (not that that’s a high bar)

[domino harvey]

Speaking of titles, I had no idea this had a sequel (with Dany Boon of all people, and a screenwriting credit for… Bertrand Blier?!), but the title is a mouthful (and amusing): Pédale douce 3 : Elles sont tellement folles qu'elles ont oublié de faire le 2! And the shortened title, Pedale dure, keeps the theme (“Hard Faggot”), so I guess one should translate the first film as soft not sweet to keep the entendres consistent

[swo17]

So there is only one sequel and it's called part 3?

[domino harvey]

Yes, they were so zany that they forgot to make the second one

[BrianB]

Can you add Celtic Pide and Don’t Be a Menace to South Central? Thanks.

[geoffcowgill]

Last minute add request, please! A Family Thing (Pearce).
Thanks!

[swo17]

All added

[swo17]

The 1996 List



##. Film (Director) points/votes(top 5 placements, aka likely votes in decade list)/highest ranking

01. Fargo (Joel & Ethan Coen) 350/18(9)/1(x2)
02. نون و گلدون [Nūn o goldūn] [A Moment of Innocence] (Mohsen Makhmalbāf) 248/13(7)/2(x2)
03. Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh) 234/12(6)/1(x2)
04. Crash (David Cronenberg) 197/11(6)/2(x2)
05. Lone Star (John Sayles) 192/11(5)/1
06. Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas) 183/12(2)/3
07. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier) 182/11(4)/2
08. Trainspotting (Danny Boyle) 181/10(4)/1(x3)
09. 南國再見, 南國 [Nan guo zai jian nan guo] [Goodbye South, Goodbye] (Hou Hsiao-hsien) 160/10(3)/2(x3)
10. La Promesse [The Promise] (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) 157/10(4)/1
11. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson) 150/10(3)/1
12. Comment je me suis disputé... (ma vie sexuelle) [My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument] (Arnaud Desplechin) 146/7(4)/1(x2)
13. Conte d'été [A Tale of Summer] (Éric Rohmer) 142/10(3)/1(x2)
14. Sydney [Hard Eight] (Paul Thomas Anderson) 139/11(2)/2
15. Kauas pilvet karkaavat [Drifting Clouds] (Aki Kaurismäki) 109/7(3)/2
16. スーパーの女 [Sūpā no onna] [Supermarket Woman] (Jūzō Itami) 108/7(2)/3
17. Everyone Says I Love You (Woody Allen) 106/7(1)/2
18. Bound (Lana & Lilly Wachowski) 99/8(2)/2
19. Schizopolis (Steven Soderbergh) 90/6(2)/1
20. Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe) 88/7(1)/2
21. Welcome to the Dollhouse (Todd Solondz) 87/5(2)/5(x2)
22. Big Night (Stanley Tucci & Campbell Scott) 86/5(1)/3
(tie) Nénette et Boni (Claire Denis) 86/5(1)/1
24. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (Mike Judge) 85/7(1)/5
25. The Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion) 77/5(2)/3
(tie) The Pillow Book (Peter Greenaway) 77/5(2)/4(x2)
27. Freeway (Matthew Bright) 76/5/8
(tie) The People vs. Larry Flynt (Miloš Forman) 76/6(1)/4
29. Scream (Wes Craven) 75/7/7(x2)
30. 麻將 [Ma jiang] [Mahjong] (Edward Yang) 74/4(1)/5
31. Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants (David Mamet) 72/5(1)/4
32. Mission: Impossible (Brian De Palma) 69/6/7
(tie) گبه [Gabbeh] (Mohsen Makhmalbāf) 69/6/9
34. 甜蜜蜜 [Tim mat mat] [Comrades: Almost a Love Story] (Peter Chan) 65/4(1)/1
35. シャル ウィ ダンス? [Sharu wī dansu] [Shall We Dance?] (Masayuki Suō) 61/4(1)/4
36. The Daytrippers (Greg Mottola) 60/5/7
37. Flirting with Disaster (David O. Russell) 58/5(1)/3
38. The Funeral (Abel Ferrara) 55/4/7(x2)
39. Capitaine Conan [Captain Conan] (Bertrand Tavernier) 54/3(1)/3
(tie) Nobody's Business (Alan Berliner) 54/4(1)/1
41. Cibo Matto: Sugar Water (Michel Gondry) 52/3(1)/5
(tie) Ponette (Jacques Doillon) 52/4/6
43. When We Were Kings (Leon Gast) 49/4/7
(tie) Mother (Albert Brooks) 49/4/12
45. Microcosmos, le peuple de l'herbe [Microcosmos: People of the Grass] (Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou) 48/3(1)/4
46. For Ever Mozart (Jean-Luc Godard) 47/4/6
47. Party (Manoel de Oliveira) 46/2(2)/1
48. Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton) 44/3/6
49. Mother Night (Keith Gordon) 42/2(1)/4
50. Swingers (Doug Liman) 40/3(1)/3
(tie) Kansas City (Robert Altman) 40/3(1)/3
(tie) The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye) 40/4/12

ALSO-RANS

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky) 39/2(1)/3
Basquiat (Julian Schnabel) 38/2(1)/5
Citizen Ruth (Alexander Payne) 38/4/14
Les Feluettes [Lilies] (John Greyson) 37/2/6
Trouble in the Image (Pat O'Neill) 36/2(1)/3
Muppet Treasure Island (Brian Henson) 36/2/7
Anna Oz (Éric Rochant) 32/3/6
Parfait amour! [Perfect Love] (Catherine Breillat) 31/2(1)/5
Kolja [Kolya] (Jan Svěrák) 31/2/10
Les Voleurs [Thieves] (André Téchiné) 31/2/10

Twister (Jan de Bont) 30/3/10
Ridicule (Patrice Leconte) 29/2/9
Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) 27/3(1)/4
돼지가 우물에 빠진 날 [Dwaejiga umul-e ppajin nal] [The Day a Pig Fell into the Well] (Hong Sang-soo) 27/2/9
Voci nel tempo [Voices Through Time] (Franco Piavoli) 26/2(1)/2
Björk: Hyperballad (Michel Gondry) 26/2/9
Jamiroquai: Virtual Insanity (Jonathan Glazer) 26/2/11
Kingpin (Peter & Bobby Farrelly) 25/3/12

Tierra [Earth] (Julio Medem) 24/2/9
キッズ・リターン [Kizzu ritān] [Kids Return] (Takeshi Kitano) 23/2/9
Fly Away Home (Carroll Ballard) 22/2/14
Concrescence (Phil Solomon & Stan Brakhage) 21/2/6
Stealing Beauty (Bernardo Bertolucci) 21/2/6
James and the Giant Peach (Henry Selick) 20/2/11
Восточная элегия [Vostochnaya elegiya] [Oriental Elegy] (Aleksandr Sokurov) 16/2/14
The Birdcage (Mike Nichols) 15/3/15
The Battle Over Citizen Kane (Thomas Lennon & Michael Epstein) 14/2/15
The English Patient (Anthony Minghella) 14/2/17
The Georgetown Loop (Ken Jacobs) 14/2/17

Trois vies et une seule mort [Three Lives and Only One Death] (Raúl Ruiz) 13/3/16
Profundo carmesí [Deep Crimson] (Arturo Ripstein) 13/2/18
That Thing You Do! (Tom Hanks) 12/2/15
Mars Attacks! (Tim Burton) 11/3/21

ORPHANS

Film (Director) highest ranking

Looking for Richard (Al Pacino) 24
Evita (Alan Parker) 1
Tesis [Thesis] (Alejandro Amenábar) 4
阿金 [Ah kam] [The Stunt Woman] (Ann Hui) 15
Foxfire (Annette Haywood-Carter) 4
Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann) 23
The Cable Guy (Ben Stiller) 16
The Film of Her (Bill Morrison) 13
Rats in the Ranks (Bob Connolly & Robin Anderson) 20
Hard Core Logo (Bruce McDonald) 23
Celluloide [Celluloid] (Carlo Lizzani) 17
Chacun cherche son chat [When the Cat's Away] (Cédric Klapisch) 25
風月 [Feng yue] [Temptress Moon] (Chen Kaige) 11
Screamers (Christian Duguay) 24
The Secret Agent (Christopher Hampton) 21
How Wings Are Attached to the Backs of Angels (Craig Welch) 15
Matilda (Danny DeVito) 14
La sindrome di Stendhal [The Stendhal Syndrome] (Dario Argento) 5
Hardwood Process (David Gatten) 15
Happy Gilmore (Dennis Dugan) 2
Tabutta Rövaşata [Somersault in a Coffin] (Derviş Zaim) 16
سجل اختفاء [Segell ikhtifa] [Chronicle of a Disappearance] (Elia Suleiman) 24
Skin & Bone (Everett Lewis) 10
صيف حلق الوادي [Saeif halq al-wadi] [Un été à La Goulette] [A Summer in La Goulette] (Férid Boughedir) 8
Bajo la piel [Under the Skin] (Francisco José Lombardi) 12
Pédale douce [Soft Pedal] (Gabriel Aghion) 19
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise) 19
L'Appartement [The Apartment] (Gilles Mimouni) 15
Primal Fear (Gregory Hoblit) 6
Portland (Greta Snider) 10
Moebius (Gustavo Mosquera) 25
Multiplicity (Harold Ramis) 22
Beautiful Thing (Hettie Macdonald) 7
Un héros très discret [A Self-Made Hero] (Jacques Audiard) 17
Spiklenci slasti [Conspirators of Pleasure] (Jan Švankmajer) 1
Hamsun (Jan Troell) 1
R.E.M.: E-Bow the Letter (Jem Cohen & Michael Stipe) 18
Girls Town (Jim McKay) 16
The Island of Dr. Moreau (John Frankenheimer) 23
Blight (John Smith) 13
Phenomenon (Jon Turteltaub) 18
The Smashing Pumpkins: 1979 (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris) 19
The Smashing Pumpkins: Tonight, Tonight (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris) 14
Star Trek: First Contact (Jonathan Frakes) 17
Brain Candy (Kelly Makin) 7
Carla's Song (Ken Loach) 19
Jägarna [The Hunters] (Kjell Sundvall) 19
眠る男 [Nemuru otoko] [Sleeping Man] (Kōhei Oguri) 7
The Spitfire Grill (Lee David Zlotoff) 23
Alien Avengers [Welcome to Planet Earth] (Lev L. Spiro) 20
Lulu (Lewis Klahr) 25
Prea târziu [Too Late] (Lucian Pintilie) 18
Kissed (Lynne Stopkewich) 17
En une poignée de mains amies (Manoel de Oliveira & Jean Rouch) 14
I Shot Andy Warhol (Mary Harron) 25
The Rock (Michael Bay) 17
The Sunchaser (Michael Cimino) 25
American Buffalo (Michael Corrente) 15
Il giorno della prima di Close-Up [Opening Night of Close-Up] (Nanni Moretti) 16
Michael Collins (Neil Jordan) 16
Pusher (Nicolas Winding Refn) 8
Kula Shaker: Tattva (Nigel Dick) 20
The Bloody Child (Nina Menkes) 5
ყაჩაღები. თავი VII [Kachagebi tavi shvidi] [Brigands, chapitre VII] [Brigands, Chapter VII] (Otar Iosseliani) 7
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (Paris Barclay) 23
Pulp: Something Changed (Pedro Romhanyi) 21
Rage Against the Machine: Bulls on Parade (Peter Christopherson) 22
The Frighteners (Peter Jackson) 4
The Long Kiss Goodnight (Renny Harlin) 22
A Family Thing (Richard Pearce) 15
Independence Day (Roland Emmerich) 14
Six O'Clock News (Ross McElwee) 12
The Afghan Whigs: Going to Town (Samuel Bayer) 23
Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? [Will It Snow for Christmas?] (Sandrine Veysset) 17
Кавказский пленник [Kavkazskiy plennik] [Prisoner of the Mountains] (Sergei Bodrov) 3
The Flaming Lips: This Here Giraffe (Sofia Coppola) 16
The Cure: The 13th (Sophie Muller) 24
Girl 6 (Spike Lee) 17
Лепа села лепо горе [Lepa sela lepo gore] [Pretty Village, Pretty Flame] (Srđan Dragojević) 11
食神 [Sik san] [The God of Cookery] (Stephen Chow & Lee Lik-chi) 24
Hide and Seek (Su Friedrich) 18
Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme) 13
Red Hollywood (Thom Andersen & Noël Burch) 15
Celtic Pride (Tom DeCerchio) 14
History of the Main Complaint (William Kentridge) 22
Καβάφης [Kavafis] [Cavafy] (Yannis Smaragdis) 2
ハル [Haru] (Yoshimitsu Morita) 1
MURDER and murder (Yvonne Rainer) 22
秦頌 [Qin song] [The Emperor's Shadow] (Zhou Xiaowen) 25

23 lists submitted

[domino harvey]

Thanks swo! Impressive that 9/10 of the top ten are titles I didn’t vote for

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks swo!

1. Comment je me suis disputé... (ma vie sexuelle)
2. Everyone Says I Love You
3. Schizopolis
4. Trainspotting
5. Welcome to the Dollhouse
6. Fargo
7. Lone Star
8. Jerry Maguire
9. Tierra
10. Crash

[knives]

Thanks swo! Impressive that 9/10 of the top ten are titles I didn’t vote for

Breaking the Waves?

I found this a real balanced list to make. Not too many good movies vying for spots, but not hard at all to make a list.

[therewillbeblus]

It’s gotta be the Leigh

[domino harvey]

Nope. Nope.

Spoiler

A Moment of Innocence

[Lowry_Sam]

1996 is much different than my list than 1995 was. Seems to be a big increase in the number of music videos this time around.

[knives]

Nope. Nope.

Spoiler

A Moment of Innocence

Huh, wouldn’t have guessed that.

[domino harvey]

It is a film I never would have watched were it not for working on the board's All Time List and was one of the biggest success stories of that project for me (along with Farewell, My Concubine), so yeah, me either!

[thirtyframesasecond]

So glad to see Makhmalbaf increasingly being seen on par with Kiarostami.

[andyli]

I remember once I read he and Kiarostami were compared to Hou and Yang but in Iran. I think it’s Rosenbaum.

[knives]

Perhaps. The CC commentary to Close-Up discusses it misty by highlighting how baseless the claim is.

[thirtyframesasecond]

I like the music video choices in the orphans list too. A brave person voting for Kula Shaker!