Greatest Films - Extended List

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Yep ( :

I'm getting increasingly sensitive to the nuances that separate the films overall rating, point to miniscule point.

First off, make sure it's the Director's Cut if you haven't already, which in particular elevates the apocalyptic finale in the prison to a whole new level.

Natural Born Killers is one of the most astonishing visual experiences in cinema: a surreal, apocalyptic nightmare which in itself is not only a damning, excessive (but accurate) depiction of the media hordes, but even more importantly from an emotional perspective is that the entire film is a terrifying state of mind; a forced, frenzied plunge into the horrifying inner world & psychotic state of its characters--virtually every shot/sequence is psychotically altered to depict violent, surreal, mercurial changes in the varying mental states of its protagonists. It accomplishes this not only by its visual state but also through the constant influx of sequencing & shots through the maniacal editing, which takes Eisensteinian montage from Battleship Potemkin to the extreme.

Natural Born Killers could be likened to the album Nail by Foetus. I highly recommend listening to "album equivalents" as companion pieces while going throug the best films (and vice versa, while going through the best albums). See my "Greatest Films & Their Album Equivalents" list if you haven't already.

Thanks ( : Its combination of (very black) comedy, horror, ensemble drama, satire, etc is indeed overwhelming... You know, for some reason I haven't seen the 2nd series yet. If you do, please let me know how it is.

Thanks, you're right: it is a very good site and it did a better job than I would've expected with its score predictions.

Thanks :) 32

Yea, it's completely absurd and nonsensical. Amazing visuals and editing.

Why is an objective list "the most important thing"?

Thanks, it will be fun to watch your own list expand. It already has so many amazing films on it :-)

Yes, they do share similarities don't they? Really, I'd have to see it again. It's been years but I remember it being, pardon the pun, a 7 - though, again, it's been at least 7-8 years since I saw it.

I think they're both solid, affecting films. I'd rate them 6, 6.5-ish, but obviously plenty of people would disagree with me and say they're two of the greatest films ever (particularly Shawshank Redemption).

North by Northwest is possibly the most misunderstood choice of my 9/10's and yours is a question that gets asked from time to time. I do plan on writing a review of the film on my "Guide to Greatest Films" list which will explain why in detail. There is MUCH more than initially meets the eye with North by Northwest, and it is indeed one of the most astonishing, powerful films ever made. Each climax of the film is a collision of several themes/genres volcanically merging and each is a life-changing/character-altering experience for the protagonist. Every thing in the film is suspenseful, from the plot, to each conversation. Each theme is met with several dichotomies during the action: suspenseful and death-defying while being screwball comedy and hilarious, etc. The entire film adds up to a relentless overhaul of the main character, whereupon a life he denies is forced on him unwittingly and he eventually becomes a person who didn't exist. Throughout the majority of the film he is left defenseless as this happens in each episode, but by the end he is anarchic towards both sides and has grown into a self-determined individual who takes control of his own fate regardless of either side. All of this takes place in scenes of grave danger, ridiculous irony and gloriously vivid spectacle. Lastly, even though all this is in plain sight and right there to experience, Hitchcock "hides" it in the breeziness and "entertainment" of the film, in an act of defiance to the audience/critics (who at the time had dismissed Vertigo) - a grand joke on them who don't realize the depth and power of what they are watching (no offense to you or anyone else - it took me several viewings to see this).

I might agree. I do need to watch it again. I could see it being as high as a 7.6 or 7.7 maybe :)

"Come around"? :) I've rated it 9.2/10 for the last few years! But anyway, nice to have you back! We were gonna start playing "Where's Waldo" around here! :)

Possibly :) We'll see if it holds with Citizen Kane screaming at me to move it to #1 over the last couple weeks. Whether I do so or not, the difference is marginal - both are 2 of the greatest works of art in history.

Sunrise is incredible. It's poetic and like a fairytale. It submerges the viewer in a dreamy world of surreal romanticism. The environments become extensions of the characters states of mind, and it uses amazing silent film era special effects that, like films such as Metropolis and Faust, still astonish to this day for their ingenuity, craft and expressiveness. Visually it was way ahead of its time. Combined with Murnau's famed camera movement, several sequences become virtually 3D.

I've seen Tokyo Story 5 times I think. Relatively speaking (compared to a masterpiece in my own criteria), I doubt it has enough layers of content/meaning/depth etc and/or enough emotional power from start to finish, to change much in rating. But I'd love to have more Japenese films at or near the top so I'm all for it if that changes at some point for me. Still, it's difficult to imagine it rating much higher on my scale (maybe 7.5 instead of 7.3, but is it more amazing than the likes of Werckmeister Harmonies, Synecdoche NY, Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring, etc?). That said, it's last 1/4 or 1/3 or so is very moving and usually draws some tears, or nearly so. But if you want a comparison in terms of a 7.5 like Tokyo Story vs a masterpiece, I find Kurosawa's Ikiru vastly superior (even if less "subtle"). It accomplishes much more depth imo while being even more moving from start to finish.

YES, absolutely get Blu Ray, but see if the quality rates high on a site such as Slant Magazine first. Some companies do cheap jobs even with Blu Ray and this site is good at telling the truth in that regard (plus has well written, interesting reviews of the films themselves).

I've thought that exact same comparison before :)