The Perpetual Three-Dot Column
The Perpetual Three-Dot Column
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by Jesse Walker

Sunday, December 17, 2006
'86 LUFTBALLONS: Last week we reviewed the best movies of
1996. Now 1986 gets a turn.

1. Hannah and Her Sisters
Written and directed by Woody Allen

He's right: The Marx Brothers are a reason to live.

2. Castle in the Sky
Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Everything a fantasy film should be.

3. Sherman's March
Directed by Ross McElwee

A man addicted to filming everything around him makes a movie that's mostly about his troubled love life. His love life's chief trouble, in turn, is that he keeps filming everything around him.

4. The Singing Detective
Directed by Jon Amiel
Written by Dennis Potter

I never saw the feature-length remake of this miniseries, and I'm not sure I want to. Potter's story of a disfigured detective writer's fever dreams is best told at a leisurely pace, with plenty of time to get lost in the hero's hallucinations and memories.

5. and 6. Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring
Directed by Claude Berri
Written by Berri and Gerard Brach, from a novel by Marcel Pagnol

To borrow a line from another movie: "You mean, all this time we could've been friends?"

7. River's Edge
Directed by Tim Hunter
Written by Neal Jimenez

A punk In Cold Blood.

8. Stand by Me
Directed by Rob Reiner
Written by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans, from a novella by Stephen King

It's hard to believe today, but back in the '80s Reiner made some good movies.

9. Blue Velvet
Written and directed by David Lynch

"A candy-colored clown they call the sandman/Tiptoes to my room every night/Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper/Go to sleep, everything is all right."

10. Man Facing Southeast
Written and directed by Eliseo Subiela

Possibly the first motion picture to name a supporting character after Philip K. Dick. Gets a special jury prize for the best use of Beethoven's Ninth by a filmmaker not named Kubrick.


posted by Jesse 3:28 PM
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