I’ve been looking at lists of best films again. As before, I noticed how unsatisfactory they are, with no criteria for selection given, and some strange titles both omitted and included. Other viewers get quite annoyed at the selection made. Adding to the angst are those lists where films are added in ranking order, getting such reactions as “I fail to see why Bambi is no. 1 on your list: surely it should be down at no. 20?”
There’s no objective criteria for making such a list, even on the part of the AFI’s contributors. My list below comes from a few years ago. There’s a fair bit of fluidity between four star (250 films) and five star (150 films) rating with me, depending on the mood of the day. I have listed the films in reverse chronological order, on the grounds that most other lists don’t do that, and also in consideration of the fact that most movie makers are also movie buffs, and they would likely have seen the earlier films on the list, which thus form a kind of base, a foundation to the pile as it were.
I imagined having a button to press while watching each film which turned on an indicator or rating light. These are the films that made me turn on that light. I have no opinion myself whether they are ‘great’, technically accomplished or original and influential. My list includes films from around the globe (70 NEL films, most other lists are USA based), includes documentary and TV films, but excludes silent films, animation and experimental films and genres such as horror, as well as pornography. How does it compare to your list? • means the film is reviewed elsewhere on this site.
Other lists:
http://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx.html with 20 of my titles
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=greatmovies_fulllist with 30 of my titles
http://movies.amctv.com/movie-guide/tim-dirks-top-100.php with 20 of my titles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years…100_Movies with 20 of my titles.
All of the above lists contain ring-ins from The Worst Movies Ever Made list.
2007 My Boy Jack Brian Kirk
2005 •Bob Dylan No Direction Home Martin Scorese
2005 Apres Vous Pierre Salvadori
2004 Girl with a Pearl Earring Peter Webber
2004 2046 Kar Wei Wong
2003 Love Actually Richard Curtis
2003 The Merchant of Venice Michael Radford
2003 Zhou Yu’s Train Zhou Sun
2003 Last Life in the Universe Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
2002 Broken Wings Nir Bergman
2001 Someone Like You Tony Goldwyn
2001 Light of My Eyes Giuseppe Piccioni
2001 Ghost World Terry Zwigoff
2001 Read My Lips Jacques Audiard
2001 •Chaos Coline Serreau
2000 Lovers of the Arctic Circle Julio Medem
2000 Suzhou River Ye Lou
1998 •April Story Shunji Iwai
1996 Looking for Richard Al Pacino
1996 Chungking Express Kar Wei Wong
1996 •A Summer’s Tale Eric Rohmer
1995 When Night Is Falling Patricia Rozema
1995 Life and Loves of Oscar Wilde Annie Paul
1995 Crumb Terry Zwigoff
1995 •Love Letter Shunji Iwai
1995 Amateur Hal Hartley
1994 •Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl Ray Müller III
1994 Vanya on 42nd Street Louis Malle
1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral Mike Newell
1994 Eat Drink Man Woman Ang Lee
1993 Vivaldi Lina Wertmuller
1993 The Wedding Banquet Ang Lee
1993 Short Cuts Robert Altman
1992 •The Lover Jean-Jacques Annaud
1992 The Crying Game Neil Jordan
1992 Unforgiven Clint Eastwood
1992 Husbands and Wives Woody Allen
1992 The Stolen Children Gianni Amelio
1992 •La Crise Coline Serreau
1991 The Nasty Girl Michael Verhoeven
1991 Trust Hal Hartley
1990 The Unbelieval Truth Hal Hartley
1990 Jesus of Montreal Denys Arcand
1989 Scandal Michael Caton-Jones
1989 •Romuald et Juliette Coline Serreau
1988 The Power of Myth Bill Moyers
1988 High Hopes Mike Leigh
1988 Salaam Bombay Mira Nair
1988 •A Shory Film about Love Krzysztof Kieslowski
1988 •A Short Film About Killing Krzysztof Kieslowski
1988 •Dekalog Krzysztof Kieslowski
1988 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Pedro Almovodar
1988 Babette’s Feast Gabriel Axel
1987 Hail Hail Rock and Roll Taylor Hackford
1987 My Life as a Dog Lasse Halström
1986 Decline of the American Empire Denys Arcand
1986 And the Pursuit of Happiness Luis Malle
1985 In Search of the Trojan War Bill Lyons
1983 Educating Rita Lewis Gilbert II
1982 Blind Chance Krzysztof Kieslowski
1982 Yes Prime Minister Sydney Lotterby
1982 Missing Constantin Costa-Gavras
1982 Gandhi Richard Attenborough
1981 Atlantic City Louis Malle
1981 My Dinner With Andre Louis Malle
1980 •Hollywood Kevin Brownlow
1980 Yes Minister Sydney Lotterby
1979 Camera Buff Krzysztof Kieslowski
1978 The Last Waltz Martin Scorsese
1977 Annie Hall Woody Allen
1977 Abigail’s Party Mike Leigh
1976 •Fellini’s Casanova Federico Fellini
1975 Swept Away Lina Wertmüller
1975 Dog Day Afternoon Sidney Lumet
1975 Nashville Robert Altman
1975 Fawlty Towers John Cleese
1974 •Scenes from a Marriage Ingmar Bergman
1973 Love and Anarchy Lina Wertmüller
1973 •The Mother and the Whore Jean Eustache
1973 American Graffiti George Lucas
1972 A Clockwork Orange Stanley Kubrick
1972 Slaughterhouse Five George Roy Hill
1972 Play It Again Sam Herbert Ross
1972 •Chloe in the Afternoon Eric Rohmer
1972 Life of Leonardo da Vinci Renato Castellani
1971 Phantom India Louis Malle
1970 Lovers and Other Strangers Cy Howard
1970 •My Night at Maud’s Eric Rohmer
1968 Romeo and Juliet Franco Zefferelli
1968 The Lion in Winter Anthony Harvey
1967 Don’t Look Back DA Pennebaker
1967 The Graduate Mike Nichols
1967 •Persona Ingmar Bergman
1966 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Mike Nichols
1964 The Night of the Iguana John Huston
1964 •Charulata Satyajit Ray
1962 Sweet Bird of Youth Richard Brooks
1961 •The End of Summer Yasujiro Ozu
1961 Two Daughters Satyajit Ray
1960 Hiroshima Mon Amour Alain Resnais
1960 The World of Apu Satyajit Ray
1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Richard Brooks
1958 Separate Tables Delbert Mann
1958 •The Seventh Seal Ingmar Bergman
1958 Aparajito Satyajit Ray
1958 Pather Panchali Satyajit Ray
1957 •Wild Strawberries Ingmar Bergman
1957 •Smiles of a Summer Night Ingmar Bergman
1956 Baby Doll Elia Kazan
1955 Il Bidone Federico Fellini
1954 On the Waterfront Elia Kazan
1954 Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa
1954 La Strada Federico Fellini
1953 Tokyo Story Yasujiro Ozu
1952 Limelight Charles Chaplin
1952 Forbidden Games Rene Clement
1952 Ikiru Akira Kurosawa
1951 A Streetcar Named Desire Elia Kazan
1950 Sunset Boulevard Billy Wilder
1947 Life With Father Michael Curtiz
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives William Wyler
1946 •The Big Sleep Howard Hawks
1946 Stairway to Heaven Michael Power
1946 Children of Paradise Marcel Carne
1943 Heaven Can Wait Ernst Lubitsch
1942 Roxie Hart William Wellman
1942 •The Palm Beach Story Preston Sturges
1941 I Love You Again WS Van Dyke
1941 Love Crazy Jack Conway
1941 •Sullivan’s Travels Preston Sturges
1941 •The Lady Eve Preston Sturges
1941 Citizen Kane Orson Welles
1940 •Christmas in July Preston Sturges
1940 •His Girl Friday Howard Hawks
1939 Mr Smith Goes to Washington Frank Capra
1938 •Carefree Mark Sandrich
1938 •Bringing Up Baby Howard Hawks
1937 Stage Door Gregory La Cava
1937 The Awful Truth Leo McCarey
1936 Mr Deeds Goes to Town Frank Capra
1936 Partie de Campagne Jean Renoir
1936 My Man Godfrey Gregory La Cava
1936 •Libeled Lady Jack Conway
1935 The Devil is a Woman Josef Von Sternberg
1934 •Twentieth Century Howard Hawks
1934 •Dinner at Eight George Cukor
1934 The Thin Man WS Van Dyke
1933 The Bitter Tea of General Yen Frank Capra
1933 •Bombshell Victor Fleming
1932 Shanghai Express Josef Von Sternberg
1932 Trouble in Paradise Ernst Lubitsch
1930 Morocco Josef Von Sternberg
©2013 Original material copyright Phillip Kay. Images and other material courtesy Creative Commons. Please inform post author of any violation.
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