The Greatest Film(s) of All Time...

[TheGSMoeller]

With the exception of Nostalghia, I wouldn't argue with any of Tarvosky's film being mentioned in a top list. Rublev was my first Tarkovsky, and will always carry that initial impact of discovery, and that is always important to me. But lately it's been The Sacrifice that continues to move me beyond words.

[eyeresist]

I've only seen Stalker - didn't think much of it.

[Cato]

American film critic Roger Ebert wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal on "The Greatest Film of All Time" and about Vertigo displacing Citizen Kane.

While not explaining why Vertigo is now #1 after a long slow climb over the decades, Ebert says both movies depend on the "autobiographical intensity" of their directors.

An excerpt:

What is so great about "Vertigo" and "Citizen Kane?" To set aside matters of technique and artistry, which would keep us here all day, what fascinates me is that both films are intensely personal and autobiographical. Welles gives us a portrait of a gargantuan man of unlimited ambitions and appetites, whose excesses outran his resources. Hitchcock gives us a man obsessed with control, who had a fetish not simply for blondes in general but for the specific features of a specific blonde.

I was reminded of an interview from the 1970's with Bernard Herrmann right when Brian DePalma's Obsession was released.

Herrmann, who wrote a huge score for Obsession, said that Vertigo was the weaker movie in comparison.  He maintained that he could not buy James Stewart as an obsessed personality, that the actor did not seem capable of being that crazy about a woman.

See:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443537404577581473647481982.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

[Wakefield]

While not explaining why Vertigo is now #1 after a long slow climb over the decades...

A very clever observation, indeed, and an interesting issue to discuss.

Herrmann, who wrote a huge score for Obsession, said that Vertigo was the weaker movie in comparison.  He maintained that he could not buy James Stewart as an obsessed personality, that the actor did not seem capable of being that crazy about a woman.

Yes, Stewart is a sort of perfect average man in the good sense: a family man. But probably the worst madness is that of reasonable men.

[TheGSMoeller]

Another fun list from Total Film...

http://www.totalfilm.com/features/50-scariest-moments-in-non-horror-movies

[Christo]

With the exception of Nostalghia, I wouldn't argue with any of Tarvosky's film being mentioned in a top list. Rublev was my first Tarkovsky, and will always carry that initial impact of discovery, and that is always important to me. But lately it's been The Sacrifice that continues to move me beyond words.

The Sacrifice (Offret) was the very first I saw, at its release, and I remained shattered. It's still my favourite of the whole lot, and it's good to learn that you don't warm that much to Nostalghia either. Last year I passed Tarkovksky's home in Florence by change and was reminded of those years again, but I hardly know how he lived in Italy.

I've only seen Stalker - didn't think much of it.

You can be forgiven, Stalker takes time and some measure of endurance.