seeing a friend (and fellow musician) post about 'great' films she had yet to see i thought a list of 20 great english language films was in order.
there is no order to these films so no numbers, just titles and i'll list them as they come to me
derrick jarman's 'jubilee'
jarman's most well known film and no less worthy for that this punk classic boasts stunning visuals and a genuinely tragic air which problematises it's outwardly nihilistic premiss.
watch the criterion dvd as it includes sketchbooks and unused super-8 footage
lost weekend
billy wilder's great exploration of alcoholism is as dark and nihilistic as jubilee and features a wonderful central performance by ray miland and some fine noirish photography.
that the film ends without a true resolution, hinting (as wilder argued) at a positive outcome only as a possibility, gives it great strength.
it also manages to be the wellspring of the terms 'redic,' 'natch,' and 'thanks but no thanks'
touch of evil
if you can swallow a north american playing a mexican then this noir classic is well worth a watch for it's famous opening shot alone
after you've wowed over that catch marlene dietrich's wonderful performance and the camera work which places you in the action
scum
violence, abuse of power, riots, racism and rape in an english borstal in alan clarke's classic so beloved of mary whitehouse.
paris texas
some films really are as good as they are claimed to be and this study of male anxiety, regret and inter-generational relationships is one of those films
anti-clock
jane arden and jack bond's non-linier film simply has to be seen to be believed. all video effects, split screens, freeze framed, stories within stories and wonderfully unrepentant pretension.
riddles of the sphinx
as we're on the subject of british avant film...
laura mulvey and peter wollen's film essay on feminist theory is a thrilling technical accomplishment which is both visually stunning and intellectually challenging.
the stone tape
nigel kneale's classic pseudo-realist study of ritual, stone circles and hauntings in an unsettling classic of television which has few equals in commercial cinema.
a cottage on dartmoor
asquith's wonderful british thriller, one of the great british silent films, is more thrilling and formally inventive than hitchcock and is simply entertaining in every sense
night and the city
jules dassin was in europe when his name came up at the unamerican activities commission and his producer called him to say 'finish the film as soon as you can and don't come back to the usa'
he was eventually blacklisted and went on to make classic films in europe but this, his last film for an american studio, is a corker and possibly the most obvious 'gay subtext' movie ever.
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