Top 16 of 2018

This year, I definitely cut back on both film watching and writing on films released this year in favor of viewing for my podcast. Perhaps because of this general consistency of viewing, despite an even lower number of films that I truly loved than the doldrums of last year, I feel much more enthusiastic about the riches that this film year had to offer. Many of these filmmakers were known quantities, but they seemed to surprise me and reveal heretofore unknown depths or avenues, in ways that augmented their strengths rather than serving as the sole overwhelming asset.

The following list is formed from the reds, oranges, greens, and blues that I have seen at time of writing that were commercially released in New York City in 2018. A list, not the list.

first reformed

1. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)

other side

2. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)

day after

3. The Day After (Hong Sang-soo)

fallout

4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)

ballad

5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel & Ethan Coen)

bisbee

6. Bisbee ’17 (Robert Greene)

burning

7. Burning (Lee Chang-dong)

zama

8. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)

soleil

9. Un beau soleil intérieur (Claire Denis)

beale street

10. If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)

before we vanish

11. Before We Vanish (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

isle of dogs

12. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)

camera

13. Claire’s Camera (Hong Sang-soo)

lazzaro

14. Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher)

girls

15. Support the Girls (Andrew Bujalski)

star

16. A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper)

My Top 10 Discoveries During 2018 (for first-time viewings of films made before 2000)

  1. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, Orson Welles)
  2. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944, Vincente Minelli)
  3. Only Angels Have Wings (1939, Howard Hawks)
  4. Late Spring (1949, Yasujiro Ozu)
  5. Napoléon (1927, Abel Gance)
  6. A Star Is Born (1954, George Cukor)
  7. Sansho the Bailiff (1954, Kenji Mizoguchi)
  8. Taipei Story (1985, Edward Yang)
  9. Gertrud (1964, Carl Theodor Dreyer)
  10. That Day, on the Beach (1983, Edward Yang)

10th (1972): “The Next Picture Show” Show Notes

Table of Contents: Description, Corrections/Clarifications, Housekeeping, General, Main Slate, Ephemera, Recurring Directors, Recurring Countries, One-Time Directors, Debuts/Final Features, Festivals/Oscar Nominees, Shorts/Panels, Discussions By Length, Specifications

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Description
The tenth episode of the Catalyst and Witness podcast, devoted to exploring the films and format of the New York Film Festival, hosted by Ryan Swen and Dan Molloy. This covers the tenth edition of the festival in 1972.

0:00-47:30 – Introduction [AFI Fest+]
47:31-1:02:44 – Opening
1:02:45-1:41:57 – Part One [Love in the Afternoon to A Sense of Loss]
1:41:58-2:20:13 – Part Two [Family Life to Nathalie Granger]
2:20:14-3:00:17 – Part Three [The Adversary to L’Amour fou]
3:00:18-3:51:03 – Part Four [Tout va bien to Last Tango in Paris]
3:51:04-3:56:45 – Closing

Corrections/Clarifications

  • N/A

Housekeeping

  • Hosted by Dan Molloy & Ryan Swen
  • Conceived and Edited by Ryan Swen
  • Recorded in Los Angeles on Zoom H4N and Behringer Microphones, Edited in Audacity
  • Podcast photograph from Yi Yi, Logo designed by Dan Molloy
  • Poster by Josef Albers
  • Recorded December 17, 2018
  • Released December 24, 2018
  • Music (in order of appearance):
    • Love in the Afternoon (opening night)
    • Tout va bien (another favorite)
    • Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (another favorite)
    • We Won’t Grow Old Together (favorite of the first section)
    • Nathalie Granger (favorite of the second section)
    • L’Amour fou (favorite of the third section)
    • Two English Girls (favorite of the fourth section)
    • Last Tango in Paris (closing night)

General

  • Selection Committee: Richard Roud (program director), Richard Corliss, Arthur Knight, Arthur L. Mayer, Andrew Sarris, Susan Sontag, John Russell Taylor, Henri Langlois (retrospective consultant)
  • Location: Alice Tully Hall
  • Prices: 1-4, for opening and closing night 2, 4, 7.50, 10
  • Films seen for the podcast:
    • Ryan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: N/A
      • Seen for the podcast: All available except The Assassination of Trotsky
      • Favorite films: L’Amour fou, Two English Girls, Love in the Afternoon, We Won’t Grow Old Together, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Nathalie Granter, Tout va bien, The Merchant of Four Seasons
      • Least favorite films: Summer Soldiers, Bad Company, Going Home, Family Life
      • Seen after the podcast: The Assassination of Trotsky (11th)
    • Dan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: Love in the Afternoon, We Won’t Grow Old Together, The Merchant of Four Seasons, Images, The King of Marvin Gardens, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Last Tango in Paris
      • Seen for the podcast: All available except A Sense of Loss, The Adversary, L’Amour fou; none rewatched
      • Favorite films: Two English Girls, Tout va bien, Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, Nathalie Granger
      • Least favorite films: The Assassination of Trotsky, Summer Soldiers, Last Tango in Paris
  • Discoveries of the festival: Love, Red Psalm, Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania
  • Unavailable films: Behind the Wall

Main Slate

Opening Night: Love in the Afternoon [L’Amour l’après-midi] (1972, Éric Rohmer)
September 29, 9:15
Released 1972
Love [Szerelem] (1971, Makk Károly)
September 30, 6:30
Released 1973
We Won’t Grow Old Together [Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble] (1972, Maurice Pialat)
September 30, 9:30
Released 2012
Summer Soldiers [Samâ sorujâ] (1972, Teshigahara Hiroshi)
October 1, 6:30
Never released
Red Psalm [Még kér a nép/And the People Still Ask] (1972, Jancsó Miklós)
Also: Behind the Wall [Za sciana] (1971, Krzysztof Zanussi)
October 1, 9:30
Released 1973/Never released
A Sense of Loss (1972, Marcel Ophuls)
October 2, 7:30
Released 1972
Family Life (1971, Ken Loach)
October 3, 7:30
Released 1972
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972, Jonas Mekas)
And: Going Home (1972, Adolfas Mekas)
October 4, 7:30
Released 1974/Never released
Heat (1972, Paul Morrissey)
October 5, 7:30
Released 1972
The Inner Scar [La cicatrice intérieure] (1972, Philippe Garrel)
October 6, 6:30
Never released
Nathalie Granger (1972, Marguerite Duras)
October 6, 9:30
Never released
The Adversary [Pratidwandi] (1970, Satyajit Ray)
October 7, 6:30
Released 1973
Bad Company (1972, Robert Benton)
October 7, 9:30
Released 1972
The Merchant of Four Seasons [Händler der vier Jahreszeiten] (1971, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
October 8, 6:30
Released 1973
Images (1972, Robert Altman)
October 8, 9:30
Released 1972
L’Amour fou [Mad Love] (1969, Jacques Rivette)
October 9, 7:00
Released 1972
Tout va bien [Just Great] (1972, Jean-Luc Godard & Jean-Pierre Gorin)
October 10, 7:30
Released 1973
Two English Girls [Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent/The Two English Girls and the Continent] (1971, François Truffaut)
October 11, 7:30
Released 1972
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972, Bob Rafelson)
October 12, 7:30
Released 1972
The Assassination of Trotsky (1972, Joseph Losey)
October 13, 7:30
Released 1972
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie [Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie] (1972, Luis Buñuel)
October 13, 11:00
Released 1972
Closing Night: Last Tango in Paris [Ultimo tango a Parigi] (1972, Bernardo Bertolucci)
October 14, 8:30
Released 1973

Ephemera

  • Panel discussions

Recurring Directors
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/omnibus/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable), number of festivals with more than one film shown (when applicable); † indicates their last appearance, fraction in parentheses indicates number of features shown from oeuvre, features released in the eligible timeframe, features in oeuvre

  • Jean-Luc Godard: 1/1/13/17/2/5
  • Luis Buñuel: 1/1/6/6/1/2
  • Bernardo Bertolucci: 1/1/5/6/1/1
  • Satyajit Ray: 1/1/4/4/1
  • Marguerite Duras: 1/1/3/3
  • Jancsó Miklós: 1/1/3/3
  • Joseph Losey: 1/1/3/3
  • Éric Rohmer: 1/1/2/3/1
  • François Truffaut: 1/1/2/2/1
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder: 1/1/2/2
  • Jean-Pierre Gorin: 1/1/2/2†(2/9/9)
  • Ken Loach: 1/1/2/2
  • Adolfas Mekas: 1/1/2/2†(2/6/6)
  • Jonas Mekas: 1/1/2/2
  • Marcel Ophuls: 1/1/2/2
  • Maurice Pialat: 1/1/2/2
  • Bob Rafelson: 1/1/2/2†(2/10/10)
  • Jacques Rivette: 1/1/2/2
  • Teshigahara Hiroshi: 1/1/2/2†(2/10/11)
  • Krzysztof Zanussi: 1/1/2/2
  • Robert Altman: 1/1/1/1
  • Philippe Garrel: 1/1/1/1
  • Makk Károly: 1/1/1/1

Recurring Countries
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable)

  • France: 8/8/61/72/7
  • USA: 5/5/30/41/1
  • UK: 4/4/15/17/1
  • Hungary: 2/2/7/7
  • Italy: 1/1/25/29/2
  • West Germany: 1/1/10/10
  • India: 1/1/4/4/1
  • Japan: 1/1/12/14/1
  • Poland: 1/1/8/8

One-Time Directors

  • Robert Benton
  • Paul Morrissey

Feature Debuts

  • Robert Benton

Final Features

  • Adolfas Mekas

Festivals

  • NYFF World Premiere
    • Bad Company
    • The King of Marvin Gardens
    • Last Tango in Paris
    • A Sense of Loss
  • Cannes
    • Love (1971, Jury Prize)
    • Red Psalm (Best Director)
    • We Won’t Grow Old Together (Best Actor)
    • Images (Best Actress)
    • Heat (Directors’ Fortnight)
    • Summer Soldiers (Directors’ Fortnight)
    • The Inner Scar (?, also Berlin?)
  • Berlin
    • Family Life (Forum of New Film?, FIPRESCI, OCIC)
  • Venice
    • The Merchant of Four Seasons
  • Other
    • Tout va bien (Venice Counter-Festival)
  • N/A
    • The Adversary
    • L’Amour fou
    • The Assassination of Trotsky
    • Behind the Wall
    • The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
    • Going Home
    • Love in the Afternoon
    • Nathalie Granger
    • Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania
    • Two English Girls

Oscar Nominees

  • The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Film (winner)
  • Last Tango in Paris: 1974 Best Director, Best Actor

Shorts/Panels

shorts

Discussions By Length (Approximate)

  • 12:35 Two English Girls (3:11:57-3:24:32)
  • 10:58 Last Tango in Paris (3:40:05-3:51:03)
  • 10:42 L’Amour fou [One Person] (2:49:35-3:00:17)
  • 10:37 Tout va bien (3:01:19-3:11:56)
  • 10:35 Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania/Going Home (1:49:13-1:59:48)
  • 9:15 Love in the Afternoon (1:03:44-1:12:59)
  • 7:47 Heat (1:59:49-2:07:36)
  • 7:44 The Adversary [One Person] (2:21:16-2:29:00)
  • 7:29 Nathalie Granger (2:12:44-2:20:13)
  • 7:03 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (3:33:01-3:40:04)
  • 7:00 We Won’t Grow Old Together (1:16:52-1:23:52)
  • 6:59 The Merchant of Four Seasons (2:35:52-2:42:51)
  • 6:55 Summer Soldiers (1:23:53-1:30:48)
  • 6:50 Bad Company (2:29:01-2:35:51)
  • 6:44 Red Psalm (1:30:49-1:37:33)
  • 6:42 Images (2:42:52-2:49:34)
  • 6:14 Family Life (1:42:58-1:49:12)
  • 5:06 The Inner Scar (2:07:37-2:12:43)
  • 4:54 The King of Marvin Gardens (3:24:33-3:29:27)
  • 3:54 A Sense of Loss [One Person] (1:38:03-1:41:57)
  • 3:51 Love (1:13:00-1:16:51)
  • 3:32 The Assassination of Trotsky [One Person] (3:29:28-3:33:00)
  • 0:28 Behind the Wall [Unavailable] (1:37:34-1:38:02)

Specifications

  • Éric Rohmer, L’Amour l’après-midi, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 97 minutes, 1.37:1, French, France.
  • Makk Károly, Szerelem, 1971, 35 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 88 minutes, 1.85:1, Hungarian, Hungary.
  • Maurice Pialat, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 110 minutes, 1.66:1, French, France.
  • 勅使河原宏, サマー・ソルジャー, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 107 minutes, 1.37:1, Japanese and English, Japan.
  • Jancsó Miklós, Még kér a nép, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 87 minutes, 1.85:1, Hungarian, Hungary.
  • Krzysztof Zanussi, Za sciana, 1971, 35 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 56 minutes, 1.37:1, Polish, Poland.
  • Marcel Ophuls, A Sense of Loss, 1972, 16 mm, color, mono sound, 135 minutes, 1.37:1, English, UK.
  • Ken Loach, Family Life, 1971, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 108 minutes, 1.37:1, English, UK.
  • Jonas Mekas, Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, 1972, 16 mm, color and black-and-white, mono sound, 88 minutes, 1.37:1, English, USA.
  • Adolfas Mekas, Going Home, 1972, 16 mm, color, mono sound, 61 minutes. 1.37:1, English, USA.
  • Paul Morrissey, Heat, 1972, 16 mm, color, mono sound, 102 minutes, 1.37:1, English, USA.
  • Philippe Garrel, La cicatrice intérieure, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 60 minutes, 1.66:1, French and English and German, France.
  • Marguerite Duras, Nathalie Granger, 1972, 35 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 83 minutes, 1.66:1, French, France.
  • সত্যজিত রায়, প্রতি দ্বন্দ্বী, 1970, 35 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 110 minutes, 1.37:1, Bengali, India.
  • Robert Benton, Bad Company, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 93 minutes, 1.85:1, English, USA.
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Händler der vier Jahreszeiten, 1971, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 88 minutes, 1.37:1, German, West Germany.
  • Robert Altman, Images, 1972, 35 mm, color, stereo sound, 104 minutes, 2.39:1, English, UK.
  • Jacques Rivette, L’Amour fou, 1969, 35 mm and 16 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 252 minutes, 1.85:1, French, France.
  • Jean-Luc Godard & Jean-Pierre Gorin, Tout va bien, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 95 minutes, 1.66:1, French and English, France.
  • François Truffaut, Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent, 1971, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 130 minutes, 1.66:1, French and English, France.
  • Bob Rafelson, The King of Marvin Gardens, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 103 minutes, 1.85:1, English, USA.
  • Joseph Losey, The Assassination of Trotsky, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 103 minutes, 1.85:1, English, UK.
  • Luis Buñuel, Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 102 minutes, 1.66:1, French, France.
  • Bernardo Bertolucci, Ultimo tango a Parigi, 1972, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 129 minutes, 1.85:1, English and French, Italy.

2018 Seattle Film Critics Nominations Ballot

Note: Zama was deemed ineligible.

Best Picture

  1. First Reformed
  2. The Other Side of the Wind
  3. The Day After
  4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  6. Bisbee ’17
  7. Burning
  8. Let the Sunshine In
  9. If Beale Street Could Talk
  10. Before We Vanish

Best Director

  1. Paul Schrader, First Reformed
  2. Orson Welles, The Other Side of the Wind
  3. Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  4. Lee Chang-dong, Burning
  5. Hong Sang-soo, The Day After

Best Actor

  1. Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
  2. John Huston, The Other Side of the Wind
  3. Kwon Hae-hyo, The Day After
  4. Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  5. Meinhard Neumann, Western

Best Actress

  1. Juliette Binoche, Let the Sunshine In
  2. Kim Min-hee, The Day After
  3. Regina Hall, Support the Girls
  4. Esther Garrel, Lover for a Day
  5. Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Steven Yeun, Burning
  2. Peter Bogdanovich, The Other Side of the Wind
  3. Bill Heck, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  4. Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther
  5. Tim Blake Nelson, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
  2. Isabelle Huppert, Claire’s Camera
  3. Haley Lu Richardson, Support the Girls
  4. Zoe Kazan, The Ballad of Buster Scurggs
  5. Jeon Jeong-soo, Burning

Best Ensemble Cast

  1. The Other Side of the Wind
  2. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  3. The Day After
  4. Isle of Dogs
  5. If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Youth Performance

  1. Koyu Rankin, Isle of Dogs
  2. Marco Graf, Roma
  3. Abby Ryder Fortson, Ant-Man and the Wasp
  4. Miguel Lobo, Good Manners
  5. Mahour Jabbari, Ava

Best Villain

  1. August Walker, Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  2. Ben, Burning
  3. Stephen Taubes, Notes on an Appearance
  4. Buster Scruggs, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  5. Ayoub El-Khazzani, The 15:17 to Paris

Best Screenplay

  1. Paul Schrader, First Reformed
  2. Orson Welles & Oja Kodar, The Other Side of the Wind
  3. Hong Sang-soo, The Day After
  4. Joel & Ethan Coen, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  5. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Animated Feature

  1. Isle of Dogs

Best Documentary Feature

  1. Bisbee ’17
  2. Monrovia, Indiana
  3. Caniba
  4. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
  5. The Green Fog

Best Foreign Language Film

  1. The Day After
  2. Burning
  3. Let the Sunshine In
  4. Before We Vanish
  5. Claire’s Camera

Best Cinematography

  1. Alexander Dynan, First Reformed
  2. Gary Graver, The Other Side of the Wind
  3. Hong Kyung-pyo, Burning
  4. Kim Hyung-koo, The Day After
  5. Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Best Costume Design

  1. The Other Side of the Wind
  2. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  3. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  4. Let the Sunshine In
  5. Claire’s Camera

Best Film Editing

  1. The Other Side of the Wind
  2. Bisbee ’17
  3. Let the Corpses Tan
  4. Let the Sunshine In
  5. Ready Player One

Best Original Score

  1. Michel Legrand, The Other Side of the Wind
  2. Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
  3. Mowg, Burning
  4. Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs
  5. Thom Yorke, Suspiria

Best Production Design

  1. Isle of Dogs
  2. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  3. The Other Side of the Wind
  4. Burning
  5. If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Visual Effects

  1. The Other Side of the Wind
  2. Before We Vanish
  3. First Reformed
  4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs