I’ve been doing this thing over on Facebook for the past few
months where I post bad cellphone photographs of movie title cards. I’ve been
getting some questions about it, so I thought it might be worthwhile explaining
what exactly I’m up to. Every so often, some magazine or website will publish a
list of ‘movies to see before you die.’ When this happens, or when I’ve been
talking with my more cinema savvy friends, I often find myself confronted with
a long list of notable movies I haven’t yet seen. Finding myself with a little
more free time on my hands, and with an urgent need to unwind, I resolved to watch
as many of these movies as could. To give the project some structure, I decided
to set a few ground rules:
- In order to force some variety on my viewing habits, I decided to watch one movie from each year from 1945 to the present day. This not only forced me to draw on movies from a number of different eras, it also gave me an easy decision procedure when figuring out what to watch.
- The films in question must be notable in some way. I’m not following any particular list or cannon, but if they have won awards, or feature the work of directors, actors, or screenwriters that I admire, I’ll be more likely to watch them. The movies in question may not be the best produced in their given year, but they should at least be notable. For budgetary reasons, I’m largely dealing with what’s available on Netflix Canada, broadcasts on TCM, public revivals at various theatres in Halifax, and loans from friends. On occasion, I’ll rent something from the local video store in order to fill in any major holes.
- These must be movies I haven’t seen before. Even if I last saw a film 20 years ago, and can barely remember its plot or cast, it will not count for the purposes of the project. Here is a list of what I’ve watched so far.
- When I watch a movie at home, I take a picture of the title card with my cellphone, and enter its name, its year of production, the name(s) of its director(s), and the date watched into a spreadsheet. I’ve been keeping a little diary of thoughts about some of the movies I see. As the project moves forward, I may begin to share these thoughts online.
Here is a list of the movies I’ve watched so far:
1945
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Brief Encounter
|
David Lean
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12-03-31
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1946
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1947
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1948
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1949
|
The Third Man
|
Carol Reed
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12-04-21
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1950
|
All About Eve
|
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
|
12-05-07
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1951
|
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1952
|
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1953
|
I Confess
|
Alfred Hitchcock
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12-03-19
|
1954
|
Dial M for Murder
|
Alfred Hitchcock
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12-03-05
|
1955
|
Marty
|
Delbert Mann
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12-07-18
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1956
|
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1957
|
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1958
|
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1959
|
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1960
|
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1961
|
The Hustler
|
Robert Rossen
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14-May-12
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1962
|
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1963
|
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1964
|
The Naked Kiss
|
Samuel Fuller
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*****
|
1965
|
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1966
|
Harper
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Jack Smight
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15-May-12
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1967
|
Bedazzled
|
Stanley Donen
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12-07-10
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1968
|
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1969
|
Cactus Flower
|
Gene Saks
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12-05-13
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1970
|
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1971
|
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1972
|
What's Up Doc?
|
Peter Bogdonavich
|
12-03-31
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1973
|
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1974
|
The Conversation
|
Francis Ford Coppola
|
16-May-12
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1975
|
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1976
|
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1977
|
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1978
|
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1979
|
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1980
|
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1981
|
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1982
|
The Dark Crystal
|
Jim Henson & Frank Oz
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12-07-08
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1983
|
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1984
|
Stop Making Sense
|
Jonathan Demme
|
12-04-28
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1985
|
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1986
|
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1987
|
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1988
|
Running on Empty
|
Sidney Lumet
|
*********
|
1989
|
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1990
|
The Russia House
|
Fred Schepisi
|
12-02-24
|
1991
|
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1992
|
Orlando
|
Sally Potter
|
12-07-07
|
1993
|
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1994
|
Vanya on 42nd St.
|
Louis Malle
|
12-04-23
|
1995
|
Le Confessional
|
Robert Lepage
|
12-04-02
|
1996
|
Swingers
|
Doug Liman
|
12-06-23
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1997
|
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1998
|
Run Lola Run
|
Tom Tykwer
|
12-06-26
|
1999
|
Election
|
Alexander Payne
|
12-07-31
|
2000
|
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2001
|
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2002
|
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2003
|
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2004
|
Layer Cake
|
Matthew Vaughan
|
12-03-03
|
2005
|
Mirrormask
|
Dave McKean
|
12-04-25
|
2006
|
Marie Antoinette
|
Sofia Coppola
|
12-07-17
|
2007
|
The Lookout
|
Scott Frank
|
12-07-09
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2008
|
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2009
|
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2010
|
****
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****
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****
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2011
|
****
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***
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***
|
2012
|
****
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****
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****
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I’ve intentionally left the entries for the past three years
blank, since I’ve watched a number of movies from that time period, and I
haven’t decided which to use for the purposes of the project. The entries for 1964 and 1988 denote movies
I’ve committed to watch for the project, but have not yet seen. Please let me know if you have any suggestions about what I should watch next.