Your favourite of these following films?

[Matteo]

Hey everyone. Below is a list of American films that have won the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The Palme d'Or is generally regarded as Europe's top award for film, and there has only been a few American films that have won it since its inception in 1939. The rest have been foreign films different countries. Here is the list:




Union Pacific (1939)



The Lost Weekend (1946)



Othello (1952)



Marty (1955)



Friendly Persuasion (1956)



MASH (1970)



Scarecrow (1973)



The Conversation (1974)



Taxi Driver (1976)



Apocalypse Now (1979)



All That Jazz (1980)



Sex, Lies, and Videotapes (1989)



Wild at Heart (1990)



Barton Fink (1991)



Pulp Fiction (1994)



Elephant (2003)



Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)



The Tree of Life (2011)






What would you say is your favourite film from this list? Thoughts and comments in general?

For me, it has to be The Conversation, which remains Coppola's most well-crafted, personal, and haunting work. It's one of my favourite films, actually. Even though many prefer the much more grandiose and large-scale projects of The Godfather (and its sequel) or Apocalypse Now, I find them inferior, even on a technical level.

The Tree of Life is perhaps one of the most unconventional films to win the Palme d'Or. It's flawlessly photographed, but its editing was bothersome. In fact, all of his post-The Thin Red Line work have had issues with editing in my book. They're a bit too inaccessible for my liking. I did like it, though, but not to a truly high extent.

Elephant is a masterwork, and was extremely close for being my number one choice (alongside Scorsese's Taxi Driver which is simply an impeccable exhibition of storytelling, direction, and acting). Back to Van Sant - with a proper script, he can do wonders, and this film is a perfect testament of that. More people here should see Gerry, as well. In fact, that seems like the type of film Cannes would have liked.

Pulp Fiction is a classic of American independent cinema, and rightfully deserved the award. Marty is a warm, enjoyable, and simple film. Perhaps not on the same level of ambition as some of the other selections, but good nonetheless. Sex, Lies and Videotape is an impressive work for a debut, and something I feel Soderbergh has failed to match. It had some issues with its pacing, though.

Wild at Heart is one of two David Lynch films I despise (guess what the other is). He is one of my favourite filmmakers, but this felt like an incoherent, artistically repulsive mess. Barton Fink I rank extremely highly. I would say it perhaps showcases the Coen brothers at their most creative, and that is a bold statement, especially when you look at the rest of their innovative filmography. Apocalypse Now is greatness, but something I indescribably feel that I admire more than I love. I really like Scarecrow, too, and it's a pretty underrated film considering its awesome cast. I'd highly recommend it, even if it does break apart in its last few acts.

[The Legend]

Pulp Fiction would be my favorite of that list, since it's the only one on that list that I've seen.

[Everlong]

I've only seen four of these movies (Apocalypse Now, Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver, MASH). I'd definitely be interested in seeing more, though!

Of these four, Apocalypse Now is by far my favorite. I love the way the movie gets more and more bizarre as it goes on as a way to sort of accentuate the madness that Brando's character fell into, and the madness that Martin Sheen's character was in danger of mimicking as well. It's probably my favorite war movie of all time, it's one that will stick with you long after you see it because of its haunting images and messages. And of course, Robert Duvall's classic Napalm line is pretty great.

I think this is a really underrated role for Brando as well. He showed up grossly overweight and didn't know his lines, and as a result what they did was obscure his body in a lot of the scenes so he's constantly hidden in shadow, emphasizing the mystery surrounding the character. His lines were mostly ad libbed, and he did it amazingly. His final words, "the horror," are one of my favorite lines in all of film.

[VaderBomb]

I haven't seen Othello, Marty or Friendly Persuasion yet.

My top three American Palme d'Or winners would be:

1. The Tree of Life 10/10
2. Taxi Driver 10/10
3. Apocalypse Now 9.5/10

[Chewy]

Taxi Driver.