Top 100 Grab Bag

VISION

88. Raising Arizona

The 'jump out of your seat' moment of Blood Simple, in terms of style, occurs when Dan Hedaya grabs Frances McDormand and takes her out of her house. Suddenly we are give a Raimi-esque shot the rushes toward them. It's a wickedly clever stylistic choice by a pair of assured filmmakers. Then along comes this movie Raising Arizona. Crawlin' on its hands and legs in a wild, goofy aloofness. Only to have H.I. McDunnough pull it back to a sentimental embrace.

I've never really seen a film where the style the filmmaker is using is just as wacky as the subject matter. As knee slap funny this movie can get, the soul of it lay in its closing monologue by McDunnough. Dreaming of a future that seemed just out of reach. From a career of endings that range from a tornado, a bird falling into an ocean, to a sheriff learning to accept the ways of the new, this always felt like the one that was the most heartfelt from these filmmakers.

SOUND

74. Dead Can Dance- Within the Realm of A Dying Sun (1987)

After seeing The Insider and hearing Lisa Gerrard's haunting voice draping it in a blanket of warmth and arcane beauty, I was convinced that I needed to explore more of her music. Then I saw Baraka. A film whose use of Host of Seraphim was utterly gorgeous.

This album in particular showcases Lisa Gerard and Brandon Perry channeling world music and filter it through dark, neo classical tones. As a result we are left with an album that soulfully emits sounds that are bathed in an esoteric aura.