Films I've Seen of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

It took me three days to watch it. I interrupted it by watching Triumph of the Will. The juxtaposition of the two films emphasized the similarities between the too leaders, Hitler and Napoleon, and the propagandistic styles of the two films. Although Triumph of the Will was easy to see as propaganda, because I know what an evil man Hitler was, it was harder for me to see Napoleon that way, as far removed as I am from him in time. The film did make me feel Napoleon was a great man who was the best thing that ever happened to France, and utterly contemptuous of those helpless French savages.

I thought Albert Dieudonné, the man who played Napoleon as an adult, did a great job. I especially liked the scene in which he's watching three women enter the room, the last of which is Josephine. His face remains impassive as the first two enter; he is indifferent. It is only when Josephine enters that you see, for the first time, a hint of a smile on his face, which speaks volumes. The montage of flashbacks of all the times he's ever seen her, that follows, is unique and powerful. Other montages, like the battle scenes, were important, too.

I liked the performance of Vladimir Roudenko, the boy Napoleon. He seemed very like his elder self, especially in his eagle-like gaze and intensity.

I thought Gance used superimposition too much. I thought his use of symbolism was heavy-handed. I thought some scenes were too long, especially the snow-ball fight at the beginning.

I thought the triptych at the end was thrilling.

The music, by Carmine Coppola (for the 1981 re-release), was sometimes fitting, other times annoying.

This is the short version: Napoleon was a hawk-like genius, a brilliant strategist, who could do no wrong, who thought only of liberating France, while thinking that all her citizens were incompetent fools.

I think it's very good. It's full of poetry and beauty, sadness and longing. It's an amazing blend of romanticism and realism. Beautiful.

From the book's forward: "...even if you could have filet mignon every single day, once in a while you're bound to crave a hamburger.' The point here is, even if your filmgoing preferences lie heavily on the side of acknowledged world classics (the Citizen Kanes, the Rashomons, the Raging Bulls, the Battleship Potemkins) or the treasures of European art cinema (the L'Avventuras, the Hiroshima mon amours, the Last Tangos in Paris), there is sure to come a time when you long to see a movie with a wholly different agenda, whether it's a Hollywood blockbuster (Jurassic Park, The Empire Strikes Back, Titanic), an underground oddity (Scorpio Rising, Flaming Creatures, Hold Me While I'm Naked), or a cult curiosity piece (El Topo, Seconds, Slacker, Mondo cane, Tetsuo). As we envisioned it, our main task was to make sure that whatever your cinematic tastes--in general, or on those days when you feel like trying something new--this book would be a menu where every dish is a winner."

I dislike surrealism. It's self-indulgent, infantile. Subversives are asinine. I do not understand the spoiled, liberal, upper-class people who scorn the money and privileges that afford them the luxury to do so. Surrealism is a self-refuting argument.

I think it is beautiful. I think its story-within-a-story structure works very well, as the Hans Christian Andersen tale plays out in the life of the ballerina Vicky Page, in a life-imitates-art kind of way, as if the Red Shoes was the story of her life, her destiny. I am OK with the fantastical way the ballet is visually presented. I think it is very artful.

However, I feel very ambivalent about the message of the film. I hate the ending!

You noticed! Yes, it's getting close.

I have just 79 in my Netflix queue. I own seven. I have to track down the final 12.

It's a shame those folks aren't willing to try new things.

If I dismissed this list after seeing movies I didn't like, I would have quit a month after starting!

It's a tough list. There are a handful I may never see. If I wait to celebrate when I've seen all 1001, I'll never get to celebrate.

I'll probably celebrate a little when I pass Roger Ebert's total, which is 943.

Europa '51 appears on Turner Classic Movies every six months.

Mediterranee is available from alapage.com, in French only.

I found a VHS of Hotel Terminus, Man of Iron, and Three Lives and Only One Death on eBay.

Facets.org has Chronicle of a Summer, in French only.

Netflix has Three Brothers. They also have the Brave Heart Will Take the Bride, but it's listed as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

Believe it or not, I found a copy of Le Jour Se Leve [Daybreak] (1939) at my local Hollywood Video store, on VHS.

I saw 'The Braveheart Will Take The Bride" recently on Australian television

I didn't keep track of how many I'd seen when I started in May 2004, but my guess is maybe about 200? A few months after joining Netflix, I cleared out my queue and filled it with only titles from this list.

I haven't heard of anyone who has. I'd love to know their sources.

I could watch a few more titles in foreign languages, without understanding a word, but would that count? Perhaps someone really hardcore would do that, but what would be the point?