Stereoactive Movie Club

The 2022 edition of Sight And Sounds magazine’s polls of the “greatest films ever made” were released last week, and since our entire podcast is about movies that have been on these decennially updated lists, we got together to share our reactions to the new ones.

It’s Mia’s 5th pick: The Grapes of Wrath, the 1940 film directed by John Ford.

The film is based on John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer-prize winning novel, which was also the best-selling novel of that year and was cited as a major part of the basis on which Steinbeck was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. The politics and story of the book were potentially thorny enough that Daryl F. Zanuck, the famed producer at 20th Century Fox, sent investigators to witness just how bad the situation in Oklahoma actually was so he’d know whether he’d feel equipped to defend the film against any criticism for being potentially pro-Communist. That said, the aforementioned politics and story were still softened somewhat as compared to the book.

Ford was coming off a banner year, having directed 3 films in 1939: Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, and Drums Along the Mohawk – the latter two both with Henry Fonda, who himself had additionally been in 3 other movies in 1939.

The film received plenty of rave reviews and accolades including this incredibly laudatory one from Frank Nugent for the New York Times:

In the vast library where the celluloid literature of the screen is stored there is one small, uncrowded shelf devoted to the cinema's masterworks, to those films which by dignity of theme and excellence of treatment seem to be of enduring artistry, seem destined to be recalled not merely at the end of their particular year but whenever great motion pictures are mentioned.

To that shelf of screen classics Twentieth Century-Fox yesterday added its version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath…

John Ford won a Best Director Oscar for the film, while Jane Darwell won Best Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for Outstanding Production (or what is today called Best Picture), Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording. In more recent years, The Grapes of Wrath was on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies list, ranked at #21 in 1998 and then at #23 in 2007.

As for our purposes, the movie has never actually appeared in the top 10 of Sight & Sound’s critics or directors surveys, but it was a runner up on the very first list back in 1952. In the 2012 polling, it was ranked #183 by critics and #174 by directors – and among the filmmakers who had it on their top 10 lists that year was Lawrence Kasdan.

It’s Jeremiah’s 5th pick: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, the 1927 film directed by F.W. Murnau.

Based on a 1917 short story called “The Excursion to Tilsit,’ written by Hermann Sudermann, the film was Murnau’s first in the United States, after he was brought over from Germany by William Fox to make something for Fox Film Corporation like the expressionist work he’d produced in his home country – Nosferatu, The Last Laugh, and Faust among those. As with his previous work, the art design is exaggerated or even distorted to represent the emotional and symbolic tone being strived for. Add in innovative camerawork and one of the first synchronized soundtracks featuring a specifically composed score and sound effects, and the technical achievements alone begin to make it clear why the film had been popular and influential.

The film was hailed as a masterpiece by many critics of the day. And it also holds the distinction of being the only film to ever win Best Unique and Artistic Picture at the Oscars – an award that only existed in the ceremony’s first year. More recently, AFI listed Sunrise at number 82 in the 2007 version of their 100 Years… 100 Movies list of the greatest American films.

As for our purposes, Sunrise has appeared in the top 10 of Sight & Sound’s critics survey twice – at number 7 in 2002, and then at number 5 in 2012. Also in the 2012 polling, it was ranked #22 by directors; among the filmmakers who had it on their top 10 lists were Francis Ford Coppola and the Dardenne Brothers. And one more thing worthy of noting: Sunrise was released on September 23rd, 1927… Two weeks later, on October 6, is when The Jazz Singer was released, ushering in the beginning of the sound era for motion pictures.

Listen up as we reveal our picks for what we’ll be watching in Round 5 of the podcast!

Spoiler alert: we have two bonus picks this time around, so we’ll be watching 7 films total.

And, as referenced in the episode, here is the list of all movies released after 1980 that appeared in the top 100 of the Sight & Sound critics and directors surveys in 2012:

• 1982 - Blade Runner (Ridley Scott / USA)
• 1982 - Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, France)
• 1982 - Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden)
• 1983 - L’argent (Robert Bresson, France)
• 1985 - Come And See (Elem Klimov, USSR)
• 1985 - Shoah (Claude Lanzmann (France)
• 1986 - Blue Velvet (David Lynch, USA)
• 1990 - Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami / Iran)
• 1990 - Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, USA)
• 1991 - A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, Taiwan)
• 1994 - Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, Hungary)
• 1988-1998 - Histoire(s) du cinéma (Jean Luc Godard / France)
• 1999 - Beau Travail (Claire Denis / France)
• 2000 - In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong)
• 2000 - Yi Yi (Edward Yang, Taiwan)
• 2001 - Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, USA)
• 2005 - Caché (aka Hidden, Michael Haneke, France/Austria)
• 2007 - There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)

It’s Stephen’s 4th pick: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the 1964 film directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Often cited as one of the best comedy films of all time – as well as simply one of the best films generally – this was Kubrick’s follow-up to Lolita, released two years before in 1962.Its making began with the director’s desire to produce a movie about a nuclear accident during the Cold War. As he was doing research for the project, someone suggested he read Peter George’s book, Red Alert, and he eventually bought the rights for it and began working with the author on an adaptation.

As they began to write, Kubrick at some point came to the conclusion that there was no real way to depict the scenario he was interested in without it seeming absurd, so they decided to lean into that absurdity and make it a satire, which is a departure from the more serious depiction of the novel. Satirical author Terry Southern (perhaps best known by movie fans as a co-writer of Easy Rider a few years later) was brought in to help with the tone.

The casting of Peter Sellers was instrumental in getting the film made, with Columbia Pictures making it a condition that the actor play 4 roles – one more than he had in 1959’s The Mouse that Roared. Originally, he was set to also play Major Kong, the bomber pilot, though perhaps against his better wishes since he wasn’t comfortable with the character’s Texas accent. But an injury forced him out of the role and it was recast with Slim Pickens, though not before it was offered to John Wayne. Another change of note is that the film legendarily originally ended with a giant pie fight between all the personnel in the War Room.

The film was originally set to open in late 1963, but was delayed due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Instead it was released in January 1964 to good box office and it was eventually nominated for 4 Academy Awards – Best Picture, Director, Actor (Peter Sellers), and Adapted Screenplay – though it won none. It did however win 4 BAFTA awards, including Best British Film and Best Film From Any Source. And it was nominated for or won other Guild and Critics awards.

As for our purposes, it only appeared in the top 10 of one of Sight & Sound’s polls once, when it was ranked the 5th greatest film by directors in 2002. In the 2012 polling, it was ranked #117 by critics and #107 by directors. Among the directors who included it in their top 10s were Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Mann, and Amos Poe.

It’s Mia’s 4th pick: Persona, the 1966 film directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Persona is a film that is open to much interpretation about its themes, meaning, and maybe even its plot. In the most basic way, it’s the story of a well known Swedish actress who suffers an emotional shutdown and is put in a hospital. It’s explained that there is nothing wrong with her either mentally or physically, but she is completely unwilling to move or speak. A nurse is assigned to her, but a lack of any progress soon leads the attending doctor to send the actress, with her nurse, to a seaside cottage. With the actress still not speaking, but beginning to otherwise take part in life, the nurse finds a willing set of ears to spill her thoughts and secrets to. This eventually leads to a seeming betrayal of confidence. Meanwhile, both for the nurse and for the audience, the identities of the women become increasingly blurred.

Persona was Ingmar Bergman’s 27th film as a director and was released 20 years after his first. It also came about a decade after The Seventh Seal firmly established him as a well-known name of world cinema. The experimental opening moments of the film effectively set up an experience that is harder to pin down than other, more mainstream films. Discussion and debate about how to interpret Persona tend to follow several different lines, from identity, gender, and sexuality to Jungian psychology, art, and even vampirism.

For our purposes, Persona only appeared in the top 10 of Sight & Sound’s critics poll once, in 1972, when it was ranked 5th. In 2012, it was tied with The Seventh Samurai at number 17 on the wider critics poll, and it was ranked number 13 on the directors poll.

It’s Jeremiah’s 4th pick: The Rules of the Game, the 1939 film directed by Jean Renoir.

‘The Rules of the Game’ was the most expensive film ever made in France at the time of its production and came on the heels of a series of successful films that had made Renoir one of the top French directors. After initial preview screenings that began in June of 1939 and a premier in July that met with low box-office and mixed reviews, a series of edits eventually whittled  the film down from its 113 minute runtime to 85 minute; many of the edits excised Renoir’s own performance, resulting in a much less complex and integral character. By October, the film was banned in France for being "depressing, morbid, immoral [and] having an undesirable influence over the young." A successful 1956 attempt at restoration led to the discovery of negatives and other prints and audio for the film that had been thought lost during World War II. Eventually, with advice from Renoir, a 106 minute cut was assembled that largely restored what had been cut after the film’s post-release failure. This restoration was screened for Renoir in 1959 and reportedly left the director in tears.

Director Satyajit Ray – whose film, ‘Pather Panchali,’ we’ll be watching for an upcoming episode – said of The Rules of the Game: it is “a film that doesn't wear its innovations on its sleeve ... Humanist? Classical? Avant-Garde? Contemporary? I defy anyone to give it a label. This is the kind of innovation that appeals to me."

For our purposes, this is the only film that’s been in the top 10 of Sight & Sound’s critics poll every single time since it began in 1952, when it debuted at number 10 (even before it’s restoration). It then fluctuated between number 2 and number 3 from 1962 to 2002 and was at number 4 in 2012. Additionally, it was on the directors poll in 2002, at number 9. In the 2012 polling, 100 critics had the film on their list – and 17 directors, including Olivier Assayas, Lawrence Kasdan, Steve McQueen, and Paul Schrader.

It’s Alicia’s 4th pick: Hiroshima Mon Amour, the 1959 film directed by Alain Resnais.

With ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour,’ Resnais and screenwriter Marguerite Duras, explore the intersection where tragedy and trauma meet history and memory.

The film was released on May 8, 1959 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize.

Among its other accolades was recognition by Cahiers du Cinéma on its list of the top 10 films of 1959, where it was ranked 2nd after Kenji Mizoguchi’s ‘Ugetsu.’

It opened in the United States in May of 1960 and went on to earn Marguerite Duras an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

To give a sense of what was popular in the United States in the years ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ was first released, then when it opened in the United States, the top grossing films in North America for 1959 and 1960 were Ben-Hur and Spartacus, respectively. Meanwhile, Ben-Hur was also the big winner at the Oscars for 1959, while The Apartment was the big winner for 1960.

For our purposes, the film has never been in the top 10 of either the critics or directors polls done by Sight and Sound magazine to determine the greatest films ever made. It did, though, place, as a runner-up in both 1962 and 1972.

Listen up as we reveal our picks for what we’ll be watching in Round 4 of the podcast!

Spoiler alert: it’s our most international round yet!

It’s Mia’s 3rd pick: The Godfather Part II, the 1974 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather Part II both continues the story begun in the first film and also deepens it by depicting what came before. We watch as Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone continues in the family business, building his empire while trying to hold on to his family, both actual and figurative. This is crosscut with a portrayal of his father Vito’s rise from an unfortunate child in Sicily to a respected man in New York, as deftly played by Robert DeNiro. We watch as the older man builds his empire in order to, as he seems to view it, strengthen his family, just as the younger man causes his family to weaken as he extends his father’s empire.

Mario Puzo, the author of the novel on which the first movie and the overall saga were based, began working on the script for Part II before the first movie was even released. And, at least according to Coppola, the production of this followup was much smoother than that of the first film, as that installment’s success afforded him greater opportunity for control and independence from the studio, Paramount Pictures. It was released in December of 1974 and, though the critical reception was mixed at first -- with the film’s structure drawing the most consternation -- reassessments began sooner than often happens.

In addition to being the big winner at the Academy Awards that year, the film was also the 6th highest grossing film of 1974 in North America. The Godfather Part II was included in AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies list in 1998, ranked at #32… and it stayed in the same spot when that list was updated in 2007.

For our purposes, it gets a little messy -- the film ranked #9 on Sight and Sound Magazine’s survey of directors in 1992… But when it was paired with Part 1 for the the survey in 2002, the 2 films collectively came it at #4 on the critics poll and at #2 on the directors poll.

It’s Jeremiah’s 3rd pick: 8 ½, the 1963 film directed by Federico Fellini.

8 ½ was Fellini’s feature film follow-up to 1960s La Dolce Vita – with a segment for an anthology film produced in the interim. La Dolce Vita had been something of an international sensation when it came out, so perhaps the pressure of following that up led him to produce a film about the pressure on a director to make his next movie.

It was released in February 1963 to much acclaim, especially from European critics, drawing comparisons to James Joyce’s Ulysses and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane along the way. It then opened in the United States in June of that year, where it also earned mostly praise, but for a few critics (Pauline Kael among the detractors). And it ended up winning two Academy Awards, for Best Foreign Film and Best Costume Design (Black and White), while it was also nominated for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Art Direction.

As for our purposes, 8 ½ was first on the Sight & Sound critics survey in 1972, ranked as the 4th greatest film of all time. It Was then at number 5 in 1982, fell off the list in 1992, reentered at #9 in 2002 and ended up at #10 in 2012. Meanwhile, it’s been on the directors survey each time they’ve had one so far, at #2 in 1992, at #3 in 2002, and then at #4 in 2012.

It’s Lora’s 3rd pick: ‘Vertigo,’ the 1958 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Considered by an increasing number of people to be the director’s masterpiece, the film relies on an against-type performance by Jimmy Stewart and a complex, multi-faceted performance by Kim Novak. It first appeared on the Sight & Sound magazine poll of the greatest films ever made in 1972, as a runner up. It’s then appeared on the decennial list every time since, moving up to number 7, then number 4, then number 2, before in 2012 being named the greatest film of all time, overtaking Citizen Kane from the spot it had held for 60 years. Meanwhile it was named the 6th greatest film on the directors poll in both 1992 and 2002, then came in at number 7 in 2012.

It’s the end of Round 2 of the Stereoactive Media Movie Club podcast! We’re revisiting the films we’ve discussed in the last 6 episodes and we’re picking our next round of movies to watch and discuss!

It’s Mia’s 2nd pick: 'The Godfather,’ the 1972 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Foundational to modern cinema that’s followed in its footsteps and culturally influential beyond the scope of most movies, it’s often cited as one of the greatest films ever made. In the 2002 Sight & Sound magazine poll – in tandem with its sequel, Part 2 – it was named the 4th greatest movie of all time by critics while the 2 films together were named the 2nd greatest film of all time by directors. And on its own, it was named the 6th greatest film of all time by directors in 1992, then the 7th greatest in 2012.

It’s Jeremiah’s 2nd pick: ‘Mirror,’ the 1975 film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Nonlinear in structure it features moments from the central character’s life, both as a young boy and as a father, interspersed with bits of newsreel footage, other memories, and poetic passages. It broke into the top 10 of Sight & Sound magazine’s ‘greatest films’ poll in 2012, ranking 9th on the survey of directors.

It’s Alicia’s 2nd pick: ‘L’avventura,’ the 1960 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. It’s departure from until-then standard plotting was something of a breakthrough and, along with other films by like-minded filmmakers of the time, helped to influence films – and style – to come. It was voted 2nd in Sight & Sound magazine’s ‘greatest films’ poll in 1962, then came in at #5 in 1972 and #7 in 1982.

It’s Lora’s 2nd pick: ‘Bicycle Thieves,’ the 1948 film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It’s an emblematic example of the neorealist movement that developed in Italy after World War II, depicting the lives of everyday people struggling to get by, and mostly cast with non-professional actors. It was voted the #1 greatest film of all time in the very first critics poll Sight & Sound magazine did back in 1952. Since then it’s placed #7 in 1962 and as a runner up in 1992. It was also on the directors poll, at #6 in 2002 and #10 in 2012.

It’s Stephen’s 2nd pick: ‘The General,’ the 1926 film directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman – and of course also starring Buster Keaton. It’s an action comedy set during the Civil War and largely centered around a stolen train and plenty of stunt work and it’s been on Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial poll of the “greatest films” twice – at #8 in 1972, then at #10 in 1982.

Very special guest JPK joins us with his pick: ‘The Searchers,’ the 1956 film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter. It’s a western that put new spins on some of the genre tropes that Ford himself helped to establish and it’s been on Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial poll of the “greatest films” every time since 1982.

It’s the end of Round 1 of the Stereaoctive Media Movie Club podcast! We’re revisiting the films we’ve discussed in the last 5 episodes and addressing comments from listeners and members of the Facebook group. Also, we’re picking our next round of movies to watch and discuss – but this time there’ll be 6 because we have a special guest joining us to make a pick and join us for the episode where we’ll discuss their choice!

• 00:00 - Intro + the last good movies we saw
• 10:38 - About the show / Does ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’ belong on a greatest films list?
• 16:15 - ‘Citizen Kane’ and cruel portrayal
• 19:25 - ‘Kane’ and ‘Velvet Goldmine’
• 23:45 - Which films have we thought about most since discussing them?
• 28:22 - Our thoughts on the Sight & Sound poll after Round 1
• 43:24 - A pitch for a future round of movies…
• 44:32 - Listener feedback: Women on the panel on the women in the movies so far
• 52:14 - Listener feedback: how was ‘Ambersons’ supposed to end / Welles almost shot something years later
• 57:13 - Has Lora watched ‘Bogus Journey’ yet?????
• 59:30 - Our Round 2 picks… w/ a special surprise guest!
• 64:45 - Final thoughts / wrapping up
• 12:48 - About the film / open discussion

It’s Jeremiah’s pick… ‘Rashomon,’ the 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa, the premise of which has been emulated often over the decades. The film has appeared twice on Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial poll of the “greatest films” as voted on by directors – #10 in 1992 and #9 in 2002.

• 00:00 - Intro + the last good movies we saw
• 09:14 - About the show / expectations for ‘Rashomon’
• 12:48 - About the film / open discussion
• 55:15 - Favorite scenes or moments / the test of time / influence or relevance today
• 59:28 - Bonus question: Which international/non-English language film is either your favorite or first made you want to explore more from that country or region?
• 55:59 - Next week on Stereoactive Movie Club… / Outro

It’s Alicia’s pick… ‘Tokyo Story,’ the 1953 film by Yasujirō Ozu, which filmmaker and critic, Lindsay Anderson, after seeing it in London in 1957 wrote a review for Sight & Sound magazine likened it to the Zen state of experiencing the world in the same way as before, but feeling as if you’re 2 inches off the ground.

The film has appeared several times on Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial polls of the “greatest films” most recently at #3 on the critics poll and #1 on the directors poll.

It’s Lora’s pick… ‘Citizen Kane,’ the 1941 debut film by Orson Welles. Often referred to as the greatest film ever made, it’s possibly Welles’ greatest achievement, but the controversy surrounding it (mainly stirred up by William Randolph Hearst, the main target of the film’s narrative) also led to his quick fall from grace.

The film has appeared on every single one of Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial polls of the “greatest films,” debuting as a runner up in 1952, then sitting at #1 for the next 50 years, before eventually dropping to #2 on both the 2012 polls of critics and directors.

It’s Stephen’s pick… ‘The Magnificent Ambersons,’ directed by Orson Welles and released in 1942. It’s the follow-up to his debut film, ‘Citizen Kane,’ and has one of the most famous production backstories of all time, due to reshoots and destroyed footage.

The film has appeared in the top ten of Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial “greatest films” poll 2 times.

• 00:00 - Intro + the last good movies we saw
• 12:59 - About the show / expectations for ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’
• 15:59 - About the film / open discussion
• 46:27 - Favorite scenes or moments / historical context
• 57:50 - The test of time
• 63:00 - Bonus question: what’s your favorite movie that legitimately frightened you?
• 84:20 - Next week on Stereoactive Movie Club… / Outro

For our first full-fledged movie chat, we discuss ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc,’ directed by Carl Thedor Dreyer, starring Maria Falconetti, and released in 1928. The film has appeared in the top ten of Sight & Sound magazine’s decennial “greatest films” poll 5 times – 4 times on the critics poll and once on the directors poll.

• 00:00 - Intro + the last good movies we saw
• 12:59 - About the show / about ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’
• 14:41 - Why Mia picked the movie and her thoughts on it / open discussion
• 44:45 - Historical context
• 54:08 - Favorite scenes or moments
• 56:45 - The test of time
• 59:16 - Bonus question: what’s your favorite Valentine’s Day movie?
• 69:53 - Next week on Stereoactive Movie Club… / Outro

Welcome to a new movie podcast featuring 5 friends leading discussions on movies. In our inaugural episode, we discuss the decennial Sight & Sound poll, then each pick a movie that’s appeared on the list to watch in future episodes. So, listen along to find out which movies we’ll be watching, then watch along with us–and maybe even participate in the podcast?

• 00:00 - Intro + the last good movies we saw
• 05:08 - About the show / about the Sight & Sound poll
• 11:50 - Our movie picks
• 17:34 - Potential questions/issues with the Sight & Sound poll
• 23:00 - What we were watching in 2020 / comfort movies
• 26:14 - ‘The Invisible Man’ / does Elisabeth Moss shop at “that” Target?
• 27:50 - Our 1st movie might inspire Lora to chop off her hair
• 28:41 -  Outro