Do we
really need to keep have the TV vs. film debate? Really? It’s been nearly 20
years since The Sopranos kicked off what we now call “prestige” TV, and we’ve
heard for years, from multiple sources, that TV is no better than movies. I
don’t think that conclusion is very useful – or very well argued by most who
have made it. The best work on TV certainly does rival the best work at the
movies – but that’s always been true to a certain extent – but some were just
too snobby to see it.
I
bring this up because I cannot believe just how many film critics want to put
Twin Peaks: The Return on their year-end movie lists. This is not a knock about
the quality of Twin Peaks: The Return – I think it may just be the best thing
David Lynch has ever done, and given that I think Mulholland Dr. is the best
movie of the 21st Century, and one of the 10 best movies EVER – that
certainly means Twin Peaks: The Return could stack up favorably to most movies.
It may be the supreme artistic achievement of this century so far in TV or
film. But it is TV – it was doled out in 18, one hour packages, over the course
of months. Sure, it was directed all by one man, and they didn’t shoot or write
it like a traditional series – but they clearly edited as one. Lynch’s use of
the episodic format was one of the reasons it is the masterwork of television
storytelling that it is.
I
bring this up at the beginning of my 2017 Year End movie report for a couple of
reasons. The first is, because inspired by Twin Peaks, for the first time I
will include a list of the best TV shows I watched this year (including a
choice of best episode per series) – and because I think film culture is at a
strange place right now. Hollywood studios have increasingly banked on big
franchises to make money – and they still do, but less than they used to. The
Disney/Fox acquisition will put control in even fewer hands than before, and
that really cannot be a good thing, can it? Netflix has moved aggressively into
the movie space – and we’ve heard cries for those who don’t like that they
don’t give their films exclusive theatrical runs. Surely, the likes of Okja,
The Meyerowitz Stories and Mudbound deserve them, right? (Bright, not so much).
I
cannot help but think that so many critics embraced Lynch’s show this year out
of some sort of insecurity about the future of movies. Lynch is one of “ours”
(film) not one of “theirs” (TV), so we most protect him at all costs. This is
somewhat odd, because this year anyway, there really was no need to go grasping
to find daring work being done. As always, you may have to venture outside of
suburban multiplexes to see it, but it’s there. Many of the best films come
from new – or new-ish – voices (no director who has a film on my top 10 list
made their directorial debut before 1997). As some of those directors enter
their third decade of directing, I have to admit that even if I always thought
of them as the new guard, they aren’t anymore. They’re among the vets now. The exciting
thing is that a whole new group has risen behind them, and helped make 2017 an
exciting time to see movies.
I know
that not everyone will like the films on my top 10 list (one apparently got an
F Cinemascore, what that is worth, and another has become the most
controversial film of awards season). I’m not someone who wants to shut out, or
shut down criticism of films that I love – I’ve taken it in about all the films
on this list – and believe we would all be better off if we were more willing
to listen to differing viewpoints on the things we love.
Anyway
I’ve gotten off track, and think it’s probably time to just reveal by Year End
report. As always, I go overboard, so over the next five days you’ll get lists
of the 30(ish) best films of the year, the 10 best performances in each acting
category – an ensemble casts – lists of the best docs, animated, horror and
debut films, my own Oscar ballot, lists of the most disappointing and the worst
films, and finally of my favorite TV shows. It is undeniably overkill (apparently,
it runs 63 pages and almost 39,000 words). Feel free to disagree, and call me
an idiot if you want to. But as I always say, if you don’t like my list – make your
own. Everyone else already has.
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