Steven Hanley
Film programmer
UK
Voted for
| Film | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| After Hours | 1985 | Martin Scorsese |
| Birth | 2004 | Jonathan Glazer |
| AYNEH | 1997 | Jafar Panahi |
| Crumb | 1994 | Terry Zwigoff |
| They all Laughed | 1981 | Peter Bogdanovich |
| Buffalo '66 | 1997 | Vincent Gallo |
| 45 Years | 2014 | Andrew Haigh |
| Blow Out | 1981 | Brian De Palma |
| Trees Lounge | 1996 | Steve Buscemi |
Comments
After Hours
Possibly the most stressful film ever made.
Birth
A haunting meditation on loss and grief.
AYNEH
I've watched this countless times and I'm still in awe of the the interplay blurred lines between documentary and narrative fiction.
Crumb
For me Crumb (1994) is the greatest documentary of all time.
This grainy portrait of the underground comic book artist is raw, honest and unflinching but made with a true tenderness towards the elusive and eccentric subjects.
They all Laughed
Peter Bogdanovich sweet and playful screwball set across the streets of a now vanished New York City is a joy to behold.
Buffalo '66
A love story about two lonely people, there isn’t another movie that looks quite like this. The colour palette and aesthetics are a world unto themselves. Everything is obsessively curated by Gallo, down to his red boots, and the film was made using a now defunct Kodak reversal film stock.
45 Years
On the eve of their sapphire wedding anniversary an elderly couple's life is disrupted when the husband receives a letter saying that the body of his first love has been found frozen and preserved. From this outrageous premise comes one of the most affecting films in modern cinema. Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling both give the performance of a lifetime (no easy feat considering their careers) as a husband and wife reckoning with this information that has shook their marriage...and how can we forget that unforgettable slow dance set to The Platters’ classic “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”.
Blow Out
De Palma's masterpiece, made with such flair and pure technical virtuosity. A doomed romance steeped in paranoia. Travolta gives the performance of his career and Blow Out packs one of most devastating endings ever put to screen.
Trees Lounge
The criminally overlooked debut by Buscemi who plays an unemployed mechanic who spends most of his time in a bar is one of the underseen masterpieces in new American cinema.
Further remarks
Huge heartfelt thanks for considering me to contribute to this list.
To have my voice alongside so many master film makers, thinkers and writers is really special.