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Silver Screen Streak List #06: Dan Kocher's Custom List

Silver Screen Streak List #06: Dan Kocher's Custom List

Written by dorrk
27 May 2020

Flickcharter Dan Kocher was one of only two (out of 25) participants in my Silver Screen Streak Movie Challenge brave enough to offer me a custom list. In exchange for the freedom of hand-picking movies he thinks I'll love, Dan has to face tougher rules. While movies from a normal list must only rank at or above 50.00% on my Flickchart to keep me streakin' on to the next title, movies from custom lists must meet or surpass a 60.00% threshold. No one said this would be easy.

Can Dan do it? Despite some pessimistic last-minute title shuffling, I would guess he can be fairly confident in a good run. He's one of the few Flickcharters upon whose chart I look with some degree of awe. He's got nearly 8000 titles on it, dwarfing my measly 4800, and  near the top are a lot of bona fide classics, quite a few foreign art-house hits which are now bordering on obscurity, and substantial crossover with my own favorites.

Dan is an avid movie-challenger, himself, and in the process of watching nearly every significant movie, year by year. He's currently on 1983. He takes these things seriously, as his custom list reflects.

Let's see what's at the top of his list.


THE LIST

I’ll watch the first two movies from each list, giving each participant the chance to avoid an instant exit and maybe even earn some free passes. If those first two movies fare well enough on my Flickchart, I'll continue on through the following, as long as they entertain me.
THE BIG BUS (1976)

THE BIG BUS (1976)

dir.: James Frawley
This looks wacky. I have some vague recollection of hearing about this comedic take on the disaster blockbusters of the 1970s. Frawley went on to direct one of my childhood favorites, THE MUPPET MOVIE.
LATE AUTUMN (1960)

LATE AUTUMN (1960)

dir.: Yasujirō Ozu
Dan knows that I love Setsuko Hara, and especially when she works with director Ozu. As always with Ozu, it wil be interesting to how old Chishū Ryū is supposed to be this time.
DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE (1961)

DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE (1961)

dir.: Pietro Germi
Dan loves his mid-century Italian movies and made me watch IL SORPASSO a few years ago to solid success. As a kid, the American derivative of this hit, LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE was all the rage. Hopefully the theme song is just a catchy. I haven't seen any of Germi's other films, but a few are on my watchlist.
GET CARTER (1971)

GET CARTER (1971)

dir.: Mike Hodges
I might have watched this British crime thriller 30 years ago, but don't recall any details. I don't think I ever caught the 2000 Sylvester Stallone remake. Hodges later directed the glam disaster FLASH GORDON, which I saw in the theater at age 8.
AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON (1962)

AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON (1962)

dir.: Yasujirō Ozu
An Ozu without Setsuko Hara? One problem I have with Ozu is that his seasonal titles are so similar, that I have trouble recalling which is which. This one will stand out as "the one that doesn't star the greatest actress of all-time."
SEVEN BEAUTIES (1975)

SEVEN BEAUTIES (1975)

dir.: Lina Wertmüller
I've never seen a Wertmüller film. I am ashamed.
MY CHILDHOOD (1972)

MY CHILDHOOD (1972)

dir.: Bill Douglas
I've never heard of Bill Douglas or his "Trilogy," of which this is the first part. He doesn't appear to have done much else.
PALE FLOWER (1964)

PALE FLOWER (1964)

dir.: Masahiro Shinoda
I watched Shinoda's UNDER THE BLOSSOMING CHERRY TREES a couple of years ago and adored it. I should probably assume that this is going to be very different, as only a crazy person would make more films in that vein. If he turns out to be crazy, that's OK, too.
BREAD AND CHOCOLATE (1974)

BREAD AND CHOCOLATE (1974)

dir.: Franco Brusati
Another Italian comedy, and one I've heard of only in passing. I like both Bread and Chocolate, so that's encouraging.
THE END OF SUMMER (1961)

THE END OF SUMMER (1961)

dir.: Yasujirō Ozu
Thankfully, this Ozu features Setsuko Hara. She practically guarantees a 70% ranking, and Ozu isn't half-bad either.