ìBeautifulî Tops Foreign-Language Film Poll

Itís been two years since ìLife Is Beautifulî hit the big screen, but life for Roberto Benigniís Oscar(r)-winning crowd-pleaser is still pretty wonderful. Per a recent Landmark Theaters poll of 35,000 moviegoers, the Italian drama is topping a list of the top 100 foreign-language films of all time. ìForeign language films have been a principal component of Landmarkís programming for 25 years, and as such, they have been an integral part of our companyís history,î Cary Jones, Landmarkís Vice President of Marketing, says in a statement. ìThe poll offered us a wonderful way to celebrate both the breadth of filmmaking talent from around the world as well as our own history.î Jones says the company encourages debate over the list, and since nearly every film in the top 20 was released in the 1990s, film buffs are sure to debate the results. ìI think that when you do a poll of best movies of all time and look at the general public rather than film critics or industry people, youíre going to have more recent films do better on the list,î explains Gitesh Pandya, Editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com. ìThatís only because theyíre more fresh in the minds of moviegoers. If itís your job and your life to criticize and study film, I think you have a broader sense of really looking at older films and giving them more weight in a poll like this.î Pandya says he agrees with the placement of ìLife Is Beautifulî in the top spot, due to itís high box-office gross and the firm placement of Benigniís acceptance antics in the minds of movie-lovers, but he does think a more critical list would differ a bit from Landmarkís results. ìThey might get shuffled around a lot, but the Top 10 would probably include a lot of the films in the top 20,î he says. ìMaybe ëEat Drink Man Womaní might rise or maybe ëDas Bootí might rise. I think ëRaní (No. 27), from Japan, might rank a little higher because itís seen as Akira Kurosawaís greatest film. Some of the films on the bottom might go to the top if critics were doing this list, because they have a better sense of going back in time.î The list was compiled from a poll of 35,000 theatre-goers from August 1, 1999 through October 31, 1999, and in order to qualify, the films had to be made by a foreign filmmaker in a language other than English. Hereís a rundown of the top 20.1. ìLife Is Beautiful,î Italy 1997 (Italian) 2. ìCinema Paradiso,î Italy 1988 (Italian) 3. ìIl Postino,î (The Postman), Italy 1994 (Italian) 4. ìLike Water for Chocolate,î Mexico 1992 (Spanish) 5. ìDas Bootî (The Boat), Germany 1981 (German) 6. ìBabetteís Feast, Denmarkî 1987 (Danish) 7. ìThe Gods Must Be Crazy,î Botswana 1981 (Afrikaans) 8. ìThe Seven Samurai,î Japan 1954 (Japanese) 9. ìShall We Dance?,î Japan 1996 (Japanese) 10. ìThe Bicycle Thief,î Italy 1948 (Italian) 11. ìLa Femme Nikita,î France 1990 (French) 12. ìLa Cage Aux Follesî (Birds of a Feather), France 1978 (French) 13. ìMy Life As A Dog,î Sweden 1985 (Swedish) 14. ìCentral Station,î Brazil 1998 (Portuguese) 15. ìRun Lola Run,î Germany 1998 (German) 16. ìAu Revoir, Les Enfantsî (Goodbye Children), France 1987 (French) 17. ìEat Drink Man Woman,î Taiwan 1994 (Mandarin Chinese) 18. ìLa Dolce Vita,î Italy 1960 (Italian) 19. ìJean De Florette,î France 1986 (French) 20. ìRaise The Red Lantern,î China 1991 (Mandarin Chinese)

Source: E! Online News