2012 In Film

After seeing 152 movies last year, including re-watches, this year was a lot less prolific. The total came to 105 films watched this year. I was really bad at watching things over the summer, but things picked up again once I got back in school this fall and was watching things for class as well as seeking out as many classic film screenings as I could cram in.

I continued the Truffaut trend, finishing the Antoine Doinel series, which was so neat to follow one character through a significant chunk of his life. I also watched Truffaut’s The Last Metro and The Wild Child, both of which I enjoyed greatly. In my continuing attempt to love Godard, I saw his Week End on 35mm, which was a trip!

I had the honor of participating in some great contests and blogathons this year. Jill from Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence and Michael at ScribeHard on Film hosted the Summer Under the Stars blogathon, and I chose to write about 42nd Street, one of my favorite musicals. Jill and Michael, along with The Lady Eve hosted contests for TCM’s screening of Singin’ in the Rain, and I was lucky to be chosen to get tickets to see one of my all-time favorite films on the big screen. Jessica at Comet Over Hollywood hosted the Gone Too Soon blogathon, and I got to learn more about Alan Ladd. Page at My Love of Old Hollywood hosted her Horseathon, which was an event after my own heart. If there’s anything I love more than movies, it’s horses, and racehorses especially, so I decided to look at Frank Capra’s Broadway Bill. Last but not least, the CMBA celebrated Gene Kelly’s centennial with a blogathon focusing on his films. I revisited a movie from my childhood, Brigadoon.

Some of my highlights from this year were getting to see some classics on the big screen. I got to see My Fair Lady and West Side Story in 70mm, How the West Was Won in Cinerama, and some other great prints of silents like Hitchcock’s The Ring and Show People introduced by Kevin Brownlow. I got to see Kirk Douglas introduce his favorite film, Lonely Are the Brave, which I absolutely loved. I’ve slowly chipped away at some of the post-1960s films I haven’t seen that everyone else has, like The Graduate, All the President’s Men and The Shawshank Redemption.

Overall, it’s been a great year of movie watching. I’m excited to experience the TCM Classic Film Festival in April, which will be my first time attending. I want to wish everyone a wonderful and prosperous New Year and I look forward to joining with you all in more movie watching and writing this coming year!