Ken Loach and Fred Armisen...Come On Down!

Hola Facets Features readers. Again, apologizes for the undue delay in posts. The break was not without rewards, however.

We at Facets Features seek out with vigilance our favorite celebs--be they filmmakers, actors, writers, scholars, thinkers, musicians, or whatever--to discover their favorite films; the films that shaped their lives; etc. We've accumulated a large collection of lists over the years, and we're especially jazzed about new contributions from two of our favorite folks.

First up...

Filmmaker Ken Loach, whose credits include Riff-Raff, Bread and Roses, The Navigators, Sweet Sixteen and the Cannes-winning film, The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Ken sent us six of his all-time faves, but stressed that some Kiarostami should be included, too!

Ken's list:

Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel, 1966)
The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio de Sica, 1948)
Loves of a Blonde (Milos Forman, 1965)
The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1967)
La Promesse (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 1996)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi, 1978)


Next up...

Fred Armisen, comedian, Saturday Night Live cast member, former Chicagoan and drummer extraordinaire. Take it, Fred...

"Here are my 10 favorite movies. I have it memorized because actually, in my mind, I am thinking 'what are my top ten movies?' Seriously!"

Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg, 1998)
Vacation (Harold Ramis, 1983)
And Now My Love (Claude Lelouch, 1974)
The Strangers (Bryan Bertino, 2008)
Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1996)
Dawn of the Dead (Zach Snyder, 2004)
Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Sweet Sixteen (Ken Loach, 2002)

Thanks, gents. We appreciate you taking time out of busy schedules for little ol' us.

To browse our complete collection of "top film" lists, visit Facets Features HQ, here. And stayed tuned to Facets Features for more, including Stuart Gordon's "Top Ten Films That Freaked Me Out!"


- Phil Morehart