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Author Topic: What are your favorite films directed by women?  (Read 4862 times)

Will

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What are your favorite films directed by women?
« on: March 29, 2017, 06:24:42 PM »
Hello, everyone!

I thought I would do some research for my podcast, THE ALICE GUY BLACHE SHOW, where we primarily discuss films directed and/or written by women, particularly to see if there's any that I am simply not aware of (it was only recently that I discovered Claudia Weill's near-masterpiece, GIRLFRIENDS which made me realize that my cinematic education is far from infallible).

My list below:

My Top 25 Favorite Films Directed by Women:
1. Harlan County USA (Barbara Kopple, 1976)
2. Outrage (Ida Lupino, 1950)
3. An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)
4. A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971)
5. Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnes Varda, 1962)
6. Elsa La Rose (Agnes Varda, 1966)
7. You've Got Mail (Nora Ephron, 2000)
8. Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)
9. Not Wanted (Ida Lupino, 1949)
10. Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2011)
11. American Honey (Andrea Arnold, 2016)
12. Marie-Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)
13. Wendy & Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, 2008)
14. Je Tu Il Elle (Chantal Akeman, 1974)
15. 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis, 2008)
16. Selma (Ava DuVernay, 2014)
17. The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
18. Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)
19. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2013)
20. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (Alison Klayman, 2012)
21. The Matrix (Lana & Lilly
Wachowski, 1999)
22. Pariah (Dee Rees, 2011)
23. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)
24. Girlfriends (Claudia Weill, 1978)
25. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)

MartinTeller

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2017, 07:40:40 PM »
1. An Angel at My Table (1990, Jane Campion)
2. Innocence (2004, Lucile Hadzihalilovic)
3. Wendy & Lucy (2008, Kelly Reichardt)
4. Sepet (2004, Yasmin Ahmad)
5. Sita Sings the Blues (2008, Nina Paley)
6. Orlando (1992, Sally Potter)
7. Jellyfish (2007, Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret)
8. Le bonheur (1965, Agnes Varda)
9. 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981, Aparna Sen)
10. Meek's Cutoff (2011, Kelly Reichardt)
12. The Hitch-Hiker (1953, Ida Lupino)
13. The Loveless (1982, Kathryn Bigelow)
14. 13th (2016, Ava DuVernay)
15. Vendredi soir (2002, Claire Denis)
16. Mukhsin (2007, Yasmin Ahmad)
17. The Beaches of Agnes (2008, Agnes Varda)
18. Gubra (2006, Yasmin Ahmad)
19. Home of the Brave (1986, Laurie Anderson)
20. A New Leaf (1971, Elaine May)
21. Return to Me (2000, Bonnie Hunt)
22. The Arbor (2010, Clio Barnard)
23. Monster (2003, Patty Jenkins)
24. The Ascent (1977, Larisa Shepitko)
25. The Milk of Sorrow (2009, Claudia Llosa)

philip918

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2017, 07:54:41 PM »
Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold)
Wayne's World (Penelope Spheeris)
Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade)
After the Wedding (Susanne Bierr)
American Psycho (Mary Harron)
Titus Andronicus (Julie Taymor)
The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer)
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling)
Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow)
Cameraperson (Kristen Johnson)
Humpday (Lynn Shelton)

PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2017, 09:34:45 PM »
Only Women
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) Chantal Akerman
2. American Psycho (2000) Mary Harron
3. The Matrix (1999) Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
4. Sans Toit Ni Loi (1985) Agnès Varda
5. Återträffen (2013) Anna Odell
6. Sambizanga (1973) Sarah Maldoror
7. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) Dorothy Arzner
8. Lost in Translation (2003) Sofia Coppola
9. The Ascent (1977) Larisa Shepitko
10. Home for the Holidays (1995) Jodie Foster
11. Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (1989) Tracey Moffatt
12. Le Bonheur (1965) Agnès Varda
13. Innocence (2004) Lucile Hadzihalilovic
14. Suburbia (1983) Penelope Spheeris
15. Les résultats du féminism (1906) Alice Guy
16. Tau ban no hoi (1982) Ann Hui
17. Wanda (1970) Barbara Loden
18. Open Hearts (2002) Susanne Bier
19. My Life Without Me (2003) Isabel Coixet
20. XXY (2007) Lucía Puenzo
21. Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962)  Agnès Varda
22. Dear Frankie (2004) Shona Auerbach
23. Kirschblüten - Hanami (2008) Doris Dörrie
24. Proof (1991) Jocelyn Moorhouse
25. Turn Me On, Dammit! (2011) Jannicke Systad Jacobsen
26. Døden er et kjærtegn (1950) Edith Carlmar
27. Celles qui s'en font (1928) Germaine Dulac
28. Seven Beauties (1975) Lina Wertmüller
29. Qué tan lejos (2006) Tania Hermida
30. My Brilliant Career (1979) Gillian Armstrong

Documentaries:
1. Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker (1938) Leni Riefenstahl
2. Dreams of a Life (2011) Carol Morley
3. Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (2000) Agnès Varda
4. De cierta manera (1977) Sara Gómez
5. The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980) Connie Field
6. Les Plages d'Agnès (2008) Agnès Varda
7. Reassemblage (1983) T. Minh-ha Trinh
8. Stories We Tell (2013) Sarah Polley
9. Daughter Rite (1980) Michelle Citron
10. Sisters in Law (2005) Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto

Women with a man
1. City of God (2003) [Kátia Lund, Fernando Meirelles]
2. Shrek (2001) Vicky Jenson, Andrew Adamson
3. Powers of Ten (1977)  Charles Eames, Ray Eames
4. Persepolis (2007) Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
5. Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (1968) Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub
6. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975) Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff
7. Seventeen (1983) Joel DeMott, Jeff Kreines
8. Sicilia! (1999) Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub
9. American Splendor (2003) Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
10. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
11. Black Harvest (1992) Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly
12. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
13. Mädchen in Uniform (1931) Leontine Sagan, Carl Froelich
14. Growing Up Female (1971) Julia Reichert, Jim Klein

Well this list got longer than I expected, there are more but that seems like enough.
If you use criticker here's a list of films to browse: https://www.criticker.com/films/?filter=e5298

DarkeningHumour

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2017, 03:04:11 PM »
Is there any way to filter by women directors on Letterboxd or IMDB? There's not a single one in my Top 100.
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PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2017, 05:26:04 PM »
Is there any way to filter by women directors on Letterboxd or IMDB? There's not a single one in my Top 100.
No, another reason why criticker rules.

Both sites allow you to make lists, so if you've got time on your hands you could use that criticker list as a base.

I should have done this when I found a way of getting imdb links automatically from criticker, but the script I made broke with the layout change and I can't figure out how to fix it.

MartinTeller

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2017, 11:42:48 PM »
Is there any way to filter by women directors on Letterboxd or IMDB? There's not a single one in my Top 100.

Do you have your top 100 posted anywhere? I was looking for it the other day and couldn't find it.

Knocked Out Loaded

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2017, 02:09:32 AM »
Is there any way to filter by women directors on Letterboxd or IMDB? There's not a single one in my Top 100.

Do you have your top 100 posted anywhere? I was looking for it the other day and couldn't find it.
It's @ Letterboxd
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2017, 05:09:34 AM »
Thanks KOL. I posted the list on the Top Films thread but the Letterboxd is probably more useful for consultation.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: What are your favorite films directed by women?
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2017, 05:45:11 AM »
I've been doing some digging into this. Coming up with a top 5 was difficult because there are few movies directed by women, it turns out, that I love or just like a lot. I will trust everyone in calling the Wachowskis women at this point.

The Matrix
An Education

American Psycho
Something's Gotta Give

Zero Dark Thirty
or The Hurt Locker

Also a shoutout to City of God, co-directed with a man.

I had completely forgotten who had directed my number two pick and I had no idea that was a woman's name.
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