Jenny and Millie have a Schvitz and Make a List, Part 1

Well I hope you all enjoyed the Runner-Up List for 2008, but if you haven't had a chance to visit yet please do and then jet right back as now we're delving into the real heavy hitters - our favorite films from 2008!

If this is your first visit to Millie (welcome!) you should know that this "best of" list is not limited to films released in 2008, but includes any and all movies that are new to us this year, though our choices actually span nine decades. They were chosen not merely for excellence in film technique, direction, acting, and all that typical bruh-ha-ha, but also on pure enjoyability and closeness to heart. Now, without any further ado from us ladies, we give you the first part of our Best New To Us Movies of 2008!

10.) Orphans of the Storm (1921), dir. D.W. Griffith


Back in April I became fascinated with Lillian Gish's image and was fortunate enough to see Orphans of the Storm, D.W. Griffith's epic French Revolution romance starring both Lillian (the dramatist) and her sister Dorothy (the comedian). For those of you unfamiliar with the Gishes, they were extremely popular, successful silent film actresses. Lillian, known for her enormous, pool-like eyes, pioneered "natural" acting in a burgeoning film industry, parting drastically from the ill-timed blinking and overstated gesturing made famous by earlier film stars and former stage actors used to more grandiose movements. Never before had such tenderness been brought to the newly silver screen and Orphans bears witness to Gish's incredible adeptness with this skill. The film focuses on Henriette and Louise, an orphan, who are raised together in the poor French countryside. When Louise goes blind, Henriette takes her into Paris to receive aid, but instead they are met with kidnapping, confusion, and all the opulence and danger one can imagine during the Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror. Griffith's film, aided in no small part by the talented, captivating Gishes, is extremely engaging and moves its audience along swiftly, but without rush. Silent films seem a lost art on most younger audiences, even on some filmies I know, but I urge all of you to try this one out. Watch it with an open mind to the medium and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Starring: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut
Distributor: United Artists


9.) The Abyss (1989), dir. James Cameron

For some reason, unbeknownst even to myself, I thought The Abyss was a horror film about an giant octopus, dated and cheesy, and that there was no need for me to watch it, despite overwhelming, inexplicable praise and the constant assurance from fellow nerds that I would in fact love this movie. Well, to all of you over the years pushing it on me, I'm sorry I hadn't listened sooner. Cameron's underwater, suspense masterpiece expertly handles the tension created in confined, submerged space, while simultaneously creating an allusive alien figure and intriguing science fiction plot with an incredibly rewarding outcome. It's a politically minded thriller that is subtle, crafty, and constantly entertaining. To boot? Ed Harris is his typical, committed, awesome self and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio not only delivers a courageous, believably strong protagonist, but is terribly easy on the eyes. If you liked Wall.E, E.T, or Aliens, and haven't seen The Abyss, then we highly recommend you see it in 2009!

Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn
Distributor: Fox Films


8.) The Conversation (1974), dir. Francis Ford Coppola


Two years after The Godfather won unprecedented international success, and five years before stunning the world with (quite possibly his masterpiece) Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola tackled the invasive world of wire tapping with his 1974 critical triumph The Conversation. A mesmerizing Gene Hackman plays Harry Caul, a skilled for hire tapper that asks no questions, but executes his job with professional precision and soon realizes that his talents may have been used in murdering his mark. Before we know it, the protagonist and audience are caught in a dizzying world of mistrust and surveillance, proposing the terrifying thought that we are constantly under watch. We don't know who or where, but eyes are always on us, ears always to us, and records made of each and every move. Hackman's character progression is superb and Coppola's screenplay and direction sublime. I'm sure in film circles The Conversation is in no way lost, despite its less prominent place in wider ranging lists. An excellent exploration, The Conversation is simply not to be missed. Still need a reason? How about a very young, very supple Harrison Ford?

Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Cindy Williams, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford
Distributor: Paramount Pictures


7.) Days of Heaven (1978), dir. Terrence Malick


I was first introduced to Illinois born aesthete Terrence Malick with The New World and The Thin Red Line, two of the most exquisite films I have ever seen. This year I had the extreme privilege of seeing Malick's Days of Heaven, about Libby and Bill, two city dwelling gamblers who head south for work at the turn of the nineteenth century and end up working on a wheat farm. The thing I relish most about Malick's films is his painstakingly tender attention to atmosphere and beauty. The chosen photo is an excellent example, for here we have a film about love, power, poverty, revenge, all of it, but also wheat - Malick never forsakes the small for the bigger picture, he cares as much for character developements as the delicate irregularities in a blade of grass. In fact, these minute details inform the more recognizable aspects: character, plot, etc. If you've never seen a Malick film, then you're in for a very special treat, and we truly hope you enjoy the film that came twenty years before A New World, with nothing in between. Days of Heaven is a memorable cinematic experience, I'm misty just recalling it! Also, young Richard Gere and Sam Shepard are magnificent.

Credit here must be paid to Tanner who recommend all three films, thank you!

Starring: Richard Gere, Sam Shepard, Brooke Adams
Distributor: Paramount Pictures


6.) Down by Law (1986), dir. Jim Jarmusch


Rounding out the first part of our countdown in none other than Jim Jarmusch's 1986 gem Down by Law. Due to a nasty bout of fatigue during this most recent holiday season I hadn't yet told you about my Down by Law experience. I wanted to tell you then that this movie, from the long opening shot of a hearse to the passing pictures of tenements and apartments in sleepy New Orleans, made me grin like a drunk schoolgirl! A big, silly grin that would pop up without my even knowing, like a little girl watching Belle in her yellow gown take the ballroom for the first time, I would smile. Smile because this film is simply so expert, so original, and so thoroughly enjoyable. Epically shot and beautifully rendered in black and white by cinematographer Robert Muller (Dead Man, Barfly, Ghost Dog, 24 Hour Party People, and Repo Man), perfectly cast with Roberto Benigni, Lounge Lizards' leader John Lurie, and the one and only Tom Waits, this film about three criminals who plan an escape reeks of hip and cool and yet maintains a respectable modesty. Plus I love a movie that doesn't distunguish between a clear start and end, rather the "beginning" and "end" are merely someplace within a long tale, we simply see a portion of the story. Not terribly carthartic, but undeniably satisfying, Down by Law is a must-see!

Starring: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni
Distributor: Island Pictures