86 critics participated in the Voice poll this year. Full results will published in a few days. Here’s their top ten:
1. “The Master”
2. “Zero Dark Thirty”
3. “Holy Motors”
4. “Moonrise Kingdom”
5. “This is Not a Film”
6. “Amour”
7. “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia”
8. “The Turin Horse”
9. “Lincoln”
10. “Tabu”
Steve50,
Now lounging in my Grinch booties, I may have been generalizing a bit, but just a bit to make a point.
It’s a little like what Rolling Stone Magazine used to be: fancying themselves as the arbiters of ‘cool’ or ‘culturally important’. The Voice has always fancied themselves as the arbiters of …..not sure – dismissing what everybody else likes I guess. You can almost predict how the Voice will review certain directors, types of films etc….That to me is dishonest, see, somehow pre-ordained.
Like you wonder if before they get hired, they have meet some criteria of snark or condescension. Maybe not, maybe I just don’t get it.
Yvette, sitting here in my Costco slippers, I went through the top tens of Sarris and Hoberman and will concede your point, partially (esp. Hoberman), that their standard “dislikes” do have a pattern.
Since it was founded in 1955, the VV has favored the more obscure, although Sarris would throw the odd bone to the most unusual mainstream efforts (like Blake Edwards’ SOB) as well as films like The French Connection.
When the “left” was upset by the special honor bestowed on Kazan a few years ago, Hoberman criticised it, but not because Kazan’s body of work was “unworthy” – he just didn’t see the point when so many careers were destroyed by the HUAC.
While I don’t agree that they look down on populist fare, it is seldom included in the annual roundups where VV does tend to promote the lesser seen films. It all evens out in the legacy lists that pop up every decade or so, and I guess that’s what matters in the long run.
But – you are right on your point.
(bad day yesterday – my own knee-jerk reaction synapse issues resulted in this concession and an apology to Portugal. gawd, I have to hide my the keyboard)
And Steve, the point about VV and hating Kazan, Wise, Hitchcock etc… Is that now they’re established classics…,but in the 50s, 40s… The Voice might have deemed them mainstream, populist crap embraced by a stupid populist movie-going public.
I’ll kick off my Luchesse boots and watch Schindler’s List.
Not referring to this list ….I mostly agree, but simply agreeing with Robbie that its surprising that a Spielberg film makes the list. I’ve reading the Voice film reviews forever…they can be fun and snarky, but they do have their standard dislikes that seem uniform.
oops. Apologies to Portugal.
STEVE50… TABU is actually a PORTUGUESE film with PORTUGUESE actors from a PORTUGESE director.
The film is a PORTUGESE-brazilian-french-german co-production
I wasn’t aware it was part of a series (are Late Spring and Early Summer the first two?) – stands very well on its own.
So I’ve never seen Tokyo Story but read that it’s the third in a series of three. Should I see the first two before checking it out?
Great list! and wonderfull to see Tabu popping up again. It also seems to be holding its own on the CriticsTopTen site that rufus references, sitting at #15, on 14 top ten lists and named best of the year on two.
Paulh – stay away from Tabu because its in black and white and Brazilian and you won’t even be able to stick with it long enough to attack its narratives or themes. It’s DEET for the blockbuster set.
Yvette, pour yourself an egg nog, kick off those Manolo Blahniks, and have a read of what the Village Voice critics listed as their top 100 films of all time:
http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html
Not even the vapors of a leftist agenda in evidence.
Wow, Yvette, it looks like you’re the one with the bias here. To me, this Village Voice list signals a strong point of view, one that’s simultaneously intellectual and forward-thinking. And while that may not match your reasoning, I assure you that it’s quite actual.
Tabu? WTF is this movie? A NY-only engagement?
Robbie: ‘Wow, I can’t believe a Spielberg film actually made it onto a Village Voice top ten list.’
Yeah, I was expecting the standard, condescending pan for Lincoln. The Voice is the most predictable consensus (if you can call it that)for film review. They have their loves and hates – without much regard to actual reasoning. They are the ultimate contrarians.
If they had been around in the 40s, 50s…. Hitchcock would have been their Spielberg…they probably would have despised Kazan, Wise.
I don’t like to be able to predict a film review…that stinks of bias.
So happy to see another top ten with Tabu listed. My second favorite film behind Beasts
Wow, I can’t believe a Spielberg film actually made it onto a Village Voice top ten list. They’ve always (well, generally) been Spielberg detractors for as long as I can remember (they hated Schindler’s List, if memory serves).
Glad to see Moonrise Kingdom, Turin Horse, and This is Not a Film make it on here.