And…we’re back! Did you miss us? You can say so—it’s OK. Yes, it’s the return of Vintage Sand, your film history podcast, with our first episode since May. It was a frantic and wonderful summer, but now the leaves are falling and it’s time for us to get back to what we love to do, with a double episode no less than 25 years in the making. That’s right, fellow film fanatics; it’s Vintage Sand’s Top Ten Films of the 21st Century (So Far). And once again, a major cultural institution has stolen our ideas! When last we three met in May, we had decided to do these episodes. But fate intervened and delayed us, and, sure enough, when we opened up the “New York Times” in mid-July, there was their best of the century list so far. This has happened to us far too often to be coincidence—anyone know any good intellectual property lawyers out there?And that “Times” list was truly interesting in several ways. First of all, we much preferred the fan’s list of the Top 100 (to my great pleasure it included “La La Land”, “Blade Runner 2049”, “Sinners” and “Midsommar”). But, in what was perhaps a bit of quiet backlash to the 2022 “Sight & Sound” Poll, there were only a handful of directors of color, and fewer female directors than one might have expected. On the other hand, the clear “winner” of the Times poll was Christopher Nolan, the only director with five films on the list (the Coens, PTA, Alfonso Cuarón each had four). Nolan is the Hitchcock of our times, in the sense that he is one of those rare directors who both receives critical acclaim and puts asses in the seats. Now if he would only put those blaring soundtracks a little lower in the audio mix so that older, cranky audience members such as us have a shot at hearing the dialogue…Ultimately, the work we put into creating these lists revealed a surprising and heartening result. From long before the time we started Vintage Sand back in 2018, all we’ve heard is doom and gloom about the state of cinema this century. “Film is dead” because folks are watching on their phones, or because of the algorithm, or because of streaming, or because of the emphasis on the global film marketplace over the domestic, or because our attention spans have vaporized, and on and on. Not that those are not real issues, but the death of film has been continuously reported since sound arrived roughly a century ago. And let me tell you, dear and faithful listeners: we had an incredibly difficult time narrowing down our respective lists to 25, let alone 10. We were overwhelmed with the number of creative, innovative, and moving films we had to choose from, films that will stand the test of time as well as any you could mention from the imagined “Golden Ages” of film. So our message, in the end, is one of optimism. Film is still a vital and glorious art form, and while you may have to dig around a bit more than you used to to find the greatness, it is clearly there. Enjoy these two episodes, and join us in facing the future of film with anticipation, excitement and joy.