I think numerous film scholars have decided these types of things and they constantly change. Personally, it’s almost impossible to name 10 movies that stand out among the rest. It’s hard enough to do that in a single year. I’ll start and just throw out a couple that I think are beautifully crafted and are near perfect in execution.
The Passenger
Young Frankenstein
Psycho
The Deer Hunter
I probably have about a hundred movies I could classify as my favourites, but I will try to mention a few below:
Amadeus (Pollock)
The million dollar hotel
The devil’s eye (Ingmar Bergman)
A clockwork orange (Kubrick)
Moulin Rouge (Luhrmann)
Into the wild
Amelie
Barfuss
I really don’t see how a top 10 list can be objective. This is to a great extent, personal, as it contains what I consider to be the 10 best films that I’ve seen in my lifetime. In my opinion. Which some will no doubt think is shite. So, here it goes, in no particular order, because that would make an almost impossible task yet more impossible, my top 10:
Sunrise
Citizen Kane
The Rules of the Game
2001:A Space Oddity
The Godfather Part II
Amelie
Chinatown
The Searchers
Casablanca
Jules et Jim
Bicycle Thieves
However, it should be noted, that it took considerable time to commit to these ten, and I could have easily spent much more time constantly revising . Taking away one and adding another until I believed I had covered all the bases. For instance, I failed to mention any films from places other than France or the U.S. Should it have been a criteria to make it a more universally representative list? Perhaps.
“2001:A Space Oddity”
I get the brilliant David Bowie song confused with Space Odyssey all the time. :)
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Chinatown
The Godfather
Psycho
The Wild Bunch
Goodfellas
8 1/2
The Seven Samurai
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
This list can vary depending on my mood or on which films I have seen most recently.
I can only think of five (my inexperience and lack of knowledge is showing):
Citizen Kane
Man with a Movie Camera
Ordet
The Rules of the Game
Menilmontant
First 5 are predictable but justified:
L’Avventura (Antonioni)
A Man Escaped (Bresson)
The Rules Of The Game (Renoir)
Citizen Kane (Welles)
Earth (Dovzhenko)
Next 5 are more personal:
The Lady Eve (Sturges)
Days And Nights In The Forest (Ray)
Umberto D (De Sica)
The Life Of Oharu (Mizoguchi)
Los Olvidados (Bunuel)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Citizen Kane
Psycho
North by Northwest
To Kill a Mockingbird
Stagecoach
Some like it Hot
Sunset Boulevard
It’s a Wonderful Life
1. Casablanca
2. The Shining
3. 8 1/2
4. Grand Illusion
5. Solaris
6. In the Mood For Love
7. The Thin Red Line
8. Picnic At Hanging Rock
9. Fargo
10. Boogie Nights
Personal list this time – nothing to do with ‘greatest’ list: Films I see time and again with love and appreciation
Portrait of Jennie
Desk Set
Enchanted Cottage
The Party
Some Like it Hot
Billy Liar
Ladykillers
Dr. Strangelove
Odd Man Out
Wizard of Oz
In no real order:
Stroszek
Au Hasard Balthazar
Diary of a Country Priest
Brother’s Keeper (1992)
Kes
A Woman Under the Influence
Fata Morgana
Paris, Texas
Badlands
Pierrot Le Fou
lot of fine choices, Herzog, Bresson, Kurasowa, Mizoguchi, whoops I think I’ve gone way over 10 already
Fargo
Little Miss Sunshine
American Beauty
Big Lebowski
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Darjeeling Limited
City of God
Life Aquatic
Apocalypse Now
Alphabetical Order some of my favorite films:
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Annie Hall
Citizen Kane
The Godfather (I and II)
On the Waterfront
Persona
Rashomon
The Searchers
Taxi Driver
Vertigo
But of course there are so many more!
1. Love Story
2. Rocky (any version)
3. Terminator
4. Titantic
5. Dark Knight
6. Airport
7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – surely the epitome of Spilberg’s art?
8. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
9. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
10. ET
I just had a brain transplant and these are now my current faves as I know there are LOTS of secret fans of these films on this site. Show your ugly faces…
It’s too difficult… but if I was under gunpoint, maybe it’d be..
Casablanca
Port Of Shadows
400 Blows
My Darling Clementine
Grapes Of Wrath
On The Waterfront
Chinatown
A Clockwork Orange
Rules Of The Game
Black Narcissus
oh dear… I’m starting to think of those I left off…
Basically the same as any other person…
8 1/2
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
La Dolce Vita
Brazil
Next ones more personal…
Rushmore/Life Aquatic/Bottle Rocket (Anderson)
Alphaville
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Stranger Than Paradise/Down By Law (Jarmusch)
Please realize that my taste in films in very unusual. I’m sure no one else on the Auteurs will agree with me:)
1) “Big Fish” (2003)
2) “Bloody Pit of Horror” (1965)
3) “Bucket of Blood” (1959)
4) “Duplex” (2003)
5) “Ed Wood” (1994)
6) “Foul Play” (1978)
7) “Little Shop of Horrors” (1960)
8) “Psycho” (1960)
9) “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
10) “Wonderland” (2003)
See? I told you; I have warped tastes!
I had to do this for a film analysis class. It was hard making the list then, but there are some films that I would still place in the top ten.
Mean Streets
A Woman Under the Influence
The Public Enemy
Sunrise
The Crowd
Paths of Glory
Alien
Believe me, this is hard enough to choose, but these films came to mind at this moment. The next moment, the list would be different.
You’re brave Bnies, and I haven’t seen most of your film choices, but Rosemary’s Baby, Ed Wood, or Psycho are valid choices and who can argue with anyone’s tastes as long as they are genuine. If you are currently locked away in an asylum, I take it all back.
Solaris
Persona
The Thin Red Line
8 1/2
Night of The Living Dead
The Double Life of Veronique
Scenes from a Marriage
Drowning by Numbers
2001 A Space Odyssey
Taxi Driver
I don’t think its possible to rate the 10 best films of all time, so this becomes just a list of 10 favorite films. But then I don’t think its even possible for me to personally list my 10 favorite films, because while there are films that I think are always great, those that I consider my favorites are constantly changing and are really just based on my mood or attitude at any particular moment. So here is my list for today, tomorrow it will probably be different.
Hey man, I haven’t seen The Toxic Avenger mentioned.
These are my constants. The rest of the list constantly changes:
Blade Runner
Belle de Jour
Early Summer
Drifting Clouds
Chungking Express
The Phantom of Liberty
Bob le flambeur
Vertigo
The Pit and the Pendulum
Body Heat
Maltese Falcon
Lawrence of Arabia
Ben Hur
The Searchers
Red River
Dr. Zhivago
Schlinder’s List
12 angry men
the man who knew too much (jimmy stewart version)
shawshank redemption
this is spinal tap
castaway
dr. strangelove
snatch
mr. smith goes to washington
wall-e
psycho, the killers(1964), nightmare before christmas, treasure of the sierra madre, to kill a mockingbird, emperors new groove
OK here is my REAL pics this time, my Joe Arthouse (my nickname -not picked by me – on another Criterion forum) selection:
Stalker – Tarkovsky
2001 – Kubrick
Wild Strawberries – Bergman (alternately Fanny & Alexander) – Criterion
The Third Man – Carol Reed – Criterion
8 ½ – Fellini – Criterion
Grapes of Wrath – John Ford
Blowup – Antonioni
Last Year at Marienbad – Resnais (soon to be on Criterion – yeah!)
Rashomon – Kurosawa – Criterion
Vertigo – Hitchcock
One pick each from my favourite directors
Here we go again:
1.Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather
3.Casablanca
4. A clockwork orange
5. Seven samurai
6. Schindler’s List
7. Heat
8. The 400 Blows
9. Goodfellas
10. Chinatown
Missy, I’d bet my . . . well, I’d bet that your list will change about an hour from now. That’s what makes this so fun! Great list though . . .
In no particular order:
Fargo
Weekend
Children Of Men
What Have I Done To Deserve This?
Once Upon A Time In The West
Jackie Brown
Taxi Driver
Seven Samurai
Videodrome
Robocop
George Jones
I really hate to pose such an absurd question, but I was thinking about my personal list and it was damn near impossible to decide. I want to here what the Auteurs have to say. Try to think as objectively as possible, not just personal favorites.