2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time

[Stavrogyn]

On December 1st, 2022, the results of the 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll have been revealed.

I won't spoil anything - you can open the link and explore the list for yourself (as well as the Directors' 100 Greatest Films of All Time list) - but I've got to mention that Blue Velvet was voted 84th and Mulholland Dr. 8th best film of all time.

 

[Tulpa]

Love Sight and Sound’s format for this. It’s always fascinating to see how the rankings for individual films ebb and flow between decades.

 

[Jasper]

Always fun to check these out.

The directors’ poll now includes Eraserhead:
Mulholland Dr. - #22
Eraserhead - #53
Blue Velvet - #73

2012 poll:
Blue Velvet - #69 [#59 in the directors’ poll]
Mulholland Drive - #28 [#75 in the directors’ poll]


I don’t want to pick on Mark Frost, but this is a good time to again post these fateful words:

Luke: "Did you understand what David Lynch's Mulholland Drive was all about?"

Frost: "It started as a conversation David and I were having about a sequel to Twin Peaks. We wanted to take the Audrey Horn character, played by Sherilyn [Fenn], to Hollywood. I proposed Mulholland Drive, which I lived on, as a title. He sold it as a pilot to ABC and then convinced the French that if he shot 45 more minutes, he could make something out of it. I haven't seen it. I heard it was a mess. I knew that the pilot was a mess.

Frost: “David's strength and weakness is that he is often able to transcend story because he's such a master creating mood. His failing is that he's not a strong storyteller. He doesn't have a lot of interest in telling a story. He's not as interested in character as fragments of personality. He's a surrealist."

Luke: "He's got a great eye for hot looking women."

Mark (smiles): "That was always one of his strengths. The mistake that people make about David is that they assume he's an ironist [saying the opposite of what he means]. He's not. He's a sincere simple guy. He doesn't work things out. He's not that good in logic. When people spend a lot of energy trying to figure out exactly what he meant by Mulholland Drive, I can assure you that he didn't know.

 

[Jackwithoneeye]

I remember those days people saying, oh it was just a TV pilot with a tacked on ending. Stunning to see Mulholland rising like this. Zipping right past The Godfather etc. Absolutely remarkable and well deserved. The film just gets better and better every time I watch it.

 

[Stavrogyn]

How many films from the main list have you seen?

My score is 47/100.

 

[Mb3]

For me it's only 29, if I counted right.

 

[Cappy]

I'm at 40/100.

 

[Cappy]

Always fun to check these out.

The directors’ poll now includes Eraserhead:
Mulholland Dr. - #22
Eraserhead - #53
Blue Velvet - #73

2012 poll:
Blue Velvet - #69 [#59 in the directors’ poll]
Mulholland Drive - #28 [#75 in the directors’ poll]


I don’t want to pick on Mark Frost, but this is a good time to again post these fateful words:

Having seen the tv pilot cut of MD, i can attest to the notion that it isn't great in that version. The editing does seem to clip or speed up certain sequences in a way that really hinders the development of the tone. Don't think I'd call it a mess though...

 

[Cappy]

I do wonder if Lynch/Frost hadn't had their falling out in the 90's, would we have somehow gotten a season or 2 of MH developed by both men?

Or better yet, a totally non-sensical hybrid of Lost Highway and Buddy Faro...

 

[AXX°N N.]

How many films from the main list have you seen?

My score is 47/100.

Beat me by 1! You go uncontested so far.

 

[eraserJoe]

For me it's only 29, if I counted right.

29 for me as well. Quite a few I've been meaning to watch.

 

[Jasper]

I’m not a film buff by any stretch, so I’m not surprised that I’m not among the elite viewers. I’m also not at all surprised that Stavrogyn is in the lead, (but, Stavrogyn, have you seen Whistle And I’ll Come To You from 1968, and Schalcken the Painter? If not, IT IS TIME!)

I counted 34. I might have missed one or two, as I almost missed a couple that I’d seen many, many years ago. If it’s been so long that you can barely remember it, what real meaning is there in having once viewed a given film? To say that I’ve "seen" such a film seems like a technicality, bereft of any real substance.

 

[AXX°N N.]

I’m not a film buff by any stretch, so If it’s been so long that you can barely remember it, what real meaning is there in having once viewed a given film? To say that I’ve "seen" such a film seems like a technicality, bereft of any real substance.

I had that exact thought when doing my count. The more I age, the less I trust the "got everything out of that one" feeling I only really had in my youth. I've had some shocking, even worrying experiences where I rewatch a film or relisten to an album (even ones to which I've done focused and deliberate watches / listens, to try and squeeze everything out) only to feel like I'd never actually experienced the thing with my eyes open.

 

[LateReg]

How many films from the main list have you seen?

My score is 47/100.

Sigh. All of them.

 

[Jasper]

Sigh. All of them.

I don't know whether I'm envious, or if I should recommend going out and getting some fresh air.

 

[LateReg]

I don't know whether I'm envious, or if I should recommend going out and getting some fresh air.

My mom comes down here sometimes and cracks open a window for me.

What I meant to say to Stavrogyn was...

I'll see your Vier Sieben and raise you : - ) ALL.

 

[Ickles]

48! What do I win?

 

[Jasper]

48! What do I win?

We’ve already handed the monetary award to @LateReg. Would you be willing to settle for a feeling of smug self satisfaction?

 

[Stavrogyn]

Thank you for the recommendations, @Jasper, I haven't seen those titles! As a matter of fact, I've never even heard of them until now.

As for our exciting competition here, I didn't expect to be placed in such a high position at all, so I'm quite satisfied, even if it's "only" third place. But, @LateReg, wow... Chapeau! (I was always poor at managing my time. One of the main reasons why I haven't seen more films in general is my social life, like yesterday, when I planned to see the restoration of La maman et la putain by Jean Eustache but went to a friend for a few beers instead.)

And, @Ickles, admit that you postponed reporting here before you saw a title or two more in order to gain an advantage over me! I saw 47 and you 48? Come on!

 

[AXX°N N.]

I'd like to report that my status has bumped up, having seen 2 more films from the list. Sorry Stavrogyn!

But in seriousness: Sans Soleil and La Jetée, and after about 2 hours Chris Marker is one of my new favorite directors. They were both overwhelmingly good and the kind of film (which is rare) that I'd say I could easily watch again right now, and more than once.

Honestly, I think I might just go through the rest of the list, I'm usually cold on these but all the ones I've seen I heavily jibe with.