Of the films I saw in 2004, here’s a list of those I highly recommend. My favorites (in no particular order) appear first, followed by the rest of the best, in roughly the order they were seen. Reviews for many of these can be found elsewhere on this blog.
- Triplets of Belleville (2003, France, Sylvain Chomet) – tie for my favorite of the year
- Finding Neverland (2004, UK/USA, Marc Forster) – tie for my favorite of the year
- In America (2002, USA, Jim Sheridan)
- Yojimbo (1961, Japan, Akira Kurosawa)
- Sanjuro (1962, Japan, Akira Kurosawa)
- Red Beard (1965, Japan, Akira Kurosawa)
- Kagemusha (1980, Japan, Akira Kurosawa)
- Ran (1985, Japan, Akira Kurosawa)
- Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003, UK, Peter Webber)
- Touching the Void (2003, UK, Kevin Macdonald)
- Dogville (2003, Denmark, Lars von Trier)
- Napoleon (1927, France, Abel Gance)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2003, USA, Michel Gondry)
- Japanese Story (2003, Australia, Sue Brooks)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2003, USA, Alfonso Cuaron)
- The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002, USA, Nanette Burstein, Brett Morgan)
- Before Sunset (2004, USA, Richard Linklater)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004, USA, Sam Raimi)
- Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004, USA, Michael Moore)
- Intimate Strangers (2004, France, Patrice Leconte)
- Garden State (2002, USA, Zach Braff)
- The Station Agent (2003, USA, Thomas McCarthy)
- Penthouse (1933, USA, W.S. Van Dyke)
- Sideways (2004, USA, Alexander Payne)
- Kinsey (2004, USA, Bill Condon)
- House of Flying Daggers (2004, China/Hong Kong, Zhang Yimou)
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- Mostly Martha (2001, Germany, Sandra Nettelbeck)
- Cinemania (2002, USA, Angela Christlieb, Stephen Kijak)
- The Battle of Algiers (1965, Algeria/Italy, Gillo Pontecorvo)
- Calendar Girls (2002, UK, Nigel Cole)
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938, USA, Anatole Litvak)
- The Cooler (2003, USA, Wayne Kramer)
- Swordsman II (1991, Hong Kong, Siu-Tung Ching, Stanley Tong)
- I Vitelloni (1953, Italy, Federico Fellini)
- Scarface (1932, USA, Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson)
- Mean Girls (2003, USA, Mark S. Waters)
- Kill Bill, Vol 2 (2004, USA, Quentin Tarantino)
- K-19 The Widowmaker (2002, USA, Kathryn Bigelow)
- Iris (2000, UK, Richard Eyre)
- The Magdalene Sisters (2002, UK/Ireland, Peter Mullan)
- Spring Forward (2000, USA, Tom Gilroy)
- The Well (1997, Australia, Samantha Lang)
- Tovarich (1937, USA, Anatole Litvak)
- Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003, USA, Thom Andersen)
- Super Size Me (2004, USA, Morgan Spurlock)
- The Incredibles (2004, USA, Brad Bird)
- Tabu (1931, USA, F.W. Murnau)
2 Things @ Once 