I've been thinking about this distinction between movies that are artistically important and those that are just technically well made. There are plenty of beautifully shot, wellacted films that don't really push the art form forward in any meaningful way.
Take something like "Citizen Kane" - it's not just a good movie, it's artistically important because it introduced techniques that changed how films were made. Same with "Breathless" and the French New Wave.
What do you think separates artistically important movies from just competent filmmaking? Are there modern films you'd put in that category of being truly important to cinema as an art form?
For me, artistically important movies are ones that expand what cinema can do as a medium. 2001: A Space Odyssey" isn't just a sci-fi film - it's a philosophical exploration using purely cinematic language. The way Kubrick uses visuals, sound, and editing to create meaning without exposition... that's artistically important.
"Persona" by Bergman is another. The way it plays with identity, reality, and the nature of performance while constantly reminding you you're watching a film... it's meta in a way that feels essential to understanding cinema as an art form.
I think artistically important movies often break rules or create new ones. Breathless" with its jump cuts wasn't just stylish - it changed editing conventions. "The Battleship Potemkin" with its montage theory showed how editing could create emotional and intellectual responses.
Modern example: "Memento" with its reverse chronology. It wasn't just a gimmick - it made you experience memory loss in a way that exposition never could. That's what separates artistically important movies from just clever ones - the form serves the theme in an essential way.
Tree of Life" comes to mind as a modern artistically important movie. Malick isn't just telling a story - he's trying to capture the feeling of memory, the scale of existence from cosmic to personal. The way he blends creation imagery with a Texas childhood... it's attempting something most films don't even consider.
"Synecdoche, New York" is another. Kaufman's exploration of art, life, and the creative process through increasingly meta layers... it's a film that demands you engage with it as art, not just entertainment. Artistcally important movies often require more from the viewer but give more in return.
The Matrix" was artistically important in how it blended philosophy with action and visual effects. The bullet time wasn't just cool - it created a new visual language for depicting altered reality. The way it made philosophical concepts accessible through genre filmmaking... that's significant.
"Get Out" might be a more recent example. The way Peele uses horror tropes to explore race in America, creating a new subgenre of social thriller... that's artistically important. It's not just a good movie - it's expanding what the genre can do and say.
Boyhood" deserves mention for the sheer ambition of filming over 12 years with the same actors. That's not just a production gimmick - it captures the passage of time in a way no other film has. The aging happens in real time, and it creates a unique emotional resonance.
"Russian Ark" filmed in a single 96-minute Steadicam shot through the Hermitage Museum. That technical achievement serves the artistic vision of moving through Russian history in one continuous flow. When technical innovation serves artistic vision in an essential way, that's artistically important.