by Sam Juliano
The summer has been rushing by at seemingly breakneck speed, and September begins on Wednesday. We are in the same place now where we have been for the past several weeks. Uncertainty, caution and booster shots are all part of the discussion and those returning to their school positions are on pins and needles, hoping closures won’t be enacted shortly after the openings.
I am still waiting on my artist to complete the cover and spine for my first novel Paradise Atop the Hudson, which hopefully will officially publish on Amazon before the end of September. I recently resumed writing my second novel Irish Jesus in Fairview, which is three-quarters complete, though I will wait until around Christmas or early January to publish it. Thanks again to Valerie Clark, who has read the entire first novel and all my completed chapters for the second, and has offered up glowing commentary and unabated enthusiasm. My planned book on Allan Fish will follow.
Many thanks to the many people who cast ballots on our Top 100 British polling. Each was a treasure to receive. The results have been posted on FB and are duplicated on this thread. Voting Tabulator Bill Kamberger reported a multi-film tie for the final positions, making for a Too 113. This is great news for film lovers who were loathe to see some favorites unrepresented. Bill disclosed that the celebrated team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger placed nine (9) films in the Top 113 (the final number of films in our ultimate British list included a a bevy of movies tied for the final spot). An incredible 311 films were “nominated” and the 60s and 40s as expected were the big decades for British cinema. 67 ballots were cast!!!! (The next poll will be on Russian/Soviet Cinema), and voters are free to cast their Top 20 when they are READY on this thread!
1. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949) – 490
2. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) – 323.5
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) – 321.5
4. Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949) – 286
5. Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1945) – 275
6. Kes (Ken Loach, 1969) – 264.5
7. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947) – 239
8. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948) – 233.5
9. A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964) – 223.5
10. Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996) – 200.5
11. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) – 193.5
12. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971) – 179
13. Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 1987) – 156
14. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1943) – 152
15. The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935) – 152
16. Great Expectations (David Lean, 1946) – 147.5
17. The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961) – 146
18. The Devils (Ken Russell, 1971) – 125.5
19. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) – 120
20. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones, 1975) – 118.5
21. Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973) – 118
22. The Long Day Closes (Terence Davies, 1992) – 111.5
23. A Matter of Life and Death / Stairway to Heaven (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1946) – 110
24. Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988) – 109.5
25. Odd Man Out (Carol Reed, 1947) – 109
26. I Know Where I’m Going! (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1946) – 108.5
27. The Ladykillers (Alexander Mackendrick, 1955) – 106
28. The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick, 1951) – 104.5
29. Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989) – 101.5
30. Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996) – 99.5
31. Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960) – 99
32. Henry V (Laurence Olivier, 1944) – 96.5
33. The Lavender Hill Mob (Charles Crichton, 1951) – 95.5
34. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979) – 91
35. The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1938) – 90.5
36. The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973) – 90.5
37. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989) – 90
38. The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957) – 89.5
39. Topsy-Turvy (Mike Leigh, 1999) – 87.5
40. A Room with a View (James Ivory, 1985) – 86
41. If… (Lindsay Anderson, 1968) – 83
42. A Christmas Carol / Scrooge (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951) – 82
43. Oliver! (Carol Reed, 1968) – 81.5
44. Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969) – 81
45. Dead of Night (Alberto Cavalcanti, et al.. 1945) – 80.5
46. Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, 1987) – 80.5
47. Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966) – 78.5
48. The Servant (Joseph Losey, 1963) – 78.5
49. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (Sam Wood, 1939) – 77.5
50. Life Is Sweet (Mike Leigh, 1990) – 77
51. A Taste of Honey (Tony Richardson, 1961) – 74.5
52. Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961) – 74
53. Pygmalion (Anthony Asquith & Leslie Howard, 1938) – 73.5
54. Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948) – 70.5
55. The Browning Version (Anthony Asquith, 1951) – 69
56. Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965) – 69
57. Night and the City (Jules Dassin, 1950) – 69
58. Lord of the Flies (Peter Brook, 1963) – 68.5
59. The Thief of Bagdad (Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell & Tim Whelan, 1940) – 67.5
60. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981) – 66
61. Beautiful Thing (Hettie Macdonald, 1996) – 65.5
62. Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007) – 63
63. Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965) – 63
64. The Ruling Class (Peter Medak, 1972) – 63
65. Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015) – 62.5
66. God’s Own Country (Francis Lee, 2017) – 62.5
67. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Karel Reisz, 1960) – 62
68. This Sporting Life (Lindsay Anderson, 1963) – 61
69. Brighton Rock (John Boulting, 1948) – 60.5
70. A Man for All Seasons (Fred Zinnemann, 1966) – 60.5
71. Richard III (Laurence Olivier, 1955) – 60.5
72. (Horror of) Dracula (Terence Fisher, 1958) – 60
73. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962) – 59
74. The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed, 1948) – 58
75. Naked (Mike Leigh, 1993) – 57.5
76. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017) – 56.5
77. Maurice (James Ivory, 1987) – 56.5
78. The Lion in Winter (Anthony Harvey, 1968) – 54.5
79. Oh, Mr. Porter! (Marcel Varnel, 1937) – 53.5
80. The Go-Between (Jospeh Losey, 1971) – 53
81. Oliver Twist (David Lean, 1948) – 52.5
82. A Diary for Timothy (Humphrey Jennings, 1945) – 52
83. It Always Rains on Sunday (Robert Hamer, 1947) – 50.5
84. The Lodger (Alfred Hitchcock, 1927) – 49
85. Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992) – 48
86. A Canterbury Tale (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1944) – 47
87. Look Back in Anger (Tony Richardson, 1959) – 46.5
88. Goldfinger (Guy Hamilton, 1964) – 45.5
89. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Martin Ritt, 1965) – 44.5
90. Weekend (Andrew Haigh, 2011) – 44
91. 1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019) – 42.5
92. Outcast of the Islands (Carol Reed, 1951) – 42.5
93. The Remains of the Day (James Ivory, 1993) – 42
94. The Tales of Hoffmann (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1951) – 42
95. Billy Liar (John Schlesinger, 1963) – 41.5
96. Vera Drake (Mike Leigh, 2004) – 41.5
97. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008) – 41
98. Listen to Britain (Humphrey Jennings, 1942) – 41
99. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Ronald Neame, 1969) – 41
100. Becket (Peter Glenville, 1964) – 39
101. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996) – 39
102. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018) – 39
103. Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 1971) – 39
104. Gregory’s Girl (Bill Forsyth, 1981) – 39
105. Howards End (James Ivory, 1992) – 39
106. Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 1983) – 39
107. My Beautiful Laundrette (Stephen Frears, 1985) – 39
108. Sleuth (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1972) – 39
109. The Stars Look Down (Carol Reed, 1940) – 39
110. Tom Jones (Tony Richardson, 1963) – 39
111. 24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002) – 39
112. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013) – 39
113. Whisky Galore! / Tight Little Island (Alexander Mackendrick, 1949) – 39
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