Daily Archives: December 31, 2020

Favorite New to Me Films of 2020

Posted on December 31, 2020 | 8 comments

 

I started off slow, slogged through California’s first lockdown and Covid in my brother’s family, only to regain my enthusiasm for movies late in 2020 as we are again on indefinite lockdown. My viewing for this year began with 1968 and ended in mid-1973.  I am really happy truncating my watching for a year into whatever will fit in six weeks.  I logged 229 films on Letterboxd, about 50 more than I did in 2019.

I saw many great films.  Since I’ve been seeking out classic movies for a long time, many of the best were re-watches.  Still there were many gems that were new to me. This year I have divided my lists into films that are not listed in the 1001 Movie book and those that are.  The lists are in chronological order.  I have pondered why there are not more Hollywood films on these lists as American cinema is once again coming into its own.  My explanation is that I was going out to the movie theater a lot at that time so I had already seen the best Hollywood films from these years.

Not Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Kuroneko (Black Cat) (1968) – directed by Kaneto Shindo

The Cremator (1969) – directed by Juraj Herz

All My Good Countrymen (1969) – directed by Vojtec Jazny

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) – directed by Elio Petri

Dodeskaden (1970) – Directed by Akira Kurosawa

The Emigrants (1971) – Directed by Jan Troell

Duel (1971) – Directed by Stephen Spielberg

The Mattei Affair (1972) – Directed by Francesco Rosi

Love and Anarchy (1973) – Directed  by Lina Wertmuller

The Last Detail (1973) – Directed by Hal Ashby

New-to-Me Films from 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

if … (1968) – Directed by Lindsay Anderson

Memories of Underdevelopment (1968) – Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea

Tristana (1970) – Directed by Luis Buñuel

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) – Directed by Jaromil Jires

Solaris (1972) – Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) – Directed by Ranier Werner Fassbinder

Fat City (1972) – Directed by John Huston

Fantastic Planet (1973) – Directed by Rene Laloux

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Movies weren’t the only good thing about 2020.  Meet my new grandniece Rooney Brooke, born about a month premature in September and now thriving without a care in the world.  She rolled over for the first time yesterday.  Someday in 2021, when no one is looking, I will squeeze her sweet little cheeks.

 

Wishing all my readers peace, love, understanding, health, hugs, and prosperity in 2021

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Posted in Top Ten Lists

Serpico (1973)

Posted on December 31, 2020 | 2 comments

Serpico
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from a book by Peter Maas
1973/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

Tom Keough: Frank, let’s face it. Who can trust a cop who don’t take money?

Somethings never change.  The thin blue line is one of them.  Al Pacino is a force of nature as Frank Serpico, an honest cop who risked his life to expose rampant corruption within the NYPD.

The story occurs in New York City from 1960-1972.  Policemen didn’t earn large salaries on the NYPD in the mid-20th century, but the job came with many “benefits”, most of which were illegal.  Frank Serpico enters the force as an eager young rookie and is almost immediately indoctrinated into the culture.  It starts with a free lunch.  Then he witnesses payoffs.  He honestly believes the brass will care.  They do not appreciate his information.  Serpico was already in disfavor with his colleagues for not accepting money and they get more suspicious and dangerous as the years drag on.

Serpico is transferred to the narcotics squad where he finds the possible booty corrupt cops can skim from drug deals can range in the 10’s of thousands of dollars.  The stakes are never higher.  Serpico finally gets his superiors to believe him, but only at a terrible cost.

It’s so good to see these great actors in their prime.  Somehow most of them had problems reining in a performance as they aged.  Anyway, Pacino here ranges from tenderness to explosive rage and it’s all perfectly believable.  Storywise, I suppose nothing is new. Whistleblowers will never be popular.  Worth seeing.

Al Pacino was nominated for a  Best Actor Oscar and Salt and Wexler were nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1973