by Allan Fish
And we’re there.
600 Aniki Bóbó (Portugal 1942…Manoel de Oliveira)
599 Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (France 1988…Marcel Ophuls)
598 Heimat 3 (Germany-TV 2004…Edgar Reitz)
597 Edvard Munch (TV version) (Norway/Sweden-TV 1974…Peter Watkins)
596 The Lady from Shanghai (US 1947…Orson Welles)
595 Johann Mouse (US 1952…William Hanna, Joseph Barbera)
594 The Sacrifice (Sweden/France 1986…Andrei Tarkovsky)
593 The Cranes are Flying (USSR 1957…Mikhail Kalatozov)
592 Miller’s Crossing (US 1990…Joel Coen)
591 The Life of Oharu (Japan 1952…Kenji Mizoguchi)
590 Closer (US/UK 2004…Mike Nichols)
589 Mädchen in Uniform (Germany 1931…Leontine Sagan)
588 La Ronde (France 1950…Max Ophuls)
587 Le Diable au Corps (France 1947…Claude Autant-Lara)
586 Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (US 1925…Fred Niblo)
585 E.T: the extra terrestrial (US 1982…Steven Spielberg)
584 Johnny Guitar (US 1954…Nicholas Ray)
583 Repulsion (UK 1965…Roman Polanski)
582 Amadeus: the director’s cut (US 1984/2001…Milos Forman)
581 Ossessione (Italy 1942…Luchino Visconti)
580 Fight Club (US 1999…David Fincher)
579 Les Croix de Bois (France 1932…Raymond Bernard)
578 Strike (USSR 1924…Sergei M.Eisenstein)
577 La Dolce Vita (Italy 1960…Federico Fellini)
576 Tabu (US 1931…Friedrich W.Murnau)
575 Au Revoir les Enfants (France 1987…Louis Malle)
574 Arsenal (USSR 1928…Alexander P.Dovzhenko)
573 Le Corbeau (France 1943…Henri-Georges Clouzot)
572 After Life (Japan 1998…Hirokazu Kore-Eda)
571 Memento (US 2000…Christopher Nolan)
570 1900 (Italy 1976…Bernardo Bertolucci)
569 Easy Living (US 1937…Mitchell Leisen)
568 Annie Hall (US 1977…Woody Allen)
567 Mr Deeds Goes to Town (US 1936…Frank Capra)
566 Nixon: the director’s cut (US 1995/2010…Oliver Stone)
565 Providence (France/UK 1977…Alain Resnais)
564 Far from Heaven (US 2002…Todd Haynes)
563 The Girl on the Bridge (France 1999…Patrice Leconte)
562 Kings of the Road (West Germany 1976…Wim Wenders)
561 Beauty’s Exotic Dance: Torture! (Japan 1977…Noboru Tanaka)
560 The Big Lebowski (US 1998…Joel Coen)
559 Of Time and the City (UK 2008…Terence Davies)
558 Reservoir Dogs (US 1992…Quentin Tarantino)
557 The Time to Live and the Time to Die (Taiwan 1985…Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
556 Carlos (France-TV 2010…Olivier Assayas)
555 L’Argent (France 1983…Robert Bresson)
554 Network (US 1976…Sidney Lumet)
553 Street of Shame (Japan 1956…Kenji Mizoguchi)
552 Rouge (Hong Kong 1987…Stanley Kwan)
551 Les Parents Terribles (France 1948…Jean Cocteau)
550 The Kid (US 1921…Charles Chaplin)
549 La Femme du Boulanger (France 1938…Marcel Pagnol)
548 Das Boot: TV version (West Germany-TV 1981…Wolfgang Petersen)
547 Black God, White Devil (Brazil 1964…Glauber Rocha)
546 Lonesome (US 1928…Pal Fejos)
545 Les Dames de Bois de Boulogne (France 1945…Robert Bresson)
544 Police, Adjective (Romania 2009…Corneliu Porumboiu)
543 Weekend (France 1967…Jean-Luc Godard)
542 The Age of Cosimo de Medici (Italy-TV 1972…Roberto Rossellini)
541 Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Italy 1975…Pier Paolo Pasolini)
540 Mildred Pierce (US 1945…Michael Curtiz)
539 The Testament of Dr Mabuse (Germany 1932…Fritz Lang)
538 I, Claudius (UK-TV 1976…Herbert Wise)
537 Unforgiven (US 1992…Clint Eastwood)
536 You, the Living (Sweden 2007…Roy Andersson)
535 Never Weaken (US 1921…Hal Roach)
534 Sisters of the Gion (Japan 1936…Kenji Mizoguchi)
533 Portrait of Jennie (US 1948…William Dieterle)
532 Paprika (Japan 2006…Satoshi Kon)
531 Aguirre, Wrath of God (West Germany 1972…Werner Herzog)
530 Un Prophète (France 2009…Jacques Audiard)
529 The South (Spain 1983…Victor Erice)
528 Los Olvidados (Mexico 1950…Luis Buñuel)
527 The Day the Earth Stood Still (US 1951…Robert Wise)
526 Nights of Cabiria (Italy 1956…Federico Fellini)
525 The Way to the Stars (UK 1945…Anthony Asquith)
524 Berlin, Symphony of a Great City (Germany 1927…Walter Ruttmann)
523 Yojimbo (Japan 1961…Akira Kurosawa)
522 Werckmeister Harmonies (Hungary/Germany 2000…Béla Tarr)
521 Freaks (US 1932…Tod Browning)
520 Ordet (Denmark 1954…Carl T.Dreyer)
519 An Age of Kings (UK-TV 1960…Peter Dews, Michael Hayes)
518 Out 1 (France 1971…Jacques Rivette)
517 Smiles of a Summer Night (Sweden 1955…Ingmar Bergman)
516 Kameradschaft (Germany 1931…G.W.Pabst)
515 The Public Enemy (US 1931…William A.Wellman)
514 Harakiri (Japan 1962…Masaki Kobayashi)
513 Horse Feathers (US 1932…Norman Z.McLeod)
512 Kes (UK 1969…Ken Loach)
511 The Passenger (Italy/US 1975…Michelangelo Antonioni)
510 Caché (France 2005…Michael Haneke)
509 Little Toys (China 1933…Sun Yu)
508 Ivan’s Childhood (USSR 1962…Andrei Tarkovsky)
507 Our Mutual Friend (UK-TV1998…Julian Faring)
506 Edna the Inebriate Woman (UK-TV 1971…Ted Kotcheff)
505 A One and a Two (Taiwan 2000…Edward Yang)
504 An Autumn Afternoon (Japan 1962…Yasujiro Ozu)
503 Amores Perros (Mexico 2000…Aléjandro González Iñarritu)
502 Ditte, Child of Man (Denmark 1946…Bjarne Henning-Jansen)
501 Raise the Red Lantern (China 1991…Zhang Yimou)
500 The Smiling Lieutenant (US 1931…Ernst Lubitsch)
499 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France 1972…Luis Buñuel)
498 I Walked With a Zombie (US 1943…Jacques Tourneur)
497 Occupe-toi d’Amélie (France 1949…Claude Autant-Lara)
496 I Vitelloni (Italy 1953…Federico Fellini)
495 Of Gods and Men (France 2010…Xavier Beauvois)
494 Laura (US 1944…Otto Preminger)
493 The Freshman (US 1925…Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor)
492 One Froggy Evening (US 1955…Chuck Jones)
491 Five Daughters (UK-TV 2010…Philippa Lowthorpe)
490 In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong 2000…Wong Kar-Wai)
489 Destry Rides Again (US 1939…George Marshall)
488 Boudu Sauvé des Eaux (France 1932…Jean Renoir)
487 I Know Where I’m Going (UK 1945…Michael Powell)
486 City Girl (silent version) (US 1929…Friedrich W.Murnau)
485 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania 2007…Cristian Mungiu)
484 The Bitter Tea of General Yen (US 1933…Frank Capra)
483 Foreign Correspondent (US 1940…Alfred Hitchcock)
482 David Copperfield (US 1935…George Cukor)
481 The Reader (US 2008…Stephen Daldry)
480 The New Babylon (USSR 1929…Grigori Kozintsev, Leonid Trauberg)
479 The Innocents (UK 1961…Jack Clayton)
478 The Battle of Chile: Parts I, II & II (Venezuela/Cuba 1975-1978…Patricio Guzman)
477 The Lodger (UK 1926…Alfred Hitchcock)
476 Meet Me in St Louis (US 1944…Vincente Minnelli)
475 Gone With the Wind (US 1939…Victor Fleming, Sam Wood, George Cukor)
474 Irezumi (Japan 1966…Yasuzo Masumura)
473 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (US 1975…Milos Forman)
472 The Lavender Hill Mob (UK 1951…Charles Crichton)
471 Minnie the Moocher (US 1932…Dave Fleischer)
470 The Battle of the Somme (UK 1916 …anon)
469 Bleak House (UK-TV 2005…Justin Chadwick, Susanna White)
468 No Country for Old Men (US 2007…Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
467 Limite (Brazil 1931…Mario Peixoto)
466 Poetry (South Korea 2010…Lee Chang-dong)
465 Irreversible (France 2002…Gaspar Noé)
464 Picnic at Hanging Rock (Australia 1975…Peter Weir)
463 The Birth of a Nation (US 1915…D.W.Griffith)
462 Fish Tank (UK 2009…Andrea Arnold)
461 Russian Ark (Russia/Germany 2002…Alexander Sokurov)
460 Nashville (US 1975…Robert Altman)
459 The Travelling Players (Greece 1975…Theo Angelopoulos)
458 Les Vampires (France 1915…Louis Feuillade)
457 The Old Dark House (US 1932…James Whale)
456 The Hunchback of Notre Dame (US 1939…William Dieterle)
455 Mother (USSR 1926…Vsevelod I.Pudovkin)
454 They Live by Night (US 1948…Nicholas Ray)
453 Capricious Summer (Czechoslovakia 1968…Jiri Menzel)
452 The Hustler (US 1961…Robert Rossen)
451 Cabaret (US 1972…Bob Fosse)
450 The Lost Weekend (US 1945…Billy Wilder)
449 A Hard Day’s Night (UK 1964…Richard Lester)
448 The Wizard of Oz (US 1939…Victor Fleming, King Vidor)
447 Cathy Come Home (UK-TV 1966…Ken Loach)
446 The Best Years of Our Lives (US 1946…William Wyler)
445 Enthusiasm (USSR 1931…Dziga Vertov)
444 London Can Take It (UK 1940…Harry Watt, Humphrey Jennings)
443 The Last Picture Show: director’s cut (US 1971/1992…Peter Bogdanovich)
442 The Piano (New Zealand 1993…Jane Campion)
441 The Immigrant (US 1917…Charles Chaplin)
440 Pulp Fiction (US 1994…Quentin Tarantino)
439 The Electric House (US 1922…Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline)
438 G.B.H. (UK-TV 1991…Robert Young)
437 It Happened One Night (US 1934…Frank Capra)
436 Longford (UK-TV 2006…Tom Hooper)
435 Black Swan (US 2010…Darren Aronofsky)
434 A Page of Madness (Japan 1926…Teinosuke Kinugasa)
433 Toy Story (US 1995…John Lasseter)
432 Happiness (USSR 1934…Alexander Medvedkin)
431 The Chess Player (France 1927…Raymond Bernard)
430 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) (US/New Zealand 2001/2002…Peter Jackson)
429 The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Italy 1966…Sergio Leone)
428 The Affair (Japan 1967…Yoshishige Yoshida)
427 Breaking the Waves (Denmark/UK 1996…Lars Von Trier)
426 Frankenstein (US 1931…James Whale)
425 Louisiana Story (US 1948…Robert J.Flaherty)
424 The House of Mirth (UK 2000…Terence Davies)
423 Easy Street (US 1916…Charles Chaplin)
422 El Cid (US 1961…Anthony Mann)
421 Shooting the Past (UK-TV 1999…Stephen Poliakoff)
420 Some Like it Hot (US 1959…Billy Wilder)
419 The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (US 1944…Preston Sturges)
418 Whisky Galore (UK 1949…Alexander Mackendrick)
417 Cross of Love (Finland 1946…Teuvo Tulio)
416 The Ox Bow Incident (US 1943…William A.Wellman)
415 The House on Trubnaya Square (USSR 1928…Boris Barnet)
414 Visages d’Enfants (France 1925…Jacques Feyder)
413 Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde (US 1931…Rouben Mamoulian)
412 The Set-Up (US 1949…Robert Wise)
411 Jeux Interdits (France 1952…René Clément)
410 He Who Gets Slapped (US 1924…Victor Sjöstrom)
409 One a.m. (US 1916…Charles Chaplin)
408 Á Nous la Liberté (France 1931…René Clair)
407 Shoah (France 1985…Claude Lanzmann)
406 Pygmalion (UK 1938…Leslie Howard, Anthony Asquith)
405 Cinema Paradiso: the Special Edition (Italy 1988/1994…Giuseppe Tornatore)
404 Erotikon (Czechoslovakia 1929…Gustav Machaty)
403 Extraordinary Stories (Argentina 2008…Mariano Llinás)
402 The World of Apu (India 1959…Satyajit Ray)
401 Magical Maestro (US 1952…Tex Avery)
400 The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Germany 1919…Robert Wiene)
399 Red River (US 1948…Howard Hawks)
398 Blue Velvet (US 1986…David Lynch)
397 Une Si Jolie Petite Plage (France 1949…Yves Allégret)
396 The Last Laugh (Germany 1924…Friedrich W.Murnau)
395 Le Quai des Brumes (France 1938…Marcel Carné)
394 Ride the High Country (US 1962…Sam Peckinpah)
393 The Phantom Carriage (Sweden 1921…Victor Sjöstrom)
392 If… (UK 1968…Lindsay Anderson)
391 On the Waterfront (US 1954…Elia Kazan)
390 High Noon (US 1952…Fred Zinnemann)
389 The Girl With a Suitcase (Italy 1961…Valerio Zurlini)
388 Angels With Dirty Faces (US 1938…Michael Curtiz)
387 Meshes of the Afternoon (US 1943…Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid)
386 On the Town (US 1949…Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
385 Vampyr (France/Denmark 1932…Carl T.Dreyer)
384 42nd Street (US 1933…Lloyd Bacon)
383 Blackmail (silent version) (UK 1929…Alfred Hitchcock)
382 Two Tars (US 1928…James Parrott)
381 Lust, Caution (Hong Kong/China/US 2007…Ang Lee)
380 American Beauty (US 1999…Sam Mendes)
379 Scarface (US 1932…Howard Hawks)
378 Sons of the Desert (US 1933…William A.Seiter)
377 Twelve Angry Men (US 1957…Sidney Lumet)
376 Spirited Away (Japan 2001…Hayao Miyazaki)
375 Stagecoach (US 1939…John Ford)
374 The Lives of Others (Germany 2006…Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
373 The Thin Red Line (US 1998…Terrence Malick)
372 La Strada (Italy 1954…Federico Fellini)
371 Mr Smith Goes to Washington (US 1939…Frank Capra)
370 What’s Opera, Doc? (US 1957…Chuck Jones)
369 Diary of a Lost Girl (Germany 1929…G.W.Pabst)
368 A Night at the Opera (US 1935…Sam Wood)
367 Eyes Wide Shut (US 1999…Stanley Kubrick)
366 Witchfinder General: International Version (UK 1968…Michael Reeves)
365 M*A*S*H (US 1970…Robert Altman)
364 The Burmese Harp (Japan 1956…Kon Ichikawa)
363 The Band Wagon (US 1953…Vincente Minnelli)
362 The Wind (US 1928…Victor Sjöstrom)
361 The True Glory (UK/US 1945…Carol Reed, Garson Kanin)
360 The Manchurian Candidate (US 1962…John Frankenheimer)
359 Bambi (US 1942…David Hand)
358 A Diary for Timothy (UK 1945…Humphrey Jennings)
357 The Lady Vanishes (UK 1938…Alfred Hitchcock)
356 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (US 1956…Don Siegel)
355 The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (West Germany 1974…Werner Herzog)
354 The Blue Angel (Germany 1930…Josef Von Sternberg)
353 Une Partie de Campagne (France 1936…Jean Renoir)
352 The Gospel According to St Matthew (Italy 1964…Pier Paolo Pasolini)
351 The Thief of Baghdad (UK 1940…Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, Ludwig Berger, William Cameron Menzies, Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda)
350 Duck Amuck (US 1953…Chuck Jones)
349 The Last Flight (US 1931…William Dieterle)
348 Open City (Italy 1945…Roberto Rossellini)
347 Häxan (Denmark 1922…Benjamin Christensen)
346 Lone Star (US 1996…John Sayles)
345 Brideshead Revisited (UK-TV 1981…Charles Sturridge, Michael Lindsay-Hogg)
344 The Man With the Movie Camera (USSR 1929…Dziga Vertov)
343 I Was Born, But (Japan 1932…Yasujiro Ozu)
342 Death in the Land of Encantos (Philippines 2007…Lav Diaz)
341 Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (France 1952…Jacques Tati)
340 Rembrandt (UK 1936…Alexander Korda)
339 Hamlet (USSR 1964…Grigori Kozintsev)
338 Mirror (USSR 1974…Andrei Tarkovsky)
337 I Saw the Devil (South Korea 2010…Kim Ji-woon)
336 All That Money Can Buy (US 1941…William Dieterle)
335 Olympische Spiele: Parts I & II (Germany 1938…Leni Riefenstahl)
334 Le Samourai (France 1967…Jean-Pierre Melville)
333 Our Hospitality (US 1923…Buster Keaton, Ernest G.Blystone)
332 An American in Paris (US 1951…Vincente Minnelli)
331 Culloden (UK-TV 1964…Peter Watkins)
330 Triumph of the Will (Germany 1935…Leni Riefenstahl)
329 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (US 1937…David Hand)
328 L’Eclisse (Italy 1962…Michelangelo Antonioni)
327 King Kong (US 1933…Merian C.Cooper, Ernest B.Schoedsack)
326 Ashes and Diamonds (Poland 1958…Andrzej Wajda)
325 1984 (UK-TV1954…Rudolph Cartier)
324 People on Sunday (Germany 1929…Edgar G.Ulmer, Robert Siodmak)
323 I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (US 1932…Mervyn le Roy)
322 The Masque of the Red Death (UK 1964…Roger Corman)
321 La Chienne (France 1931…Jean Renoir)
320 The Big Sleep (US 1946…Howard Hawks)
319 Touch of Evil: Special Edition (US 1958/1998…Orson Welles)
318 Doctor Mabuse, der Spieler: Parts I & II (Germany 1922…Fritz Lang)
317 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US 2004…Michel Gondry)
316 The Devils (UK 1971…Ken Russell)
315 The Mascot (France 1934…Wladyslaw Starewicz)
314 Affair in the Snow (Japan 1968…Yoshishige Yoshida)
313 Gaslight (UK 1940…Thorold Dickinson)
312 Docks of New York (US 1928…Josef Von Sternberg)
311 Zéro de Conduite (France 1933…Jean Vigo)
310 Onibaba (Japan 1964…Kaneto Shindo)
309 The Round Up (Hungary 1965…Miklos Jancso)
308 The Skeleton Dance (US 1929…Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney)
307 Wife! Be Like a Rose! (Japan 1935…Mikio Naruse)
306 Outskirts (USSR 1933…Boris Barnet)
305 Lawrence of Arabia (UK 1962…David Lean)
304 Vidas Secas (Brazil 1963…Nelson Pereira dos Santos)
303 The Ascent (USSR 1976…Larisa Shepitko)
302 Midnight (US 1939…Mitchell Leisen)
301 The Red Balloon (France 1955…Albert Lamorisse)
300 La Jétée (France 1962…Chris Marker)
299 Le Jour se Lève (France 1939…Marcel Carné)
298 The Bank Dick (US 1940…Eddie Cline)
297 Night Mail (UK 1936…Basil Wright, Henry Watt)
296 You Only Live Once (US 1937…Fritz Lang)
295 Land of Promise (UK 1946…Paul Rotha)
294 Un Chien Andalou (France 1928…Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dali)
293 The Apartment (US 1960…Billy Wilder)
292 The Gold Rush (US 1925…Charles Chaplin)
291 Downfall (Germany 2004…Oliver Hirschbiegel)
290 Cat People (US 1942…Jacques Tourneur)
289 Morocco (US 1930…Josef Von Sternberg)
288 The Spirit of the Beehive (Spain 1973…Victor Erice)
287 Sweet Smell of Success (US 1957…Alexander Mackendrick)
286 Die Nibelungen: Parts One & Two (Siegfried & Kriemheld’s Revenge) (Germany 1924…Fritz Lang)
285 Osaka Elegy (Japan 1936…Kenji Mizoguchi)
284 Charulata (India 1964…Satyajit Ray)
283 L’Innocente (Italy 1976…Luchino Visconti)
282 There Will be Blood (US 2007…Paul Thomas Anderson)
281 The Housemaid (South Korea 1960…Kim Ki-young)
280 Céline et Julie vont en Bâteau (France 1974…Jacques Rivette)
279 L’Avventura (Italy 1960…Michelangelo Antonioni)
278 The Joyless Street (Germany 1925…G.W.Pabst)
277 When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Japan 1960…Mikio Naruse)
276 When the Cat Comes (Czechoslovakia 1963…Vojtech Jasny)
275 Fantasia (US 1940…Ben Sharpsteen)
274 The Sorrow and the Pity (France-TV 1969…Marcel Ophuls)
273 L’Amour Fou (France 1969…Jacques Rivette)
272 Rashomon (Japan 1950…Akira Kurosawa)
271 Earth (USSR 1930…Alexander P.Dovzhenko)
270 Spring in a Small Town (China 1948…Fei Mu)
269 The Old Mill (US 1937…Wilfred Jackson)
268 Kiss Me Deadly (US 1955…Robert Aldrich)
267 Bad Day at Black Rock (US 1954…John Sturges)
266 Nuit et Brouillard (France 1955…Alain Resnais)
265 The Maltese Falcon (US 1941…John Huston)
264 Force of Evil (US 1948…Abraham Polonsky)
263 La Maman et la Putain (France 1973…Jean Eustache)
262 Safety Last (US 1923…Sam Taylor, Fred Newmeyer)
261 The Asthenic Syndrome (USSR 1989…Kira G.Muratova)
260 Paths of Glory (US 1957…Stanley Kubrick)
259 The Prisoner of Zenda (US 1937…John Cromwell, George Cukor, W.S.Van Dyke II)
258 Alien: the director’s cut (US 1979/2003…Ridley Scott)
257 Schindler’s List (US 1993…Steven Spielberg)
256 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Version) (US/New Zealand 2003/2004…Peter Jackson)
255 The Red Shoes (UK 1948…Michael Powell)
254 The Army in the Shadows (France 1969…Jean-Pierre Melville)
253 Cops (US 1922…Buster Keaton)
252 Fargo (US 1996…Joel Coen)
251 The Kid Brother (US 1927…J.A.Howe, Lewis Milestone, Ted Wilde)
250 GoodFellas (US 1990…Martin Scorsese)
249 Scenes from a Marriage (TV version) (Sweden-TV 1973…Ingmar Bergman)
248 All About Eve (US 1950…Joseph L.Mankiewicz)
247 The Colour of Pomegranates (USSR 1969…Sergei Paradjanov)
246 Knave of Hearts (UK 1954…René Clément)
245 Lost in Translation (US 2003…Sofia Coppola)
244 Sátántangó (Hungary 1994…Béla Tarr)
243 Bonnie and Clyde (US 1967…Arthur Penn)
242 À Nos Amours (France 1983…Maurice Pialat)
241 Akitsu Springs (Japan 1962…Yoshishige Yoshida)
240 Odd Man Out (UK 1947…Carol Reed)
239 Casque d’Or (France 1952…Jacques Becker)
238 Farewell, My Lovely (US 1944…Edward Dmytryk)
237 Viridiana (Spain 1961…Luis Buñuel)
236 Rebecca (US 1940…Alfred Hitchcock)
235 Les Quatre Cents Coups (France 1959…François Truffaut)
234 Le Roman d’un Tricheur (France 1936…Sacha Guitry)
233 Nightmare Alley (US 1947…Edmund Goulding)
232 Fires Were Started (UK 1943…Humphrey Jennings)
231 The Killers (US 1946…Robert Siodmak)
230 It’s a Gift (US 1934…Norman Z.McLeod)
229 Boys from the Blackstuff (UK-TV 1982…Philip Saville)
228 Top Hat (US 1935…Mark Sandrich)
227 Cries and Whispers (Sweden 1972…Ingmar Bergman)
226 Jules et Jim (France 1961…François Truffaut)
225 La Belle Noiseuse (France 1991…Jacques Rivette)
224 Brief Encounter (UK 1945…David Lean)
223 The New World: Extended Version (US 2005…Terrence Malick)
222 Dead of Night (UK 1945…Robert Hamer, Alberto Cavalcanti, Basil Dearden, Charles Crichton)
221 L.A. Confidential (US 1997…Curtis Hanson)
220 Playtime (France 1967…Jacques Tati)
219 A Brighter Summer Day (Taiwan 1991…Edward Yang)
218 Menilmontant (France 1926…Dimitri Kirsanov)
217 Holiday (US 1938…George Cukor)
216 Plácido (Spain 1961…Luis Garcia Berlanga)
215 The Crowd (US 1928…King Vidor)
214 The Godfather (US 1972…Francis Ford Coppola)
213 Claire’s Knee (France 1970…Eric Rohmer)
212 All Quiet on the Western Front (US 1930…Lewis Milestone)
211 Ballad of a Soldier (USSR 1959…Grigori Chukhrai)
210 The Naked Spur (US 1953…Anthony Mann)
209 The House is Black (Iran 1963…Farough Farrokhzad)
208 Voyage Surprise (France 1946…Pierre Prévert)
207 Oh Mr Porter! (UK 1937…Marcel Varnel)
206 Ai No Corrida (Japan/France 1976…Nagisa Oshima)
205 The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria 1966…Gillo Pontecorvo)
204 Blanche (France 1971…Walerian Borowczyk)
203 Wild Strawberries (Sweden 1957…Ingmar Bergman)
202 Gold Diggers of 1933 (US 1933…Mervyn le Roy)
201 Way Out West (US 1937…James Horne)
200 Gueule d’Amour (France 1937…Jean Grémillon)
199 Red Hot Riding Hood (US 1943…Tex Avery)
198 The Wild Bunch: the director’s cut (US 1969/1994…Sam Peckinpah)
197 You’re Telling Me! (US 1934…Erle C.Kenton)
196 Kwaidan (Japan 1964…Masaki Kobayashi)
195 The Last Command (US 1928…Josef Von Sternberg)
194 Pather Panchali (India 1955…Satyajit Ray)
193 The Grapes of Wrath (US 1940…John Ford)
192 The Hour of the Furnaces (Argentina 1968…Fernando E.Solanas)
191 Le Million (France 1931…René Clair)
190 To Be or Not To Be (US 1942…Ernst Lubitsch)
189 North by Northwest (US 1959…Alfred Hitchcock)
188 Orphée (France 1949…Jean Cocteau)
187 The Prestige (US 2006…Christopher Nolan)
186 Spione (Germany 1928…Fritz Lang)
185 The Scarlet Empress (US 1934…Josef Von Sternberg)
184 Three Colours: Blue (France/Poland 1993…Krzysztof Kieslowski)
183 Humanity and Paper Balloons (Japan 1937…Sadao Yamanaka)
182 The Ceremony (Japan 1971…Nagisa Oshima)
181 Les Diaboliques (France 1955…Henri-Georges Clouzot)
180 Memories of Matsuko (Japan 2006…Tetsuya Nakashima)
179 Raging Bull (US 1980…Martin Scorsese)
178 Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent (France 1971…François Truffaut)
177 Alexander Nevsky (USSR 1938…Sergei M.Eisenstein)
176 Madame de… (France 1953…Max Ophuls)
175 The Man in the White Suit (UK 1951…Alexander Mackendrick)
174 The 39 Steps (UK 1935…Alfred Hitchcock)
173 Brighton Rock (UK 1947…John Boulting)
172 Shame (Sweden 1968…Ingmar Bergman)
171 Mr Thank You (Japan 1936…Hiroshi Shimizu)
170 Á Bout de Souffle (France 1959…Jean-Luc Godard)
169 The Philadelphia Story (US 1940…George Cukor)
168 Modern Times (US 1936…Charles Chaplin)
167 Chinatown (US 1974…Roman Polanski)
166 Ran (Japan 1985…Akira Kurosawa)
165 The Lady Eve (US 1941…Preston Sturges)
164 Dogville (Denmark/UK 2003…Lars Von Trier)
163 The Singing Detective (UK-TV 1986…Jon Amiel)
162 La Roué (France 1923…Abel Gance)
161 Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks: Parts I, II & III (China 2003…Wang Bing)
160 Sherlock Junior (US 1924…Buster Keaton)
159 Don’t Look Now (UK 1973…Nicolas Roeg)
158 Actress (Hong Kong 1991…Stanley Kwan)
157 The Hourglass Sanatorium (Poland 1973…Wojciech Has)
156 Beep Beep (US 1952…Chuck Jones)
155 The Shining (US/UK 1980…Stanley Kubrick)
154 Listen to Britain (UK 1942…Humphrey Jennings)
153 Mulholland Drive (US 2001…David Lynch)
152 Toute la Mémoire du Monde (France 1956…Alain Resnais)
151 Manhattan (US 1979…Woody Allen)
150 Unfaithfully Yours (US 1948…Preston Sturges)
149 Our Friends in the North (UK-TV 1996…Pedr James, Simon Cellan Jones, Stuart Urban)
148 The Wages of Fear (France 1953…Henri-Georges Clouzot)
147 Letter from an Unknown Woman (US 1948…Max Ophuls)
146 The Diary of a Country Priest (France 1951…Robert Bresson)
145 Noroit (France 1976…Jacques Rivette)
144 Andrei Rublev: the director’s cut (USSR 1966/2001…Andrei Tarkovsky)
143 Notorious (US 1946…Alfred Hitchcock)
142 Blade Runner: the final cut (US 1982/2007…Ridley Scott)
141 Duck Soup (US 1933…Leo McCarey)
140 Twenty-Four Eyes (Japan 1954…Keisuke Kinoshita)
139 The Witness (Hungary 1968…Pèter Bacso)
138 Gun Crazy (US 1949…Joseph H.Lewis)
137 A Man Escaped (France 1956…Robert Bresson)
136 Doctor Strangelove (UK 1963…Stanley Kubrick)
135 Big Business (US 1929…James W.Horne)
134 Heimat 2 (Germany-TV 1992…Edgar Reitz)
133 Fanny and Alexander: Longer Version (Sweden-TV 1982…Ingmar Bergman)
132 Pinocchio (US 1940…Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske)
131 My Darling Clementine: Special Edition (US 1946/1994…John Ford)
130 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (US 2007…Andrew Dominik)
129 The Truman Show (US 1998…Peter Weir)
128 L’Argent (France 1928…Marcel l’Herbier)
127 Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia 1970…Jaromil Jires)
126 Bob le Flambeur (France 1955…Jean-Pierre Melville)
125 Belle de Jour (France 1967…Luis Buñuel)
124 The Goddess (China 1934…Wu Yonggang)
123 Confessions (Japan 2010…Tetsuya Nakashima)
122 The Fatal Glass of Beer (US 1933…Clyde Bruckman)
121 L’Année Dernière à Marienbad (France 1961…Alain Resnais)
120 Bicycle Thieves (Italy 1948…Vittorio de Sica)
119 Black Narcissus (UK 1947…Michael Powell)
118 United Red Army (Japan 2007…Koji Wakamatsu)
117 Henry V (UK 1944…Laurence Olivier)
116 The Exterminating Angel (Mexico 1962…Luis Buñuel)
115 Double Indemnity (US 1944…Billy Wilder)
114 Kind Hearts and Coronets (UK 1949…Robert Hamer)
113 Rio Bravo (US 1959…Howard Hawks)
112 Ugetsu Monogatari (Japan 1953…Kenji Mizoguchi)
111 Great Expectations (UK 1946…David Lean)
110 The White Ribbon (Germany/France 2009…Michael Haneke)
109 Pandora’s Box (Germany 1929…G.W.Pabst)
108 Day of Wrath (Denmark 1943…Carl T.Dreyer)
107 Confessions Among Actresses (Japan 1971…Yoshishige Yoshida)
106 The Adventures of Robin Hood (US 1938…Michael Curtiz, William Keighley)
105 Ivan the Terrible Part One: Ivan Grozyni (USSR 1944…Sergei M.Eisenstein)
104 Peter Ibbetson (US 1935…Henry Hathaway)
103 The Bride of Frankenstein (US 1935…James Whale)
102 Apocalypse Now Redux (US 1979/2001…Francis Ford Coppola)
101 Love Me Tonight (US 1932…Rouben Mamoulian)
100 Intolerance (US 1916…D.W.Griffith)
99 Oliver Twist (UK 1948…David Lean)
98 Taxi Driver (US 1976…Martin Scorsese)
97 Magnolia (US 1999…Paul Thomas Anderson)
96 Le Diable au Coeur (France 1928…Marcel l’Herbier)
95 The Cat Concerto (US 1946…William Hanna, Joseph Barbera)
94 A Matter of Life and Death (UK 1946…Michael Powell)
93 L’Atalante (France 1934…Jean Vigo)
92 Three Colours: Red (France/Poland 1994…Krzysztof Kieslowski)
91 2046 (Hong Kong 2004…Wong Kar-Wai)
90 Wuthering Heights (Japan 1988…Yoshishige Yoshida)
89 Dekalog (Poland 1988-TV…Krzysztof Kieslowski)
88 Stalker (USSR 1979…Andrei Tarkovsky)
87 That Obscure Object of Desire (France/Spain 1977…Luis Buñuel)
86 2001: A Space Odyssey (UK/US 1968…Stanley Kubrick)
85 The Young Girls of Rochefort (France 1967…Jacques Demy)
84 8½ (Italy 1963…Federico Fellini)
83 Umberto D (Italy 1952…Vittorio de Sica)
82 Casablanca (US 1942…Michael Curtiz)
81 It’s a Wonderful Life (US 1946…Frank Capra)
80 Sunset Boulevard (US 1950…Billy Wilder)
79 The Godfather Part Two (US 1974…Francis Ford Coppola)
78 Heimat (West Germany-TV 1984…Edgar Reitz)
77 Once Upon a Time in the West (US/Italy 1968…Sergio Leone)
76 Au Hasard, Balthazar (France 1966…Robert Bresson)
75 The Seventh Seal (Sweden 1957…Ingmar Bergman)
74 La Belle et la Bête (France 1946…Jean Cocteau)
73 Late Spring (Japan 1949…Yasujiro Ozu)
72 Heaven’s Gate (US 1980…Michael Cimino)
71 In a Land of Plenty (UK-TV 2001…David Moore, Hattie MacDonald)
70 The Long Day Closes (UK 1992…Terence Davies)
69 L’Age d’Or (France/Spain 1930…Luis Buñuel)
68 Nosferatu (Germany 1922…Friedrich W.Murnau)
67 La Grande Illusion (France 1937…Jean Renoir)
66 His Girl Friday (US 1940…Howard Hawks)
65 The Thief of Bagdad (Kevin Brownlow Version) (US 1924/1988…Raoul Walsh)
64 The Conformist (Italy 1970…Bernardo Bertolucci)
63 Metropolis: Extended Version (Germany 1927/2010…Fritz Lang)
62 El Verdugo (Spain 1963…Luis Garcia Berlanga)
61 Ace in the Hole (US 1951…Billy Wilder)
60 Hitler: a Film from Germany (West Germany-TV 1977…Hans-Jürgen Syberberg)
59 Les Enfants du Paradis (France 1945…Marcel Carné)
58 The Battleship Potemkin (USSR 1925…Sergei M.Eisenstein)
57 Rear Window (US 1954…Alfred Hitchcock)
56 Une Vie (France 1958…Alexandre Astruc)
55 World on Wires (West Germany-TV 1973…Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
54 Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (Japan 1935…Sadao Yamanaka)
53 The Music Box (US 1932…James Parrott)
52 Ikiru (Japan 1952…Akira Kurosawa)
51 The General (US 1926…Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman)
50 Tokyo Twilight (Japan 1957…Yasujiro Ozu)
49 Red Riding: 1974, 1980 & 1983 (UK-TV 2009…Julian Jerrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker)
48 La Nuit de Carrefour (France 1932…Jean Renoir)
47 Red Angel (Japan 1966…Yasuzo Masumura)
46 Berlin Alexanderplatz (West Germany-TV 1980…Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
45 The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Japan 1939…Kenji Mizoguchi)
44 French Can Can (France 1954…Jean Renoir)
43 Melancholia (Philippines 2008…Lav Diaz)
42 The Third Man (UK 1949…Carol Reed)
41 Psycho (US 1960…Alfred Hitchcock)
40 Floating Clouds (Japan 1955…Mikio Naruse)
39 Pickpocket (France 1959…Robert Bresson)
38 The Seven Samurai (Japan 1954…Akira Kurosawa)
37 Trouble in Paradise (US 1932…Ernst Lubitsch)
36 La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (France 1928…Carl T.Dreyer)
35 Lola Montes (France 1955…Max Ophuls)
34 The Searchers (US 1956…John Ford)
33 Les Misérables: Parts I, II & III (France 1934…Raymond Bernard)
32 The Magnificent Ambersons (US 1942…Orson Welles)
31 The Ball at the Anjo House (Japan 1947…Kozaburo Yoshimura)
30 Greed: A Reconstruction (US 1924/1998…Erich Von Stroheim)
29 M (Germany 1931…Fritz Lang)
28 City Lights (US 1931…Charles Chaplin)
27 Napoleon (Kevin Brownlow Restoration) (France 1927/2002…Abel Gance)
26 Chimes at Midnight (Spain/US 1965…Orson Welles)
25 Sullivan’s Travels (US 1941…Preston Sturges)
24 The Night of the Hunter (US 1955…Charles Laughton)
23 Singin’ in the Rain (US 1952…Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
22 Sansho Dayu (Japan 1954…Kenji Mizoguchi)
21 A Clockwork Orange (UK 1971…Stanley Kubrick)
20 Duelle (France 1976…Jacques Rivette)
19 Love Exposure (Japan 2008…Shion Sono)
18 Persona (Sweden 1966…Ingmar Bergman)
17 Bringing up Baby (US 1938…Howard Hawks)
16 The Leopard (Italy/US 1963…Luchino Visconti)
15 Once Upon a Time in America (US 1984…Sergio Leone)
14 La Règle du Jeu (France 1939…Jean Renoir)
13 The Wedding March (US 1928…Erich Von Stroheim)
12 Citizen Kane (US 1941…Orson Welles)
11 The Double Life of Véronique (France/Poland 1991…Krzysztof Kieslowski)
10 Markéta Lazarová (Czechoslovakia 1967…Frantisek Vlácil)
9 Only Angels Have Wings (US 1939…Howard Hawks)
8 Barry Lyndon (UK 1975…Stanley Kubrick)
7 Out of the Past (US 1947…Jacques Tourneur)
6 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (UK 1943…Michael Powell)
5 Sunrise (US 1927…Friedrich W.Murnau)
4 Tokyo Story (Japan 1953…Yasujiro Ozu)
3 Le Mépris (France 1963…Jean-Luc Godard)
2 Vertigo (US 1958…Alfred Hitchcock)
1 Eros + Massacre (Japan 1969…Yoshishige Yoshida)
Only 10 spots left and thousands of films that are better than all the other films (with the exception of Inception – let’s not kid ourselves!) still remain. I can feel the tension in the lack of tension.
My official prediction:
10. Days of Eclipse (Sokurov)
9. Eros Plus Massacre (Yoshida)
8. Our Lady of the Turks (Bene)
7. Times and Winds (Erdem)
6. Pastoral: To Die in the Country (Terayama)
5. Dancing Hawk (Krolikiewicz)
4. From the Cloud to the Resistance (Straub/Huillet)
3. The Conspirators (Andrade)
2. The Deserter and the Nomads (Jakubisko)
1. Liquid Sky (Tsukerman)
At least I know the #1 is correct.
Jean, I’m not sure if you are being facetious here (if so, right on! Ha!) but I would lose my shirt I ventured to wager on your #1 prediction, knowing Allan as well as I think I do. But I will say this. You #9 call is a strong possibility for Allan’s top spot, as the film was his #1 on the 60’s decade countdown, and it was directed by Allan’s favorite Japanese director, one he even edges ahead of Ozu and Mizoguchi. Let’s see how it pans out.
Facetious is too clearly delineated, I think. I can’t make sense of what my original post was to mean, and I meant it that way. The only thing I knew for sure was that Eros Plus Massacre was going to be in the top ten, from the abundance of non-Eros Plus Massacre films seen elsewhere. I may have been correct in saying that there are thousands of films better than all the rest that have appeared – but that will take some time to figure out! Well, we can all hope, anyway. As for the actual idea of assessing the complete quality of a list of 3000 films… I think that’s far beyond my pay grade. Big fan of Yoshida, though.
Jean: I discovered Yoshida through Allan’s urgings just about 8 months ago and have been doing my part to spread the work. I completely agree with you, and will say that his Sirk homage AKITSU SPRINGS is my personal favorite, though FAREWELL TO THE SUMMER LIGHT, AN AFFAIR IN THE SNOW, CONFESSES AMONG ACTRESSES, the aforementioned EROS and a few others are extraordinary.
I think Yoshida’s compositions should be condensed into a syrup and provided as a healthy substitute for high-fructose corn syrup, myself. I’m working on the recipe. So far I’m stuck on the part where I ‘transform compositions into syrup’. I think I’ll have it perfected soon, though.
hahahaha Jean!!! I love that analogy!!!!!
No, no no, guys… Allan will populate the top ten with the best two from each decade he counted down…
The likes of SUNRISE, BARRY LYNDON and HEAVENS GATE will rear their heads in that grouping…
Whoops!!!!
Well not HEAVENS GATE anyway…
I see Allan has it listed above already…
This list has worked for me if I think in terms of 50s or hundreds; for instance, the Red Riding Trilogy “beats” Ikiru–but when there’s literally thousands of contenders, it doesn’t smart as much. We can argue whether they belong in the same Gaggle of 50/100 without quibbling. (By the way, they don’t–but why quibble?)
Nice to see A Clockwork Orange so close to the top. Watched the first ten minutes of it the other day and was reminded that it simply won’t fade away.
–And especially good to see Heaven’s Gate in the top 100, a film scorned largely by people who work for the movies, write about the movies–Jesus, even go to the movies regularly–and still don’t seem to like them much.
And forgive me if I haven’t been paying attention, but is there an alphabetical list lying around anywhere? I haven’t had the time to look through the whole 3000–sorry: 2990–and I’m wondering if some of my favorites made it: Ponette, Songs from the Second Floor, Gates of Heaven (say, that one sounds familiar …), Foolish Wives, The Seventh Victim, Giants and Toys, The Color of Paradise … I can see how this could become addictive.
Not alphabetical, Paul. Sorry. Though the top 1500 or so are listed alphabetically in the book.
585 E.T: the extra terrestrial (US 1982…Steven Spielberg) **** Full of nostalgia of better times and a warming story overall.
580 Fight Club (US 1999…David Fincher) ***** This movie has made its rounds in my mind, specially regarding the insomnia state in which Norton is in most of the film.
572 After Life (Japan 1998…Hirokazu Kore-Eda) ***** I love this movie so much! It’s one of those that you need to see, because the story is so warming and the scenario is so oniric, you can’t believe what you’re watching. The whole process is so beautiful.
571 Memento (US 2000…Christopher Nolan) ***** A masterpiece of editing, I can’t explain how confused I felt when this ended that I’ll just say that the whole thing makes sense.
568 Annie Hall (US 1977…Woody Allen) **** Many love this proto-modern-romantic-comedy, but I don’t very much, it’s well acted, but it feels as if it needed another half hour to it to fully develop.
558 Reservoir Dogs (US 1992…Quentin Tarantino) ***** A heist film to end all heist films, it’s truly interesting how we only see the aftermath and the preparation, sometimes it’s all we need for us to fall in love with all these characters.
555 L’Argent (France 1983…Robert Bresson) ****1/2 Cold, so much cold, but genius framing and composition that makes up for the Brechtian distance present here.
537 Unforgiven (US 1992…Clint Eastwood) **** The whole thing about this being the ultimate western… I can buy it, but it wasn’t that different to many of the other that were made before.
532 Paprika (Japan 2006…Satoshi Kon) ****1/2 Dreams within dreams. Genius, original, I love it.
523 Yojimbo (Japan 1961…Akira Kurosawa) ****1/2 It’s quite a complex action story with a magnificent choreography and themes. Also, funny due to Mifune.
521 Freaks (US 1932…Tod Browning) ***** The weirdness of the whole thing makes up for any dissabilitie, if it even exists in this carefully shot and masterfully acted film.
511 The Passenger (Italy/US 1975…Michelangelo Antonioni) **** As the story of a man who searches for death and oblivion, it can’t be beaten, its nihilism bugs me sometimes.
505 A One and a Two (Taiwan 2000…Edward Yang) ***** The definitive film about any subject you can think of. It’s not the longest film ever made, but it has a possition on almost every question made in our lives… even videogames!
490 In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong 2000…Wong Kar-Wai) ***** A colorful and romantic masterpiece, the music and the cinematography are just perfect, the whole thing moves like a poem and I love that I have it ready to see anytime I want.
485 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania 2007…Cristian Mungiu) ****1/2 This was cold as well… I hope you know what kind of coldness I’m talking about. The movie is perfect in every sense, but something shyes me away from calling it a masterpiece as many have.
478 The Battle of Chile: Parts I, II & II (Venezuela/Cuba 1975-1978…Patricio Guzman) ****1/2 for everyone of them. It’s quite a registry of hard years in my country and I love them, I saw them and saw the director and he’s quite an incredible man. If I had to choose, I’d choose the third one.
468 No Country for Old Men (US 2007…Joel Coen, Ethan Coen) ****1/2 Extremely violent and graphic, with less humor than many of the other Coen films, but you just have to dig to find it among the whole bleak panorama.
457 The Old Dark House (US 1932…James Whale) **** Sometimes I don’t know what the characters are doing, and Karloff is so misused that I almost hated this one. But it has an atmosphere of fear that’s well done.
448 The Wizard of Oz (US 1939…Victor Fleming, King Vidor) ***** Another of those musicals I can stand, and love because of the colours and the inmemorial story that can entertain children of any age and era.
440 Pulp Fiction (US 1994…Quentin Tarantino) ***** The stories are perfectly edited and confronted together, so they give a major picture of how life can turn you around at every corner.
435 Black Swan (US 2010…Darren Aronofsky) ***** My favorite film of 2010! It’s genius acting and cinematography and just about everything else.
433 Toy Story (US 1995…John Lasseter) ****1/2 It’s quite an accomplishment to make a feature computer animated film in 1995 with such a compelling story. Props for that.
430 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) (US/New Zealand 2001/2002…Peter Jackson) ***** Again, I haven’t seen the extended version, but I love this series and this is actually my second favorite of the group.
426 Frankenstein (US 1931…James Whale) ***** My favorite of the two Frankenstein films directed by Whale. While Bride is good, it can get a bit silly, but it’s all fun and I still rate it *****-
413 Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde (US 1931…Rouben Mamoulian) ****1/2 Lights and acting, all you need to make the perfect Jekyll/Hyde film, and this one gets daring at every turn with a controversial story.
408 Á Nous la Liberté (France 1931…René Clair) ****1/2 The songs are beautiful and the setting is wonderful.
405 Cinema Paradiso: the Special Edition (Italy 1988/1994…Giuseppe Tornatore) **** I think I’ve not seen the special edition, but I always felt this to be way too emotional for its own sake.
402 The World of Apu (India 1959…Satyajit Ray) **** A humanistic view on the life of indians, a splendid document on how people there try to survive every day.
400 The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Germany 1919…Robert Wiene) ***** One of my favorite german expressionism films, with influential lighting and splendid decorations.
398 Blue Velvet (US 1986…David Lynch) ***** The song is sticked to my head.
385 Vampyr (France/Denmark 1932…Carl T.Dreyer) **** Surrealism over the top with a thin plot and amazing imagery. Overall, too short.
377 Twelve Angry Men (US 1957…Sidney Lumet) ***** Court room drama at its best, with 12 great performances and a sense of real life.
376 Spirited Away (Japan 2001…Hayao Miyazaki) ***** My favorite animated film for a long time, Miyazaki is just a genius of the form.
374 The Lives of Others (Germany 2006…Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) ****1/2 Again, one of those cold masterpieces.
370 What’s Opera, Doc? (US 1957…Chuck Jones) ****1/2 Another of those who take me back to my childhood, when I used to watch this all the time.
367 Eyes Wide Shut (US 1999…Stanley Kubrick) ***** Many hate the film, but the whole oniric state is just something to be lost into, with a lot of dreamy scenes, I consider this to be one of my favorites.
365 M*A*S*H (US 1970…Robert Altman) ***** Silly. Fun.
357 The Lady Vanishes (UK 1938…Alfred Hitchcock) ****1/2 The best of his british cycle, I quite like it and that couple is just hilarious.
356 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (US 1956…Don Siegel) ****1/2 As a piece of political comment, its dubious because you aren’t entirely sure who’s supporting.
350 Duck Amuck (US 1953…Chuck Jones) ****1/2 Wacky fun, another one of those from the childhood.
347 Häxan (Denmark 1922…Benjamin Christensen) ****1/2 This could easily become my favorite movie of all time, the subject is one I love, but those final minutes break the magic literally.
343 I Was Born, But (Japan 1932…Yasujiro Ozu) ****1/2 Silent comedy to be seen to be believed how funny it really is.
338 Mirror (USSR 1974…Andrei Tarkovsky) ***1/2 Something about this movie didn’t make it, I don’t know what it was… and I almost saw it twice.
337 I Saw the Devil (South Korea 2010…Kim Ji-woon) ***** Korean genius, over the top bloody action all over the place and just perfect acting from the two principals.
327 King Kong (US 1933…Merian C.Cooper, Ernest B.Schoedsack) **** Fantastic effects and sets, but the story is thin and not really engaging as it progresses.
317 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US 2004…Michel Gondry) ***** How to love a movie and don’t forget about it? I’ll never forget this one, it marked me.
316 The Devils (UK 1971…Ken Russell) ***** Another one that scarred me for life… hahaha… well the imagery is grotesque, but beautiful at the same time, and that’s an amazing feat.
314 Affair in the Snow (Japan 1968…Yoshishige Yoshida) ****1/2 My favorite of the Yoshida’s I’ve seen, it feels complete and round, like nothing was missing, yet the ending…
310 Onibaba (Japan 1964…Kaneto Shindo) ***** Scary and a movie full of messages towards the use of nuclear weapons. It’s amazing and the mask is scary as hell.
305 Lawrence of Arabia (UK 1962…David Lean) ***** Love this epic. It’s like the perfect action/biopic movie in every sense.
294 Un Chien Andalou (France 1928…Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dali) ***** One of my favorite shorts and Buñuel films, quite striking images and overall good use of music.
291 Downfall (Germany 2004…Oliver Hirschbiegel) **** Besides the acting and some set pieces, this one may get boring as it progresses, but before that, it ends.
290 Cat People (US 1942…Jacques Tourneur) **** The whole sexual innuendos I could understand, as well as the mystery and the influential sounds/shots, but beyond that, this one I didn’t fall in love with.
282 There Will be Blood (US 2007…Paul Thomas Anderson) ***** I Drink Your Milkshake, I Drink it Up!
281 The Housemaid (South Korea 1960…Kim Ki-young) ***** Now this is a nice surprise. I love this korean film and name it my favorite of all time, because of the horror and the performances from all those involved.
272 Rashomon (Japan 1950…Akira Kurosawa) ***** Who holds the truth? No one. Who can you trust? No one. Quite a bleak future ahead for Japan after the war.
265 The Maltese Falcon (US 1941…John Huston) ***** The primordial noir film. Lov every entertaining second of it.
258 Alien: the director’s cut (US 1979/2003…Ridley Scott) ***** I did see the director’s cut and I loved it, it’s the perfect slasher flick without noticing it, and it’s also a success in special effects.
256 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Version) (US/New Zealand 2003/2004…Peter Jackson) ***** My favorite of the three.
255 The Red Shoes (UK 1948…Michael Powell) ****1/2 Splendid ballet sequences, beautiful use of color, and the whole fairytale like drama… were perfect.
252 Fargo (US 1996…Joel Coen) ****1/2 Far from being my favorite Coen Bros. film, but still this is quite striking.
250 GoodFellas (US 1990…Martin Scorsese) **** So many references to earlier gangster films got me dizzy, since this ain’t my favorite genre.
245 Lost in Translation (US 2003…Sofia Coppola) ***** Bill Murray is perfect for those roles, and he makes the performance of a century with this one.
241 Akitsu Springs (Japan 1962…Yoshishige Yoshida) **** Reminded me a lot of the books of Kawabata.
237 Viridiana (Spain 1961…Luis Buñuel) ***** Splendid film in every way! Just wonderful! Poor Viridiana!
228 Top Hat (US 1935…Mark Sandrich) **** Dancing and dancing, but ridiculous sets. That ain’t Europe goddamn it!
209 The House is Black (Iran 1963…Farough Farrokhzad) ****1/2 Imagery to not forget. The film moves like one of Farrokhzad poems.
196 Kwaidan (Japan 1964…Masaki Kobayashi) **** But maybe because I haven’t seen the full thing.
189 North by Northwest (US 1959…Alfred Hitchcock) ***** Looks and feels amazing, this is a nonstop film with great effects.
187 The Prestige (US 2006…Christopher Nolan) ***** One of my favorite from this visionary, he manages the sense of magic and science to a perfection many don’t understand (Kelly does the same thing)
179 Raging Bull (US 1980…Martin Scorsese) ***** This one made me love and respect Scorsese, it’s got a hell of a performance and such a good cinematography.
174 The 39 Steps (UK 1935…Alfred Hitchcock) ****1/2 Funny and full of innuendos, I like how it keeps moving in England through many landscapes.
170 Á Bout de Souffle (France 1959…Jean-Luc Godard) ***** My favorite Godard and quite a deconstructive piece, one for me to love always, from its opening scenes to its cryptic ending.
168 Modern Times (US 1936…Charles Chaplin) ***** The message may feel obvious, but the way it’s delivered is just perfect and funny as heck.
164 Dogville (Denmark/UK 2003…Lars Von Trier) ****1/2 Impressive, but I wouldn’t see it again in a long time.
155 The Shining (US/UK 1980…Stanley Kubrick) ***** My favorite Kubrick, he should’ve made more horror films.
153 Mulholland Drive (US 2001…David Lynch) ***** A puzzle in itself full of enigmatic and charming performances.
151 Manhattan (US 1979…Woody Allen) ****1/2 I can see the genius here, the life of a writer, the love for a girl, the search for meaning in life.
136 Doctor Strangelove (UK 1963…Stanley Kubrick) ***** In my top 10 films of all time. This one is timeless and one of the funniest things I’ve seen on film.
132 Pinocchio (US 1940…Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske) **** I got no strings! But the story is weak!
129 The Truman Show (US 1998…Peter Weir) ***** This movie affected me more than any in a long time, I started to feel followed.
123 Confessions (Japan 2010…Tetsuya Nakashima) ****1/2 A visual masterpiece on every sense, from tip to toe.
120 Bicycle Thieves (Italy 1948…Vittorio de Sica) ****1/2 My grandfather used to cry every time he watched this, and I can see why, it’s a film that breaks your heart.
116 The Exterminating Angel (Mexico 1962…Luis Buñuel) ***** My favorite and best Buñuel, with the theme of repetitions this one becomes funny and serious at the same time.
112 Ugetsu Monogatari (Japan 1953…Kenji Mizoguchi) **** I don’t remember much about this one… maybe I need a rewatch?
110 The White Ribbon (Germany/France 2009…Michael Haneke) ****1/2 My first Haneke didn’t dissapoint but also didn’t blow away. It felt as if he was playing games with me.
103 The Bride of Frankenstein (US 1935…James Whale) ***** I already talked about this.
102 Apocalypse Now Redux (US 1979/2001…Francis Ford Coppola) ***** Redux is the best version, no doubt about it, it feels as a journey of madness for you and the character.
97 Magnolia (US 1999…Paul Thomas Anderson) ***** My second favorite film of all time.
95 The Cat Concerto (US 1946…William Hanna, Joseph Barbera) ****1/2 Another childhood classic!
91 2046 (Hong Kong 2004…Wong Kar-Wai) ***** A colorful and romantic masterpiece, full of sci fi and fantasy touches that make it perfect.
87 That Obscure Object of Desire (France/Spain 1977…Luis Buñuel) ****1/2 The acting is splendid and the use of color intelligent.
86 2001: A Space Odyssey (UK/US 1968…Stanley Kubrick) ***** Quite a masterpiece on the meaning and origin of life, a must see.
82 Casablanca (US 1942…Michael Curtiz) **** When I saw it I didn’t think much of it, but a recent viewing on the big screen made me realize how funny it is.
81 It’s a Wonderful Life (US 1946…Frank Capra) ***** Life is a splendorous thing and Jimmy Stewart is the best actor I know.
77 Once Upon a Time in the West (US/Italy 1968…Sergio Leone) ****1/2 Maybe the best western I’ve seen.
76 Au Hasard, Balthazar (France 1966…Robert Bresson) ****1/2 Amazing how Bresson made a film about a donkey and it felt good and perfect and sad.
69 L’Age d’Or (France/Spain 1930…Luis Buñuel) ***** My favorite short film, even at 60 minutes, but still, it’s pretty much amazing in every sense.
68 Nosferatu (Germany 1922…Friedrich W.Murnau) ****1/2 A visual masterpiece, one of the scariest vampire films ever.
58 The Battleship Potemkin (USSR 1925…Sergei M.Eisenstein) ****1/2 I’ve said enough.
52 Ikiru (Japan 1952…Akira Kurosawa) ***** This film touches your heart and my favorite scene is when he sings. Haunting voice and tone.
49 Red Riding: 1974, 1980 & 1983 (UK-TV 2009…Julian Jerrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker) I saw 1974 and 1980, and I give them both ****, visually impressive.
46 Berlin Alexanderplatz (West Germany-TV 1980…Rainer Werner Fassbinder) I need to finish this genius thing.
41 Psycho (US 1960…Alfred Hitchcock) ***** The music, Perkins, just about everything is essential and influential here.
38 The Seven Samurai (Japan 1954…Akira Kurosawa) ***** The best action film ever.
29 M (Germany 1931…Fritz Lang) ***** I need to see more films like this, it played with my expectations and it felt good.
21 A Clockwork Orange (UK 1971…Stanley Kubrick) ***** Violent and disturbing masterpiece of human nature.
19 Love Exposure (Japan 2008…Shion Sono) ***** Every time I think of this I love it more and more and more, it’s one of those that you have to see to believe how good it really is.
12 Citizen Kane (US 1941…Orson Welles) ***** The forever number 1 film is quite a good film because the story is compelling and because Welles is at the top of his game.
Can’t wait for the top 10.
Citizen Kane “quite a good film”. Shakes head.
Red Riding – you really need to be British to FULLY grasp it. In the same way you probably need to be American for Zodiac, but on a greater scale.
Pinocchio – story weak? Hmm…
Jaime, go into a darkened room and say 20 “Hail Fishs”.
The Old Dark House – probably didn’t get the humour, very British and very droll.
I would argue that you have to be American to fully grasp “Kane”. Of course, when it came out, the American public didn’t care for it that much, and it was only after it was released in Europe that it finally got the earnest acclaim it deserved. However, is it possible that a primary reason the American audience didn’t like the film is that they understood it on a deeper level than our cousins across the pond? Overseas, without the exact cultural context, you could be floored by all the mesmerizing camerawork, the bravua acting and ripped-from-the-Tribune-headlines storytelling. Over here, however, so much of the subject matter would’ve hit too close to home, and made people feel uncomfortable– which is, of course, precisely the point. “Kane” is an ominous musing on the pitfalls and traps of the American experience, of the birth and death of the American dream, and therefore it pays to be an American to fully grasp it. You’re not blinded by the flavor of exoticism that usually happens whenever anybody watches an acclaimed film from beyond their shores.
Bob, I can’t help but adding here that this is absolutely one of the most perceptive and dead-on comments you’ve ever made at this site. That you point to the irony of the eventual adoration of the European critics adds to the mystique that has always surrounded the film. By any barometer of measurement it’s a masterpiece, and one of film’s greatest works of art.
“Citizen Kane” is among my top 20 favorites, when I say quite a good film, I refer to those few nay-sayers who don’t think this is a masterpiece.
Of the final 10:
4 Tokyo Story (Japan 1953…Yasujiro Ozu) ****1/2 Maybe the most complete Ozu film, the one that fully develops beyond the usual themes of family and marriage, even if it still runs around that.
3 Le Mépris (France 1963…Jean-Luc Godard) ****1/2 Godard made his love letter to cinema in this film, and it’s surely one of his great achievements.
2 Vertigo (US 1958…Alfred Hitchcock) ***** My favorite Hitchcock, no doubt, the acting of Stewart and Novak, the dreamy quality, the oniric feel… perfect.
Would that all those naysayers were as learned, detailed and insightful in their contrarian views on “Kane” as Stephen, though. His piece on the film is essential reading for anyone who wants to dig deeper into it.
Geez Jaimie, if this isn’t a spectacular “labor of love” response from you here, I don’t know what is.
I think I can guess number 1, but I wont say it; whats the fun in that? Interesting changes from the last countdown but I must say I welcomed most of the surprises. Fight Club inside the top 600 was great to see. Sure its a popular film, but does that not make it good? Personally I’ve loved the film and am happy to see it as high as it is. Same goes for Amadeus, Network, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and If… All masterpieces that are sometimes snubbed by certain film fans. However there are a few I believe could have been ranked even higher like Johnny Guitar, Repulsion (my favorite Polanski), The Ceremony, Hour-glass Sanatorium, Spirit of the Beehive, Sweet Smell of Success, Rashomon, Harakiri and, while its very very very high at 112, Ugetsu should be higher (usually a staple in my own personal top ten). Now lets go after the very impressive top 100:
Dekalog – Wow. One of the greatest projects ever and maybe too low at 89. One of my favorites from one of the greatest directors ever.
That Obscure Object of Desire – Bunel’s swan song deserves to be on all top 100 greatest films. My personal favorite from the great filmmaker.
2001 – Should probably be higher. Kubrick’s masterpiece is one of the defining moments in American art in the 20th century.
It’s a Wonderful Life – Who knew you really were a softy rating this as high as you did? Capra’s magnum opus is more than just a holiday film. Its a timeless masterpiece.
The Seventh Seal – Needs to be higher.
Pickpocket – I don’t care what anyone says, this is Bresson’s greatest achievement. Glade to see it where it is.
The Seven Samurai – Surprise seeing this higher than Ikiru. Its a perfect film and the standard at which we judge the epic. No one has yet surpassed it.
Citizen Kane – A top ten list without Welles. Blasphemy!
But two in the top 20, Anu and 3 in the top 40.
Anu: I think we may both be thinking Murnau’s SUNRISE for the top spot (heck, the posting should be less than an hour or so away, so I think I can broach it here) but I am now leaning towards a beloved Powell & Pressburger film that Allan has adored through his life for the top spot with a Yoshida film he just about equally reveres as the dark horse for the top spot. of course SUNRISE may still prevail, and then there’s Allan’s favorite film noir of them all, OUT OF THE PAST that should be placing in the top ten……..let’s see what happens.
Look at that Allan and I share two films in our top ten (Barry Lyndon and Vertigo). Phenomenal top ten choices.
Barry Lyndon – Kubrick’s masterpiece and definitely one of the greatest films ever made.
Vertigo – Hitchcock never made a film that came close to Vertigo. Usually number two behind Kane on many top film lists (oddly enough number 2 here as well), but this one just resonates with me more. Jimmy Stewart’s harrowing performance is one for the ages.
Tokyo Story – I prefer other Japanese classics to this and even other Ozu films (Late Spring is probably my favorite), but its hard to argue against it. A masterpiece!
Markéta Lazarová – The greatest Czech film ever? Hell Yes!
Le Mépris – Choosing a favorite Godard film is hard enough. Breathless, Vivre sa Vie, Pierrot le fou, 2 or 3 Things I know about Her, Numero Deux, Every Man for Himself, Germany Year 90 Nine Zero, In Praise of Love etc.
Contempt might be the one that most choose, and for good reason; the film is perfect. But for me, I think prefer Godard’s post 60s work a little bit more so it would be between Every Man for Himself or In the Praise of Love. Hell I’ll even put Pierrot le fou in the running too (probably my favorite of the New Wave films). Easily one of the greatest filmmakers ever!
Interesting, that after literally thousands of obscurities, top tens tend to be composed of much the same things.
anu, I’m in complete agreement with you on Godard. I just think EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF is sublime, I saw it about 4 months back on the big screen. I came out buzzing…
and PIERROT LE FOU is my favorite film of his if asked for pure personal reasons.
I saw EMFH when it made the rounds here in New York, myself. I thought it was an impressive piece of technique and style, but after a while it just grated on me. The subplot of the director who tells everybody how badly he wants to
have sex withrape his daughter was especially repugnant, and speaks to a larger, more unsettling current of sexuality in Godard’s post-Karina phase. Still, it is beautiful to watch on the big screen, I’ll give it that.You have to look at sex in that film in a Marxist vs. Capitalist way (the machine like nature of it) OR, as a take on the absurdity of recreating sex in the filmmaking process.
Nothing that is said should be taken morally at face value in that film (or in practically all great art).
I’m looking at it in the context of his larger body of work, and how he seems more and more fascinated by photographing naked young women. In some cases, like “Hail Mary”, it works well enough. Other times, it just seems like that, and the whole undercurrent of sexualizing girls and daughters in particular, is somewhat disturbing. That bit from “France Tour Detour Deux Enfants” that Richard Brody writes about sounds especially wrong.
104 Peter Ibbetson (US 1935…Henry Hathaway)
Allan, a quick question–is this generally regarded as a masterpiece or do you think it should be? I only ask because I saw it for the first time recently and loved it but had never even heard of it, and seeing it ranked so high here is surprising, especially given how familiar the films surrounding it are.
It was largely only recognised in Europe, where the surrealists championed, particularly Buñuel. With each repeated viewing it takes a stronger hold.
Well, the full top 10 are up there now.
Barry Lyndon: An irresistible film. Everything about it is exactly what it should be.
Out of the Past: Tourneur’s masterpiece, certainly.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp: It sustains its tone flawlessly.
Sunrise: Murnau & Springsteen, together at last: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQMs2LyjKJQ
Tokyo Story: I can’t even say those two words together without a catch in my sentimental old throat.
Vertigo: North by Northwest is my favorite, but I’m willing to accept this weirdest of weird Hitchcock movie; makes Marnie look un-kinked.
Eros + Massacre: I knew it would be a movie I haven’t seen–and is unavailable on Netflix. (I don’t buy, I don’t pirate; once more, my austerity does me in.)
Paul, E+M is easy to find on YouTube. Last time I checked, anyway. Nice quality, too, except for how the subtitles wind up covering people’s heads whenever they’re framed at the bottom of the screen (which is a lot).
In medieval times the term was flagellation.
Yes, but SELF-flagellation, in which one gets medieval on one’s OWN ass. Without “naked Japanese girls” in attendance. Well, this is getting unseemly.
Allan,
This is my two-minute warning to finally watch Eros + Massacre (I’ve just realised that I’ve used an American Sports reference on a British person).
Le Mepris is one of my least favourite Godard films. I’ll go and read what you wrote in your 60s countdown.
I see many films that are considered classics. What I like is seeing a film sandwiched between two I really like that I haven’t seen before.
I’m very happy to see Rebecca here as it’s not feted quite like other Hitchcocks (I consider it his best).
This four-day countdown has been fascinating and I’ve already taken notes on what I’d like to try next.
Romania has lost the East European battle: Romania 2, Hungary 4, USSR/Russia 23
what about Poland and Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic?
Well yes. I didn’t want to pile on more pain. It’s 6 for Poland and 5 for Czech. Albania beaten, however.
Oh it’s WAY more for Poland and for Czech.
Oh, I meant the top 600.
I’m an American, and I can safely say that I have no idea what sport you’re referring to. Football? Basketball?
I’ve watched some of “Eros + Massacre” on YouTube. I definitely like all the naked Japanese girls, but it’s the type of 60’s counter-cultural story I feel I’ve seen so many times before. Also, all the compositions that put peoples’ heads at the bottom of the screen get boring after a while, especially when the subtitles aren’t moved to a better part of the screen.
That being said, I figured it would be the number one spot on the countdown. Either that or “Buffy”.
Bob your take on ‘EROS’ makes me chuckle. That’s all I say, well that and “… it’s not a ‘I’m with you’ chuckle”.
Hey, I understand. Not everybody likes naked Japanese girls.
EROS PLUS MASSACRE is a very great choice for the top spot.
Here’s my own proposed top 65 in no particular order or until I firm one up.
Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)
City Lights (Chaplin)
Fanny and Alexander (Bergman)
Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
The Last Picture Show (Bogdonovich)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (Hamer)
Night and the City (Dassin)
Sunrise (Murnau)
The Wizard of Oz (Fleming)
The Grapes of Wrath (Ford)
Far From Heaven (Haynes)
Citizen Kane (Welles)
Vertigo (Hitchcock)
Au Hasard Balthasar (Bresson)
La Roue (Gance)
The Third Man (Reed)
West Side Story (Wise & Robins)
Marketa Lazarova (Vlacil)
Kes (Loach)
M (Lang)
Une Partie de Campagne (Renoir)
Bicycle Thieves (De Sica)
Gattaca (Nichol)
Day of Wrath (Dreyer)
The Burmese Harp (Ichikawa)
The General (Keaton)
Memories of Matsuko (Nakashima)
There Was A Father (Ozu)
The Searchers (Ford)
Henry V (Branagh)
Modern Times (Chaplin)
A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick)
Night and Fog (Resnais)
The Red Balloon (Lamorisee)
What’s Opera Doc? (Jones)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Greenaway)
Nosferatu (Murnau)
The Man from Laramie (Mann)
The Fountain (Aronofsky)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (Ophuls)
Great Expectations (Lean)
Days and Nights in the Forest (S. Ray)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (Capra)
Akitsu Springs (Yoshida)
Cries and Whispers (Bergman)
Wuthering Heights (Wyler)
Parsifal (Syberberg)
La Traviata (Zeffirelli)
Pather Panchali (S. Ray)
Persona (Bergman)
The Emigrants/The New Land (Troell)
Twenty Four Eyes (Konoshita)
Les Miserables (Bernard)
All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone)
Anne of Green Gables (Sullivan)
One Upon A Time in America (Leone)
Empire of the Sun (Spielberg)
Rules of the Game (Renoir)
Viridiana (Bunuel)
Singin in the Rain (Donen)
Don Giovanni (Losey)
Black Sunday (Bava)
Le Circle Rouge (Melville)
The Night of the Hunter (Laughton)
Ben-Hur (Wyler)
Sunset Boulevard (Wyler)
Goodbye Mr. Chips (Wood)
Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
But a few by Bresson, Dreyer, Bergman, Ozu, Reed, Ford, Welles, Bogdonovich, Renoir, Vlacil, De Sica, Yoshida, Loach, Lean, Powell & Pressburger, Greenaway, S. Ray, Gance, Tarkovsky, Kieslowski, Chaplin, Keaton, Wise and Robins, Bunuel and Ophuls among others would all be crowding the top. When I get up the glorious audacity of Allan, I will embark on this venture. I will do it in good time.
Congratulations on this utterly fantastic accomplishment.
A Sam top 3000 too? F A N T A S T I C news, can’t wait.
This countdown has inspired me to get serious about my Top 500 Horror films, and perhaps a ‘British top 250 albums’ and/or a ‘Top 1000 songs from British artists’.
My ten favorite films that aren’t science fiction, and in no real order…
Heaven’s Gate
American Psycho
Hangmen Also Die
The Trial
Apocalypse Now Redux
Seven Samurai
Slacker
Angels in America
Heat
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
Bob,
I was referring to (American) Football. What on earth is “How Tasty was My little Frenchman”?
I figured it was Football, but it could’ve been any sport with a time limit, I suppose. I had my fingers crossed for Basketball.
Google “How Tasty” was yourself. I don’t want to spoil the surprise (NSFW, though).
Stephen, ‘Frenchman’ is a great film. Very interesting.
I looked it up…!
Jamie,
Thanks. I’ll give it a try. These lists and discussions are invaluable.
It’s almost an impossible film to classify. That’s part of what makes it so appealing.
Ah, what many critics might call “slippery”.
Sam, you left out Kurosawa, Antonioni, Dr. Strangelove, Raging Bull, Blood of a Poet, Zero for Conduct, Poetry, Breathless, Contempt, The Gold Rush, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Effi Briest, The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, Trouble in Paradise, Battleship Potemkin, Rivette, 8-1/2, Umberto D, The River, Pierrot le Fou etc. etc. Ha~!
Can’t wait for your list!
Please, please, PLEASE, don’t ask for a Sam list, there are dozens of reasons why he can’t do it.
1 He’d forget something…numerous times, requiring several thousand changes.
2 He hasn’t seen at least several hundred of my 3000, which is far too much not to have seen
3 He’s the opposite of me, where I am organised and have everything at my fingertips, he’s a slob with no organisation who has to send his kids off in posses to find DVDRs under his air hockey table
4 It’d be full of every musical known to man, except those he forgot
5 There is no reason 5
6 It would take him about two millennia and would have his wife leaving him and justifiably so.
So no, maybe he could do a 100, he could only forget so many then, though sadly not Driving Miss Daisy…give me your answer don’t, which he sees as worthy of Mizoguchi, like a Lionel Bart song being compared to Casta Diva.
And he would have a 736 way tie for no 3,000.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahahaha!!!
A classic Allan. A classic.
That’s unfair though to say I’d have all those musicals. Heck only 2 made my Top 65 here. I’ve seen well over 2,700 of your 3,000 and I’ve also seen many others that YOU haven’t seen (some of which would make my own list) As far as everything else, guilty as charged. I’ll do a list, but not immenently.
A long way down the line, when the kids have flown the nest and thus can’t threaten to leave and when Lucille has been Beatified and finally Canonised.
Incredible, every time I see Sam’s comment on his favorite films, the number increases.
And Allan is obviously a fan of Monty Python.
Well, I admit it has no droids or animation, so that screws up any chance you had of liking it.
I like “Firefly”, and I like “Dollhouse”. Mostly I can’t get into the characters of “Buffy”, particularly the title character. I can’t quite stand the idea of a superpowered girl who just wants to live the normal life of a popular high school student– it’s like trying to watch a show about all the types of people who made my adolescence a living hell. And they never, ever shut up.
Willow was cute, though. I liked her. I’d have watched a spin-off about her character easily.
Bored now.
Oh, I almost forgot– it’s also about vampires, and I have something of an allergy to stories about them. The only one I can stand is the Coppola “Dracula”. Everything else just annoys me.
I’ll give “Buffy” this, though– at least it doesn’t have any Confederate vampires, like “True Blood”. They drink your blood, AND they fought for the right to hold slaves. Stake’em all, I say.
Yes, but in True Blood they’re naked.
That’s no excuse for siding with Johnny Reb.
It does make me think that “Gone With the Wind” would be great as a porno, though…
Well, Belle Watling would be in her element.
Bob, does ‘Blonde Ambition’ (1981) count? Or maybe this:
http://www.tonybonesxxx.com/blog/?tag=this-ain%E2%80%99t%E2%80%A6not-gone-with-the-wind-a-xxx-parody
It’s actually safe for work, no pics.
Convergence became inevitable as we neared the top, so I’ve seen 284 of the final 600. I’m happy to see one of my own top ten — Barry Lyndon — on Allan’s list, and I’m also glad to see Michael Powell represented, though I’d put Black Narcissus up there. Blimp is great stuff in its own right, though. The final list definitely boosts my copies of Eros Plus Massacre, the Red Riding films and Peter Ibbetson toward the top of my to-see list. Meanwhile … Out of the Past in the top ten? As I wrote during the countdown, it’s a fine film but I still don’t get why so many people, including Allan, exalt it above all other noirs. Given the overall consensus, Maurizio notwithstanding, this is more of a case of “What am I missing?” rather than “What are you thinking?” But that’s what makes these lists fun to read, and this particular one has been a blast.
Typically great, informed, engaging and ingratiating comment Samuel.
The full countdown is now on the top bar of the site, with director scores and will stay there as long as the site exists…
Monumental and thought-provoking. Allan, how you did this in order of preference just blows me away. Most take the easy way out and compile a list alphabetically (D. Thomson, for instance). Staggering.
#72 ‘Heaven’s Gate- – Perverse choice, but I like it. Still considered an abomination by many, but with passages of great beauty and I’m glad to see it elevated to a position of respect in the canon.
#4 ‘Tokyo Story’–Probably my #1 choice. Imparts, in Freud’s terms, ‘a sensation of eternity,’ boundless, limitless, oceanic. I feel overcome just thinking about this film.
#3 ‘Contempt’–Godard and Bardot’s arse ( and so much more). Love it.
Lots of films from Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines I guess I need to see. Again, my mind is reeling filled with all these cinematic treasures.
To be fair, the book is done alphabetically, this was strictly a one off.
I’ll be honest and admit that I haven’t really paid super close attention to this list. 3000 films seems like bloated overkill unless structured either alphabetically or by a chronological timetable that could be a better source of reference to the readers. It feels like the insides of a hoarders dwelling where nothing is easily found or located lol. Saying that, I did examine this last batch of 600 and like Jaime above will list some opinions…
#585 E.T– Typical Spielberg garbage.
#583 Repulsion– My second favorite Polanski.
#560 The Big Lebowski– From Moses to Sandy Koufax…
#556 Carlos– Outrageously long. I hope the edited version can contain most of the original’s power in one sitting, without making my behind go numb. A great film.
#554 Network– Maybe its the noir/crime film lover in me, but I find the 70’s Pacino/Lumet films to be much better. Overrated.
#548 Das Boot– Hollywood claims another victim.
#541 Salo– Fascism sucks. Lets make people eat fake poop to prove it.
#540 Mildred Pierce– Noir meets General Hospital. Not a winning combination.
#531 Aguirre Wrath Of God– Herzog over Fassbinder!!
#521 Freaks– Unique movie. The Living Torso guy should of got his own B movie series like the guy in The Brute Man.
#479 The Innocents– A marvelous horror film. One of my essentials from the 60’s.
#465 Irreversible– Next. Enough time has been spent over this one.
#464 Picnic At Hanging Rock– My favorite Australian film ever. Weir never bettered this…
#463 The Birth Of A Nation– Klansmen salute you Fish!!! Important film. Vile message.
#460 Nashville– Give me McCabe, Long Goodbye, Cali Split, and Thieves Like Us over this uninteresting slog any day of the week.
#433 Toy Story– Pixar has the formula down. They reached true greatness for about 15 minutes in Up before retreating back to sentimental mediocrity for the masses.
#429 The Good The Bad And The Ugly– I don’t care what others say Sergio. You and Sammy P can horsewhip that hollow Ford with ease.
#405 Cinema Paradiso– It has been a while. Need to see this again. Remember thinking it was sentimental mush in High School when I actually believed in fairy tales and happy endings.
#400 The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari– Wow after my countdown I said I wouldn’t criticize other people’s selection order…… still this should be higher.
#399 Red River– Good job John Ford. The old lug can act. For some reason your buddy Howard is listed in the credits as director though.
#385 Vampyr– Dreyer rules. Thank god the rich guy can’t act. His zombie like performance is perfect. I love this one.
#380 American Beauty– Another overrated Best Picture winner. File this one with A Beautiful Mind in middle brow hell.
#355 The Enigma Of Kasper Hauser– One of Herzog’s big three for me.
#344 The Man With A Movie Camera– I once inserted this film as a backdrop to a friend’s band as they played a gig on a large screen behind them. The whole audience was mesmerized by Vertov’s mastery.
#300 La Jetee– Gilliam tried. He really did.
#294 Un Chien Andalou– Random nonsensical perfection. One of those pieces of art that really moved me as a late teen. Sliced up eyeballs…
#291 Downfall– Youtube parodies be damned!!!
#282 There Will Be Blood– Has moved into my favorite film of the 00’s. I await Anderson’s next film with much anticipation.
#279 L’Avventura– A mass of comatosed film students after the hour mark. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open. I made it, but bailed on my physics class which came next. Too much excitement for one day is unnecessary. Will give this one another go soon to see if I have grown up since.
#272 Rashomon– Another film school discovery. This one stuck with me and gets periodical viewings every few years.
#271 Earth– Wonderful film. It sure has been a while.
#256 LOTR Return Of The King– Greatest bromance hobbit film ever created. Those vertically challenged champions of middle earth sure do have a touching fondness for each other. To bad it is due more to epic ham fisted direction, than any comment on enduring gay love.
#237 Viridiana– “I’m an atheist, thank god”
#220 Playtime– Tati at his complex best.
#198 The Wild Bunch– Peckinpah has made better in my book. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia may be my favorite film ever at the moment.
#189 North By Northwest– I love Hitchcock, but this film sucks.
#187 The Prestige– Ahh one we both enjoy immensely. I credit you Mr Fish for making me see this one for a second time. Brilliant film.
#159 Don’t Look Now– Roeg sure does use his location to craft a wonderful movie. Venice is the main draw here. The star of the show.
#155 The Shining– Has become my favorite Kubrick after 2001 and perhaps Clockwork Orange.
#153 Mulholland Drive– Happy Lynch didn’t make this into a long running TV show. His initial failure results in perhaps his best film ever.
#130 The Assassination Of Jesse James– I can’t wait for Dominik to make another film. This one is an absolute classic.
#112 Ugetsu– One of my absolute favorites. Another film school discovery that settled me into the wonderful world of subtitles.
#105 Ivan The Terrible– I prefer the darker part 2, but both would place above Potemkin for me.
#98 Taxi Driver– How long have I been drifting….
#88 Stalker– Better than Solaris. Tarkovsky at his best.
#83 Umberto D– My number one Italian neo-realist film. Hard to fight back the tears with this one.
#68 Nosferatu– A Symphony of terror for sure. Murnau crafts a monumental horror film. I will say that my love for Herzog stipulates that I consider his remake to be of similar quality.
#32 The Magnificent Ambersons– How many hail mary’s will it take to have a miraculous discovery of the lost footage be found. I’m willing to do my part.
#29 M– At one time my favorite movie ever. Still in my top ten with no chance of escaping.
#8 Barry Lyndon– Its growing reputation escapes me. I find at least 7 better Kubrick’s in his small filmography.
#3 Le Mepris– My pinnacle Godard film as well, though I don’t fawn over him like many others.
#2 Vertigo– My second favorite picture also. Hitchcock at his moody best.
#1 Eros + Massacre– Watched this a few months ago. Need to see it again as I was not as enamored with this as most of WITD.
Maurizio, if people want a better source of reference chronologically, they have the Timeline which covers around 5,000 films, so thaty would be redundant. It was done in order because my countdowns were – and indeed yours, no less arbitrary – and as a strict one off to please those who asked.
As for alphabeticl, the book is and will always remain so as the alphabet stays as it is, order is always in flux.
Allan, you keep talking yourself blue, wait until tuesday people…
Ah, “the Timeline”; the first comment I made on this site was to thank you guys for that long and winding road. I have a copy of “Chronicle of the Cinema,” and then there’s imdb.com, the online version of Charles Musser’s “Before the Nickelodeon:
Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company” (http://bit.ly/k6AdJk)–and Wikipedia’s pop-grossers timeline. But to remind me of the movies that got away–and to introduce me to new ones–I am deeply indebted to your Timeline. I thank you, and The Constant Viewer thanks you. Now get these 3000 in alpha AND chrono order, pronto!
And by the way, “Raging Bull” is the greatest film of all time. (Sorry; I have Catholic tastes.)
Sorry; I meant Wikipedia’s TOP (not “pop”) grossers timeline”–although I guess if they’re tops, they’re pop.
Yep, Paul, Allan’s timeline was the window to WitD, and your attendance has made us far richer. many thanks as always my friend.
As always Maurizio you pull no punches. (which is a very good thing) And with Spielberg you really hold nothing back!!! LOL!!!
I’ll confess I love ET as well.
Alas, the final 600. I’d like to start by saying congrats to Allan as this is the culmination of what must have been quite a task– seeing all these films for a book. What started as a hobby, turned to ‘this’: obsession, compulsion, etc. But it’s also authentic and wonderful. Kudos.
Everyone: on Tuesday of next week will be the introductory post about the actual Book. Look forward to it.
My thoughts:
597 Edvard Munch (TV version) (Norway/Sweden-TV 1974…Peter Watkins) Essential, wonderful film about art.
590 Closer (US/UK 2004…Mike Nichols) Remains in my handful of favorite films from the 2000’s.
584 Johnny Guitar (US 1954…Nicholas Ray) Right now my favorite Ray.
580 Fight Club (US 1999…David Fincher) Surprising placement, but when I think about it, I don’t know that you’re wrong.
578 Strike (USSR 1924…Sergei M.Eisenstein) If I’ve just seen this I’ll take it over ‘Potemkin’. In many ways I do like it better, seems even more human.
572 After Life (Japan 1998…Hirokazu Kore-Eda) Great film, totally deserving of this placement.
563 The Girl on the Bridge (France 1999…Patrice Leconte) The best date movie I can think of. It’s totally nondescript so as to not offend, but it’s no generic nor vanilla, which is an incredible feat. Oh, and a beautiful woman with short hair.
562 Kings of the Road (West Germany 1976…Wim Wenders) All his early films are fantastic in my eyes, so this is a welcome placement.
561 Beauty’s Exotic Dance: Torture! (Japan 1977…Noboru Tanaka) Raucous golf clap.
553 Street of Shame (Japan 1956…Kenji Mizoguchi) Right now, my favorite Mizoguchi of the 6 or 8 of his I’ve seen. Heartbreaking and modern.
544 Police, Adjective (Romania 2009…Corneliu Porumboiu)
543 Weekend (France 1967…Jean-Luc Godard) Didn’t know your feelings on either of these.
541 Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Italy 1975…Pier Paolo Pasolini) Maurizio hasn’t the stomach, thankfully Allan does.
540 Mildred Pierce (US 1945…Michael Curtiz) Lost in all the hubbub of the new HBO miniseries is how good this one is. Joan Crawford for the win.
527 The Day the Earth Stood Still (US 1951…Robert Wise) This is the rare classic that I feel gets worse with each viewing.
520 Ordet (Denmark 1954…Carl T.Dreyer) One of the great spiritual films, I’ve only seen a few I’d place over it.
516 Kameradschaft (Germany 1931…G.W.Pabst) I’m more with Thomson on this one, then with you Allan.
511 The Passenger (Italy/US 1975…Michelangelo Antonioni)
510 Caché (France 2005…Michael Haneke) Love how high both of these are.
506 Edna the Inebriate Woman (UK-TV 1971…Ted Kotcheff) What a title! I’ll be looking for this one.
479 The Innocents (UK 1961…Jack Clayton) Another British (like ‘Wicker Man’) Horror film that I’m not even sure if I put it top 100 for Horror… just doesn’t do a lot for me.
470 The Battle of the Somme (UK 1916 …anon) Stands second to none in the War film genre.
457 The Old Dark House (US 1932…James Whale) You’ve accomplished several things with me: one being a complete revisiting of Whale’s Horror output.
442 The Piano (New Zealand 1993…Jane Campion) Love how high this is, one of my modern favorites.
435 Black Swan (US 2010…Darren Aronofsky)
434 A Page of Madness (Japan 1926…Teinosuke Kinugasa) One film is horrific, the other laughable. Can you guess?
429 The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Italy 1966…Sergio Leone) How little is Leone talked about around these parts?
407 Shoah (France 1985…Claude Lanzmann) Though this would be higher.
396 The Last Laugh (Germany 1924…Friedrich W.Murnau) Right now my favorite of his catalog.
392 If… (UK 1968…Lindsay Anderson) For me this rates as high as any British film not named ‘Brief Encounter’.
374 The Lives of Others (Germany 2006…Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) What do you make of him now? One masterpiece, then a total dud.
373 The Thin Red Line (US 1998…Terrence Malick) Maybe my favorite War film.
369 Diary of a Lost Girl (Germany 1929…G.W.Pabst) (nodding head)
366 Witchfinder General: International Version (UK 1968…Michael Reeves) Another Horror the Brits love. Need to revisit.
338 Mirror (USSR 1974…Andrei Tarkovsky) Strangely becoming my favorite Tarkovsky.
337 I Saw the Devil (South Korea 2010…Kim Ji-woon) Really liked this one, but this seems high.
331 Culloden (UK-TV 1964…Peter Watkins) The other essential Watkins.
322 The Masque of the Red Death (UK 1964…Roger Corman) About 2700 spaces to high.
311 Zéro de Conduite (France 1933…Jean Vigo)
310 Onibaba (Japan 1964…Kaneto Shindo) Love the strange combinations of coincidence in how the numbers fall.
305 Lawrence of Arabia (UK 1962…David Lean) Many people will put this as perhaps the greatest film ever, I’m more with this placement.
289 Morocco (US 1930…Josef Von Sternberg) Ah… Marlene in a tux.
225 La Belle Noiseuse (France 1991…Jacques Rivette)
224 Brief Encounter (UK 1945…David Lean)
223 The New World: Extended Version (US 2005…Terrence Malick)
222 Dead of Night (UK 1945…Robert Hamer, Alberto Cavalcanti, Basil Dearden, Charles Crichton) What a great little run here.
209 The House is Black (Iran 1963…Farough Farrokhzad) A forgotten masterpiece of the absolute highest order.
187 The Prestige (US 2006…Christopher Nolan)
186 Spione (Germany 1928…Fritz Lang)
185 The Scarlet Empress (US 1934…Josef Von Sternberg)
184 Three Colours: Blue (France/Poland 1993…Krzysztof Kieslowski) Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this picture?
182 The Ceremony (Japan 1971…Nagisa Oshima) Essential, but criminally neglected.
164 Dogville (Denmark/UK 2003…Lars Von Trier) This actually seems low.
159 Don’t Look Now (UK 1973…Nicolas Roeg) Ditto.
146 The Diary of a Country Priest (France 1951…Robert Bresson) Half the time I think this is my favorite Bresson, the other half I think ‘Pickpocket’.
137 A Man Escaped (France 1956…Robert Bresson) But then again, I always forget this one!
110 The White Ribbon (Germany/France 2009…Michael Haneke)
48 La Nuit de Carrefour (France 1932…Jean Renoir)
47 Red Angel (Japan 1966…Yasuzo Masumura) Pretty cool how high these are.
I have little to add about any of the top 46… all great films (of the 40 or so that I’ve seen there) that seemingly have been discussed numerous times around here. Glad to see that that particular Yoshida is still the one that mesmerizes you.
Great work.
Wow. Now YOU Sir are really incomparable.
As far as always going back between PICKPOCKET and COUNTRY PRIEST, I have the same problem with BALTHAZAR and COUNTRY PRIEST! Ha! But even so, PICKPOCKET and A MAN ESCAPED are in that mix to make it a masterpiece quartet.
Seeing those four titles all together reminds me how remarkable Bresson is–and reveals the flaw in ranking films. How could one attempt a meaningful hierarchy of even those four–meaningful in that, by ranking them, we discover something important about each film, or the films’ relationships with each other, or something important about Bresson as an artist?
Then again, when we look at a list of course it’s the list-maker we uncover. I worked with a student last year who wrote a paper on film-listing, and she recognized that the urge to canonize a film fills a number of needs, not the least of which is the canonizer’s to display the self through the film–or to become part of the broader endeavor to form a general canon for others. In either case, it’s the canonizer who in the end matters more than the film, the canon, or the readers of the list.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Couldn’t agree more Paul. I think the strangeness is the variance of films… like an experimental art film next to a glossy popcorn film. It’s so strange, but also so fun, as you say, it says more about the compiler.
Once the compilers taste is trusted or respected (something I came to in regards to Allan a long time ago), these things start to have added worth.
Oh and it’s crazy, all the Bresson’s we are talking about came out inside of 8 years. What a run he had…
You guys watch a lolla movies!
I enjoyed trying to pick out the docs in this list, I saw a couple early Soviet selections, and The Sorrow and the Pity – yeah. But I’d agree
with Sam Juliano – Night and Fog is pretty freaking powerful.
Glad to see non-doc Malick on the list a couple times. The Thin Red Line was great. But back to docs, the Thin Blue Line is really great really too!
I was on vacation and am just catching up to this Allan. First off, it must have taken forever to put this together so hats off to you. There’s a lot I agree with and alot I don’t, but it’s your list I’ll give you that. My only comments are that I’m surprised by your top 10 choices for Godard and Powell and Pressburger. Their films you picked aren’t my favorites by them which would probably be Breathless and Black Narcissus.
Favourities are down to personal taste, Jon. We’re all different.
Hey, guess who just got even more incentive to finish downloading a copy of Eros + Massacre? Very interesting list, Allan; nice mix of the classics that have earned their timeless status and some lesser seen films that have considerable support by those who’ve managed to view them. Pleased to see Contempt be your top Godard film, though my own preferences would have leaned toward 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her.
This was my reply, sorry. I forgot I was logged into my test site account.
590 Closer
Didn’t work for me. I found the stylization of the acting and dialogue really annoying and smug.
585 E.T.
Didn’t know this would be so high for you. Actually a pretty unique and unusual film when you go back in time and look at it from the perspective of what came before rather than after. And certainly Spielberg’s signature film as an auteur – the one that most fully and completely exhibits his vision.
577 La Dolce Vita
When I first saw this, it left me cold. I watched it again later, within 24 hours, spurred on by an odd desire, and this time it captured me though it’s still the second half I like better than the first.
568 Annie Hall
Allen’s most satisfying film. Brilliantly structured, though I think the structure was reached mostly in the editing room.
560 The Big Lebowski
Easily my favorite comedy, it certainly makes me laugh more than just about any other, no matter how many repeat viewings.
526 Nights of Cabiria
This is my favorite Fellini.
524 Berlin, Symphony of a Great City
Enjoyed this, but felt it was not really in the same class as Man with a Movie Camera. Kind of surprised to see it so high.
521 Freaks
“One of us, one of us”… appropriate pick for this site. 🙂
518 Out 1
Love that this is so high on here.
515 The Public Enemy
I’d take White Heat over this, though I love this too
511 The Passenger
See comment on Polish Passenger in other thread.
496 I Vitelloni
Really charming film, love the characters and the fog-shrouded beaches.
471 Minnie the Moocher
I’ll take Snow White first, but still great to see a Boop/Calloway so damn high!
449 A Hard Day’s Night
I think the best Beatles film is actually What’s Happening! by the Maysles brothers, though it’s really hard to see in its original version. Though Yellow Submarine is up there too. This is fun, but ranks third for me.
448 The Wizard of Oz
Dude, you totally won’t believe this, did you know if you like sync up the beginning of Dark Side of the Moon with the lion’s roar…,
418 Whisky Galore
A film that really brought a smile to my face…just like real whiskey! Better aftereffects, though.
413 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I just bought this book to read again – this is the most memorable version I think, based on March’s captivating makeup job but I remember it didn’t quite click for me when I watched it. I’d love to try it again though.
411 Jeux Interdits
I actually like the alternate ending – which frames it all as a story read between two kids on a log – because I think it’s so artificial it makes the film more poignant as if the children themselves imagined this framing device to protect themselves from the pain of their real experience.
389 The Girl with a Suitcase
I like Claudia too, but I wouldn’t put this above On the Waterfront, personally!
379 Scarface
That moment where they lift the towel from Muni’s face and he’s sitting there sneering is just so perfect – Hawks in a nutshell.
273 L’Amour fou
Wow, so high! This Rivette didn’t click for me.
263 La Maman et la Putain
Loved this.
224 Brief Encounter
I love the way this sets up future Lean films, as if Celia Johnson’s romantic fantasies of far-off lands propelled all the epic adventures to come.
209 The House is Black
I saw this through you via Sam. One of the greatest films of all time, devastating, beautiful, and powerful.
202 Gold Diggers of 1933
Storywise, this is the most enjoyable of the ’33 Berkeley flicks (yeah, I know he had nothing to do with the stories or direction thereof) though I’d take sequences from 42nd St & Footlight Parade first.
187 The Prestige
Wow!! Top 200 of all time? I’ll have to see this again.
111 Great Expectations
Though Hobson is miscast, really captures the rich atmosphere and color of the book.
81 It’s a Wonderful Life
Agreed that this deserves to be so high. A film that gets taken for granted, but which is actually quite a different movie than the one people remember or half-watch at Christmastime. The scene on the phone with Donna Reed is brilliant and moving.
44 French Can Can
Yowzers! I love that this is so high, I really like it too. Was it on the 50s countdown or has it recently been boosted? I’m too lazy to look, haha.
26 Chimes at Midnight
Great to see this way up there.
1 Eros + Massacre
Wow, a bold pick. I’ll admit it hasn’t quite captured me, though I was intrigued by it. I’d almost love a whole new essay to hear more about your reasons for considering it the greatest film of all time. But then again, I think you’ve done enough at this point!
Thanks. This was a lot of fun.
So was reading your replies, as always, Joel.
And yes, French Can Can came alive recently for me on the French Blu Ray.
The more I think about your #1 pick, the more I’m attracted to the idea of picking something relatively obscure–at least in the Top 10 Movies of All Time biz. It must’ve been liberating to succumb to that choice–I’m reminded of Roger Ebert asserting that Gates of Heaven is the greatest film of all time: a kind of ecstatic yawp in praise of one’s own impulses, the critic as an individual–rather than a “representative” of anything aside from one’s convictions.
So let’s see … Can one follow this without looking precious, without any smug self-satisfaction? (“Look at the odd corner I’ve painted myself into! Aren’t I something?”) OK, I’ll bite:
The Greatest Movie of All Time is The Female of the Species (1912): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3ixXl-Pvg Fourteen perfect minutes.
It’s nice seeing lesser known films such as Renoir’s La nuit du carrefour getting a mention. I haven’t had a chance to see if there are any films by Ermanno Olmi on the list, but I would certainly include Olmi in my top ten, especially a film such as I Fidanzati. Another director whose work I like is Aki Kaurismaki, with films such as Ariel and The Man without a Past. Am also a fan of Tim Carey’s The World’s Greatest Sinner.