La Science des rêves (Michel Gondry, 2006) aka The Science of Sleep

La Science des rêves (Michel Gondry, 2006)
Rating: 9.5

"I don't want to be spaghetti."

I found The Science of Sleep to achieve everything theorist's like Munsterberg and Arnheim want film to achieve. They differ from the realists in that they say film is art because of it's detachment from the real world and bring our fantasies to life. I found this to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing and surreal films I've seen. The narrative is messy, I agree, but we are meant to be seeing things through the eyes of a possible schizophrenic man who confuses his dreams and reality and I think Gondry was well aware of what he was doing. In the end the inability for life to live up to the expectations of the imagination is a heartbreaking reality that we can all relate to. The script truly is secondary and the visual style primary, but that is no reason to write it off. Abstract and experimental films as well as visual spectacles deserve to be championed just as narrative fiction films do, and The Science of Sleep gives us an enjoyable hybrid.

Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)

Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)
Rating: 9.5

"Why is life worth living? It's a very good question. For me, uh... ooh... I would say... what, Groucho Marx, to name one thing... uh... um... and Willie Mays... and um... the 2nd movement of the Jupiter Symphony... and um... Louis Armstrong, recording of Potato Head Blues... um... Swedish movies, naturally... Sentimental Education by Flaubert... uh... Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra... um... those incredible Apples and Pears by Cezanne... uh... the crabs at Sam Wo's... uh... Tracy's face..."

Rashômon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)

Rashômon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
Rating: 10

"I even heard that the demon living here in Rashômon fled in fear of the ferocity of man."

Miller's Crossing (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1990)

Miller's Crossing (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1990)
Rating: 7.3

The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)

The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)
Rating: 7.5

H2O (Ralph Steiner, 1929)

H2O (Ralph Steiner, 1929)
Rating: 8.2

Films of Robert Breer:

Blazes (1961) - 6.4

Recreation (1956) - 6.5

A Man and His Dog Out for Air (1957) - 7.0

69 (1968) - 5.0

Gulls and Buoys (1972) - 7.3

Fuji (1974) - 7.9

Rubber Cement (1976) - 6.8

Films of Bruce Conner:

A Movie (1958)
Montage of found footage that gradually builds up from small accidents to greater acts of tragedy.
Rating: 9.8

Cosmic Ray (1962)
music video prototype
Rating: 9.4

Report (1967)
Chronicles events after the assassination of JFK.
Rating: 9.7

Breakaway (1966)
Gorgeous Tony Basil dances in and out of revealing outfits...interesting rapid cutting and different frame rate effects.
Rating: 9.3

Take the 5:10 to Dreamland (1976)
Rating: 7.0

Valse Triste (1977)
Rating: 8.0

Fragment of Seeking (Curtis Harrington, 1946)

Fragment of Seeking (Curtis Harrington, 1946)
Rating: 6.3

Early American Underground psychodrama dealing with homosexuality. Interesting, but more like a student film production.

Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)

Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
Rating: 10

A memorable dream within a dream with countless meanings.

Komposition in Blau (Oskar Fischinger, 1935)

Komposition in Blau (Oskar Fischinger, 1935)
Rating: 9.7

Synesthetic abstract film in which every motion is synchronized with music.

Un chien andalou (Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, 1929)

Un chien andalou (Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, 1929)
Rating: 9.5

An amazing surrealist dream sequence that some consider to be the greatest surrealist film of all time.

The Seashell and the Clergyman (Dulac, 1928)

The Seashell and the Clergyman (Dulac, 1928)
Rating: 8.3

Early Surrealist film attempting to recreate oneiric state.

Regen/Rain (Joris Ivens, 1929)

Regen/Rain (Joris Ivens, 1929)
Rating: 10

A beautiful experimental/documentary hybrid.

Le Retour à la raison (Man Ray, 1923)

Le Retour à la raison (Man Ray, 1923)
Rating: 8.4

A classic dadaist masterpiece.

Ballet mécanique (Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy,1924)

Ballet mécanique (Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy,1924)
Rating: 8.4

Incorporates early use of prismatic lenses, and split screen as well as the 1st use of loop editing, to blend dadaism, surrealism, cubism, and futurism.

Symphonie diagonale (Viking, Eggeling, 1924)

Symphonie diagonale (Viking, Eggeling, 1924)
Rating: 8.2

Futurist painting in motion.

Rhythmus 21 (Hans Richter, 1921)

Rhythmus 21 (Hans Richter, 1921)
Rating: 7.4

An important early abstract film, although not the first, as Richter claimed.

Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986)

Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986)
Rating: 8.2

Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (Paul Crowder and John Dower, 2006)

Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (Paul Crowder and John Dower, 2006)
Rating: 5.8

Interesting subject, but suffers from cheesey editing and Pelé's refusal to interview.

Boksuneun naui geot (Chan-wook Park, 2002) aka Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Boksuneun naui geot (Chan-wook Park, 2002)
Rating: 7.9

Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)

Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)
Rating: 9.6

"To begin... To begin... How to start? I'm hungry. I should get coffee. Coffee would help me think. Maybe I should write something first, then reward myself with coffee. Coffee and a muffin. So I need to establish the themes. Maybe a banana nut. That's a good muffin."

The Cable Guy (Ben Stiller, 1996)

The Cable Guy (Ben Stiller, 1996)
Rating: 6.8

"Free cable is the ultimate aphrodisiac."

Shakhmatnaya goryachka (Vsevolod Pudovkin and Nikolai Shpikovsky, 1925) aka Chess Fever

Shakhmatnaya goryachka (Vsevolod Pudovkin and Nikolai Shpikovsky, 1925)
Rating: 7.7

Zemlya (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1930) aka Earth

Zemlya (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1930)
Rating: 8.5

Irréversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)

Irréversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)
Rating: 8.8

Konets Sankt-Peterburga (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1927) aka The End of St. Petersburg

Konets Sankt-Peterburga (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1927)
Rating: 9.2

Domino (Tony Scott, 2005)

Domino (Tony Scott, 2005)
Rating: 3.3

As expected, I was unimpressed with how derivative the story and writing was, but Scott is a solid director and seeing Keira naked was worth 1 star alone.

Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
Rating: 8.4

The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)

The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
Rating: 7.7

Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)

Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)
Rating: 9.5