This one was easily the hardest of all the polls thus far but it may be my nostalgia voting for me (although its hard to speak of nostalgia when I'm one 19) but transporting has to be my pic. I remember being 6 years old looking at all the dvds my dad had at home before I knew how to work the DVD player just sitting and examining each and every cover of all the films that were in my dads collection. And transporting was one I always came back to. Never in a million years did I think the movie be what it was based on the cover at such a young age but It always caught my attention. It wasn't till I was 8 and I had a DVD player in my own room that I took the movie and watched it for myself. My dad never had a filter on what I watched but my mom most certainly did and I remember before seeing the movie bringing up my attraction to the cover and her abruptly demanding that I not watch it. All this did was deepen my interest in viewing the film. and oh what an experience for virgin eyes. Its all to real of a film and was one that I would go on to watch over and over countless times to the point that I now know the film like the back of my hand. and now as an adult I've been able to talk to my mom about why she didn't want me to watch. Her reasoning (other than the fact that I was 8 watching fucking trainspotting) was that it reminded her to much of her own struggles with heroin addiction that was occur at the same time as the release and how she didn't want me, knowing of her past, wanted me to look at her in that light. So for me its ultimatly a very personal pick. but I could go into much deeper detail as to why it subjective deserves the win. although im not gonna kid myself. I know it'll ultimately loose. yet i'm ok with it. because I feel like I can watch it in my head whenever I feel like
Keith "Player to be Named Later" from Alburtis PA - 6 years ago
To respond to whoever said we'd still have the Trainspotting soundtrack when they voted against it in Round 1, how meaningful would those songs be if we didn't have Boyle's fantastic imagery to go with them. I can't listen to Born Slippy without imagining Renton making the tough final decision, see Spud's little head shake as Renton is at the door, Begby's destruction of the room when he realizes he's been double-crossed... I'm sure I'd still like the song (who am I kidding; I probably would never have heard it without the film) and the rest of the soundtrack, but they wouldn't have the same resonance without the film.
I loved Unforgiven as well (both are 4.5* movies, making this decision tough) and I feel bad I won't be able to rewatch it to give it the chance to reach 5* on second viewing, but I have to Choose Life.
Chris - 6 years ago
Ugh - this matchup is easily the worst one for me. Two of my absolute favorites from this decade. Pitting them against one another is madness (oh right - that's what this event is all about).
Trainspotting is Boyle at his brilliant best. Unforgiven is one of the best westerns ever made, a revisionist masterpiece that blew me away when I saw it in the theater and that I now use as a teaching tool (I teach film).
Come to think of it, I use Trainspotting as a teaching tool, too, but I'm still going with Unforgiven because it's just that good.
Neil Mitchell - 6 years ago
Decade defining, a rush of pure cinematic adrenaline against a filmmaker I have never got on with. Trainspotting all the way!
EXT. BRIDGE - NIGHT
The ropes creak in the wind. The rain pelts UNFORGIVEN, who holds TRAINSPOTTING over a fiery abyss far below. Steam rises from the boiling rain. We see in their eyes it’s been a long battle but in the end Unforgiven brought a wisdom that Trainspotting couldn’t conjur on account of being so young.
TRAINSPOTTING
See you in hell.
LIGHTING strikes. Unforgiven pulls Trainspotting closer. Will this film be spared for future generations?
UNFORGIVEN
Yeah.
Trainspotting falls. By the time flame meets celluloid, Unforgiven is already on the trail back to Kansas.
FADE OUT.
Joseph Orlando - 6 years ago
Of good filmstock, albeit one of modest means, she was a comely film and not without
prospects. Therefore it was at once heartbreaking and astonishing to Danny Boyle that she would enter
into oblivion at the hands of Clint Eastwood, a known thief and maker of notoriously vicious, introspective and morally complex films.
We often praise Martin Scorsese for his unflinching portrayal of complex characters in an imperfect world. In this film, a blind spot for me before this tournament, Clint Eastwood has followed this ethos fully. This is a masterpiece, and easily sends Trainspotting (a fine film in its own right) into the abyss.
Jessica, Somerville, MA - 6 years ago
My most difficult match up this round. Two excellent, but totally different films. Memorable stories, great performances, spot-on execution of tone, engaging throughout, visually arresting, I could go on. I picked Unforgiven, but I can't really explain it, and I am almost changing my mind as I type this.
Kane Johnson - 6 years ago
I’ve always been of the opinion that Unforgiven is one of the most overrated films of the 90s.
It's a hell of a thing, voting out Trainspotting. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.
dave - 6 years ago
Text about the story at the beginning AND at the end of the movie? Show me, don't make me read about it. You are not Forgiven. Trainspotting rolls on.
Mike H. - 6 years ago
This might come off as a silly internet "hot take", but Unforgiven isn't even the best western of the 90's (Tombstone, yes seriously), much less the best of the entire decade of the 90's. Hell..........it's not even the best film from the year of its Best Picture Oscar win (1992) in this very tournament! Malcolm X is far better, and arguably Reservoir Dogs though I'd have to seriously think about that one.
Either way, I just don't think Unforgiven deserves to win over the skull-shaking gutter punk assault on the senses that is Trainspotting. I'm sorry, a western movie did not define the 90's in Film for me.
As rich, thoughtful and watchable as you may remember Unforgiven being, when you finally go back and watch it again... yes, it is, as it was, exactly all of those things. It's no shame for Transpotting to be so bested.
This one was easily the hardest of all the polls thus far but it may be my nostalgia voting for me (although its hard to speak of nostalgia when I'm one 19) but transporting has to be my pic. I remember being 6 years old looking at all the dvds my dad had at home before I knew how to work the DVD player just sitting and examining each and every cover of all the films that were in my dads collection. And transporting was one I always came back to. Never in a million years did I think the movie be what it was based on the cover at such a young age but It always caught my attention. It wasn't till I was 8 and I had a DVD player in my own room that I took the movie and watched it for myself. My dad never had a filter on what I watched but my mom most certainly did and I remember before seeing the movie bringing up my attraction to the cover and her abruptly demanding that I not watch it. All this did was deepen my interest in viewing the film. and oh what an experience for virgin eyes. Its all to real of a film and was one that I would go on to watch over and over countless times to the point that I now know the film like the back of my hand. and now as an adult I've been able to talk to my mom about why she didn't want me to watch. Her reasoning (other than the fact that I was 8 watching fucking trainspotting) was that it reminded her to much of her own struggles with heroin addiction that was occur at the same time as the release and how she didn't want me, knowing of her past, wanted me to look at her in that light. So for me its ultimatly a very personal pick. but I could go into much deeper detail as to why it subjective deserves the win. although im not gonna kid myself. I know it'll ultimately loose. yet i'm ok with it. because I feel like I can watch it in my head whenever I feel like
To respond to whoever said we'd still have the Trainspotting soundtrack when they voted against it in Round 1, how meaningful would those songs be if we didn't have Boyle's fantastic imagery to go with them. I can't listen to Born Slippy without imagining Renton making the tough final decision, see Spud's little head shake as Renton is at the door, Begby's destruction of the room when he realizes he's been double-crossed... I'm sure I'd still like the song (who am I kidding; I probably would never have heard it without the film) and the rest of the soundtrack, but they wouldn't have the same resonance without the film.
I loved Unforgiven as well (both are 4.5* movies, making this decision tough) and I feel bad I won't be able to rewatch it to give it the chance to reach 5* on second viewing, but I have to Choose Life.
Ugh - this matchup is easily the worst one for me. Two of my absolute favorites from this decade. Pitting them against one another is madness (oh right - that's what this event is all about).
Trainspotting is Boyle at his brilliant best. Unforgiven is one of the best westerns ever made, a revisionist masterpiece that blew me away when I saw it in the theater and that I now use as a teaching tool (I teach film).
Come to think of it, I use Trainspotting as a teaching tool, too, but I'm still going with Unforgiven because it's just that good.
Decade defining, a rush of pure cinematic adrenaline against a filmmaker I have never got on with. Trainspotting all the way!
EXT. BRIDGE - NIGHT
The ropes creak in the wind. The rain pelts UNFORGIVEN, who holds TRAINSPOTTING over a fiery abyss far below. Steam rises from the boiling rain. We see in their eyes it’s been a long battle but in the end Unforgiven brought a wisdom that Trainspotting couldn’t conjur on account of being so young.
TRAINSPOTTING
See you in hell.
LIGHTING strikes. Unforgiven pulls Trainspotting closer. Will this film be spared for future generations?
UNFORGIVEN
Yeah.
Trainspotting falls. By the time flame meets celluloid, Unforgiven is already on the trail back to Kansas.
FADE OUT.
Of good filmstock, albeit one of modest means, she was a comely film and not without
prospects. Therefore it was at once heartbreaking and astonishing to Danny Boyle that she would enter
into oblivion at the hands of Clint Eastwood, a known thief and maker of notoriously vicious, introspective and morally complex films.
We often praise Martin Scorsese for his unflinching portrayal of complex characters in an imperfect world. In this film, a blind spot for me before this tournament, Clint Eastwood has followed this ethos fully. This is a masterpiece, and easily sends Trainspotting (a fine film in its own right) into the abyss.
My most difficult match up this round. Two excellent, but totally different films. Memorable stories, great performances, spot-on execution of tone, engaging throughout, visually arresting, I could go on. I picked Unforgiven, but I can't really explain it, and I am almost changing my mind as I type this.
I’ve always been of the opinion that Unforgiven is one of the most overrated films of the 90s.
Choose life.
It's a hell of a thing, voting out Trainspotting. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.
Text about the story at the beginning AND at the end of the movie? Show me, don't make me read about it. You are not Forgiven. Trainspotting rolls on.
This might come off as a silly internet "hot take", but Unforgiven isn't even the best western of the 90's (Tombstone, yes seriously), much less the best of the entire decade of the 90's. Hell..........it's not even the best film from the year of its Best Picture Oscar win (1992) in this very tournament! Malcolm X is far better, and arguably Reservoir Dogs though I'd have to seriously think about that one.
Either way, I just don't think Unforgiven deserves to win over the skull-shaking gutter punk assault on the senses that is Trainspotting. I'm sorry, a western movie did not define the 90's in Film for me.
As rich, thoughtful and watchable as you may remember Unforgiven being, when you finally go back and watch it again... yes, it is, as it was, exactly all of those things. It's no shame for Transpotting to be so bested.
Sorry, Trainspotting. Deserve's got nothing to do with it.