One of my Facebook friends, Dan Gleason made a list of his favorite three films from every year he has been alive. I took the plunge and made my own list.
1963-8 ½, America America, Charade
1964-Dr. Strangelove, Gospel According to Matthew, a Hard Day’s Night
1965-Pierrot Le Fou, Faster Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Simon of the Desert
1966-Au Hazard Balthazar, Persona, Sound? (John Cage)
1967-Weekend, Branded to Kill, Bonnie and Clyde
1968- A Space Odyssey, Rosemary’s Baby, Once Upon a Time in the West
1969- The Wild Bunch, Spirits of the Dead, My Night at Maude’s
1970-The Conformist, Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion, The Clowns (all Italian)
1971-McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Two Lane Blacktop, Walkabout
1972-Once Upon a Time in the West, Aguirre Wrath of God, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Doom
1973-Mean Streets, The Long Goodbye, Don’t Look Now
1974-F is for Fake, Chinatown, Celine and Juliette Go Boating
1975-Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Benilda the Virgin Mother, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1976-Taxi Driver, Network, The Outlaw Josie Whales
1977-The Godfather Epic, Padre Padrone, Eraserhead
1978-A Knife in the Head, Manhattan, Days of Heaven
1979-Appocalypse Now, Being There, Nosferatu the Vampyre
1980-The Big Red One, Raging Bull, The Stunt Man
1981-My Dinner at Andre’s, Blow Out, Ragtime
1982-Blade Runner, King of Comedy, Poetry in Motion
1983-Local Hero, Zelig, Betrayal
1984-Amadeus, Hannah and Her Sisters, Matador
1985-Ran, Brazil, After Hours
1986-Blue Velvet, Sid and Nancy, Vagabond
1987-Wings of Desire, Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Last Emperor
1988-The Decalogue, My Neighbor Torturo, Thin Blue Line
1989- Do the Right Thing, sex lies and videotape, Santa Sangre
1990-Good Fellas, An Angel at My Table, The Cook The Thief The Wife and Her Lover
1991-Raise the Red Lantern, La Belle Noiseuse, The Fisher King
1992-Bitter Moon, The Bad Lieutenant, The Naked Killer
1993-Schindler’s List, Age of Innocence, A Bronx Tale
1994-Three Colors: Red, White and Blue, Pulp Fiction, Exotica
1995-Dead Man, Babe, Cool Comfort Farm
1996-Night John, Fargo, Breaking the Waves
1997-The Sweet Hereafter, The Pillow Book, Eve’s Bayou
1998-Life is Beautiful, A Simple Plan, Happiness
1999-The Straight Story, Dr. Akagi, Man on the Moon
2000-Dancer in the Dark, Croupier, Almost Famous
2001-Mullholland Drive, Spirited Away, Donnie Darko
2002-Spider, Kandahar, Songs from the Second Floor
2003-Dogville, Kill Bill, Tarnation
2004-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Moolade, The Piano Teacher
2005-The New World, Palindromes, A History of Violence
2006-Letters from Iwa Jima, My Dad is 100 Years Old, Water
2007-Brand on the Brain, Private Fears in Public Places, Eastern Promises
2008-The Class, Paranoid Park, Rachel Getting Married
2009-Silent Night, Anti Christ, Still Walking
2010-Certified Copy, Black Swan, The Sun
2011-Strange Case of Anjelica, Melancholia, Cave of Forgotten Dreams
2012-Moonlight Kingdom, Holy Motors, A Separation
2013-12 Years a Slave, Before Midnight, American Hustle
2014-Grand Budapest Hotel, Ida, We Are the Best
2015-Goodbye to Language, Spotlight, Clouds of Sils Maria
2016-Embrace of the Serpent, The Lobster, Manchester by the Sea
2017 (so far)-Patterson, The Salesman, The Silence (all released in Chicago this year)
