Former Soviet Bloc Poll has launched!

 

The “Former Soviet Bloc” polling basically considers the cinema of five countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, the former Yugoslavia as well as Estonia, Georgia and Uzbekistan. Voters are allowed twenty (20) choices, and shorts as always are perfectly fine. My own list does not include a single film from either Romania nor Yugoslavia, not because I don’t like several masterful titles, but because the cinema-rich Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary have too many masterpieces. I deeply regret leaving off “Night Train,” “Kanal,” Intimate Lightning,” “Loves of a Blonde,” “The Saragosa Manuscxript,” “Daisies,” “Werckmeister Harmonies,” “The Valley of the Bees,” and several other films by Jansco, Kalerowitz, Wajda, and Zulawski among others, and perhaps most of all I feel terrible for not including animation on this particular list, which I realize is an unintended snub of my good friend Lee Price and Czech animation. Leaving off “Ida” and “Cold War” was also troubling for me, but I’m sure both will get ample support to land on the list. I am deeply sorry about this. I do adore “The Double Life of Veronique,” of course, but the film is French first and then Polish. it doesn’t qualify for this poll. Bill has decided (and I agree) that “The Dekalog” will count as ONE ENTRY, though of course “A Short Film About Killing” and “A Short Film About Love” are the most popular of the anthology. (NOTE: as always eligibility decisions will be made by the Voting Tabulator Bill Kamberger. The poll will run until Monday, December 27th at 5:00 P.M. This is admittedly a longer time window than our previous polls, but Christmas has forced a more flexible time frame.)

Here is my Top 20 in alphabetical order:

Ashes and Diamonds (Poland; 1958; Wajda)

Closely Watched Trains (Czechoslovakia; 1966; Menzel)

The Cremator (Hungary; 1969; Herz)

The Dekalog (Poland; 1988; Kieslowki)

The Dybbuk (Poland; 1937; Waszynski)

Fateless (Hungary; 2005; Koltai)

The Firemen’s Ball (Czechoslovakia; 1967; Forman)

Ikarie XB1 (Czechoslovakia; 1963; Polak)

Knife in the Water (Poland; 1962; Polanski)

The Last Stage (Poland; 1948; Jakubowska)

Love (Hungary; 1971; Maak)

Loves of a Blonde (Czechoslovakia; 1965; Forman)

Marketa Lazarova (Czechoslovakia; 1967; Vlacil)

Mother Joan of the Angels (Poland; 1961; Kawalerowitz)

Pharaoh (Poland; 1966; Kawalerowitz)

The Round-Up (Hungary; 1966; Jansco)

Satantango (Hungary; 1994; Tarr)

Son of Saul (Hungary; 2015; Nemes)

The Turin Horse (Hungary; 2011; Tarr)

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia; 1970; Jires)

Witchhammer (Czechoslovakia; 1970; Vavra)

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2David Van Poppel and Alex DeLarge

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“The Exterminating Angel,” “Los Olvidados,” “Memories of Underdevelopment,” “Vidas Secas,” “City of God,” “Macario,” lead Top 100 (actually, 104) Latin American Films in another fabulous result (and tabulation by Bill Kamberger):

1. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel, 1962; Mexico) – 339.5

2. Los Olvidados / The Young and the Damned (Luis Buñuel, 1950; Mexico) – 284

3. Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968; Cuba) – 272

4. Vidas Secas / Barren Lives (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963; Brazil) – 223.5

5. City of God (Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002; Brazil) – 214

6. Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960; Mexico) – 207.5

7. Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959; Brazil) – 181.5

8. Maria Candelaria (Emilio Fernández, 1944; Mexico) – 174.5

9. Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001; Mexico) – 172.5

10. Limite (Mario Peixoto, 1931; Brazil) – 169.5

11. El (Luis Buñuel, 1953; Mexico) – 161

12. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018; Mexico) – 160

13. The Official Story (Luis Puenzo, 1985; Argentina) – 156.5

14. Black God, White Devil (Glauber Rocha, 1964; Brazil) – 141.5

15. The Way He Looks (Daniel Ribeiro, 2014; Brazil) – 135.5

16. Zama (Lucrecia Martel, 2017; Argentina) – 134

17. Pixote (Hector Babenco, 1980; Brazil) – 132

18. Central Station (Walter Salles, 1998; Brazil) – 119.5

19. Santa Sangre (Alejandro Jodorwosky, 1989; Mexico) – 119

20. The Hour of the Furnaces (Octavio Getino & Fernando E. Solanas, 1968; Argentina) – 117

21. Simon of the Desert (Luis Buñuel, 1965; Mexico) – 117

22. Nazarin (Luis Buñuel, 1959; Mexico) – 116.5

23. Amores Perros (Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 2000; Mexico) – 115.5

24. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006; Mexico) – 113.5

25. El Topo (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970; Mexico) – 107

26. The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009; Argentina) – 102

27. The Battle of Chile, Parts I – III (Patricio Guzmán, 1975 – 1979; Chile) – 94.5

28. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008; Argentina) – 93

29. Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzmán, 2010; Chile) – 85

30. The House of the Angel (Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, 1957; Argentina) – 84

31. To the Left of the Father (Luis Fernando Carvalho, 2001; Brazil) – 80.5

32. Wild Tales (Damián Sfizron, 2014; Argentina) – 76

33. Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas, 2007; Mexico) – 74.5

34. The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Luis Buñuel, 1955; Mexico) – 74

35. Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra, 2015; Colombia) – 68

36. The Pearl (Emilio Fernández, 1948; Mexico) – 68

37. Araya (Margot Benacerraf, 1959; Venezuela) – 67

38. No (Pablo Larraín, 2012; Chile) – 65.5

39. The Pearl Button (Patricio Guzmán, 2015; Chile) – 53.5

40. La Flor (Mariano Llinás, 2018; Argentina) – 51.5

41. Extraordinary Stories (Mariano Llinás, 2008; Argentina) – 48.5

42. Terra em Transe / Entranced Earth (Glauber Rocha, 1967; Brazil) – 48.5

43. The Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973; Mexico) – 46

44. Neighboring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2012; Brazil) – 46

45. End of the Century (Lucio Castro, 2019; Argentina) – 45

46. You’re Missing the Point (Juan Bustillo Oro, 1940; Mexico) – 42.5

47. Death of a Bureaucrat (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1966; Cuba) – 41.5

48. Undertow (Javier Fuentes-León, 2009; Peru) – 41

49. Isle of Flowers (Jorge Furtado, 1989; Brazil) – 40

50. The Red Light Bandit (Rogério Sganzerla, 1968; Brazil) – 39.5

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