Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of filmmakers? As part of our monthly IONCINEPHILE profile (read here), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of all time favorite films. This month we profile Tao Ruspoli, helmer behind Fix which ropens November 20th at the Village East in NY. He gave us his top ten (as of November 2009).
8 1/2 (1963) Federico Fellini
I’m sure this film has been on this list 100 times, and probably always for slightly different reasons. To me 8 1/2 is a brilliant exploration of one man’s issues with time and aging (notice all the watches and clocks in the film!), with his complicated relationships to the women of his life, with imagination and the creative process, and with the complexes that come with growing up Catholic. Of course, as a film director and an Italian this film is especially close to my heart.
À bout de souffle (1960) Jean-Luc Godard
Godard’s Breathless is the film that made me want to become a filmmaker. I saw it my freshman year in college and I couldn’t believe how a director could take a few great characters and a mostly hand-held camera and make a film that said so much about life in a world in which absolute values had become irrelevant (both filmically and ethically.) And what a face Belmondo had!
The Conversation (1974) Francis Ford Coppola
I just love the mood of this film. Those wonderful 70’s color tones, that sound design and soundtrack…Also we must take a moment to recognize the brilliant production design by Dean Tavoularis (who also did both the Godfather films)–he brought a subtle elegance to these films that is unmistakeable and one of the key ingredients to Coppola’s genius.
Every Man for Himself and God Against All (aka: The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser) (1974) Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog may be my favorite filmmaker and this is my favorite film of his.
The Godfather & The Godfather: Part II (1972 & 1974) Francis Ford Coppola
The Godfathers 1 & 2: I know this is two films, but we’ve gotta count them as one if I can only have 10 films! Elegant, gripping, subtle, brilliantly acted, designed, shot and edited.
Jules et Jim (1962) François Truffaut
God it’s hard to sum up the importance of these films in a few sentences! I think Truffaut put it nicely when he said about this film that he wanted to show that “Monogamy doesn’t work, and everything else is worse.” I could watch this film 100 times–each character is so complex and so honest and the film itself is simultaneously light hearted and profound.
The Lives of Others (2006) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Simply one of the most perfectly executed films I have seen in recent years.
Man With the Movie Camera (1929) Dziga Vertov
Dziga Vertov’s silent masterpiece is a thrilling and evocative celebration of the possibilities of the film medium–and it’s still exciting to watch 80 years later.
Persona (1966) Ingmar Bergman
I know, I know, this is turning into a pretentious list of old European films, but how can we leave out Bergman? He’s not afraid to tackle the big issues: the search for meaning, identity, and the prospect that even if there is a God s/he appears to be completely silent and unhelpful. Bleak and beautiful.
Sunset Blvd. (1950) Billy Wilder
Along with Double Indemnity, my favorite noir.
