Credited with single-handedly reviving the lost art of the concert poster, Frank Kozik credits his career to his enthusiasm for Austin, Texas’s growing underground rock scene in the mid-eighties. Find out more, at frankkozik.net and fkozik.com. In addition to the poster included with Dazed and Confused, Kozik also designed Criterion’s cover art for Gimme Shelter.
#1
General Idi Amin DadaBarbet Schroeder
Possibly the most surreal documentary ever filmed. The restored print propels this into a realm of “reality” that’s nearly hallucinogenic. What a snappy dresser! A must for any accordion enthusiast.
#2
The Last WavePeter Weir
Death, bones, secret underground caverns . . . apocalypse. What more could anyone possibly want?
#3
The Life Aquatic with Steve ZissouWes Anderson
A masterpiece of art direction and set design. No other film in history has ever quite captured the essential dry rot of the 1970s’ fourth-rate Mediterranean beach world. Having spent sixteen summers in areas near, but not quite in, low-rent Med tourist towns, it was a thrill ride straight back to childhood.
#4
The Naked KissSamuel Fuller
Fuller at his atavistic best. No way out. No redemption. Possibly the best opening sequence in film history.
#5
Oliver TwistDavid Lean
This contains some of the most luminescent black-and-white cinematography ever seen. Fagin, as portrayed by Alec Guinness, will have you squirming with repulsion, yet unable to take your eyes off his balding pate.
#6
Time BanditsTerry Gilliam
Best film Napoléon ever—courtesy of Bilbo Baggins, no less. Connery as Agamemnon isn’t bad either.
#7
WalkaboutNicolas Roeg
I saw this when I was maybe twelve years old. The father’s suicide, the dead guy in the tree—images that bothered me for decades. Chop that meat.
#8
BrazilTerry Gilliam
Ian Holm seems to get into all the good movies (even, like, Alien). What’s with that? Never has dystopia looked so appealing. Count me in.
#9
Burden of DreamsLes Blank
All the goofy nature footage is worth sitting through for the ten seconds of pure hate that is Kinski’s freakout.
#10
Lord of the FliesPeter Brook
Something’s to be said for the Bicameral Mind. Kill the Pig and the Gods will commune through the head on the pole. I think I’m getting Lasik—just in case the veneer shatters.