1989's Best Movies: 30 Years Later

The runners up:

DEAD POETS SOCIETY (Peter Weir, 1989, USA, 128m, Col) #1057
SANTA SANGRE (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989, Mexico-Italy, 123m, Col) #1229
SWEETIE (Jane Campion, 1989, Australia, 97m, Col) #1246
PALOMBELLA ROSSA (Nanni Moretti, 1989, Italy-France, 87m, Col) #1320
SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE (Steven Soderbergh, 1989, USA, 100m, Col) #1368
ROUTE ONE USA (Robert Kramer, 1989, France-UK-Italy, 255m, Col) #1520
IMAGES OF THE WORLD AND THE INSCRIPTION OF WAR (Harun Farocki, 1989, West Germany, 75m, Col-BW) #1529
SAY ANYTHING... (Cameron Crowe, 1989, USA, 100m, Col) #1548
HEATHERS (Michael Lehmann, 1989, USA, 102m, Col) #1569
HOMEWORK (Abbas Kiarostami, 1989, Iran, 86m, Col) #1599
JESUS OF MONTREAL (Denys Arcand, 1989, Canada-France, 119m, Col) #1658
THE ABYSS (James Cameron, 1989, USA, 145m, Col) #1662
THE SEVENTH CONTINENT (Michael Haneke, 1989, Austria, 104m, Col) #1694
FREEZE DIE COME TO LIFE (Vitali Kanevsky, 1989, USSR, 97m, Col) #1704
DRUGSTORE COWBOY (Gus Van Sant, 1989, USA, 100m, Col) #1746
WHY HAS BOHDI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST? (Bae Yong-Kyun, 1989, South Korea, 135m, Col) #1763
YAABA (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1989, Burkina Faso-Switzerland-France, 90m, Col) #1836
BATMAN (Tim Burton, 1989, USA, 126m, Col) #1852
FIELD OF DREAMS (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989, USA, 106m, Col) #1868

tossup between Do The Right Thing and The Killer; Ernest Dickerson’s probably going to tip the balance.

(unless I unexpectedly see The Cook The Thief on 35mm with an audience tomorrow)

UHF (Jay Levey, 1989, USA, 97m, Col)

Spike

City Of Sadness, with Elephant coming 2nd, because as important and classic as it is - it's more like art than a movie. This post will self destruct before someone points at its contradictions or that it is total bollox!

Do the right thing and vote for spike

Crimes and Misdemeanors is an incredible movie, but I just don't think I can watch a Woody Allen film ever again, and don't really want to vote for one of his films either.

Will probably go with Do The Right Thing, which has been on my mind a lot lately, and is probably due a rewatch.

tossup between Do The Right Thing and The Killer

otm

Do the Right Thing and The Killer will be one and two, but A City of Sadness should be taught in film schools world wide, and with it's win of the Golden Lion that year, it's definitely one of the most important films of all time.

It's a beautiful movie with some stunning performances, an alltime fave. A Rossellini-esque masterpiece imo.

Do the Right Thing over Crimes and Misdemeanors. Might have gone with Heathers or Say Anything... had they made the main list. As usual, my knowledge of foreign films is embarrassing: Santa Sangre is the only non-US title on either list that I've seen.

I'd really love the opportunity to selectively prune whatever aggregate lists are in the mix to allow Dead Poets Society to be flirting with top 1,000 placement.

Eric, doll, you really should include the runnersup in these.

ie i have seen ROUTE ONE USA and WHY HAS BOHDI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST?

C&M doesn't exist without Alan Alda

sure it does, Landau, Huston and Allen are all good in it

I am much more offended by the high ranking of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... than DEAD POETS

as Wesley Morris wrote in an obit of romantic comedies recently, it started them on the road to oblivion.

All C&M has going for it are a couple performances and the editing -- the Eyes of God rubbish is easily dismissed, and the movie's unclear about whether we're supposed to sympathize with Clifford the schnook making boring documentaries or Lester the gladhandler who has a closetful of Emmys and pays for his niece's wedding without a hesitation.

Eric, doll, you really should include the runnersup in these.

I would, but there are some years that I'm almost positive would have over 50 films represented.

"that black spot on my back"

"it was on your shirt"

all I ask are jokes I can remember 30 years later.

that's from Hannah!

if it bends

My list from a couple years ago:

Enemies, A Love Story (Paul Mazursky)
Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant)
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch)
Say Anything... (Cameron Crowe)

I would not rank MT so high after rewatching it last March.

eh close enough

xxp

seeing as nobody mentioned it yet i'll throw the greenaway a vote with the caveat I've only watched half of these

I probably wd've picked Greenaway then (altho it didn't come to NYC til '90)

elephant is very good and if you haven't seen it you should.

voted for the killer tho

xp. it's on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzEbS-ukyk

That preview frame doesn't really match the tone of the movie.

Greenaway always felt a kindred spirit, with his aspie obsessions with lists and moral judgements, and when introducing him its always Cook... or The Draughtsman's Contract.

Love Time of the Gypsies but Underground and Black Cat, White Cat were my Kusturica introductions. Jesus of Montreal is a really well-contructed modern retelling of gospel. Sex, Lies, and Videotape has held up, though James Spader hasn't. Heathers was a fave when it came out, but its impossible to talk/think about it without reference to Columbine and later school massacres. I have Why Has Bohdi-Dharma Left for the East, but prefer Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ... and Spring as Korean Buddhist themed films go.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md8SmYeCeL8

Sex, Lies, and Videotape from the main list and list of runners-up; Casualties of War over everything.

Yeah, but Sex, Lies and Videotape isn't in the main list, so what from that?

Crimes and Misdemeanors. But I usually only vote if something on the main list is at least even with something that isn't, and in this case, that's not true.

The main list is short but I think it covers a lot of bases.

I mention Frederick Wiseman too often, but '89 was also Near Death, my second favourite film of his.

of the 3 i've seen (do the right thing, the killer, when harry met sally): no award

I mention Frederick Wiseman too often, but '89 was also /Near Death/, my second favourite film of his.

Other than WHY HAS BOHDI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST?, I've not seen any of the non-US films which predominate in these lists, so I won't vote. But of the US films listed, I thought Drugstore Cowboy was excellent, while the others, like Right Thing, Harry Met Sally, or Dead Poets, were just mostly OK.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

It's Do the Right Thing. Duh.

It's Elephant, but there's five classics on here.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

never saw City of Sadness, I would probably really love it, as it is I'm voting for Do the Right Thing

or would have if the poll hadn't already ended

The Cook, The Thief... is pretty amazing, I need to see more Greenway. Loved Belly Of An Architect too

I loved that film, want to see it again

The results of this one are imperialism.

---

Do the Right Thing and The Killer will be one and two, but A City of Sadness should be taught in film schools world wide, and with it's win of the Golden Lion that year, it's definitely one of the most important films of all time.

― Frederik B, Friday, 24 May 2019 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Me @ film school after a screening of City: "It's bangin'"