This is a film still from HEROIC PURGATORY dir Yoshishige Yoshida, 1970, showing at Close-Up Film Centre (05 & 11 February 2023).
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Tony Paley presents his “greatest films of all time” at Close-Up Film Centre (from 03 FEB 2023).

Journalist & London film scene guru Tony Paley is collaborating with the wonderful Close-Up Film Centre to screen his contributions to Sight & Sound’s “greatest films of all time 2022” poll.

Submitted by Capital Celluloid

If you haven’t discovered Tony Paley’s Capital Celluloid blog, then you should. Dominating the #bestfilminlondontoday, Tony picks just that and tweets about it @tpaleyfilm so you always know what’s on that’s good (or just straightforward essential). When he’s not doing these things he’s Digital news (sport) editor at Guardian and a contributor to Guardian Film.

Seemingly much to his own surprise (but not ours!), Tony was invited to contribute to this decade’s edition of Sight & Sound Magazine’s “greatest films of all time 2022” poll. Needless to say, his contributions reflect the impeccable taste his followers get served daily. Here’s Tony’s top ten:

  • REMORQUES aka Stormy Waters (Jean Grémillon, 1941)
  • UNDER CAPRICORN (Alfred Hitchcock, 1949)
  • THE EXILES (Kent Mackenzie, 1961)
  • LA BAIE DES ANGES aka Bay of Angels (Jacques Demy, 1963)
  • VINYL (Andy Warhol, 1965)
  • SPRING NIGHT, SUMMER NIGHT (Jospeh L. Anderson, 1967)
  • HEROIC PURGATORY (Yoshishige Yoshida, 1970)
  • STRAW DOGS (Sam Peckinpah, 1971)
  • WHITE DOG (Sam Fuller, 1982)
  • THREE TIMES (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 2005)

Tony had this to say about the thinking behind his choices (read his full article at Capital Celluloid):

I wanted my contribution to be just that, a genuine heartfelt one, made up of the films I desperately wanted people to see but had not been considered in the previous voting, and modestly hoping for a re-evalution of the choices.

Tony Paley

Tony firmly believes all of these films should be seen in the cinema so has started a new collaboration with the wonderful people at Close-Up Film Centre to screen titles publicly. The first two shows are on sale now as part of their ongoing ESSENTIAL CINEMA series:

  • THE EXILES dir Kent Mackenzie, 1961 (03 FEB 20:15 / 10 FEB 20:15).
  • HEROIC PURGATORY dir Yoshishige Yoshida, 1970 (05 FEB 20:00 / 11 FEB 20:15).

ED: Finally, our considerable thanks to Tony for supporting RADIANT CIRCUS from the moment we started listing. You are an absolute gent, sir.

This is a film still from HEROIC PURGATORY dir Yoshishige Yoshida, 1970, showing at Close-Up Film Centre (05 & 11 February 2023).

Tony Paley presents his “greatest films of all time” at Close-Up Film Centre (from 03 FEB 2023), booking now!

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*THE SMALL PRINT: Opinions author’s own. // As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any errors. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version only. // Event dates/times/formats are subject to change by the venue/organiser. Events may already be sold out at the time of posting, so please click quickly. // We try to list as many original format screenings as we can (8 to 70MM), but sometimes formats change due to age of the print, availability, logistics etc, so please check ahead with your venue if the format is your thing. // All images are used in the spirit of fair use for reporting & review – no ownership is implied or intended / unless otherwise credited to RADIANT CIRCUS as the original rights holder. We will remove any images immediately upon request – just get in touch. // We don’t filter our listings by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should therefore be 18+. // Finally, we always try to follow The Carny Code by “not screwing up anyone else’s game”, but everyone can make mistakes… If something does go wrong, we will always do our best to put it right. //.