Friday, January 23, 2015

Top 10 Films that Won Sundance

The 2015 Sundance Film Festival kicked off yesterday, and what better way to remember the famed fest than by highlighting some of the finest films to ever premiere there? Below are my picks for the best films that have won Sundance. For the purposes of this post, I only considered films that were awarded the Dramatic or Documentary Grand Jury Prizes.

Honorable Mention
Frat House (1998)
Grand Jury Prize – Documentary
Todd Phillips’ Frat House is a fucked up freak show that you can’t take your eyes off of. In the late ‘90s, HBO tasked Phillips and his co-director, Andrew Gurland, with getting unprecedented access into a few American fraternities. Once access was granted, Phillips and Gurland recorded as much mayhem as they could, namely the antics of a frat boy psycho named Blossom (who eventually turned on the filmmakers and threatened to kill them).

But here’s the thing. Phillips and Gurland were so heavily accused of staging sequences in this film (by demanding multiple takes of “real life” events) that HBO abandoned the completed film and never released it – even though it had won Sundance. To this day, Phillips maintains that he did not stage a single thing while making the movie. He did, however, wait until the subjects were drunk before he asked them to sign a release form, which is a very legal gray area. (Borat did the same thing, but it had 20th Century Fox’s legal team behind it.)

Although Phillips has attained fame for directing Old School and The Hangover films, Frat House remains his best work. The film never received a formal release, but you can find copies of it on YouTube.

10. The Brothers McMullen (1995)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
The Brothers McMullen is what Sundance (used to be) all about. A film shot for a few grand ($28,000, to be exact), starring and made by no one famous. Sundance picks it up, awards it Best Picture and thereby jump starts the careers of many people involved, namely writer/director/producer/star, Edward Burns. Unfortunately, that Sundance dream no longer exists. For context, last year’s winner, Whiplash (a movie that I love), was made for $3.3 million.

9. Crumb (1995)
Grand Jury Prize – Documentary
Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb is one of the best, most unconventional documentaries made in the last 20 years. It is an endlessly fascinating and profoundly upsetting look into the mind of controversial cartoonist, R. Crumb and his family. It was also one of Roger Ebert’s favorite films. The critic championed the doc tirelessly, and helped it earn its worthy cult status.

8. Fruitvale Station (2013)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
Made for just $900,000 by first time feature director, Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station is an unflinching exposé of where we were then, and, sadly, where we still are now. This movie still knocks the wind out of me.

7. Primer (2004)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
Shane Carruth wrote/directed/produced/starred in Primer for $7,000 (!) in 2001, spent two years editing/mixing/scoring it, before premiering it in-competition at Sundance. That’s a Sundance success story to end all Sundance success stories. I love getting lost in this film.

6. You Can Count on Me (2000)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
Both Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo had steady, under-the-radar careers prior to 2000, but You Can Count on Me made them stars. Rarely is the brother/sister dynamic captured as well as it is in this film.

5. Precious (2009)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
Seeing Precious at Sundance was one of the most memorable movie-going experiences of my life. I didn’t know what the movie was about, and I certainly wasn’t ready for the brutality within it (I caught an 8:30 a.m. screening). When it was finished, I so admired the film’s ability to embrace pain. I also loved how, during the post-screening Q&A, director Lee Daniels and his cast clearly had no idea that the film was going to change their lives.

4. Like Crazy (2011)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
It gets better every time I watch it. I so love Like Crazy for its honest depiction of a young, modern romance. Shot for just $250,000 using the Canon 7D camera, Like Crazy is proof that even if the most expensive resources aren’t there, a strong story always manages to shine through.

3. Whiplash (2014)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
I’ve been singing the praises of Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash for the last several months, most recently calling it my second favorite film of 2014. I fear that when this movie drops on Blu-Ray, I won’t be able to stop watching the final 15 minutes. “I’LL CUE YOU!”

2. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Grand Jury Prize – Documentary
Andrew Jarecki’s Capturing the Friedmans is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. A maddening and deeply disturbing chronicle of he said-she said. Whenever I watch this film, the truth becomes clearer, while also remaining infuriatingly indistinct.

1. Blood Simple (1985)
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic
I love that the careers of the Coen brothers were launched on a lie. A few versions of this story have been thrown around Hollywood in the past 30 years, but essentially, Joel and Ethan Coen shot a professional-looking trailer for Blood Simple, and showed that trailer to potential distributors, saying they needed money to properly distribute the film. Problem was, they hadn’t even shot the film yet, they only shot the trailer for it. Based on the strength of that trailer, the Coens secured $750,000 and were able to actually make Blood Simple. The film was a hit, and remains one of the best neo-noirs of modern memory.

Ten More I Love
Poison (1991)
A Brief History of Time (1992)
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)
American Movie (1999)
The Believer (2001)
American Splendor (2003)
Trouble the Water (2008)
We Live in Public (2009)
Winter’s Bone (2010)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)


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24 comments:

  1. Oh, what a wonderful list. I still need to see Capturing the Friedmans, Primer, The Brothers McCullum, Frat House and Crumb, but I look forward to catching up with them soon (Terry Zwigoff is also the man behind Ghost World right? Then I'm sure I will love Crumb). And what a great little anecdote on Blood Simple! I absolutely love that. Your Ten More I Love is great too, I especially love American Splendour, Winter's Bone and Beasts of the Southern Wild.

    From your actual top ten, of course I love all of the ones I have seen. The razor-sharp Blood Simple, the frenzied energy of Whiplash, the heartbreaking beauty of Like Crazy (Felicity Jones, how I adore your Anna), the gut-wrenching ferocity of Precious (why isn't Gabourey Sidibe a bigger star?!), the stunning reality of Fruitvale Station, and the witty and sensitive You Can Count On Me. All stunning and miraculous achievements, all of which I am truly thankful for.

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    1. What a GREAT comment here. So happy you like the list. Yes, Zwigoff also directed Ghost World, and even though Crumb is a documentary, it is definitely a Terry Zwigoff movie. Crumb is such an interesting film... rarely are we given an opportunity to hear depression, abuse and emotional hell articulated as openly as it is in that movie. Be very interested to hear what you think.

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  2. Nice list. Those last 15 minutes of Whiplash are mesmerizing. Andrew mouthing "Fuck you" to Fletcher is such a good moment.

    So glad you included Primer. For my money, that movie is the most accurate depiction of time travel out there.

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    1. By accurate, I mean realistic.

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    2. Thanks man. Primer is one of the very few time travel movies that I enjoy, and the fact that he made it for Seven. Grand. is insane. Whiplash... god, I just love that damn movie.

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  3. I love that you know so much about film...reading what you have to say about a movie is almost more entertaining and interesting than actually...watching the movie. Bravo list once again!

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    1. Wow, thanks man! That really means a lot to me that you'd say that!

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  4. "I won’t be able to stop watching the final 15 minutes. “I’LL CUE YOU!”" - that's how I feel. Like.. yes, the rest of the movie is amazing as well.. but the last scene, that is just.. it will haunt you for a lifetime. The way it just keeps going and going and going and just.

    I actually had to stop typing just now cause I got goosebumps and shivers just thinking about it. Man, I love it so much! I kept thinking, Nightcrawler was the one to beat for me, but this past week I'm sort of falling in love with Whiplash again.. 19 days it took to film.. I couldn't imagine doing something as great, with just 19 days.

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    1. It is So. Smart. the way it just BAM and cuts out at its peak. So few movies have the balls to do that. They want to give audiences the cushy ending. They want to show the ex girlfriend and Fletcher and daddy and Andrew all sitting around, talking about "those bad times," laughing and drinking coffee. Fuck that. BOOM and we're out. I love it. Chiiiiills.

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  5. Man, there's a lot of good films in that list. The ones I haven't seen are You Can Count on Me and Capturing the Friedmans plus Crumb which I've only seen bits of. There's always something at Sundance that is interesting to find though it has become too much of a haven for celebrities who only show up just to be seen rather than be there for cinema. Plus, it's gotten a bit of a hipster element to it that turns me off. I loathe hipsters.

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    1. Your last few sentences are so on point. I mean, Robert Redford has even shared those exact sentiments, and he started the damn thing. It's just a shame that in order to get in (let alone win) Sundance, your movie now has to have had a pretty large budget (by micro indie standards), and/or a few "names" in front of or behind the camera. Definitely not the way it used to be.

      And holy shit, I would love to hear your thoughts on Capturing the Friedmans.

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  6. Wow! I did not know that story about the Coens. That move really took cajones. Thank God they had the tremendous talent -- and the determination -- to pull it off in the long run. BTW, I really liked You Can Count on Me too. I didn't know that was the movie that launched Linney and Ruffalo into stardom.

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    1. Hey, sometimes you gotta lie to get in, you know? No shame in that haha. You Can Count on Me is such a tremendous emotional achievement. Ah, I just love it.

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  7. Glad you put Whiplash and the one and the only Primer there. Beast of the Southern Wild will fit the list, too, frankly saying. Yet, it's definitely a great list.

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    1. Thanks! Love Primer and Whiplash so much. And I definitely enjoy Beasts, it just barely didn't make the cut.

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  8. Still need to see a lot of these, but enjoy all the ones I have. That includes "Precious," but man, watching that first thing in the morning is not how I want to start the day. Great list.

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    1. Ha, yeah man, that was a tough ride. I mean, going to a festival, you really have no idea what a movie is about (if you don't research them). I had heard of Mo'Nique, but that was it. So 20 minutes into that film (around the "I should've aborted your ass!" line) I was like, "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?" A rough ride, but definitely worth it.

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  9. I saw Like Crazy at my local film fest and it also won Best Feature. It's an intimate and honest look at relationship which is still rare in Hollywood. I haven't seen The Brothers McMullen & You Can Count on Me yet, both of them look intriguing! I wonder which of the 7 films I posted today from Sundance would actually win something.

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    1. Always hard to know what's going to win. I recently posted a list of my favorite Sundance losers, and I like many of those films more than the ones on this list!

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  10. Neither of Eugene Jarecki's documentaries? Wow.

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    1. I mean, I like them, but not Top 10 Sundance for me. Nah.

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  11. Great to see the Coens on top, and there are several brilliant films here. I really need to see Crumb, Capturing the Friedmans and Frat House.

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    1. Ohhh I'd love to hear your thoughts on Capturing the Friedmans. It's such a puzzle. One very unsettling film.

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  12. If you want the truth about Frat-house contact me at 5168481895. I am Blossom.

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