Ty Burr

Comments

Late Spring

If I could pack "Late Spring," "Tokyo Story," and "Ohayo" into one No. 1 spot, I would, but "Spring" is the one I keep coming back to, as it seems to hover so closely to the rhythms and regrets of ordinary lfe.

The Godfather

The greatest classical narrative in cinema history, standing Janus-like between the studio era and the modern age.

Céline and Julie Go Boating

An endlessly enjoyable (and structurally endless) comic essay on female friendship, storytelling, Paris in summer, and the hazy line between fiction and reality.

Au hasard Balthazar

The greatest religious film ever made? A Christian passion play as told through the life of a donkey in postwar France. Unbearably moving no matter no matter your spiritual persuasion.

Vertigo

A great director and chronic voyeur (redundancy? discuss) comes clean about the costs of voyeurism on both the gazer and the gazed upon. The rare movie that works as theory and practice; also, it's heartbreaking.

Sherlock Jr.

The rare comedy that works as both theory and practice; also, it's hilarious. An anomaly -- too long for a short, too short for a feature, but what's there is perfection.

Where Is the Friend's House?

A boy returns some homework to a classmate; that's it, that's all, but it's everything. A parable about human kindness -- its difficulty, resilience, necessity -- in a harsh world.

Phantom Thread

Too soon? Then why does this epic romance between two beautiful, horrible people get better -- richer, funnier, sadder -- with repeat viewings? Couture filmmaking from multiple artists at the top of their games, it's going to age like a vintage Mouton Rothschild.

Lola Montès

A movie about a scandalous temptress everyone wants and an actual woman nobody sees, told in a breathtaking fractal kaleidoscope of flashbacks.

Mulholland Dr.

A bifurcated masterpiece about the no-(wo)man's-land between dream and waking life and how the movies in general and Hollywood in particular suck us into the darkness.