Table of Contents
Foreword David Bordwell xii
Introduction xix
Prologue: Death of a Dream Palace xxxi
Review of La Dolce Vita xxxiv
Part 1 Interviews and Profiles
Introduction 1
Warren Beatty 3
James Stewart 9
Robert Mitchum 14
Mitch and Jimmy: Some Thoughts 21
Lee Marvin 25
Ingmar Bergman 35
Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader 47
Robert Altman 53
Werner Herzog 59
Meryl Streep 64
Woody Allen 68
Spike Lee 75
Tom Hanks 82
Errol Morris 93
Steven Spielberg 98
Part 2 The Best
Introduction 103
1967: Bonnie and Clyde 105
1968: The Battle of Algiers 108
1969: Z 110
1970: Five Easy Pieces 113
1971: The Last Picture Show 115
1972: The Godfather 118
1973: Cries, and Whispers 121
1974: Scenes from a Marriage 124
1975: Nashville 127
1976: Small Change 131
1977: 3 Women 133
1978: An Unmarried Woman 135
1979: Apocalypse Now 138
1980: The Black Stallion 141
1981: My Dinner with Andre 144
1982: Sophie's Choice 147
1983: The Right Stuff 149
1984: Amadeus 151
1985: The Color Purple 154
1986: Platoon 157
1987: House of Games 160
1988: Mississippi Burning 163
1989: Do the Right Thing 167
1990: GoodFellas 170
1991: JFK 173
1992: Malcolm X 177
1993: Schindler's List 181
1994: Hoop Dreams 184
1995: Leaving Las Vegas 188
1996: Fargo 191
1997: Eve's Bayou 194
1998: Dark City 197
1999: Being John Malkovich 200
2000: Almost Famous 202
2001: Monster's Ball 205
2002: Minority Report 208
2003: Monster 211
2004: Million Dollar Baby 214
2005: Crash 217
Part 3 Foreign Films
Introduction 221
Tokyo Story 223
The Music Room 225
An Hasard Balthazar 229
Belle de four 233
The Wild Child 236
Claire's Knee 238
Last Tango in Paris 240
Fellini's Roma 246
Stroszek 249
The Marriage of Maria Braun 251
Wings of Desire 253
Raise the Red Lantern 255
The Scent of Green Papaya 257
Spirited Away 260
City of God 262
Part 4 Documentaries
Introduction 265
Woodstock 267
Harlan County, U.S.A 272
Gates of Heaven 274
Say Amen, Somebody 276
The "Up" Movies 278
28 Up 278
35 Up 281
42 Up 284
Shoah 287
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam 293
Crumb 296
Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood Madam 299
Microcosmos 302
Part 5 Overlooked and Underrated
Introduction 305
Thieves Like Us 307
Bring Mc the Head of Alfredo Garcia 309
Saint Jack 313
El Norte 315
To Live and Die in L.A 319
Trouble in Mind 321
Housekeeping 323
The Rapture 325
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries 328
The Saddest Music in the World 331
Part 6 Essays and Think Pieces
Introduction 335
That's the Way It Is: The Color Purple and the Oscars 337
Legacy of Star Wars 341
John Cassavetes: An Appreciation 345
Why J Love Black and White 349
The Case for an A Rating 354
Well, Are Movies Better Than Ever? 364
A Pulitzer for the Movies 368
Celluloid vs. Digital: The War for the Soul of the Cinema 371
The Most Influential Films of the Century 377
In Memoriam: Pauline Kael 381
Part 7 On Film Criticism
Introduction 385
Twenty-five Years in the Dark 387
Symposium from Film Comment: All Thumbs, or, Is There a Future for Film Criticism? Richard Corliss 394
All Stars, or, Is There a Cure for Criticism of Film Criticism? Roger Ebert 403
Then Again Richard Corliss 416
Auteurism Is Alive and Well and Living in Argentina Andrew Sarris 420
A Memo to Myself and Certain Other Film Critics 430
Epilogue: Thoughts on the Centennial or Cinema 433
Coda: On the Meaning of Life…and Movies 437
Appendix 1 Ten Best Lists, 1967-2012 441
Appendix 2 More of "The Best," 2006-2012 458
Index 483
