Vertigo recently topped
Citizen Kane in Sight & Sound's Best Films of All Time poll, a spot previously occupied by the latter for decades. This decision on the part of the prestigious British magazine has caused much controversy and has been the source of many conversations between cinephiles and cinema-lovers alike. Some agree with the decision, while others are disconcerted by a presumably-premature dethroning. People decry the fact that an inferior film such as
Vertigo could top the heralded
Kane; others state that
Citizen Kane has lost much of its original impact or brilliance. Yet, in my view, neither group is inherently wrong. I may often disagree with somebody who trashes a film I love, having heated debates over the film's merits and defending what it was trying to achieve. Yet, cinema is all about the individual. It has always been a singular event. We may throttle in masses to movies, with our dates or children in tow; blockbuster films may try to cater to a massive audience. Still, at the end of the day, cinema can only have an impact when it manages to reach the murky depths of somebody's inner. No matter how big the screen a film is projected onto, it is the projection it creates in our hearts and minds that grants cinema its longevity.
This special connection that overtakes our feelings and how we may even begin to understand the world around us is eternal. Thus, trying to decipher what makes a film brilliant is akin to trying to decipher the mystery behind Rosebud. It all relates back to one's personal life. Just as there is no one word that can describe a man's life, there is no one explanation for man's connection with cinema and what makes him herald certain films as brilliant.
My taste in films is very eclectic in and of itself.
This is a list of my top 100 favorite movies of all time that showcases just how much of a Frankenstein monster my taste in movies is. There are movies that I consider to be even more brilliant or rather stylistically/technically superior than some of the ones listed; however, I don't have that personal cinematic connection with them and such films thus fail to crack the top 100. Film is a feeling. It's a moment when between the screen and yourself is created a bond for the ages.
For myself and many others, there are several things about a film that may make us grow attached to it. From my vantage point,
some movies I connect with because of the sheer beauty of their visuals:
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| Days Of Heaven |
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| Barry Lyndon |
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| Persona |
Because they're so stylishly lavish:
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| Marie Antoinette |
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| Last Year At Marienbad |
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| Le Samourai |
Because they're so stylistically distinct:
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| Trainspotting |
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| Run Lola Run |
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| Dogville |
Because the acting is amazing:
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| A Streetcar Named Desire |
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| 12 Years A Slave |
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| Volver |
Because they're puzzles waiting to be pieced together:
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| Mulholland Drive |
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| The Prestige |
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| Inland Empire |
Because they introduce new ideas/philosophy:
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| Stalker |
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| Three Colors: Blue |
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| Through A Glass Darkly |
Because of the subject matter:
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| Army Of Shadows |
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| The Deer Hunter |
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| Shame |
Because they take you on a journey:
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| Short Cuts |
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| The Best Of Youth |
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| La Dolce Vita |
Because they're guilty pleasures:
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| Breakfast At Tiffany's |
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| Dazed And Confused |
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| Wristcutters: A Love Story |
And below is a scene that encapsulates all I love about cinema and what it can accomplish in utmost artistic brilliance. This, ladies and gents, is what I meant by films being a feeling:
Sweet dreams!
