I definitely prefer A Time to Kill over the last 2, a personal preference. I agree that it is a great list, but I would have to flip-flop Usual Suspects (my favorite movie of the 90's) with Swimming With Sharks.
Extremely stellar list, didn't want a Hitchcock list to seem unnoticed. The only slight surprise is Rope, but I recall you discussing that movie in the past and saying how much you liked it.
I know that the cut off is 10 on your list, and it is very hard to choose, but I was wondering if Empire of the Sun and Sugaland Express were omitted due to the already strong list of titles or have you not seen them yet?
I hope that I haven't offended anyone with this assertion. I merely wanted to point out that all of the other movies have realistic elements while Forrest Gump is 100% pure fiction.
Actually, I omitted Silkwood because it is a very good movie and does not represnet the demise of his movies. I saw Day of the Dolphin a long time ago, but I remember really liking it. Maybe I should see it again. Working Girl is a good film, but I do not think it deserved an oscar nomination whatsoever. Regardless, I will give Nichols both Silkwood and Working Girl, and accept them as great movies. However, I found indisputable evidence of Nichols' demise, his 2000 directorial effort, What Planet Are You From? I have a hard time believing that anyone could have liked this film, let alone seen it since it only grossed about $10 million (this may be a generous guess on the gross). If a movie flops that much and is a major studio effort, then it is a permanent stain on a director's resume.
I have a hard time accepting Forrest Gump as handicapped. Damn, he makes me feel handicapped, and I'm not. Forrest's achievements: ran around the country, All-American football player, world ping pong champ, war hero, multi-millionaire, and twice went to the White House. Those accomplishments seem unattainable by anyone who is truly handicapped in some aspect. I know the movie is fictitious, but the filmmakers definitely disregarded any potentially existing handicap of Forrest. Therefore, if the filmmaker is not going to present a physical handicap as an obstacle, then neither should the viewers.
Darn, I missed American Psycho. Did you see Gladiator and The Patriot? Those are my 2 favorite so far. I also really enjoyed U-571 and Final Destination (considering horror films typically suck and this one was pretty intense).
I agree with Nadine that The Awful Truth is definitely missing. We often agree on movies and since you seem to really like the Screwball movies, BuB and HGF, I'm sure you'll love Awful Truth again. Nadine and I both have stated that Grant and Dunne had amazing chemistry together. Another must is at least one Preston Sturges romantic comedy: The Lady Eve (my personal favorite of his), Sullivan's Travels, Miracle of Morgan's Creek, or perhaps Palm Beach Story (personally not one of my favorites). Three others that I love are The More the Merrier (Jean Arthur is the goddess of classic comedy), You Can't Take It With You (madcap Capra with some romance and Jean Arthur), and My Favorite Wife (Grant and Dunne again). Other possibilities : Ball of Fire, Born Yesterday, Breakfast at Tiffany's, City Lights, Easy Living, The Graduate, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and The Shop Around the Corner. Lastly, would you consider Some Like It Hot for this list, everyone falls in love at the end?
Mike Nichols is good, but I would definitely suggest the following names instead: David Lean, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, John Huston, Stephen Spielberg, John Ford, Elia Kazan, Stanley Kramer, Mel Brooks, Sidney Lumet, and Woody Allen, who I am not a huge fan of, but I can't disregard his talent. This does not even consider great foreign directors: Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman, Truffaut, Almodovar, Kieslowsi, etc., etc. I am forgetting too many names as well, but there are at least 15 other directors that I would mention before Nichols. In reviewing Nichols career, his first 5 movies were all great efforts : Virginia Woolf, Graduate, Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge, and Day of the Dolphin. His last 10-15 years have included the following: Heartburn, Working Girl, Biloxi Blues, Postcards from the Edge, Regarding Henry, Wolf, The Birdcage, and Primary Colors. Some of these are good films, but I don't consider any of them great. A great director needs to consistently create great movies throughout his career.
I did not intend it to be a personal attack. I hope it didn't came out that way. Actually, I was shocked that some of the other contributors who have seen a ton of movies did not point out the exclusion of classic actors.
How can you have this list without listing some of the greatest classic supporting actors. Take a look at these resumes:
Claude Rains - Casablanca, Notorious, Lawrence of Arabia, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Now Voyager, Mr. Skeffington, Angel on My Shoulder, and Passgae to Marseilles.
Lionel Barrymore - It's a Wonderful Life, You Can't Take It With You, Key Largo, A Guy Named Joe, Since You Went Away, Camille, Dinner at Eight, Grand Hotel, and Duel in the Sun.
Walter Brennan - Meet John Doe, To Have and Have Not, My Darling Clementine, Sergeant York, Pride of the Yankees, How the West Was Won, Bad Day at Black Rock, Red River, and Rio Bravo.
Robert Shaw - Jaws, From Russia With Love, The Deep, The Sting, Man for All Seasons, Battle of the Bulge, Lavendar Hill Mob, Black Sunday, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
Shelley Winters - A Place in the Sun, Night of the Hunter, Diary of Anne Frank, Lolita, Alfie, A Patch of Blue, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Tenant.
I love the top 3 as well, and I would have figured Alien and Thelma flip-flopped too. Personally, Alien is probably my favorite, barely over Blade Runner.
Six scores of 10 and 2 scores of 9.5 are no surprise by the master. I gather there is not enough info to include the recent Eyes Wide Shut and its average score. Personally I love all of the top six, and I would score Lolita ahead of The Shining. I've yet to see Barry Lyndon and Killer's Kiss. The one 10 rarely talked about is The Killing; a must-see movie for people who like heist movies. Actually, I think Tarantino must have idolized this movie when you consider Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.
I definitely prefer A Time to Kill over the last 2, a personal preference. I agree that it is a great list, but I would have to flip-flop Usual Suspects (my favorite movie of the 90's) with Swimming With Sharks.
Extremely stellar list, didn't want a Hitchcock list to seem unnoticed. The only slight surprise is Rope, but I recall you discussing that movie in the past and saying how much you liked it.
I know that the cut off is 10 on your list, and it is very hard to choose, but I was wondering if Empire of the Sun and Sugaland Express were omitted due to the already strong list of titles or have you not seen them yet?
I hope that I haven't offended anyone with this assertion. I merely wanted to point out that all of the other movies have realistic elements while Forrest Gump is 100% pure fiction.
Actually, I omitted Silkwood because it is a very good movie and does not represnet the demise of his movies. I saw Day of the Dolphin a long time ago, but I remember really liking it. Maybe I should see it again. Working Girl is a good film, but I do not think it deserved an oscar nomination whatsoever. Regardless, I will give Nichols both Silkwood and Working Girl, and accept them as great movies. However, I found indisputable evidence of Nichols' demise, his 2000 directorial effort, What Planet Are You From? I have a hard time believing that anyone could have liked this film, let alone seen it since it only grossed about $10 million (this may be a generous guess on the gross). If a movie flops that much and is a major studio effort, then it is a permanent stain on a director's resume.
I have a hard time accepting Forrest Gump as handicapped. Damn, he makes me feel handicapped, and I'm not. Forrest's achievements: ran around the country, All-American football player, world ping pong champ, war hero, multi-millionaire, and twice went to the White House. Those accomplishments seem unattainable by anyone who is truly handicapped in some aspect. I know the movie is fictitious, but the filmmakers definitely disregarded any potentially existing handicap of Forrest. Therefore, if the filmmaker is not going to present a physical handicap as an obstacle, then neither should the viewers.
Darn, I missed American Psycho. Did you see Gladiator and The Patriot? Those are my 2 favorite so far. I also really enjoyed U-571 and Final Destination (considering horror films typically suck and this one was pretty intense).
What about Clear and Present Danger? I thought it was a very well done action thriller. Far superior than Patriot Games, its predecessor.
See Awful Truth again and I believe you will move it up this list, even though this list is packed with great titles.
I agree with Nadine that The Awful Truth is definitely missing. We often agree on movies and since you seem to really like the Screwball movies, BuB and HGF, I'm sure you'll love Awful Truth again. Nadine and I both have stated that Grant and Dunne had amazing chemistry together. Another must is at least one Preston Sturges romantic comedy: The Lady Eve (my personal favorite of his), Sullivan's Travels, Miracle of Morgan's Creek, or perhaps Palm Beach Story (personally not one of my favorites). Three others that I love are The More the Merrier (Jean Arthur is the goddess of classic comedy), You Can't Take It With You (madcap Capra with some romance and Jean Arthur), and My Favorite Wife (Grant and Dunne again). Other possibilities : Ball of Fire, Born Yesterday, Breakfast at Tiffany's, City Lights, Easy Living, The Graduate, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and The Shop Around the Corner. Lastly, would you consider Some Like It Hot for this list, everyone falls in love at the end?
Mike Nichols is good, but I would definitely suggest the following names instead: David Lean, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, John Huston, Stephen Spielberg, John Ford, Elia Kazan, Stanley Kramer, Mel Brooks, Sidney Lumet, and Woody Allen, who I am not a huge fan of, but I can't disregard his talent. This does not even consider great foreign directors: Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman, Truffaut, Almodovar, Kieslowsi, etc., etc. I am forgetting too many names as well, but there are at least 15 other directors that I would mention before Nichols. In reviewing Nichols career, his first 5 movies were all great efforts : Virginia Woolf, Graduate, Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge, and Day of the Dolphin. His last 10-15 years have included the following: Heartburn, Working Girl, Biloxi Blues, Postcards from the Edge, Regarding Henry, Wolf, The Birdcage, and Primary Colors. Some of these are good films, but I don't consider any of them great. A great director needs to consistently create great movies throughout his career.
I did not intend it to be a personal attack. I hope it didn't came out that way. Actually, I was shocked that some of the other contributors who have seen a ton of movies did not point out the exclusion of classic actors.
How can you have this list without listing some of the greatest classic supporting actors. Take a look at these resumes:
Claude Rains - Casablanca, Notorious, Lawrence of Arabia, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Now Voyager, Mr. Skeffington, Angel on My Shoulder, and Passgae to Marseilles.
Lionel Barrymore - It's a Wonderful Life, You Can't Take It With You, Key Largo, A Guy Named Joe, Since You Went Away, Camille, Dinner at Eight, Grand Hotel, and Duel in the Sun.
Walter Brennan - Meet John Doe, To Have and Have Not, My Darling Clementine, Sergeant York, Pride of the Yankees, How the West Was Won, Bad Day at Black Rock, Red River, and Rio Bravo.
Robert Shaw - Jaws, From Russia With Love, The Deep, The Sting, Man for All Seasons, Battle of the Bulge, Lavendar Hill Mob, Black Sunday, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
Shelley Winters - A Place in the Sun, Night of the Hunter, Diary of Anne Frank, Lolita, Alfie, A Patch of Blue, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Tenant.
I love the top 3 as well, and I would have figured Alien and Thelma flip-flopped too. Personally, Alien is probably my favorite, barely over Blade Runner.
Six scores of 10 and 2 scores of 9.5 are no surprise by the master. I gather there is not enough info to include the recent Eyes Wide Shut and its average score. Personally I love all of the top six, and I would score Lolita ahead of The Shining. I've yet to see Barry Lyndon and Killer's Kiss. The one 10 rarely talked about is The Killing; a must-see movie for people who like heist movies. Actually, I think Tarantino must have idolized this movie when you consider Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.