30 Coolest Films Ever
Re: Bullitt, yeah, it’s hard to think of movie “cool” and leave out Steve McQueen. He pretty much made that his turf.
Agree about Le Samourai, Wild at Heart, and The Long Goodbye.
Missing:
Eraserhead, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Chinatown, Bonnie and Clyde, Cruel Story of Youth, Blue Velvet, Diva, Something Wild, MASH, Night of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Pink Flamingos, Stranger than Paradise, Kiss Me Deadly, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Some of which I like and some of which I don’t, but they all have a rep for being cool.
I wouldn’t include Wes Anderson films. He’s too much of a geek, isn’t he?
It’s cool that we haven’t had to define “cool” yet.
Speaking of which, it seems like a cool is strictly a guy thing. For example, In the Mood for Love should be on here. Tony Leung Chiu Wai is cool, but I think Maggie Cheung is cooler.
Fun thread.
@Brad
Casablanca is the better film, but Bogie was cooler in The Maltese Falcon.
Personally, I think the white tux makes him look cooler.
Where’s Clint Fucking Eastwood?
He would be more appropriate for the “bad-ass” list.
Paul Newman should be on here, though. And can we have a special mention for Henry Winkler as the Fonz? :)
It’s funny, before I even started reading this thread I thought to myself “Le Samourai number 1, obviously”. Guess I wasn’t alone!
I’d probably add in a Seijun Suzuki film too. And a Boetticher western. And about 23 noirs.
Out of Sight is definitely cool, way cooler than most of that silly list. The only problem is that it’s not much other than that.
—> “37 is a much cooler number”
37 is one third of 111, which is a cool number! :-) And if you think the number 666 has sinister properties, well it can be divided into eighteen 37s.
Either someone knows how to use a calculator or paid attention in math class and paying attention is match class is Not cool ;^p
The Conformist is pretty cool
And not exactly cool, but coool nonetheless, David Strathairn tie collection in A League of Their Own, the greatest assortment of ties in films history, I would buy that collection.
by my definition of “cool,” Rebel Without A Cause is NOT cool. It is a film that tries hard to be sympathetic to the “kids” and ends up being sentimental and patronizing like an overly zealous shrink. Is James Dean’s “you’re tearing me apart” line cool? No. It’s overly emotive, which is not “cool.” are stills from the movie cool? yes. if the movie was only the poster, it would be cool.
Would James Bond/ Sean Connery say “You’re tearing me apart!” when captured by S.P.E.C.T.R.E? no. too cool.
Totally agree with @ re: Rebel Without a Cause.
Would James Bond/ Sean Connery say “You’re tearing me apart!” when captured by S.P.E.C.T.R.E? no. too cool.
haha.
DAZED AND CONFUSED is cooler than SINGLES.
Quite, Roscoe, Singles should not be on the list
Ozu? come on, let’s face it, that’s anti-cool, same for Dreyer or Bergman, so.. anti cool.
—> Either someone knows how to use a calculator or paid attention in math class and paying attention in math class is Not cool ;^p
Pff, you’re stuck in the ‘80s. Math is so uncool it’s cool now. Just like Douglas Sirk.
:-)
Vertigo is not exactly cool to me. It’s sorta sick, actually.
Anyway, I think this list needs Rio Bravo, Trouble in Paradise, Murder by Contract, and Sunset Blvd. if we are going to take it seriously.
Also, that list Kenji made? If we’re going to start talking about Late Spring and Five Easy Pieces as “cool”, then the definition of cool must’ve changed somewhere and I missed that change completely.
needs some seijun suzuki. preferably with jo shishido. youth of the beast.
you know, the list is whatever. but pretty much any list you could make with this subject would be whatever.
I used to be very into the cult of the cool. Not so much anymore, but I still love a lot of these films. My idea of cool might be different than yours, but this is my list. Order is meaningless.
Die Hard
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Hunt for Red October
Predator
Bob le Flambeur
Stalker
The Big Lebowski
Brick
Once
In Bruges
The Empire Strikes Back
Chronicle
Desperado
Conan the Barbarian (Millius)
Oldboy
Heat
Stop Making Sense
Buck
Fitzcarraldo
True Romance
Pulp Fiction
Fight Club
Apocalypse Now
The Godfather
The Unforgiven
Open Range
Rio Bravo
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Lawrence of Arabia
The Third Man
It’s good to know that only anglophones and Jean-Luc Godard can make really cool films.
I’m sort of operating under the assumption that ‘cool’ is a dumb Western idea, anyway.
They’ll never hire someone like Kenji at shortlist.com. Not when they can mire in utter mediocrity…
Kenji’s list >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> this list
NEXT!
I guess I missed Kenji’s cool list, though most of his lists are far and away superior to the majority of any list anyone else has made on this site.
Okay, I’ll actually try to contribute to the discussion, but seriously, how can a list like this not have a film by Wong Kar-wai for an example of a glaring exception? His films like Chungking Express and Days of Being Wild and Fallen Angels are the definition of cool in any language. And these aren’t exactly super obscure films either.
And of course, if one wants to be more “cinephile” about it, any discussion of “cool” cinema is incomplete without mentioning the Japanese New Wave, which was all about rebellion in a multitude of ways.
I’m just gonna stop here because looking at these lame-o lists just pisses me off. :P
I admitted that my list was colored by my former cinephilia, but really, those are all very cool films. I showed you mine, now you show me yours.
Danger: Diabolik
Le Samourai
The Big Sleep
Oh i got no problems with your list, HoL. I know where you’re coming from. Yours has all kinds of cool personal idiosyncratic traits on it. (which by the way is why individual’s lists are almost always more interesting than consensus lists.)
And of course, lists are subjective and all that other blah blah blah, but I don’t really understand the point of a site dedicated to making lists that put up most unimaginative pedestrian lists possible. What is the point?
Yeah, this isn’t a serious thread, just having fun. I like fun. It’s fun. And stuff.
Aside—Happy as hell to hear you’ve secured your DP and that shit’s getting serious. Can’t wait to see the final product.
Hmmm… If I had to say cool for me…
Miller’s Crossing
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead
Reservoir Dogs (yeah, yeah)
Dark City
The Conformist
Heathers
Blade Runner
Last Days of Disco
Dracula
Cabinet of Dr. Caliguri
Millers Crossing—yep. I suppose we should throw in The Matrix, too.
And now Blue can shit on the ones I put
ruby stevens
lol kenji’s list is way cooler than this list, even without lino ventura
even with my least favorite marlene / von strernberg