The Alphabet Meme

The rules for this blog meme, as already performed by Goatdog and Self-Styled Siren, were so simple that I somehow didn't get them at first. It seemed too easy, but then Goatdog said it was hard, and now I see why it was hard: you want to give the list some flavor. Which he certainly did: I talk to him all the time about movies, and I still don't think I've ever heard him mention two-thirds of those movies, several of which were completely new to me. So, within the rules, thusly paraphrased...

1. Pick one film to represent each letter of the alphabet.
2. Obviously, articles like "A" and "The" do not count.
3. Use the original title endowed by the film's creator.
4. [Never mind, 'cause I'm steering clear of numerals]
5. Link back to Blog Cabins to make him King of Google.
6. If you're selected, you have to then select 5 more people.

...I decided to add the extra codicil of picking movies that I personally cherish or admire tremendously but that I never seem to discuss much on this site. Some of them have been hanging silently on my Top 100 List for a while now, some are still awaiting top-tier entries on the Favorites Countdown, and some I just love. No Pianos and no Morverns. Fresh blood. Darlings you don't know about. The titles are all IMDb links. Rent them. If you're feeling up to it, post your own list. (Re: Rule #6, since I wasn't explicitly tagged, I'm not explicitly tagging.)

ALL I DESIRE
    One of those Sirks no one watches, but Stanwyck surpasses herself

BLONDE VENUS
    Derisive toward its own plot, but what images, and what outfits

THE CHINA SYNDROME
    A perfect suspense thriller, maybe my fave of the 70s "political" films

DEMONLOVER
    The movie I'd want to end any "History of Cinema" course with

EDWARD II
    Just re-watched it to give a talk this week; so stirring and creative

FAUSTRECHT DER FREIHEIT
(Fox and His Friends)
    Fassbinder was never so likeable until he played an utter sadsack

GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI
    A perfect hip-hop movie, and a high-point in screen existentialism

HATUNA MEUHERET
(Late Marriage)
    Forget Jim Cameron; when will we finally get more Dover Kosashvili?

THE IMMIGRANT
    A Chaplin short that's as rich and hilarious as most of his features

JOURNAL D'UN CURÉ DE CAMPAGNE
(Diary of a Country Priest)
    Evokes a devout Christian sensibility in a profoundly moving way

KING OF THE HILL
    May be Soderbergh's most perfectly realized movie; why no DVD?

LADRI DI BICICLETTE
(Bicycle Thieves)
    One of those rare world classics you can safely recommend to anyone

MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON
    Every film Ph.D. has seen this a zillion times, but I'm always up for it

NARAYAMA BUSHIKO
(The Ballad of Narayama)
    Keep your Kurosawas; I like my Japanese cinema folksy and erotic

OPENING NIGHT
    Not as fully integrated as Woman Under..., but a fascinating mess

PEEL
    You know I love Piano and Portrait, but every Campion "P" is a winner

QUALITY STREET
    One of those negligible Hepburn movies you love if you love Hepburn

LE RAYON VERT
(The Green Ray)
    An astonishingly full character, plus the best last shot in movies

EL SOL DEL MEMBRILLO
(The Quince Tree Sun, aka Dream of Light)
    I guess I already huzzahed this one here; when do we get a DVD?

TAKHTÉ SIAH
(Blackboards)
    A devastating political allegory, witty and brilliantly abstracted

UNRELATED
    Just saw this in England; a static dramedy that creeps up on you

VIRIDIANA
    If Bresson captures the delicacy of religion, Buñuel nails its perversity

THE WAY WE WERE
    Because my grandmother's adoration of it passed so completely onto me

XALA
    Why can't I ever get anyone to come over and watch some Sembene?

YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
    Cinema as hearth; one of my two or three most reliable comfort movies

ZOO
    I know, I know, I have got to finish that Best of '07 feature...