FILM COMMENT ANNOUNCES 2014 BEST-OF-YEAR LISTS

FILM COMMENT ANNOUNCES 2014 BEST-OF-YEAR LISTS

BOYHOOD, GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE, AND THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL RANK 1-2-3 AMONG FILMS RELEASED DURING THE YEAR

THE WONDERS, HILL OF FREEDOM, AND PASOLINI TOP THE FILMS WITHOUT U.S. DISTRIBUTION LIST

NEW YORK, NY (December 12, 2014) – Film Comment’s annual end-of-the-year survey of film critics, journalists, film-section editors, and past and present contributors was released today with Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language, and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel taking the top spots among films released in 2014. Of the films that made appearances at film festivals or special screenings worldwide, but haven’t been picked up for stateside distribution as of yet, Alice Rohrwacher’s The Wonders, Hong Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom,  and Abel Ferrara’s Pasolini received the top rankings.

Offering the most comprehensive assessment of the year in film, Film Comment received responses from more than 100 participants including (in alphabetical order): Sam Adams (Indiewire), Melissa Anderson (The Village Voice, Artforum), Richard Brody (The New Yorker), Gary Crowdus (Cineaste), Manohla Dargis (The New York Times), Steve Dollar (The Wall Street Journal), Nicholas Elliott (BOMB, Cahiers du Cinéma), David Fear (Rolling Stone), Scott Foundas (Variety), Graham Fuller (Screen International), J. Hoberman (The New York Times), Daniel Kasman (MUBI), Scott Macaulay (Filmmaker magazine), Leonard Maltin (Entertainment Tonight), Todd McCarthy (The Hollywood Reporter), Joshua Rothkopf (Time Out New York), Ronnie Scheib (Variety), Amy Taubin (Film Comment Contributing Editor and NYFF Selection Committee member), and Kenneth Turan (The Los Angeles Times).

Film Comment’s Top 10 Films Released in 2014
1.  Boyhood Richard Linklater, U.S.
2.  Goodbye to Language Jean-Luc Godard, France
3.  The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, U.S.
4.  Ida Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland
5.  Under the Skin Jonathan Glazer, U.K.
6.  Stranger by the Lake Alain Guiraudie, France
7.  CITIZENFOUR Laura Poitras, U.S.
8.  Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance Alejandro G. Iñárritu, U.S.
9.  Inherent Vice Paul Thomas Anderson, U.S.
10. The Immigrant James Gray, U.S.

The rankings of other films making strong showings during the awards season are Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne’s Two Days, One Night (#11), Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner (#13), and Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash (#16). Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (#1) was the cover subject of Film Comment magazine’s July/August issue and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel was the cover subject of the March/April issue.

Film Comment’s survey also ranks films that have screened and made notable appearances at film festivals throughout the year, but remain without U.S. distribution as of press time:

1.  The Wonders Alice Rohrwacher, Italy
2.  Hill of Freedom Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
3.  Pasolini Abel Ferrara, U.S.
4.  The Iron Ministry J.P. Sniadecki, U.S.
5.  From What Is Before Lav Diaz, Philippines
6.  Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait Ossama Mohammed & Wiam Bedirxan,    
     Syria/France
7.  Approaching the Elephant Amanda Wilder, U.S.
8.  The Kindergarten Teacher Nadav Lapid, Israel
9.  Stray Dog Debra Granik, U.S.
10. Socialism Peter von Bagh, Finland

Film Comment editor Gavin Smith said, “As ever, the fulcrum of Final Cut, our end-of-the-year section, is our Best Films poll, which is compiled from votes by our North American contributors and other esteemed critics and writers. We try to make this survey as comprehensive and inclusive as possible. Meanwhile our ‘Personal Bests,’ which include Top 10s from contributors all over the world, allow us to include a more diverse range of viewpoints, although once again this year seems to reflect the poll’s consensus on the best films of the year.”

The lists of films and poll participants can be found on FilmComment.com and in the January/February issue of Film Comment, which hits newsstands the second week of January 2015.

THE FILM COMMENT 2014 BEST FILMS: THE COMPLETE LIST OF TOP 20 TITLES

RELEASED 2014
1.  Boyhood Richard Linklater, U.S.
2.  Goodbye to Language Jean-Luc Godard, France
3.  The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, U.S.
4.  Ida Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland
5.  Under the Skin Jonathan Glazer, U.K.
6.  Stranger by the Lake Alain Guiraudie, France
7.  CITIZENFOUR Laura Poitras, U.S.
8.  Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance Alejandro G. Iñárritu, U.S.
9.  Inherent Vice Paul Thomas Anderson, U.S.
10. The Immigrant James Gray, U.S.

Rankings #11 – #20
11. Two Days, One Night Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, Belgium
12. Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch, U.S./Germany
13. Mr. Turner Mike Leigh, U.K.
14. Force Majeure Ruben Östlund, Sweden
15. Norte, The End of History Lav Diaz, Philippines
16. Whiplash Damien Chazelle, U.S.
17. Stray Dogs Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan
18. National Gallery Frederick Wiseman, U.S.
19. Manakamana Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez, U.S.
20. Snowpiercer Bong Joon-ho, South Korea
                                                                                                                             
FILMS WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION 2014
1.  The Wonders Alice Rohrwacher, Italy
2.  Hill of Freedom Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
3.  Pasolini Abel Ferrara, U.S.
4.  The Iron Ministry J.P. Sniadecki, U.S.
5.  From What Is Before Lav Diaz, Philippines
6.  Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait Ossama Mohammed & Wiam Bedirxan, Syria/France
7.  Approaching the Elephant* Amanda Wilder, U.S.
8.  The Kindergarten Teacher Nadav Lapid, Israel
9.  Stray Dog Debra Granik, U.S.
10. Socialism Peter von Bagh, Finland

Rankings #11 – #20
11. The Harvest John McNaughton, U.S.
12. Journey to the West Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan/France
13. Young Bodies Heal Quickly Andrew T. Betzer, U.S.
14. We Come as Friends Hubert Sauper, Austria
15. The Japanese Dog Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, Romania
16. History of Fear Benjamín Naishtat, Argentina
17. For the Plasma Bingham Bryant & Kyle Molzan, U.S.
18. August Winds Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil
19. A Girl at My Door July Jung, South Korea
20. Fort Buchanan Benjamin Crotty, France

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