It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

Jesse Walker now has his top films for 1989 up. As usual, my general agreement is mixed with disagreement.

He says 1989 was not a great year. Maybe, maybe not, but looking back at all the good films then, it sure seems better than I remember.

I love Drugstore Cowboy. I recently watched it again, and I still think it's Gus Van Sant's best, even though he's done much good work since. Mystery Train is Jim Jarmusch's best, which is saying a lot. I also love Kiki's Delivery Service, but then, Miyazaki rarely misfires.

I like Life And Nothing But. Crimes And Misdemeanours I half-like.

Haven't seen Motel. I didn't like El Topo, so I stayed away from Santa Sangre. Never seen Monsieur Hire all the way through.

Here's what Jesse says about Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing:

Back in the day, there was a big debate over which was the better movie about race relations, Do the Right Thing or Driving Miss Daisy. Is anyone still willing to take Daisy's side of the argument? Spike Lee's angry yet ambiguous film was the sort of thoughtful picture that people like Stanley Kramer wanted to make back in the '50s and '60s but didn't have the talent to pull off. Twenty years after the fact, it is still the high point of Lee's career.

I don't know about race relations, but I'll go on record as saying Driving Miss Daisy is the better film. It may not be a classic, but it features two fine performances and is able to maneuver over very sentimental territory without overdoing it (mostly). Do The Right Thing, on the other hand, isn't so much ambiguous as muddled. It's incendiary, yes, and is one of Lee's best, but that's because the "plot" of DTRT forced the classical unities upon him, so the overall effect was more coherent than usual. (I actually loved Spike Lee's first big release, She's Gotta Have It, and still think he's very talented--it's just that amid all the interesting moments, he can't tell a story to save his life. And he lectures.)

Say Anything... has its moments, but doesn't do much for me. I should add Ione Skye's beauty resonates with me a lot more than Lloyd Dobler blasting Peter Gabriel.

As for his honorable mentions, I like Nick Park and Jan Svankmajer, though I'm not sure why Jesse includes shorts.

Most Peter Greenaway bores me, but he did his best work with The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her Lover. I don't like Jane Campion that much either (actually haven't seen her highly regarded Bright Star yet), but I like Sweetie.

I'm a fan of Kaurismaki, and Leningrad Cowboys Go America is one of his better films.

Now for the stuff Jesse left out. I'm sure he's aware of much of it, and these titles just didn't rate.

There are at least three that would make my top ten.

First, Parenthood, a fine ensemble comedy, with a great script. Probably Ron Howard's best.

Second, The Little Mermaid, which is not only a classic, but historically important because it ushered in Disney's second golden age of animation.

Third, and this may be my film of the year, Heathers. Dan Waters' script is one of the most quoteable ever, and I only wish they'd shot his dark ending.

Here are some other movies from 1989 year that I like, in various degrees:

Back to the Future Part II (not as good as the original, but very clever and underappreciated), Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure (which taught us to be excellent to each other), Cousins, Dead Calm, The Fabulous Baker Boys (not much of a story, but three great performances and Michelle Pfeiffer at her most beautiful), Field of Dreams (for a mainstream film, surprisingly unconventional in form), Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Indiana Jones And the Last Crusade (should have been the farewell to a fine saga), Penn & Teller Get Killed, Road House (THE Patrick Swayze film), Uncle Buck (a rare endearing psychotic character), When Harry Met Sally... (what happened to Rob Reiner?).

The following are film of 1989 which some considered to be of considerable merit:

The Abyss, Batman, Born on the Fourth of July, Camille Claudel, Casualties of War, Cinema Paradiso, Dead Poets Society, Enemies, a Love Story, Glory, Henry V, My Left Foot, Roger & Me, Sex, lies, and Videotape (ushered in the indie era as much as any film), The War of the Roses.