John Klacsmann
Archivist, Anthology Film Archives
USA
Voted for
| Film | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Wavelength | 1967 | Michael Snow |
| Crossroads | 1976 | Bruce Conner |
| At Land | 1944 | Maya Deren |
| Zapruder Kennedy Assassination Film | 1963 | Abraham Zapruder |
| Scorpio Rising | 1964 | Kenneth Anger |
| What's Wrong With This Picture? | 1971 | George Landow |
| Razor Blades | 1965-68 | Paul Sharits |
| Notebook | 1962 | Marie Menken |
| Perfect Film | 1986 | Ken Jacobs |
| Fantasia | 1940 | Ben Sharpsteen, Samuel Armstrong, Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson |
Comments
Wavelength
Transcendence at (on) 300 Canal Street, Floor 2.
Crossroads
The last movie.
At Land
Ethereality in cement splices.
Zapruder Kennedy Assassination Film
The most famous film of the 20th century?
A $16,000,000 roll of 8mm.
Scorpio Rising
Pure pop perfection.
True underground cinema.
What's Wrong With This Picture?
A love letter to the (neglected) educational film. Filmmaking on a whole other plane.
Razor Blades
Finally violently obliterating the constraints of an orthodox single screen + mono sound cinema.
Notebook
Pioneering a personal cinema.
Perfect Film
A perfect film. The original cinematic "readymade".
Fantasia
Disney never returned to getting so far out, even while having so much on the line.
My favorite visionary Hollywood epic.
Further remarks
Greatest? What is does it mean to be great?
Film? What is Film?
Or, rather, what *isn't* Film nowadays?
Plus, what do I know?
This is humbling: I've only seen a minuscule amount of all the films made to be any kind of authority on Film, worldwide, 1888 to present.
As such, this is simply a personal list of some of the titles that have remained with me, stood my test of time, and truly expanded my mind. Films that, for me, redefined the possibilities of what Film can – or ideally should – be.
Which is to say: these Films fed me and so I think they are some of the Greatest.