WIFF?

'On A Sunday' begins its festival run at the inaugural Winnipeg International Film Festival, June 9th-12th. The WIFF is not to be confused with the NSI Film Exchange, which takes place in Winnipeg every winter, cheekily billing itself as 'Canada's coolest film festival,' and always comes across as being rather Toronto-centric in its programming choices anyway. I'm not sure the world needs another film festival, but that's another matter entirely, and I'm happy to have our film screen in the heart of the Canadian prairie alongside what one can only assume will be a slate of exceptional films from around the globe. The official program will be announced on May 26th.

One Thousand Films

My first reaction to seeing a self-aggrandizing title like 'The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made' is incredulity, as I find that most of these kinds of lists are so subjective. But perhaps widening the spectrum to 1000 films instead of, say, 10, provides more objectivity in the selection. The New York Times has graciously published an online version of the second edition of The New York Times Guide to the 1000 Best Movies of All Time. Not only have they published the entire list, (in alphabetical order), but each and every title links to a review of the film. The print version comes in at 1120 pages and includes full credits for each film and -- surprise, surprise -- the NYT annual Ten Best movie lists since 1931.

While I haven't taken the time to pour over the list in great detail, I have noticed that some of the links are dead. However, there's plenty enough there to keep even the most hardcore cinephiles busy for a long time. Most of my favourites made the list: Annie Hall, The Apostle, The Bicycle Thief, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Chinatown, Cool Hand Luke, Double Indemnity, E.T., Fargo, Fisher King, The Graduate, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Hustler...