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THE TOP 5 FIRST FILMS:
view full results see how points are awarded
| Rank |
Film |
Points |
L |
#1 |
| #1 |
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) |
43 |
11 |
6 |
| #2 |
Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows) (François Truffaut, 1959) |
18 |
4 |
2 |
| #3 |
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993) |
13 |
6 |
1 |
| #4 |
À bout de souffle (Breathless) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) |
11 |
3 |
1 |
| #5 |
Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929) |
8 |
2 |
1 |
L=How many lists each film appears on
#1=How many number one votes each film recieves
Let's face facts. It was an inevitable conclusion this week. Of course Kane takes it, by the largest score (and widest margin) in Top 5 History - and it is the first film to appear on every single list in any Top 5 week. Although personally, I believe placing Welles' classic atop every film list is a little boring in the end (I placed it second, which may be just as boring though). Second place was no real surprise either, as Truffaut's archetype New Wave film pulls it off - although with less than half of Kane's score. Third came as a bit of a surprise though, thinking Godard would be there instead, but Q.T. sneaks ahead in the end (they were tied until the final voting participant broke the tie). Buñuel pops in at number five, although without any of the decisiveness of the top four. Some surprises (at least in my mind) were the poor showings of Clerks, Badlands, Eraserhead and The Maltese Falcon. And well the hell were the slew of expected votes for Dumb & Dumber??? Okay, that may have been a joke, but we have had some rather "ridiculous" choices in past Top 5 Lists. Oh well, the people have voted and here are the results. If you don't agree, then send in your own list next week. Everyone's personal lists are below, as well as next week's Top 5 Topic at the bottom of the page.
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Individual lists:
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David Sterritt
Chairman of the National Society of Film Critics
Un Chien andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929) - It's only a short, and Salvador Dali contributed a lot, but this remains the greatest of all surrealist films and one of the most mysterious art works of the 20th century. As many a cinephile will attest, it keeps its uncanny power to shock, disturb, and agitate after unnumerable viewings.
Strike (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1925) - At once a bitter satire of the capitalist mentality and a searing testament to humanity's capacity for suffering, the great Soviet's first movie is as powerful as anything he or any of compatriots made in later years.
Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) - Godard's trademark audacity is fully on view in his first feature film, which still packs ample amounts of bite and surprise almost half a century after it was made.
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) - Almost never seen because the Carpenter family has successfully suppressed it, Haynes's debut film is a steadily uproarious look at a deadly serious subject, and utterly original as a bonus. Everyone who hasn't experienced it should raise a ruckus until it finally gets into circulation.
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - Perhaps too easy a pick, but it truly is a great film, and as a directorial debut it has never been beaten.
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Christopher Null
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, filmcritic.com
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - I don't see how this can be debated by any rational person.
House of Games (David Mamet, 1987) - Highly underseen, probably the greatest examination of the con game ever filmed.
Slacker (Richard Linklater, 1991) - One of few directors who has never quite been able to recapture the magic of his first film.
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993) - So enduring it's about to become a video game, nearly 15 years later.
Blood Simple (Joel Coen, 1984) - I feel like I'm cheating by having this and Reservoir Dogs on the list, but both were slam-bang starts to unique careers.
Honorable Mention:
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966) - yikes, compare this masterpiece to what Nichols has done lately; and This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984) - hard not to pick that one...
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Amy Trout
Poet & Novelist
1. Buffalo 66 (Vincent Gallo, 1998)
2. Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)
3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
4. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993)
5. Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999)
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Jeffrey M. Anderson
Freelance Film Critic
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - No one has ever equalled the magnitude of this debut: coming into Hollywod, already a known genuis/troublemaker, scoring the finest Hollywood contract ever conceived and actually delivering beyond everyone's wildest expectations. No wonder the initial response was so muted.
Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) - Malick is a modern master, reclusive, mysterious, but with a touch for pure, physical filmmaking. No one else alive uses their environment in such astonishing, poetic ways, and as an integral part of the story (no window dressing). He should have worked during the silent era, but we're blessed to have hiim with us today.
She's Gotta Have It (Spike Lee, 1986) - Maybe not a great film in itself, but at the time, it was frankly sexy, very funny and used black-and-white in an interesting way. Moreover, it struck a blow for black filmmakers by convincing Hollywood that they were both "hot" and "bankable." Lee's film ushered in several years' worth of black films and black filmmakers, many of whom are still working inside the system today.
Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977) - If there were any debut feature that could approach "Citizen Kane," on a purely visceral level, it would be this entirely unique, seething masterpiece from Lynch. It featured a striking visual and aural design that would continue throughout Lynch's career regardless of cast, budget or studio.
Knife in the Water (Roman Polanski, 1962) -Polanski made only one feature film in his native Poland, and this creepy, psychologically dense film is it. Minimalist and daring, it captured paranoid themes that Polanski would continue to explore throughout his rich career (yes, even in his underappreciated "Oliver Twist").
Runners up:
Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero), I Shot Jesse James (Samuel Fuller), Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton), Un chien andalou (Luis Buñuel)
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J.E. Snavely
Home Cinephile
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
Les Quatre cents coups (François Truffaut, 1959)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
Duel (Steven Spielberg, 1971)
Honorable mention:
Cidade de Deus (Fernando Meirelles, 2002),
Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967),
Following (Christopher Nolan, 1998),
Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001),
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993),
Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton, 1996),
A Boy and His Dog (L.Q. Jones, 1975),
Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo, 1971),
This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984),
Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977),
Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 1962),
Raising Arizona (Joel Coen, 1984),
À bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
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Peter Sobczynski
Film Critic
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
2. Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
3. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
4. Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)
5. Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977)
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Khoo Guan Soon
Film & Communications Professor
400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959) - It's the film's cumulative portrait of young Doinel down to the final freeze frame that makes the last shot an indelible impression in general movie-watching experience. I attribute the film's rawness (not realism) to the fledgling filmmaker.
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - The ultimate film for critics & scholars, it has become very accessible to anyone interested in studying the film's collection of technique & it's production/release history. I suppose Orson Welles is a prodigious talent.
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957) - Upon multiple viewing, the scenario & stereotyped characters seem rather simplistic and unsophisticated, but I am continually impressed by its plot points and their arrangement. A very accessible text to seekers of high or low-brow drama and an easy introduction to screenplay tension-conflict for students. The film also makes precise & efficient use of tracking shots & the close-up.
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993) - Tim Roth's most memorable performance ("I'm f*#king dying here! I'm f*#king dying!"). This is a case of imitation as the best form of flattery seeing as Tarantino-esque dialogue & scenarios have become commonplace ever since his Sundance debut.
Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997) - I don't think Niccol has topped his sci-fi debut in terms of screenplay structure. It's universal theme of identity & "fitting in" makes Gattaca a small gem of a film that stands up to multiple viewings. Terrific lighting on Ethan Hawke's impostor, use of the helix symbolism & choice of setting/location (check out the superior architectural lines of the buildings used in the film). Jude Law grounds the film's fragile human side in an early role prior to mainstream success. An airtight plot with tremendous audience identification.
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Carter Liotta
Filmmaker
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
2. American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)
3. The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999)
4. Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)
5. Roger & Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
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Michael Parent
Film Student
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993) - As a great fan of Gangster movies and Tarantino, I am always stupefied everytime I watch this film. Like he said in interview it's his version of The Killing and what a version!
The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959) - The movie that started the French new-wave. The story is very touching and all the elements are here to make a masterpiece from one of the greatest french directors.
The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921) - Even if I knew he starred in so many movies before this, it's his first movie as the director and he was always way ahead of his time in his films and also in his thoughts.
Who's That Knocking at My Door? (Martin Scorsese, 1967) - First film from the best living American director. Nothing to add, this is already enough.
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - Well what can I add? To shake the entire industry on his first movie is very notable. The importance of the impact of this movie could have thrown it into first place on my list but I didn't want to put it first just because I think it's too typical to put Citizen Kane first on every list you do.
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Adam Trovillion
Film Enthusiast
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
2. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
3. Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929)
4. Blood Simple (Joel Coen, 1984)
5. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993)
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Kevyn Knox
Film Critic, Essayist + Historian
For the topic of First Films, I decided to go with the most influental of the bunch. Those films whose sudden appearence on the scene changed the face of filmmaking in general. Due to this, great films such as Malick's Badlands, Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali and Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich are relugated to the Runners-up section of the paper. Thus, here are my picks...
Les Quatre cents coups (François Truffaut, 1959) and À bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) - Sure, perhaps a first place tie could be construed as cheating, but I don't care, Truffaut and Godard changed the face of cinema more than any other filmmakers (with the possible exception of Griffith) and both of these films are what the gutteral, visceral first film experience should be about. Nothing has been the same ever since.
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - Knowing full well from the outset that this would be the eventual winner (ed. note - and it is) and I may not adore this film the way other cinephiles do (in fact I think Touch of Evil is Welles' best film overall), but there is no doubt in anyone's mind of the impact Kane had on cinema as a whole.
Shadows (John Cassavetes, 1959) - Actually released before the New Wavers came on the scene (albeit by mere months), Cassavetes is considered the granddaddy of American Independent Cinema, and without him, there would be no Tarantino, Linklater, Kevin Smith, Hal Hatley, Alexander Payne and many others. His Shadows was a raw Beat-sensibilitied slap in the face to contemporary Hollywood filmmaking, much in the same way Truffaut, Godard and their compatriots were in Europa.
The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921) - Technically not his first film as director (a slew of shorts rambled out first) but this was his first feature and set the bar for a steady climb of films, each successive one better than the last.
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1993) - Taking the baton from Cassevetes before him, Tarantino led the revolution of American Independent Cinema in the early nineties with his version of Hemingway's The Killers (which had been done at least three times prior, including a student film version by a twenty-eight year old Tarkovsky). The essence of raw first film cinema.
The Sixth Man Award (or seventh, since there was a tie): Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929)
Runners-Up (in chronological order):
Strike (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1925),
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941),
Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955),
A Generation (Andrzej Wajda, 1955),
Accattone (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1961),
The Grim Reaper (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1962),
Black Peter (Milos Forman, 1964),
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966),
Head (Bob Rafelson, 1968),
Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968),
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969),
Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973),
This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984),
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987),
sex, lies and videotape (Steven Soderbergh, 1989),
Slacker (Richard Linklater, 1991),
Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994),
Buffalo 66 (Vincent Gallo, 1998),
The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999),
Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999),
Igby Goes Down (Burr Steers, 2002),
Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004),
Or (Mon Tresor) (Keren Yadeya, 2004)
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*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created
The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5 Road Movies
e-mail me at
kevynknox@thecinematheque.com
with your picks for week #13,
no later than 4pm on Sunday, July 9, 2006.
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