One of the best things I did in 2013 was to start this blog which has brought me new on-line friends and an outlet for my love of cinema. It also spurred me on to watch 432 total movies during the year, almost surely a lifetime record. I joined the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Club too and racked up 94 films from The Book. I’m still enthusiastic about my chronological journey through cinema, though possibly my favorite exercise was Noir Month. I’ll probably break away for another theme month sometime during 2014.
The very best films I watched during the year were old favorites. These are already on a lot of lists so I thought I would single out ten films I saw and loved for the first time in 2013. The list could certainly be much, much longer and is in no particular order.
1. Raw Deal (1948, directed by Anthony Mann) This was my “find” from Noir Month. An unsung little film with an unusual female narrator, this features some outstanding chiaroscuro cinematography from legendary film noir D.P. John Alton and a creepy villainous performance from Raymond Burr.
2. Les Misérables (1934, directed by Raymond Bernard) In my mind, this lavish and comprehensive two-parter is the best adaptation of the Victor Hugo classic. Harry Bauer makes a perfect Jean Valjean.
3. Design for Living (1933, directed by Ernst Lubitsch) This is not in The Book but I had been looking forward to seeing it for a long time and certainly was glad I saw it in 2013 while I had a lot of life left in me.
4. Japanese Girls at the Harbor (1933, directed by Hiroshi Shimizu) I will let this stand in also for the other two films – Mr. Thank You (1936) and The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) – that introduced me to the exquisite little gems by this formerly unexplored Japanese master in 2013.
5. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937, directed by Leo McCarey) – an absolute classic finally brought to me courtesy of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and the Criterion Collection.
6. Captains Courageous (1937, directed by Victor Fleming) – so glad I finally caught up to this wonderful performance by Spencer Tracy this year!!
7. Of Human Bondage (1934, directed by John Cromwell) … and that I now know how and why Bette Davis became a star
8. Cat People (1942, directed by Jacques Tourneur) – Noir Month finally brought me this long-awaited collaboration by Tourneur and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca
9. César (1936, directed by Marcel Pagnol) Although I didn’t know it, it would take me until 2013 before I really completed this fantastic trilogy.
10. The Wedding Night (1935, directed by King Vidor) This one stands in for all the films I had never heard of before researching films to watch for my chronological exercise that turned out to delight and inspire me.
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