My Film Diet

I realized recently that my movie diet has become rather anemic. Not only have I been spending a lot more time watching television series through Netflix and (ahem) other means, but the movies I have been watching are just that: movies. They may be good movies (Shutter Island) or they may be pretty but bad movies (Tron: Legacy), but they are not, in general, and to make a rather blurry line of distinction, films.

I’m not sure why this relatively thin gruel of a film diet. Perhaps just my predilection for genre stories (specifically science fiction and horror), perhaps because a series demands less attention at a single time, or just that the more difficult films require greater emotional investment, or perhaps some other completely different reason. The point is that I haven’t been exposing myself to as wide a range of stories and films that I really feel I ought to. Not out of obligation or necessity, but because truly great films are a gift and I deserve to spend the time and focus that they require.

To this end, I loaded up my Netflix queue with a handful of John Cassavetes, Frederico Fellini, and Ingmar Bergman films, as well as some Woody Allen, Hal Hartley, Lars von Trier, and Wim Wenders. I’m very much open to suggestions of directors and films that you would suggest, especially by truly great filmmakers and not just competent directors.

If anyone is interested in watching some really great films over the course of the summer (either in person here in Pittsburgh or coordinating a series of movies that we correspond about through email or phone or via blogs), let me know. As for tonight, I’m going back to one of the true greats and will watch Bergman’s Wild Strawberries.

On this day..

• When the Doctor Disappoints - 2008