Johnny Mad Dog Johnny Mad Dog
Sep
17
2008

CNN Picks All Time Asian Best, Do We Agree?

Posted by X at 8:18pm.

Posted in Random Geek Talk , Asia.

hhmmmm… no?

Picking apart “best movie” lists made by anyone, methinks, is as futile as trying to ask someone why he married his wife. We all have our different reasons for loving films (or the opposite), and every human being has multiple holes in his or her body, one of which is called “opinions.” What’s fun about lists, though, is that they speak about the people who made them more than a photo and identikit, a list of the cars they own and how much they pay in taxes would. What happens, then, when a sacred cow (not of film criticism, mind you) like CNN picks the best Asian films of all time? More than any indication of quality, I find it peculiar in a way that goes beyond appreciation for film. It sounds a bit like a sort of Eurovision Song contest of filmmaking, being politically correct and picking some commercial favorites from all over the place, some darlings of the arthouse crowd, and some sacred cows. If you asked me, I’d probably agree only with a couple of picks, but then again, it’d probably be the same for you.

Here’s the list (no particular order since they’re asking netizens to pick one, so I’m listing by release year):

1952. 生きる (Ikiru) - Kurosawa Akira, Japan
1957. भारत माता (Mother India) - Mehboob Khan, India
1958. 楢山節考 (The Ballad of Narayama) - Kinoshita Keisuke, Japan (They say “It won at Cannes in 1984,” so probably they meant Imamura’s remake?)
1969. 俠女 (A Touch of Zen) - King Hu, Hong Kong
1981. 만다라 (Mandara) - Im Kwon-Taek, Korea
1982. Himala - Ishmael Bernal, The Philippines
1983. Utu - Geoff Murphy, New Zealand
1984. Bao giờ cho đến tháng mười (When the Tenth Month Comes) - Dang Nhat Minh, Vietnam
1994. 活着 (To Live) - Zhang Yimou, China
1996. گبه (Gabbeh) - Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran
1998. Shall We ダンス? (Shall we Dance?) - Suo Masayuki, Japan
1999. 洗澡 (Shower) - Yang Zhang, China
2000. 花樣年華 (In The Mood For Love) - Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong
2002. Whale Rider - Niki Caro, New Zealand
2002. 無間道 (Infernal Affairs) - Andrew Lau, Hong Kong
2006. 괴물 (The Host) - Bong Joon-Ho, Korea
2006. แสงศตวรรษ (Syndromes and a Century) - Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand
2006. 三峡好人 (Still Life) - Jia Zhangke, China

So… agree, disagree?

[CNN]

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Reader Comments

  1. swampthing 09/18/2008 @ 12:25am

    If you’re including New Zealand, why not Australia?

    And… Whale Rider??

  2. Ard Vijn 09/18/2008 @ 1:25am

    There are no bad films on this list, but man…

    I wouldn’t expect crowdsplitters like “Ghost in the Shell” or “The Duelist”, but some things here definitely strike me as odd.

    Nothing from Hayao Miyazaki?
    Nothing from Park Chan-Wook?
    And Ikiru as The-One-Film from Akira Kurosawa?

    Three films from 2006, but nothing between 1958 and 1969?

  3. X 09/18/2008 @ 1:34am

    It’s like the bastard child of Sight & Sound and MTV.

  4. The Visualist 09/18/2008 @ 2:38am

    Since when is New Zealand considered Asian? Did I miss something?

    That list is more than a bit wanting of some diversity. You can definitely tell whoever compiled that list is disposed to more heart-tugging fare. That’s all I’ll say.

  5. Rich Wilson 09/18/2008 @ 2:47am

    Well, lists are lists, and opinion only. But when did NZ become Asian? And no love for Miyazaki? And I would have expected ‘Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance’, ‘Gojira’, ‘Yojimbo’, perhaps ‘The Killer’.

  6. The Visitor 09/18/2008 @ 3:02am

    CNN?? ugh, puh-leez!

  7. okoku 09/18/2008 @ 4:33am

    Only Koreans disagree for sure.

  8. MavisFan 09/18/2008 @ 5:58am

    Who came up with this list, Anderson Cooper?? There are far better korean films than “The Host”.  It looks like it was picked based on ticket sales.  Good popcorn flick with great actors, but greatest ever. not even close. And you would have to expect a HK flick from 50-60s era from shaw or cathay, so many great films to choose from.

  9. The Visitor 09/18/2008 @ 7:58am

    might’ve been Wolf or Christiane who picked.

  10. Lurple 09/18/2008 @ 9:42am

    I like most of those movies but almost none of them would have made my list of favorites… maybe A Touch of Zen. Lists like these usually just serve to spark a discussion (or an argument).

    I’d have picked Seven Samurai over Ikiru, personally. As far as Bong Joon-Ho goes I also think Memories of Murder is a far better film than the Host. I actually liked Barking Dogs Never Bite better than the Host, too. That’s a bizarre choice for a “best Korean film ever” any way you slice it.

  11. X 09/18/2008 @ 10:05am

    Lists like these usually just serve to spark a discussion (or an argument).

    There you go. smile

  12. Rhythm-X 09/18/2008 @ 7:03pm

    What the hell is this bullshit?  It’s not retarded through and through like something out of Maxim or Entertainment Weakly, where HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS would be Top-5 material… but it’s the most random list of this sort I may have ever seen.  New Zealand?  I’m not even going to click through to examine this crap more closely.

  13. ChevalierAguila 09/19/2008 @ 2:02am

    No sir i don’t like it.

  14. Deadpool 09/19/2008 @ 5:17pm

    How about instead of camp fair The Host we get a legitimate “best Korean movie”

    Any of these will do:

    Tae Guk Gi
    JSA
    Any of the Vengeance Trilogy
    My Sassy Girl
    Memories of Murder
    A Bittersweet Life
    Save the Green Planet

  15. Deadpool 09/19/2008 @ 5:31pm

    And where the hell is Kairo the greatest horror movie made?!

  16. MavisFan 09/19/2008 @ 8:06pm

    Any one of those Korean movies is much better along with:

    Bungee jumping of their own
    The Classic
    Take Care of My Cat
    Ditto
    Sad Movie
    Nabi
    Secret Sunshine
    Friend
    Oasis
    Ad-Lip
    Failan
    Welcome to Dongmakgol

    and the list goes on…

    it’s very obvious the dipshit who came up with this list has maybe seen two Korean movies at best.  The Host and D-War.

  17. MavisFan 09/19/2008 @ 8:06pm

    Any one of those Korean movies is much better along with:

    Bungee jumping of their own
    The Classic
    Take Care of My Cat
    Ditto
    Sad Movie
    Nabi
    Secret Sunshine
    Friend
    Oasis
    Ad-Lip
    Failan
    Welcome to Dongmakgol

    and the list goes on…

    it’s very obvious the dipshit who came up with this list has maybe seen two Korean movies at best.  The Host and D-War.

  18. six string 09/19/2008 @ 11:33pm

    CNN should stick with sensationalism, not film picks.

    This thread was invalid as soon as CNN entered.

    Since “all time” seems to be the flavor ....

    Ballad of Narayama - possibly
    Ikiru - possibly
    In the Mood for Love - maybe

    ... at least out of their choices.

    Where is Woo, Ki-duk, Chan-wook, Chang-dong, Kwon-taek, Joon-ho (not that the Host was bad, but ..), Masumura, Fukasaku, Teshigahara, Oshii, Kitano, Kon, Miyazaki, Okamoto, Ozu, Suzuki (Seijun), Watanabe, Yamada ....!!!???

    There was no seriousness applied to CNN’s decision, period.

  19. Izmou 09/20/2008 @ 2:33am

    From my part, definitely any of Miyazaki’s films, Grave of the Fireflies, Hana-bi, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring, The Brotherhood of War, Memories of Murder, The Vengeance Trilogy, Hero…

  20. Ichi-The-Killer 09/22/2008 @ 11:22pm

    rofl!

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