A Band Apart: Greatest Films Poll (2011)

The full results, including individual ballots, can be found here. My ballot, which I drew up a couple of months ago (reproduced underneath the main results below), already feels (inevitably) out of date.2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Pulp Fiction (1994)Taxi Driver (1976)Stalker (1979)Persona (1966)Mulholland Dr. (2001)Mirror (1975)City Lights (1931)The Godfather (1972)Apocalypse Now (1979)À Bout de Souffle (1960)Vertigo (1958)A Clockwork Orange (1971)8½...

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CFB's Top 40 Films of 1998 (2011)

The Thin Red Line (1998)The Big Lebowski (1998)Happiness (1998)Saving Private Ryan (1998)Run Lola Run (1998)The Truman Show (1998)Gods and Monsters (1998)Festen (1998)Dark City (1998)A Simple Plan (1998)American History X (1998)Shakespeare in Love (1998)Show Me Love (1998)Pleasantville (1998)Pi (1998)Central Station (1998)Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)The Opposite of Sex (1998)Elizabeth (1998)Flowers of Shanghai (1998)The Last Days of Disco...

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CFB's Top 25 Obscure Films of 1998 (2011)

Cabaret Balkan (1998)Christmas in August (1998)The Power of Kangwon Province (1998)42: Forty Two Up (1998)Mr. Zhao (1998)Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998)Of Freaks and Men (1998)The Terrorist (1998)The Farm: Angola, USA (1998)The Last Days (1998)Confession (1998)Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (1998)Barrio (1998)Dr. Akagi (1998)Flammes (1998)Secret Défense (1998)Flatworld (1998)Talking Heads 2 (1998)Billy’s Balloon (1998)Ruskin (1998)The Quarry (1998)Hollywoodism:...

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Fawlty Towers: Series 2 (1979)

Essential ViewingUKTelevision SeriesDirector: Bob SpiersWriters: Connie Booth, John CleeseCast: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Ballard Berkeley, Brian HallThough Cleese’s performance is slightly less manic and physical than in the first series, and his character a tad more sympathetic, this second series is, if anything, even funnier, smarter, and more memorable than its hilarious predecessor.1. Communication ProblemsWhen...

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Fawlty Towers: Series 1 (1975)

Essential ViewingUKTelevision SeriesDirector: John Howard DaviesWriters: Connie Booth, John CleeseComposer: Dennis WilsonCast: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Ballard BerkeleyA bigoted, elitist hotel owner – prone to fawning over nobility and treating with disdain the common man – manages to find himself in farcical situation after farcical situation, in this hilarious, brilliantly written first series, which benefits greatly...

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Northern Exposure: Season 2 (1991)

RecommendedUSATelevision SeriesCreators: Joshua Brand, John FalseyCast: Rob Morrow, Janine Turner, Barry Corbin, Darren E. Burrows, John Cullum, Cynthia Geary, Elaine Miles, Peg PhillipsThe second season of Northern Exposure, following the misadventure of a Jewish New York doctor marooned in the rural no-man’s-land of Cicely, Alaska, is a consistently entertaining work with no real weak episodes and at least one classic – Episode 2: The Big Kiss1....

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Northern Exposure: Season 1 (1990)

RecommendedUSATelevision SeriesCreators: Joshua Brand, John FalseyCast: Rob Morrow, Janine Turner, Barry Corbin, Darren E. Burrows, John Cullum, Cynthia Geary, Elaine Miles, Peg PhillipsA newly qualified doctor from New York struggles to adapt to life in rural Alaska, in this decidedly gentle and relatively straightforward though never less than thoroughly entertaining first season of a series that would go on to much greater things.1. PilotJewish...

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Couples Retreat (2009)

Not RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Peter BillingsleyWriters: Jon Favreau, Dana Fox, Vince VaughnCinematographer: Eric EdwardsComposer: A.R. RahmanCast: Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk, Jean Reno, Peter SerafinowiczAn intense, uptight married couple, considering divorce, convinces three other couples to accompany them on a retreat to an idyllic island, promising sun,...

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Grown Ups (2010)

Not RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Dennis DuganWriters: Adam Sandler, Fred WolfCinematographer: Theo van de SandeComposer: Rupert Gregson-WilliamsCast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, Joyce Van Patten, Ebony Jo-AnnWhen their championship winning junior high school basketball coach dies, five old friends and their families decide – as well as attending his funeral – to...

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The Walking Dead: Season 1 (2010)

Highly RecommendedUSATelevision SeriesDeveloper: Frank DarabontCast: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Emma Bell, IronE Singleton, Melissa Suzanne McBride, Jeryl PrescottAdapted from Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard’s comic books, Frank Darabont’s visceral and gory yet affecting and perceptive series, following the trials and tribulations of...

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Blow Out (1981)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Director: Brian De PalmaCinematographer: Vilmos ZsigmondComposer: Pino DonaggioCast: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis FranzA film soundman for trashy exploitation flicks, out in a remote spot one night recording new sounds for his latest project, manages to capture the fatal car crash of a presidential candidate on tape, as well as rescuing his comely young companion, and becomes convinced, as film...

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The Trip (2010)

RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Michael WinterbottomWriters: Steve Coogan, Rob BrydonCinematographer: Ben SmithardCast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Marta Barrio, Margo Stilley, Rebecca JohnsonEdited down from the excellent mini-series of the same title for an international release, Winterbottom, Coogan, and Brydon’s warm, witty, and affecting concoction – a tale of friendship, one-upmanship, middle-age regrets, and fragile entertainers’...

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Blotto (1930)

Not RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: James ParrottWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Anita Garvin, Tiny SandfordStanley, forbidden by his wife to go out on the town with his great pal Oliver, hatches a plan (involving a fake telegram and a stolen bottle of booze) to remedy his situation – unfortunately for him, his better half is onto him from the start and sets out to teach him a lesson, in this...

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Our Wife (1931)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: James W. HorneWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: Jack StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Babe London, James Finlayson, Ben Turpin, Charley Rogers, Blanche PaysonWith Mr. Finlayson ecstatic at the prospect of his daughter’s marriage right up until the point at which he sees a photograph of her intended, Mr. Hardy, Ollie, with the aid (read: hindrance) of his best pal Stan, is forced to change his plans and arrange...

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Our Relations (1936)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Harry LachmanWriters: Jack Jevne, Charles Rogers, Felix Adler, Richard Connell, W.W. JacobsCinematographer: Rudolph MatéComposer: Leroy ShieldCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Alan Hale, Sidney Toler, Daphne Pollard, Betty Healy, James Finlayson, Iris Adrian, Lona Andre, Ralf Harolde, Noel Madison, Arthur HousmanStan and Ollie, happily married pillars of the local community, find their reputations plummeting for...

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Saps at Sea (1940)

RecommendedUSAShort Feature FilmDirector: Gordon DouglasWriters: Felix Adler, Harry Langdon, Gil Pratt, Charles RogersCinematographer: Art LloydComposer: Marvin HatleyCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Richard Cramer, James FinlaysonAfter suffering a nervous breakdown brought on by his job testing horns (and exacerbated by a cockeyed plumber and a decidedly stupid best friend), Ollie, along with said chum, Stan, set off to recuperate (under doctor’s...

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You're Darn Tootin' (1928)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Edgar KennedyWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: Floyd JackmanCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Otto Lederer, Agnes Steele14 weeks behind on their board, and just sacked from their musical orchestra, Stan and Ollie suddenly find themselves kicked out onto the street, where they attempt to put their tuneful “talents” to use busking for change – but run-ins with a police officer, a drunk, and a sewer worker ensure that...

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Below Zero (1930)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: James ParrottWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Frank Holliday, Blanche PaysonIn this hugely entertaining, plot-packed Laurel and Hardy short, Street musicians Stan and Ollie find business tough going outside of the Deaf & Dumb Institute, and even harder going farther down the street where people can actually hear them, but a lost wallet, filled to the brim with...

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Pardon Us (1931)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAShort Feature FilmDirector: James ParrottWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: Jack StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Marlowe, Wilfred Lucas, James Finlayson, Walter Long, Stanley J. Sanford, Otto FriesIn this sporadically entertaining though rather drawn-out and decidedly patchy Laurel and Hardy film, Stan and Ollie, freshly convicted of boot-legging, find adapting to prison life decidedly difficult, due in no small...

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The Battle of the Century (1927)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Clyde BruckmanWriters: Hal Roach, H.M. WalkerCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Noah Young, Sam Lufkin, Charlie Hall, Anita GarvinAfter his crushing defeat to 'Thunder-Clap' Callahan, Hardy’s boxing trainer takes out an insurance policy against his fighter (Laurel), and sets out to get a return upon it by carefully placing an errant banana peel for him to slip up on – unfortunately...

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The Hoose-Gow (1929)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: James ParrottWriters: H.M. Walker, Leo McCareyCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Tiny Sandford, James FinlaysonPrison inmates Stan and Ollie, digging a ditch on work detail, cause untold havoc – including cutting down a tree housing a look-out guard and lodging a pick-axe in the radiator of a car – when the Governor and other dignitaries come to inspect their site, culminating...

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Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Cautiously RecommendedFinland/France/Norway/SwedenFeature FilmOriginal Title: Rare ExportsDirector: Jalmari HelanderWriters: Jalmari Helander, Petri Jokiranta, Sami Parkkinen, Juuso HelanderCinematographer: Mika OrasmaaComposers: Juri Seppä, Miska SeppäCast: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Per Christian Ellefsen, Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter JakobiWhen an American funded dig on the Russian side of the Korvatunturi Mountains...

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Putting Pants on Philip (1927)

Not RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Clyde BruckmanWriters: Leo McCarey, H.M. WalkerCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sam Lufkin, Harvey Clark, Dorothy CoburnThe be-kilted, lady-killing Philip (Laurel), fresh off the boat from Scotland, draws (with his sartorial elegance) a huge crowd where ever he goes, much to the chagrin of his hugely embarrassed uncle (Hardy), who decides that the best solution to his familial problem...

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Their First Mistake (1932)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: George MarshallCinematographer: Art LloydCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae BuschWhen Mrs. Hardy warns Ollie (under the threat of leaving him) that he’s not to go out on the town with Stan any more, Stan suggests that he give her a baby to take her mind off their gadding about, which he does that very afternoon, going out with Stan to adopt one – unfortunately, on their return, they are greeted not by...

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Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)

RecommendedUSAShort Feature FilmDirectors: George Marshall, Raymond McCareyWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: Art LloydCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Donald Dillaway, Jacquie Lyn, Grady Sutton, Muriel Evans, Montague Shaw, Richard Tucker, George MarshallWhen Stan and Ollie return from the trenches of The First World War without their army buddy Eddie Smith, they determine to take his daughter from her just-in-it-for-the-money foster parents and...

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Scram! (1932)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Ray McCareyWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: Art LloydCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Richard Cramer, Arthur Housman, Vivien OaklandWith its jails completely full, Judge Beaumont orders a pair of vagrants to leave town in lieu of the charge’s usual 180 day sentence, but instead Stan and Ollie hook up with a drunken millionaire, who offers them a place to stay for the night – cue dropped car keys, lost house keys,...

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Duck Soup (1927)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Fred GuiolWriters: H.M. Walker, Arthur J. JeffersonCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Marcus, Stuart Holmes, Madeline Hurlock, William Austin, Bob KortmanAttempting to avoid the attentions of a press-ganging forest ranger looking to recruit fire-fighters to battle a large blaze, Hives and Maltravers (Laurel and Hardy), a pair of dishevelled but well-spoken down-and-outs spy an opportunity to stay in a holidaying...

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The Second Hundred Years (1927)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Fred GuiolWriters: Leo McCarey, H.M. WalkerCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Stanley Sanford, Frank Brownlee, Otto Fries, Bob O'Conor, Ellinor Van der VeerAfter their first escape attempt resulted only in them tunnelling up into the Warden’s office, Big Goofy and Little Goofy (Laurel and Hardy) grab the opportunity to pose as painters and walk out of the front gate,...

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Call of the Cuckoo (1927)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Clyde BruckmanWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: Floyd JackmanCast: Max Davidson, "Spec" O'Donnell, Lillian Elliott, Leo Willis, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, James FinlaysonDesperate to sell their home to get away from their sanity-challenged neighbours – the residents of an asylum: Messrs Laurel, Hardy, Chase, and Finlayson – the Gimplewarts accept an offer for a house swap, based on photographic...

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45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: Fred Guiol Writers: Hal Roach, H.M. WalkerCast: Glenn Tryon, Charlotte Mineau, Rube Clifford, Oliver Hardy, Edna Murphy, Stan LaurelA country rube, in Hollywood to pay off a debt, gets mixed-up with a cross-dressing bank robber, whom he believes to be a movie star, soon finding himself in drag as well and inadvertently coming between a hotel detective and his insanely jealous wife – chaos ensues, in this...

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Night Owls (1930)

RecommendedUSAShort FilmDirector: James ParrottWriter: H.M. WalkerCinematographer: George StevensCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, James Finlayson, Anders RandolfWhen the Chief of Police admonishes him for his abysmal arrest record, Officer Kennedy convinces a pair of vagrants (Stan and Ollie) to help him stage a robbery at the chief’s house in order for him to intervene and save the day – which is easier said than done when the likes...

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The Turning Gate (2002)

Essential ViewingSouth KoreaFeature FilmOriginal Title: 생활의 발견Writer/Director: Hong Sang-sooCinematographer: Choi Yeong-taekComposer: Il WonCast: Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Hak-sun, Ye Ji-won, Chu Sang-miFeaturing some exquisitely composed images and a number of affecting performances, Hong’s restrained and deliberate yet gently funny and hugely moving film depicts the misadventures of a struggling actor, following him as he takes a trip to see an old friend...

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In the Cut (2003)

RecommendedUSA/UKFeature FilmDirector: Jane CampionWriters: Jane Campion, Susanna Moore, Stavros KazantzidisCinematographer: Dion BeebeComposer: Hilmar Örn HilmarssonCast: Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Damici, Kevin Bacon, Sharrieff PughA writer, who splits her time between researching for her new book and teaching English, begins a sexual relationship with a homicide detective, who is investigating a murder in her neighbourhood,...

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Scenes from the Suburbs (2011)

RecommendedUSA/CanadaShort FilmDirector: Spike JonzeWriters: Will Butler, Win Butler, Spike JonzeCinematographer: Greig FraserComposers: Arcade FireCast: Sam Dillon, Zoe Graham, Zeke Jarmon, Paul Pluymen, Ashlin WilliamsonSpike Jonze’s stylishly melancholy collaboration with Canadian band Arcade Fire, inspired by their acclaimed 2010 album The Suburbs, enigmatically and affectingly paints a portrait – against the backdrop of a town under martial...

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Dolphin Boy (2011)

RecommendedIsrael/France/UKFeature DocumentaryOriginal Title: דולפיןWriter/Directors: Dani Menkin, Yonatan NirCinematographers: Uri Ackerman, Yoav Kleinman, Yaron Levison, Yonatan NirComposer: Issar ShulmanDespite an occasionally intrusive and manipulative score and the rather hackneyed sight of a doctor sat at his computer typing away (superimpositions and all) as he explains the case to us, Menkin and Nir’s film proves to be an affecting and uplifting...

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I Killed My Mother (2009)

RecommendedCanadaFeature FilmOriginal Title: J'ai tué ma mereWriter/Director: Xavier DolanCinematographer: Stéphanie Weber-BironComposer: Nicholas Savard-L'HerbierCast: Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, François Arnaud, Suzanne Clément, Patricia Tulasne, Niels SchneiderWith its striking photography and unusual mise en scène, 19-year-old Dolan’s consummately crafted semi-autobiographical directorial debut proves itself to be an assured and stylish work of...

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Perrier's Bounty (2009)

Cautiously RecommendedIreland/UKFeature FilmDirector: Ian FitzgibbonWriter: Mark O'RoweCinematographer: Seamus DeasyComposer: David HolmesCast: Cillian Murphy, Jodie Whittaker, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, Michael McElhatton, Don Wycherley, Liam Cunningham, Brendan Coyle, Padraic Delaney, Conleth Hill, Gabriel ByrneHaving missed the deadline to repay the €1,000 that he owes to a vicious local gangster, Michael, chased down by two of his thugs,...

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The Invisible Woman (2009)

Cautiously RecommendedBrazilFeature FilmOriginal title: A Mulher InvisívelDirector: Cláudio TorresWriters: Cláudio Torres, Adriana Falcão, Maria Luísa Mendonça, Cláudio PaivaCinematographer: Ralph StrelowComposers: Luca Raele, Maurício TagliariCast: Selton Mello, Maria Manoella, Vladimir Brichta, Luana Piovani, Fernanda TorresWhen his wife leaves him for a German millionaire, Pedro, a thirty-something Rio traffic operator, re-enters the dating pool,...

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