The Great Films
While this list was inspired by Sight+Sound’s 2012 list of the top 100 films of all time, the voters here decided to lean more towards movies that one would actually like to, you know, watch. Unlike the Sight+Sound list, this list boasts quite a number of films that the voter’s wives have a chance of making it through without falling asleep, even if started after 8:30 pm.
They mostly come at night. Mostly.
In 2020, a group of artists who had worked together in film, television, and theater (plus one environmental law professor who actually had a real job) submitted their votes for the 20 best films of all time. The term “best” was left undefined, and each voter could use their own discretion to determine on what basis their choices would be made. While one could argue that this lack of uniformity renders the summary list meaningless, it should be noted that this process occurred at the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis when Donald J. Trump was president, and so “meaninglessness” was, to speak of it cinematically, the very mis-en-scene of the times.
The List (is Life)
Counting the Votes
11 voters each submitted the names of 20 films, for a total of 220 votes. These lists were not ranked, and thus each film counts only for 1 point.
Total number of Films: 153
Total number of Votes: 220
Number of films with 5 votes: 1
Number of films with 4 votes: 9
Number of films with 3 votes: 7
Number of films with 2 votes: 22
Number of films with 1 Vote: 114
Best film with only 1 Vote: E.T., Citizen Kane (tie)
Worst film with only 1 Vote: The Mummy (Josh Breslow. Josh Breslow voted for it. Josh.)
Voter whose films overlapped with the fewest other voters: Jeremy Guskin (17 unique films, 3 chosen by others)
Voter whose films overlapped with the most other voters: Alek Lev (2 unique films, 18 chosen by others)
Voting pair with most overlaps: Alek Lev and Joel Viertel (11)
It should be noted that all of the voters were white men in their mid-40s (except for one, Mr. Breslow, annoyingly younger than the rest, but still white). Seven of the eleven were born in New York and now live in Los Angeles, so the bent towards Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg, and Allen shouldn’t be a surprise. The distinct lack of chick flicks, or even flicks with chicks, also reflects this unrepresentative, homogenous, nearly inbred group of idiots.
The Directors
Below is a chart showing three ways to keep score for the chosen directors:
Number of Films: Spielberg, 6
Number of Votes: Spielberg, Kubrick, 10 (tie)
Per Film Power (PFP): Kubrick, 3.33
This is the number of votes divided by the number of films. Ex.: Martin Scorsese has only 2 films, but those have a total of 5 points. His Per Film Power is 5/2 = 2.5. Sidney Lumet has more films (3), but also with a total of 5 votes, giving him the lower Per Film Power of 5/3 = 1.66.
Note: There are three directors with high PFP, but only on the success of a single film. Alfred Hitchcock has a 3.0 with 3 votes coming in for REAR WINDOW. Michael Curtiz similarly has a 3.0 with three points for CASABLANCA. George Lucas would in fact take first place with a 4.0 PFP, given 4 votes for STAR WARS. But the decision was made that to qualify for PFP, you needed at least two films on the list. Also, Lucas gets negative PFP for destroying our childhood dreams.
The Voters
Alek Lev
Director, writer, actor, father, husband, interpreter. Friend.
Carlo Hart
Came to California to become a professional writer, and did.
Doug Matejka
Jeff Meacham
Father of two boys, husband to one wife. Obsessed with Tom Cruise movies.
John Newman
New dad, husband, sober 616 days, writer, all-county first baseman
Noah Garrision
Ex-New Yorker, reformed lawyer, mountaineering urbanite-environmentalist ball player who also likes movies.
Jeremy Guskin
From NYC. Actor, Writer, Teacher, Director. 2 MFAs. 5'8"; circumcised.
Josh Breslow
Jubilant
Ostentatious
Supercool
Hilarious
Blamtastic
Rescuer
Ecofriendly
Sexyasfuck
Lowlife
Overit
Wonderful
Trevor Murphy
Father, husband, professional performer and businessperson.
Joel Viertel
Film and television producer, editor, writer, sometimes director, asshat. Sagittarius.
Justin Asher
Moving picture hero's flaws should formally overwhelm their story's greatness.
All voters were loath to leave so many of their favorites on the cutting room floor. Mr. Lev points out that Buster Keaton and Stanley Kubrick made about 20 pictures total between them, and those could easily have comprised his entire list. Mr. Meacham, mid-decision-making, wrote: “I just had to cut The Abyss, Braveheart & The Last Picture Show. I freaking out and now can’t sleep.” Mr. Breslow cried out, “THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. THERE ARE TOO MANY GREAT MOVIES. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?”
While most included an “honorable mention” section, it was Mr. Viertel who appended his submission with the explanation: “I’ve given you 30 because fuck you.” Mr. Garrison wrote, “No idea if I even agree with my own list.” A surprising comment until you learn that he is the aforementioned lawyer in the group. And of course most voters would admit that they left off some of their guiltiest of pleasures, a trend summed up by Mr. Asher: “No one would be believe me if I said Popeye.” Meanwhile, some included their guilty pleasures. See Mr. Breslow’s The Mummy. Or actually, don’t.
There was pain, but there was also joy. Mr. Murphy, the first to respond to the survey, said, “I am surprised I dropped everything to do this, but I did.”
We are glad you did.
“The greatest Western of all time”:
Unforgiven (Alek, Joel)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Josh)
Things that are “Perfect”:
Se7en: The most perfect looking thriller. (Alek)
Rear Window: This movie just might be perfect. (Alek)
Rear Window: The most technically perfect film ever made. (Joel)
Singin’ in the Rain: Most perfect movie ever made. (Jeremy)
Singin’ in the Rain: Just an old classic that happens to be perfect. (Joel)
Back to the Future: Best movie about time travel with a perfect 80's and 50's soundtrack. (Jeremy)
Young Frankenstein: Brooks and Wilder made the perfect spoof on a classic genre. (Jeremy)
Casablanca: This movie is perfect. (Joel)
E.T.: As perfect a coming-of-age tale as there ever has been. (Joel)
Princess Bride: The perfect comedy. (Noah)
Bull Durham: The perfect baseball movie. (Noah)
Tootsie: A perfect farce? Spoof? Whatever it is. (John)
Chinatown: Script is perfect. (John)
No Country for Old Men: A perfect neo-western. (John)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Perfect structure. (Josh)
Fight Club: Perfect performances, writing. (Josh)
The Matrix: Again, perfect structure. (Josh)
2001: This movie makes perfect sense if you just lie back and watch. (Josh)
Star Wars: Another revolutionary film with perfect structure. (Josh)
Rocky: A perfect love story. (Jeff)
Pithiest Explanations:
Casablanca: Good every time. (Jeremy)
Star Wars: Good flick. (Alek)
Empire Strikes Back: C’mon. (Noah)
The Godfather Part 1: Art (John)
2001: Duh. (Justin)
The What and the Why
Alek Lev
Lawrence of Arabia
I see it every year. Every time I see, in the opening credits, “And introducing Peter O’Toole,” I’m blown away. The greatest character study that is also a sweeping epic.
2001
It’s as though Kubrick both mastered the language of film and maybe also never saw a movie before. His understanding, 50 years ahead of his time, that we would become blaze about artificial intelligence, and the dangers — and possibilities — that come with that, is mind-boggling. And before they filmed any of it, they had to invent a way to film it.
Star Wars
Good flick.
Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars took 2001 and added heart, action, and adventure, but shied from its darker view. Empire added the darkness and depth back in.
The General
I’m not sure that it has occurred to anyone since Buster Keaton that a comedy can look as cinematic and beautiful as a drama. I’ve seen it in the theater more than a dozen times, and everyone aged 5 to 95 laughs and oohs and ahhs all together.
Goodfellas
A master at the absolutely top of his game, filled with masters at the tops of their games.
The Godfather
I can’t think of an ensemble film that has no less than five beautifully-drawn characters, any of whom could have been the centerpiece of this film. But as far as acting goes, I need only remind you that Marlon Brando was 48 when he made these cameras rolled.
The Godfather Part 2]
How do you make a sequel to - only two years later - to one of the greatest films of all time? But wait… how do you make it arguably better? DeNiro on the rooftops is one answer.
Citizen Kane
By the age of 24, Welles had created mini-revolutions in theater and radio. By 25, he’d made Citizen Kane. I... don’t know how to handle that.
Se7en
The word that keeps coming to mind is unrelenting. The most perfect looking thriller, with awesome performances and oh yeah, a legit surprise ending.
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Choosing a Woody Allen film is just too tough. Hannah and Her Sisters? Manhattan? Annie Hall? Is anything funnier than Love and Death? But maybe it’s because this one kind of confronts the meaning of life ‘n’ all, it’s my pick. For now.
Rear Window
I think this movie just might be perfect, right? I wasn’t a film major, so I can’t tell you why, but it is. We just like to watch...
Aliens
Best female action hero of all time. Best creature bad guy. Scariest shit.
Titanic
Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Saw it twice on opening day. 10 times in the theater. The dialogue might be clunky, but did you notice how he created and sank the fucking Titanic?
Seven Samurai
Every time I see a Kurosawa film, I get the sense that - like Kubrick - this guy is inventing movie-making. I mean... did he travel back in time to make this?
Blade Runner
Ridley Scott takes all the advances in film technology since 2001, but returns to its pace, letting us luxuriate in its filthy beauty.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Best male action hero of all time. Most pure fun film? Lucas and Spielberg, at the height of their powers, sitting on a beach, imagining cool stuff to put into a flick.
Pulp Fiction
I love Quentin, and love when Quentin indulges in Quentin. But this feels pre-indulgent, when his inimitable voice comes through the clearest (and before his apparent search for the loudest gunshot sound effect).
Unforgiven
Best western of all time, and I’ve seen, like, 12 of them. Magnificent Seven is awesome, but this one manages to play all of the classic notes of the genre while also questioning their legitimacy. Clint usually plays some version of his “Clint,” and this is the best “Clint” that Clint has done.
Amadeus
Greatest performance by a lead actor who lost the Oscar to a great performance by another lead actor. Tom Hulce was so good he could barely make another movie after this. Like Lawrence of Arabia, an amazing character study (well, two studies) within such a sweeping epic.
The Cameraman
Buster Keaton’s last great film, it follows the equally-deserving Sherlock Jr. as an ode to the tool he mastered from the moment he touched it (which, by the way, was only 10 years, 19 short films and 9 features prior to this)... the camera. Come for one of the best versions of his never-give-up character, and stay for the Tong War, the double-exposed film, and the day that Buster pitched to himself in an empty Yankee Stadium.
Jeremy Guskin
Singin' In The Rain
Most perfect movie ever made. Laugh, cry, plus its a commentary on the changing entertainment industry
Millers Crossing
Coen Bros ode to gangster films
Rushmore
Film and theatre in one
My Favorite Year
Best comedy about comedy
Duck Soup
Most insane & surreal Marx Bros
Airplane!
Only because I can't put Police Squad! The Series
Casablanca
Good every time
The Bank Dick
All the gags are still funny and proves Field's genius
Back To The Future
Best movie about time travel with a perfect 80's and 50's soundtrack
The Muppet Movie
Watch it once for the puppets, once for the cameos, once for the music, once for the gags...
Ghostbusters
Ramis, Murray, and Ackroyd at their peak
Auntie Mame
Simply the relative we all wish we had or were ourselves
Key Largo
I can never decide who's performance I like best
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
I could listen to James Mason talk all night; SFX and sets are still amazing
Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon
So good on so many levels
Young Frankenstein
Brooks and Wilder made the perfect spoof on a classic genre
Network
Chillingly prescient on every viewing
Ghost Dog
Jarmusch kills it with every part of this film
Yojimbo
My favorite Kurosawa and Mifune team up, so many imitations of this one
The Music Man
Its just a great musical and this film version doesn't do anything fancy
Justin Asher
Seven Samurai
Getting the band back together
Nashville
No one would believe me if I said Popeye
Night of the Living Dead
For the first 45 minutes alone
A Serious Man
Had to narrow it down, but Buster Scruggs was close.
2001 A Space Odyssey
Duh
The Shining
Duh + the sound design Duh and soundtrack Duuuuuh
The General
I like trains and rain a lot
The Human Tornado
Hard to even call it a movie
Django Unchained
Tarantino’s absolute best (Jackie Brown close)
The Godfather 2
Sound Design and pre-yelling Pacino
Starship Troopers
The peak of Verhoeven’s American adventure
There Will Be Blood
When you try to out-act DDLewis he’ll beat you to death with a bowling pin
The Royal Tenenbaums
The ultimate white Manhattan movie, could replace most of Woody Allen’s filmography
F is for Fake
The most sophisticated use of film language I’ve ever seen.
Enter the Void
The most a movie can possibly do just shy of inducing seizure.
Mulholland Drive
Had to narrow his whole collection down
Mars Attacks
Either that or PeeWee’s big adventure.
Drunken Master 2
Best acrobatic filming ever
Haxan
Proof of the expanse of old school theatrical imagination
Space is the Place
The most underrated anything ever
Carlo Hart
Die Hard
Predator
Hunt for Red October
Drunken Master 2
Aliens
Terminator
Jaws
Duck Soup
Billy Madison
The 5th Element
Rear Window
Empire Strikes Back
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Thing (Carpenter)
Blade Runner
Fight Club
Dirty Ho (Shaw brothers)
Glengarry Glen Ross
Ghost in the Shell (1995 anime)
The Banker
Greatest black movie ever made
Joel Viertel
Ikiru
Not the most entertaining, but the most meaningful movie ever made. You can live your life by it, which I don’t think can be said of most films, if any, besides this one.
Rear Window
The most technically perfect film ever made. A master at his height, absolutely crushing it. It’s not quite as romantic or nutso as Vertigo, which is why I think people like that one. But it’s also not quite as absurd, and unlike Vertigo, there’s virtually nothing in it that feels dated. It works every bit as well today as it ever did.
Aliens
The reason I got into movies, and the scariest film ever made. Edge of your seat excitement and terror at its absolute best, from the greatest action director of all time.
Jaws
It’s Jaws. Need I say more.
Star Wars
It’s been copied so much that it’s easy to forget how and why this movie changed movies forever, but just try to imagine the phenomenon it was, and the fact that nobody had ever seen anything like it at that time.
Unforgiven
The greatest Western ever, by far, bar none. All these fucking assholes who go on and on about THE SEARCHERS, I dare them to tell you the last time they watched it just because they loved watching it. I’ve watched this movie over and over and over. It epitomizes the concept of the gunslinger as an iconic idea in a way that no other western ever did, it’s somehow both a western and a meta western at the same time, from the most iconic western star of modern times, and arguably of all time, unless you like John Wayne, in which case, you have no taste because he sucks.
Casablanca
The greatest morality tale about love and romance, holds up brilliantly, and gave us several of the most quotable lines of all time, including one that isn’t even in the movie. Two of the greatest movie stars of their day doing their thing. This movie is perfect.
Pulp Fiction
The early raw talent of Tarantino just clobbering it. I think the social success of this movie put him in a weird place where he’s been competing with himself ever since. But this movie changed the way the movie business works, putting independent films on the map in a financial way that hadn’t really existed before. And it showed how a film can permeate the culture with no spectacle, or grandeur, just with ideas, and language.
The Godfather
This is a film about a mafia dynasty called “The Godfather.”
Goodfellas
The moment when Scorsese realized that watching his movies could be fun. He’s obviously an amazing director, but sometimes, he gets lost in technique, and fails to deliver on emotion, or the emotions he’s delivering on are so unpleasant it makes for a tough sit. But this movie sidestepped all that, and made for one of the most rip-roaring exciting rides I’ve ever seen. Think about this: narration is VERY hard to pull off in movies, often people try it then remove it, or it becomes a crutch, or what have you. Goodfellas has narration that’s so good we still quote it, today: “Fuck you pay me.” Literally the only line from a narration in the history of movies that I can think of that people regularly quote.
E.T.
Spielberg making what in some ways is the most Spielberg movie imaginable. As perfect a coming-of-age tale as there ever has been, and the most important morality tale you can show your children about the meaning of empathy. The last scene of this movie is also the most perfect blend of editing and music you will ever find in a film, ever.
Titanic
This movie shouldn’t work — it’s a gear head action director doing a love story, there’s admittedly some terrible dialogue and some questionable acting. And yet — it’s the most exciting, romantic, remember-what-movies-can-be kind of film that wears its heart completely on its sleeve and somehow gets away with it. Magically transports you into the greatest-ever re-enactment you’ll ever see.
2001
Kubrick’s crowning achievement, it’s hard to fathom this movie was made when it was. Way ahead of its time, holds up incredibly well today. Full of beauty and deeper meanings, and the greatest rendition of “Daisy, Daisy” ever recorded.
Se7en
“Aw, what’s in the box?” Need I say more.
Being There
Somehow captures the absolutely idiotic absurdity of American politics in a way that still resonates, where idiots are treated as sages and the joke is on all of us.
The Wizard of Oz
Well, it’s the Wizard of Oz, see.
Die Hard
The grandfather of the modern action movie.
Singin’ in the Rain
Just an old classic that happens to be perfect, holds up very well, still great to sit through. Gene Kelly was a fucking MOVIE STAR.
Amadeus
Set aside everything else that is incredible about this movie, and just go watch the scene where Mozart first meets Salieri and the Emperor for the first time. That scene alone would make it into my top 20.
Hannah and her Sisters
Woody Allen’s greatest drama for my money. He’s made lots of hilarious movies and lots of good dramas, but this for me is the one where it all just clicks into place and works on every level that he’s aiming for. Knowing his process — where he sort of changes it and makes it up as he goes — it’s a remarkable thing to achieve a movie this emotional and unified.
Noah Garrison
The Popular Kids
Star Wars
Saw it in the theater at 3 years old, and gave me a religion for life.
Empire Strikes Back
C’mon.
Blade Runner
I loved the film noir grittiness of it even before they got rid of the horrible voiceover.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Han Solo, but chasing treasure and fighting nazis?
Aliens
The epitome of a sequel - bigger, stronger, faster, more of everything.
The Class Clowns
Princess Bride
The perfect comedy - silly, sarcastic, subversive, and only a modicum if kissing.
Bull Durham
The perfect baseball movie
Wall-E
Funny and disconcerting, a silent movie with astoundingly expressive characters, my jaw was open from the opening shot.
The Castle
Amazing blue collar comedy from Australia filmed in 11 days that so incredibly captures some of the more absurd qualities of the country.
Swingers
For better or worse, this captured our era exiting college pretty insanely well. And everyone’s addiction to NHLPA.
Army of Darkness
Everything about this movie is fun
Sweeping Epics...ish
Lawrence of Arabia
See it on a big screen (Bridge on the River Kwai and Great Escape pretty solid alternates)
Chariots of Fire
I saw this when I was 7, and ended up running track for 6 years. I don’t even like running. Also, the soundtrack...
A Fistful of Dollars
So many western choices - Unforgiven, Shane, Silverado, but this is so damned iconic
Some other stuff
The Endless Summer
Changed an entire culture. Or at least mine
Die Hard
In a sea of no reload, death by the hundreds, suspension of disbelief 80’s action flicks, this was another universe of filmmaking
The Thing
Arguably the scariest movie ever made
Mad Max
(Original Australian English) somehow made me want to visit Australia more
Sunshine
Smart. Oh so incredibly smart sci fi.
Casablanca
Cannot believe I didn’t see this movie until I was in my late 20’s
Doug Matejka
The Fugitive
Chungking Express
You Can Count On Me
Ratatouille
The Limey
Badlands
The California Split
Being There
Godfather 2
Network
Le Samourai
400 Blows
Fargo
Husbands
All The President’s Men
A Face In The Crowd
Cool Hand Luke
The Shining
The Conversation
Safe
John Newman
They Live
Saw this when I was 12 and it made me feel like I was let in on an adult secret. The central idea still gets me going. Plus it’s pulpy with a classic Carpenter score.
The Shining
I saw the trailer when I was 3. I’ve had a dance with this movie since I was child and it just speaks to me. It’s about the alcoholic psychopathic killer lurking just beneath the surface of every father. It’s also about the inherent sickness of the white man!
Rosemary’s Baby
So beautiful and exciting and haunting. And haunted. Polanski is just the best. Too bad he’s a pedophilic rapist. Two of his films are my favorites of all time.
Tootsie
A perfect farce? Spoof? Whatever it is. It’s kind of between this and Ghostbusters and Back to the Future for greatest commercial crowd pleasing universally appealing comedy ever. But this is best. The script. And Pollock! All the performances are top notch.
On The Waterfront
Still holds up. Brando’s greatest performance. Script is one for the history books. And the SCORE. saw it when I was 17 and I loved it. A black and white movie about longshoremen. Movie has to be insanely good to capture a 90s teen. But I was obsessed with Brando.
Chinatown
There will never be another like it. There can’t be. The greatest private eye detective film ever made. Script is perfect. Performances are all mind blowing. Just watched it again. Never gets old. Or boring.
Reservoir Dogs
When I saw this I was… sixteen? I immediately started it over and watched it again. It was like a blast of insanity adrenaline. So fearless and crazy. I could not believe what I was watching. So I had to watch again.
Network
Gets better every time I see it. Could only be written by one dude. Paddy. A genius. So many words I’d never heard before. It’s a okay. Monologues. Dialogue goes on forever. Lumet’s direction fucks so hard. The pace and the editing and the look of it. FUCK.
Goodfellas
So much fun. So much fun. So cool.
Dr Strangelove
A comedy that’s still funny after 56 years? Fucking impossible. Genius. Kubrick. Sellers. Scott. Southern. The greatest.
Dog Day Afternoon
Pacino’s best. Another workman masterpieces of efficiency. Cazale is too good.
The Godfather Part 1
Art
The Godfather Part 2
Yeah it’s probably even better than 1.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
When I was 8 the thing I wanted most in the world was to see this movie. When I saw it I almost shit my pants. It’s fucking insanity.
Mulholland Drive
Probably my favorite movie ever. I just love everything about it. It’s so weird. This and Chinatown are the greatest LA noirs ever.
The Goonies
Watched it recently with my wife and it’s actually fucking brilliant. The kids performances are so good. It’s like a Robert Altman movie.
No Country for Old Men
Perfect. A perfect neo-western. I watch it whenever it’s on. Can’t say enough about it.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Jack. Milos. So disturbing. And funny. I love this movie so much
Bull Durham
Best sports film ever ? I saw it in the theater and it changed me.
Die hard
Also saw it.
Josh Breslow
Lawrence of Arabia
Greatest character arc of all time in the greatest film of all time. Do NOT watch at home. Wait for the end of corona and see it on a massive screen.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Best modern romcom. Perfect structure. Funny the whole way through. Holds up well. Yes, there are “greater” movies than this. But from one erudite ass to another — get over it. It’s hilarious and great.
Fight Club
The most pre-9/11 movie there is. Perfect performances, writing, and the twist doesn’t end the movie. As it never should (take notes “Us”... stupid “Us”...).
Mauvais Sang
Leos Carax’s second film, but his first starring Juliette Binoche (and his second starring my fave, Denis Lavant). If you fuck someone you don’t love, you get a fatal disease. There’s a cure. And they’re going to steal it. It’s a heist movie. It’s the most beautiful movie you’ve ever seen. Lots of set dec with primary colors, and just wait ‘til Juliet Binoche gets to monologue in a black turtle neck on a dark background. Looks like an angel head floating. Goddamn, such a good fucking movie. Probably my favorite final shot in any film. Also, watch anything and everything by Leos Carax. Heavily influenced by the French New Wave.
8 1/2
Greatest film about film ever made. Marcelo Mastroiani, Claudia Cardinale, and many others. Holy shit. Blow your mind good.
Once Upon A Time in the West
Best western ever made. I have a lot to say about this one, but I don’t want to ruin anything.
Wall-E
A nearly silent film for the first third.
The Princess Bride
If you have a heart, you’ll love this movie. If you haven’t seen this movie... how?
The Matrix
Most revolutionary action/sci-fi film of my childhood. Again, perfect structure, amazing fight sequences, and remember: they invented bullet time tech for this film. It changed movies forever.
The Mummy
The mummy? What’re you nuts? Listen up: a throwback to movies with charming outlaw-heroes, adventurous librarians, and dangerous tombs to be explored. You know what? I’m not defending this. It’s so much fun.
Children of Men
Again, I don’t want to ruin anything. One of the great one-ers before they became so so popular in Birdman, Breaking Bad, and 1917. Yes, yes, I know, Rope. Go fuck yourself. Clive Owen’s best performance. Just brilliantly shot storytelling. Y’know. A movie.
Taxi Driver
It was this or The Graduate, because they’re basically the same movie — come at me. But Scorsese was missing, so Scorsese gets the win. (Fine, fine, I’ll explain: both main characters riddled with ennui and anger at the world for not providing the way they were told it would. Getting their anxiety out by obsessing over women. One kills one fucks. In the end they think they’ve finally changed by getting with or saving the woman they love. But then in the final shot, we see they haven’t changed at all.
Chinatown
I don’t have to explain this. It’s CHINATOWN.
The Shining
A true story about the Coronavirus lockdown.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Greatest villain of all time. Also, at the risk of sounding like the arrogant ass I am deep inside and often on the outside as well: don’t think so hard. This movie makes perfect sense if you just lie back and watch.
Star Wars
You know which one. Don’t be an asshole. Another revolutionary film with perfect structure. If you want to get really nerdy, note the similarity in structure between this and The Matrix. And Jurassic Park for that matter, which is technically not on the list, but oh, look, there it is, you should probably think about watching it too.
Network
I’m not entirely sure how to make a better movie.
Double Indemnity
The quintessential film noir. Billy Wilder can kick ass in any genre.
Magnolia
Choosing between this, There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Boogey Nights was basically impossible. Best ensemble performance of all time. Best Tom Cruise performance of all time — I say this un-ironically, I unabashedly love Tom Cruise.
All That Jazz
This was a tough beat over Singin’ In The Rain and Les Parapluies du Cherbourg (a wall to wall musical, starring a young Catherine Deneuve. Need I say more?). Fosse correctly predicts his own death in this movie. The dancing is incredible. Ben Vereen is in it. And Jessica Lange is literally the angel of death and holy shit...
Jeff Meacham
Top Gun
Even writing about it I’m at half mast.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The greatest ensemble of acting you’ll ever see. The baseball scene is maybe my favorite movie moment ever.
Raising Arizona
Every time you watch it you find another brilliant and hilarious moment you missed the first 30 times watching it.
Chinatown
Film noire, Jack Nicholson, Polanski. I mean forget it, it’s Chinatown.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
I chose....wisely.
The Cider House Rules
John Irving is my favorite author and this movie cracked my heart in half. I had to be helped out of the theatre I cried so hard.
Jurassic Park
Spielberg made dinosaurs look real on the big screen. I was 14. Need I say more.
Cinema Paradiso
My favorite foreign language film of all time. I try to watch it once a year. The ending doesn’t get more beautiful.
Jerry Maguire
Tom Cruise at his best. Everyone likes this movie (except for Alek’s childhood friends. I’m sure they hate it)
Rocky
A perfect love story. Had the chance to see it on its original film in a theatre with Irvin Winkler speaking afterwards.
Mad Max: Fury Road
In my opinion the best action film ever made.
Sunset Blvd
One of my college acting teachers said this was his favorite movie of all time. I remember watching it on VHS in my dorm room and thinking, “Am I watching the best movie ever?”
Jaws
It has everything. Plus the 3 of them drinking on the boat is acting at its very best. Shaw’s USS Indianapolis monologue might be the top of Everest.
Silence of the Lambs
One of only 3 films in the history of the Oscars to win the big 5. Also, Buffalo Bill tucking his junk between his legs still freaks me out.
Goodfellas
The best gangster movie ever made.
Blade Runner
I still have questions even after seeing every version possible more than once.
Aliens
The best sequel ever. Game over man.
The Matrix
Still remember taking my step-dad to see it and blowing his freaking mind. His screen saver was the matrix for the next decade.
Heat
Have to have a Michael Mann film on this list. So why not have his best? Although I do freaking love Last of the Mohicans.
Moulin Rouge
I remember seeing Rouge at the Ziegfield theater in NYC in 2001 with a bunch of friends. I’m trying to think of something cool to say about this movie but honestly I just freaking love it.
Trevor Murphy
The General
Buster at his best.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Frederic March was nominated for an Oscar, and he’s still the scariest Hyde. 1931 was arguably the most frightening year in film history, as M also premiered.
M
This film is the template for creepy films with an unnervingly sympathetic villain. This film paved the way for The Silence of the Lambs 60 years later.
A Night at the Opera
This film is the best movie by the Marx Brothers, and it made films like Airplane! possible.
Double Indemnity
Best legitimate Film Noir. Your heart will pound when the car stalls.
Night and the City
The moral ambiguity of Richard Widmark’s performance in this movie is both unrivaled and, unfortunately, forgotten. This movie should be remade well. It has been remade poorly.
Pillow Talk
You’ll never read a tighter script.
Dr. Strangelove
Kubrick’s best movie? According to me, it is.
The Exorcist
This film is a master class in realistic acting in extraordinary circumstances.
Chinatown
Best neo-noir. Acting, script, and design are all impeccable.
Jaws
Possibly the best movie without any cinematic pretensions ever made. Perhaps the most engaging film ever made.
Rocky
Did you forget how great this movie is because of the crappy sequels? It’s a brilliant achievement, and the marketing department fully understood it for its initial release which offered the tagline, “His whole life was a million-to-one-shot.”
All That Jazz
Best movie about the seductive nature of an emotional black hole. This film beats out Leaving Las Vegas, which is a close contender in the category.
Robocop
Social satire, existential exploration of the soul, or police procedural with Christ imagery? Checks more boxes than you knew were on the exam.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
It’s impossible to describe the effect of this movie in the theater before people knew what it was. I witnessed audience members screaming with laughter. Ivan Reitman called this film possibly the funniest movie ever made.
The English Patient
Best film in the category of “I can’t believe how beautiful these people are.” Other films in this category include Allied with Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt.
28 Days Later
Zombies are hot because of this scary mother.
Casino Royale
Daniel Craig reinvents James Bond, and nobody can stop watching.
Brave
The most underrated of the Disney princess movies. A terrific film.
Paddington
Great movie. It’s a terrific movie for kids, and Paddington 2 is excellent, as well.