75 Movies Challenge — 2022

It’s that time of year, where the ten people I talk movies about are slightly interested in what I may or may not have watched for the year. I like the reflection time, and I like the diligence needed to find something from everywhere, while sprinkling in some level of variance to it.

After watching 52 movies, in order, in 2019 — from 1968(?) onward — I didn’t bother to follow up in 2020 and 2021. I did however come quite close to organically achieving a movie per year, and post-emptively (?) made lists. This year, I decided to be more proactive about it, but without the restraints of watching every film in order. Unfettered by the lack of rigidity, I found myself churning through the 52, and decided to up the “challenge” to one from each of the past 75 years — dating back to 1948.

• Here is the link from the original concept in 2019.
• Here is the complete list on Letterboxd, beautiful posters and all

Top Ten (by year)

To keep the ever-important integrity of this list intact, this is a top ten of my favourite movies within this list, and not based on every movie I’ve seen this year.

• In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
• Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
• Mississippi Burning (1988)
• Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
• Walkabout (1971)
• The Odd Couple (1968)
• Le Samourai (1967)
• Hud (1963)
• Touch of Evil (1958)
• Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
• Honourable mentions: Paprika (2006), Mulholland Drive (2001), Slacker (1990), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Don’t let the spread of the age of these movies deter you from watching any of them. I suppose naturally there are more good older movies I haven’t seen, and the 21st century options do feel slimmer when I am looking for movies to watch. There are obviously countless old movies considered classics that I have yet to see — I have only seen 38/100 of the new Sight and Sound list.

All of these pre-1980 movies, save for maybe Walkabout, are very accessible, and very good. Singin in the Rain, Touch of Evil, and Le Samourai are blue-blood classics, high on the list of any aspiring cinephile’s list to watch. I never intend to exclusively watch all of the best movies ever in one short time span — the continual joy of discovery is too great — but I loved each and every one of these. Hud also blew me away, and would even contend for #1 for the year. I love Paul Newman, and it might be his best performance.

The post-1980 movies are very different from each other. Unlike the older movies, of which I am well aware of as classics, I only had strong anticipation for Once Upon A Time in America. Though it is a 4 hour run time, it is a beautiful epic that is more watchable than people think. It is easy enough to break into chunks. The other three all surprised me, and the list is better for it. A few others that didn’t crack the top ten, but very much surprised me and are worth mentioning (in reverse order) ; Carnage, Blade, The Doors, Year of the Dragon, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The Poseidon Adventure, and Alice in Wonderland.

By year

• 2022 — The Fallout
• 2021 — Shiva Baby
• 2020 — Wonder Woman 1984
• 2019 — Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams
• 2018 — Den of Thieves
• 2017 — Indian Horse
• 2016 — Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny
• 2015 — Focus
• 2014 — Draft Day
• 2013 — Riddick
• 2012 — Dark Shadows
• 2011 — Carnage
• 2010 — Beginners
• 2009 — The Road
• 2008 — Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
• 2007 — Rush Hour 3

2006 — Paprika

Knowing next to nothing about Paprika going into it at The Hamilton Playhouse, I was surprised to learn how much Inception pays homage to the 2006 Japanese animated film. This movie definitely rewards an in-theatre, or at least phone-away viewing.

Dreamlike and hallucinogenic in nature, Paprika is a bizarre film that blurs lines between a psychological, crime, and sci-fi thriller. Beautiful, ugly, and wondrous all at once, a movie about dreaming can certainly pay to be animated, given the unlimited visual potential at hand. Perhaps not best suited as a first foray into foreign animated films, but one that is clearly justified as a cult classic, and sitting alongside Miyazaki, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, and other anime as mandatory viewing to enter the genre.

• 2005 — The Wedding Date
• 2004 — Saved!
• 2003 — The Last Samurai
• 2002 — The Pianist
• 2001 — Mulholland Drive
• 2000 — What Women Want
• 1999 — Cider House Rules
• 1998 — Blade
• 1997 — Air Force One
• 1996 — Escape From LA
• 1995 — Strange Days

1994 — In The Mouth of Madness

Since seeing The Thing in 2019 and having it quickly enter my pantheon of favourite movies, John Carpenter has been a fascinating director to unravel. There are great elements to all his movies (including the zanier ones), but none of his other great entries — such as Halloween, Escape from New York, or They Live — have me feeling like I’m embodying the “Girl Explaining” meme at every party I go to in the way talking about The Thing does.

In The Mouth of Madness gets there for me. A supernatural, psychological thriller, starring Sam Neill investigating a famous horror authour who has disappeared in his home town. Having to question every scene or interaction level of reality is not always my cup of tea. The weirdness of the movie, the performance by Sam Neill, and the terror of inescapability that encases the viewer watching In the Mouth of Madness fully delivers on the mastery of what Carpenter is capable of pulling off.

• 1993 — Ocean Waves
• 1992 — Glengarry Glen Ross
• 1991 — The Doors

1990 — Slacker

I first heard of Slacker from Chuck Klosterman’s writings, commenting on it’s literal lifechanging “what is this?” moment he had while watching it with his roommate for the first time. Five minutes into the movie, its not difficult to see how it garnered that reaction. A genuinely unique film, I’d like to think I could sniff out the sometimes philosophical, always conversational zone that Richard Linklater thrives in, regardless of my prior knowledge.

The eccentric young adults that Slacker follows around Austin, Texas for no more than a few minutes each are so well constructed out in their enigmatic impressions, its a curiosity of just how many of these people are anectodtal to Linklater’s personal life experiences.

A cult classic for obvious reasons, I can only imagine just how many early 90s internet message boards were solely dedicated to unpacking, ranking, and discussing each and every character we come across.

• 1989 — Lethal Weapon 2
• 1988 —Mississippi Burning
• 1987 — Near Dark
• 1986 — Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
• 1985 — Year of the Dragon
• 1984 — Once Upon a Time in America
• 1983 — Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
• 1982 — Poltergeist
• 1981 — The Evil Dead
• 1980 — The Fog
• 1979 — The Long, Good Friday
• 1978 — Death on the Nile

1977 — House

Knowing nothing other than “it’s a Japanese horror film” going in, bugnutz would not begin to describe the feeling of watching House. A cult movie, House can probably best be described as Rocky Horror Picture Show crossed with Heathers, on acid, in Japan. It’s probably not a movie I wager I will ever watch again, and would take a very specific type of person for me to ‘recommed’ this to them.

• 1976 — The Last Tycoon
• 1975 — Shampoo
• 1974 — Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
• 1973 — The Friends of Eddie Coyle

1972 — The Poseidon Adventure

Remade in 2006 as ‘Poseidon’, this is no home run film snubbed of any sort of Oscar in a given time, but has that classic seventies feel that even average movies are excellent at transporting us back into, to at least be a part of a time no better, just different, than our own.

The movie basically entails the central group of people make their way through the upside down ship into the hull, in the hopes of escaping. To the ocean air, before the boat sinks or fills with water. They are racing against time, and the film follows them section by section of the boat, as they have new problems to solve with each passing area. A not so small thing that impressed me about The Poseidon Adventure is the blocking. The viewer always knows where they are, and can map out where they need to go. It’s an important element to feel engaged in the story, to see people running, or climbing, or following a rope underwater to get to an airpocket in a different room, and to actually understand the route the route being taken.

The cast of characters isn’t the most fleshed out, but the relationships are built enough. They’re led by the somehow always stoic and animated Gene Hackman, who I have increasingly gained respect for as I go through some of his classic movies.

1971 — Walkabout

The title Walkabout is based off of the Australian aborigine tradition of sending young adolescent males entering adulthood in the Australian bush for six months to survive on their own.

The 1971 film is about a young pair of siblings left stranded by their father in the Australian outback, left to survive on their own. They an Aborigine boy — played by David Gulpili — who helps them survive out in the harsh bush. A wandering movie, both figuratively and literally, there isn’t much narrative plot to speak of outside of that. Dreamy and more vignette-y than I’ve really seen mentioned in many writings on the film, it never loses your attention, despite displaying the aimlessness of the trio’s journey in which it is unclear how fully determined the siblings are to get back to civilizaiton.

There are many mysteries surrounding Walkabout regarding its relationships. The sexual tension of the adolescent boy and girl, what the film is trying to say about the relationship of man and nature. Why the siblings father ‘left’ them. Reading more about it, there does seem to be a consensus confusion and fascination with what Walkabout is trying to say. That can often be grounds to dock a film marks at times, but with Walkabout, the chewing on the meaning of it that I had in the weeks following only adds to its intrigue and its merit for me.

• 1970 — Crimes of the Future
• 1969 — The Wild Bunch
• 1968 — The Odd Couple

1967 — Le Samourai

Breathless walked so the Le Samourai could run — not just throughout every bus station in Paris. I had high hopes for the French New Wave neo-noir, an it fully delivered. Not chock full of action, its the continued suspense that keeps the audience drawn in. This is quite easily the most modern looking old movie to me. The camera shots, movements, and angles, don’t feel any different than a 90s crime thriller. It’s easy to draw a line from this to just about any American action film that “goes to Europe.” The effortless “noirness” of it all — the night clubs, the city streets, the gloomy apartment, Alain Delon’s iconic silhouette as Jef Costello, is baked into my understanding of movies more than I ever realized.

• 1966 — Arabesque
• 1965 — Red Beard
• 1964 — A Hard Day’s Night

1963 — Hud

In 2020 I wrote about The Last Picture Show — about a similarly depressing small town in post-oil boom Texas, and the extended adolescence of the struggling young adults it drags down. Hud’s lack of ambition, his anger, his alcoholism, Hud’s ability to drag everyone down with him is superpowered by Newman’s charisma. As gloomy as Peter Bogdonavich’s The Last Picture Show was, I found Hud to truly be one of the most depressing and cynical films I can recall ever watching. It makes no bones about it from the get-go, and the audience is just along for the ride.

• 1962 — Cape Fear
• 1961 — Last Year at Marienbad

1960 — Breathless

After Jean-Luc Godard’s passing at age 91 in September, I figured myself well overdue to make the foray into his filmography, and dip my toes into French New Wave. Coincidentally, I watched this in close proximity to Hud — in what is an interesting double feature on two late twenty-something dirtbags from different walks of life, stuck in similar situations. It is obvious to see why Breathless carries such magnitude. It’s quick cuts, punchy dialogue, and experimental camera movements feel very close to modern. I can only imagine how earth-shattering they would be in 1960 — like seeing colour for the first time. Or perhaps more akin to hearing Rags to Riches come in at the beginning of Goodfellas. An easy and enjoyable watch, the influence on modern cinema is obviousm and definitely piqued my interest in the way I’d hoped to jump further into the genre.

• 1959 — Pickpocket
• 1958 — Touch of Evil
• 1957 — A Face in the Crowd
• 1956 — The Killing
• 1955 — House of Bamboo
• 1954 — Godzilla
• 1953 — Tokyo Story
• 1952 — Singin’ in the Rain
• 1951 — Alice in Wonderland
• 1950 — Panic in the Streets

1949 — Twelve O’Clock High

Seeing as many World War 2 movies has been one of my many ongoing movie goals/projects over the past few years. The older, post-war ones have been a more recent fascination for me, with such little comprehension about what attitudes could have possibly been like 10–15 years after WW2 ended. There are cynical impressions, with Paths of Glory being the obvious reference point.

The movie follows a bomber brigade led by a ‘players’ coach’-type (or in this instance, soldiers’ colonel) Colonel, who is relieved of his duties after it is clear he is to concerned with the well being of his men, rather than the end goal of winning the war. He is replaced by the hard-nosed General Frank Savage (played by Gregory Peck), who makes no bones in dealing with the brigade and what they are they for. The pitfalls of war, and the no-win situation that both the soldiers and the general are in is obvious.

Twelve O’Clock High falls in a weird middle ground where there feels to be warmth with these good ole boys succeeding in the face of adversity, but after thinking about it more in the days following my viewing, I do believe it is earnest in it’s depiction of the, “If say I say: jump, you say: how high?” nature of war that is so well depicted in Paths of Glory. It’s hard to relate to the times, with the sheen of war so far removed. But I think the optimisim portrayed is a fallacy, and a misdirection that is intentional on the part of director Henry King, in an obvious showing of the ease in which we are prone to romanticizing tragedy in our collective memory.

1948 — Bicycle Thieves

Full list, without breaks

• 2022 — After Yang
• 2021 — Shiva Baby
• 2020 — Wonder Woman 1984
• 2019 — Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams
• 2018 — Den of Thieves
• 2017 — Indian Horse
• 2016 — Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny
• 2015 — Focus
• 2014 — Draft Day
• 2013 — Riddick
• 2012 — Dark Shadows
• 2011 — Carnage
• 2010 — Beginners
• 2009 — The Road
• 2008 — Hellboy 2: Golden Army
• 2007 — Rush Hour 3
• 2006 — Paprika
• 2005 — The Wedding Date
• 2004 — Saved!
• 2003 — The Last Samurai
• 2002 — The Pianist
• 2001 — Mulholland Drive
• 2000 — What Women Want
• 1999 — Cider House Rules
• 1998 — Blade
• 1997 — Air Force One
• 1996 — Escape From LA
• 1995 — Strange Days
• 1994 — In The Mouth of Madness
• 1993 — Ocean Waves
• 1992 — Under Siege
• 1991 — The Doors
• 1990 — Slacker
• 1989 — Lethal Weapon 2
• 1988 — Cinema Paradiso
• 1987 — Near Dark
• 1986 — Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
• 1985 — Year of the Dragon
• 1984 — Starman
• 1983 — Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
• 1982 — Poltergeist
• 1981 — The Evil Dead
• 1980 — The Fog
• 1979 — The Long, Good Friday
• 1978 — Death on the Nile
• 1977 — House
• 1976 — The Last Tycoon
• 1975 — Shampoo
• 1974 — Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
• 1973 — The Friends of Eddie Coyle
• 1972 — The Poseidon Adventure
• 1971 — Walkabout
• 1970 — Crimes of the Future
• 1969 — The Wild Bunch
• 1968 — The Odd Couple
• 1967 — Le Samourai
• 1966 — Arabesque
• 1965 — Red Beard
• 1964 — A Hard Day’s Night
• 1963 — Hud
• 1962 — Cape Fear
• 1961 — Last Year at Marienbad
• 1960 — Breathless
• 1959 — Pickpockt
• 1958 — Touch of Evil
• 1957 — A Face in the Crowd
• 1956 — The Killing
• 1955 — Houes of Bamboo
• 1954 — Godzilla
• 1953 — Tokyo Story
• 1952 — Singin’ in the Rain
• 1951 — Alice in Wonderland
• 1950 — Panic in the Streets
• 1949 — Twelve O’Clock High
• 1948 — Bicycle Thieves

I am likely going to attempt to do this again in the year 2023. The wonders of spreadsheets and Google Docs — I now have running watchlists for movies from every year. Unfortunately they only seem to grow. There are so many different ways to tackle movie-watching. From an actor or director’s filmography, watching as many movies from one year (I did 1999 a few years back). I’m constantly watching movies featured on the Ringer Rewatchabales and the Blank Check pod. For now, this 75 years is a definitely method I’m excited to continue.