SCFZ poll: Jerzy Skolimowski

[flip]

Polling the films of director Jerzy Skolimowski

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Skolimowski films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Friday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline up to three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: greg x, wba

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

[flip]

Skolimowski didn't seem to have a ton of views, so we'll use the extended rules for this poll:

New Rules

Because Skolimowski has fewer views than most directors we've polled, I'm changing some of the rules for this poll:

- if you have seen an odd number of Skolimowski films, you can round up, when dividing by two, instead of down, to determine the length of your ballot. So if you have seen 7 Skolimowski films, you can vote for 4 films (instead of 3). But please only vote for the additional film if you think it's deserving of a vote.

- if you have seen 11 or more Skolimowski films, your ballot can extend beyond 5 films -- if you have seen 13, say, you can vote for up to 7 films. I'll award 0.5, 0.3 and 0.1 points to 6th, 7th and 8th ranked films (and nothing to 9th or later ranked films). Those additional votes will help to get a complete top ten.

[flip]

Moonlighting
King, Queen, Knave
Deep End
The Lightship

tempted to vote for the shout, just because i find films interesting when they try to work in that way with sound (instead of image), so might reconsider my ballot. seen seven, also would vote for essential killing if i had space, 30 door key/ferdydurke is the only skolimowski i've disliked

[MrCarmady]

...what's a good one to start with?

[wba]

01. Moonlighting (1982)
02. Hands Up! (1981)
03. Identification Marks: None (1965)
04. Erotique (1960)
05. Essential Killing (2010)
06. Dialogue 20-40-60 (1968)

Skolimowski seen: 11

[wba]

...what's a good one to start with?

Moonlighting

[greennui]

3.

Deep End

[nrh]

...what's a good one to start with?

the deep end or moonlighting (which i actually haven't seen) are the consensus favorites, i'd also suggest le depart.

[nrh]

le depart
four nights with anna
the lightship
the deep end
walkover

may try to watch one or two more, curious about torrents of spring

[MrCarmady]

Thanks both, grabbed Moonlighting, looks great. Actually a number of these look fantastic, maybe this is the push I have needed all along.

[brian d]

seen 1

deep end

[St. Gloede]

Seen 7:

Deep End
Bariera

[rischka]

THE SHOUT!!!!!!

Seen 3 a long time ago but this is the one that stayed w me

[oscarwerner]

Seen 11:
The Departure (1967),
Deep End (1970),
The Shout (1978),
Moonlighting (1982),
Essential Killing (2010)

[Holymanm]

curious about torrents of spring

One of Turgenev's greatest books - I wonder why the title change from Spring Torrents, for the adaptation

[Caracortada]

Seen two, but that includes a very good one.

1. Deep End

[ororama]

1. Deep End
2. Moonlighting

I've seen 4 movies directed by Jerzy Skolimowski.

[flip]

3.

greennui, you can choose our next director!

[...]

The Shout
Moonlighting
The Lightship

[greennui]

3.

greennui, you can choose our next director!

Let's see if Jean Rollin works. I've got 16.

[flip]

we can check Rollin - i've only seen five, but he'll probably have enough views. if anyone has seen a lot of Rollin films, please post here!

[Umbugbene]

I've watched 9 Rollins.

[john ryan]

Also seen 9 Rollins

[brian d]

i've got a dozen rollins

[flip]

great, i'll start a jean rollin poll tomorrow!

[nrh]

watched torrents of spring and it's a fascinating and typically odd movie - filipe furtado said something about timothy hutton in this being grown up version of kid in deep end and i think that's pretty apt, he basically falls in love with two women in a few days, promising to throw away his life for both, and ends up with absolutely nothing. don't know what to do about anyone who complains about natassja kinski's accent in this - she's absolutely marvelous, moving between cruel, tragic and inscrutable from scene to scene, the perfect foil to hutton's slightly daft young man.

it's kind of a minor key film in a way that makes it hard to rate but by the time you get to the wonderful/awful final confrontation with hutton sheepishly hiding behind a curtain i have to say i almost love it.

[john ryan]

Seen 5

1. Deep End
2. The Shout
3. Moonlighting

[flip]

when we poll directors like jancso, chytilova, jakubisko - eastern european directors who started to gain profile around the time of new wave movements - i generally expect a lot of their 1960s films to finish near the top of the results. so this poll was interesting, because it seems, unlike the '60s films of many of those directors, skolimowski's 1960s work is really underseen. that, or people just don't like those films much. either way, i want to see them.

results

1. Deep End (1970) -- 18 pts
2. Moonlighting (1982) -- 15 pts
3. Le Depart (1967) -- 10 pts
4. The Shout (1978) -- 9 pts
5. The Lightship (1985) -- 5 pts
6. Hands Up! (1981) -- 4 pts
6. Four Nights with Anna (2008) -- 4 pts
8. Identification Marks: None (1965) -- 3 pts
8. King, Queen, Knave (1972) -- 3 pts
10. Erotique (1960) -- 2 pts
10. Essential Killing (2010) -- 2 pts
12. Walkover (1965) -- 1 pt
12. Barrier (1966) -- 1 pt
14. Dialogue 20-40-60 (1968) -- 0.5 pts

[wba]

when we poll directors like jancso, chytilova, jakubisko - eastern european directors who started to gain profile around the time of new wave movements - i generally expect a lot of their 1960s films to finish near the top of the results. so this poll was interesting, because it seems, unlike the '60s films of many of those directors, skolimowski's 1960s work is really underseen. that, or people just don't like those films much. either way, i want to see them.

results

6. Hands Up! (1967) -- 4 pts

Just wanted to add, that the Hands Up! film I voted for is the 1981 version! I'm not sure if the 1967 version was ever released by Skolimowski or is available at all. The 1981 film differs very much from the "original" one.
As regards his 60s work in Czechoslovakia I'd say it is generally very good and quite unique, but Skolimowski kept growing and evolving as an artist. So far I've seen 7 out of the 13 or 14 films he made back then, and I'd recommend most of them.

[flip]

Just wanted to add, that the Hands Up! film I voted for is the 1981 version! I'm not sure if the 1967 version was ever released by Skolimowski or is available at all. The 1981 film differs very much from the "original" one.

i knew the film was banned in 1967, and only released in 1981, but i wasn't aware (until just now, reading about it) that the 1981 version was somewhat different from the 1967 one. it only received one vote anyway, so there isn't a question of whether to combine the two versions or separate them - i'll just edit the date.