Jarrod's Favorite Films

Submitted by Werto on Sun, 07/15/2007 - 06:55
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  1. Jarrod's Favorite Films:
  2. Ordet (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1955, Denmark)
  3. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975, USA)
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  13. Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927, France)
  14. Hallelujah! (King Vidor, 1929, USA)
  15. Babes in Toyland (Gus Meins/Charley Rogers, 1934, USA)
  16. Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks, 1939, USA)
  17. The Devil and Daniel Webster (William Dieterle, 1941, USA)
  18. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942, USA)
  19. Let There Be Light (John Huston, 1946, USA)
  20. Le tempestaire (Jean Epstein, 1947, France)
  21. 3 Godfathers (John Ford, 1948, USA)
  22. Father Brown (Robert Hamer, 1954, UK)
  23. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955, USA)
  24. Angel (Joseph Cornell, 1957, USA)
  25. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (John Huston, 1957, USA)
  26. Ride Lonesome (Budd Boetticher, 1959, USA)
  27. The World's Greatest Sinner (Timothy Carey, 1962, USA)
  28. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968, UK/USA)
  29. The Hart of London (Jack Chambers, 1970, Canada)
  30. Hitler: A Film From Germany (Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, 1977, W. Germany)
  31. Fanny & Alexander (Ingmar Bergman, 1982, Sweden)
  32. God's Country (Louis Malle, 1986, USA)
  33. The Loom (Stan Brakhage, 1986, USA)
  34. Near Death (Frederick Wiseman, 1989, USA)
  35. Spiritual Voices (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1995, Russia)
  36. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005, USA)
  37. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007, USA)
Author Comments: 

The trinity: Dreyer, Altman, Wiseman.

idlewoodarian08/28/2009

Wow, there aren't many recent films ! Interesting...
In your list I've only seen 2001, The New World and There Will Be Blood, but I put them in my favorite films too... :)

Werto01/20/2010

Thanks for commenting! Those three are certainly a triple-threat of Glory in my (and many people's) book! And as for that last one: man o man, PT really did it, didn't he?

Marquee08/31/2009

Damn, some great choices. Ordet's definitely an acquired taste, challenging stuff. This list makes me want to revisit it. Nashville is one of my all time favorites.

I was surprised how American-oriented it is, given your top two selections; but that's not a flaw by any means. I think Night of the Hunter, Fanny & Alexander, There Will Be Blood, Let There be Light and The Hart of London are all really great films. Been wanting to see some more Brakhage for awhile, you've given me a recommendation. Good stuff.

Werto08/31/2009

Thanks for your comments. It's always wonderful how talking to fellow film lovers and hearing their favorites inspires a renewed interest and perspective on them. I need to revisit your top 2 films again in particular, it's been a while...and as far as Tarkovsky goes, let's hope those rumors of Criterion re-releasing Andrei Rublev actually happen soon!

As for Ordet and Nashville, I see them as 2 sides of the same great heavenly coin. Above all else, I admire and love them for their fundamental benevolence and see this as indicative of something much greater. Kind masterpieces are hard to find. Both are deeply spiritual to me; Ordet naturally being the more obvious in this regard, but Nashville, for its joyous compassion toward humanity and exhilaration in depicting life, is certainly its earthy Chestertonian equal. I would say Altman made something like 8 perfect films in the 70s and everything else is just varying degrees of fascinating icing on the cake. Quintet? Yow! And (as I'm always quick to mention) I even like OC and Stiggs! As far as benevolence, I view Frederick Wiseman in much the same way. It's tempting with him to just list "all films" because his work is so interconnected. By virtue of "Near Death"'s profundity and length, it wins by a nose. These films offer so much all you can really do is sit back and be grateful.

Marquee10/14/2009

I finally got to rewatch Ordet (been wanting to ever since reading this list) and it was just unbelievable. One of the best movies ever made, easily.

Deeply moving, as spiritual as anything Tarkovsky did. It's probably fundamentally a movie about change, but it really transcends any one theme. I don't think it's possible to gain an ultimate understanding of the film because part of what Dreyer is saying is that there's no such thing.

But it's not just the content that makes it so incredible, the way Dreyer physically puts scenes together is flawless and unlike any director I've ever seen. From the performances to the camera movements to the concept of space, it's all there to produce an effect. Everything we see is so calculated, not in a soulless way like Kubrick, but in a way that challenges the viewer to absorb and contemplate all that is being presented.

A true masterpiece.

Werto01/24/2010

Sorry I didn't respond to this! :D Although it is pretty daunting to attempt to say even a few words about one of my absolute favorite films. I certainly agree about Dreyer's mastery of the medium and it would be easy for me to ramble on and on about the many things in Ordet I love and think about often. What I most admire about the film though is its portrayal of religious belief. Dreyer's view of people is so full and decent and the way he depicts the sincerity of belief in this film is extraordinarily moving. It's the difference between merely showing the idea of common religious virtues (piety, faith, forgiveness) and understanding what those things actually mean to the people who sincerely try to be guided by God in their pursuit of them. The woman's simple prayer at the Bible gathering and Peter the Tailor's awareness of needing to ask Morten for forgiveness in Ordet are two incredibly beautiful expressions of this. Even in Day of Wrath, when the tone is more critical, the decency of Absalon, despite his many failings, is given emphasis. I saw a quote recently by Jonathan Rosenbaum (describing a completely different film) where he responded to its "complex perception of goodness." That sense of goodness is what I respect most about Dreyer and Ordet in particular.

I've been trying to see most of the short films he made for the Danish government recently. Have you seen any of those? They're hard to come by unless you have the BFI DVDs but Good Mothers, The Struggle Against Cancer, Thorvaldsen and They Caught the Ferry are wonderful.