Bong Joon-ho’s Top10
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is the director of The Host (2006), Mother (2009), and Snowpiercer (2013). We interviewed him for our release of the classic South Korean film The Housemaid, available in the World Cinema Project box set. After we asked him to name his favorite titles in the collection, he told us, “I actually ended up writing a wish list of Criterion Blu-rays I would like to own. For an insatiable collector like myself, limiting myself to ten films was torture.”
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1
François Truffaut
The 400 Blows
The most beautiful feature film debut in the history of cinema. I’m extremely curious about the abundant special features on the Blu-ray. I wish to explore every single one.
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2
Ingmar Bergman
Fanny and Alexander: Theatrical Version
The most beautiful ending to a feature film career in the history of cinema. And the most beautiful DVD box set in the history of mankind. I’m keen to find out who the designer of the box set was.
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3
Keisuke Kinoshita
The Ballad of Narayama
I would like to compare the film to The Ballad of Narayama by Shohei Imamura and Goryeojang by Kim Ki-young. I wish to fully experience and appreciate Keisuke Kinoshita’s bold colors through Blu-ray.
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4
William Cameron Menzies
Things to Come
I’m anxious to find out if I will be as thoroughly excited by the film as I was by H. G. Wells’s science fiction novels when I read them as a youth.
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5
Max Ophuls
Lola Montès
It’s Max Ophüls!
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6
Robert Altman
Nashville
There have been many “tapestry films,” including Altman’s own Short Cuts and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. But I believe Nashville will always be the best in the class.
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7
Mike Leigh
Life Is Sweet
The actors/characters in Mike Leigh’s films are always shockingly vivid and alive.
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8
Nicolas Roeg
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Nicolas Roeg’s films never cease to be fresh and youthful.
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9
Wes Anderson
Rushmore
Wes Anderson’s films are delightfully strange and endearing.
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10
Spike Jonze
Being John Malkovich
A few days ago, I had a chance to meet Spike Jonze, and we talked briefly. The meeting left me with a strong impulse to go inside his head and explore the corners of his mind.
