MY MOVIE YEAR: THE MARVELOUSLY-MANIACAL HEART-STOPPING FLICKERS PROJECT 2015

THE PAGES ON THE CALENDAR ARE DWINDLING DOWN SO IT'S TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF MY MOVIE-WATCHING IN 2015.  

As we stand at this very moment (and there's still a few days to go in 2015), my total tally of movies watched this year stands at 605 in my MARVELOUSLY-MANIACAL HEART-STOPPING FLICKERS PROJECT of 2015!  As you can see in the picture above, the first movie I watched in 2015 was Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.  Such a funny beginning didn't prepare me for the horrendously trying year I would subsequently have owing to the death of my grandmother at the age of 97 as well as my own multiple health problems.  In such times, I find it particularly necessary and helpful to my own well-being to be able to venture into the world of cinema in order to take my mind off my troubles as well as improving my knowledge and appreciation of the century+ of film history.  I can only say that I gain so much from watching films and I wouldn't want to do without them.  

This year, thanks to letterboxd, I can tell you that my most-watched actor was Sir Christopher Lee.  This seems to be entirely coincidental, however, since the majority of his films I watched BEFORE his death this year; so that was not the reason.  It was the work of Christopher Lee, and not his death, which compelled me to watch 15 of his films this year.  Perhaps fittingly, his good friend Peter Cushing was my second most-watched with 11 films.  The other top-watched stars appear in the picture below:  Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff (10 films each) and Humphrey Bogart (9 films).  And as for most-watched director in 2015, as you can also see below, Jan Svankmajer is shown as my most-watched director - but since his films are short subjects (and I'm only counting features) the honour of my most-watched director must instead go to George Cukor with 6 films!

George Cukor had 6 films (THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, HOLIDAY,  ADAM'S RIB,  BORN YESTERDAY,  IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU  and  THE MARRYING KIND).  In second place with 5 pictures each are Martin Scorsese (THE DEPARTED,  GEORGE HARRISON:  LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD,  MY VOYAGE TO ITALY,  PUBLIC SPEAKING and THE 50 YEAR ARGUMENT) and William Castle (HOMICIDAL,  THE OLD DARK HOUSE,  13 FRIGHTENED GIRLS,  HOLLYWOOD STORY and  THE FAT MAN). The directors in third place with 4 films each are:  Richard Quine (THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY,  THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC,  HOTEL,  and OPERATION MAD BALL), John Huston (THE AFRICAN QUEEN,  ACROSS THE PACIFIC,  WE WERE STRANGERS  and  THE ASPHALT JUNGLE),  Ingmar Bergman (FANNY AND ALEXANDER,  WINTER LIGHT,  THE MAGICIAN  and  SAWDUST & TINSEL), Terence Fisher {ISLAND OF TERROR,  ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED aka NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT,  SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE  and  THE MUMMY),  Michael Curtiz (THE WALKING DEAD,  BLACK LEGION (co-directed with Archie Mayo),  THIS IS THE ARMY  and  CASABLANCA),  James P. Hogan (BULLDOG DRUMMOND ESCAPES,  BULLDOG DRUMMOND'S PERIL,  BULLDOG DRUMMOND'S SECRET POLICE  and  ARREST BULLDOG DRUMMOND),  William Wyler (ROMAN HOLIDAY,  MRS. MINIVER,  HOW TO STEAL A MILLION  and  THE CHILDREN'S HOUR), and John Ford (CHEYENNE AUTUMN,  THE LONG GRAY LINE,  THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING  and  THE LAST HURRAH).  Then we come to the films which I saw for the very first time in 2015 that I liked the most.  Not necessarily the greatest films I saw for the first time this year but the one's which I connected with and enjoyed seeing the most.  In no particular order:

(seen above)  I KNEW IT WAS YOU:  REDISCOVERING JOHN CAZALE,  THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY,  LARS AND THE REAL GIRL,  EUROCRIME!: THE ITALIAN COP & GANGSTER FILMS THAT RULED THE 70s,  BRICK,  ROBOT & FRANK,  THE INTOUCHABLES,  EUROPA REPORT,  THE WIND RISES, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL,  PREDESTINATION,  INTERSTELLAR,  THE LUNCHBOX,  THE TRIP,  MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO and BEFORE I DISAPPEAR.

KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE,  THE GARDEN OF WORDS,  KUNG FURY,  FILMS OF FURY:  THE KUNG FU MOVIE MOVIE,  LATE AUTUMN,  POLICE STORY,  CARVE HER NAME WITH PRIDE,  MRS. MINIVER,  THE RIVER,  ST. VINCENT,  LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY,  RIKI-OH:  THE STORY OF RICKY,  REWIND THIS!,  MAD MAX FURY ROAD,  THE BATTERY and BLADE RUNNER.

KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL,  INHERENT VICE,  BELLS ARE RINGING,  WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS,  THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA,  DONKEY SKIN,  PICKPOCKET,  LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE,  FANNY AND ALEXANDER,  NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH,  A MAN ESCAPED,  ONE WONDERFUL SUNDAY,  AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON,  WHAT HAPPENED MISS SIMONE?,  FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER and ANT-MAN.