Alt Film Guide's "Best Films of …" lists, which we'll begin updating and reposting — a few years at a time — this July 4 weekend, consist of highly personal and highly eclectic suggestions of films you might want to either check out or avoid like the plague, depending on how you feel about our choices. [Scroll down for the (as-yet incomplete, non-updated) Best Films of... List per year.]
Those lists, we might add, have not been written in stone; they're a work in perpetual progress. In other words, new names and titles will be added, whereas some old ones will be removed as we keep on watching good, great, and/or so-bad-they're-good films and performances.
The "Best Films of …" categories are: Film (including director/screenwriter), Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, and Music. At times, you'll find Short Film and/or Song Score categories as well.
Another category, "Check These Out," consists of — almost invariably lesser-known — films that for some reason or other — e.g., subpar pacing, direction, screenplay, or acting — weren't included in our Best Film list. Admittedly, some of the lesser efforts in the Best Film category could just as easily be found in the Check These Out category, while some of the better Check These Out efforts could just as well be included in the Best Film list. Once again, those lists haven't been written in stone; and, really, there is no line clearly separating, say, "Really Good" from "Good," or "Good" from "Above Average."
For obvious reasons, those lists are not meant to be a complete compilation of great filmmaking — not even close. Instead, take them as just a few samples of movies we would recommend.
Below are a few extra notes about the lists.
- Listings are organized alphabetically.
- Films are listed by year according to their original release date — or festival screening date, if only shown at festivals — to the best of our knowledge. Exceptions: Movies that saw the light of day, or rather, the darkness of a film theater, years after they were made, e.g., The Plot Against Harry (made in 1969, released in 1990). In such cases, they have been listed according to their production date.
- Listed screenwriters are those credited for the final — original or adapted — screenplay; in other words, "original story" writers have generally been omitted.
- Some East Asian names are alphabetized in reverse order (last name; first name), e.g., Gong Li (instead of Li Gong) and Zhang Yimou (instead of Yimou Zhang). Reason for this editorial choice: Gong Li is known around the world as Gong Li, not Li Gong, and that same rule applies to other East Asian film personalities.
- TV/cable feature films and miniseries may find their way into those lists.
Best Films of …