Film Comment’s annual end-of-the-year survey of notable film critics, journalists, film section editors, and past and present contributors was released today with Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES and Lars von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA taking the top spots among films released in 2011. Among films that made appearances at film festivals or special screenings worldwide, but haven’t received stateside distribution as of yet, Jafar Panahiand Mojtaba Mirtahmasb’s THIS IS NOT A FILM, Béla Tarr’s THE TURIN HORSE and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA received the top rankings.
Offering arguably the most comprehensive assessment of the year in film, Film Comment received responses from more than 120 participants including (in alphabetical order): Nico Baumbach (Film Comment), David Edelstein (New York Magazine), Roger Ebert, Scott Foundas (Associate Program Director, Film Society Lincoln Center) Larry Gross (screenwriter, WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, 48 HOURS), Kent Jones (filmmaker, A LETTER TO ELIA), Glenn Kenny (MSN Movies), Robert Koehler (Daily Variety), Karina Longworth (LA Weekly), Guy Maddin (filmmaker, KEYHOLE), Leonald Maltin (Entertainment Tonight), Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter), Don McMahon (Artforum), Rex Reed (NY Observer), Jonathan Rosenbaum, Paul Schrader (filmmaker, ADAM RESURRECTED), Amy Taubin (Film Comment) and Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times).
Film Comment’s Top 10 Films Released in 2011 are; 1.Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE, 2. Apichatpong’s UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES 3. Von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA, 4. Asghar Farhadi’s A SEPARATION, 5. David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD, 6. Raúl Ruiz’s MYSTERIES OF LISBON, 7. Abbas Kiarostami’s CERTIFIED COPY, 8. Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK’S CUTOFF, 9. Martin Scorsese’s HUGO, and 10. Lee Chang-dong’s POETRY.
The rankings of other films making strong showings during the awards season are Alexander Payne’s THE DESCENDANTS (#15), Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (#18), Jeff Nichols’ TAKE SHELTER (#19), Steve McQueen’s SHAME (#21), Nicolas Winding Refn’s DRIVE (#22), Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST (#27), and Bennett Miller’s MONEYBALL (#38).
Film Comment’s survey also gives a ranking of films that have screened and made notable appearances at film festivals throughout the year. The Top 10 Unreleased Films in 2011 are 1. Panahiand Mirtahmasb’s THIS IS NOT A FILM, 2. Tarr’s THE TURIN HORSE, 3. Ceylan’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA, 4. Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne’s THE KID WITH A BIKE, 5. Julia Loktev’s THE LONELIEST PLANET, 6. Gerardo Naranjo’s MISS BALA, 7. Joseph Cedar’s FOOTNOTE, 8. Ben Wheatley’s KILL LIST, 9. Ulrich Koehler’s SLEEPING SICKNESS and 10. Ruben Östlund’s PLAY.
THE TREE OF LIFE, which begins “encore screenings” today at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center was the subject of a Film Comment cover story this year. MELANCHOLIA and UNCLE BOONMEE both screened at the New York Film Festival (MELANCHOLIA this year and UNCLE BOONMEE in 2010). All but one of the films in the Unreleased Films category screened at this year’s NYFF. (The exception being Wheatley’s KILL LIST.) Additional films from the lists that were featured on Film Comment covers were A DANGEROUS METHOD, THE DESCENDANTS, MEEK’S CUTOFF and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.
Film Comment editor Gavin Smith said, “Film Comment’s annual Best Films lists offer a comprehensive look at the year in film by combining the viewpoints of most of the magazine’s staff and contributors as well as many of America’s most influential film critics, writers and minds. And our annual addition of the unreleased films list (via film festivals and exhibitions throughout the year) offers a unique look ahead for the coming year in film for cinephiles and film enthusiasts, as well.”
“Smith + Foundas: The Conversation starts here…” will be available at filmlinc.com today with the Film Comment editor and FSLC Senior Programmer discussing the 2011 Film Comment Best of Year lists.
The lists of films and poll participants can be found on Filmlinc.com and in the January/February issue of Film Comment which hits newsstands January 10.
THE COMPLETE FILM COMMENT 2011 BEST-OF FILMS LISTS
RELEASED 2011
1. TREE OF LIFE
Director: Terrence Malick
2. UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
3. MELANCHOLIA
Director: Lars von Trier
4. A SEPARATION
Director: Asghar Farhadi
5. A DANGEROUS METHOD
Director: David Cronenberg
6. MYSTERIES OF LISBON
Director: Raúl Ruiz
7. CERTIFIED COPY
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
8. MEEK’S CUTOFF
Director: Kelly Reichardt
9. HUGO
Director: Martin Scorsese
10. POETRY
Director: Lee Chang-dong
Rankings #11 – #20
11. FILM SOCIALISME, Director: Jean-Luc Godard
12. LE HAVRE, Director: Aki Kaurismäki
13. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU, Director: Andrei Ujica
14. LE QUATTRO VOLTE, Director: Michelangelo Frammartino
15. THE DESCENDANTS, Director: Alexander Payne
16. NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT, Director: Patricio Guzmán
17. A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, Director:
Edward Yang
18. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, Director: Woody Allen
19. TAKE SHELTER, Director: Jeff Nichols
20. MARGARET, Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Rankings #21 – #30
21. SHAME, Director: Steve McQueen
22. DRIVE, Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
23. CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, Director: Werner Herzog
24. TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, Director: Tomas Alfredson
25. TO DIE LIKE A MAN, Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
26. THE INTERRUPTERS, Director: Steve James
27. THE ARTIST, Director: Michel Hazanavicius
28. TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS, Director: Radu Muntean
29. AURORA, Director: Cristi Puiu
30. WEEKEND, Director: Andrew Haigh
Rankings #31 – #40
31. THE SKIN I LIVE IN, Director: Pedro Almodóvar
32. CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH, Director: Lu Chuan
33. CONTAGION, Director: Steven Soderbergh
34. OF GODS AND MEN, Director: Xavier Beauvois
35. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, Director: Sean Durkin
36. BRIDESMAIDS, Director: Paul Feig
37. THE TRIP, Director: Michael Winterbottom
38. MONEYBALL, Director: Bennett Miller
39. THE ARBOR, Director: Clio Barnard
40. THE FUTURE, Director: Miranda July
Rankings #41 – #50
41. INCENDIES, Director: Denis Villeneuve
42. SUPER 8, Director: J.J. Abrams
43. UNITED RED ARMY, Director: Koji Wakamatsu
44. ROAD TO NOWHERE, Director: Monte Hellman
45. TABLOID, Director: Errol Morris
46. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, Director: Rupert Wyatt
47. TERRI, Director: Azazel Jacobs
48. J. EDGAR, Director: Clint Eastwood
49. JANE EYRE, Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
50. PINA, Director: Wim Wenders
UNRELEASED 2011
1. THIS IS NOT A FILM
Director: Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
2. THE TURIN HORSE
Director: Béla Tarr
3. ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
4. THE KID WITH A BIKE
Director: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
5. THE LONELIEST PLANET
Director: Julia Loktev
6. MISS BALA
Director: Gerardo Naranjo
7. FOOTNOTE
Director: Joseph Cedar
8. KILL LIST
Director: Ben Wheatley
9. SLEEPING SICKNESS
Director: Ulrich Koehler
10. PLAY
Director: Rüben Ostlund
Rankings #11 – #20
11.POLICEMAN, Director: Nadav Lapid
12. THE COLOR WHEEL, Director: Alex Ross Perry
13. TWO YEARS AT SEA, Director: Ben Rivers
14. ALPS, Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
15. GOODBYE FIRST LOVE, Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
16. 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH, Director: Abel Ferrara
17. DREILEBAN, Director: Christoph Hochhäusler, Christian Petzold & Dominik Graf
18. THE RETURN, Director: Nathaniel Dorsky
19. THE DEEP BLUE SEA, Director: Terence Davies
20. WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Director: Andrea Arnold
Rankings #21 – #30
21. CORPO CELESTE, Director: Alice Rohrwacher
22. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST, Director: Joachim Trier
23. THE STUDENT, Director: Santiago Mitre
24. ATTENBERG, Director: Athena Rachel Tsangari
25. ELENA, Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev
26. YOU ARE NOT I, Director: Sara Driver
27. WORDS OF MERCURY, Director: Jerome Hiler
28. CRAZY HORSE, Director: Frederick Wiseman
29. FAUST, Director: Alexander Sokurov
30. SEEKING THE MONKEY KING, Director: Ken Jacobs
Rankings #31 – #40
31. DISORDER, Director: Huang Weikei
32. PSYCHOHYDROGRAPHY, Director: Peter Bo Rappmund
33. PATIENCE (AFTER SEBALD), Director: Grant Gee
34. GREEN, Director: Sophia Takal
35. WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN, Director: Nicholas Ray
36. KILLER JOE, Director: William Friedkin
37. DAMSELS IN DISTRESS, Director: Whit Stillman
38. SLOW ACTION, Director: Ben Rivers
39. BONSAI, Director: Cristian Jimenez
40. MICHAEL, Director: Markus Schleinzer
Rankings #41 – #50
41. A SIMPLE LIFE, Director: Ann Hui
42. TAKE THIS WALTZ, Director: Sarah Polley
43. HORS SATAN, Director: Bruno Dumont
44. DARK HORSE, Director: Todd Solondz
45. CURLING, Director: Denis Côté
46. ALMAYER’S FOLLY, Director: Chantal Akerman
47. 20 CIGARETTES, Director: James Benning
48. POLISSE, Director: Maïwenn
49. WITHOUT, Director: Mark Jackson
50. THE INNKEEPERS, Director: Ti West
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, theFilm Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, currently planning its 50th edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award—now named “The Chaplin Award”—to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. The Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational programs and specialty film releases at its Walter Reade Theater and the new state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.
The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, 42BELOW, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the National Endowment for the Arts, WNET New York Public Media, the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com.
