Best Movies of All Time
Submitted by callanyvegetable on Fri, 05/01/2009 - 09:30
Tags:
- 9.5, or the three "C's"
- Chinatown (1972)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- Crumb (1994)
- 9.0
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- 8 1/2 (1963)
- Bicycle Thieves (1948)
- Boogie Nights (1997)
- Fargo (1996)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Man Bites Dog (1992)
- Nashville (1975)
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Rear Window (1954)
- Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- The Thin Blue Line (1988)
- Vertigo (1958)
- 8.5
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Amarcord (1973)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- Before Sunrise (1995)
- Belle De Jour (1967)
- The Big Lebowski (1998)
- A Christmas Story (1983)
- Clockwork Orange (1971)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- L.A. Confidential (1997)
- La Strada (1954)
- The Maltese Falcon (1941)
- My Dinner with Andre (1981)
- Nights of Cabiria (1957)
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- Persona (1966)
- Psycho (1960)
- Rashomon (1950)
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- Touch of Evil (1958)
- 8.0
- The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
- Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- American Beauty (1999)
- Barton Fink (1991)
- Being John Malkovich (1999)
- Blazing Saddles (1974)
- Body Heat (1981)
- Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
- Breathless (1960)
- Bringing Up Baby (1938)
- Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
- Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Dazed and Confused (1993)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Evil Dead 2 (1987)
- Fanny and Alexander (1982)
- Gates of Heaven (1978)
- Ghost World (2001)
- The Godfather Part II (1974)
- Harold and Maude (1971)
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
- Jaws (1976)
- L'avventura (1960)
- Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
- Mean Streets (1973)
- Memento (2000)
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
- Network (1976)
- Office Space (1999)
- Out of Sight (1998)
- The Producers (1968)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- Ran (1985)
- Requiem for a Dream (2000)
- Rushmore (1998)
- Seven Up! Documentaries (starting 1964)
- Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
- The Shining (1980)
- Singin' in the Rain (1952)
- Sleuth (1972)
- Sunset Boulevard (1950)
- Star Wars (1977)
- Strangers on a Train (1951)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- The Wild Bunch (1969)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
- 7.5
- Airplane! (1980)
- Amadeus (1984)
- American Movie (1999)
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Carrie (1976)
- Casino (1995)
- Citizen Ruth (1996)
- The Conversation (1974)
- Dark City (1998)
- Dr. Strangelove (1963)
- El Topo (1970)
- Election (1999)
- Eraserhead (1977)
- Face/Off (1997)
- Fight Club (1999)
- The Fog of War (2003)
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
- The Graduate (1967)
- Halloween (1978)
- Hard Eight (1996)
- The Ice Storm (1997)
- Immortal Beloved (1994)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
- Manhattan (1979)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- Naked Kiss (1964)
- Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- Rosemary's Baby (1968)
- Sideways (2004)
- Sin City (2005)
- Synecdoche, New York (2008)
- There Will Be Blood (2007)
- Three Kings (1999)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
- Videodrome (1983)
- WALL-E (2008)
- Wild Strawberries (1957)
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
- Zodiac (2007)
- 7.0
- Adaptation (2002)
- American History X (1998)
- Animal House (1978)
- Annie Hall (1977)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Bad Santa (2003)
- Better Off Dead... (1985)
- The Big Sleep (1946)
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- Braveheart (1995)
- Breakfast Club (1985)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005)
- Bulworth (1998)
- Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
- City of God (2002)
- Clerks (1994)
- Die Hard (1988)
- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
- Donnie Darko (2001)
- Easy Rider (1969)
- The Elephant Man (1980)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- The Evil Dead (1980)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- F for Fake (1974)
- Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1985)
- Field of Dreams (1989)
- For a Few Dollars More (1965)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- The Godfather (1972)
- The Gold Rush (1925)
- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
- Holy Mountain (1973)
- I Heart Huckabees (2004)
- Idiocracy (2006)
- Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
- Lethal Weapon (1987)
- The Life Aquatic (2004)
- The Lives of Others (2006)
- Life is Beautiful (1997)
- Magnolia (1999)
- The Matrix (1999)
- Mr. Death (1999)
- Natural Born Killers (1994)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
- Pi (1998)
- Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
- The Prestige (2006)
- Raising Arizona (1987)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
- Santa Sangre (1989)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Say Anything (1989)
- Scarface (1983)
- Schindler's List (1993)
- The Searchers (1956)
- Se7en (1995)
- The Seventh Seal (1957)
- Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Slacker (1991)
- Sleeper (1973)
- The Station Agent (2003)
- Straw Dogs (1971)
- Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
- The Terminator (1984)
- The Thing (1982)
- The Third Man (1949)
- Toy Story (1995)
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Author Comments:
I have adopted Piero Scaruffi's rating system. I like how Scaruffi rates his rock albums. Here is what it all means:
10 -- Best of all time
9 -- Masterpiece
8 -- Watch it now
7 -- Watch it eventually
Scaruffi tends to evaluate music based on its innovation. If you were the first to write a concept album (Zappa) or the first to perform noisy psychedelic freak-outs (Red Crayola), then you get rated high with him. Me, I respect and look for innovation, but I also want to know how well something does what it sets out to do. To that end, I rate a movie like "The Big Lebowski", not exactly a groundbreaking comedy, on the same tier as "Rashomon", which pioneered a uniquely cinematic way of evaluating truth and perception, because I think it's one of the funniest comedies of all time (within the well-established school of buddy comedy, stoner comedy, and quirky genre-bender).
I like your way of viewing films, it doesn't pretend to uphold the same standards in attempts ultimately create an objective list that so many people try to do (I find myself falling into the same trap too often).
I've only skimmed through, but you've definitely got a lot of great choices. It was a nice surprise to see Crumb ranked among the highest. I wouldn't personally put it so high but it's a really great film that doesn't receive its dues. Of course, being a comics fan I've extremely biased. The only thing I'd quibble about is some of the somewhat bizarre viewpoints (Fargo over The Godfather?? Ghost World over Eraserhead??? Amarcord over Touch of Evil!??!!). To each his own, of course. A very solid list overall that displays a good range.
If I might recommend the works of Tarkovsky and Altman though. For some reason the lack of both their films struck me as somewhat odd... I highly recommend both directors. The Mirror and Nashville is their films that I would start off with, respectively.
By the way, you have Rear Window down twice.
The ideal of objectivity is criticism's great mirage. It's taken me a while to accept that.
Crumb is one of the most honest, real, insightful, and thought-provoking movies I've seen. Also, it's a very up-close, nearly private look at someone's life; apparently Crumb's belief that no one would be seriously interested in watching a movie about him allowed him to be so open throughout it. Its rating reflects that. Technically, it's not so astonishing, though a few of the montage sequences showing his art (with beautiful music choices) take the film to a rare level of contemplation. Nevertheless, nearly every second is so captivating. Great, great film.
You're perceptive about Tarkovsky. I've only seen Solaris, and, hate to say, I didn't really like it. I will certainly check out the Mirror. I love Altman, though, and hope to catch Nashville again this year to properly rate.
Thanks for catching the Rear Window typo (it was meant to be the upgrade!)
Fargo is a perfect movie. Godfather has its flaws and is a bit overrated.
Ghost World is a great flick, but you may be right. I've seen Eraserhead once, maybe second viewing will upgrade it.
My love of Fellini (maybe my favorite filmmaker) explains Amarcord over Touch of Evil (as much as I admire Welles). Amarcord hit me harder than it the first go around. I found Touch of Evil weak in certain parts, will rewatch.
If ever there was a film that could claim it invented American neorealism, it's Nashville. Wow. Also one of the best satires of American culture of all times.
It's nice to see another person acknowledge My Dinner With Andre, I feel it usually over looked.
You might also try a few chinese and korean films
such as
Oseam (although it's animated it's still a great film)
Untold story (with the awsome Anthony Wong)
King of Masks
Windstruck
just to name a few