THE GREAT YEARS OF CINEMA: A Look Back at 1989 in Film
Over the past year, I was doing a series of posts that I dubbed "An Anniversary Retrospective" and I would list my top 10 films from various years of cinema that were celebrating a milestone anniversary.
These posts have been very fun for me to do, and I have liked the responses that they have received...so naturally, I want to continue this as we enter this new year.
However, I am going to change it up a little bit.
I thought a lot about how a few specific years will be celebrating milestone anniversaries that I consider to be among the best in the history of cinema. Strangely enough, there are many years ending in "9" that I think are truly magnificent in their output.
1939 gets a lot of attention as the de-facto "Greatest Year for Film", but I want to shine my light on other years that end in "9" that I consider to be first rate: 1979, 1989, 1999, 2019, and to a lesser extent, 1959.
Instead of limiting myself to the anniversary motif, I will also be doing lists based around other years for film that I consider to be among the best-of-the-best.
I am going to start with 1989, a year that I feel isn't always grouped into such an esteemed list. I also feel like it is a great year in which we got some truly wonderful films that might be considered more mainstream rather than artsy...but it also is a year where we see a glimpse into what 90s cinema would offer us: a great indie scene that felt more inspired by 70s cinema and was mostly lost in the 80s.
I am also going to try to single out more than 10 films because some of the years simply warrant more films to be mentioned...or maybe I am just trying to meet an even number because I would rather discuss 20 films instead of 17 due to some kind of number-based OCD.
Oh well. It is my blog. ;-)
Some of these selections below will contain spoilers while some I may keep quiet on, so just be forewarned.
With that, let us begin with discussing 20 films from 1989 that I think deserve a mention:
Considering how the two most recent installments were rather "meh" in their eventual product, it does make me wish that they had just kept Indiana Jones as a trilogy.
After the more erratic response given to the second installment Temple of Doom, there is a definite return to normalcy with The Last Crusade, but it has an added dose of warmth and fun with the addition of Sean Connery as Indy's father Henry along with the flashbacks of young Indy played by River Phoenix.
While I might consider Raiders to be a better overall film, I can't really deny how enjoyable that Last Crusade is and how it is one of the greatest sequels ever made. It all comes down to that dynamic between Ford and Connery, which easily makes the funniest out of all the entries.
I remember growing up how my mother always said that when movies had three installments that the second film was always the weakest and that the third was an improvement. She strongly felt this about Indiana Jones (considering that comment was made well before Crystal Skull was released), and while there are always exceptions to the rule (ahemGodfatherahem), I do think it is true amongst the Indiana Jones offerings.
Having said that, Temple of Doom is a lot of fun too.
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#19 - ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY
Written & Directed by Paul Mazursky
Co-written by Roger L. Simon
Mazursky is one of the filmmakers that I feel doesn't get enough attention these days, but he was always good at crafting very witty but sometimes dramatic films like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Next Stop Greewnich Village, Moscow on the Hudson, Down & Out in Beverly Hills, and my personal favorite: An Unmarried Woman.
One of the his best and more dramatic efforts was 1989's Enemies, A Love Story which resolves around a Holocaust survivor named Herman (Ron Silver) who migrated to the US and married his former maid Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein) after he assumes his wife Tamara (Anjelica Huston) perished at Auschwitz.
Herman has also taken up an affair with Masha (Lena Olin) when he soon discovers that not only Tamara ended up surviving the concentration camp, but that she came to New York to be with him.
Like clockwork, both Yadwiga and Masha discover that they are pregnant.
This is a story that borders on the melodramatic and yet, it often feels surprisingly subtle and bleak with moments of intensity that feel earned.
Perhaps it is a film that suffers a little from truly being able to connect with some of its characters, particularly that of Herman, but Mazursky is able to get a lot of his female actors in terms of wonderful performances. Olin and Huston both received Oscar nominations (with some, at the time, thinking that Huston might pull off the victory) and they alone make the film worth checking out.
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#18 - DEAD POETS SOCIETY
Directed by Peter Weir
Considering I was only a year old when Dead Poets Society was first released, my first exposure to the film was seeing the trailer on a VHS rental. By the time I was 6 years old (circa 1994), I was very familiar with Robin Williams due to Hook, Aladdin, and his then newest film Mrs. Doubtfire.
I can remember seeing Dead Poets Society popping up and my mom immediately shutting down the idea of me seeing it: "No, it is for adults. It is too dark and too sad".
And sure, she was right...but that statement strangely stayed with me. It was my first instance of really remembering and taking notice to (even at that young of an age) an actor I thought was more of a funny guy and that he was in a movie that could be considered "sad" and "dark".
Nowadays, it is obvious the film has maintained a kind of solid pop culture hold particularly with Robin Williams' John Keating reciting the iconic "Carpe Diem" or the use of "O Captain, My Captain" complete with them standing on a desk.
On a random note, the film managed to win Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars in what was considered an upset over films like Crimes & Misdemeanors, Do The Right Thing,sex, lies, and videotape, and When Harry Met Sally.
Spoiler alert but you will be seeing all 4 of those films on the list ahead...so I do sort of feel inclined to say that Dead Poets Society was the weakest. However, that is the problem with comparisons in these cases.
There is a reason the film has endured for so long, but I do feel maybe these other films spoke to me on a deeper level.
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#17 - ROGER & ME
Written & Directed by Michael Moore
On the evening of March 23, 2003, I was watching the live broadcast of the 75th Oscars which was just THREE DAYS after we officially began The Iraq War. Tensions were high and we even had built in delays during the broadcast so news reports could be given before we returned to the ceremony.
A lot was said about this war and more informed opinions have involved in the years since, but there were those who believed right off the bat that this was not a war we should be having.
Michael Moore took to the stage winning his predicted Oscar for the iconic documentary Bowling for Columbine and proceeded to bash George W. Bush for the war. The audience boos, but some just sit in bemused or awkward silence.
Harrison Ford grinned, Martin Scorsese claps, Adrien Brody doesn't even know how to take it and glances around for reactions....but it was such a great and warranted moment and Michael Moore was totally right.
Needless to say, Michael Moore became a household name that night and it led me to seek out the film that had originally made him known in film circles: Roger & Me, a look at how the actions of GM CEO Roger Smith's closing down several auto plants in his hometown of Flint, Michigan led to the economical downfall of the area.
Moore portraying Smith as the out-of-touch buffoon that he was undoubtedly made the film seen as a disgrace to Smith and other higher ups at GM, but it became highly popular from people within the company who enjoyed seeing Smith be made a fool of.
The exposure led to GM's stock to drop, but Moore was also accused of falsifying details considering at the time, Flint was considered to be on something a slight rise (which we've since discovered would not be long lasting)...but regardless of what you have to say about Moore's choices, there is no denying that Smith deserved the drubbing.
Michael Moore may love to showboat, but his intentions are usually pretty spot on.
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#16 - TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!
Written & Directed by Pedro Almodovar
This will likely be the most controversial film on this list...and the one that I often battle with in terms of the story it is trying to tell.
But it is Pedro Almodovar, a man who is able to master dark comedy in the most surprising of places.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is a film about rape/assault. You could completely argue that this is a film that plays out like a sick fantasy for a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to make a woman love him...but for those of you who haven't seen it, I will leave it vague as to whether or not that works out for the guy.
Ricky (an early role for Antonio Banderas) is a young man who is a released from a mental institution because he is deemed to be cured. However, he eagerly wants to seek out a relationship with a former porn star turned actress named Marina (Victoria Abril) with whom he slept with once when he actually escaped from the hospital.
After forcing himself into the apartment, he ties her up and tapes her mouth shut and makes sure she knows that he is doing this because it will be a way for her to get to know him better...and that by the end of it, she will fall in love and want to get married.
So yeah...this one is a doozy...
Almodovar, a filmmaker who is typically known for being a master when it comes to writing and directing women, faced some attacks for what seemed like a film that condoned the actions of a truly deranged man. I can understand that sentiment, but I view the film as a very dark melodramatic satire and despite its incredibly sinister undertones, we aren't meant to take it that seriously.
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#15 - HOMEWORK
Written & Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has gotten some mentions over the past couple of years on my blog via such films as Taste of Cherry and Where is the Friend's House? which both seem to be among the most known of his work.
Homework is something of a hidden gem, but what makes it stand out is that it is more of a narrative documentary.
Set at the Shahlid Masumi School, Kiarostami interviews several students along with some of the parents to get their insight on the standard practice of giving out homework to students...and while illiteracy among some of the students is a concern, the fact that some of the parents also suffer from illiteracy proves to be a major hurdle in them being able to help their children.
Perhaps the most famous documentary of 1989 is Michael Moore's "put him on the nap" outing of Roger & Me...but I did put Homework ahead of it because I think it hit more of a powerful note in the grand scheme. It is a very interesting, if not bleak, look at an issue that is certainly not discussed as much whether it be here in the States or somewhere like Iran.
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#14 - THE SEVENTH CONTINENT
Written & Directed by Michael Haneke
Co-written by Johanna Teicht
Leave it to Michael Haneke to destroy your soul and you still end up admiring him for it.
After making a bigger name for himself with such bleak and brutal films such as Funny Games, The Piano Teacher, The White Ribbon, and Amour, I feel like a lot of people have either forgotten about or not heard of The Seventh Continent, the film that began to net him notice on a wider scale.
You could argue that the film is something of a strange companion piece to that of Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman in that we are witnessing a fair amount of domestic life and the routines within...but unlike that other film, The Seventh Continent focuses on a family and despite the routines, we do sense a certain bleakness beneath the surface...until the end shows us that perhaps it was far more devastating than we ever realized.
Perhaps the ending wasn't a huge shock for me when I finally saw the film as I had already seen a fair amount of his films by that point...but Haneke is a dark and relentless filmmaker. For every torture porn film out there...and you can even argue Funny Games may even flirt with that category...they have nothing on the intense emotional gut punch that Haneke seems to provide in pretty much everything he does.
It is a film that truly taps into that feeling of whether there truly is much meaning to existing and then approaches it with such a nihilism. As with any Haneke effort, perhaps you should wait to view this when you are in a stable from of mind.
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#13 - MY LEFT FOOT
Written & Directed by Jim Sheridan
Co-written by Shane Connaughton/Original Work by Christy Brown
Jim Sheridan is a filmmaker who has seemingly disappeared from the public eye. I can't even recall the last time I have seen one of is films, but during the 80s and up to 2003's In America, he provided us with some very solid vehicles that were often wonderful gets for his performers.
The legend of Daniel Day-Lewis began, in my mind, with his work as Christy Brown in My Left Foot, the autobiographical film about said writer/painter who suffered from cerebral palsy and could only work with his functioning left foot.
A lot of what makes this film work aside from its inspiring story is the dedicated work of Daniel Day-Lewis and the incredibly strong support given by Brenda Fricker.
Day-Lewis is now considered to be retired but a lot of his legend rides on the fact that he was a method actor who lived deeply within his roles during shooting...but he never thought that made him a better actor than others, it was just the process that worked for him and he didn't try to flaunt it in others faces like...say...Jared Leto.
His commitment to this role is simply stunning and considering his passion and strong spirit make him a compelling figure to watch, it is also no surprise to me that Brenda Fricker, an Irish actress who at that point was only really known to UK audiences for her performance on the soap opera Casualty, won an Oscar along with him.
It is a movie of great warmth and compassion and while some may write it off as dull and a bit of a slog to sit through, I find it to be a very inspirational piece.
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#12 - THE LITTLE MERMAID
Written & Directed by John Musker & Ron Clements
I feel very confident in saying that, as a whole, The Little Mermaid not only holds up very well in terms of films from the Disney canon, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important as well.
The modern standard of the Disney animated film truly began with The Little Mermaid, as its incorporation of a Broadway musical structure helped launch the flailing Disney Studios into the era that would become known as the Disney Renaissance.
The late writer/lyricist Howard Ashman, along with his composing partner Alan Menken, were crucial to the development of The Little Mermaid...and the results are certainly being felt to this day. Even if Disney may be struggling a bit again, the films of the Disney Renaissance are still held in high regard.
Aside from the fact that the film contains a contender for one of the best Disney villains (Ursula), it also has such a classic feel in its animation that sets it apart from the more computerized elements that would be sprinkled throughout the other Renaissance outings right after.
Not to mention, that Menken/Ashman score is a marvel.
Considering I was only a year old when it came out, I can't even remember a time of my life where this film wasn't a part of it. The nostalgia factor is real, but it is just simply a gold standard of how to do an animated film musical.
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#11 - WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Written by Nora Ephron
Directed by Rob Reiner
I think a lot of people may take the writing of Nora Ephron for granted.
If you want to talk about modern day romantic comedies, you can easily make the case that she was the master at the form...and in turn, that may make many scoff who consider romantic comedies as a lesser artform.
What is kind of remarkable though is how much these kinds of films can truly stick the landing when done to their best potential, and as you may have gathered, When Harry Met Sally is one of those films that reached that lofty potential.
Told over the span of a decade, Harry and Sally (Billy Crystal & Meg Ryan) who share a ride from Chicago to New York as he is heading for a new job out of college while she is moving on to journalism school. After seeming like a mismatch, their paths keep crossing throughout the 80s and their attraction begins to blossom the more they spend time together.
A lot of the formula that has made modern day romantic comedies comes from When Harry Met Sally and because of that, I feel like much like the writing of Ephron, we take the whole film for granted for that reason.
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#10 - SANTA SANGRE
Written & Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Co-written by Robert Leoni & Claudio Argento
Jodorowsky is known for being a pretty challenging filmmaker who is quite intense and bold with his representation of horror and violence...which does make you wonder how he would've fared if he had actually been able to tackle Dune.
It is kind of laughable to say that Santa Sangre is likely his most accessible film, but I would argue that it may be the closest thing he has to such a claim. I think a lot of that may be due to the fact that the film has more of a linear narrative...sort of like how Blue Velvet is easier to follow in David Lynch's filmography compared to Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive.
Santa Sangre is one psychotic and chaotic circus of a film...and the circus angle is fitting since our lead character Fenix (played Jodorowsky's son, Axel) was a former circus performer. We meet him at a mental institution as he sits naked in a tree where nurses try to coax him down with a plate of raw fish, because we all know raw fish just makes everyone overcome with excitement.
Fenix escapes the hospital and is able to locate his mother Concha (Blanca Guerra), who leads a truly disturbing religious cult and she forces him to commit brutal murders in her name.
So yes, this might be Jordorowsky's most accessible film, but to put it bluntly, it is still a mindfuck.
You could argue that film taps into that Freudian-esque mother obsession taken to a whole new level from that of Norman Bates in Psycho.
This is film that promises to provide madness and somehow still lives you in awe of the truly disturbing operatic scope that it provides. No words can truly do it justice, and it isn't necessarily for the faint of heart.
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#9 - KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
Written & Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
For perhaps the biggest 180 turn I could possibly give you...
Is it just me or does Kiki's Delivery Service not get same level of attention and love as some of Miyazaki's other work?
I will admit that I don't think it is his best work by any means but considering the high quality of the majority of his output, it comes as no surprise that Kiki stands out even in a great year for film like 1989.
Very few filmmakers have had the kind of track record that Miyazaki has had...and particularly all the films that come out of Studio Ghibli.
Much like My Neighbor Totoro before it, there is a lot of pure joy while watching Kiki's Delivery Service that normally may make me scoff otherwise...but there is something magical about how this team can make a joyous film like this work.
Kiki is a young witch who is out on her year of independence in the real world, but she is finding difficulty fitting in with everyone around her while she works for an air courier service.
It's a simple but fanciful plot, and while I could see a lot of other studios/filmmakers dropping the ball here, it is the right kind of inspirational and lively film that Ghibli/Miyazaki know how to sell.
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#8 - DRUGSTORE COWBOY
Written & Directed by Gus Van Sant
Co-written by Daniel Yost
The film that began to put Gus Van Sant on the map, Drugstore Cowboy doesn't seem to be as remembered or as discussed as much as his other work. I had discovered the film through my interest in watching episodes of Siskel & Ebert and reading their reviews back in the 90s not long before Gene Siskel passed away. Both had included the film on their Top 10 lists of the year, and the description of it certainly intrigued me.
Set in the early 70s, a young couple named Bob and Dianne (Matt Dillon & Kelly Lynch), along with their friends Rick and Nadine (James LeGros & Heather Graham), bounce around the Pacific Northwest robbing pharmacies and hospitals as a means to support their drug addictions.
Drugstore Cowboy is the first of a few films on this top 10 that played a crucial role in highlighting a surge back to prominent indie filmmaking, which I will discuss more when I go into some of the other films on this list...but it was still a film that was mainly embraced by the critics while not receiving a lot of mainstream attention.
When I think about films that delve into drug addiction, I feel like two major examples that come to mind as they came out in the early stages of my filmgoing discovery were Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream. There is undoubtedly a gritty bleak quality to those and frankly, I feel Drugstore Cowboy deserves to be seen and talked about as much as those.
I always think back to the scene where Matt Dillon has to identify Heather Graham's body in the morgue after she ODs. If I recall, it might one of the first instances, if not THE first instance where I saw such a scene in a film.
A truly haunting and unnerving piece of work that still ranks highly amongst Gus Van Sant's best.
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#7 - MYSTERY TRAIN
Written & Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Sigh...Jim Jarmusch.
While not exactly a household name, Jarmusch is one of those indie filmmakers who tends to be quite beloved in film circles but has yet to receive any kind of mainstream recognition like some of his contemporaries such as The Coen Brothers or Steven Soderbergh.
While I wouldn't consider it his best film, Mystery Train is very much a great film that ranks near the top of his filmography and is also a great example of what can be so wonderful about a Jarmusch film.
The film consists of three stories, all linked by the decrepit Arcade Hotel in Memphis.
The most remembered and perhaps indelible story is the first, which is called "Far From Yokohama", which sees a young Japanese couple named Mitsuko & Jun (Youki Kudoh & Masatoshi Nagase) traveling through the States but they stop in Memphis as Jun has a particular obsession with Elvis Presley...and conveniently enough, the rooms of the Arcade Hotel don't contain a TV...but each are adorned with a portrait of Presley.
But beyond that one story, the film feels like a quiet bubbling river moving along...and it is that sort of listless quality that may drive some crazy. You could say it is one of those films that shows a universe and we are there to witness it unfold in all its quirky, punk-like glory.
Also - the use of the "Chekhov's gun" motif is used so freshly in this film that I can't help but give it an extra bonus point for that purpose.
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#6 - CHAMELEON STREET
Written & Directed by Wendell B. Harris, Jr.
"Some people call me Mr. Wonderful...other people call me William Douglas Street, Jr."
When I first began watching Shark Tank years ago, I would always hear Kevin O'Leary refer to himself as Mr. Wonderful...but in truth, the REAL Mr. Wonderful is Wendell B. Harris, Jr. and William Douglas Street, Jr.
Chameleon Street is a film that premiered at the Toronto Festival of Festivals, or as it is now known, the Toronto International Film Festival...and would win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance's 1990 Festival. Despite this, it would take nearly a full year for this small film to find a distributor and the reviews were extremely mixed.
For every review calling it a "disappointment" and a "disjointed" mess, there were others calling it "highly original" and "provocative"...and I suppose that can be the norm when dealing with a satire.
William Douglas Street Jr. is a high-school dropout and a highly experienced con artist who has posed as doctors and lawyers and athletes and even posing as a surgeon who somehow was able to perform 36 successful hysterectomies.
In recent years, Richard Brody of The New Yorker became a champion of the film, calling it "an overlooked masterpiece".
Yes, it is.
Chameleon Street was ahead of its time. The satire of it feels far more biting than anything else from that time period and it also shows us the great skill that Harris has...but Brody also pointed out that Harris' skill and content displayed in the film sadly mirrors the lack of attention he has been able to sustain for a career.
I have always felt that Wendell B. Harris, Jr. is someone who is a prime example of a marginalized figure who deserves way more than he has actually gotten. And while he is apparently in post-production on a documentary that his been a decade-plus long passion project that delves into such topics as the military industrial complex, I still think a work such as Chameleon Street is something that needs to be seen more. It made me happy to see Criterion promoting it on their Instagram last year.
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#5 - THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, & HER LOVER
Written & Directed by Peter Greenaway
Out of all the filmmakers on this list, Peter Greenaway has the distinction of being the only one in which I have seen just one of his films.
You don't really hear a lot about Greenaway these days, and for whatever reason, the rest of his filmography never seemed to be as readily available to me. Perhaps I should change that as I do think some of his efforts look quite intriguing and divisive...not to mention the fact that THIS film is quite the feast in various ways.
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is a film I discovered via that of online film critic James Berardinelli, who has been a fixture on his ReelViews website pretty much since the earliest days of the internet's mainstream infancy. He included the film on his Top 100 list, and it was one of several at the time (2002-2003ish) that I had not heard referenced anywhere before.
I didn't even see the film until around 2007, when it got a bit of a push following the Oscar win of Helen Mirren for The Queen...and needless to say, Mirren's Georgina was a far cry from Queen Elizabeth II.
Georgina is the wife of Albert (Michael Gambon), the abusive pig of a man who owns a French restaurant called Le Hollandais. Georgina is forced by Albert to come to the restaurant every night along with his posse, but one fateful evening, the neglected Georgina happens to catch the glance of a diner (Alan Howard) and before you know it, the two are in the bathroom beginning a fling.
In life, we often get immense pleasure out of sexual acts and great food...but somehow, this film manages to make you repulsed and enthralled with it all at the same time.
This is a film that manages to be glorious and repellant and sumptuous and revolting all at the same time...and it is better to go into blind, but with some caution.
Having said all this, I think I did myself a disservice not checking out the rest of Greenaway's work sooner, so I intend to change that!
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#4 - SEX, LIES, & VIDEOTAPE
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
The 1980s were a decade of glitz and access...a decade of greed and selfish tendencies; a decade in which conservatism dominated in a sickening way.
Amongst that glitz was a decline in prominence for great indie filmmaking. Sure, we did see the slow rise of Jim Jarmusch and particularly The Coen Brothers but there's a reason why when Roger Ebert reviewed 1984's Paris, Texas that he commented that film felt like it was a film that should've come out 10 years prior.
I have already discussed films like Mystery Train and Chameleon Street which fall under this indie umbrella, but there was something very potent about sex, lies, and videotape that made people at the time take notice and it truly feels like one film from that era that gave us hope that we would see an artsy indie uptick in the 1990s.
Even though he would go on to be an Oscar winning director who would manage to straddle the line between indies and bigger box office successes like Ocean's Eleven and Magic Mike, the story of Steven Soderbergh begins here...and frankly, I still think of this as his best film.
Much like Truffaut with The 400 Blows or Satyajit Ray with Pather Panchali, I do think this is one of the best debuts of a filmmaker...especially within the last 40-50 years. At the age of 26, he would win the Palme d'or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, still the youngest solo director to ever take the prize...and for his debut at that!
sex, lies, and videotape may have been a key film in unearthing a new interest in indie cinema, but it was also the perfect film to fight against that same conservative nature that dominated the 80s. Even today, we still live in a society that is far more accepting of violence rather than sex. If you look back at Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, that miniseries led to frustrated couples finally being able to air their grievances with one another and caused an uptick/acceptance in divorce as a viable option rather than staying in an unhappy marriage.
Sex, as a topic, is usually treated with shame but I think the film shines a light on how it needs to be talked about way more.
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#3 - CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS
Written & Directed by Woody Allen
The legend of Woody Allen ends here.
Despite solid successes and even winning another Screenplay Oscar for Midnight in Paris back in 2012, I strongly feel that Woody Allen has not made a truly great film since Crimes & Misdemeanors...one of the rare films of his where along with his comedic subplot (involving him, Mia Farrow, and Alan Alda), we get treated to a darker dramatic story that doesn't feel forced or pretentious (with Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, and Jerry Orbach).
In fact, the film completely portrays these two stories as separate entities and doesn't even try to combine them at first...which might seem jarring, but it actually works out remarkably well. Then, at the end, the stories sort of collide by happenstance when they attend a wedding of a mutual friend/colleague.
Woody Allen, back when he did routinely place himself in his work, plays Cliff, a documentarian who is hired by his pompous brother-in-law Lester (Alda) to make a film about his life and successes as a producer. During the process, Cliff starts to fall for Lester's associate producer Holley (Farrow) even though he is married to Lester's sister Wendy (Joanna Gleason).
Meanwhile, Judah Rosenthal (Landau) is a well-respected and wealthy ophthalmologist who is having an affair with a flight attendant named Dolores (Huston) who is done with Judah's lies about leaving his wife for her. After she threatens to go to his wife Miriam with the truth, Judah panics and talks to his brother Jack (Orbach), who is involved in organized crime...and you probably already know where that is going.
I feel like Crimes & Misdemeanors is such a success that it comes as no surprise that certain themes from the film would become nearly identical plot points in future works of his such as Match Point, Cassandra's Dream, Irrational Man, and Wonder Wheel. Even though Allen himself felt Match Point was one of his best efforts, there is no denying that a lot of that film owes a debt to Crimes &Misdemeanors which truly manages to walk the fine line that is tragicomedy and makes it often quite profound.
Perhaps what really sells that angle is the small subplot where Cliff shows Holley an interview he made with Professor Levy (played by famed NYU Professor of Psychoanalysis Martin S. Bergmann) where he speaks about his thoughts on life and the universe...only for him to commit suicide during this process.
The film ends with a montage that has Bergmann as Levy speaking in voiceover that I find to be one of the most quietly beautiful moments I have seen in a film:
"It is only we, with our capacity to love, that give meaning to the indifferent universe. And yet, most human beings seem to have the ability to keep trying, and even to find joy from simple things, like their family, their work, and from the hope that future generations might understand more".
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#2 - DEKALOG
Written & Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Dekalog was originally presented as a 10-part miniseries on Polish television, but most of them were released as short films in the United States with two of them getting particular notice: A Short Film About Love and A Short Film About Killing.
As it stands, each of the 10 parts focused on one of the Ten Commandments....and even the weaker parts still stand as quite good.
So yes...it was originally a miniseries...but as a whole, this is one of the great masterworks of the 80s and also a crowning achievement of Krzystof Kieslowski's career...which is saying something considering he would go on to make The Double Life of Veronique and the iconic Three Colours Trilogy.
When I originally posted my "Best Films of the 1980s" list a couple of years ago, I debated putting Dekalog on the list, but decided against it...and I will now atone for that by placing it on this list.
My logic at the time was that Dekalog was still technically a TV miniseries, so I excluded it from consideration...but the truth is that I feel like it is too good to ignore here...and besides, we discovered it in the States as a film...sort of similar to both Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage and Fanny & Alexander.
The setting for the film is a housing project in communist Poland and each episode focuses on various tenants facing an ethical dilemma based around, as I mentioned, the Ten Commandments.
Kieslowski passed away only 7 years after Dekalog was first released but in that 7 year period, he truly established a legacy as one of the best filmmakers to have ever lived...and sometimes I still think he is a bit of an unsung hero.
I feel a bit speechless about Dekalog if I am being honest. I read one comment on Letterboxd that viewed the film as a religious experience...and that isn't even related to the "Commandment" connection. It just feels like a monumental moment in artistic expression in a way that not many pieces of entertainment are.
It is art being presented at its best potential...or as close to it as one can get.
Frankly, Dekalog is in a class by itself...but then again, so is my #1 choice and I think both of them warrant the elusive spot. For now, that #1 film will be...
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#1 - DO THE RIGHT THING
Written & Directed by Spike Lee
The sad truth about Do the Right Thing is how relevant the film still remains...and that relevancy never left because its themes on race and police brutality have always been an issue.
It is even more crazy when you realize that in two instances, Spike Lee films lost out on major awards due to voting bodies opting for films that took on a rather docile look at racism. Do the Right Thing was infamously snubbed in the Best Picture and Director races and lost the former prize to Driving Miss Daisy. Years later, Blackkklansman lost Best Picture to Green Book, and while it didn't really have much of a shot, it is no wonder Spike Lee tried to leave the ceremony after its announcement...and in the press room afterwards, he made the proclamation that he doesn't get why he keeps losing to films about white and black people driving.
When I wrote about Do The Right Thing a couple of years ago, I had made a comment based off an interaction I had with a customer at one of my previous jobs.
At this job, I was actually the only white guy on staff. I was closest with a black native New Yorker who was just slightly younger than me in age...but he was talking to me about Do The Right Thing as he had never seen it, but kept hearing about it.
At the same time, we had a black female customer enter the store and she overheard the conversation and she interjected: "You know what I think? I think Spike Lee should've called the movie The Right Thing!".
This is in response to the fact that the character of Mookie, played by Lee himself, starts a riot where he destroys his place of work, Sal's Pizza, after the police end up killing the character of Radio Raheem in a clear case of police brutality.
It makes me think of that oft-quoted line of Martin Luther King Jr: "I think we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard".
And I thought a lot about that quote during 2020 as people rioted and protested the death of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin...and, it must be said, the COUNTLESS senseless deaths of people of color at the hands of the police.
Do The Right Thing was perhaps a bit too radical for the Academy, but it was the truth in 1989 and it is the truth today...sadly.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
I do think it is remarkable how many fantastic films were released in '89. It just never seems to get the same kind of discussion as 1999 does in terms of great cinema years of the last 40 years or so.
And to be fair, this list left up some fairly popular films like Batman or other films that seem to have strong fanbases to this very day like Steel Magnolias or Say Anything. I also didn't mention Best Picture nominees Born on the Fourth of July, Field of Dreams, and the eventual winner Driving Miss Daisy...well aside from the fact that Daisy was the one to beat the snubbed Do The Right Thing.
As for the other two, I don't think anything is really wrong with July per se, but it is just not strong enough to make my top 20. I also never bought into the sap fest that is Field of Dreams...which I know may be an unpopular opinion but so be it.
I do want to address the movie Heathers, which had been classified for many years as a 1988 film but it didn't technically get a more widespread release till 1989. I had placed the film on my top 10 for 1988...which is a list I made last year as it was the 35th Anniversary. If I were to include Heathers on this list, it would've likely been somewhere in the #9-12 range.
I feel like a lot of my output lately has been a bit more erratic and a lot of that has just been me falling into a bit of a malaise, but I do hope to post a lot more stuff this summer compared to this spring.
Hopefully I can put up my discussion about 1999 next, but there are a few pieces I have been bouncing around with and one of them might get finished first. I guess I will just leave you in suspense then.
Until then, go watch one of these movies! Or all of them!
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