When the Motion Picture Academy looked back at 1983, it gave its Best Picture award to an all-star weepie called Terms of Endearment. I think that one's fine, but I like these better:
1. Sans Soleil
Written and directed by Chris Marker
A strange and lovely essay-film about Africa, Japan, festivals, robots, Hitchcock, and much more. No other movie in the world is like this one.
2. Videodrome
Written and directed by David Cronenberg
"It's just torture and murder. No plot, no characters. Very, very realistic. I think it's what's next."
3. The King of Comedy
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by Paul Zimmerman
This and Videodrome would make an interesting double bill, especially if you're feeling a little paranoid about your TV set.
4. Tender Mercies
Directed by Bruce Beresford
Written by Horton Foote
Robert Duvall plays a country singer who's down on his luck. If you don't think that sounds great, you might be reading the wrong blog.
5. Zelig
Written and directed by Woody Allen
"It shows exactly what you can do, if you're a total psychotic."
6. Pauline at the Beach
Written and directed by Eric Rohmer
I don't know if honest self-deception is logically possible, but that's what the final scene seems to show.
7. The Meaning of Life
Directed by Terry Jones with Terry Gilliam
Written by Jones, Gilliam, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin
Palin: What we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio, as orthodox Christianity teaches. It has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia. Jones: What was that about hats again?
8. El Sur
Directed by Victor Erice
Written by Erice, from a novel by Adelaida García Morales
"That was the first time Dad left home in the middle of the night without a word to anyone."
9. El Norte
Directed by Gregory Nava
Written by Anna Thomas
I swear I didn't deliberately tweak this so El Norte would be immediately adjacent to El Sur.
10. A Christmas Story
Directed by Bob Clark
Written by Clark, Leigh Brown, and Jean Shepherd, from a novel by Shepherd
Available both as a conventional 90-minute movie and, come Christmas, as an ambient 24-hour experience shared by participating households across the TBS and TNT districts of the global village.
Honorable mentions:
11. À Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat)
12. John Cage (Peter Greenaway)
13. Carmen (Carlos Saura)
14. Trading Places (John Landis)
15. Possibly in Michigan (Cecelia Condit)
16. The Store (Frederick Wiseman)
17. Risky Business (Paul Brickman)
18. Local Hero (Bill Forsyth)
19. Rockit (Kevin Godley, Lol Creme)
20. Smorgasbord (Jerry Lewis)
Of the films of 1983 that I haven't seen, I'm most interested in L'Argent.