We love Wes Anderson. You love Wes Anderson. The whole world does, really. This man has made some of the funniest, most adorable, most colorful, most uniquely singular films ever and in doing so, he has created a distinct style that is often imitated, but never duplicated. His brand is so built into our culture, even parodies are mostly just homages. His frequent collaborators—Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Anjelica Huston and Tilda Swinton, to name a few—feel like family members to us.
Released early in 2014, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" has remained one of the year's best films as well as a bright spot on Anderson's already sterling résumé. As we gear up for end-of-the-year superlatives and Oscar nominations, we've ranked all of the films in Wes Anderson's glorious filmography. Where does his first feature, "Bottle Rocket," fit in? How about his latest, "The Grand Budapest Hotel?" Find out after the jump!
—Ali Coad
7. "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"
—Cameron McAllister
6. "Rushmore"
—Christina Humphrey
5. "The Darjeeling Limited"
—Christo Stevens
4. "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
—Cameron McAllister
3. "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Drenched, saturated, and gleaming in vibrant colors and patterns, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" comfortably rests in its own snow globe of nostalgia. While it's never rare for one of Anderson's films to be labeled nostalgic, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" breathes a different type of nostalgia, a universal one, if you will. Gone are the plastic, retro toys from "The Royal Tenenbaums" or the cookie cutter boy scout uniform paired with a coonskin hat that screams America in "Moonrise Kingdom." What nostalgia emerges here, in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, is epitomized in Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes). Giving what some could argue is the performance of his colorful career, Fiennes captures (beautifully!) a character that is an absolute walking contradiction seemingly wrapped up in his own charming Mendel's box to be opened and consumed by women and men alike. A man who is capable of moving a tattooed and hardened incarcerated man that—what seemed like 10 minutes before in the film—he punched upon meeting. The film is nostalgic for a time when handcrafted, heavily detailed work was the norm, when manners prevailed—yet, everyone is still capable of being a bit ornery when need be. If "The Grand Budapest Hotel" fails to garner accolades when Oscar nominations are announced next month, it will simply be because our culture is still much more comfortable getting into bed with violence and machismo than experiencing and accepting something cinematically lovely.
—Christina Humphrey
2. "Moonrise Kingdom"
Anderson’s hilarious and heartfelt script for "Moonrise Kingdom" paints such a uniquely whimsical portrait of young love. The two leads at the center of the film, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, are magnificent. Wildly naïve, yet wise beyond their years, little Sam and Suzy navigate their way across a rainy New England island in an effort to escape their complicated home lives. The world Anderson creates here is intimate and nostalgic. With gorgeous browns and yellows flooding in every intricately choreographed shot, the Anderson-aesthetic is in full swing. Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton are all welcome new-comers to the Anderson universe.
—Christo Stevens
1. "The Royal Tenenbaums"
Drenched, saturated, and gleaming in vibrant colors and patterns, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" comfortably rests in its own snow globe of nostalgia. While it's never rare for one of Anderson's films to be labeled nostalgic, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" breathes a different type of nostalgia, a universal one, if you will. Gone are the plastic, retro toys from "The Royal Tenenbaums" or the cookie cutter boy scout uniform paired with a coonskin hat that screams America in "Moonrise Kingdom." What nostalgia emerges here, in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, is epitomized in Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes). Giving what some could argue is the performance of his colorful career, Fiennes captures (beautifully!) a character that is an absolute walking contradiction seemingly wrapped up in his own charming Mendel's box to be opened and consumed by women and men alike. A man who is capable of moving a tattooed and hardened incarcerated man that—what seemed like 10 minutes before in the film—he punched upon meeting. The film is nostalgic for a time when handcrafted, heavily detailed work was the norm, when manners prevailed—yet, everyone is still capable of being a bit ornery when need be. If "The Grand Budapest Hotel" fails to garner accolades when Oscar nominations are announced next month, it will simply be because our culture is still much more comfortable getting into bed with violence and machismo than experiencing and accepting something cinematically lovely.
—Christina Humphrey
Anderson’s hilarious and heartfelt script for "Moonrise Kingdom" paints such a uniquely whimsical portrait of young love. The two leads at the center of the film, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, are magnificent. Wildly naïve, yet wise beyond their years, little Sam and Suzy navigate their way across a rainy New England island in an effort to escape their complicated home lives. The world Anderson creates here is intimate and nostalgic. With gorgeous browns and yellows flooding in every intricately choreographed shot, the Anderson-aesthetic is in full swing. Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton are all welcome new-comers to the Anderson universe.
—Christo Stevens
It's hard for me to talk about this film without gushing, because I
love "The Royal Tenenbaums." I mean, I really, really love it. It's a
wonderful piece of filmmaking. It's a tenderhearted piece that
masterfully teeters the line between comedic and melancholic, and it is
here that Anderson fully hones what has become his characteristic style.
The true beauty of "The Royal Tenenbaums" lies in its relateability;
how on any given day you can see yourself in Margot or Richie or Eli, or that on a different day, you may
sympathize or empathize or better understand your parents through Royal
or Etheline or even Henry. It's always a beautiful thing when a piece of
art can change, even slightly, the way the way you see the world or
yourself or your family or the way you fit and function within all of
those things. That's what "The Royal Tenenbaums" does for me. Also, this
film is very much inspired by J.D. Salinger, who happens to be, in a
very honest and unpretentious way, one of my favorite writers... so this
film has that going for it, too.
And a quick
sidenote: I don't think it's quite fair to discuss Wes Anderson without even
mentioning Owen Wilson. Wilson, too, proves to be a remarkable
storyteller, penning three of the films on this list with Anderson.
Because that's what all this comes down to, really: good, strong,
heart-filled stories. And, arguably, Anderson (and Wilson) do this to
perfection.
—Ali Coad
Wrong.
ReplyDeleteRushmore is far, far away the best of the Wes Anderson movies.
Yes, Rushmore is easily his best movie.
ReplyDeleteBottle Rocket is by far number one. It's an absolute classic. Anderson wrongly moved away from the style of this film when his later dolled up conceits drew raves. He had it right the first time.
ReplyDelete