best film: Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid from Sam Peckinpah barely edges out the five (5) other masterpieces from 1973 for the top slot. This sort of quietly gives Peckinpah the best film of the year for the second time in five years. Peckinpah’s second masterpiece is a stylistic treatise that is shockingly close to The Wild Bunch in overall quality. The Bob Dylan music, death scene of Slim Pickens’ character, the masterful opening credit sequence are all artistic highlights.
a haunting shot from Peckinpah’s masterpiece…
… a film that can go toe to toe with Malick’s debut in terms of magic hour photography
the short film within the film of Slim Pickens’ characters death
the film helps round out the rest of Peckinpah’s body of work outside of The Wild Bunch
most underrated: Pat Garrett is woefully underrated at #542 on the TSPDT consensus list but there have been multiple versions of the film out there for years so I think a definitive “final cut”-like version (like Blade Runner) of the film could remedy that. The real choice here as far as underrated goes for 1973 is Lady Snowblood. Toshiya Fujita film is nowhere to be found in the TSPDT consensus top 1000 and I have it currently sitting at #385 on my list. It is extremely ambitious all around: stylistically, thematically and narratively—it does not treat itself as a b-film.
- Starts off with a bang- a gorgeous white snow landscape and then turning that snow into red for the credit sequences
- Clearly the film had a massive influence on Kill Bill and Tarantino
- Long chapter break titles (like QT) and plays brilliantly with narrative structure manipulating the flashbacks, having one flashback accomplished with voice-over and black and white drawings, another one with black and white photos- these are absolutely stunning
- Constantly moving the camera
- Tons of projectile spray blood- Tarantino
the low-angle trunk shot – a Tarantino staple- used here in Lady Snowblood
No idea why it took me so long to track this one down- it’s not in the TSPDT top 1000 so maybe that’s it- also I usually don’t think too highly of QT’s favorite movies.
Straight revenge film- she has almost like a supernatural/hero trait being possessed to revenge her mother
most overrated: The Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice is #105 on the TSPDT consensus list which makes it #3 from 1973. I’d get to as many as fifteen films from 1973 before it including Fassbinder’s World on a Wire and Lucas’ American Graffiti (not to mention those on my top 10 obviously).
from George Lucas’ American Graffiti– one of the great cinematic paintings of 1973. I’d get to Graffiti before Beehive when listing the best films of 1973
from Fassbinder’s 3 1/2 hour World on a Wire
gems I want to spotlight: The Sting is here—a film that I couldn’t find room for in my top 10 (1973 is a fantastic year even if it doesn’t have a The Godfather or 2001). George Roy Hill, Newman and Redford team up again just four years after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Robert Shaw is superb here as well. Again, it is one of those “no it shouldn’t have won Best Picture, but its not overrated”. Sadly, Newman and Redford never worked together again- frustrating. For something off the beaten path a little (and off the top 10)- try The Day of the Jackal from Fred Zinneman. It is an extraordinary thriller.
Roy Hill’s film features these superlative drawings during the credits and chapter breaks
trends and notables:
- 1973 doesn’t match 1960—but I actually think there could be more masterpieces from 1973 than 1939 (Hollywood’s Golden Year). There are not many years where the sixth best film is as good as Badlands or the seventh is The Long Goodbye. In fact, think about how strong the 1970’s are – I have ten films from 1973 in the top 56.
the best shot from Fellini’s Amarcord– a nostalgic, inspired, series of vignettes— this gives Fellini’s four masterpieces in fourteen (14) years
- Pat Garrett is important for Peckinpah’s career—if it isn’t right next to The Wild Bunch, it is at least in the realm- and having that second masterpiece puts him in quite another echelon historically
Echoes of The Third Man in this wonderful finale. Godard took just about every genre and turned them upside down in the 1960’s—and Altman is doing that here in the 1970’s. The Long Goodbye’s reputation gets better and better as we get more distance from it- his detective Philip Marlowe film. This makes Altman’s fourth top 10 film in the last four years (1970-1973).
Badlands is Malick’s true debut- certainly one of cinema’s finest. It’s funny- he’s similar to Fellini and Wes Anderson (before Wes of course) and Godard where his first film(s) were the closest to realism he’d ever come. In Malick’s case, almost every film after gets increasingly reliant on the montage- and increasingly abstract in narrative.
- 1973 marks the emergence of Scorsese with Mean Streets– it is his third film overall, second archiveable (Boxcar Bertha is rough) and he’d find his stride- and never really look back (he does not have peaks and valleys like Godard, Roeg, Coppola and others). The film also marks the emergence (and first archiveable film) of Robert De Niro- the greatest actor (and certainly most accomplished) of all-time.
The greatest shot of Mean Streets, and I think you could argue, the greatest single shot of Scorsese’s career outside of the Copacabana shot in Goodfellas, is the slow-motion tracking shot along the bar of Keitel. It has the red light, the Rolling Stones with “Jumping Jack Flash”—after that shot Scorsese goes to another slow-motion tracking shot, this time of De Niro with a girl on each arm.
- The Exorcist is a massive hit- the biggest box office smash to date in 1973 (without adjusting for inflation) to keep the streak alive of great films that also made a lot of money (again including The Graduate, The Godfather). In 1973 it must have felt like William Friedkin was destined to be an all-time great auteur with this and The French Connection just a few years before (1971). Overall, it is also just the glory days for horror cinema- Don’t Look Now is often (rightly) listed among the best films in the genre alongside The Exorcist.
jaw-dropping- from The Exorcist shot by Owen Roizman as cinematographer
the meeting of high art, genre and commerce in Friedkin’s second masterpiece
patience– the superb opening prologue will test audiences seeking cheap thrills and scares
the tragic opening of Roeg’s masterpiece
avant-garde- Roeg is literally painting the frame
- Malick has been mentioned above already with his debut but Brian De Palma’s first archiveable film here lands in 1973 with Sisters. This sort of completes the so-called Movie brats – the Michael Pye book (well John Milius and Paul Schrader get thrown in there as well I guess). This group (also noted for their beards) consisted of Scorsese, Spielberg, De Palma, Coppola, and Lucas.
De Palma’s split screen technique in Sisters
- As far as acting firsts- American Graffiti brought forth a bunch of new talent including Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss (also in Dillinger from 1973). Sissy Spacek is phenomenal in Badlands and I’ve mentioned De Niro’s first archiveable work already. Also, Helen Mirren gets her start in the archives with O Lucky Man! and how about Arnold Schwarzenegger? He’d go on to be one of the biggest stars of the late 1980’s and 1990’s and you can’t miss him in his few seconds on screen in Altman’s The Long Goodbye.
best performance male It is a special time in American cinema with the New Hollywood and the movie brats and there is no shortage of astonishing acting performances. I don’t think you could do 1973 justice without mentioning a whopping eleven (11) male acting performances from 1973. I think that makes sense in a year with ten of the best 55-60 films of the decade and as many as six potential masterpieces. If we’re talking Mean Streets I think Harvey Keitel gives the slightly stronger performance. When I first saw the film I was blown away by De Niro’s manic performance (which I’m definitely still recognizing here as one of my choice) but over the years I’ve come to realize that the more subtle, and slightly greater performance, is Keitel’s. Martin Sheen is a revelation in Badlands. James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson are this year’s William Holden and Robert Ryan from Peckinpah’s masterpiece. Erland Josephson proves yet again in Scenes From a Marriage that he is no second-class citizen to Max von Sydow (who also has a decent argument for a mention here in 1973 for his work in The Exorcist but we have enough already) in the Bergman stable of thespians. Donald Sutherland continues his impeccable work in the 1970’s with Don’t Look Now even if he’s slightly bested in 1973 by his MASH running mate Elliot Gould in The Long Goodbye. I’m not sure Al Pacino lands here for either Scarecrow or Serpico but when you combine them- he has to get a slot. Lastly, the team of Redford and Newman are back in another George Roy Hill collaboration. They each deserve about half a nod for their work in The Sting.
Scorsese is so inventive- the The “Rubber Biscuit” reverse POV tracking shot featuring Keitel
best performance female: The depth isn’t quite as strong on this side as far as acting in 1973 but the quality of work of these five actresses is every bit the equal of the men. These five women are all astonishing (and basically equally deserving). I’ll start with Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist. She’s actually stronger here in 1973 than she is in 1974 when she won the Oscar for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Meiko Kaji absolutely blew me away in Lady Snowblood and Sissy Spacek isn’t far behind in Badlands. Spacek’s voice-over doesn’t get mentioned oven enough among the greatest voice-overs (Shawshank, Barry Lyndon, Magnificent Ambersons, Sunset Boulevard, Jules and Jim, The Big Lebowski and of course Apocalypse Now all come to mind but I’m sure I’m leaving some out). Julie Christie is here yet again in Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. Roeg shot her when he was the DP on Far from the Madding Crowd in 1967. Last but not least, Liv Ullmann gets a mention in this category for the fourth time in seven years for Scenes From a Marriage.
formal connective tissue throughout Bergman’s oeuvre with this repeated shot– here it is from Scenes From a Marriage
top 10
- Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
- Amarcord
- Mean Streets
- Don’t Look Now
- The Exorcist
- Badlands
- The Long Goodbye
- Lady Snowblood
- The Holy Mountain
- Scenes From a Marriage
from The Holy Mountain– the crowning achievement of Chilean artist Alejandro Jodorowsky
one after another- 10, 15, 20 or more of these immaculate overhead shots
Jodorowsky’s work is more evidence of the depth of 1973
from Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon– when you combine this with The Last Picture Show– it is clear he should have only worked in black and white– an enchanting photograph
the town painted red in Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter
Archives, Directors, and Grades
| American Graffiti- Lucas | HR |
| Amarcord – Fellini | MP |
| Badlands- Malick | MS/MP |
| Charley Varrick- Siegel | R |
| Day For Night- Truffaut | MS |
| Dillinger – Milius | R |
| Distant Thunder- S. Ray | |
| Don’t Look Now-Roeg | MP |
| Enter the Dragon – Clouse | R |
| High Plains Drifter- Eastwood | HR |
| Lady Snowblood – Fujita | MS |
| Ludwig- Visconti | R |
| Mean Streets – Scorsese | MP |
| O Lucky Man- L. Anderson | R |
| Paper Moon – Bogdanovich | R/HR |
| Papillion – Schaffner | HR |
| Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid- Peckinpah | MP |
| Robin Hood- Reitherman | R |
| Save the Tiger-Avildsen | R |
| Scarecrow -Schatzberg | HR/MS |
| Scenes From a Marriage- Bergman | MS |
| Scorpio – Winner | R |
| Serpico – Lumet | R/HR |
| Sisters- De Palma | R |
| Sleeper- Allen | HR |
| The Day of the Jackal- Zinnemann | |
| The Exorcist- Friedkin | MP |
| The Friends of Eddie Coyle- Yates | R |
| The Holy Mountain- Jodorowsky | MS |
| The Last Detail- Ashby | HR |
| The Long Goodbye- Altman | MS |
| The Paper Chase – Bridges | R |
| The Spirit of the Beehive – Erice | HR |
| The Sting- Roy Hill | HR/MS |
| The Three Musketeers- Lester | R |
| The Way We Were – Pollack | R |
| The Wicker Man – Hardy | R/HR |
| Theatre of Blood- Hickox | R |
| Touki Bouki – Mambéty | R |
| Westworld- Crichton | R |
| White Lightning – Sargent | R |
| World on a Wire- Fassbinder | HR |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-See- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
The split diopter in Serpico should have been included here.
Any chance Sisters rises above a R?
I actually made similar post on Brian De Palma page
– Admittingly the overall production quality is below his later films
However:
– great psychological thriller which would be a sign of things to come later particularly Carrie, Dressed to Kill, and Blow Out amongst others
– loved the strange atmosphere/weird overall vibe with the Siamese twins
– “Peeping Tom” Gameshow idea is classic De Palma creating bizarre world within the film
– De Palma regular William Finley gives a terrifically creepy performance
– The use of split screen is stunning in several scenes particularly the killing scene in the apartment (which I see you included above)
– extended tracking shot after the murder
– great and frequent use of split diopter shots
– obviously influenced by Rear Window (and Hitchcock in general)
– this very bizarre scene in the mental hospital is hilarious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6ldArrUCIU
– marvelous score from the great Bernard Herrmann
A fun ride start to finish, classic De Palma
@James Trapp- Sure- always a chance. I’ve been itching to get to some De Palma- been far too long
What happened to Bogdanovich? He started out on fire with Targets (1968), The Last Picture Show (1971), What’s Up Doc? (1972), and the film on this page, Paper Moon (1973). While The Last Picture Show is considered his best (and rightfully so) I personally loved Paper Moon. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see him make more films like this. Bogdanovich clearly loved films about Nostalgia, which I also love.
@James Trapp- yeah no easy answers here. Bogdanovich has had a wild personal life. Worth reading up on — obviously he was with Cybill Shepherd and maybe cast her and sought material for her to the detriment of his own career — part of his life is portrayed in Fosse’s film in Star 80 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_80 . But yeah- it happens. I hope it isn’t happening to Xavier Dolan right now- such talent and promise and his last few movies haven’t been great.
Wow. In some years the best performances don’t align with the best films. And 1973 is one of those years. No of course don’t dip down to simple recommend films when mentioning the best performances but these two films are better than that. The two best performances of the year come from Al Pacino in Serpico and Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail. DDL in Gangs of New York is another example.
@Anderson- Certainly you are entitled to your opinion though I would disagree here obviously. I don’t think Pacino and Nicholson hold a candle to Keitel and a few others in 1973.
It’s simple. Pacino’s Serpico and Nicholson’s Buddusky are richer characters than Keitel’s Charlie. I can’t see any other actor playing these two characters. But obviously Mean Streets is the better movie.
@Anderson– I do not agree with the first part of this- not at all.
Keitel is brilliant in Mean Streets.
If you want to bring up someone who can compare to him, Martin Sheen is your answer here.
If they truly were as rich as Charlie in Mean Streets, their films wouldn’t be just R’s.
@Zane-Serpico and Last Detail are graded as R/HR and HR here. And Drake has Serpico as Pacino’s 4th best and Last Detail as Nicholson’s 5th best. So I don’t think it is crazy to think that Pacino and Nicholson gave the two best performances of 1973. And I certainly don’t think that it is crazy to think DDL gave the best performance of the year in 2002 in Gangs of New York which is also a lesser movie. By the way TSPDT has Serpico and Last Detail above Gangs of New York.
@Anderon- this is a more reasonable response than your original “It’s simple. Pacino’s Serpico and Nicholson’s Buddusky are richer characters than Keitel’s Charlie”
@Drake – question about grading
I noticed Badlands went from MP to MS/MP
When you grade a film is it impacted by the grading of other films? In other words as you see more MP over time does your standard for what constitutes a MP change (increase) and thus some films dip slightly in their grading because of this or do you have a particular standard set in your mind?
So in the case of say Badlands, has viewing many MP over time raised the bar on what you constitute a MP or do you just think it’s not quite as good as it once was? (btw I realize MS/MP is still an incredibly strong grade I’m just curious to your grading logic)
@James Trapp- well some of these I had graded before I started doing the blurred “MS/MP”. I think that’s just what happened with Badlands. Even when I had it as a full MP it was still a ways away from the top films of the 1970’s or even like Days of Heaven for example. When I do my top 10 of the year or the top 100 of the decade there are the sure fire Masterpieces– and then the ones lower closer to the next level. But no, I don’t think my requirements for what constitutes a masterpiece increases as I see more films. I hope that answers your question- sorry if it doesn’t- not trying to be cryptic.
@Drake – No, I follow you. And like I said the question was less about Badlands in particular and more about the grading logic.
I think The Long Goodbye (1973) gets overlooked in conversations about the best film noirs although technically its a Neo-Noir:
– like many Altman films it subverts a particular Genre, in this case Noir by having the Elliot Gould (amazing performance) version of Philip Marlowe as always a step or two behind the plot , using buffoonish characters like Mark Rydell’s mobster , and using a Sunny California setting with enough sunbathing Hippies that you would be forgiven for thinking you were watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
– like many great films the focus is on mood and atmosphere more than plot, in fact the plot is intentionally confusing similar to The Big Sleep (1946)
– it avoids constant violence or shoot outs so when the only (2) violent scenes do occur they are significantly more impactful
– self referential with multiple Hollywood references including a spot on Barbara Stanwyck impression
– The Final Scene obviously a la The Third Man but the scene preceding it is amazing “I even lost my Cat!” before Marlowe delivers the 2nd violent scene to end to film
– In my view A Masterpiece
@James Trapp — excellent work here! Thanks for sharing. I agree with all of this– but let me push a little- the “mood and atmosphere” comment- agreed- but can you define that? What makes it so? It is just a sort of challenge to you I guess to think about the individual choices Altman and his team make to create that.
@Drake – Challenge accepted!
I’m planning on watching tonight so I’ll share my thoughts tomorrow.
@James Trapp- haha great- look forward to it. And of course my comment was in good spirit- I’m just speaking in general about mood and atmosphere and the lines we can all draw to the stylistic choices these director’s make.
@Drake – No, I’m glad you did, I’m always looking for opportunities to work on my writing. So, this is in response to when I said the film focuses on Mood and Atmosphere above plot. As far as the plot goes Marlowe is going from one situational to the next and all we the audience really know is his friend Terry apparently perpetrated a murder suicide and Marlowe is trying to make sense of that while dealing with numerous people such a mobster Terry owed money to, a woman Eileen Wade, and her alcoholic husband, etc. The plot is convoluted with many characters and confusing details and like other Noirs/Detective movies the action moves fast as Marlowe is constantly on the move with little time to take a breath. However, the atmosphere is constant throughout Marlowe’s various adventures. By this I mean the visual details and tone of the film.
The Lighting was one of the key areas as the director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond used a technique called “Variable Flashing After Photography” which alters colors. This was used to produce a “hazy” look with more muted colors but not too hazy as he avoided using heavy fog filters (which were used in McCabe). The film frequently juxtaposes light for example around the 26-minute mark it goes from a bright sunny California day then Marlowe steps into a bar with dim lighting. Marlowe is chain smoking cigarettes throughout (even in his picture after his arrest in the Newspaper next to the article titled “Private Investigator Refuses to Talk”) and his smoking adds to the already hazy environment. Throughout the film Marlowe spends a great deal of time looking at characters through windows and glass doors that produces a distorted image. Many of the shots are POV shots through Marlowe.
There are several consistent sounds/music that occur throughout the film including the Piano and Jazz music and in particular they return to the same song over and over, just played a little differently each time. The film doesn’t use any soundstages and was shot in several locations throughout California and Mexico in order to produce a more authentic setting.
The film takes place in the Sunny California instead of dark alleys and raining street corners but many of the characters fall under the familiar Noir Tropes; alcoholic writers, drug dealers/mobsters, cops, shady professionals, troubled women, etc. But each comes with a twist; the mobsters are cartoonish, same with the alcoholic writer, the troubled woman isn’t quite a femme fatale although it’s unclear if she’s trying to seduce Marlowe.
The film places Marlowe as a man from the 40s/50s living who is out of place in the nihilistic 70s. There is a disconnect with Marlow as he is presented as loyal (even to friends who don’t deserve his loyalty) and principled in a way that is out of touch with the times.
@James Trapp— big time “wow” here. Amazing. Thank you “Variable Flashing After Photography” which alters colors. This was used to produce a “hazy” look with more muted colors but not too hazy as he avoided using heavy fog filters (which were used in McCabe). The film frequently juxtaposes light for example around the 26-minute mark it goes from a bright sunny California day then Marlowe steps into a bar with dim lighting.”– blew my mind. I can’t wait to revisit.
Where would you put Badlands if you were writing this page all over again? I hope up at like #3 or #4 or something (also Amarcord #1!)
@Zane- I would not- I should have a page for Badlands soon. But I just updated the page in April 2021 so this is pretty current.
Just curious when is the last time you watched The Friends of Eddie Coyle? Definitely a great heist film/neo-noir. Mitchum plays the lead role perfectly, even nails the impossible task of playing a Boston crime character without the cartoonish level Boston accent.
@James Trapp- It has been at least 4-5 years.
Just looking over this year again, incredible, here’s my top 10
1 The Long Goodbye
2 Mean Streets
3 Badlands
4 Amarcord
5 Day for Night
6 Sisters
7 Don’t Look Now
8 Lady Snowblood
9 Paper Moon
10 Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Should Day for Night be in the top 10? I just watched again recently, admittingly I’ve only seen it a couple of times and I do not think it’s quite at the level of his 1st 3 films (not many are) but it’s an amazing film.
@James Trapp- in just about every other year in cinema history it would be.
@Drake – yeah it’s pretty rare that a film you have as MS does not make the top 10
@James Trapp- I think only 1960, 1973 and 1999 have this so far… 2019 is leaning that way. I could be missing a year or two.
@Drake – yeah 6 MP or MS/MP is impressive even if the MPs are not the gigantic MPs of 1960
@Drake – 2000…
This is a wonderful site. I wanted to leave my appreciation for placing Pat Garrett at the top of this list, where it should be. It’s one of my favorite films, and a true masterpiece despite its imperfections and multiple versions. The academic community continues to tinker with it, probably because of the gnawing realization is one of the great films of all time lies somewhere in here, even if all of the versions are flawed in one way or another.
I prefer something closer to the theatrical version, where the ambiguity of the Garrett/Kid relationship is central. In the director/academic cuts, there is an almost emotional need to punish Garrett and put him in his place. But the heart of the film lies in the inevitability of Garrett’s point of view, right or wrong. Pragmatism is not fashionable or romantic, but it always, always wins out in the end. The framing sequences, and the embarrassing Peckinpah cameo actually cut against the film he was making as director, whether he knew it or not.
I love how this sites focuses so consistently on mise en scene artistry above all, as it makes me reconsider my initial take on multiple films, but happily all versions here contain the gorgeous framing and lighting highlighted above. A worthy best film of the year in a year full of great movies.
@JHL- Thank you for the compliment on the site- appreciate it. And I am happy to hear we’re on the same page with Pat Garrett.
Between The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid it is too bad we never got another Redford/Newman team up. I would have loved seeing them in a buddy cop film or perhaps a political thriller.
@James Trapp– too bad and surprising it never happened. There were rumors and hopes for decades.
I would definitely consider Ana Torrent’s performance in Spirit of the Beehive to be among the year’s best. Also fantastic in Carlos Saura’s “Cria Cuervos”. She is by far the most captivating and mature child actor I’ve ever watched.
Aside from The Sting what are some of the best films about con artists? It’s a subgenre that I love as I have always been fascinated with the psychology of con artists.
Off the top of my head Night and the City stars a perfect Richard Widmark – even in Pickup on South Street I don’t think he was ever better – as he becomes the most hunted man in London after his latest con goes horribly awry, and we watch his desperation as he tries to escape his fate, which mixes in well with just what an amoral, dislikable piece of shit he shows us he is throughout the film. One of Jules Dassin’s best films, proves he isn’t just the “Rififi guy”.
@James Trapp- American Hustle, Matchstick Men, Paper Moon, Catch Me If You Can, The Grifters,
@James Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley
The Mother and the Whore:
– Character transformation for Leaud; throughout the first half of the film he’s a relatively flat character (though entertaining to watch) and he’s either barely hanging onto or missing entirely a mention in the best male performances category of 1973, and I would’ve probably said both Lafont and Lebrun were better by this point; over the second half of the film as he retreats inside himself and hardly ever speaks I’m quite confident that the only surely better male performances from the year are Sheen, Keitel and De Niro and he’s pretty on-par in achievement to Josephson (probably the best of this group), Gould and Sutherland and probably also Klaus Loewitsch in World on a Wire right behind these guys
– It is a worthy debate but I still think The 400 Blows goes down as his best performance overall, that being said I’m pretty confident the monologue where he talks about beating the hell out of his girlfriend is the best piece of acting Jean-Pierre Leaud has ever done; this one is spoken directly to the camera which sets the scene for the tonal change from arguably a comedy to a very serious drama the film takes place around this time (which is 130 minutes in)
– I think Leaud’s character is supposed to be Godard, he’s very intellectual and pretentious, wears similar tinted glasses and his personality is about what you’d expect Godard’s would be from watching his films; Lebrun is an immigrant – I’m not sure however that she fits Karina 100% as well however (though not quite 0% either)
– Hilarious standalone monologues (these are virtually the entire 4 hours) like the one about “Imitation Belmondo” which had me dying or the Jean-Paul Sartre one; another one of my favorites is the bit at the beginning where Leaud is with his friend and the friend talks about stealing the wheelchair off some disabled guy which they have a funny very mean-spirited laugh together about
– Leaud is an accurate representation of the average cinephile; he looks around his surroundings and starts saying stuff like “this is reminiscent of a Murnau film. Murnau made films about the contrast between rural and urban life” completely out of nowhere
– Madonna-whore complex I think in the title
– Eustache plays with the title a little by never making it entirely clear who is the mother and who is the whore. At first we generally seem to look at Lafont as being the latter because of her promiscuous attitude towards Leaud as well as her very forward, aggressive way of speech and Lebrun as the former because she says “I like to bring breakfast in bed to someone I love” and she is a nurse which is a very caring profession but Eustache flips this pretty heavily on us over the rest of the film and I’m pretty confident by the end Lafont is the mother and Lebrun is the whore; she even gives a very teary monologue towards the end about how whore is a fake word created to put women down after the others have had enough of her shit
– At times Eustache moves the camera like Tarkovsky does in Nostalghia which is a serious compliment but it doesn’t come close to often enough to put this near that film artistically
– Very talkative film but it’s a really strong screenplay
– No resolution in the ending; the film closes in the middle of the action in a major scene but I do think, despite the fact that the film ends before it is confirmed for certain, that Leaud has thrown away true love for something that was never there
– No score but we spend a lot of time sitting around listening to music which sort of stands in for one
– To be honest it could’ve been a few hours longer and I wouldn’t really have had a problem; most of these incredibly-long films I’ve seen like Lawrence of Arabia, Once Upon a Time in America or A Brighter Summer Day are all sufficiently engaging throughout that I don’t care about their length
– The intellectualism goes to the extent of a reference to Henry the Fowler who was the father of Otto the Great who founded the Holy Roman Empire; there’s also a reference to a Michel Simon film early on that I think is La Chienne since Leaud mentions a promiscuous woman (or wife, can’t remember which word) in it
– Leaud sulks very angrily in a scene (love his acting here) where Lebrun sort of forces him away at a cafe and then he sees her speaking very familiarly with two Jewish men and is a little pissed off when Lebrun tells him in the very next scene that she has sex with Jews and Arabs all the time
– #126 all-time for me right now which places it immediately behind The Assassination of Jesse James, Rosemarry’s Baby and Dead Man and ahead of Casablanca, Singin’ in the Rain, La Strada and Hiroshima Mon Amour
– You know what grade those films are so I’m not going to bother saying it myself
– I lied
– Masterpiece
@Drake-Have you seen Cinderella Liberty(1973)? It is a nice little film. With a great score, good acting and was nominated in some categories at the Academy Awards as well.
@Malith- Not yet- but I do plan to get to it within the next year- I have it saved here ready. Thanks for the recommendation
@Drake-Did you see it? I have to say I would be a bit disappointed if it doesn’t make the archives. Because I really liked it.
@Malith- I have not- I do have plans to see it. I have a TCM recording in my DVR.
Drake i just watched the polish film The Hourglass Sanatorium and i think youd love it… visually id describe it as gilliam and jeunet but shot by khalatazov, with maybe a hint of tim burton… narratively its a bit of del toro, bunuel, surreal fellini, the new inaritu film Bardo, and the ending of Berlin Alexanderplatz… its a really crazy film, and i dont think my description does it justice… availible on internet archive website in good quality. I think you should consider it. MS film for me
@Big chungus- thank you for the recommendation! Sounds interesting.
Has anybody seen Fantastic Planet or La Grande Bouffe?
@RujK- Not here