https://vimeo.com/113355414
More often than not, montages are used as easy, quick-fix tools used to build drama in a scene that has none. Random objects are combined with other random objects then tied together with either orchestral or piano music to create a hokey magical sense of meaning. Still, I think it’s a bit of an overgeneralization to call montages bad, especially when some – like David Ehrlich’s 25 Best Movies of 2014 – are so, totally, good.
Ehrlich, who previously edited Film.com and now contributes to the AV Club, compiled a list of his 25 favorite films from 2014 (that many?), then spliced some of his favorite moments together in a montage. While I disagree with some of his selections (where’s Whiplash? The Skeleton Twins? Obvious Child?) all rankings are pretty much pointless, so he’s forgiven. To his credit, he also includes moments from movies that didn’t just didn’t make the brutal montage cut.
What makes Ehrlich’s edits so great is that they’re actually edits: not just ‘best of’ moments carelessly thrown together to create a meaningless sequence. They actually flow – there’s a sequence and rhythm to it that make some sort of storytelling sense. In case you’re too attention deficit to make it to the end of the sequence (can’t blame ya), here’s the full list:
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Inherent Vice
3. Under the Skin
4. Nymphomaniac
5. Gone Girl
6. Only Lovers Left Alive
7. The Double
8. God Help That Girl
9. Force Majeure
10. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
11. Boyhood
12. Goodbye to Language
13. Ida
14. Palo Alto
15. Babadook
16. Mommy
17. Why Don’t You Play in Hell?
18. Starred Up
19. Godzilla
20. Listen Up Philip
21. Love is Strange
22. Selma
23. Timbuktu
24. We Are The Best!
25. Lucy
Yes, James Franco’s Palo Alto is on the list. Yes, it’s disconcerting, and yes, I closed my eyes for that very very scary part. Either way, stop reading, and check it out for yourself.