I just got through watching Lone Star again on cable a little while ago. Damn, that movie’s so good. It got me to thinking which of John Sayles’ movies I liked the best. But boy, is that a hard list to draw up! I can narrow it down to a Top 3:
Limbo
Matewan
Lone Star
But I still can’t put those three into any particular order. Besides, I still think maybe I need to make it a Top 5 and include Men With Guns and The Secret of Roan Inish. So what do you folks think? By John Sayles movies, I’m referring to movies he directed, not necessarily all the ones he wrote.
…err, of the ones you’ve listed, that is. I completely forgot about the Secret of Roan Inish, the Howling and Eight Men Out. Still like Lone Star best, though.
My top five:[ol][li]Lone Star- His masterpiece. Should have won best picture, but didn’t even get a nomination. (It was nominated for best screenplay, I believe.[/li][li]Eight Men Out- My favorite baseball movie. John Cussack gives a sterling performance. Sayles proves himself a master of the period piece with all of his attention to historical detail.[/li][li]Matewan- This would almost be my favorite Sayles film, except that it shows some immaturity. The bad guys are too one-dimensionally evil to be real. Except for that flaw, a great film.[/li][li]Men With Guns- Beautiful, underappreciated film.[/li][li]City of Hope.[/ol][/li]
What I find amazing about Sayles is his ability to immerse himself in a wide range of very different cultures and to bring them all to the screen. I believe Sayles is from New Jersey, but he has given us pitch-perfect films about West Virginia (Matewan), south Texas (Lone Star), Central America (Men with Guns), Ireland (The Secret of Roane Innish), Alaska (Limbo), etc., etc.
The guy really has a good “ear” for different cultures.
