The Top 100 Movies of All Time (well, what I had seen up to fall of 2010) According to Your Truly (plus a bonus of 10 honorable mentions)
Last year I made this list for my blog (don't bother trying to find it unless you know Finnish). I did not intend to make it public here, but than I decided I should do my small part in making this site better. No, the addition of my list isn't going to make this site better. I just decided to highlight the fact that most of the lists don't bother to tell us why the films are so good that they should be on a list like the list they are on. In this regard, I will do better. Not much better, but somewhat. (I know I'm not going to have much effect on the whole site, but perhaps a little. At least I can feel like I contributed something. Which to me is as important as actually contributing... Funny how stupid we humans are.)
I'd also like to note to all the people with a list of 400 or so movies they regard as the best, that they should probably put more thought on the number of films. I personally thought 100 would be a pretty good number based on the fact that I've seen around 2500-3000 movies, which means 100 is roughly 3-4% of all the films I've seen. That sounds about right. That sounds like a ratio of the total which can be regarded as "best" as opposed to "somewhat better than the other rubbish I've seen over the years".
Hopefully I'm at least somewhat idiosyncratic and at least someone finds a movie they can love based on this list. Or maybe someone rediscovers a great movie. Either way, enjoy.
I've also included 10 honorable mentions which are representative of movies I like, but were under represented or completely unrepresented in this list. These are not the 101-110 movies.
Besides the last 10 movies, these are in order.
I'd also like to note to all the people with a list of 400 or so movies they regard as the best, that they should probably put more thought on the number of films. I personally thought 100 would be a pretty good number based on the fact that I've seen around 2500-3000 movies, which means 100 is roughly 3-4% of all the films I've seen. That sounds about right. That sounds like a ratio of the total which can be regarded as "best" as opposed to "somewhat better than the other rubbish I've seen over the years".
Hopefully I'm at least somewhat idiosyncratic and at least someone finds a movie they can love based on this list. Or maybe someone rediscovers a great movie. Either way, enjoy.
I've also included 10 honorable mentions which are representative of movies I like, but were under represented or completely unrepresented in this list. These are not the 101-110 movies.
Besides the last 10 movies, these are in order.
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110 titles
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.I love this movie. I dedicate a day to it each year (23rd of December, the date of it's premiere in Italy almost 45 years ago) as a sort of ritual before setting out to confront all the dangers of Christmas.
The title characters are great, but it should be noted that none of them are actually Good, Bad, or Ugly. They are just ruthless people trying to survive in a difficult situation. The cinematography and the score are as great.
What really makes this the greatest film for me is how the film "grew" with me. The different cuts over the years added depth to the film as I was growing as viewer. The (as of this writing) 34-year-old me probably wouldn't love the cut I saw as a teenager some two decades ago as much as I love the 171 minute cut I have on DVD. - DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.The fast-paced life of Renton seems to suck me in every time I watch this movie. I also love to watch the dynamics of the group of friends and I love the music in the film. Danny Boyle might have become a renowned director later, but this is his masterpiece and I don't see him doing any better than this.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.When I saw this for the first time, I didn't really like it. Granted, it was on a bustrip and I hadn't slept much the night before. Then, years later, an ex-girlfriend talked me into rewatching it. It made a better impression. Now, a decade later, I love the movie. At least to me, it was an acquired taste. Perhaps because the title isn't actually that informative...
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.The nature of the film makes it very difficult to have the same experience watching this movie for the second time, but the experience is still great. The gang of criminals still works and the story is still good, even if you do know the ending.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.I don't really know why watching all these conversations I try to avoid in real life are so good in this one. Who cares about the Dutch version of McDonald's? I guess the real attraction is the way these people can move from these discussions into killing a few people as if it was (and it seems to be) completely normal part of their lives.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsCary ElwesMandy PatinkinRobin WrightA bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.The way this movie parodies fairytales while still playing it so straight is amazing. There is no irony in this position. I truly love this movie.
- DirectorPeter CattaneoStarsRobert CarlyleTom WilkinsonMark AddySix unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.If there is one movie I can watch over and over again and it still makes me feel better about the world, it is this movie. Strangely enough, it seems even more zeitgeisty now that the world economy has melted and there seems to be no real recovery coming.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'I know... It's easy to be negative about this movie now that being against the current is so popular. But just view it again. Now don't you wish other directors would finally catch up to what Welles did 70 years ago?
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.I have a tendency to like these films which set themselves seemingly arbitrary limits like the fact that we almost never go outside of the apartment and we pretty much see only what the protagonist sees. With films like this, its easy to see why Hitchcock is highly rated as a director.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."What's the Man With No Name like after retiring? I love the revisionist look this movie takes from the importance of drunkenness to all the lies perpetrated by the biographer to the sociopath sheriff to the strange sense of justice these people have. I remember people thinking Eastwood was a sort of joke (the same way many thought of Hitchcock as well, back in the day), but this proves (at least to me) that Eastwood is actually one of the greatest living directors.
- 19641h 35mPG8.3 (520K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.This is what black comedy is all about. Going very dark and going very bizarre. Somehow this actually still manages to be somewhat believable story.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.Just look at what I said about Pulp Fiction. A good dress rehearsal for that movie.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.A great look at the problem of balancing personal freedom against the security of the community. Still a quite believable, if depressing, future. Not that the movie itself is depressing.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.Ah. The Burton vision with someone else helming it. Seems to work. Nice look at cultural differences, if you want to see a deeper meaning in all this.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.Well, you saw my favorite movie up there, so this shouldn't be a surprise. So, the question is, what went wrong here? Not really wrong, but less perfectly. The actors. Jason Robards is great, but no Eli Wallach. Henry Fonda is of course great, but does not hold a candle on Lee Van Cleef in this role. Charles Bronson is like a poor man's version of Clint Eastwood. Otherwise, still close to perfection.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.Still shines after endless clones. I guess Kurosawa just got that we need to relate to the villagers as well as the samurai, because otherwise the whole thing doesn't make much sense. Also, the action seems very realistic and you couldn't get that these days (outside of comedy, perhaps).
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.Another Kurosawa film with huge amounts of clones (the man clearly doesn't get the status he deserves). Ok, this wasn't original, but based on a book. Still, you can see why people would want to copy this.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.A claustrophobic look at the US justice system. The Fonda juror clearly breaks the law on number of occasions, but at least it's for a good cause, right. Right?
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAki MaedaTarô YamamotoIn the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.So, how does it help to send these fairly normal students to an island to see who is the best killer and make a sociopath out of him or her? And then let that "winner" re-enter the society? If you can get over this problem in the premise, the movie itself is great. Kids trying to cope with the situation and using the situation to settle old scores. I don't really care for the main boy and girl, but everything else that happens on the island is great. The director's cut is not really better or worse, but very different in the feel.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMax von SydowGunnar BjörnstrandBengt EkerotA knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.A movie that is popular target of criticism because of its status as the greatest or one of the greatest art house films of all time. To me, that status is fully earned.
- DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.Maybe overly quoted these days by people who aren't even necessarily completely aware of the source, but still works. My inner child is always awakened by several scenes in this movie.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.Jeunet seems to be one of the few directors who's movies are always interesting because their visual style, even if the story itself isn't always necessarily good (or even coherent). Amelie manages to marry that visual style with a great feelgood story. We need those movies. Especially good ones.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.Well... it's Heath Ledger's movie. Batman is sort of just there and not really that interesting. Actually, the Batman in this movie has almost the same feel as the Batman in the original 60's movie. The system of mapping Gotham through cell phones just felt a bit too "shark repellant" to me. But forget about all that... Joker is here to make it all better. For himself, at least.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsSteve CooganLennie JamesJohn ThomsonIn 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.Well, Ian Curtis is, of course, a great tragic figure. Somehow the movie manages to cross over from Curtis into Shaun Ryder, who still clearly has a tragic flaw, and manages to keep it all together. As Tony Wilson himself states in this movie, he is pretty much a peripheral character despite being the focal point of the movie. All in all a nice look at how insanity goes hand in hand with what Wilson perceives to be genius.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Scott diverges pretty far from the book, which makes a lot of sense. A great dystopian world, which doesn't seem like just slabbed on to the our world, like some others. Good action, but that is not what the movie is about. Its about the blurring lines between us and our technology.