Third place:
For a Few Dollars More (dir. Sergio Leone) [126 points / 21 votes]
Second place:
Chimes at Midnight (dir. Orson Welles) [131 points / 21 votes]
And the Muriel (and Hall of Fame induction) goes to…
Repulsion (dir. Roman Polanski) [199 points / 31 votes]
“It is difficult nowadays to talk about the films of Roman Polanski without addressing extraneous issues. Even thinking about his work requires some consideration of where you stand on a few fundamental questions: is it possible to separate the artist from the art? Should you even want to? Is it possible to laud a film without in some way excusing the actions of the maker?
“These questions are especially pertinent in the case of Roman Polanski, because many of his films, especially those made earlier in his career, seem to spring fully formed from his neuroses. Perhaps that is the best way to describe Repulsion: as a profoundly neurotic film. Polanski traps us in the head of Carol (Catherine Deneuve) just like Carol herself is trapped in her apartment by her fears.
“How can you reconcile the man who depicts a woman driven insane by preying men with such empathy and the man who himself preyed on a young girl? Because Repulsion is extremely empathetic toward Carol, and lets us understand just how oppressive the male gaze can feel. It's hard to imagine anyone other than Deneuve in the lead: she's brittle and wide-eyed, but also impassive when you expect it least. In many ways Carol is the monster of this movie. However, Deneuve never lets her become just that: the multiple murders she commits are not rational, but they are in some twisted way justified.
“Mostly, the difficulty in dismissing Polanski's films because of his actions is that many of his films are difficult to dismiss. Repulsion especially, in all its distorted, eerie, rotting glory, has so many haunting images and disturbing moments that it's simply impossible to forget - even if you wanted to do so.” ~ Hedwig van Driel
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