One of the most electrifying, thrilling, and funny films of the year was Safdies’ Good Time, featuring Robert Pattinson in a career-best performance. While it didn’t exactly ignite the box-office, as the crime drama is now available to stream we hoped it would spur more year-end conversation and that looks to be the case. It’s now topped Film Comment’s best films of 2017, an eclectic list which also includes personal favorite such as A Quiet Passion, Nocturama, Personal Shopper, Dawson City: Frozen Time, Phantom Thread, and more.
In related news, Benny and Josh Safdie have found a new major project. THR reports the duo will remake Walter Hill’s 1982 buddy comedy 48 Hrs., which starred Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte. Scripting the project will be Josh Safdie, frequent collaborator Ronald Bronstein, and Jerrod Carmichael. There’s no word yet on casting or how updated the plot will be (the original followed a convict and a cop who had two days to hunt down killers), but it sounds like a strong fit for the duo as they expand their scope.
Check out Film Comment’s top 20 below and be sure to also explore the official list which includes related articles and more, as well as check out their top 20 undistributed films. We’ve also embedded a few related Good Time talks, including our own discussion.
1. Good Time Josh and Benny Safdie, USA
2. A Quiet Passion Terence Davies, U.K./Belgium
3. Personal Shopper Olivier Assayas, France
4. Get Out Jordan Peele, USA
5. Nocturama Bertrand Bonello, France
6. Ex Libris: The New York Public Library Frederick Wiseman, USA
7. The Death of Louis XIV Albert Serra, France/Portugal/Spain
8. Faces Places Agnès Varda and JR, France
9. The Lost City of Z James Gray, USA
10. Lady Bird Greta Gerwig, USA
11. The Human Surge Eduardo Williams, Argentina
12. The Other Side of Hope Aki Kaurismäki, Finland
13. The Florida Project Sean Baker, USA
14. Dawson City: Frozen Time Bill Morrison, USA
15. Phantom Thread Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
16. On the Beach at Night Alone Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
17. Wonderstruck Todd Haynes, USA
18. Mudbound Dee Rees, USA
19. BPM: Beats Per Minute Robin Campillo, France
20. The Square Ruben Östlund, Sweden
Lastly, we’ll leave you with an update from the directing duo.
— SAFDIE (@JOSH_BENNY) December 15, 2017