best film:   The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. There are really three candidates here. There is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Repulsion (an often-overlooked Polanski masterpiece) and Dancer in the Dark (where Deneuve is in support of course). All three films land between 100-200 on the all-time list- with Demy’s masterpiece at the top. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is visually spectacular—a flood of color and a prime contender for the strongest compositions of the films from the French New Wave.   though not her debut, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg finds a 21-year old Catherine Deneuve in her first archiveable film- front

best film:   Jules and Jim. Jules and Jim is simply one of the crown jewels of the French New Wave on top of being one of the best films of all-time (currently sits at #19).  That ranking makes it the single highest rated film of the French New Wave, Truffaut’s career, and the best film from a French director. This category strengthens Moreau’s case. best performance:   Jules and Jim. Moreau is transcendent in Truffaut’s masterpiece as Catherine. Catherine is mercurial and Moreau dominates when she is on screen (sorry and all due respect to Oskar Werner and Henri Serre).

best film:  Intolerance is a giant masterpiece that has influenced everyone from Erich von Stroheim to David Lean to Christopher Nolan. Gish does not have a big role in Intolerance.  She plays the handle that rocks the cradle so to speak—a symbolic role- eternal mother or grandmother. As much as it as it is derided for the outrageously wrong and racist content—The Birth of a Nation is still a masterpiece so that is a candidate here though Intolerance is the stronger of the two films.   Lillian Gish in Intolerance- one of her five archiveable collaborations with D.W.

best film:  Double Indemnity is a one of the greatest film noirs. The only real contender vying for the top slot as far as Barbara Stanyck's career is concerned is the The Lady Eve. The edge goes to Billy Wilder's noir here with stunning performances by Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, and, of course, Stanwyck. Stanwyck is the archetypal and greatest femme fatale in cinema history- and the essential resource here Senses of Cinema agrees. http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2018/the-20-greatest-femme-fatales-in-american-cinema/   best performance:  Double Indemnity but this might be closer than the category above with Stanwyck’s work in Preston Sturges’ The Lady Eve.

best film:  Three Colours: Blue from Kieslowski and Cache from Haneke stand alone in the upper echelon for Juliette Binoche. Her split second role in Three Colours: Red is omitted from contention here.  She has a slew of films in a tier or two below: Lovers on a Bridge, Summer Hours, English Patient, Code Unknown.   Binoche has been as steady as a rock for decades- but her high-water mark is clearly 1993's Three Colours : Blue working with Kieslowski   best performance:  The answer is Three Colours: Blue and it is not close. This is no

best film:  Discussing Liv Ullmann’s best film really requires one to talk about Ingmar Bergman’s best. She is not in The Seventh Seal (made nearly a decade before they started collaborating) so that is out. She is not in Fanny and Alexander, either. But Bergman’s best single film is Persona so that is the answer here. Cries & Whispers is not far behind Persona. It is likely that both Persona and Cries & Whispers are two of the best fifty (50) films of all-time- and Liv is simply spectacular in both.   at 28-years-old Liv Ullmann would become

best film: Casablanca is the winner here though Notorious is a masterpiece as well and I owe Rossellini’s Journey to Italy another revisit. Casablanca is deserving of its reputation and iconic status. Curtiz is not Hitchcock or Rossellini, but he directs the hell out of this one film and of course it has one of the best screenplays in Hollywood history.  Chief amongst the reasons to appreciate Casablanca are the lead performances by Bogart and Bergman. It is Bogart’s speech at the end but its Bergman’s emotional range (while Bogart plays Rick as more even and cool/steady) that help