I was pleased to get two lists of great movies (I’m a sucker for lists of great art) from Justin Remes, associate professor of film studies at Iowa State University (he also wrote Absence in Cinema: The Art of Showing Nothing). I’ll quote his email with permission:
I know you occasionally post about cinema, so I thought you might be interested to know that the highly respected Sight and Sound poll of The Greatest Films of All Time (which is only published every ten years) was just released today. You can find the critics’ poll here and the filmmakers’ poll here. For what it’s worth, my personal pick for the greatest film of all time is 2001: A Space Odyssey, so I was happy to see that at the top of the directors’ poll. As for Jeanne Dielman, which is at the top of the critics’ poll, I think it’s a great film, although it wouldn’t make my own personal top 10. It was a shock to see it there, however–I really don’t think anyone could have predicted it would come in at number 1. (In the last Sight and Sound poll, it was 36!)
I’ll give the top ten in each of the two polls. First, the top ten in the CRITICS’ POLL, with the best put first (remember, there are 100 movies in each poll). Click on each screenshot to go to the site describing the movie. At the bottom I’ve put a link to my own list of best films, posted here twelve years ago.
I haven’t even heard of this Best Film!
I’ve seen this one and it’s very good, but not #2:
A great film, better than “Vertigo”:
This and Kurusawa’s “Ikiru” are my favorite foreign films. And Ikiru isn’t even on the list! See both of them!
Just okay, but that’s it:
I am ashamed to admit that I’ve never seen this film—Justin’s favorite:
Haven’t seen this one, but I should:
Nope. Gripping, but not worthy of #8, much less #80:
Haven’t seen this one (I’m getting ashamed):
A very good musical—one of the best of the genre—but not one of the best films:
“The Godfather” is #12, and Ozu’s “Late Spring” comes in at #21 (all the films in Ozu’s “season cycle” are excellent).
Second, the top ten in the DIRECTORS’ (FILMMAKERS) POLL, with the best put first. There’s a fair amount of overlap with the previous list.
Maybe I should see this film!
“Citizen Kane” is at the top of every “greatest movies” list, as it should be.
This is a very great film. Aren’t we lucky to have seen it as a first run (well, those of us who are older)?
A reminder to see this movie. If you are the action-movie type, you may not like it: it’s a family drama and slow paced. I love it very much.
Okay, now I gotta see this film!
These next two are tied, and I wouldn’t put them in my top ten.
There is no #7 because of the ties. I haven’t seen this one:
These next three are tied for the #9 slot. None of them would be on my list, and I’m not a Bergman fan at all:
Gotta see this one, too, as I haven’t:
At least “Ikiru” makes it on this list, though only at #72: tied with “Chinatown” (a superb film) and “The Seventh Seal”, another Bergman film.
Now I posted my own list of “Best Movies” back in 2010, and it hasn’t changed, though perhaps I’d add 2019’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” to it. (I left “Citizen Kane” off my list because it’s everybody’s choice.) The one movie missing from both of the lists above is my favorite American movie, “The Last Picture Show” (1971). The omission is shameful!
Now it’s your turn, as always. Post the list of your “best movies”, preferably the top five. After all, it’s a great way for all of us to find new things to watch.
Here are three top-tens, from the people at Filmspotting (a Chicago-based podcast, sort of). The tweet points out that they posted this a little ahead of the Sight and Sound lists.
https://twitter.com/filmspotting/status/1598365000724320267
I am looking forward to seeing what PCC(E) thinks of 2001: A Space Odyssey, having seen it a (ahem) few times myself with some lengthy time spans between each viewing.
Yeah, I don’t think I know anyone (I do now) who hasn’t seen that movie. I know PCC(E) doesn’t like Sci Fi, but even anti-sci-fi people shouldn’t forgo a Kubrick film imo. I hope he likes it, but if he doesn’t, I won’t hold it against him. 🙂
Of course 2001 is a must-see movie, but may be too late to fully appreciate it now since a significant part of its impact was the ground breaking special effects. But those of course are unremarkable today.
It’s definitely dated in parts… but the scenes of HAL’s decline are still classic, not to mention the jaw-dropping ending (after the special effects).
I tend to be in the while it was an impressive visual achievement in 1968 as an actual piece of storytelling it doesn’t hold up. If you’re going to dip into the world of 2001 the novel is a far more rewarding experience.
I think so too.
In my opinion the reason the movie is less interesting than the book is because it follows the book too closely and without the advantage of narration that the written format provides many of the important aspects of the story are simply incomprehensible in the movie.
However, if you read the book first and then watch the movie, seeing the movie is a far better experience. And for the same reason, because the movie follows the book so closely you understand what is going on during the more esoteric parts of the movie. In fact, I think I favor some parts of the movie over the book.
I read the book first, then saw the movie with some of my friends. I remember having to explain some parts to them when they didn’t understand what was happening.
Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick worked simultaneously on the concept, the film and the book, which Clarke wrote. So the fact that the film follows the book closely (though not perfectly; among the small differences is that in the movie, Discovery is in orbit around Jupiter; in the book, it’s Saturn) is no surprise.
To me, whatever bits of it are dated, “2001” remains the greatest movie of all time. I’ve never been swayed from that opinion since first forming it in my teens.
Are we supposed to understand the ending?
The ‘special effects’ may have been great although I found the ape ballet at the beginning very weak, too obviously modern humans dressed up as apes, but the whole story is ridiculous. Apart from a mysterious monolith allowing apes to acquire objects to kill each other (biology shows us no monolith is needed) , there are many ridiculous story lines. A disease so contagious it necessitates radio silence? Does it spread via radio waves, or what? An expedition to Jupiter for completely unclear reasons? A computer gone rogue, because the secret is too great for humanity?
The story stinks from many angles. The story is ridiculous IMMO. About the most overrated film I’ve seen.
No reason you shouldn’t think it stinks, that’s fine, but by what you’ve written about it I think you have misunderstood or misremembered some parts of the story.
It’s tough finding apes with SAG cards, Nicky. 🙂
I enjoy seeing other people’s lists because tastes are so subjective. There are several mentioned that I’ve not seen so I am excited to look them up. I would add Dr. Strangelove and Diner as must see films. Also, Ikiru is my favorite Kurosawa!
For me, the Big 3:
– Kubrick (2001, Paths of Glory, Clockwork Orange)
– Tarkovsky (The Mirror, Stalker, Solaris)
– Bergman (Seventh Seal, Winter Light, Cries and Whispers)
Just curious: what’s your beef with Bergman? For me, so many of his films are just devastatingly beautiful and emotional.
Purely subjective: his movies just don’t move me. I haven’t seen one in a long time so I can’t be more specific.
I thought Mia Hansen-Løve’s 2021 film Bergman’s Island, about a filmmaking couple’s trip to Fårö (the island where Bergman lived and worked), was really good.
My top 30. Not much overlap here!
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls007714451/
I agree with your high rating of the original 6-part The Singing Detective!
So happy to see two of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated masterpieces make the cut, My Neighbor Totoro at 72nd and Spirited Away at 75, though to my eye Spirited Away is the superior film.
Oh, I forgot My Neighbor Totoro: the only animated film I’d put on my list (well, maybe also Spirited Away from the Ghibli studios). What great films!
I’m glad Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ has made it’s way onto the list.
Sadly, one of my favourite films is not on the list — Juzo Itami’s ‘Tampopo’
“Man with a Movie Camera” is available (free) on Youtube. Unfortunately, the print/image quality is not so good. (Nothing above 480p that I could find.)
There’s been heavy criticism of the new poll because it is clearly influenced by the current political trends. Compare this year’s list to the one from 2012: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics
For example, Godfather Part II and Lawrence of Arabia are out of the top 100, instead the horror Get Out from 2017 is now one of the 100 greatest movies of all time.
Get Out is certainly interesting. But maybe recent movies should sit down and wait for the test of time. I saw Nope in a theater (1st time out in years). It was not at all what I expected, and it was also very interesting. I like it when movie previews fool you!
Good to see Metropolis in that list, although I would have it much higher than 36.
I’m not much of a movie watcher, so I’ll not add my two cents (I do contribute to the book-related threads here!). But curiously, at breakfast this morning, my wife and I started talking about the bests in films (pictures, actors, actresses), and we looked up the American Film Institute site. For anyone who’s interested, their “best film” list is here and you can link directly to any of their other lists from here.
My top four, in order: Jesus of Montreal (Arcand); Children of Paradise;(Carne); The Seventh Seal (Bergman; Burnt By The Sun (Mikalkov) More than entertainment but parables and metaphors for the common problems shared by all of humanity. More recent films of note that have been ignored: Poetry; First Reformed (Paul Shrader…arguably best American film in years that lasted about one week in movie theaters); and one of America’s greatest: Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder’s best). America movies are shoddy, exploitive, second rate scripts, and aimed at the lowest common denominator. Two American directors who wisely use Europe as a model: Woody Allen (Annie Hall, etc.) and Tamara Jenkins (The Savages) And now: Todd Field, whose In the Bedroom and Little Children are among the best ever made in this country (and now Tar). For greatest director, Denys Arcand, of Jesus of Montreal, among others. No contest.
I’d forgotten Jesus of Montreal, perhaps because I saw it only once a long time ago, but it was terrific – a serious social commentary, at times funny, tragic and moving.
In no particular order:
Apocalypse Now Redux
Taxi Driver
Local Hero
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
Amadeus
Goodfellas
Bridge On The River Kwai
Everything Everywhere All At Once(yes it was that good)
For Lean movies, I think Lawrence of Arabia beats Bridge Over the River Kwai hans down. For that matter, behind Lawrence but ahead of Kwai is Dr. Zhivago.
I agree, although Great Expectations and Hobson’s Choice are right up there with Lawrence and Zhivago.
I’ve seen all of those, although I am only halfway thru Everything Everywhere… but that is one interesting story.
Here is my top 30 list: http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/radev/films.html
Here is my top 30 list. http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/radev/films.html
Not included is Parasite (need to update the webpage).
List of movies I loved enough to watch repeatedly. Chronological order. No claim of greatness, but they work for me.
Citizen Kane
Forbidden Planet
Inherit the Wind
Blazing Saddles
Animal House
Body Heat
Quiz Show
“[T}hey work for me” and repeat watching is about my level of filmic judgement. Most of your choices I haven’t seen, but Citizen Kane and Blazing Saddles are definitely in the top ten; also:
The Searchers
2001 – still visually stunning and gripping, despite advances in FX
House of the Flying Daggers – visually magnificent – wonderful ending
The Runaway Train – great cinematography
In the Mood for Love – not my usual type of film but I think I fell in love with the beautiful Maggie Cheung and her gorgeous cheongsams
Honorable mention
Chinese Box – great soundtrack and Jeremy Irons is always a pleasure
The Searchers is one John Ford film I can watch time and again. In its way, it’s the first revisionist Western. (It’s Ford’s best-looking picture, too.)
I would go a bit earlier and nominate The Gunfighter (1950) and Broken Arrow (1950) as the first revisionist westerns.
Quiz Show is far and away Redford’s best directing effort. When actors-turned-directors are successful, it’s generally at turning out small character-driven movies, often with first-rate performances by the cast — like, say, Ordinary People (which — can you freakin’ believe it? — beat out Raging Bull for the 1981 best-film Oscar).
Quiz Show, OTOH, was a for-real work of cinema.
Forbidden Planet!
There is a reader here (forget name and they don’t post often) that has an FB clip as his/her site icon. I’ll always wanted to comment, but never do…
I don’t recall seeing Vertigo, but Rear Window is a terrific film and I wonder why it was not rated higher.
Vertigo is NOT as good as Rear Window, but I think it’s better than 2001, which was just mostly dull (especially considering it was made with Arthur C. Clarke, one of the greatest Sci Fi authors of all time) though I enjoy it for the many parodies, including one I did myself in my third year residents’ show. I think Citizen Kane is better than Vertigo or 2001, but I think Rear Window is possibly the best-directed movie I’ve ever seen. IMNSHO
Vertigo is a near-perfect film (there’s one flaw in how the twist is revealed that I think mars it) and (IMO of course) better than Rear Window, which is still a great movie.
I have to be clear, I LOVE them both. I just was blown away by the way Rear Window was done.
I like Rear Window better than Vertigo, but Vertigo is the superior film. It retains the power to disturb that it had the first time I saw it on the late show as a kid.
My top five (in chronological order):
Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
Belle de Jour (Luis Bunuel, 1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
The repeating billiards game in Sherlock Jr. is sheer brilliance. Nonstop laughing…worth the whole film.
1942 We The Living
1953 Roman Holiday
1954 Seven Samurai
1982 Sophie’s Choice
2010 Agora
2014 The Wind Rises
Two project the horror of totalitarianism with human pathos, one Fascist (Sophie’s Choice), the other Marxist/Communist (We the Living). Film’s power to convey the nightmare of loss of freedom from both sides. Agora does the same … for religion.
I really need to see Sophie’s Choice, and hope it’s even half as intense as the novel.
Had no idea a film version of that Rand book existed.
“Had no idea a film version of that Rand book existed” Neither did Rand. It was made in Italy without her knowledge or permission, and only discovered decades later. The story of her recapturing ownership, restoring, and releasing it is remarkable. The film is not slick — just the opposite. And the ending is weak. Yet it conveys the gritty and nauseating truth of Soviet Communism as no other.
The film of Sophie’s Choice is as horrifying and stinging as the book, in my opinion.
Sophie’s Choice is one of the few movies that are as good as the book.
Not really qualified to judge (I read far, far more than I watch), but Streep is probably the greatest actress of all time.
That’s fascinating about We the Living. What a strange and complex person she was.
We The Living irony: Mussolini extolled it, because it was devastating toward Marxism. However, the Italian public and critics kept remarking that its “point” could just as easily apply to Fascism!. Mussolini shut the film down and confiscated footage, which caused the films disappearance. Someone found an “escaped” copy and sent a letter to Ayn Rand about it.
I’d put A Clockwork Orange in that category, too — movies that are as good as the book.
Great novels can be tough to adapt to the screen, since their greatness often lies in the depth of their subtext. Whereas novels that have their action on the surface sometimes become great movies. (I’m thinking here particularly of how Coppola turned Mario Puzo’s pulpy The Godfather into a cinematic masterpiece.)
Oh, you have to watch 2001. Kubrick’s masterpiece.
Although I didn’t care for Barry Lyndon the first time I saw it, after watching it several more times I’d rank it high among Kubrick’s works.
Barry Lyndon is Kubrick’s most beautifully filmed movie, what with the natural lighting and all. But, as befits the Thackeray novel from which it was adapted, its pacing is godawful slow.
A beautiful piece of work..I remember seeing a new print of Barry Lyndon at an art cinema in the UK a couple of years ago. Only me and one other person in the audience, and he left during the intermission
I loved Barry Lyndon when it came out, and went to see it twice in the theater. The second time was a late showing which was virtually empty. Two drunken college students came to heckle the film — yes — but after shouting a few times they got bored and left.
The last film I watched, 3 nights ago at home, was Troll 2. I can’t actually say it is one of the greatest films of all time, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you watch it, it will not disappoint.
My five favorite movies? Jeez, that seems a little personal, like asking about my kids or my love life. Especially this early in the afternoon. Maybe later, after I’ve had a cocktail and slipped into something more comfortable. For now, how ’bout we warm up with a sub-list, like my five favorite movies about making movies:
Day for Night, François Truffaut
The Player, Robert Altman
Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder
Singin’ in the Rain, Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly
Swimming with Sharks, George Huang
Chronologically:
Sherlock Jr.
Godspell
Taxi Driver
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Fitzcarraldo
Ran
Shoah
My Neighbor Totoro
The Triplets of Belleville
The Act of Killing
The only movie from either of these top 10 lists that might make it on my top 10 is 2001. But then, I’m a barbarian when it comes to movies. I’d be tempted to put The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension on mine.
I took my developmentally disabled son Aaron to see my favorite of all films, Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal”, on three of the 12 or more times I have watched it. First time, Aaron didn’t much like it; the second time, he said it wasn’t bad; the third time he said it was “cool”. Other films I have enjoyed watching repeatedly: “Wild Strawberries”, “Local Hero”, “Dr. Strangelove”, “Duck Soup”, “Life of Brian”, “Rififi”, “Wages of Fear”, and the best of all Hammer fantasies–“The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas”. Also a variety of animated films, including “Madagascar”.
Loved Madagascar!
**I don’t know why this ended up under your post, but that’s fine. You reminded me that I failed to add any Marx Brothers films!**
I’m not a movie snob by any means and I won’t apologize for my pedestrian tastes but for me, in no particular order:
Spaceballs
Empire Strikes Back
Forrest Gump
Back to the Future
Awakenings
The Big Lebowski
Apollo 13
And then a mishmash of John Wayne films (but no, not the searchers; hate that film)
The Shootist
True Grit
El Dorado
The Cowboys
Cahill
That’s 11 but whatever, I could add other favorites like Blazing Saddles, Princess Bride, Neverending Story, Goonies, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, (yes, I love the 1980’s) Jean de Florette, Mon Oncle… all that matters to me is I enjoy it and it makes me want to watch it again. Hell, I’d add musicals like Music Man, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain…I find less to enjoy these days but I think I’m just preparing for crusty old farthood. For example, I LOVE Creature from the Black Lagoon (and sequels) but hated Shape of Water.
For my money, “WALL-E” is one of the best, maybe the best, animated movies ever. Certainly it’s an excellent science-fiction movie, in my top five.
Anything by Hitchcock, my all time favorite. My Man Godfrey, Manhattan, Trouble in Paradise, Paths of Glory, The Seventh Seal.
This is always a fun topic, and it is enjoyable to read which films others love. I personally love cinema, but it is difficult to compile a list of “best” films, without breaking them down into specific categories. You cannot compare Blazing Saddles to Barry Lyndon.
There are some films that I keep watching again and again.
Ran
Tarantino’s Kill Bill duo
Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Amelie, Very Long Engagement
Apocalypse Now Redux
Full Metal Jacket
Orlando
Clockwork Orange
Blade Runner
M (1931 only)
Young Frankenstein
Fiddler on the Roof
Of recent films, the newest All Quiet on the Western Front strayed from the book quite a bit, but it was a passable look at the Great War, and the prelude had great impact.
That is a lot more than five, for which I apologize.
Jeunet will always be on my top cinema lists, and like you, I have to list more than one…I’d probably also add Micmacs to your list. Delicatessen is my favorite, followed by City of Lost Children, but they’re all incredible imo.
I did a WW2 diorama and used Jeunet’s films as inspiration. I know you enjoy craftsmanship and hobbies and such, thought you might appreciate it.
https://www.mark-armor-dioramas.com/world-war-2/lets-wait-til-nightfall/
That is wonderful. I love it.
Thanks, Max. 🙂
Greatest films and favourite films would be different lists.
Tokyo Story, both morally profound and technically dazzling, would be on either list.
Others
The Godfather
Le Rayon Vert (Eric Rohmer)
Rashomon
Some Like it Hot
Fargo ( no Coen Brothers is scandalous)
Shadow of a Doubt
Modern Times
The Searchers
Grand Illusion
In the Mood for Love
The voters do not much care for comedy, or noir, though many superb films have been made in these genres.
The Human Condition, Japan. 1961
I’m not a professional film critic so I wouldn’t pretend to produce an all-time ranking of films, but my favourites are (in no particular order):
– Blade Runner
– Mulholland Drive
– The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
– Some Like it Hot
– The Maltese Falcon
– Vertigo
– I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing
– Mujeres al borde de un ataque de ‘nervios’ (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
– Personal Services
He say you bladerunner…
My five favorite, not necessarily “the best”:
On the Waterfront
Dr. Strangelove
My Cousin Vinnie
It’s A Wonderful Life
Singin’ in the Rain
What? No “The Apartment”! Scandalous, film-criticism-wise (literally a word to the wise [which of course doesn’t make any sense if you have never seen the movie]). It’s in my top five and the only holiday movie–sort of– I watch every year. As one critic said once, it just gets darker and funnier with every viewing. “2001,” also in my top five, along with “Lawrence” and “Nashville.”
That’s the way it crumbles – cookie wise.
Hahaha! As Buddy Boy says, that’s very wise.
The piano duo Ferrante and Teicher recorded a great rendition of the Theme from “The Apartment.” I would like to think that Chopin and his confreres would look favorably on it.
Re: “2001,” I was blown away by Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathrusta.” I sat there stunned as Dave Bowman neutralized HAL while the latter was singing “Daisy.” I’m inclined to think that the movie embodies the dictum, “Less Is More.”
The scene I remember from Mulholland Drive is two woman listening to a woman on stage singing LLorando (Crying). It’s so beautiful and they are moved to tears by it, or by David Lynch who wanted the crying to unsettle us. Either way, it’s a powerful scene.
“Silencio”
A great cover of a Roy Orbison classic.
Some of my favorites, I’m not sure a professional critic would agree (especially with the last choice) but:
Kiss of the Spider Woman – with a masterful performance by William Hurt and Raul Julia
High Noon
Lagaan
Everything is Illuminated
The Godfather Part II
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World!
After Hours – Scorsese’s best and a great vivid look at a lost period in time;
Exotica – a beautifully shot poignant film from the once great Atom Egoyan
Apocalypse Now – no need to say anything
Play it again, Sam (a funnier sweeter Annie Hall)
The Shining.- still the best horror.movie ever made
A matter of life and death – still fresh and inventive, funny and sad
Plus lots of others from Sergio Leone, Eastwood, Hitchcock, Michael Powell,,Spielberg
Oh yeah, I forgot about After Hours. I saw it several times when it came out, haven’t seen it in years!
I don’t see that anyone has yet mention “In Bruges”–almost as brilliant a dark comedy as “Dr. Strangelove.”
Effing Bruges😹😹Wonderful film (I own a copy), as well as McDonagh’s others: Three Billboards and Banshees of Innisheerin.
McDonough is brilliant, one of the best directors today. But In Bruges was for me much too violent, depressing, However, his concepts and insights are truly amazing. Three Billboards was great but attacked (like Todd Field’s Tar) for not taking a moral position on a crime….which is what cheap American films do all the time and that’s why they are really second rate.
I’ll just mention a few of the movies that I rank most highly that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
Comedies
– There’s Something About Mary
– Lost In America
– Idiocracy
Science Fiction
– Europa Report – This was a low-key movie that really stuck with me.
– Fifth Element – wildly entertaining
Drama
– American Animals – great movie. Tue story of four average college students who got it into their heads to perpetrate a rare book heist
– The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)
I thought “Mulholland Drive” was Lynch’s best.
There was also Sam Peckinpah’s magnum opus, “The Wild Bunch” (though the original release in 1969 was better than what they have on DVD today)
And “The Swimmer” (1968) with Burt Lancaster stands out in my mind as well.
As far as what should have been a great movie because it is a wonderful science fiction short story by Henry Kuttner, “All Mimsy were the Borogoves”, was made into “The Last Mimsy”, which was not a good movie (it was passable because the general idea was still there).
Also, from the standpoint of TV (science fiction) anthologies, the original “The Outer Limits” (early 1960’s) was great.
Additionally, “Man in the Wilderness”, 1971, which was remade in 2015 as “The Revenant”.
And “The Naked Prey”, 1965.
2001: A Space Odyssey is my favorite movie, and I consider one of the great works of art in history.
My favorite American movie Raging Bull (1980)
I’m surprised that I’m not seeing The Graduate on anyone’s list. It’s near the top for me
FYI ‘Ikiru’ has been adapted into English as ‘Living’ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_(2022_film)) starring Bill Nighy. It’s good, but not top 10 material, I don’t think. Some great films not mentioned in those top 10s:
The Ladykillers (almost perfect, surely?)
Rear Window (better than Vertigo by a way!)
Blow Up (similar to Rear Window, in atmosphere, as is Coppola’s The Conversation)
The Way We Were (always re-watch! Maybe it’s the theme song)
The Graduate (again, maybe the music!)
Living may not be top 10, but it’s well worth seeing. Saw it at TIFF in September and Nighy is magnificent. Hard to beat Ishiguro’s writing as well
Agree, well worth seeing. Nighy on top form, and typical Ishiguro subject matter too.
Funny you should mention The Ladykillers. It’s generally ranked near the bottom of the Coens’ oeuvre by critics. But, goddamit, I like it. A lot (although even I don’t think it’s peak Coens). Plus, I think it has Tom Hanks’s best performance. Much better than in either Philadelphia or Forrest Gump (for which he won back-to-back best-actor Oscars).
I like the Coen version too, but I meant the 1955 original 🙂
Passport to Pimlico!
Pimlico was a hoot!.
And of course all the Peter Sellers Shot in the Dark and Pink Panther movies. Do you have a ruuuum?
Glad to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the list. I had the good fortune to see it during its initial release in a widescreen theater. I was a fan from the start and have seen 2001 in theaters at least 20 times. On my bookshelf is a tattered paperback copy of “The Making of Kubrick’s 2001” that I purchased in 1970. The 368-page book contains hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos, details on how the special effects were filmed, script pages, reviews and interviews with many of the people involved with the movie. I also own copies of the movie on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.
I was mildly surprised that both the critics’ and directors’ lists each had several Westerns. Neither of my favorite Westerns (below) made their lists, though.
Fort Apache (1948, John Ford, director)
Unforgiven (1992, Clint Eastwood, director)
GCM
1
Quintet (Altman)
2
Stalker (Tarkovsky)
3
Woman In The Dunes (Teshigahara)
4
Days Of Heaven (Malick)
5
McCabe And Mrs. Miller (Altman)
6
Dersu Uzala (Kurosawa)
7
Black Robe (Beresford)
8
Nashville (Altman)
9
Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors (Parajanov)
10
Safe (Haynes)
I do not understand how everybody seems to think 2001 is a great film. It doesn’t even seem to have a coherent plot and the bit at the end is just self indulgent tosh.
That’s my opinion anyway.
2001 is good but the pace can be very slow and deliberate. Recently the Very Bad Wizards podcast had Sam Harris on the show and they reviewed 2001. They offered some plot points I had never considered, it was interesting to me.
My top ten movie list has twenty or so items on it, but two I like that have not been mentioned are The Shawshank Redemption and Field of Dreams. If you do not shed a salt water tear when Ray asks his father if they can have a catch, then you are not human.
The book is better!
In the end, I think this is a matter of opinion. I ‘ve seen some of the listed movies and agree they’re great. But what about “Dr. Strangelove”, my favorite of all time?
It is striking that except for a few mentions of The Seventh Seal, and a couple of others from France and Russia, nearly all favorites are American films. Call me elitist or whatever but foreign film directors are much greater at understanding and producing films. They arent self indulgent,they dont moralize, they don’t use crappy music, they dont include filler, they dont use beautiful scenery to fancy up the film (like Power of the Dog), their scripts dont lecture us or bore us, they use fast cutting rather than long boring closeups or speeches, they dont talk down to the viewers. This is why Woody Allen and Todd Field and one or two other directors ( Tamara Jenkins, Coen brothers, Paul Shrader) are our best filmmakers. They learned how to make good films from the European directors. Why Children of Paradise and Jesus of Montreal are not on any one else’s list really puzzles me. Film acolytes used to put Children of Paradise down as the greatest film every made. I can see why. I’ve seen that and Jesus of Montreal and The Seventh Seal at least three times each, and have the videos as well. Burnt by the Sun I added to my list…I’ve only seen it twice so far. Unforgettable (and based on a true story). Oh, here’s one great Italian (there are others): Il Sorpasso, with a stunning performance by Vititorio Gassman…..four stars.
If I remember correctly, PCC’s nephew is a professional film critic. I’d be very interested in hearing his reaction to the Sight & Sound poll.
I put M on my list and noticed it mentioned only once in the comments. Peter Lorre was mesmerizing. I thought it was one of the great performances. Was anyone but me impressed by The Lion in Winter? I always loved that movie and the wonderful performances by Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn.
Pretty much impossible to agree. On a definitive list that is. I would think Lawrence of Arabia was considered better than 2001. Disappointing to ignore pre-war films & I think silent films.
I cannot rank films that much, but I like Olivier’s Henry V, really like Jacques Tourneur‘s Night of the Demon. Also I would put a Truffaut film in, plus at least one Fred & Ginger, & & surely a Bergman? It is like cuisines though- sometimes youwant French, sometimes it has to be Indian.
Lots of great movies mentioned here, a good number I haven’t seen. I’d add Tick, Tick… Boom!
… Il Postino; Jean de Florette & Manon des Sources and Das Boot (already mentioned); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Tin Drum; Django Unchained; Fifth Element; Close Encounters of the Third Kind: LOTR; Joy Luck Club.
Also A Simple Plan; Sunshine w/ Ralph Fiennes.