le greatest foreign language films
 

On the film blogs, Edward Copeland over at Edward Copeland on Film has gone to the trouble of organizing a compilation of the best non-English language films. I somehow got on the list of people nominating films. 21 of my 25 made the first cut, sadly Lelouch's un homme et une femme and Menzel's Ostre sledované vlaky didn't make the cut (but are awesome and totally worth checking out). Here, in the interest of full disclosure, is my list as I sent it to Edward (complete with really confusing original language titles):

the deadline for the ballots is 16 September.

1. Dekalog (Kieslowski)
2. Scener ur ett äktenskap (Bergman)
3. The Three Colors Trilogy (Kieslowski)
4. Les Quatre cents coups (Truffaut)
5. Ostre sledované vlaky (Menzel)
6. un homme et une femme (Lelouch)
7. 8 1/2 (Fellini)
8. Les Enfants du Paradis (Carné)
9. Umberto D. (De Sica)
10. Shichinin no samurai (Kurosawa)
11. La Grande illusion (Renoir)
12. La Strada (Fellini)
13. À bout de souffle (Godard)
14. Russkiy kovcheg (Sokurov)
15. Cidade de Deus (Meirelles)
16. Andrey Rublyov (Tarkovsky)
17. La Règle du jeu (Renoir)
18. Det Sjunde inseglet (Bergman)
19. Persona (Bergman)
20. Bande à part (Godard)
21. Pyaasa (Dutt)
22. Ugetsu monogatari (Mizoguchi)
23. Tôkyô monogatari (Ozu)
24. Yi yi (Yang)
25. Hable con ella (Almodóvar)


discuss.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

oh, right. guidelines and such.

eligible films had to be foreign productions with primarily foreign language dialogue (so Blow-Up was a no go, for example). No silents. Nothing that premiered later than 2002.

51 people (including David Ansen and Annette Insdorf) were selected to nominate up to 25 films, ranking being meaningless. 3 nominations moves the film onto the next round, where the ballots are weighted (25 points for 1st, etc)

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

I think this will be a lot more relatable if you translate the titles.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

good call

1. Dekalog (Kieslowski)
2. scenes from a marriage (bergman)
3. the Three Colors Trilogy (kieslowski)
4. the 400 blows (truffaut)
5. closely watched trains (menzel)
6. a man and a woman (lelouch)
7. 8 1/2 (fellini)
8. children of paradise (Carné)
9. umberto d. (de sica)
10. seven samurai (kurosawa)
11. the grand illusion (renoir)
12. la strada (fellini)
13. breathless (godard)
14. russian ark (Sokurov)
15. city of god (Meirelles)
16. andrei rublev (tarkovsky)
17. rules of the game (renoir)
18. the seventh seal (bergman)
19. persona (bergman)
20. a band apart (godard)
21. pyaasa (dutt)
22. Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi)
23. tokyo story (ozu)
24. yi, yi (a one and a two) (yang)
25. talk to her (almodovar)

better?

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

I'm not sure I should be, since I've seen so little of his stuff, but I'm disappointed not to see any Ozu.

I loved Good Morning.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

I spy Tokyo Story at 23.

I'm disappointed not to see any Kar Wai Wong tho.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

Blarg,

#23

Late Spring also made the first cut

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
I spy Tokyo Story at 23.

I'm disappointed not to see any Kar Wai Wong tho.

[/ QUOTE ]

25 is a smaller number than you'd think

he's got a couple that made the first cut

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

Not that I'm an expert, but surprising omissions:

Rashomon
The Bicycle Thief
Ivan The Terrible
La Dolce Vita

There are a ton more off other top lists, this list seems a bit more skewed to modern films.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

again, this is just the nomination stage and i'm just one of the 51, so like Rashomon i didn't bother nominating in the hopes that i could slip Russian Ark in, etc.

there's another round to come and the master list of nominated films (link up top) has pretty much everything. the only big omission is the films of S. Ray

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

Russian Ark?? Really?

Care to explain that one?

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
Russian Ark?? Really?

Care to explain that one?

[/ QUOTE ]

from a technical standpoint, it's [censored] amazing, and i think the story holds up

i don't think it's one of the 25 best ever, but i wanted to get it in the discussion, as i think it gets overlooked

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

the full list of nominated films (i.e. ones that made the first cut), for people scared of clicking on links:

Aguirre, the Wrath of God directed by Werner Herzog
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
All About My Mother directed by Pedro Almodovar
Amarcord directed by Federico Fellini
Amelie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Amores Perros directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Andrei Rublev directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Army of Shadows directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Ashes and Diamonds directed by Andrzej Wajda
Au Hasard Balthazar directed by Robert Bresson
Band of Outsiders directed by Jean-Luc Godard
The Battle of Algiers directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Beauty and the Beast directed by Jean Cocteau
Belle de Jour directed by Luis Bunuel
The Bicycle Thief directed by Vittorio de Sica
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Black Orpheus directed by Marcel Camus
Three Colors: Blue directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Blue Angel directed by Josef von Sternberg
Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Celine and Julie Go Boating directed by Jacques Rivette
Children of Paradise directed by Marcel Carne
Chungking Express directed by Wong Kar-Wai
Cinema Paradiso directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund
Cleo From 5 to 7 directed by Agnes Varda
Come and See directed by Elem Klimov
The Conformist directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
Contempt directed by Jean-Luc Godard
The Cranes Are Flying directed by Mikheil Kalatozishvili
Cries and Whispers directed by Ingmar Bergman
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by Ang Lee
Das Boot directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Day for Night directed by Francois Truffaut
Day of Wrath directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
The Decalogue directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Dersu Uzala directed by Akira Kurosawa
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie directed by Luis Bunuel
The Double Life of Veronique directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Earrings of Madame De... directed by Max Ophuls
8 1/2 directed by Federico Fellini
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser directed by Werner Herzog
Exterminating Angel directed by Luis Bunuel
Eyes Without a Face directed by Georges Franju
Fanny and Alexander directed by Ingmar Bergman
Farewell My Concubine directed by Chen Kaige
Forbidden Games directed by René Clément
The 400 Blows directed by Francois Truffaut
The Gospel According to St. Matthew directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Grand Illusion directed by Jean Renoir
The Great Silence directed by Sergio Corbucci
High and Low directed by Akira Kurosawa
Hiroshima Mon Amour directed by Alain Resnais
Ikiru directed by Akira Kurosawa
In the Mood for Love directed by Wong Kar-Wai
Jules and Jim directed by Francois Truffaut
La Dolce Vita directed by Federico Fellini
La Strada directed by Federico Fellini
Last Year at Marienbad directed by Alain Resnais
L'Atalante directed by Jean Vigo
Late Spring directed by Yasujiro Ozu
L'Avventura directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
L'Eclisse directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
The Leopard directed by Luchino Visconti
Le Samourai directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Lola Montes directed by Max Ophuls
M directed by Fritz Lang
The Marriage of Maria Braun directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Masculin-Feminin directed by Jean-Luc Godard
My Night at Maud's directed by Eric Rohmer
Nights of Cabiria directed by Federico Fellini
Nosferatu the Vampyre directed by Werner Herzog
Open City directed by Roberto Rossellini
Ordet directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Orpheus directed by Jean Cocteau
Persona directed by Ingmar Bergman
Pickpocket directed by Robert Bresson
Pierrot le fou directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Playtime directed by Jacques Tati
Raise the Red Lantern directed by Zhang Yimou
Ran directed by Akira Kurosawa
Rashomon directed by Akira Kurosawa
Three Colors: Red directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Red Desert directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Rififi directed by Jules Dassin
Rocco and His Brothers directed by Luchino Visconti
The Rules of the Game directed by Jean Renoir
Run Lola Run directed by Tom Tykwer
Sansho the Bailiff directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Satantango directed by Béla Tarr
Scenes from a Marriage directed by Ingmar Bergman
Seven Beauties directed by Lina Wertmuller
The Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa
The Seventh Seal directed by Ingmar Bergman
Shoot the Piano Player directed by Francois Truffaut
Smiles of a Summer Night directed by Ingmar Bergman
Sonatine directed by Takeski Kitano
Spirited Away directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Stolen Kisses directed by Francois Truffaut
Story of the Late Chrysanthemums directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Suspiria directed by Dario Argento
Talk to Her directed by Pedro Almodovar
Tampopo directed by Juzo Itami
Throne of Blood directed by Akira Kurosawa
The Tin Drum directed by Volker Schlöndorff
Tokyo Story directed by Yasujiro Ozu
To Live directed by Zhang Yimou
Ugetsu monogatari directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Umberto D directed by Vittorio de Sica
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg directed by Jacques Demy
The Vanishing directed by George Sluizer
Viridiana directed by Luis Bunuel
The Wages of Fear directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Three Colors: White directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Wild Strawberries directed by Ingmar Bergman
Wings of Desire directed by Wim Wenders
Woman in the Dunes directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
Yi Yi: A One and a Two directed by Edward Yang
Yojimbo directed by Akira Kurosawa
Y Tu Mama Tambien directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Z directed by Costa-Gavras

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

nice to see Kieslowski so well represented...surprising to see Run Lola Run and Suspiria on this list...

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

That's a terrific list. Good to see Tin Drum and Wages of Fear on there, they seem to get overlooked on these things.

Disappointed Virgin Spring isn't though.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

i was surprised by Run Lola Run as well

edit: and Amelie and Y Tu Mama Tambien

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

Yes,

please tell them to take Run Lola Run out, and put Betty Blue in.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
Yes,

please tell them to take Run Lola Run out, and put Betty Blue in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second this. Although, I'd rather they take Suspiria out.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]


I second this. Although, I'd rather they take Suspiria out.

[/ QUOTE ]


Nonono! Leave it in. And put Audition and Planet of the Vampires in too [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes,

please tell them to take Run Lola Run out, and put Betty Blue in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second this. Although, I'd rather they take Suspiria out.

[/ QUOTE ]

well, hopefully they won't do very well (although i love Amelie, but...you know...not in that way)

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

The more I look at this list, the more impressed I am. I seriously thought I was the only person in the world that's actually sat through 'The Gospel According to St Matthew' - the best movie about Jesus ever.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes,

please tell them to take Run Lola Run out, and put Betty Blue in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second this. Although, I'd rather they take Suspiria out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Some of these frankly sound like crap. I was less than impressed by Run Lola Run and think Suspiria even getting mentioned is a joke. Haven't seen Amelie, but that hideous grin of the star is enough to give me a spastic colon, so I'll put it off until I'm sitting in the hot tub of somebody I don't really like.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

db,

yeah, it's quite a list, but not all that surprising when you consider that caliber of people making the nominations.

when this started, i was thinking, "ok, i'll watch most of the ones that i haven't seen yet", but there's a lot more than i expected

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
The more I look at this list, the more impressed I am. I seriously thought I was the only person in the world that's actually sat through 'The Gospel According to St Matthew' - the best movie about Jesus ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

You've got a thing for these Jesus movies.

How did you like the ones acted out by vegetables?

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
The more I look at this list, the more impressed I am. I seriously thought I was the only person in the world that's actually sat through 'The Gospel According to St Matthew' - the best movie about Jesus ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL

You saying that reminds me of the DVD sleeve for Ken Russell's truly awful 'Mahler'. The quote 'selling' the movie was from Russell himself and went along the lines of "This is the greatest film I have ever made about another artist". Scraping the barrel or what?

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
Some of these frankly sound like crap. I was less than impressed by Run Lola Run and think Suspiria even getting mentioned is a joke.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT, and I'm an Argento acolyte. If any of his films belong on here, it's Profondo Rosso. But please God, not Suspiria.

I suppose a couple of the panel thought an Argento should be on the list so plumped for the most obvious one.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

probably, but you'll have that no matter what

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

No Eisenstein, no Vigo, no Bresson, no Rossellini, no Visconti, no Bunuel, no Dreyer....I say NO to your list.

The Kieslowski films are good, but terribly overrated if you consider them the best foreign films ever made. You can't put any Polish director in a list without including Wajda.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

Good catch, not having Eisenstein is ridiculous.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

peter,

keep reading

also, silents weren't eligible

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

This is not meant to reject your taste, which is perfectly valid. This is just a rejection at the futility of trying to rank pieces of art.

All the directors I mentioned made world class sound films.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

ALL:

consider this: if you know that 50 other people are nominating and that it's just round 1 and that it'll only take 3 votes for something to make the cut, you don't spend a lot of time worrying about some massive thing you've left off your nomination list (like, say, Day for Night) b/c you know it's gonna advance.

if i had left Seven Samurai off my list, you'd all be calling for my head, but it wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference

there's no point is worrying about that until round 2


edit: i hadn't noticed the lack of Eisenstein. i wonder how many people did what i did and said "well, Battelship Potemkin isn't eligible" and forgot about the others? it's easy to do that when only listing 25

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]

You've got a thing for these Jesus movies.

How did you like the ones acted out by vegetables?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have it's true. and a thing about Jesus books too. I find him a deeply intriguing historical figure.

Not enough meat.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
ALL:

consider this: if you know that 50 other people are nominating and that it's just round 1 and that it'll only take 3 votes for something to make the cut, you don't spend a lot of time worrying about some massive thing you've left off your nomination list (like, say, Day for Night) b/c you know it's gonna advance.

if i had left Seven Samurai off my list, you'd all be calling for my head, but it wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference

there's no point is worrying about that until round 2

[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't this strategizing kind of silly? Shouldn't you just list the foreign films which are the best in your opinion? Maybe other people will be thinking like you, and some significant films will be left off the ballot, thus making it just another silly film list.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ALL:

consider this: if you know that 50 other people are nominating and that it's just round 1 and that it'll only take 3 votes for something to make the cut, you don't spend a lot of time worrying about some massive thing you've left off your nomination list (like, say, Day for Night) b/c you know it's gonna advance.

if i had left Seven Samurai off my list, you'd all be calling for my head, but it wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference

there's no point is worrying about that until round 2

[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't this strategizing kind of silly? Shouldn't you just list the foreign films which are the best in your opinion? Maybe other people will be thinking like you, and some significant films will be left off the ballot, thus making it just another silly film list.

[/ QUOTE ]

maybe if the number of votes needed was higher...say 10

if everyone did that, the list would be much smaller and less interesting and therefore generate less discussion

you'll notice i listed a bunch of the obvious stuff as well. i just didn't spend hours searching everyone to make sure i didn't miss something big, b/c that's what the next round is for

what are the chances that Ikiru doesn't get 3 votes? >1%

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

I did notice there's no Tarkovsky...

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
I did notice there's no Tarkovsky...

[/ QUOTE ]

andrei rublev...

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

[ QUOTE ]
Not that I'm an expert, but surprising omissions:

The Bicycle Thief

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I'd place it at #1.

P.S. I think Ladri di biciclette translates to Bicycle Thieves. I won't spoil the film, but the plural title is more appropriate.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

I know some people love Amelie, Tampopo, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Run Lola Run, but compared to many on the list, these are lightweight entertainments.

I'm shocked to see Spirit of the Beehive, one of my favorite films, missing.

I found Sokurov's Mother and Son much more rewarding than Russian Ark. I'm also a bit surprised that Diary of a Country Priest by Bresson isn't on the list.

But, I'm pleasantly surprised to find Rivette's Celine and Julie Go Boating included.

I think I would nominate Claire Denis's Beau travail.

Re: le greatest foreign language films
 

I think I hated Celine and Julie Go Boating worse than anything I can recall seeing. And there was so much of it!