Do you have a review for any of the films on the 2004 Arts&Faith Top100 list? If so, and if you'd be willing to let us use them in whole or in part (with full accreditation), or if you'd just prefer we link to them, let me know so that we can build out the list as much as possible in advance of the official announcement / release of the list in a few weeks. (I'm hoping for the week of June 21st.)

Reviews or summaries for the more obscure listings are particularly appreciated.

All films will have at least a link to their IMDB listing and any relevant Arts&Faith discussions [I found].

ALSO, please feel free to browse the list and let me know if you have any comments or suggestions. For example, I've tried to find all the discussions related to all of the films on the list -- I'm sure to have missed some.

Thanks for you help!

What about capsules or short summary reviews? Do we want to have both for the list? I'm not sure I have much in the way of reviews to contribute, but I'd definitely volunteer to write a series of capsule summaries for some films on the list.

I'm on jury duty (this should go under prayer request, I suppose), so after I finish the draft of my sermon sitting in the hallway tomorrow, I'll try to work on some capsule reviews of Breaking the Waves, Witness and Fearless.

Here's a site I've been meaning to pimp for a long time. Some great, thoughtful, reviews from a Christian perspective. I'm sure if you e-mailed the admin, he would let you link to the relivant ones.

http://www.ransomfellowship.org/Movies_Reviews.html


From what I see, out of our 100 list they have reviews for:

American Beauty
Big Kahuna
Three Colors (more a brief summary of Kieslowsky)
Changing Lanes
Decalogue
It's a Wonderful Life
Magnolia
On the Waterfront
The Passion
Ponette
Signs
Sixth Sense
Tender Mercies
Thirteen Conversations about One Thing
Truman Show

Do we really want to limit this to one review (and/or capsule) per film?

It seems to me that, in some cases, some folks here might have voted for the same movie but for different, even opposite, reasons. Getting some of that diversity across could be a good thing.

No, we're not limited to one -- case in point (but deference is shown to [AFC]2 members). But I'm more concerned about all the films that have no introduction rather than potentially having more content than is strictly necessary. I would love to replace some of my miserable scraps with some better writing, too.

OK, I've just gone through the listed and added links to Jeffrey's reviews and essays at Looking Closer and Christianity Today.

Any other written contributions? Anything from a URL link to a related review (doesn't have to be your review) to permission to use a capsule review or summary (does have to be your review) is welcome...

The following list of noteworthy films have no comment on their Top100 pages. (I note that Tarkovsky seems to be the most neglected...doesn't anyone here write about his films?)

Would you please take a moment and see if you have any content available that could be included here? The text you supply does not have to be a 'review' -- a brief summary of the film, including its spiritual themes, is sufficient.

PLEASE NOTE -- in the 2005 revision to the Top100, films without a summary will automatically be up for reconsideration and may be removed.

Movies without comment (or *with only the skimpiest of summaries by me) include:

• Andrei Rublev (1969)
• Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
• Days of Heaven (1978)
• Day of Wrath(1943)
• Dersu Uzala (1975)
• La Dolce Vita (1960)
• Grand Canyon (1991)
• Henry V (1989)*
• Ikiru ("To Live") (1952)
• Jean de Florette (1986)
• The Last Days of Disco (1998)
• A Man For All Seasons (1966)
• A Man Escaped (1956)
• Manon des sources (1986)
• The Mirror (1975)
• My Night At Maud's (1969)
• The Night of the Hunter (1955)
• Not of This World (1999)
• Open City (1945)
• Peter and Paul (1981)
• The Sacrifice(1986)
• The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
• Solaris (1972)
• Songs From the Second Floor (2000)*
• The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
• Tender Mercies (1983)
• Three Colors: Red (1993)
• Three Colors: Blue (1994)
• Tokyo Story (1953)
• Unforgiven (1992)*
• Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
• Werckmeister Harmonies(2000)
• Wild Strawberries(1957)
• The Year Of Living Dangerously (1982)

I'll try to get to several of these myself, but I really don't want to be writing most of the summaries -- this is a group project, after all.

Please note the list above has been updated...let me know if you have any blurbs (or full reviews from which I can excerpt blurbs).

I'll be seeing a few of these myself in the upcoming weeks and can put blurbs up for some, but I'm sure I won't do nearly as good a job as many of you could (or already have), plus I really don't want my perspective to dominate the list...

Believe it or not, Alan, at long last I have some time to put back into this crazy project of ours. I'll jot some stuff for as many of the remaining titles as I've seen, and send it off to you. (Well, take that as an intention rather than a promise: we'll see how things actually play out! But I have my hopes...)

I've written a short summary for The Night of the Hunter; feedback is welcome.

We still need short summaries for:

• Andrei Rublev
• Au Hasard Balthazar
• Days of Heaven
• La Dolce Vita
• Not of This World
• Grand Canyon
• Jean de Florette
• Manon des Sources
• The Last Days of Disco
• My Night At Maud's
• A Man for All Seasons
• The Sacrifice (Offret)
• Peter and Paul
• Open City
• The Shawshank Redemption
• Wild Strawberries
• Solaris
• The Sweet Hereafter
• Tender Mercies
• Tokyo Story
• Vanya on 42nd Street
• A Man Escaped
• Day of Wrath
• Werckmeister Harmonies
• The Year Of Living Dangerously
• The Mirror (Zerkalo)

I've added a short summary for Dersu Uzala. I'll be updating the stills shortly.

OK, I've fixed a few of the many goofs in my summary and added a huge group of great stills from the movie.

Doug, I AM going to use your blurb, but, per the bargin, only AFTER I've written up my thoughts on Diary of a Country Priest. I still have to finish watching it. (Are good movies like good books? You can put them down and pick them right back up again? Maybe not.)

Thank you, Matt; for summarizing La Dolce Vita. I have also received a summary of Peter and Paul, which I will be posting shortly.

Any others?

Remember: Any films without summaries will automatically be up for reconsideration in this year's revision to the Top100.

I'm slightly confused. Do you mean that you've posted the La Dolce Vita summary, because if so, then for some reason I can't see it, (or are you just letting people know so they can cross it off the list above?)

Matt

I am sorry Alan, is it easy for you to create a revised, updated list of films that don't have summaries?

Now that we have a new list, I assume this will become an issue again? Considering that we have . . . is it 39 new films which need summaries?

Can I cover In America?

Oooh! and W;t

I will be needing new summaries, working first with those who've already agreed to provide content.

I'm actually toying with the idea of hosting the Top100 details at MoviesMatter.com (but branded as A&F, not MM, and with an A&F forwarding URL), where I could use wiki software to allow everyone to add and edit content.

Thoughts? Good idea?

That's an interesting idea, Alan. But I'm not sure what advantages it would give over a summary written by one person but consciously reflecting the ideas of others as expressed in a thread about the film in question. And wouldn't be vulnerable to vandalism?

Hah! That's easy--less work for me. It would be a controlled wiki, meaning that all changes would be reviewed and reversion strongly enforced (depending on whether it was phpwiki or tikiwiki).

I might also be able to use the user registration system here to allow authenticated users to edit php pages for films here--but that would take php coding (something I'm just barely familiar with). I'd be very interested in talking to anyone interested in donating LAMP (or at least php/MySQL) skills to bring this about. (I can't pay, but I could throw in a one-year membership and a free t-shirt.)

Here is a list of 2008 Top100 nomineeds that don't have a blurb / capsule review / etc. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like to submit something. Ideally, I'm looking for capsule reviews of 1-4 paragraphs, not written in the first person and relatively useful to others (i.e. not "This is a really cool film that made me think of my Uncle Jim..." or "this film illustrates the vast conspiracy that has been behind [blah blah blah]..."). If you have a review for any of these films, and you'd allow me to pull an excerpt from it, please let me know. (Dan, is that quote above regarding Wit OK to use?)

After Life
Amistad
Andrei Rublev
The Apu Trilogy
L'Argent
The Believer
The Best Years of Our Lives
Black Robe
A Christmas Carol
The Color of Paradise
Cries and Whispers
Cry, the Beloved Country
The Da Vinci Code
Day of Wrath
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Days of Heaven
Devil's Playground
Distant
Donnie Darko
Downfall
Dream of Light
East of Eden
Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
Europa '51
The Exorcist
Faust
Fiddler on the Roof
Field of Dreams
The Fisher King
Forgiveness
The Godfather (trilogy)
Godspell
Golgotha
The Grapes of Wrath
Grave of the Fireflies
The Green Mile
Hannah and Her Sisters
He Who Must Die
Heaven
The Hiding Place
I Heart Huckabees
In America
The Iron Giant
Jalsaghar
Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring
Jesus Christ Superstar
The Jeweller's Shop
Joyeux Noel
Koyaanisqatsi
Kundun
Late Spring
Lilies of the Field
Lost in Translation
Luther
Make Way for Tomorrow
A Man Escaped
A Man for All Seasons
The Mirror
Les Miserables
Les Miserables
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien
A Moment of Innocence
My Night at Maud's
Nazarin
The Night
Nights of Cabiria
Nostalghia
Not of This World
Not One Less
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Paradise Road
Perceval
Pickpocket
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Rashomon
Red Beard
Repentance
Requiem for a Dream
The River
The Sacrifice
Saints and Soldiers
Saved!
Say Amen, Somebody
Shoah
The Silence
Sling Blade
The Song of Bernadette
Sophie's Choice
The Sound of Music
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Stars in My Crown
Stromboli
Summer / The Green Ray
The Sweet Hereafter
Tales of Ugetsu
A Taste of Cherry
The Ten Commandments
Tender Mercies
Therese
The Third Miracle
Tokyo Story
The Tree of Wooden Clogs
The Trip to Bountiful
Vanya on 42nd Street
The Virgin Spring
Werckmeister Harmonies
Winter Light
Wit
The Year Of Living Dangerously
Yi Yi: A One and a Two
Zelig

Good thing JFK is not on the list...