December 2, 2022
I didn't wake up thinking that I was going to start a blog and podcast on the best films of all time. As usual, I didn't want to get out of bed and I had to get to my work desk in the living room by 9:00 am.
But the BFI Greatest Films of All Time list just got updated this morning, and I became inspired.
Heavyweight champion of the world Citizen Kane was beat out by a movie I never heard of: Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). (I'm American, so please bear with me. Don't worry, I will remedy that situation ASAP.)
After reading that the latest list was up, I remembered that I had always wanted to watch the best movies of all time before I shuffled off this mortal coil. In a nod to my musical theater life, there is no day like today.
A disclaimer: I'm not a film student nor a film maker. I'm a musician. I'm a music director (it's opening night for Jekyll & Hyde) and a tanguera - I'm in several tango ensembles and am studying tango piano. If you choose to read my stuff, don't expect anything other than my opinion on the films with maybe a little history thrown in. It's all just me blah blah blahing.
I don't expect Martin Scorsese to come after me for dogging one of his films (not likely - I just have one bone to pick with him...more on that some other time). It's not that kind of party. If I don't like a film, I'll just say "it wasn't for me", and we will all just move on with our lives. However, I would love to hear your thoughts on the films I watch, so please feel free to contact me on one of the social media platforms and we'll talk.
Speaking of Scorsese, he has a project that is near and dear to my heart, The Film Foundation. Their mission statement is: "The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1990 dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history. By working in partnership with archives and studios, the foundation has helped to restore over 925 films, which are made accessible to the public through programming at festivals, museums, and educational institutions around the world. The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project has restored 50 films from 28 different countries representing the rich diversity of world cinema. The foundation's free educational curriculum, The Story of Movies, teaches young people - over 10 million to date - about film language and history."
If you have it like that, please made a donation and spread the word. So many films have been lost already. I am as sad about that as I am about the The Great Library of Alexandria (IYKYK).
Anyway, I will be starting with the #100 pick on the list (will be combining the AFI and BFI lists) and working my way to #1.
See you soon!
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