The Power of 16mm
by ngavrich | created - 12 Nov 2012 | updated - 25 Nov 2012 | PublicAs celluloid film gives way to a revolution of digital filmmaking, we can't help but compare the two mediums. 16mm film was once the standard for television and independent filmmakers but is quickly being swept out in favor of the much newer and cheaper DSLR cameras. But as it stands, digital cameras, 3d rigs, 60fps shooting, and all the other recent technologies still have a ways to go before they can rival the sheer beauty and natural tones of celluloid. However, because of the shrinking number of filmmakers who continue to shoot on film, the medium is somewhat of an endangered breed; fuji recently announced they would stop producing motion picture film. So in praise of 16mm film I have created this list of beautiful, independent, or culturally significant films that oftentimes brought the director into the spotlight. "Real film is light; digital is electricity.” - Aki Kaurismäki
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1. Black Swan (2010)
R | 108 min | Drama, Thriller
Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder
Votes: 824,363 | Gross: $106.95M
2. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 319,894 | Gross: $26.24M
3. Enter the Void (2009)
Not Rated | 161 min | Drama, Fantasy
An American drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy, Olly Alexander
Votes: 88,031 | Gross: $0.34M
4. Shadows (1958)
PG | 87 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd, Anthony Ray
Votes: 12,552
5. Lessons of Darkness (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 54 min | Documentary, War
This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Werner Herzog
Votes: 6,742
6. Woodstock (1970)
R | 184 min | Documentary, History, Music
Oscar-winning musical chronicle that brilliantly captures the three-day rock concert and celebration of peace and love that became a capstone for the Sixties.
Director: Michael Wadleigh | Stars: Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey, Joe Cocker
Votes: 18,458 | Gross: $50.00M
7. Bronson (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Tom Hardy, Kelly Adams, Luing Andrews, Katy Barker
Votes: 140,846 | Gross: $0.10M
8. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
PG-13 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
Director: Benh Zeitlin | Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes
Votes: 85,054 | Gross: $12.80M
9. The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama
Hans Epp is a self-destructive man who lives a dissatisfied life. He tries to find meaning as a fruit vendor, but a heart attack impedes his ability to work, which turns his dissatisfaction into despair.
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Stars: Hans Hirschmüller, Irm Hermann, Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch
Votes: 5,255
10. World on a Wire (1973)
Not Rated | 212 min | Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Somewhere in the future there is a computer project called Simulacron one of which is able to simulate a full featured reality, when suddenly project leader Henry Vollmer dies. His ... See full summary »
Stars: Klaus Löwitsch, Barbara Valentin, Mascha Rabben, Karl Heinz Vosgerau
Votes: 6,776
11. Slacker (1990)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
A day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine, Jan Hockey
Votes: 23,463 | Gross: $1.23M
12. Clerks (1994)
R | 92 min | Comedy
A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer
Votes: 232,302 | Gross: $3.15M
13. Attenberg (2010)
Not Rated | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stuck in her boring factory town, twenty-three-year-old Marina is at the mercy of both her father's impending death and her distaste for other humans.
Director: Athina Rachel Tsangari | Stars: Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou, Yorgos Lanthimos
Votes: 7,669 | Gross: $0.02M
14. Nocturne (I) (1980)
8 min | Short, Drama
A troubled and solitary woman who suffers from an acute light sensitivity summons the strength to escape her persistent trials; however, the fateful morning which is only hours away, still seems so distant and pale. Can she take the step?
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Yvette, Solbjørg Højfeldt, Anne-Lise Gabold, Lars von Trier
Votes: 1,628
15. Alice in the Cities (1974)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
A German journalist is saddled with a nine-year-old girl after encountering her mother at a New York airport.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Yella Rottländer, Rüdiger Vogler, Lisa Kreuzer, Edda Köchl
Votes: 13,229
16. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 800,723 | Gross: $7.56M
17. Sans Soleil (1983)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
A woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Amilcar Cabral, Florence Delay, Arielle Dombasle, Riyoko Ikeda
Votes: 12,128 | Gross: $0.03M
18. The Hurt Locker (2008)
R | 131 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce
Votes: 473,674 | Gross: $17.02M
19. Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A series of vignettes that all have coffee and cigarettes in common.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, RZA
Votes: 67,469 | Gross: $1.97M
20. Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)
24 min | Drama, Short
In a desert diner, five people are connected through a twenty-dollar bill.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Kirk Baltz, Philip Baker Hall, Scott Coffey, Kim Gillingham
Votes: 2,059
21. Half Nelson (2006)
R | 106 min | Drama
An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.
Director: Ryan Fleck | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Shareeka Epps, Jeff Lima
Votes: 91,904 | Gross: $2.69M
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