Habib Azar’s Top Ten Films of All Time

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 bent the rules a little, our profiled filmmaker Habib Azar explains why below, and keep in mind in less than a month, he’ll be presenting his debut film, Armless at Sundance. He gave us his top seven as of December 2009.

“I could never complete this task, even if I had months to do it. But after pondering it for 2 days, I have come up with 7 films that have a strong influence on my work right now. Our influences are always changing and our styles evolving, so a top 10 of all time is tough for me, but here are seven that have been in my head while working on Armless.”

A Bout de soufflé—Jean-Luc Godard (1959)
It doesn’t make any excuses for it’s characters. Godard just loves them for who they are.

Decasia—Bill Morrison (2002)
A mesmerizing film. It is elegant, beautiful and haunting. It simply creates beauty in the world without any pretense. I do think that the greatest example of Bill’s work is Light is Calling but I didn’t include that because it was a short.

Down by Law—Jim Jarmusch (1986)
This is a lesson in casting. Who cares about training, or experience, or ‘acting’. Do you want to watch the people on screen? Then that’s all that matters.

Eyes Wide Shut—Stanley Kubrick (1999)
I just really love the theme of this movie. Kubrick’s treatment of sexual fantasy vs. sexual reality is so dark and irreverent and on point.

La Traviata from the Salzburg Festival w/Anna Netrebko and Rollando Villazon. Directed by Brian Large (VIDEO)
Anna and Rollando have more chemistry and sex appeal in this production than anyone I’ve ever seen in Opera. Willy Decker’s staging is gorgeous and contemporary, and Brian Large’s video direction is perfect. The best opera DVD of all time.

Reservoir Dogs—Quentin Tarantino (1992)
It’s like an exercise. Put 8 people (or so) in a room and tell a story for 2 hours. I wish he never had those cut-aways and just stayed in the room the whole time.

The Shawshank Redemption—Frank Darabont (1994)
Simple and elegant storytelling. It is what I strive for in my own work.

Habib Azar’s Armless will have its world premiere in the NEXT section at the 2010 edition of the Sundance Film Festival.