{"id":3113,"date":"2021-05-02T15:05:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-02T15:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/?p=3113"},"modified":"2026-04-05T05:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T13:34:48","slug":"seymour-movies-seymours-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/?p=3113","title":{"rendered":"Seymour Movies: Seymour’s Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

If blame is necessary, then it goes to my good friend, humane observer and fellow professional spectator Tim Page, who was inspired by this year’s recently completed Academy Awards to come up with his own entirely subjective Best Picture list for every year he’s been alive. He posted this list on Facebook and the heroism of his effort so inspired me that I was compelled to come up with one of my own.<\/p>\r\n

I had fun with it while I was picking and choosing. But as soon as I was finished, I was all but overcome by a profound sadness. Because as I surveyed this list, it came across more like a melancholy relic of an era of moviegoing that is all but swept away by the streams and clouds of the digital age, along with the countervailing bombast of spectaculars and star-packages contrived to keep whatever’s left of the multiplexes alive and upright, post-pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Whatever you want to say about my choices, which are presented with little more than random illustrations and no explanations (or, at this point, equivocations), they each came from discoveries I made either at the time they were released or, mostly, long afterwards. \u00a0They are not commodities to be assessed like IPAs or yoga mats, which seems pretty much how most “consumers” assess filmed “product” these days; these films were means of stretching my senses, deepening memories, sharpening the landscape around me. They are all places to which I am always happy and eager to return so I can re-encounter the arcane joys they gave me and, maybe, find something new to like about them as an older, if not always wiser viewer.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

“Viewer.” I like that word so much better than “consumer.” Don’t you?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

A couple things before we begin: 1.) It’s entirely possible that some of the things on this list could change over time. They did in at least a few places as I prepared to post this version. 2.) These are in no way intended to be a definitive, all-time-great, etc. or whatever other euphemism you wish to use. They are parts of myself that I and I alone declare as a personal best for each year. You will have your own. I shall be as forbearing towards those as I hope you can manage to be for mine own.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

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So…<\/p>\r\n

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1952: Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em><\/strong>
1953:\u00a0I Vitteloni\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

1954: Rear Window<\/em>
1955: The\u00a0<\/em>Night of the Hunter<\/em>
1956: Invasion of the Body Snatchers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1957: Sweet Smell of Success<\/em>
1958:\u00a0Vertigo<\/em>
1959: Rio Bravo<\/em>
1960: Shoot the Piano Player<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1961: Yojimbo<\/em>
1962: The Manchurian Candidate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1963: Charade<\/em>
1964: A Hard Day\u2019s Night<\/em>
1965: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold\/Pierrot Le\u00a0<\/em>Fou<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1966: Persona<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1967: Bonnie & Clyde<\/em>
1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em>
1969: The Wild Bunch<\/em>
1970:\u00a0The Landlord<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1971: McCabe & Mrs. Miller<\/em>
1972: The Godfather<\/em>
1973: Ganja & Hess<\/em>
1974: The Godfather II<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1975: Jaws<\/em>
1976:\u00a0All the President’s Men <\/em>
1977: Annie Hall<\/em>
1978: Blue Collar<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1979: Being There<\/em>
1980: Raging Bull<\/em>
1981: Diva<\/strong><\/em>\/My Dinner With Andre<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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1982: Blade Runner<\/em>
1983: The Right Stuff<\/em>
1984: Repo Man<\/em>
1985: Lost in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1986: Blue Velvet<\/em>
1987: \u00a0The Princess Bride\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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1988: Bull Durham<\/em>
1989: Do the Right Thing<\/em>
1990: GoodFellas<\/em>
1991: Daughters of the Dust<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1992: One False Move<\/em>
1993: Groundhog Day<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1994: Pulp Fiction<\/em>
1995: Toy Story<\/em>
1996: Jerry Maguire<\/em><\/p>\r\n

1997: L.A. Confidential<\/em>
1998: Babe: Pig in the City<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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1999: All About My Mother<\/em>
2000: Yi-Yi<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2001: In the Mood for Love<\/i>
2002: 25th Hour<\/strong>\/Talk To Her<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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2003: Lost in Translation<\/em>
2004:\u00a0Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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2005: A History of Violence<\/em>
2006: Children of Men<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2007: Zodiac<\/em>
2008: WALL-E<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2009: A Serious Man<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2010: True Grit<\/em>
2012:\u00a0The Act of Killing<\/em><\/p>\r\n

2013: Only Lovers Left Alive<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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2014: Inherent Vice<\/i>
2015: Mad Max: Fury Road<\/em>
2016: Moonlight<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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2017:\u00a0\u00a0The Florida Project\u00a0<\/i>
2018: The Sisters Brothers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2019: The Last Black Man in San Francisco<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2020: First Cow<\/em><\/p>\r\n

2021:\u00a0Passing<\/em><\/strong>
<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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2022:\u00a0Emily the Criminal<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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2023:\u00a0Godzilla Minus One<\/em><\/p>\r\n

2024:\u00a0Flow<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n


\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

2025:\u00a0Sinners<\/em><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If blame is necessary, then it goes to my good friend, humane observer and fellow professional spectator Tim Page, who was inspired by this year’s recently completed Academy Awards to come up with his own entirely subjective Best Picture list for every year he’s been alive. He posted this list on Facebook and the heroism […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3113"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4110,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3113\/revisions\/4110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}