Christian VIVIANI

Comments

Rear Window

Hitchcock has always been my favorite director. Sometimes my favourite Hitchcock film is Vertigo, sometimes Psycho, sometimes Rear Window. This year it's Rear Window, because of its perfect screenplay, its outstanding cast and its visual beauty and excitement

8½

The blending of very intimate thoughts and feelings and a sense of audience reaction makes 8 1/2 a film both incredibly deep and entertaining

French Cancan

To me it is the most underrated of Renoir's masterpieces. It radiates pure joy and bliss. It is one of the greatest hymns to art and showbusiness, both closely blended

The Searchers

After many viewings, it is still mesmerising and full of mystery. It looks so simple and it is actually so intricate. The art of John Ford is almost impossible to appreciate fully. This film tells so much about the US, of course, but also about history and about the contradictions which are the stuff human nature is made of.

Touch of Evil

How to blow a regular pulp novel up into Shakespearean proportions. Welles's handling of it is both tragic and incredibly fun and graceful. The camera seems to know no limits. Space, time or technique do not seem to limit the camera possibilities.

Sunrise A Song of Two Humans

The apex of silent movies! Every bit of set, of light, of movement is necessary and meaningful. It all seems effortless.

Trouble in Paradise

There has never been a sophisticated comedy like Trouble in Paradise. You can watch it over and over again and still be enchanted by the camera's graceful evolution, the perfect timing, the sparkling dialogue, the elegant performances. The clocks bit is pure delight.

Ivan the Terrible

I include the two parts. Politically and historically, Ivan the Terrible is a perfect study, all media included. And visually it is breathtaking: it is both eye-catching and without mercy in its description of the perversity of power and the loneliness and craziness it causes.

Madame de...

To me, love has never been been better depicted on the screen. It is like Mozart: light and tragic. The most overwhelming love words are when Louise (sublime Danielle Darrieux) expresses the deepness of her love by saying to the man repeatedly: "Je ne vous aime pas."

A Star Is Born

A perfect blending of musical, melodrama, comedy, color and still one of the most masterful use of wide screen. Cukor's greatness is certainly underrated. He is probably the best actors' director that ever was.

Further remarks

It is so difficult to limit oneself to 10 titles. This list should be precisely dated as far as I am concerned. On July 21st at 8.20, this is my list. At 8.21 the list would probably differ. But it is fun to play the game by the rules.