2007 Top 10 Lists

In 2007 I watched 216 films, a figure somewhat down on
recent years, ironically because I work twelve hours a
day in a store that stocks DVDs.  The following three
lists represent an attempt to highlight the best of
those titles both in terms of older movies screened
domestically and those seen in a theatrical setting.

The second of the two lists corresponds to what one
might publish in a newspaper or magazine, a ‘top 10′
for 2007 that includes films made in 2006 or earlier
but theatrically distributed in New Zealand last year.
The third list is drawn exclusively from titles that
were internationally released in the calender year
2007.

Best Films Watched in 2007:

1. Fanny and Alexander (5 hour version) (Ingmar   
            Bergman,  Sweden, 1982)
2. Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman,  Sweden, 1962)
3. La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni,  Italy, 1961)
4. Journey in Italy (Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1953)
5. Through a Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1961)
6. Inland Empire (David Lynch, USA, 2006)
7. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von 
         Donnersmarck,  Germany, 2006)
8. Dead of Night (Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles
     Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer, UK, 1945)
9. White Nights (Luchino Visconti, Italy, 1957)
10. Zodiac (David Fincher, USA, 2007)

Best Films Seen in Theatrical Release in 2007:

1. Inland Empire (David Lynch, USA, 2006)
2. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von 
         Donnersmarck, Germany, 2006)
3. Zodiac (David Fincher, USA, 2007)
4. Atonement (Joe Wright, UK, 2007)
5. The Science of Sleep (Micheal Gondry, France, 2006)
6. The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin, Germany/Turkey, 2007)
7. I Served the King of England (Jirí Menzel, Czech., 2006)
8. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, USA, 2007)
9. This is England (Shane Meadows, UK, 2006)
10. Black Book (Paul Verhoeven, The Netherlands, 2006)

Best 2007 Films Seen in 2007

1. Zodiac (David Fincher, USA)
2. Atonement (Joe Wright, UK )
3. The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin, Germany/Turkey)
4. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, USA)
5. Conversations With My Gardener (Jean Becker, France)
6. Black Snake Moan (Craig Brewer, USA)
7. Deathproof (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
8. Hairspray (Adam Shankman, USA)
9. Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, UK)
10. Stardust (Matthew Vaughn, USA)