Your Top Ten Films... EVER. - Page 9

I agree, I suppose if I looked at movies stringently as an artform rather than entertainment I'd shit all over my list too. Then again thats not me really so probably not.

I can go through and defend each pick if I need to but the responses will never satisfy the detractors and won't really illuminate much on the decision process other than a "top ten film" in my definition differs (apparently) from the norm here at CHUD and is selected more for my own entertainment value and nothing more.

I still wish you'd join the movie draft for entertainment purpose.

I appreciate that you'd like me to provide the fodder, but I don't see the point. I admit my Chud props are in the negative and my exposure to "Chud friendly" films is limited at best.

Besides its better to bone up to challenge yourself when it comes to sarcasm rather than shoot fish in a barrel.

It's such an odd list, but at least you tried to defend it. That's better than most.

As much as I enjoy writing lists, I have never put together my top 10, but it's about time I get around to it. In no particular order:

Star Wars- A New Hope
Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Rings:
Obvious choices but I still love every minute of these.

Three Amigos
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure:
My favorite comedies, so I have to show some love for any movie that makes me laugh as much as these two.

It's a Wonderful Life:
Probably one of the biggest factors in shaping my political views and if you don't choke up just a little bit at the end, then I just don't know what to say to you.

Mary Poppins:
Brilliant songs, one of the best musicals ever. If I find myself getting a song stuck in my head out of the blue, odds are it's from this movie.

The Wizard of Oz:
I used to watch this back to back with Mary Poppins as a kid, and Dorothy opening the door to the world in color is one of the best images in film ever made.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Back to the Future:
Two movies with arguably perfect scripts. Just a ridiculous amount of fun.

and finally,
A Christmas Story

Yeah, most are childhood favorites. But I watch all of them about once a year and even as I watch and learn more about movies, these hold up spectacularly well.

Next 10 include:
Lawrence of Arabia
E.T.
The Searchers
2001: A Space Odyssey
Days of Heaven
Brazil
Mean Streets
Gregory's Girl
Nashville
The Thing

Looks like my old list got erased when things changed over. Here's the best I can manage today:
1. Dawn of the Dead
2. Dog Day Afternoon
3. Suspiria
4. Taxi Driver
5. Empire Strikes Back
6. The Lord of the Rings (all of it)
7. The Third Man
8. Once Upon a Time in the West
9. Jaws
10. Fight Club and Rushmore (tie)

and a collection of films that may overtake these at any minute:
Mary Poppins, Toy Story 2, Akira, Alien, Braindead, French Connection, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Boogie Nights, Brazil, Chinatown, Clockwork Orange, Cemetery Man, Evil Dead 2, X-Men 2, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, the Fly, Goodfellas, The Iron Giant, Oldboy, Re-Animator, American Movie, Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, Repo Man, Robocop, Saving Private Ryan, E.T., the Terminator, The Thing, Spirited Away, Mr. Vampire, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Where's STAY?

In alphabetical order:

Aliens
His Girl Friday
Jaws
The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
Pulp Fiction
Raising Arizona
Seven
Silence of the Lambs
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Titanic

Okay, I know I posted a list here once before, but since I specified that the list is subject, I'm posting a revised list. If you don't like or agree with the choices, well, it ain't yer list, now is it? Anyway, here goes (pretty much in order):

1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Singin' in the Rain
5. Citizen Kane
6. Blade Runner
7. Pan's Labyrinth
8. Children of Men
9. Dr. Strangelove
10. The Thing

And the next 10, in no particular order:

Once Upon a Time in the West
The Departed
The Fountain
Goodfellas
Oldboy
Seven
Miller's Crossing
Young Frankenstein
The Big Lebowski
Blazing Saddles

Ten films threatening to crack the top 20:

No Country for Old Men
Fight Club
Zodiac
Sideways
This is Spinal Tap
Ghostbusters
There Will Be Blood
The Mist (yeah...seriously)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Empire Strikes Back

Its been a while, tastes change. This is in no particular order.

The Godfather
Batman Begins
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Departed
Die Hard
Casino Royale
Munich
The Prestige
Blade Runner
Ratatouille (everytime I watch this, I bust out wine and cheese)

Honorable mentions: Predator, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Kingdom of Heaven (director's cut), Fight Club, Iron Man, Empire Strikes Back, Alien3: Assembly Cut, Pirates: Dead Man's Chest

I don't think I have any changes to make to my list, but here's a supplemental Top Ten with attention paid to the categories I overlooked, namely foreign films, westerns, musicals, and documentaries. Previous criteria still apply:

1. Sherman's March (1986): The granddaddy of first-person-confessional documentaries, Ross McElwee's masterpiece is both hilarious and human.

2. Singin' In the Rain (1952): It's not just great music and dancing, it's also great Hollywood history.

3. Fort Apache (1948): Anyone who thinks John Wayne couldn't act, watch him go toe-to-toe with Henry Fonda here.

4. Summer (Le Rayon Vert, 1986): Eric Rohmer broke through to a whole new level of minimalism with this one. Nothing happens, and it's stunning when it does.

5. Help! (1965): Richard Lester and the Beatles take a piss at James Bond. Few films are so completely carefree yet full of craft.

6. Peking Opera Blues (Do ma daan, 1986): Maybe the essential film of the Hong Kong New Wave. Ridiculously entertaining.

7. Koyaanisqatsi (1982): This abstract expression of Man's relationship to Nature has been often imitated, never equaled.

8. Ride Lonesome (1959): The Western revenge story, boiled down to its core elements with not a minute left over. Hard to find but worth it.

9. Cartouche (1962): What wouldn't you do for Claudia Cardinale?

10. Knightriders (1981): George Romero's only non-horror film is deeply romantic and sentimental, but give it a chance and it'll hit your gut as hard as any of his other work.

This list is kinda awesome!
Well said on "Fort Apache", "Help" & "Knightriders".
(I"m now on the hunt for "Ride Lonesome")

Before I'm flamed to death, I'd just like to point out that these films are my personal favorite, and not what I consider the greatest:

10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

9. Robocop

8. Batman Returns

7. Minority Report

6. Gladiator

5. Totall Recall

4., Kingdom of Heaven (Uncut of Course)

3. Mothra vs Godzilla (Original)

2. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah

1. Invasion of the Astro Monsters

Before you get flamed to death, I'd like to hear some elaboration on those choices. Especially Invasion of the Astro Monsters. Seriously, make me a case.

What the hell is it? Theatrical cut or Director's Cut?

Personal nostalgia for the most part. Its a standard monster romp, with outstanding effects for its time, with a magnificent score from Akira Ifukube. I can see why you might be wondering why I listed it as my favorite of all time, but its not a bad film by any means.


Savage, The Director's Cut.

Okay, that's a start. I'll slide on the part where you value 'standard' over 'exceptional', due to the nostalgia effect. What about the others?

Just out of curiosity, what would you consider an exceptional monster romp?

Really, maybe it'd be easier if you'd tell me the main problems you had with my list. My top three are nostalgia, and Burton and Verhoeven are on their because I had a blast watching them.

In my opinion, Gamera, Guardian of the Universe is the one film that does kaiju eiga exactly right.

For myself, I've been trying for variety. Your list is 100% genre films. Which is OK since this is the Internet, but we won't think you're a wuss if there's a romantic comedy or a character study you really admire.

Seeing as you enjoyed GOTU, have you watched any other films by Kaneko? Like the other Gamera films, Godzilla Mothra, and King Ghidorah, or the Death Note live action films?

(Sorry if this is pushing too far off-topic)


I haven't seen many character studies, unless you'd count films like Ikiru and Hara-Kiri which I really enjoy.

We should probably head on over to The Kaiju Thread (Giant Monsters Attack!)

I actually have a very long list that I've been keeping for a few years now. It's pretty damn long, at this point. My top ten, though, is this:

1. Psycho (this has been my favorite movie since I first saw it when I was six-years-old. I love every aspect of this one).

2. Lawrence of Arabia (if you want to make an epic, this is how you make it. O'Toole's performance is probably the best I've ever seen).

3. Citizen Kane (the most well-made film here. If not for the top two movies hitting the exact right notes with me, this would be number one. It's essential viewing for any self-proclaimed movie lover.)

4. Seven Samurai (a movie that can actually say that it changed the course of cinema. I don't think it's possible to hate this one).

5. The Godfather (a masterpiece. A sprawling epic that is full of nothing but classic, memorable scenes).

6. City Lights (the second best ending ever - for enitirely different reasons than Casablanca. I normally never root for a happy or sad ending in a movie because I'd rather it end the best way possible. In this case, I wanted the happiest ending ever because The Tramp deserved it so badly. This might not be the funniest movie Chaplin ever did, but it is definitely the best).

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (the best science fiction film ever made and beautiful to look at too)!

8. Raging Bull (I'm often conflicted between this one and Taxi Driver as Marty's best film, but this one usually wins).

9. The Seventh Seal (Bergman is a master director, and I take this one over his others).

10. Casablanca (this one has the best ending ever. I know that's cliched to say, but I don't really care. Look at that time period (or any other period in film history, for that matter), and you will understand why this one was such a breakthrough. Classic).

My favorite films, in no way the greatest films of all time, but the ones that struck me the most.

1. Saving Private Ryan

2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

3. Good Will Hunting

4. The Shawshank Redemption

5. The Untouchables

6. L.A. Confidential

7. Road to Perdition

8. Field of Dreams

9. Fight Club

10. The Big Lebowski

Notable Mentions (in no order): 300, Superman: The Movie, Mystic River, Se7en, The Godfather Part I and II, Star Trek II and IV, and too many more.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Batman Begins
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
5. Star Wars
6. Back to the Future Part 2
7. Back to the Future
8. The Empire Strikes Back
9. Children of Men
10. Raging Bull

then in no organized fashion

Back to the Future Part 3
The Godfather Part 2
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
There Will Be Blood
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Mean Streets
Pulp Fiction
Goodfellas
Taxi Driver
Apocalypse Now
Bad Taste
Braindead

Mine updated in alphabetical order:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Kill Bill 1 & 2
Little Big Man
Raising Arizona
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rocky
The Shining
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Taxi Driver

New personal rule: only one film per director. This is why, for instance, The Big Lebowski isn't listed above. Kind of smarts leaving it off, but I'll never keep this thing down to just ten without a couple of restrictions in place.

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood
2. Au Hasard Balthazar
3. Destry Rides Again
4. The Driver
5. Faces
6. Fixed Bayonettes
7. Grand Illusion
8. Miracle in Milan
9. The Right Stuff
10. Seven Men From Now

It raises an interesting question actually. Does the age of a film reflect its quality in a list such as this. Would someone putting a recent film such as the Assassination of Jesse James or the Fountain negate their entire list?

I've completely reassessed my favourite films after I took the time to actually watch some of the films I had put into the list.

In no particular order

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring Again (Kim Ki-duk)
Vengeance is Mine (Shohei Imamura)
Little Children (Todd Field)
Naked (Mike Leigh)
La Dolce Vita (Fellini)
Harakiri (Masaki Kobayashi)
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy)
The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (Werner Herzog)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Park Chan-wook)
The Big Blue (Luc Besson)

I've made about four top ten lists in this thread. I try not to repeat myself. The idea of a classic - to me - is the idea that it's stood the test of time. That it continues to grow, and I also know that some people read my lists looking to beef up their netflix queue. So I try and put films on the list that everyone has not seen. There is no denying the greatness of Jesse James (though there may be some denying of the greatness of - say - The Departed, or Spider-Man 2) but its place canonically has yet to be asserted or denied, and I feel no need to campign for it just yet.

Gonna make some adjustments here. THE FOUNTAIN and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK fell out. THE FOUNTAIN because although I love it, I think it's too new for me to assess it fairly. I've seen it a few times now and I'd like to give it more time to gel. As for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, I just can't watch it anymore. All the Lucas bullshit, the Prequels... I'm done with those films for a long, long time.

So... the new list... bolding the new choices...

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
SEVEN SAMURAI
RUSHMORE
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
BECKET
RIO BRAVO
IKIRU
MILLER'S CROSSING

Saw those recently after a couple of years and they just shot right to my heart. DOUBLE INDEMNITY remains my favorite Wilder and IKIRU... is just amazing to me, one of the greatest, most uplifting, and yet still shrewdly calculating films ever made.

Favorite, not best.

Unforgiven
Babe: Pig in the City
Rocky Balboa
The Big Lebowski
Life is Beautiful
Robocop
The Life Aquatic
That Thing You Do
Big Trouble in Little China
Paris, Texas

I may regret how quickly I put this together. However, my top three will always be Unforgiven, Robocop, and Babe: Pig in the City.

Also, I would say, apropos of nothing, that there are two reasons to make a list:
1) to prove you have good taste
2) To pass your good taste on to others.

Any other reason for making a list is either bullshit or a variant of OCD. At this stage, here, if you don't know/think I have good taste, then it's too late for my opinion to matter. But for those it does, then suich a list could concievably be a gold mine.

I'm sure people around here have seen everything on my list. But hey, they're my top ten films right now. If I revisited this thread every month my list would likely change.

Unless I'm misreading this, I think I had the same thought when I saw Andre's list. My question is, more specifically: Do a lot of people overlook older, better films simply because they choose to ignore everything released prior to say, the late '60s?

I updated my list today primarily because I'm going to be watching some classics for the first time in the coming months. After seeing a good batch of older stuff, I'll revisit my list and update accordingly if anything truly changes. I'll be surprised if some new 'old' claims a spot on my top ten list, but it took me all the way until 2006 to realize the majesty of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But I've never dedicated quality time to an entire David Lean or Akira Kurosawa film. Nor have I committed to watching The Godfather I or II from beginning to end. I'm not sure that I've ever seen an Ingmar Bergman film. I love Hitchcock, but I haven't rewatched any of his stuff - aside from Psycho and Rear Window - in over 15 years. I've seen a lot of damn movies, but I've still got a long way to go before I can confidently call myself a well-rounded cinephile.

No particular order, will probably change tomorrow:

The General
Manhattan
No Country For Old Men
Duck Soup
Goodfellas
Nashville
Hoop Dreams
Bicycle Thieves
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Rear Window

I'm far from being a well-rounded film fan as well and I'm with you on watching The Godfather from start to finish. I think a majority of the people here even on these boards don't really check out older films. I've been guilty of choosing Back to the Future for the millionth time over Godard. But once you spend the time with the classics, it's apparent that they are brilliant and fun, usually holding up after decades. I guess I'm stating the obvious but I blame unfamiliarity and a hesitance to move beyond the tried and true as the reason for why so many favorites here lean heavily on new stuff.

The simple truth is, oh wait this is going to sound horrible, but it's unavoidably true: Most people don't love films. Love in the Platonic sense, that is. If you truly love soemthing you want to explore all facets of it. So your appetite is not limited to what is familiar and comfortable. Which ties into the idea that leaving comfort zones is scary, because it opens up the possibilty that one's current understanding is limited or false, or bad, etc. And that is scary because people - on a whole - are generally happier if they don't know what they are missing.

But then that also requires engaging with something on a level that may also require a certain appreciation of form that one might not have yet. If all one eats is - say - standard Irish cuisine, the spices of Thai cooking might be awkward and disugsting at first. The idea is that it's possible you migth be missing something, and therefore develop a taste for something out of your mien.

List like that makes me ashamed how conventional my list/tastes are! (The journey continues..)

It's about time I redid whatever list I put here last, come to think of it. Bits of my taste seem to change all the time.
Keeping to one per director:

Eraserhead
Pan's Labyrinth
Spirited Away
The Innocents
Eyes Without a Face
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Suspiria
Carnival of Souls
Yojimbo

The thing is, I have seen and loved classics like Bicycle Thieves, or (recently) Doctor Strangelove, or Seventh Seal. There's just something about the lot above that particularly appeals to me, mixed lot though they are.

The problem is that sometimes you start to watch films more out of duty than out of actual interest. Films like Come and See and the Grand Illusion and La Dolce Vita can just hold my interest and I just come away wanting to know about the history of the films, what spurred their creation. But I also have something of a mental block with older Hollywood films. Movies of the studio system just don't appeal to me whatsoever.

So whilst I can see the inherent greatness and humanity of Balthazar and the Grand Illusion the classic swashbucklers like Robin Hood just leave me feeling particularly cold. It just seems odd that I can sit through two and a half hour studies on Bushido culture and the chronicles of a paparazzi in Italy and be enraptured but I can't take any real pleasure out of defined big budget epic like Ben Hur.

Maybe that's the effect of getting into cinema through genre films.

I don't know exactly how it fits with the current conversation exactly but...

Watching Midnight Cowboy yesterday made me realize there is no greater feeling than realizing exactly what a filmmaker is trying to say, that they said it well and effectively, and that everything fits together. A piece of artwork like that coming into perspective is like a literary orgasm. An amazing feeling. It's easiest to get that feeling with older, timeless, proven movies. With a "classic" as I sit and search and recapitulate and piece together, I at least know there is an answer to be found, and I'm not just propping up garbage in my mind. When the puzzle pieces fall into place, it's immensely satisfying.

Haven't looked at this thread for a while. Can't imagine my list has changed all that much, but here goes:

(These are favourites, not necessarily the best films I have ever seen)

Raising Arizona
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
The Incredibles
Singin' In The Rain
Blade Runner (any and all versions - part of what makes it fascinating)
Lawn Dogs
Amadeus (Director's Cut)
Dr Strangelove
Midnight Run
Once Upon A Time In The West


That's 10. I could list many more, such as Toy Story 2, Apocalypse Now (theatrical cut), when harry met sally, Project 'A', The Assassination of Jesse James (too soon? Probably), Into The Wild (likewise), Tears of the Black Tiger, Akira, The Aviator, Rounders, Before Sunset, Twelve Monkeys, Sling Blade... these are all amazing films and if anyone asked me if I liked any one of them, I would say that they are one of my favourite films. Ten is a prohibitive number, but right now, those are my ten.

Curses!

Or maybe you're just English...

If you are in fact interested in acclimating yourself to core Hollywood Studio fare, genre may be the way to go. Can't buy Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur? Warm up with Touch of Evil.

This needs updating - some of my choices were very questionable...


1. Raiders of the Lost Ark - still my favorate Indy flick and I still like it more than Star Wars.

2. Ghostbusters - I will always love this film

3. The Goonies - yeah it's childish but I can't help loving it.

4. Lost in Translation - Taught me a lot about the art of cinema.

5. The Empire Strikes back . Needs no explanation

6. Spiderman 2 - over the last few years I've come to love this one more than the first. I still get a lump in my throat after the train scene.

7. Army of Darkness - I cant justfy it beyond the fact I love it.

8. When Harry met Sally - if you have to watch a chick flick, this is the one to watch.

9. Goldeneye - My favorare Bond movie and one of those films I have to watch if its on.

10. Gremlins - my favorate xmas movie.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add Heat, thought it seems that I love it slightly less with each passing year. No slight on the film itself, just that its charms are fading. A bit like Jennifer Connelly.

1) Modern Times. It's my favorite Chaplin movie. It manages to have a sort of whimsy on top of the very present Socialist social commentary and the dance number alone is worth seeing it.

2) Throne of Blood Kurosawa delivers on all levels with this one. It's a really solid adaptation of Macbeth that is utterly beautiful in its composition.

3) Wild Strawberries This is just here because I like it the most out of Berman's output.

4) Chinatown The movie gets referenced enough on the boards that I don't think explaining it is necessary for you guys.

5) Tie: Dr Strangelove and The Big Lebowski. I think these are the best comedies made in the sound era of American film.

6) Days of Heaven Malick delivers a film that is almost painful in how beautifully composed it is. The Criterion disk that just came out has a full essay on the cinematography of the film in the jacket and I highly recommend reading it.

7) The Grapes of Wrath. Not only is Fonda's performance iconic in this but it has the feel of a silent film in a lot of parts (especially when the matriarch of the family tries on her earrings for the last time). The only complaint I have about it is the way the film deviates from the book...but back then, I understand Ford couldn't really have gotten away with filming a woman breastfeed a hobo, even if he wanted to.

8) Fantasia. There is simply nothing else like it.

9) The Night of the Hunter. Robert Mitchum's and Mary Pickford's perfromances alone make this a great film.

10) Beauty and the Beast (1946). Just watch this and remind yourself that this was made decades before the advent of modern special effects. George Lucas wishes he had a fraction of Cocteau's vision.

I've already tweaked my list from yesterday. Ten is just too damn hard. Top twenty is much easier for me.

Some amazing films I haven't lived with long enough to know where they fall include (tracking these here for future reference):

• Pan's Labyrinth
• No Country for Old Men
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

My ever roving quest for the great and the good and the gracious in film still leads me to suspect that the following 10 are the pinnacle for me (alphabetical because, really, how do make me choose between a good scream, the academy of the overrated and the secret of a smile?):

All That Heaven Allows (1955) Dir: Douglas Sirk
Battle Royale (2002) Dir: Kinji Fukasaku
Blow Out (1981) Dir: Brian De Palma
Come and See (1985) Dir Elem Klimov
Deep Red (1975) Dir: Dario Argento
Jacob's Ladder (1990) Dir: Adrian Lyne
Manhattan (1979) Dir: Woody Allen
North By Northwest (1959) Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Once Upon A Time In America (1984) Dir: Sergio Leone
Singin' In The Rain (1952) Dir: Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen


but because I love Dellamorte's probing mind and share with him a passion for the same nurturing sentiment, here's a breezy alternate list I'd be just as happy with:


The Red Shoes (1948) Dir: Michael Powell
The Remains Of The Day (1993) Dir: James Ivory
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garicia (1974) Dir: Sam Peckinpah
Le Samourai (1967) Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville
Overlord (1975) Dir: Stuart Cooper
Tootsie (1982) Dir: Sydney Pollack
The Blob (1988) Dir: Chuck Russell
Pickup On South Street (1953) Dir: Sam Fuller
Out Of The Past (1947) Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Diary Of A County Priest (1951) Dir: Robert Bresson

But then there's Through A Glass, Darkly, which stole a little bit of me this past weekend.

....?

With my list, I'm going to stick to films currently in my collection. And these are personal favorites of the moment, not of all time and not what I think are the greatest movies ever, so feel free to laugh at me. A true top ten of all time list will take much more thought.

Pulp Fiction
Pans Labrynth
Thank You For Smoking
Fight Club
Ghostbusters
Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School (fuck yes. 80s Scooby action)
Gremlins
Jaws
Dawn of the Dead (original)
The King of Kong