Paying Homage to 2008
Okay so the ridiculously talented Matt Shapiro, who created the 2007 video we all love and adore, kindly sent me the link to his compilation for this year. It begs the question, are the movies this good or is Matt just great at making us see how good they were? Because watching this makes it seem like 2008 was just as good as any of them. Thank you, Matt.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DNI94BXMj4[/youtube]
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[...] Because watching this makes it seem like 2008 was just as good as any of them. Thank you, Matt. Click here to view the embedded video. paying [...]
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[...] Shapiro, creator of 2008: The Cinescape has started a website of particular significance. A documentary series on South Africa, more [...]
Zach Heltzel says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:09pm
Great stuff, that is.
Paddy M says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:12pm
Brilliant indeed
Although is it just me or was there no Changeling? I know it’s not necessarily meant to be a video of the best films of the year (I loved Changeling, actually) but surely it made enough of an impact to warrant an inclusion.
Also, would have loved to have seen my very favorite film of the year, Hunger, in the mix. But you can’t have them all! Great video regardless!
Garrett Stiger says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:13pm
I love “Hoppipola!”
Very strong video. I prefer last year’s, but that probably has more to do with the crop of films than Mr. Shapiro’s talents.
tmoves says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:14pm
I don’t know, Sasha, but Sigur Rós always helps!
Thanks Matt. Trés cool!
HaroldsMaude says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:17pm
Yep, I”d say it has to do more about Matt’s talent than the quality of this year’s crop. Oddly, though I’ve seen most of the films in the montage, it felt oddly empty. Maybe not enough Milk, The Visitor, or Slumdog.
Thanks again, Matt.
JR says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:25pm
Great video
The Natural says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:29pm
Awesome! And no, I felt it was a very good year. Any year with The Dark Knight, Milk, Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, WALL-E, Slumdog Millionaire, Man on Wire, Burn After Reading, Australia, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, Rachel Getting Married, The Wrestler, Synecdoche, New York, and Happy-Go-Lucky is good by me. As many flat-out masterpieces as 2007? No, maybe not, but a heck of a good crop anyway.
Dan says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:29pm
Needs more Swedish vampirism.
Waltizzle!!! says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:50pm
The last clip speaks volumes!!! Save the best for last!!!!
Daniel says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:01pm
Beautiful! Not quite as good as last year, obviously, but that has nothing to do with the video-making quality but the quality of the films released this year, as others have said.
Although I don’t know if this year has been quite as bad as everyone is making it out to be!
And Hoppipola is one of my favorite songs.
Now I’m off to watch the 2007 vid again
Chris Price says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:07pm
There’s about 50-55 movies shown in the clip. I’ve seen exactly 40 of em. Nice.
And my official comment on the year in movies is that 2007 had a better fall, 2008 had a MUCH better summer. Notice the amount of explosions, things blowing up, and people getting shot at or punched. It was a great summer for popcorn flicks that even carried a bit into the fall, but there weren’t many great movies in the way of harsh realism, at least not like last year. I guess its appropriate given the times, but 2008 was definitely about fantastic escapism.
LacunaDarko says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:09pm
Finally, thanks to Slumdog, Sigur Ros is getting the recognition they deserve!
Great video, ill have to go check out last years now =]
RichardA says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:18pm
Great video. Maybe Matt could edit those films to make them better. He sure made 2008 seem more interesting.
Joao Mattos says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:23pm
Amazing, great sense of pacer. Even those films I have not yet see (most of them), I could recognize. But there is some exceptions. For instance, the tow guys in suits just before Clint in “Gran Torino”.Who are they? From which film? Somebody can name them all?
Jake says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:27pm
Joao, there is a list of all the films in the order they appear in the montage in the description bar on the youtube link. The people you’re referring to are the title characters from “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”.
Chris Price says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:28pm
Also, last year around this time I remember us throwing an incredibly large list out there of all the worthy films we saw come down the pike. Let’s start this year’s list up and really see how it all stacks up. I’ll get started and I would love the list to be amended. I understand not everyone is gonna agree with the inclusion of certain movies but let’s try to at least be partially objective and accept that some of us really loved these movies. Alphabetical order like last year:
American Teen
Appaloosa
Australia
Ballast
The Bank Job
Beaufort
Be Kind, Rewind
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Blindness
Boy A
Brideshead Revisited
The Brothers Bloom
Burn After Reading
Cadillac Records
Cassandra’s Dream
Changeling
Che
Choke
Chop Shop
A Christmas Tale
The Class
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father
Defiance
Doubt
The Duchess
The Edge Of Heaven
Elegy
Encounters At The End Of The World
The Fall
Flash Of Genius
Flight Of The Red Balloon
Flow
The Foot Fist Way
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
Gardens Of The Night
Ghost Town
The Go-Getter
Gommorrah
Good
Gran Torino
Hamlet 2
Happy-Go-Lucky
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hunger
In Bruges
Iron Man
I’ve Loved You So Long
JCVD
Kung Fu Panda
Let The Right One In
The Lucky Ones
Man On Wire
Married Life
Milk
Mongol
My Winnipeg
Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Nothing But The Truth
The Order Of Myths
Paranoid Park
Pineapple Express
Rachel Getting Married
The Reader
Redbelt
Religulous
Revolutionary Road
Rocknrolla
Role Models
Savage Grace
Shotgun Stories
The Signal
Slumdog Millionaire
Snow Angels
Son Of Rambow
Special
Speed Racer
Still Life
Stop-Loss
Sukiaki Western Django
Synecdoche, New York
Tell No One
Timecrimes
Transsiberian
Tropic Thunder
Trouble The Water
Under The Same Moon
Valkyrie
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Visitor
W.
The Wackness
WALL-E
Waltz With Bashir
Wendy And Lucy
The Wrestler
Zach And Miri Make A Porno
Alexander Coleman says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:52pm
It’s honestly scary how many movies there are, year after year.
I agree with Chris Price that the summer of 2008 beats 2007′s Summer of Threequels, even if 2007′s fall remains the stuff cinematic dreams are made of.
As Chris notes, this exceptional video package demonstrates just how stronger this past season was, with more high-concept, mainstream cinema showcased tthan in last year’s package by Mr. Shapiro.
Marshall says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 6:30pm
Sure were a lot of bombs this year. Great video.
Eli A. says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 6:37pm
I love this guy’s work. Paralyzed with chills with this one. A-ma-zing. Probably one of the best compilation videos I’ve ever seen.
Chris Price says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 7:04pm
I just realized that on the list I did there’s exactly 100 movies from this year. That was by accident.
Jennybee says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 7:23pm
Great video. That must take a lot of work.
Chris Price, that’s a pretty comprehensive list already. But I do think 2007′s list was much richer. Most of these films have at least something to recommend them; most of 2007′s had many many things to recommend them.
Still, good work. Glad I didn’t have to compile it.
Dillon says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 7:24pm
Now this is what I’m talking about… I thought last year’s was excellent… but look at this… it’ a beautiful video.
ThermosDay says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 8:37pm
From watching this video, you’d think all we saw this year were violence and explosion-filled movies. I guess those are the ones I skipped. I respect the effort it took to put this together, but there are plenty of quiet movies this year that were great–and most are not reflected in the video.
Last year’s was wonderful. I wish I could find the link for it.
Jonah says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 8:38pm
Love the last moment as well (gotta second someone above me’s props for that) and I also love, love Seth Rogen flying.
Ken says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 10:11pm
This and the 2007 recaps were amazing. I didn’t even realize this is the same guy who made the Dark Knight/Watchmen trailer (have had that video favorited for a while). This guy is REALLY good at editing.
Honestly, he should be making trailers for a living.
Jen1 says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 10:34pm
That was lovely. For me, every time “The Dark Knight” and “Revolutionary Road” (or Kate/Leo) showed up, I got a bit more emotional. *sigh*
(Thanks for this!)
k says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 10:53pm
Beautiful!
michael says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 11:03pm
He does a great job and I love how his comp is becoming a tradition!
But the ’07: Drama post is KILLER. Was just a much better year imo.
As much as I love Sigur Ros, the Once song just pullllllls at the heartstrings, I dare you not to watch last years and not get choked up.
Thanks for posting and to Matt for creating it.
Bill Condon needs to hire this guy.
JAB says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 11:50pm
brilliant compilation of a year full of flawed-almost-masterpieces.
and I love Sigur Ros!
Chris Price says:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 11:56pm
Jennybee, if you or anyone else has any amendments to the list I’d love to hear about em. And I completely agree about 2007. The sheer number of classics last year was just insane. I’m gonna try and find the 2007 list for contrast.
Chris Price says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 1:21am
Here’s a pretty good 2007 list. Its also exactly 100 movies. Pretty sure this list wins:
12:08 East Of Bucharest
1408
300
3:10 To Yuma
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
Across The Universe
After The Wedding
Alexandra
Alpha Dog
American Gangster
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
Away From Her
The Band’s Visit
Bee Movie
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
Black Book
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Brave One
Breach
Bridge To Terabithia
Bug
Charlie Wilson’s War
Climates
Control
Crazy Love
Dan In Real Life
Darfur Now
The Darjeeling Limited
Death At A Funeral
Deep Water
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Eastern Promises
Enchanted
First Snow
Gone Baby Gone
Grace Is Gone
Grindhouse
Hairspray
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
The Hoax
The Host
Hot Fuzz
I Am Legend
I’m Not There
In The Shadow Of The Moon
In The Valley Of Elah
Into The Wild
Jack Smith And The Destruction Of Atlantis
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
Juno
King Of California
The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters
The Kite Runner
Knocked Up
La Vie En Rose
Lady Chatterley
Lake Of Fire
Lars And The Real Girl
Look
The Lookout
Lust, Caution
Margot At The Wedding
Michael Clayton
A Mighty Heart
The Mist
My Kid Could Paint That
The Namesake
No Country For Old Men
No End In Sight
Ocean’s Thirteen
Once
The Orphanage
Paprika
Paris, je t’aime
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Rescue Dawn
The Savages
Sicko
Silent Light
The Simpsons Movie
Stardust
Starting Out In The Evening
Sunshine
Superbad
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Syndromes And A Century
Talk To Me
Tekkonkinkreet
There Will Be Blood
This Is England
Things We Lost In The Fire
The TV Set
Waitress
We Own The Night
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Year Of The Dog
Zodiac
Zoo
Daniel says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 1:42am
Chris, reading through that 2007 list made me really emotional (so many films to be passionate about)!
Thanks for posting it!
KK says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 2:19am
Anyone have the link to the 2007 vid? I think I missed that one.
John says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 6:28am
I think people are correlating (sp?) 2007 as a better year for movies because 2007 WAS a better year for a lot of people, in general (mainly due to the economy); maybe perceptions are skewed, a bit?
Perhaps not. 2007 does seem to be stronger as far as “masterpieces” go. However, I think I actually ‘liked’ more films than last year, if that makes sense.
Paul Outlaw says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 10:32am
Comparing the ’07 list (#32) to the ’08 list (#16) I notice that there are about twice as many films on the ’07 list that I like/love/admire. (And I remember a few that were missing from the lists, too.)
Chris Price says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 12:23pm
Paul, I would love to know what those other films are, I was sure as I was putting it together that certain films were being forgotten.
Paul Outlaw says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 12:49pm
Mamma Mia!, Last Chance Harvey off the top of my head.
Finn BV says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 1:15pm
Chris, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian also made a couple of appearances.
That’s a spectacular montage. I also just got really obsessed with that song. Something is telling me I really need to buy the Slumdog soundtrack.
Chris Price says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 1:47pm
Yeah, Paul, keep em coming! If I missed out on such high profile movies, imagine how many smaller films are being forgotten!
Paul Outlaw says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 6:50pm
Madagascar 2, The Mummy 3, Rambo, Quantum of Solace, Untraceable, Fool’s Gold, Definitely Maybe, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Chicago 10, The Mother of Tears, Wanted, The House Bunny…
Benny says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 7:31pm
Love it. But it’s obvious a man did this. Where’s Sex and the city, Mamma Mia, Baby mama, Changeling, The sisterhood of the traveling pants 2, 27 dresses?
Paul Outlaw says:
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 7:34pm
Oh yeah, Benny just came up with a couple more, Chris: Sex and the City, Baby Mama, 27 Dresses and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Marcy says:
Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 9:06pm
Almost squeezed a few tears out of me.
I love montages–this video was no exception.