1951

Ben, absolutely pass THE STORY OF FILM around. Sounds awesome from what I could find online.

Adrienne, I'm probably more curious to see WAR HORSE now, knowing that someone in the club disliked it. Makes me want to find out if I would have a similar reaction or not. Your negative reaction to it is very intriguing. Great to have you in the club!

All right, I'm determined to get these lists up, even if I have nothing interesting to say about them. 1951 is another great year for movies. I never thought I'd react so joyously to Bresson and Ozu based on my viewings of their work in high school. I'm very pleasantly surprised to worship them now and think that these two films by them are complete miracles. Really, they are interchangeable in this list. I'm only giving Bresson the nod over Ozu for this year because LATE SPRING will already be top of 1949, while A MAN ESCAPED will have a tough time topping '56 over THE SEARCHERS (though I'm seriously tempted by it).

There’s only a few on here that I haven’t talked about already in some form. All splendid films:

1. Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson)
2. Early Summer (Ozu)
3. Ace in the Hole (Wilder)
4. Strangers on a Train (Hitchcock)
5. The Steel Helmet (Fuller)
6. The Thing From Another World (Nyby, Hawks)
7. The African Queen (Huston)
8. The River (Renoir)
9. The Tales of Hoffmann (Powell, Pressburger)
10. A Streetcar Named Desire (Kazan)

I love Hitch’s STRANGERS ON A TRAIN obviously for the incredible talent of the master himself, but also for Bruno Anthony being one of the best outright villains in any of his films. He’s a real monster and puts you completely on edge. THE STEEL HELMET proves that you don’t need a massive budget (or barely a budget even) to make your characters breathe, your images resonate, and your ideas profound. It’s gritty and smart guerrilla storytelling, but it also has the conscience of a Twilight Zone episode. THE AFRICAN QUEEN, THE RIVER, and THE TALES OF HOFFMANN are easily among the most beautiful technicolor films you’ll ever see. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE nails Williams’ play and stands alone perfectly as a film.