Favorites of 2000

[oscar jubis]

1. THE HOUSE OF MIRTH (Terence Davies)
-- ORPHANS (Peter Mullan)
-- THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (Sofia Coppola)
4. DANCER IN THE DARK (Lars von Trier)
-- TRANS (Julian Goldberger)
-- TWO-FAMILY HOUSE (Ray De Felitta)
7. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (Darren Aronofsky)
8. HAMLET (Michael Almereyda)
9. JESUS' SON (Alison Maclean)
-- SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (E. Elias Merhige)

Runners Up
QUILLS
WONDERLAND
TRAFFIC
BEFORE NIGHT FALLS
POLLOCK
BILLY ELLIOT
CHICKEN RUN
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
THE NINTH GATE
ALMOST FAMOUS

Honorable Mention
Gladiator, Croupier, Beautiful People, Nurse Betty, Castaway, 13 Days, Erin Brockovich.

[Johann]

Dancer in the Dark is one of the greatest masterpieces of cinema.

It moved me beyond belief in 2000. It still does in 2007.
Lars von Trier is a modern Master.
See all of his work- it's simply brilliant.
The films he makes are bizarre, beautiful, sublime, intriguing, compelling and unique.

They will all leave indelible impressions on you if you're open to it.

[oscar jubis]

Dancer in the Dark is a fusion of grand melodrama and experimental musical. The casting of Bjork, who vowed never to act again, pays huge dividends. The songs grow on you like mold on bread. The anti-capital punishment message hits you with undeniable power. I simply love this film and will watch it again and again.

[Johann]

I own the soundtrack to Dancer in the Dark (SelmaSongs)

On the CD ,"I've Seen it All" is a duet with Radiohead's Thom Yorke and that version is a little different than the one in the film with the great, great Peter Stormare- one of my all-time favorite actors who hardly anyone knows but have probably seen in umpteen different movies- the soundtrack is sublime.
Her music can be extremely esoteric, an acquired taste, but it's sublime stuff if you give it a chance...

Nice picks for 2000 Oscar- you have an eye for good films.

Wonderland I haven't seen (the Michael Winterbottom film).

Wonderland from 2003 is very underrated and not too many people I know have seen it. Val Kilmer as John Holmes- heavy duty stuff.
L.A., the wierd porn biz of Wadd's time, personal devastation and recklessness, a real risk as a movie and as a role, which Val pulls off in my humble.

Kilmer is amazing. He never gets his due.
I've seen the final cut of Alexander several times and I'm coming to the conclusion that he was the best thing in the movie. Even better than the rock-solid Anthony Hopkins, who Brad Pitt calls "a stud". But I'm probably alone in my thinking on that.

Quills is a huge fave, and so is The Ninth Gate.

All high-quality films on your list Oscar. All must-sees.

TITUS is in my top ten of all-time.
But doesn't it fall under 1999?

[oscar jubis]

Thanks for taking the time to post.

You're right about Titus' release date. I've included it on my 1999 list.

I enjoyed Wonderland (2003) with Val Kilmer, mostly due to the performances. Kilmer pulls it off indeed.

I'll ask Chelsea to download "I've Seen It All" for me so I can listen to this alternate version.

I'm re-watching a couple of films in preparation to post a 2000 Foreign-language list. I'm running into a problem since my 90s lists are based on year of World premiere and my 2000s lists are based on year of American premiere. So, there will be some overlap between my late 90s foreign lists and my 2000 foreign one.

[Johann]

No worries. I love your posts.

Both versions of I've Seen It All are incredible, with the male voice perfectly complimenting Bjork's.
That sequence in the film is probably my favorite too, with the choreographed dancing on the train, great edited shots- remember the two guys fishing? Trier is a genius.

Have you seen Niagara Falls?
I have seen water, it's water, that's all...