David Zellner

"I’m a sucker for films of the “boy/girl and his/her dog (lion/bear/whatever)” variety. I love gritty British kitchen-sink dramas of the sixties. I love a good angry-kid coming-of-age film. Kes has it all, minus the sentimentality and anthropomorphism of so many animal films. My heart aches for the kid and his bird—I just want their companionship, his only form of stability, to last forever. Fantastic, bittersweet score by John Cameron. My favorite Ken Loach film. "

"This coming-of-age tale is near and dear to me, since my brother and I were featured extras in it while on a family trip to Italy. Our parts were cut in the end, and being toddlers we didn’t remember much, but it seemed like fun at the time and craft services was amazing."

"Les Blank’s films resonate deeply with me, as do those of Werner Herzog, who is the subject of Burden of Dreams. One of the best films about filmmaking."

"I can’t think of a film as human and humane as this one. About as beautiful as it gets. Makes me weepy every time. Incredible score by Ravi Shankar"

"This film is so damn smart and funny, such a great combination of humor and pathos. I wish Mike Leigh did more comedies. The performances are incredible and the dialogue is solid gold. Some all-time great portrayals of sloppy drunk shenanigans. I could watch a dozen sequels with Timothy Spall’s character. In an alternate (and more just) universe, instead of Mr. Bean movies we would have an endless number of Life Is Sweet sequels starring Timothy Spall."

"What a gutsy, fully realized piece of art this is. Sure, a bit of patience is required to get into the groove, but what a truly gratifying experience once you surrender to it. I dig this film so much that my brother and I made a tribute for a Criterion contest several years back."

"More a fever dream than a ghost story but deeply haunting with its imagery, sound design, and raw emotion. "

"I was thirteen when I saw this on opening weekend, and I remember leaving the theater walking on air. This had everything I’d wanted in a film. I was expecting just another fun action movie, and it was so much more. I was blown away by Verhoeven’s skillful hand with bleak absurdist satire, action, and genuine pathos. Somehow the film’s ludicrous extremes were able to make a perfect in-the-moment statement about the Regan-era eighties without the benefit of hindsight. Amazing script, amazing cast, and Peter Weller should’ve gotten an Oscar. So many memorable lines. Rob Bottin’s iconic designs of Robocop and the nuclear waste victim. Phil Tippet’s brilliant stop-motion wonder ED-209, so hilariously anthropomorphized through its beastly sound design and hurky movement—and I’ve yet to see something like that executed as perfectly with CGI. Some truly great, subversive physical comedy. When this was first released on Criterion I was so excited it was getting the reverence it deserved among the other classics. I believe it’s on the commentary track where Verhoeven talks about the sequel he pitched that was inevitably turned down. Instead of simply repeating himself, he proposed a love story with RoboCop falling for a cyborg that was little more than a floating brain in a jar. I would love to see that."