PopGap #05: Cannes Prize Winners

Just when I feel caught up on one PopGap, here comes another one, forcing me to face 20 more movies I haven't seen before (or am not sure I've seen them before; two of these may have crossed my eyes decades ago) in my quest to shore up my pop cultural literacy.

This month's theme is movies that won majors prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Once again I used the terrific site Flickchart to help generate our list.

I used the four following filters:

• The Best 'Cannes Grand Prix' Movies
• The Best 'Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film' Movies
• The Best 'Cannes Jury Prize' Movies
• The Best 'Cannes Palme d'Or Winning' Movies

I combined these results, and sorted them by Flickchart's global rankings. I've seen enough of these to require a list of the Top 50 to cull 20 I haven't seen before. Here's how that aggregate list of Flickchart's Top Cannes Prize Winners looks, ordered by their position on the global chart. the ones I've seen are crossed out, and the movies on this month's list are highlighted:

• #6: Pulp Fiction (1994) / My ranking: #254 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #35: Taxi Driver (1976) / My ranking: #10 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #36: The Third Man (1949) / My ranking: #256 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #42: Apocalypse Now (1979) / My ranking: #7 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #68: The Seventh Seal (1957) / My ranking: #376 / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #76: the Wages of Fear (1953) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #100: The Conversation (1974) / My ranking: #410 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #105: La Dolce Vita (1960) / My ranking: #60 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #129: All About Eve (1950) / My ranking: #581 / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #172: Harakiri (1962) / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #210: Brief Encounter (1945) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #253: Oldboy (2003) / My ranking: #913 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #285: Solaris (1972) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #291: Paris, Texas (1984) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #320: Barton Fink (1991) / My ranking: #216 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #398: the Lost Weekend (1945) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #403: L'avventura (1960) / My ranking: #283 / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #425: Cinema Paradiso (1988) / My ranking: #1968 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #458: Z (1969) / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #479: Woman in the Dunes (1964) / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #481: MASH (1970) / My ranking: #1831 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #534: Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (1983) / My ranking: #777 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #537: the Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #544: Kagemusha (1980) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #546: Life Is Beautiful (1997) / My ranking: #2972 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #548: All That Jazz (1979) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #619: Blow-Up (1966) / My ranking: #555 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #655: Marty (1955) / My ranking: #151 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #672: the Pianist (2002) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #679: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) / My ranking: #1120 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #734: Viridiana (1961) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #778: A Prophet (2009) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #788: Wild at Heart (1990) / My ranking: #59 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #790: The Sweet Hereafter (1997) / My ranking: #1163 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #809: Breaking the Waves (1996) / My ranking: #213 / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #871: The Tree of Life (2011) / My ranking: #2035 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #956: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1006: Mon Oncle (1958) / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #1078: Secrets & Lies (1996) / My ranking: #409 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1088: The Celebration (1998) / My ranking: #309 / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #1094: The Mission (1986) / My ranking: #1460 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1101: sex, lies, and videotape (1989) / My ranking: #997 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1108: Dancer in the Dark (2000) / My ranking: #252 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1149: the Leopard (1963) / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1167: If.... (1968) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
• #1233: The White Ribbon (2009) / My ranking: #633 / Prize: Cannes Palme d'Or
• #1242: Kwaidan (1964) / My ranking: #821 / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize
• #1253: the Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) / Prize: Cannes Grand Prix
• #1294: Persepolis (2007) / Prize: Cannes Jury Prize

I'm excited by a few of these, and dreading some others. There are few approaching 3 hours, which can be grueling if I'm not enjoying it. of particular concern in this regard is Solaris. I've seen only one other highly regard Tarkovsky movie, Stalker, and it's one of my least favorite movie-watching experiences; but that was a long time ago, and the conditions were far from ideal. Maybe I'll get it this time. Several of these, however, have already been on my watchlist for a while, so I can feel productive as I cross them off.