Top Box Office Movies - Banner Year for Independent Films Ten Best Named

Banner Year for Independent Films
Ten Best Named
by Daniel Berman

E-MAIL DANIEL BERMAN

What a year it’s been for film lovers! From George Clooney’s cinematic docudrama, Good Night, and Good Luck to the academy nominee, Downfall, audiences have been treated to a varied, high diet of creativity that holds appeal for every cinematic palate.

Choosing the “best” pictures is a subjective exercise but one that every film critic relishes. Here are a few: The underground story of cinema’s sexual expedition documentary Inside Deep Throat; the celebration of the master of suspense filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock, with a brilliant, dark picture called The Other Side of the Street, which is a retrospective tribute to his classic film Rear Window (1954). Then there is the sardonic and visually captivating Letters In The Wind that is considered to have the weight of Kubrick’s wartime feature, Full Metal Jacket. Another winner came from Phillip Seymour Hoffman who once again amazed cinemagoers with his latest venture, Capote.

Believe it or not, there is yet a lot of movie going to be done yet before a brand new year hits the cinematic horizon. For example, film Directors Ian Old and Garrett Scott take a filmic journey into hostile grounds in their stunning documented picture, Occupation: Dreamland. This film is a truthful filmic piece that takes you into the lives of the 82d airborne squad. Scott captures the emotional intensity of war and discloses the thoughts and pain of our American Soldiers during this conflict with Iraq.

Readers of this column know, of course, that our favorite films are documentaries, bio-picks, and alternative cinema shown either on the big screen or via DVD. It’s been a banner year for these films.

So grab that hot, buttered popcorn as we venture into our yearly look into cinema’s best films. Here are our third annual top ten independent films.

Top Ten Independent Films of 2005:

1. Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
2. Voyages
3. Turtles Can Fly
4. Henri Langloi: The Phantom of Cinematheque
5. Good Night, and Good Luck
6. Letters in the Wind
7. Capote
8. Funny Ha-Ha
9. Balseros
10. Occupation: Dreamland

Highly Recommended Film Picks:

Top Hat
Downfall
No Direction Home Bob Dylan
The Other Side of the Street
Walk on Water
ABC Africa
Layer Cake
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Edge Codes.com: The Art of Motion Picture Editing
The Squid and the Whale
Touch The Sound
Kings and Queen
The Future of Food
With God On Our Side
One Bright Shining Moment
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Tell Them Who You Are
The Empty Building
Bolivia

Click here to comment on this article or post your own thoughts.

Daniel Berman
© TheWorldJournal.com

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