Processing My Database
I've got an MS Access database of all the movies I've seen. Most of them have been assigned ratings. Because I'm so disgusted with the approach and lack of consideration in assigning these ratings, I might as well 'spill the beans' for all of you to see:
BEST FILMS I'VE SEEN:
1. Citizen Kane (1941) - actually, it's not even close
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
3. The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
4. The Seventh Seal (1958)
5. Rear Window (1954)
6. La Strada (1954)
7. Seven Samurai (1954)
8. Chinatown (1974)
9. American Beauty (1999)
10. Patton (1970)
11. Do the Right Thing (1989)
12. 8½ (1963)
13. The Rules of the Game (1939)
14. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
15. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
16. Casablanca (1942)
17. The Godfather Part II (1974)
18. Pierrot le Fou (1965)
19. Umberto D. (1952)
20. The Godfather (1972)
21. The Man with the Movie Camera (1929)
22. A Man Escaped (1956)
23. La Dolce Vita (1960)
24. The General (1927)
25. Rashomon (1950)
26. Andrei Rublev (1969)
27. Pather Panchali (1955)
28. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
29. Day of Wrath (1943)
30. One Week (1920)
31. Brief Encounter (1945)
32. Pulp Fiction (1994)
33. The Bicycle Thief (1948)
34. Breathless (1960)
35. The Grand Illusion (1937)
36. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
37. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
38. High Noon (1957)
39. Dumbo (1941)
40. Psycho (1960)
41. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
42. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
43. The World of Apu (1959)
44. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
45. The Conversation (1974)
46. Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
47. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
48. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
49. Contempt (1963)
50. Vertigo (1958)
51. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
52. Touch of Evil (1958)
53. Tokyo Story (1953)
54. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
55. Apocalypse Now (1979)
56. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
57. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
58. Nosferatu (1922)
59. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
60. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
61. Raging Bull (1980)
62. Network (1976)
63. Annie Hall (1977)
64. Stagecoach (1939)
65. Taxi Driver (1976)
66. Jules and Jim (1962)
67. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
68. L'Atalante (1934)
69. The 400 Blows (1959)
70. Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
71. Double Indemnity (1944)
72. Ikiru (1952)
73. Notorious (1946)
74. Body Heat (1981)
75. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
76. Wild Strawberries (1957)
77. Germany Year Zero (1948)
78. The Third Man (1949)
79. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
80. On the Waterfront (1954)
81. To Kill a Mockingbird
82. City Lights (1931)
83. GoodFellas (1990)
84. The Gold Rush (1925)
85. Mother (1926)
86. Memento (2001)
87. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
88. Earth (1930)
89. Mulholland Drive (2001)
90. Toy Story (1995)
91. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
92. Aparajito (1957)
93. Toy Story 2 (1999)
94. The Leopard (1963)
95. The Last Laugh (1924)
96. Charade (1963)
97. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
98. The Lion in Winter (1968)
99. Nanook of the North (1922)
100. Ran (1985)
Yes, I realize 3 of the top 10 are from 1954.
BEST TRILOGIES I'VE SEEN:
1. Apu (avg. 90.0)
2. Godfather (avg. 87.3)
3. Star Wars IV-VI (avg. 85.7)
4. Lord of the Rings (avg. 84.7)
5. Orpheus (avg. 83.0)
6. Terminator (avg. 79.3)
7. Indiana Jones (avg. 75.3)
8. Evil Dead (avg. 72.3)
9. Back to the Future (avg. 69.0)
10. Matrix (avg. 66.7)
DECADES ANALYSIS:
When looking at the numbers of masterpieces (score of 90 or above) in a decade, some are clearly stronger than others (though, my viewing habits have something to do with it):
20s - 7 masterpieces
30s - 2 masterpieces
40s - 9 masterpieces
50s - 14 masterpieces
60s - 12 masterpieces
70s - 9 masterpieces
80s - 5 masterpieces
90s - 2 masterpieces
2000s - 1 masterpiece (so far)
lool Why does Everyone like raging Bull So Much??
Read a review of it anywhere and that'll tell you. But hey, everyone has different tastes.
Wow, I am a little amazed at just how many of the films on your list are also on mine (though still largely unpublished here)!
This is a very interesting page, one I know I will be returning to often. Thanks!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Sorry I couldn't provide insightful (or inciteful) reviews along with my list, as I've assigned the ratings to the movies on this list over a wide range of times (and consequently, reviewing principles). Perhaps one day after I revise and 'settle' my approach to film reviewing, I'll build up enough reviews under the new structure to make a much better 'top 100' list, but that won't be for quite a while.
First of all, I love reading your reviews as well. Second of all, fantastic list. Third of all, I think more people will know what you're talking about if you say "Pierrot le Fou" than "Crazy Pete." I've never heard it called "Crazy Pete", anyway.
Thanks. I did have a bit of difficulty deciding when to use the foreign title. For example, more people know 'Man with a movie camera' and 'passion of joan of arc' than their foreign titles, but more people know 'la strada' and 'pierrot le fou' than their translated titles.
Sorry I couldn't provide justifications for this list. I actually don't care for this list at all because it represents titles I've ranked under several different mindsets across time - even the top ten.
I don't think there's too much discrepancy among what English-speakers tend to call classic foreign films. In fact, the only one I can think of is with My Life to Live. TheyShootPictures.com refers to it as Vivre Sa Vie, but Ebert wrote a "great film" review of it referring to it as My Life to Live (and that's generally what it's called my most English speakers). I didn't realize they were the same film right away.
Besides, Crazy Pete sounds more like a Ma and Pa Kettle spinoff than a Godard film. "Well lookie here, Maw! It's muh cousin, Crazy Pete!"
Really? You think so? Well, if there's no discrepancy among what English-speakers call classic foreign films, then at least there's no pattern. And, as I hadn't discussed Pieerot le Fou/Crazy Pete very much with anybody, I wasn't sure. Is there a list somewhere, you think, that gives the 'common name' for classic foreign titles?
Not really. I pretty much gave you my two sources - They Shoot Pictures refers to it as Pierrot le Fou, Roger Ebert refers to it as Pierrot le Fou, so it's Pierrot le Fou to me.
Actually, the best way is probably to look at the American release of the DVD. As you can see, that calls it Pierrot le Fou as well. And since the IMDb's picture is usually a pic of the DVD, you could probably go by that.
Ever get the feeling that God's pulling a practical joke on you? I just realized that a movie I've always known as "Rome, Open City" (from They Shoot Pictures) is referred to as "Open City" on my Film 101 syllabus. A trip to the IMDb reveals the DVD is called "Open City." Now that's some punctual irony.
Yeah, I've always known it as 'Rome, Open City' as well, until I recently listened to several DVD commentaries for other movies that referenced the film as simply 'Open City.'