Shawn's Top 1000 Favorite Films

In 2019, I turned 30. I felt as if the 2010’s was a decade which felt like I was leaving the young man I felt I had been for awhile behind and stepping into the shoes of someone a bit more mature. I was already a father by then, and another child would be entering my family in 2020. I remember turning 30 seemed like such a milestone age, and I was trying to figure out who I really was as a film fan, and how I could do something special for my blog.

Knowing how passionate I am about film, the question I get the most is “Shawn, what’s your favorite movie?” Seems like a fair, simple question, right? Honestly, its the toughest question people ask me about film. Simply put, I am not a guy who just watches whatever new gets released each weekend and that’s it. Sure, I love the new and that’s certainly part of the cinematic diet, but I am constantly strengthening my film knowledge and language with a wide-range of vintage film each year. I usually see somewhere in the ballpark of 150-170 new releases every year, I have no idea what that number would be if I included films from other years I am seeing for the first time. You may also notice that when I discuss great film, I hate limiting myself. At the end of each year on this blog, its common to see a top ten. But you also get a Runner Up’s list and sometimes another list of movies I didn’t have room on either of those lists or I’ll make a specialty list or I’ll just throw the traditions out the window and post a top 20 or top 25. If my shelves at home have room for all the movies I love, why can’t the lists I make.

I’m 31 years old now, and I want to take inventory on what I’ve seen so far. I also want to stop beating around the bush or talking around what my favorite films are. Sure, I maybe have come up with a “Favorite Films” list a time or two on this very blog. I always immediately regretted it though. I barely put any thought into those lists and they changed in my mind instantly. The world would make you think that the cinema is a small, but its anything but. The world of film is a vast ocean, so that can make it difficult to come up with a list of favorite films that’s worth a darn. How does one qualify? How do you rank such a list? My greatest fear when making a Favorite Films OF ALL TIME list is that I may accidentally leave off something major. Even though its all opinion and those are different for everyone, I may personally feel bad for leaving it off.

All of these ideas were churning in my head on that day back in January of 2019. In an effort to confront the film fan I am after 30 years. In an effort to really deliver an effective, worth-while Favorite Films of All Time List that really explores the history and classics each era and genre while including as many “classic” films as I possibly could, I realized I had to go big or go home.

So a week from today, you’ll be getting my Top 1000 Favorite Films of All Time list. The most ambitious thing I have ever put together. Anywhere. Ever.