Paul Proulx’s Top 100 Films

Formerly the sole reason for watching the Oscar ceremony — notwithstanding surprise visits by Stan Berman, or surprise coverage by David Teitelbaum and Jack Saltzberg — the montage, wherein film scenes are strung together to form an entertaining pastiche, has found a community of obsessive creators and fans online.

Recent evidence: The popularity of barringer82, a.k.a. Paul Proulx, an obsessive film editor who has garnered notice for his film montages recapping the 70s, 80s and 90s. His latest: A two-minute montage comprised of scenes from his 100 favorite films, from Death Proof (#100), to Bulworth (#99), to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (#50-ish), to Forrest Gump (#19, really?), to The Conversation, Urban Cowboy, Goodfellas, and Magnolia (#4, #3, #2 and #1, respectively).

Proulx’s work seems perfect for the web, where the population thrives on bite-sized, easily digestible content — especially already famous content that’s artfully cut-and-pasted together. But Proulx is quick to acknowledge that the small screen doesn’t do the films he works with justice. “The quality and scope of the image doesn’t translate at all because movies aren’t meant for that little window,” he said. “Some of the comments suggest that my videos are in some way a disgrace to the integrity of the films — which seems like a sort of faux snobbery to me.”

But because Proulx doesn’t reveal the lists of films referenced in his montage, his vids also work as a type of in situ mystery, compelling commenters to test their film knowledge by identifying the scenes. “Good clip,” reads one commenter, “but I think you’re drawing sadistic pleasure from people being unable to ID some of the clips.”