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AFTER 10 EDITIONS OF “WHAT’S THEIR BEST FILM?”, WRITTEN IN BLOOD WEIGHS IN
Wow, I’ve done ten editions of “What’s Their Best Film?” already. In that time I have received great response from some of my regular and my non-regular commentators. I’m sure that a lot of you have voiced your opinion of not what you thought a particular filmmaker’s best movie was; but listed your favorite film from said director instead. Hey, that’s cool; because in order to accurately give an opinion of a director’s best movie you would have had to have seen every film in their catalog. I love movies, but I will not and cannot watch movies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are more important things such as work, supporting a family and figuring out ways to get Honey Boo Boo off the air. Damn what an annoying kid and her equally annoying mother!
So why am I babbling on and on? I shall tell you. In the last ten editions of “WTBF?” it has been you, dear reader, who has voiced your humble opinion. Now it’s my turn to give you my opinion. I will list each director below and I will tell what I think is their best movie or my favorite movie; whatever you want to call it.
Let’s begin:
Is it any surprise that I’m going with Goodfellas for this one? In my opinion it’s the greatest gangster flick ever made.
Runner-up: Taxi Driver
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Most of what Bay puts out is complete shit; but if I had to choose a movie of his to watch I’d go with Armageddon . At least it got the Criterion Collection treatment.
Runner-up: Transformers
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Alfred Hitchcock
Psycho. It’s my favorite “Hitch” film and in my humble opinion it is also his best. The shower scene alone is worth the price of admission.
Runner-up: Rear Window
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STEVEN SPIELBERG
Schlinder’s List. Spielberg may have given us the first summer blockbuster with Jaws; but with Schindler’s List he gave us his first and finest masterpiece. Ralph Fiennes is chilling as Amon Goeth.
Runner-up: Jaws
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Two words: Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2, Okay, so that’s six words. That’s because these movies rock so hard they blow up two words and turn them into six!
Runner-up: Pulp Fiction
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I loved Magnolia and watch it at least three times every year. There are just so many great performances in this film from Julianne Moore to John C. Reilly. Tom Cruise was robbed of an Oscar for his role as informercial sex guru Frank ‘T.J.’ Mackey.
Runner-up: Boogie Nights
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JOHN CARPENTER
Do you honestly think I would choose anything other than The Thing?
Runner-up: Halloween
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Jeff Goldblum had the role of a lifetime in Cronenberg’s vision of the George Langelaan short story The Fly. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Runner-up: The Dead Zone
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BRIAN DE PALMA
Some might say Carrie, some might say Scarface; I’m going with Blow Out as De Palma’s best. Travolta’s performance is one of the key reasons Tarantino wanted him for Pulp Fiction.
Runner-up: Carrie or Scarface (tie)
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ROBERT ALTMAN
I loved Short Cuts the first time I saw it and every time after that. Fantastic ensemble acting.
Runner-up: M*A*S*H
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ROBERT RODRIGUEZ
Not only is Sin City Rodriguez’ best film; but it is also the single most faithful adaptation of a graphic novel from page to screen that I have ever seen in my entire life. It’s also the movie that once again made a contender out of Mickey Rourke.
Runner-up: From Dusk ’til Dawn
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CLINT EASTWOOD
Unforgiven is one of the greatest westerns ever made. It was directed by Clint Eastwood; who in turn learned a few tricks from one of the greatest filmmakers, Sergio Leone.
Runner-up: Million Dollar Baby or Mystic River (tie)
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SAM RAIMI
This is cheating, but I’m going with the entire Evil Dead trilogy for this one. Who needs Spider-man when you’ve got Ash? Bruce Campbell rocks!!
Runner-up: Spider-man 2
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DARIO ARGENTO
To be honest, I’ve only seen three Argento films: Suspiria, Mother of Tears and Opera. Of the three of those I suppose my choice for his best would be Suspiria. What a creepy and atmospheric film.
Runner-up: Opera
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DARREN ARONOFSKY
I have to go with The Wrestler on this one. I’ve been a fan of the squared circle for quite a long time and it’s the first film to take the subject matter seriously. Mickey Rourke was amazing as Randy “The Ram” Robinson.
Runner-up: Black Swan
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WES CRAVEN
I could be a complete asshole and go totally against the popular choice of A Nightmare on Elm Street as Craven’s best; but that would just be stupid. He gave us Freddy Fucking Krueger with this one, for crying out loud!
Runner-up: The Last House on the Left or Scream (tie)
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TOBE HOOPER
Just as Craven brought usFreddy Krueger with his greatest film A Nightmare on Elm Street; so did Tobe Hooper bring us The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Leatherface 10 years prior. Watch this movie and you’ll think twice about picking up hitchhikers and eating Texas Bar-B-Que.
Runner-up: Poltergeist
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ALEXANDRE AJA
It may seem like a strange choice, but I pick his remake of Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes over High Tension (aka Haute Tension aka Switchblade Romance) as Aja’s best film. It’s close though; both movies are fucking brutal.
Runner-up: High Tension
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ROB ZOMBIE
Some people seem to love Rob Zombie’s films and other people seem to hate his films and his fucking guts. There’s no middle ground. What’s his best film? That’s easy: The Devil’s Rejects.
Runner-up: Halloween
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JOE DANTE
What have I said before? The Howling is the greatest werewolf movie ever made; so the choice here is a no-brainer.
Runner-up: Gremlins
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STUART GORDON
Re-animator, of course. Those of you who disagree can get a job in a sideshow. This film brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘giving head.’
Runner-up: From Beyond
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GUILLERMO DEL TORO
I haven’t seen everything by Del Toro, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Devil’s Backbone. It was an amazing little ghost story.
Runner-up: Hellboy
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GEORGE ROMERO
There is no question that Night of the Living Dead is Romero’s greatest film; the trouble is that Dawn of the Dead is every bit as awesome. Folks, we have a tie! Zombies everywhere have Uncle George to thank for their popularity.
Runner-up: Day of the Dead
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BRAD ANDERSON
I loved Session 9 and The Machinist on equal terms; but if I had to choose I’d have to go with the latter based simply on the strength of the performance from Christian Bale. The Machinist is a brilliant film about guilt and how it can affect us so deeply.
Runner-up: Session 9
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WILLIAM FRIEDKIN
William Friedkin
The Exorcist. Nothing else need be said.
Runner-up: The French Connection
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LUCKY MCKEE
Lucky McKee
I choose May as McKee’s best for one simple reason: the deliciously disturbing performance from Angela Bettis. She deserved an Oscar for that movie.
Runner-up: The Woman
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EDUARDO SÁNCHEZ
Eduardo Sanchez
It’s going to take Sanchez a long time before he gets out from under the shadow of The Blair Witch Project. He’s been making heavy strides with films like Altered and Lovely Molly. Still, it is the witch who holds sway over all.
Runner-up: Altered
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MARIO BAVA
I’ve only seen one Bava film and that is Black Sunday. I do want to see more.
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LUCIO FULCI
The same goes for Lucio Fulci and Zombie. I know, I know I need to watch more Fulci and Bava.
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SERGIO LEONE
The man who gave us The Man with No Name. It’s hard to pick one great Leone film. A Fistful of Dollars? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Once Upon a Time in the West? Once Upon a Time in America? Nope, I just can’t do it.
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There you go; my choices. Some are your choices as well and some are not. Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and they make the world go ’round.
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What’s Their Best Film?
Okay, so it’s almost 6 in the A.M. I got off work at midnight, spent too much money at Wal-Mart and I have had an over-all crappy day with a few exceptions. So, I do not feel like watching a movie and blogging about it. So, I am going to start something that I hope will become a semi-regular thing on maybe Thursday, maybe Friday nights. It’s called What’s Their Best Film? Here’s how it works:
I will name three directors of various genres, of various eras and all the rest of that stuff and I want your opinion. I want to know what you think is their best film. You can either just give me the title, or you can tell me why. I love hearing from all of you. So, without further adieu I present to you the first three.
2. Michael Bay
I can’t wait to hear from you. Take care and stay scared.
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PSYCHO
PSYCHO=United States-1960
Janet Leigh as Marion Crane
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
John Gavin as Sam Loomis
Vera Miles as Lila Crane
Martin Balsam as Det. Milton Arbogast
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay by Joseph Stefano
Based on the novel by Robert Bloch
It would be stupid of me to try to review Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The film is a well-established classic of not only the horror and suspense genre, but of cinema in general. Without it, several of the horror films of today would not exist. Without Norman Bates there would be no John Doe (Se7en), no Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs). The landscape of film would be forever altered. Steven Spielberg would have never made Jaws if he had not first been a student of Hitchcock’s masterful style of building an almost unbearable level of suspense. Almost the entire film catalog of Brian DePalma would cease to exist without this film. No Sisters or Body Double. No Carrie, no Blow-Out and no Raising Cain. Do you get my point? Do I need to name dozens more films that would never exist, dozens of careers that would never be the same without the influence of this monumental masterpiece? Okay, what about the slasher film? If Black Christmas is the father of the modern day slasher film, then Psycho is that films’ proud grandfather.
Alright, maybe I’ve beaten this horse as much as I can without killing it. All I am trying to say in a way that will make this commentary longer than four words is that Psycho is a classic. It is as deserving of that title as much as The Godfather, The Exorcist or Jaws. If you have yet to see it after 51 years then you are missing out on a work of art presented to you by the Master himself, Alfred Hitchcock.
Trivia
Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel anonymously from Robert Bloch for only US$9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending a secret.
In the opening scene, Marion Crane is wearing a white bra because Alfred Hitchcockwanted to show her as being “angelic”. After she has taken the money, the following scene has her in a black bra because now she has done something wrong and evil. Similarly, before she steals the money, she has a white purse; after she’s stolen the money, her purse is black.
First American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen.
