The Projector #87: What’s Your 10? (Patreon)

by Keith Phipps

Here’s a bit of feedback that’s probably easier to address here than on the show. From Jerry in Seattle:

I’m wondering if you all already have your personal top 10s of all time posted somewhere as you probably get this question all time. If so, where can I find those links?

I’m particularly interested in Keith’s as we seem to have the same sensibilities. I believe I remember Keith naming The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as his personal favorite, it is my number two of all time. And I think Keith recently named Two-Lane Blacktop as also in his top 5 and that film would be the running if I actual sat down to make my own list. I’d love to hear what else is on his list to see if we continue to agree, or to get a few films on my watch list if Keith names films I have not yet seen.

I both love and hate this question! I love hearing others’ responses when asked this question but I always get flustered when asked myself, in part because I always end up leaving out some favorite that I remember down the line. I’ve stuck with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as my default answer for years and I’m comfortable with that because I love it like I love no other movie and always will. I first saw it by myself in Madison, Wisconsin at The Orpheum (a storied theater that, sadly, doesn’t show movies anymore) after a shift at the video store and it profoundly moved me, and moved me in a way a work in another medium couldn’t. Movies! They’re great.

But that’s also why a list of favorites is so hard to create. Do you go with the movies you come back to again and again? Do you go with your gut or try to craft a list that reflects the full diversity of your tastes? If it’s the former, I’m afraid my list would end up being pretty basic. If it’s the latter, it might be cool but calculated.

It’s tough! The alternate list I’ve kept in my head for years are the movies that changed my ideas of what movies could do, starting with movies I saw as a kid and continuing into adulthood. It’s not exactly a top 10, more like, here’s a bunch of films that broadened my horizons. So here goes, in roughly the chronological order in which I saw them: Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Raising Arizona, Dawn of the Dead, Blue Velvet (first seen on a terrible pan-and-scan VHS version bought for $5, but such was the way for a budding suburban ’80s cinephile), Do the Right Thing, Unforgiven, 8 1/2, Stranger than Paradise, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Where is the Friend’s Home?, Chungking Express, Petulia, and Two-Lane Blacktop. And… a bunch of movies I’ve probably forgotten. Oh, yeah, McCabe and Mrs. Miller. That’s a big one. See… this is why I don’t do this.

But I’m glad you asked. And I’m going to turn this question over to my co-hosts next week to see how they respond when asked.

While you wait, you can enjoy our current episode, a look at Rear Window and The Woman in the Window. (Remember Woman in the Window?)

Also, you might enjoy these pieces:

• For The Guardian, Scott Tobias considered the joys and irritations of Moulin Rouge at 20.

• What’s the deal with the Conjuring movies? For GQ, Keith Phipps wrote about why it works as a cinematic universe when so many other cinematic universes don’t work. For Vulture, Lillian Brown considers it as a love story first, a horror franchise second.

• If you enjoyed our bonus episode on Mare of Easttown, you should treat yourself by digging into the many, many pieces on the show Genevieve edited for Vulture, which can be found here.

• Streaming has allowed documentaries to be produced at an astounding rate and with astounding quickness. For Polygon, Noel Murray considers how that’s reshaping what documentaries are.

• Also at Polygon, Robert Daniels writes about Barry Jenkins’ great The Underground Railroad and its connection to the director’s past work.

• And, at Vulture, Chris Lee details how Alamo Drafthouse battled back from the brink of shutting down.

PS Knew this would happen: Gates of Heaven and The Gleaners and I (a movie I think about every time I shop), Yi Yi...