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

I should mention re: Badlands that I was like 17 when I saw it, ditto Days of Heaven. The two 70s Malicks are the only two of his I feel at all compelled to give another shot, so I'll get to them. Maybe they'll open up the rest of his filmography to me?

wins: I had PT&A pretty high on my ballot!

Definitely give those two another shot. Even though you see the roots of latter day Malick in them (well, mostly in DoH), they're different animals.

High five back atcha, WmC!

Also I have pretty much the same thing as cryptosicko wrt Badlands - saw it when I was around 17, don't recall it having a major impression on me, have disliked all other Malick films I've seen so I didn't prioritise giving it a rewatch.

I know PT&A will be something obvious but all I can read right now is "Paul Thomas & Anderson".

OH DUH, Planes, Trains... - I didn't vote for it but I do have a soft spot.

Badlands is interesting, but not one I really treasure. I've always felt a detachment from its fantasy.

i guess i will admit when i first saw Badlands in my late teens i thought it was just decent, but really fell in love with it on rewatch a few years later. has grown in stature with each successive viewing.

basically saying if you saw this at 17 and thought "whatever" you are missing out

parents teachers and association

My first allegiance was to the platonic ideal of the road movie rather than great film, period, so there are a few that couldn't show up on any other list (Leningrad Cowboys), but here's my ballot and points.

Stalker - 30
Walkabout - 25
Easy Rider - 25
The Straight Story - 20
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - 15
Dead Man - 8
Paris, Texas - 8
Stagecoach 8
Two-Lane Blacktop - 8
Wild Strawberries - 7
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure - 6
The Brave Little Toaster - 5
Badlands - 4
Leningrad Cowboys Go America - 4
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - 3
Lost in America - 3
Alice in the Cities - 3
The Sugarland Express - 3
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - 3
Down by Law - 2
Rain Man - 2
Taste of Cherry - 2
Smokey and the Bandit - 2
The Wages of Fear - 2
Slow West -2

Thanks for voting, everyone. Really enjoyed looking around for the images (sizing them and whatnot is a lot of work, for sure). I'll put the full list and a few extra stats up later...And my own ballot, which I don't have here.

still want to know who the other Into the Night voter was lol
― Οὖτις

The other person had it in his/her Top 5, each film getting 20 points. I'll leave it up to whomever to post if he/she wants to.

Thanks for the Letterboxd list, cryptosicko. I've seen 44, although again, a handful so long ago they may as well not even count.

My 15:

Y Tu Mamá También
The Grapes of Wrath
Lost in America
Paper Moon
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Wild Strawberries
The Wizard of Oz
The Last Detail
Five Easy Pieces
The Wages of Fear
Bonnie and Clyde
National Lampoon's Vacation
Thelma and Louise
Sideways

Funny that After Hours didn't place but Into The Night did after the discussion at the top. I like AH but it doesn't qualify enough for me and I haven't seen ITN.

Here's mine

Stroszek
Stalker
The passenger
Aguirre the wrath of god
Weekend
Midnight run
Five easy pieces
Two-lane blacktop
Badlands
Taste of cherry
L'avventura
Walkabout
Kill list
Gallivant
Radio on
No country for old men
The wages of fear
American honey
Duel
Sightseers
Certified copy
Wanda
Paris, Texas
Planes trains and automobiles
Twentynine palms

Didn't contribute anything beyond a ballot but looking forward to checking out some of the list, Goin Down the Road is on Youtube I notice

Sad Midnight Run didn't make it. That being an 18 is v lol 80s

Stroszek - 20
American Honey - 20
Paris, Texas - 20
Wild Strawberries - 15
Wendy & Lucy - 15
Stalker - 15
Five Easy Pieces - 15
Inside Llewyn Davis - 15
L’Avventura - 15
Badlands - 15
Messidor - 5
Stranger than Paradise - 5
Children of Men - 5
Aguirre, The Wrath of God - 5
No Country for Old Men - 5
La Strada - 5
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - 1
Embrace of the Serpent - 1
Branded to Kill - 1
Mad Max: Fury Road - 1
Fitzcarraldo - 1

Mine:

Stalker - 40
The Milky Way - 20
Walkabout - 20
Wanda - 20
Weekend - 20
Aguirre, the Wrath of God - 5
El Topo - 5
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! - 5
Breathless (À bout de souffle) - 5
Easy Rider - 5
Midnight Cowboy - 5
Nebraska - 5
Carnival of Souls - 5
Sightseers - 5
Bonnie and Clyde - 5
Vanishing Point - 5
The Straight Story - 5
Y Tu Mamá También - 5 <---- not actually the right film b/c I am an idiot
Zabriskie Point - 5
The Hitch-Hiker - 5
Stroszek - 1
Paper Moon - 1
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - 1
Stand by Me - 1
Kill List - 1

I would've like to have more of an arc to my points distribution but my maths is bad so I just went with one of clemenza's suggestions of blocks of the same points for a load of them.

*liked

Stranger Than Paradise
Breathless (1960)
La Strada
L’Avventura
Withnail and I
Something Wild
Corridor of Faces
The Trip (2010)
Badlands
Paris, Texas
Sullivan's Travels
The Milky Way
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Drugstore Cowboy
Sideways
Easy Rider
Lost in America
Kings of the Road
Stagecoach
Pierrot le Fou
Leningrad Cowboys Go America
Flirting with Disaster
The Wages of Fear
Harry and Tonto
Bonnie and Clyde

Also thought about voting for: Stalker, La Nuit de Varennes, Palm Beach Story, Buffalo ‘66 (but, ugh, gallo), Wild Strawberries, Scarecrow, Aguirre, Ride the High Country, It Happened One Night.

Didn't think about Walkabout, but that likely would have bumped its way in.

Oh, I didn't vote, but Stalker is possibly the best movie ever so

I did not vote but had I voted stranger than paradise and Wendy & Lucy would've got some big bumps up the ladder

My ballot:

Vagabond / 30
Sullivan's Travels / 16
Two Lane Blacktop / 11
Pierrot le Fou / 11
Paris, Texas / 10
La Strada / 10
It Happened One Night / 10
Je Tu Il Elle / 6
Stranger than Paradise / 6
Withnail & I / 6
The Straight Story / 6
Alice in the Cities / 6
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert / 6
The Wizard of Oz / 6
My Own Private Idaho / 6
Repo Man / 6
Stroszek / 6
The Last Detail / 6
Weekend / 6
Five Easy Pieces / 6
Dead Man / 6
Les rendez-vous d'Anna / 6
Wanda / 6
Y Tu Mama Tambien / 3
Easy Rider / 3

I bashed this out in five minutes just before the deadline on a day where I'd lived a mini-road movie in rural Texas

20 Point Films:

Two-Lane Blacktop
Something Wild
I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You*
Travels With Anna
Pierrot le fou

5 Point Films:

Easy Rider
Vanishing Point
Paper Moon
Wrong Move
Alice In The Cities
Paris, Texas
The Last Detail
La strada
Five Easy Pieces
Stranger Than Paradise
Y tu mama tambien
Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia
The Straight Story
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Harry and Tonto
Lost In America
Je Tu Il Elle
The Sugarland Express
Two For The Road
Weekend

*My go for broke passion vote. A Brazilian movie from 2009 that I saw (twice!) at a festival, on paper this looks like a boilerplate quirky road pic: a recently divorced geologist is sent out for an environmental impact research study Re:the building of a canal, which he semi-derails by going on a lengthy bender. What sets it apart is the execution. The whole thing is presented as a collage of home movies, faux-found footage, and POV shots, with most of the dialog being log entries read in voiceover by the unseen protagonist, a mixed bag of travelog descriptions of what's happening, memories of his wife, and fragments of the study he's supposed to be conducting. One of the best films I've ever seen on the function of memory, and a refreshingly successful genre de/reconstruction.

xp

Oh, nice that you were the #1 for Vagabond, ows - I'd love to see it, partly because as of now I've only watched one Agnes Varda film, but also I usually trust your taste in things.

didn't vote, but would probly have included this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXGXOeBw8ZQ

Thanks, emil.y: for the same reason, yr ballot reminds me how much I need to finally see Walkabout.

Xp

Also, thanks for running this poll, clemenza! Since you mentioned being interested in reading more about Wanda, it might be worth looking at Nathalie Léger's Suite for Barbara Loden, an excerpt from which is available here:

https://www.theparisreview.org/letters-essays/6820/barbara-wanda-nathalie-leger

I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You*
*My go for broke passion vote. A Brazilian movie from 2009 that I saw (twice!) at a festival, on paper this looks like a boilerplate quirky road pic: a recently divorced geologist is sent out for an environmental impact research study Re:the building of a canal, which he semi-derails by going on a lengthy bender. What sets it apart is the execution. The whole thing is presented as a collage of home movies, faux-found footage, and POV shots, with most of the dialog being log entries read in voiceover by the unseen protagonist, a mixed bag of travelog descriptions of what's happening, memories of his wife, and fragments of the study he's supposed to be conducting. One of the best films I've ever seen on the function of memory, and a refreshingly successful genre de/reconstruction.

This sounds brilliant, btw.

Sad Midnight Run didn't make it.

I really wanted to rewatch it for the poll, but couldn't find it anywhere. Haven't seen it since it whenever it was last in regular rotation on cable.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/wanda_zpsxcrjmeyg.png
http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/badlands_zpsyo4g7clj.jpg

Maybe road films are primarily about the secret contempt women harbor for the men they find themselves stuck in cars with.

1. The Straight Story – 23
2. The Sugarland Express – 20
3. Lost in America – 18
4. Goin’ Down the Road – 16
5. Five Easy Pieces – 13
6. Wendy and Lucy – 12
7. Stranger Than Paradise – 11
8. Kings of the Road – 10
9. American Honey – 9
10. Paris, Texas – 8
11. Midnight Cowboy – 7
12. Alice in the Cities – 6
13. Stroszek – 6
14. Wanda – 6
15. Jesus’ Son – 5
16. Almost Famous – 5
17. Aloha, Bobby and Rose – 4
18. Old Joy – 4
19. Bonnie and Clyde – 4
20. Sideways – 3
21. Lolita – 3
22. The Last Detail – 2
23. Harry and Tonto – 2
24. Nebraska – 2
25. Gerry – 1

I thought Jesus’ Son might sneak into the top 40 or 50. I'll post the full list shortly.

Am I the only one who voted for Into The Wild and Sherman's March? I expected the former to make the 20s or 30s rank.

ctrl+f dumb and dumber "Not found" ノಠ_ಠノ

Nick: each had you plus one other vote. Nothing for Dumb and Dumber.

I'm heading out right now, so I won't have the full list till later--sorry.

Shout Factory TV, of all places, has a ton of Herzog films free to watch — I'll try to catch Stroszek sometime soon.

Seriously, the print (if that's the right word) on YouTube is perfect.

My list. I judged based on having seen it (duh, but this eliminated a lot of them), how much I liked it (also duh, but qualified by how much it affected me at the time, so Vanishing Point, which I saw as a 14-year old, got a boost), and how "roady" it was. Several films I had seen and loved but couldn't remember what made them road movie worthy (L'Avventura), or disagreed with that status (Midnight Cowboy, Alice's Restaurant, Drugstore Cowboy).

Bless the Beasts I saw in high school, so is a sentimental YA favorite, and Crystal Fairy I watched on cable at random and was impressed by, though it's not a better movie than any of my lower-ranked movies. I just think it's very roady, and needs more publicity.

24 films, 200 points.

20 Kings of the Road (my #1, though not noted as such in my ballot)
20 Vanishing Point
20 Walkabout

15 Into the Wild
15 Sherman’s March
15 Two-Lane Blacktop

8 Badlands
8 Bless the Beasts and Children
8 Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus
8 Detour
8 Easy Rider

5 Duel
5 Lost in America
5 Old Joy
5 Stranger Than Paradise
5 The Passenger
5 Two for the Road
5 Wanda
5 Wendy and Lucy

3 Buffalo ‘66
3 Freeway
3 Electra Glide in Blue
3 Five Easy Pieces
3 The Milky Way

1. Badlands (114 points/10 votes)
2. Stalker  (105/4)
3. Bonnie and Clyde  (98/9)
4. Walkabout  (93/7)
5. Easy Rider  (82/10)
6. The Straight Story  (82/8)
7. Y Tu Mamá También  (73/8)
8. Stroszek  (72/7)
9. L’Avventura  (69/5)
10. Lost In America  (68/8)
11. Five Easy Pieces  (67/9)
12. Weekend  (67/6)
13. Paris, Texas  (64/8)
14. Wanda  (64/6)
15. Something Wild  (63/5)
16. Two-Lane Blacktop  (62/7)
17. Wendy and Lucy  (62/6)
18. La Strada  (60/5)
19. American Honey  (58/4)
20. O Brother, Where Art Thou?  (56/6)
21. Breathless  (54/4)
22. The Wages of Fear  (51/7)
23. Stranger Than Paradise  (49/7)
    Wild Strawberries  (49/7)
25. The Last Detail  (47/6)
26. The Milky Way  (45/4)
27. Vanishing Point  (44/5)
28. The Wizard of Oz  (43/5)
29.  Sightseers  (43/4)
30. It Happened One Night  (42/6)
31. Pierrot le Fou  (42/5)
32. Goin’ Down the Road  (42/3)
33. Kings of the Road  (40/4)
34. Inside Llewyn Davis  (40/3)
35. Sullivan’s Travels  (39/4)
36. Down by Law  (38/4)
    Vagabond  (38/4)
38. Into the Night  (38/2)
39. Dead Man  (37/4)
    Midnight Cowboy  (37/4)
41. Aguirre, the Wrath of God  (36/4)
42. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia  (33/5)
43. The Passenger  (33/3)
44. Old Joy  (32/4)
45. Alice in the Cities  (30/5)
    No Country for Old Men  (30/5)
47. The Sugarland Express  (29/4)
48. Sideways  (28/7)
49. Thelma and Louise  (28/4)
50. Children of Men  (27/3)
------------------------------------------------------------------
51. Travels with Anna  (26/2)
52. The Bird People in China  (25/1)
53. Drugstore Cowboy  (24/3)
54. The Muppet Movie  (24/2)
55. Planes, Trains and Automobiles  (21/4)
56. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure  (21/3)
    The Grapes of Wrath  (21/3)
58. Broken Flowers  (21/1)
    Going Places  (21/1)
60. Taste of Cherry  (20/3)
61. Into the Wild  (20/2)
    Sherman's March  (20/2)
    The Road Warrior  (20/2)
64. I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You  (20/1)
65. Midnight Run  (19/2)
66. Roadside Prophets  (19/1)
67. Nebraska  (18/5)
68. Paper Moon  (18/3)
69. Stand by Me  (17/3)
70. Almost Famous  (16/3)
    El Topo  (16/3)
72. Death Proof  (16/2)
    Mad Max: Fury Road  (16/2)
74. Festival Express  (15/2)
75. Goodbye Pork Pie  (15/1)
76. Scarecrow  (14/2)
    Stagecoach  (14/2)
78. Repo Man  (13/2)
79. Entertainment  (13/1)
80. The Darjeeling Limited  (12/1)
    Traffic  (12/1)
82. Harry and Tonto  (11/3)
    Freeway  (11/3)
84. Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert  (11/2)
    Detour  (11/2)
    Hair  (11/2)
    Je Tu Il Elle  (11/2)
    Withnail & I  (11/2)
89. 12 Monkeys  (10/2)
    Adventures in Babysitting  (10/2)
    Jesus’ Son  (10/2)
    The Brave Little Toaster  (10/2)
    Two for the Road  (10/2)
94. Corridor of Faces  (10/1)
    El Norte  (10/1)
    Güeros  (10/1)
    Man Push Cart  (10/1)
    The Night of the Hunter  (10/1)
    The Trip  (10/1)
    True Romance  (10/1)
    Until the End of the World  (10/1)
102. Duel  (9/1)
103. Electra Glide in Blue  (8/2)
    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas  (8/2)
    Fitzcarraldo  (8/2)
    Leningrad Cowboys Go America  (8/2)
    National Lampoon’s Vacation  (8/2)
108. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore  (8/1)
    Bless the Beasts and the Children  (8/1)
    Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus  (8/1)
    Natural Born Killers  (8/1)
112. Certified Copy  (7/2)
    Kill List  (7/2)
    Rain Man  (7/2)
115. Smoke Signals  (7/1)
116. Gerry  (6/2)
    It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World  (6/2)
    Slow West  (6/2)
119. Gallivant  (6/1)
    My Own Private Idaho  (6/1)
121. Borat  (5/2)
    Lolita  (5/2)
123. Beavis and Butt-head Do America  (5/1)
    Carnival of Souls  (5/1)
    Collateral  (5/1)
    Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!   (5/1)
    Follow That Bird  (5/1)
    Highway 61 (5/1)
    Kikujiro  (5/1)
    Life of Pi  (5/1)
    Messidor  (5/1)
    Radio On  (5/1)
    Raising Arizona  (5/1)
    Road to Singapore  (5/1)
    Road Trip  (5/1)
    The Hitch-Hiker  (5/1)
    Under the Skin  (5/1)
    Zabriskie Point  (5/1)
    Wrong Move  (5/1)
140. Aloha, Bobby and Rose  (4/1)
    Flirting with Disaster  (4/1)
    Hideous Kinky  (4/1)
    Landscape in the Mist  (4/1)
    Simple Men  (4/1)
    The Getaway  (4/1)
    They Drive by Night  (4/1)
147. Buffalo '66  (3/1)
    The Sure Thing  (3/1)
149. Journey to Italy  (2/1)
    Little Miss Sunshine  (2/1)
    Smokey and the Bandit  (2/1)
    Starman  (2/1)
153. Branded to Kill  (1/1)
    Embrace of the Serpent  (1/1)
    Magical Mystery Tour  (1/1)
    The Blues Brother  (1/1)
    Twentynine Palms  (1/1)

Enthusiasm (two or more votes):

1. Stalker (26.25 points/vote)
2. Into the Night (19.00)
3. American Honey (14.50)
4. Goin' Down the Road (14.00)
5. L'Avventura (13.80)
6. Breathless (13.50)
7. Inside Llewyn Davis (13.33)
8. Walkabout (13.29)
9. Travels with Anna (13.00)
10. Something Wild (12.60)

Too lazy to do directors. I know Wenders led with five of his films getting votes, and I think Jarmusch, Godard, and the Coens all had three. Pretty sure Nicholson led actors--four lead roles, one supporting--unless there's someone who was in all five Wenders.

Wenders - 5

Jarmusch - 4

Godard - 3
Coens - 3
Gus Van Sant - 3
Antonioni - 3
Herzog - 3

Go to bed, dummy.

I see Duel has 9 points but only one voter. I voted for it but I only gave it 5 points.

I see or something also had it in his/her list.

Yeah, that should say 9/2--you gave it 5, someone else 4. The points and the placement are right, though.

Since you mentioned being interested in reading more about Wanda, it might be worth looking at Nathalie Léger's Suite for Barbara Loden

Thanks--ordered a copy from Abe.

Second viewing of Certain Women, this time in a theatre. Felt about the same--great movie, wish I felt more strongly about it. It did really come through this time how much of a road movie it is. Lots of drivin', on four wheels and on four legs. Best shot is of Michelle Williams after they leave the guy with all the sandstone, everything reflected in the passenger window as she and her husband mildly argue. Can't find it online.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/films/2017/03/02/JS121527482_Handout-small_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpiVx42joSuAkZ0bE9ijUnGH28ZiNHzwg9svuZLxrn1U.jpg

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.