The 100 greatest films directed by women : A critique of method and / or purpose¹
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The 100 greatest films directed by women : A critique of method and / or purpose¹ (work in progress)
BBC Culture polled 368 film experts from 84 countries in order to find the best films from female film-makers – here’s the top 100
One had already heard that BBC Culture introduced its list this year by saying There was one stark statistic that jumped out from the results of last year’s BBC Culture poll to find the 100 greatest foreign-language films of all time : just four out of that 100 were directed by women :
However, despite at least one list with a deficiency, does it seem that BBC Culture has been intent, in setting up this new list of 100 films, in not learning lessons ? In other words, rather than a list that recommends as many as six films directed by the lately deceased Agnès Varda (and another five of Kathryn Bigelow's, so more than 10% of the 100 between them), maybe it could have been limited to just one film each (a maximum of two) by the best 100 or so female directors...
At #UCFF, with a paucity of film-writing¹ in 2019, we're instead astounded to realize that, when we saw Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) on release, or Sleepless in Seattle (1993), they would be nos 58 and 83 in @bbcCultureShow's new list², respectively :https://t.co/YlqO6QJ3UV— THE AGENT APSLEY #ScrapUniversalCredit #JC4PM2019 (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) December 19, 2019
And, if one looks at the list by decade² (tallying them by release-date), how well is the history of film-making really represented ? As the second set of figures in square brackets shows below : 23% of these greatest films were released in or after 2011 (which rises to 43% of the films, when one adds those from the preceding decade) ; the majority are from the last three decades ; and only 16% were released before 1971.
By decade² (number of films chosen per decade, and an increasing / decreasing tally in square brackets) :
* 1910s : 1 [1 / 99]
* 1920s : 2 [3 / 97]
* 1930s : 2 [5 / 95]
* 1940s : 3 [8 / 92]
* 1950s : 1 [9 / 91]
* 1960s : 7 [16 / 84]
* 1970s : 13 [29 / 71]
* 1980s : 12 [41 / 59]
* 1990s : 16 [57 / 43]
* 2000s : 20 [77 / 23]
* 2010s : 23 [100 / 0]
[...]
Enough of the Tweets, etc. ! Here (with needful changes³) is the list of 100 films [as annotated⁴] :
1. The Piano (1993) ~ Jane Campion (1) [English, British Sign Language, Maori]
2. Cléo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) (1962) ~ Agnès Varda (1) [French]
3. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles ~ Chantal Akerman (1) [French]
4. Beau Travail (1999) ~ Claire Denis (1) [French]
5. Lost in Translation (2003) Sofia Coppola (1) [English, Japanese, German, French]
6. Daisies (Sedmikrásky) (1966) ~ Věra Chytilová [Czech]
7. The Hurt Locker (2008) ~ Kathryn Bigelow (1) [English, Arabic]
8. Toni Erdmann (2016) ~ Maren Ade [German, English, Romanian]
9. Fish Tank (2009) ~ Andrea Arnold (1) [English]
10. Daughters of the Dust (1991) ~ Julie Dash [English, French]
11. The Ascent (Voskhozhdenie) (1977) ~ Larisa Shepitko [Russian, German]
12. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) ~ Kathryn Bigelow (2) [English, Arabic]
13. Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi) (1985) ~ Agnès Varda (2) [French, Arabic, English]
14. Point Break (1991) ~ Kathryn Bigelow (3) [English]
15. La Ciénaga ( The Swamp) (2001) ~ Lucrecia Martel (1) [Spanish]
16. Wanda (1970) ~ Barbara Loden [English]
17. Seven Beauties (Pasqualino Settebellezze) (1975) ~ Lina Wertmüller [Italian, German, Neapolitan, Spanish]
18. American Psycho (2000) ~ Mary Harron [English, Spanish, Cantonese]
19. Orlando (1992) ~ Sally Potter [English, French]
20. Clueless (1995) ~ Amy Heckerling [English, Spanish]
21. Winter’s Bone (2010) ~ Debra Granik [English]
23¹. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) ~ Lynne Ramsay (1) [English]
23¹. The Hitch-Hiker (1953) ~ Ida Lupino (1) [English, Spanish]
24. Lady Bird [IMDb page (2017) ~ Greta Gerwig [English, Spanish]
25. The House is Black (1963) ~ Forugh Farrokhzad [Persian]
26. Stories we Tell (2012) ~ Sarah Polley [English]
27. Selma (2014) ~ Ava DuVernay (1) [English]
28. Le bonheur (1965) ~ Agnès Varda (3) [French]
29. Monsoon Wedding (2001) ~ Mira Nair (1) [Hindi, English]
30. Zama (2017) ~ Lucrecia Martel (2) [Spanish, Portuguese]
31. The Gleaners and I (Les glaneurs et la glaneuse) (2000) ~ Agnès Varda (4) [French]
32. The Night Porter (Il portiere di notte) (1974) ~ Liliana Cavani [English]
33. You Were Never Really Here (2017) ~ Lynne Ramsay (2) [English]
34. Morvern Callar (2002) ~ Lynne Ramsay (3) [English, Spanish]
35. The Matrix (1999) ~ Lana and Lilly Wachowski [English]
36. Wendy and Lucy (2008) ~ Kelly Reichardt (1) [English]
37. Olympia Part One : Festival of The Nations (Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker) (1938) / Olympia Part Two : Festival of Beauty (Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit) (1938) ~ Leni Riefenstahl (1) [German, English, Italian, French, Japanese, Portuguese] / [German]
38. Paris is Burning (1990) ~ Jennie Livingston [English]
39. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) (2019) ~ Céline Sciamma (1) [French, Italian]
40. Boys Don’t Cry (1999) ~ Kimberly Peirce [English]
41. Capernaum (Capharnaüm) (2018) ~ Nadine Labaki [Arabic, Amharic]
42. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed) (1926) ~ Lotte Reiniger [Silent]
43. The Virgin Suicides (1999) ~ Sofia Coppola (2) [English]
44. American Honey (2016) ~ Andrea Arnold (2) [English]
45. Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens) (1935) ~ Leni Riefenstahl (2) [German]
46. Near Dark (1987) ~ Kathryn Bigelow (3) [English]
47. An Angel at my Table (1990) ~ Jane Campion (2) [English, Spanish]
48. The Asthenic Syndrome (Astenicheskiy sindrom) (1989) Kira Muratova (1) [Russian]
49. Salaam Bombay ! (1988) Mira Nair (2) [Hindi, English]
50. Outrage (1950) Ida Lupino (2) [English]
51. Harlan County U.S.A. (1976) ~ Barbara Kopple [English]
52. Happy as Lazzaro (Lazzaro felice) (2018) ~ Alice Rohrwacher [Italian]
53. The Headless Woman (La mujer sin cabeza) (2008) ~ Lucrecia Martel (3) [Spanish]
54. Bright Star (2009) ~ Jane Campion (3) [English, French]
55. Monster (2003) ~ Patty Jenkins [English]
56. 13th (2016) ~ Ava DuVernay (2) [English]
57. The Babadook (2014) ~ Jennifer Kent [English]
58. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) ~ Susan Seidelman [English]
59. The Long Farewell (1971) ~ Kira Muratova (2) [Russian, English]
60. A League of their Own (1992) ~ Penny Marshall (1) [English]
61. India Song (1975) ~ Marguerite Duras [French]
62. Strange Days (1995) ~ Kathryn Bigelow (4) [English]
63. Marie Antoinette (2006) ~ Sofia Coppola (3) [English, Latin, French]
64. The Rider (2017) ~ Chloé Zhao [English]
65. Leave no Trace (2018) ~ Debra Granik [English]
66. Ratcatcher (1999) ~ Lynne Ramsay (4) [English]
67. The German Sisters (Die bleierne Zeit) (1981) ~ Margarethe von Trotta [German, Italian]
68. Eve’s Bayou (1997) ~ Kasi Lemmons [English]
69. The Connection (1961) ~ Shirley Clarke (1) [English]
70. Whale Rider (2002) ~ Niki Caro [English, Maori]
71. The Seashell and the Clergyman (La coquille et le clergyman) (1928) ~ Germaine Dulac [Silent]
72. Europa Europa (1980) ~ Agnieszka Holland [German, Russian, Polish, Hebrew]
73. On Body and Soul (Teströl és lélekröl) (2017) ~ Ildikó Enyedi [Hungarian]
74. Chocolat (1988) ~ Claire Denis (2) [English, French]
75. Meek’s Cutoff (2010) ~ Kelly Reichardt (2) [English]
76. Girlhood (Bande de filles) (2014) ~ Céline Sciamma (2) [French]
77. Tomboy (2011) ~ Céline Sciamma (3) [French]
78. The Apple (Sib) (1998) ~ Samira Makhmalbaf [Persian]
79. Shoes (1916) ~ Lois Weber [Silent]
80. Big (1988) ~ Penny Marshall (2) [English]
81. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) ~ Ana Lily Amirpour [Persian]
82. At Land (Szárazföldön) (1944) ~ Maya Deren (1) [Silent]
83. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) ~ Nora Ephron [English]
84. Portrait of Jason (1967) ~ Shirley Clarke (2) [English]
85. One Sings, The Other Doesn’t (L'une chante l'autre pas) (1977) ~ Agnès Varda (5) [French]
86. Wadjda (2012) ~ Haifaa Al-Mansour [Arabic]
87. 35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums) (2008) ~ Claire Denis (3) [French, German]
88. The Silences of the Palace (Samt el qusur) (1994) ~ Moufida Tlatli [Arabic, French]
89. The Beaches of Agnès (Les plages d’ Agnès) (2008) ~ Agnès Varda (6) [French, English]
90. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) ~ Amy Heckerling [English]
91. White Material (2009) ~ Claire Denis (4) [French]
92. Raw (Grave) (2016) ~ Julia Ducournau [French]
93. Red Road (2006) ~ Andrea Arnold (3) [English]
94. News From Home (1977) ~ Chantal Akerman (2) [French]
95. Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946) ~ Maya Deren (2) [Silent]
96. The Meetings of Anna (Les rendez-vous d'Anna) (1977) ~ Chantal Akerman (3) [French]
97. Adoption (Örökbefogadás) (1975) ~ Márta Mészáros [Hungarian]
98. Somewhere (2010) ~ Sofia Coppola (4) [English, Italian]
99. The Souvenir (2019) ~ Joanna Hogg [English]
100. The Kids are All Right (2010) ~ Lisa Cholodenko [English]
To indicate another absurd bias, a tally of language(s)⁵ spoken in the 100 list [five films are silent] :
English (only) : 37 [37 = running total]
French : 13 [50]
Therefore, one-half of this greatest 100 is, if not in English, then in French - very inclusive
English (as principal language⁵) + Spanish : 5 [55]
English + French or French + English : 5 [60]
English + Arabic : 2 [62]
English + other languages : 6 [68]
French + other languages : 3 [71]
Then, when one has added in where English or French is the principal language⁵, but others are spoken, one has accounted for more than 70% of the films
Silent : 5 [76]
Persian : 3 [79]
German : 1½ [81½]
Hungarian : 2 [83½]
Spanish : 2 [85½]
Hindi + English : 2 [87½]
Other sole languages, or combinations of languages : 12½?? [100]
Twitter end-notes :
¹ '100 greatest films directed by women', correcting a bias, in its earlier list of foreign-language films, of few directed by women - with one where just 19 directors made 56% of the films (Agnès Varda and Kathryn Bigelow = 11%)— THE AGENT APSLEY #ScrapUniversalCredit #JC4PM2019 (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) December 19, 2019
² Since the decade doesn't end for another year
End-notes :
¹ Put another way, one suspects that BBC Culture polled its 384 people will little idea why, but to end up with a ranked list, because it could, and did not have one - this list seemed to acknowledge no joint placings, which would have been odd in one of such compromise and of such length, but the task of re-ordering has found two placed at no. 23 (and no no. 22) [again, one would normally expect, if this is not a typo, both to be placed at 22, with no 23].
² #UCFF is stubbornly insisting that, for example, the 1940s begin with 1941 and end with 1950.
³ #UCFF's needful changes :
(1) The preference for a descending list has been imposed, because an ascending list is a convention, which does not make sense when one can fully scroll through it (as against when one has, at least, to click a link to progress from, say, the section for films 100-91 to that for those numbered 90-81.
(2) It is not a convention to give the release-date as the original list did, so that has also been changed.
(3) The insistence on persisting in putting film titles IN CAPITALS, not italicizing them, is a mistake that has meandered on from when putting on the Shift key in copy was the simplest way to denote a title.
⁴ Directors' names are in italic, with the increasing tally of their films in parentheses afterwards (i.e. where they are from the 19 on whose work the list calls for 56% of its 100 entries). Where #UCFF has a review, the title links to it ; where it has watched the film and approved, TBC ???
⁵ These have been accepted as given by the IMDb-page for each page (to which the non-underlined film-titles link), the language (or languages) : IMDb confirms that the first language, where two or more are given, should be the principal language : it specifiesto those submitting this information that ‘If more than one language was spoken, please enter them in order of frequency such that the main language is entered first’.
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Unless stated otherwise, all films reviewed were screened at Festival Central (Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge)
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