Getting Away from Things That Get Bad: The ILX Road-Movie Poll Results Thread

36. (tie) Vagabond
38 points/4 votes/one #1

http://phildellio.tripod.com/36-vagabond.jpg

36. (tie) Down by Law
38 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/36-law.jpg

xp it's a shot from Aguirre.

Realised Hell or High Water should have been nominated as well.

Haven't seen Down by Law, which is strange in view of much I love Stranger Than Paradise. Maybe Excitable Italian Man has kept me away. The thing I remember about Vagabond is thinking that the ending may have partly inspired Twin Peaks.

"how much"

Benigni is fine in the movie. Perhaps assisted by the other characters treating him as the inconvenient annoyance that he is

I have a lifetime grudge against the man for stealing Nick Nolte's Academy Award.

good example of a trope key to the genre: the characters pass by something bizarre or unexplainable but make no comment on it.

Oh yes, definitely. Also made me lol @ RPG memory where I was GMing and made the characters drive past a Jurassic Park minigolf for literally no reason (this is probably only funny to me).

I did think about nominating Wise Blood as there's a lot of driving, but he doesn't ever actually manage to go anywhere. The line "a man doesn't need to be justified if he's got a good car" is A++ material for the poll, though.

35. Sullivan’s Travels
39 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/35-sullivan.jpg

I want to finish this up before 8:00...Thought this was great the one time I saw it years ago--clearly the blueprint for Bill Forsyth's great Comfort and Joy. Veronica Lake...sigh.

Wise Blood's another one I've got revisit.

I'm in typos-every-other-word mode.

Was thinking about A Good Man is Hard to Find as stuff in other mediums that would fit.

I remember reading a short story that I think was Flannery O'Connor--a mom and her adult son on a bus, arguing the whole way. It's not that, is it?

34. Inside Llewyn Davis
40 points/3 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/34-llewyn.jpg

xp that's Everything That Rises Must Converge.

Love Llewyn <3

Woah, didn't realize that we started this!

Catching up: Thelma and Louise and Sideways both came in towards the end of my ballot. The former might of ranked a little higher had I seen it more recently, and the latter I had already designated as the last film on my ballot because I see it as something as a thematic bookend to my #1 film (but more on that later, hopefully).

Aguirre, Children of Men and No Country For Old Men are all movies I love, but they didn't fit my own personal criterial for a road movie for one reason or another. I like Sullivan's Travels well enough, but didn't vote for it.

Need to see all the others.

As for Llewyn, I still haven't really warmed to it after a couple of re-watches in which I was expecting to do just that, but I'll likely give it another whirl some time down the, er, road.

(xpost) Right--memorable story.

Great film, although the explicitly road-film 20 minutes is my least favourite part.

Just checked your list--I haven't seen your #1, but the Sideways connection is intriguing.

32. Goin’ Down the Road
42 points/3 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/32-goin.jpg

Too many Canadians voting in this poll...The woman in the still, Sheila White, died within a year or two of Goin' Down the Road's release. If you ever see it, whatever you think of the film itself, you will never forget her or the one scene she's in.

Not enough road for me, but I adore it. And yes, that scene is absolutely gorgeous and haunting.

missed 33?

33. Kings of the Road
40 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/33-kings.jpg

Oops--you're right! Too anxious to get to Goin' Down the Road.

I had this pretty high. I think it's almost too self-conscious about its roadiness--Wenders clearly set out to make the definitive road film--but so many great moments and images.

31. Pierrot le Fou
42 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/31-pierrot.jpg

One of four directors to place three films, I think.

I'll resume tomorrow with #30-11. Same sporadic posting schedule during the day.

Nicholson's commentary track on The Passenger DVD is a model of intelligence. He shuts up when necessary, and can discuss shots and dissolves.

He also sounds like he's getting over the flu.

I didn't realize we had to designate a #1, and I gave equal high points to three films, so let the record show Kings of the Road had at least one #1. I thought it would place higher.

That was an easy fix the way I set up images.

If anyone else meant for something to be #1 and I didn't count it as such, let me know and I'll drop a revised image in there.

Um...I also missed #38 yesterday.

38. Into the Night
38 points/2 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/38-night.jpg

Good thing I meticulously set up a chart the night before, with everything that needed to be cut-and-paste all set ahead of time, including the image links. That way there'd be no foul-ups. (Other than skipping two spots, the results have been correct.)

This was the hardest image for me to figure out. I haven't seen the film, and I don't really have any sense of it. And a search didn't turn up anything that striking.

Here's #50-31:
50. Children of Men
49. Thelma and Louise
48. Sideways
47. The Sugarland Express
45. (tie) No Country for Old Men
          Alice in the Cities
44. Old Joy
43. The Passenger
42. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
41. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
39. (tie) Midnight Cowboy
          Dead Man
38. Into the Night
36. (tie) Down by Law
          Vagabond
35. Sullivan’s Travels
34. Inside Llewyn Davis
33. Kings of the Road
32. Goin' Down the Road
31. Pierrot le Fou

30. It Happened One Night
42 points/6 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/30-happened.jpg

I think it's been 40 years since I saw this--likely on Elwy Yost's show (Canada's venerable Robert Osborne-type movie host) in the late '70s. Don't remember much except the most famous scene (which I tried to avoid for the image).

29. Sightseers
43 points/4 votes/one #1

http://phildellio.tripod.com/29-sightseers.jpg

Hadn't even heard of this film until this poll--looked into ordering it, but a little pricey on Amazon.

28. The Wizard of Oz
43 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/28-wizard.jpg

Before my own munchkins arrive...I have seen this one.

Sightseers was another of mine - basically Nuts In May as serial killers.

if I'd voted I'd have put It Happened One Night very near the top, it invented so much

and is brilliant, not giving out marks just for being early

27. Vanishing Point
44 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/27-vanishing.jpg

Bought the DVD many years ago...I don't why, I just haven't been that keen on watching it.

Ok who was the other Into the Night voter

Sightseers is good but may actually be my least favoritr Jump/Wheatley movie

Vanishing Point also a winner in the "action narrated/directed by radio DJ" poll.

I can't fathom Into the Night as a road movie. Or a good movie.

It Happened One Night is one that I meant to rewatch for this poll, and I probably would have voted for it if I did.

Vanishing Point is another blind spot for me. Isn't that the one with the "tossing the homos out of the car" though?

love that description of Sightseers, Emily. didn't make my list, but even lesser Jump/Wheatley is great in my book.

Was unaware of Goin' Down the Road, but will search out, been enjoying Michel Brault and Jutra recently.

26. The Milky Way
45 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/26-milky.jpg

Like Fellini, not for me.

25. The Last Detail
47 points/6 votes/one #1

http://phildellio.tripod.com/25-detail.jpg

I'm not sure if I'd have it in my Top 20 American films for the decade, yet it's pretty much perfect.

The highest rated Jack on my ballot.

Glad I managed to re-watch the Milky Way before voting, it's a fascinating and beautiful piece and wound up in my top five.

Vanishing Point is another blind spot for me. Isn't that the one with the "tossing the homos out of the car" though?

I don't remember this! I gave it points based on what I did remember from when I last saw it as a teen, and that sense of epic expanse and nihilistic speeding.

I only know VP from the scene that's excerpted in The Celluloid Closet (if I'm thinking of the right film, that is)

I can't fathom Into the Night as a road movie. Or a good movie.

film consists entirely of driving around LA at night running into wacky characters/situations

I think that scene's pretty notorious--shows up in The Celluloid Closet. (The same scene is basically in Mean Streets.)

Well, I feel a bit gross about myself now. I mean, I know some of my favourites are problematic but at least I remember and note their problems, but here I just idly tossed off a vote for something without any reflection.

Don't feel gross. I don't even remember the similar scene in Mean Streets.

Went to a rep screening (sort of--they played the Criterion disc) of Something Wild tonight, first time I've seen it in 25 years at least. Liked it fine then and still do, although I like Married to the Mob even more.

Total road-movie material, with many requisite shots of rolling scenery. The darker, Ray Liotta section of the film was longer than I remembered. Affinities I felt with Blue Velvet at the time were still there. I'm sure the film has something to do with the Reagan moment, but seeing as I don't have any feel for that, the connection escapes me. I've seen Demme criticized for his weird treatment of African-Americans, but I think there's a basic generosity there.

So much music. There are only three or four things that really stood out for me, though. The one appearance of the Troggs is great, with Daniels sprawled all over the front seat and an overhead shot, timed to the music, as they pull out of frame. Beyond the reunion, there's some actual Feelies music--something really good from The Good Earth--as they're driving along. And Sister Carol.

Prompted by that ugly first post, I just looked around a bit and Photobucket is now asking you to pay $399 a year for third-party hosting.

Will get on that right away, Photobucket.

(xpost) "Slipping (Into Something)," my favourite song on The Good Earth.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90772/Something-Wild/music.html

TCM has The Rain People, Harry and Tonto, and Lost in America tonight; taking a wild guess that the theme is road movies .

I wish they were showing Joseph Strick’s Road Movie (1974), which is brilliant and has never had a video release in its proper aspect ratio

This poll was great. I have now seen Vagabond and would definitely have voted for it.

I remember liking <i>Fandago</i> when I was in high school. Yeah, it's Costner, but it's a good road movie.

Fandango is wonderful. One of Costner’s best performances. I’m very fond of the USC thesis film it was born from as well, Proof (1981)