It would seem that, once again, over the previous year, I have seen movies. I can’t seem to shake them. No matter where I try to hide, there they are, nibbling on my ankles, wrapping their tentacles around my head, licking my eyeballs with their celluloid tongues. I run, but I cannot escape. Alas.

Here, then, is my third annual list of what I watched, a list, as promised every year, that guarantees to enthrall everyone who is me, and precious few others. Which is why this may be the last one. I see movies. You get the idea. I might just keep future lists tucked away in an old sock in the closet where no one else has to look at them.

This year saw a slight easing off from the banner year that was 2016, when I watched so many movies I turned, briefly, into a ham sandwich. Long story.

I saw not nearly so many movies in theaters this year, and only a measly 58 on film. Oh, film! You are so very pretty. How I want to curl up in your shiny reels.

Yet still I managed to check out 245 movies I’d never seen before. Whew. How many of these damn things are out there, anyway? Am I almost done?

The stats:

Total number of movies seen, including repeat viewings: 386

Unique movies: 382

Total theatrical: 104

Theatrical on glorious film: 58

Video: 282

First time seen: 245

By decade. Number of movies seen, and in parentheses, number that were first time seen:

1910s: 1 (1)

1920s: 8 (7)

1930s: 4 (2)

1940s: 21 (13)

1950s: 29 (22)

1960s: 37 (30)

1970s: 58 (40)

1980s: 61 (19)

1990s: 38 (11)

2000s: 39 (23)

2010s: 90 (77), of which 44 were released in 2017, and 29 in 2016

Which is all rather similar to the last two years of this experiment in statistics. I’m most drawn to the ’70s, in which era I still find a lot of new films to watch, and the ’80s, when I fell in love with movies and where, it seems, I return to be comforted by old favorites. Seems I still need to make a point of exploring the world of the ’30s and earlier. Most nights, though, I find that movies that old aren’t calling out to me.

I noted last year which movies I’d seen in both 2015 and 2016. Any of those I’ve now watched three years running? Yep. They are: Inside Llewyn Davis, which gets better every time I watch it; Lawrence of Arabia, which thanks to the Castro Theater I’ve seen the last three years in 70mm (after a couple of dreary years in which they played the digital version); The Lone Ranger, because sometimes I like to watch a modern explodey summer action movie that’s genuinely good, and this is one of the few; The Thing, because it’s comfort food (and because the Alamo showed it in 70mm this year (in a print, however, that wasn’t as nice as a few of the 35mm prints I’ve seen of it in recent years)); and Upstream Color, the most disturbingly beautiful and beautifully disturbing movie made in ages.

It’s not like the days of my youth, when I’d watch movies over and over again. They’re much more likely to become fixed in my brain (or waft right on through it) after only one viewing these days. And as for the old and beloved, I can’t revisit them too often without feeling burnt out. As well, I’ve come to see over the years how satisfying it is to see an old favorite after a long absence. Delayed gratification, in other words. One of those damnable adult joys one can’t comprehend in one’s youth, but which work wonders when you let it.

But enough blather. This post is about nothing other than lists for people who like lists. Let’s go to the lists!

Movies seen in theaters on 35mm (or, where noted, 70mm). Asterisk for first time seen:

Alias Boston Blackie (1942)*

Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Patyomkin) (1929)

The Big Fix (1978)*

The Big Risk (Classe tous Risques) (1960)*

The Big Sleep (pre-release cut) (1945)*

Big Time (1988)*

Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

California Split (1974)*

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)*

Chained Heat (1983)*

Charley Varrick (1973)*

Class of 1984 (1982)

Come and See (Idi I Smotri) (1985)

The Crimson Kimono (1959)*

Criss Cross (1949)

Dementia 13 (1963)*

Diva (1981)*

Dunkirk (2017)* 70mm

East of Eden (1955)*

Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans Visage) (1960)*

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Four Ways Out (La Città si Defende) (1951)*

Gaslight (1944)*

The God of Cookery (Sik San) (1996)*

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

The Hidden Fortress (Kakushi toride no san akunin) (1958)

The Hired Hand (1971)*

I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) (1964)

The Last Man on Earth (1924)*

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 70mm

Lifeforce (1985)

Living in Oblivion (1995)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

Mildred Pierce (1945)*

Ministry of Fear (1944)

Murder by Contract (1958)*

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Raging Bull (1980)

The Rat (1925)*

Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976)*

Son of Blob (aka Beware! The Blob) (1972)*

Starship Troopers (1997)

Straw Dogs (1971)

A Strong Man (Mocny Czlowiek) (1929)*

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Taxi Driver (1976)

The Tenant (1976)

The Thing (1982) 70mm

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

Tol’able David (1921)*

Total Recall (1990)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

UFOria (1985)*

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)*

 

Movies seen in theaters, digitally projected:

Alien: Covenant (2017)*

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Baby Driver (2017)*

Beat the Devil (1953)*

The Big Sick (2017)*

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)*

Blue Velvet Revisited (2017)*

Body and Soul (1925)*

Colossal (2017)*

Cruel Gun Story (Kenjū zankoku monogatari) (1964)*

The Disaster Artist (2017)*

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)*

The Fate of the Furious (2017)*

Free Fire (2017)*

Get Out (2017)*

The Green Fog (2017)*

I Called Him Morgan (2017)*

Ingrid Goes West (2017)*

It (2017)*

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)*

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)*

Kong: Skull Island (2017)*

Lady Bird (2017)*

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)*

A Man There Was (Terje Vigen) (1917)*

Manhandled (1949)*

mother! (2017)*

The Movie Orgy (4.5 hour version) (1968)*

A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ichipeiji) (1926)*

Paterson (2016)*

The Red Turtle (2016)*

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)*

72/58 (2017)*

The Shape of Water (2017)*

Silence (2016)*

Space is the Place (1974)*

The Square (2017)*

Stalker (1979)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)*

They Live (1988)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)*

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)*

THX 1138 (Director’s Cut) (1971/2004)*

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)*

Zardoz (1974)

 

Movies seen on video:

Aferim! (2016)*

Alien 3 (1992)

All Night Long (1962)*

And Then There Were None (1945)*

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Army of Shadows (L’armée des ombres) (1969)*

At Home among Strangers (Svoy sredi chuzhikh, chuzhoy sredi svoikh) (1974)*

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)*

Bad Santa (2004)

Ball of Fire (1941)*

Ballad of a Soldier (Ballada o soldate) (1959)*

Bamboozled (2000)*

Barton Fink (1991)

BASEketball (1998)

Beach Red (1967)*

The Beastmaster (1982)

Becket (1964)*

The Beguiled (1971)

Being There (1979)

Benny’s Video (1992)*

Beware of a Holy Whore (Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte) (1971)*

A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)*

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

The Black Lizard (Kurotokage) (1962)*

Black Moon (1975)*

The Blob (1958)

Blow Out (1981)

BMX Bandits (1983)*

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Branded to Kill (Koroshi no rakuin) (1967)*

Brian Eno: 1971-1977 – The Man Who Fell to Earth (2012)*

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976)*

Bull Durham (1988)

The ‘Burbs (1989)

Bustin’ Loose (1981)*

Carnival of Sinners (La Main du diable) (1943)*

The Cars that Ate Paris (1974)*

Casablanca (1942)

Che Part 1: The Argentine (2008)*

Che Part 2: Guerilla (2008)*

The Cheerleaders (1972)*

Children of Men (2006)

Chimpanzee (2012)*

Christine (1983)

Christmas Evil (1980) x2

The Circle (2017)*

Code 46 (2003)

Constantine (2005)*

The Core (2003)

Coup de Grâce (1976)*

The Cowboys (1972)*

The Cranes are Flying (Letyat zhuravli) (1957)*

The Crazies (1973)*

Cross of Iron (1977)*

Cruising (1980)*

The Dark Knight (2008)

Dark Victory (1939)*

David Lynch: The Art Life (2017)*

Day of the Animals (1977)*

Daybreakers (2009)*

The Deep (1977)*

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

The Devil’s Backbone (El espinazo del diablo) (2001)*

Devil’s Doorway (1950)*

Die Hard (1988)

Dillinger (1973)*

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)*

Dirty Pictures (2011)*

D.O.A. (1949)

Dog Eat Dog (2016)*

Donkey Skin (Peau d’Âne) (1970)*

The Doors (1991)

Double Indemnity (1944)

Eating Raoul (1982)

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)*

Eight Men Out (1988)

Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

Endless Summer (1966)*

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The Evil Within (2017)*

eXistenZ (1999)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Farewell, My Lovely (1975)*

The Fifth Element (1997)

The Final Countdown (1980)

Forbidden Planet (1957)

The Founder (2016)*

Frailty (2001)*

Freeway (1996)

From Hell (2001)*

Frozen (2013)*

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)*

Gate of Flesh (Nikutai no mon) (1964)*

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)*

Ghost in the Shell (1995)*

The Girl with All the Gifts (2017)*

The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)*

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (Gojira tai Desutoroia) (1995)*

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Grizzly Man (2005)

Harold and Maude (1971)

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)*

High Hopes (1988)*

High-Rise (2015)

The Holcroft Covenant (1985)*

Hombre (1967)*

How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1988)

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)*

Ice Station Zebra (1968)*

Images (1972)*

In Bruges (2008)

In the Loop (2009)

In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

Incubus (1982)*

Innerspace (1987)

Intacto (2001)*

Into the Inferno (2016) x2

The Intruder (1962)*

The Invasion (2007)*

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) (1970)*

The Invitation (2016)*

It Comes at Night (2017)*

Jackie Brown (1997)

Jaws (1975)

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)*

Joe Kidd (1972)*

Jubal (1956)*

The Karate Kid (1984)

Kate Plays Christine (2016)*

King Kong (1933)

King Kong (1976)

The Last Metro (Le Dernier Métro) (1980)*

The Leopard Man (1943)*

Les Diaboliques (1955)

Let’s Get Lost (1988)

Letter Never Sent (Neotpravlennoye pismo) (1960)*

Little Sister (2016)*

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Long Strange Trip (2017)*

The Lost City of Z (2016)*

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum) (1975)*

Loving (2016)*

Lucky (2017)*

The Lure (Córki dancingu) (2017)*

Lured (1947)*

Mad Max: Fury Road – Black & Chrome (2016)

Magnificent Obsession (1954)*

The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)*

Memento (2000)

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (Tora no O wo Fumu Otokotachi) (1945)*

The Mermaid (2016)*

Miami Blues (1990)

The Mission (1986)

The Monkey King 2 (2016)*

Monster (2004)*

Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (Les Vacances de M. Hulot) (1953)*

Multiplicity (1996)*

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)*

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) (1988)

My Own Private Idaho (1991)*

The Naked Prey (1965)*

The Naked Spur (1953)*

The Neon Demon (2016)

Network (1976)

No No: A Dockumentary (2014)*

Nocturnal Animals (2016)*

O.J.: Made in America (2016)*

Okja (2017)*

One Magic Christmas (1985)*

The Opposite of Sex (1998)

Orange Sunshine (2016)*

Ornette: Made in America (1984)*

Owning Mahoney (2003)*

Party Girl (1958)*

The Passionate Friends (1949)*

Personal Shopper (2017)*

Peyton Place (1957)*

Phantom Lady (1944)*

Pi (1998)

The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001)*

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Pinocchio (1940)

A Place to Go (1963)*

Pretty in Pink (1986)*

Princess from the Moon (Taketori monogatari) (1987)*

Prometheus (2012)

Pumpkinhead (1989)*

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

The Queen (2006)*

Radiohead: Meeting People is Easy (1998)*

Raising Arizona (1987)

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Rats (2016)*

Repo Man (1984)

Robot Monster (1953)*

Rodan (Sora no Daikaijū Radon) (1957)*

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017)*

Runaway Train (1985)

Sapphire (1959)*

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Schizopolis (1996)

Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)*

The Servant (1963)*

The Seven Year Itch (1955)*

Shin Godzilla (2016)*

The Shining (1980)

Sightseers (2013) x2

The Silent Partner (1978)*

Silent Running (1972)*

The Silent Star (Der Schweigende Stern) (1960)*

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)*

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)*

Society (1992)*

Something Wild (1986)

Split (2017)*

The Spy in Black (1939)*

Stardust Memories (1980)

State of Siege (État de Siège) (1972)*

The Steel Helmet (1951)*

Storefront Hitchcock (1998)*

Streets of Fire (1984)*

Summer with Monika (Summaren med Monika) (1953)*

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974)*

Syndromes and a Century (Sæng satawaat) (2007)*

A Tale of Two Sisters (Janghwa, Hongryeon) (2003)*

Tampopo (1985)

Them (Ils ) (2006)*

There Will Be Blood (2007)

They Live by Night (1949)

The Thing (1982)

13 Assassins (Jūsannin no Shikaku) (2010)*

The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)*

Timecop (1994)

Tokyo Story (Tōkyō Monogatari) (1953)*

Toni Erdmann (2016)*

Too Late for Tears (1949)

Tracks (1977)*

Trading Places (1983)

Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) (2016)*

Trilogy of Terror (1975)*

Tromeo & Juliet (1996)

20^th Century Women (2016)*

Unbreakable (2000)*

Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (Sakura no mori no mankai no shita) (1975)*

Upstream Color (2013)

Valkyrie (2008)*

The Verdict (1982)

Village of the Damned (1995)

Violent Saturday (1955)*

Viridiana (1961)*

The Wailing (Gokseong) (2016)*

WALL-E (2008)

War of the Worlds – The True Story (2012)*

What We Do in the Shadows (2015)

White Dog (1982)*

Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978)*

Withnail and I (1987)

Wonder Woman (2017)*

The Young Savages (1961)*

Youth of the Beast (Yajū no seishun) (1963)*