Thank you to Razvan for helping to prepare the list.
Did the 80s start with a good year for cinema? Please vote for your top EIGHT films from 1980 in the poll below.
REMINDERS:
By the 31st January 2021 please send your rating for: Coming Soon: IFG 21: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006)
Do start thinking about films you would like to nominate for our monthly selections – the next poll will be in early February!
I made a mistake (as often happens). Due to the numerous polls when we ended up selecting Stalker, of all things, I forgot that we already have the ‘nearly selected’ from two previous polls! So we can get on with selecting our next Second Chance film!
Twice a year we have additional film viewings and ratings. Many films came very close to being selected in the selection polls and so they will be given a second chance at being chosen.
Once again it has worked out to be a diverse selection – five films, four countries and films from 1980-2019.
You can vote for TWO of the films, but only one will be chosen.
The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980, UK) Biographical. A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication. 8.1 (IMDb Top 250 #162)
Even the Rain / También la lluvia (Icíar Bollaín, 2010, Spain) Drama. As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply. 7.4
Gods and Monsters (Bill Condon, 1998, USA) Biography/Drama. The last days of Frankenstein (1931) Director James Whale are explored. 7.4
Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019, USA) Comedy. A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family. 7.9
Mephisto (István Szabó, 1981, Germany) Drama. In early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor finds himself before a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich’s doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success? 7.8
REMINDERS:
By the 30th November 2020 please send your rating for: Coming Soon: IFG 19: The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Stephan Elliott, 1994)
By 30/11/2020: The IFG Annual Film Poll: The results will be in December, so send your top 100s to me by the end of November. The lists need to be in a rough order of preference. If you need some reminders check out the polls section here: Polls and also the results of last year: The 2019 IFG Film Poll & The 2019 IFG Film Poll – Further Details
Here are the selections for October, November and December (IFG 18, 19 & 20).
As always, it is a great selection. The 12 films represent eight different countries and films from 1950-2019.
Below is some more information about the films – all copied from IMDb (the genre, brief description and rating are all direct copies, so if you don’t agree with them it is the fault of IMDb!)
Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg, 1980, UK) Thriller. A psychiatrist, living in Vienna, enters a torrid relationship with a married woman. When she ends up in the hospital from an overdose, an inspector becomes set on discovering the demise of their affair. 7.0
Carrie (Brian de Palma, 1976, USA) Horror. Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom. 7.4
Dances With Wolves (Kevin Costner, 1990, USA) Western. Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military. 8.0
Even the Rain / También la lluvia (Icíar Bollaín, 2010, Spain) Drama. As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply. 7.4
In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950, USA) Drama. A potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts. 8.0
Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019, USA) Comedy. A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family. 7.9
Murder on the Orient Express (Kenneth Branagh, 2017, Malta) Crime. When a murder occurs on the train on which he’s travelling, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case. 6.5
Rififi / Du rififi chez les hommes (Jules Dassin, 1955, France) Crime. Four men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes… 8.2 (IMDb Top 250 #220)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Stephan Elliott, 1994, Australia) Comedy. Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret. 7.4
The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980, UK) Biographical. A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication. 8.1 (IMDb Top 250 #162)
The Saragossa Manuscript / Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie (Wojceich Has, 1965, Poland) Comedy. Upon finding a book that relates his grandfather’s story, an officer ventures through Spain meeting a wide array of characters, most of whom have a story of their own to tell. 7.9
The Square (Ruben Östlund, 2017, Sweden) Comedy. A prestigious Stockholm museum’s chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit. 7.2
Please vote for SIX of the selection. As usual any that almost get selected will appear in the second chance poll.
REMINDERS:
By the 31st August 2020 please send your rating for: Coming Soon: IFG 15: Official Secrets (Gavin Hood, 2019)
POSTPONED: The IFG Awards will now be later in the year, but please do send your nominations ASAP: Time to consider who you would have awarded the Oscars to for films in 2019. Coming Soon: IFG 2019 Awards
Oasis of Fear 