I'm in the process of setting up a film review-related website with a friend of mine, and one of the things we'll be doing is a sort of 100-best-of-all-time section. (I know all these lists are pretty passi and inherently suspect, but what the hell.) This just leads me to ask what would people here nominate as their all-time classics and also what would you say were the worst things you ever saw, as we'll also be doing a 100-worst-of-all-time too

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Answers

My best list would include ,in no particular order ,the following: Millers Crossing
Fist of Legend
THe Evil Dead trilogy
Dead Alive
Tombstone(only because of Doc Holliday)
Escape from New York
Repo man
Aliens 1 to 3
Crippled Masters
THe bride with White Hair
Terminator
Hardware
Raising Arizona
The Big Lebowski
The Professional
The Big Blue,
Gross Point Blank
Delicatessan
City of lost Children
Romper Stomper
LA Confidential,
Once were Warriors
Brave heart
Mad MAx Series.


-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

This list is more like classic films of the last 20 years, isn't it? That's fine with me, but I don't think you should call these "best of all time" films.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

My nominations would have to include anything with Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton silents, the 1927 (?) Napolean, Metropolis, Comfort and Joy, Local Hero, Gregory's Girl, some Charlie Chaplin silents,the original Gone in 60 Seconds, Star Wars ( Episode 3, but the first film ). Of course, Casablanca has to be in there and The Cruel Sea. Of modern films, I think Saving Private Ryan must be included for mere fact it does not glorify or cheapen combat, but tries to show the true horror and impersonality of it.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

It amazes me how people are so attracted to lists, particularly Best Lists. This doesn't tell us anything noteworthy or new about the films, just that you like them or that you think they are good.

If you're going to put all that time and energy into a website, wouldn't you want to do something creative and original instead of an idea that was dumb when the AFI did it, and is dumber still now that everyone's imitating it?

Geez, if you're so married to the list concept, put a new spin on it ... "Top 25 Movies That No One Ever Remembers, But Should" or "Top 10 Movies With Cameos By Dick Miller" or even, hell, "100 Movies The Stupid Damn AFI Forgot When Compiling Their Idiotic List."

Go read Harlan Ellison's Watching for your sins. Or at least High Fidelity, which is full of lists but funny, unusual ones.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

All Quiet on the Western Front Angels with Dirty Faces Annie Hall Apocalypse Now The Bridge on the River Kwai Casablanca Citizen Kane Das Boot The 400 Blows From Here to Eternity The Godfather The Godfather, Part II Gone with the Wind Goodfellas Jaws The Last Metro Lawrence of Arabia Mean Streets Midnight Cowboy Raging Bull Schindlers List The Seven Samurai Stagecoach Sunset Boulevard The Third Man Touch of Evil 2001: A Space Odyssey

And yes, I do believe Stagecoach is better than The Searchers.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Top 10 Movies With Cameos By Dick Miller
by Jan Bednarczuk

1. Little Shop of Horrors
2. 1941
3. Gremlins
4. Terminator
5. Cannonball
6. Candy Stripe Nurses
7. Twilight Zone: The Movie
8. The Gunslinger
9. Heartbeeps
10. Innerspace

HTH.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Jan, you ROCK.

I would have included "Rock 'n' Roll High School" ... but I have a weakness for The Ramones.

(Best line from the film: "Do your parents know you're Ramones?")

If I ever get a film website started, I'm inviting Jan first.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

My top ten favorites (in no particular order): 1). Bringing Up Baby 2). Truly Madly Deeply 3). His Girl Friday 4). Holiday 5). Theodora Goes Wild 6). The Awful Truth 7). Pat and Mike 8). All About Eve 9). It Happened One Night 10). You Can't Take it With You

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Jette, I agree with you completely about the list thing. I can only defend myself by saying it wasn't my idea, and if it had been up to me I wouldn't have gone ahead with it. As far as I'm concerned the only real function that best or worst lists of any sort have is to provoke arguments over whether or not you agree with them. I'd like to include older films in the catalogue, but personally I'd rather have just a section called "classics" with individual reviews as opposed to just a list. After all, the list is fixed, whereas a section has room to expand. Thanks for the suggestions, anyway. I'll see if I can convince the partner in crime.

Dongreat choice of films. Nice to know I'm not the only person here who would pick "Napolion" as one of their favourites.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

(Do not forget the foreign films, the silent films!!!)

Um, I'm certainly no film expert, but I like the following, in no particular order...

1) The Godfather 2) The Philadelphia Story 3) Modern Times 4) City Lights 5) American Beauty 6) The Shawshenk Redemption 7) Kolya 8) Being John Malkovich 9) Apocalypse Now 10) My Fair Lady 11) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 12) Ran 13) It's a Wonderful Life (come on, can't leave it out) 14) Schindler's List

It's pretty conventional, but no problem. :-)

As for bad films, I tend to repress.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

My top 10...

Bringing Up Baby, Papillon, The Great Escape, Cool Hand Luke, Rear Window, The Wizard of Oz, Nosferatu, City Lights, Life With Father, and The Princess Bride.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

Personal favorites (no particular order) - the old stuff: Key Largo; Seven Year Itch; Morocco; On the Town; The Music Box; Charade; Top Hat; The Wizard of Oz; Gilda; Fanfare (Dutch classic, check: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0051600)

The 'new' stuff: Marathon Man; Back to the Future trilogy; Beetlejuice; Hunt for Red October; When Harry met Sally; La vita e bella; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Amadeus; Black Rainbow; The Secret of my Success

Great entertainment: Die Hard; Speed; the James Bond series (except #6 and #17); anything with Clint Eastwood; ALL Star Trek movies.

All-time worst movies: American Beauty; Seven; The Negotiator; L.A. Confidential; Consenting Adults; A Time to Kill; Outbreak; The Usual Suspects; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; A Bug's Life.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

I sense a decided anti - Kevin Spacey slant in that last posting there. :-)

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

Try The 500 Fingers of Dr. T ... or Arsenic and Old Lace.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

I'm too lazy to make a list, but I'd put Napoleon on it too. Seen it twice, loved it both times. I like silents.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

Casablanca, Shadow of A Doubt, Outlaw Josey Wales, The Ten Commandments

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2000

OK I agree with the caveats but it's fun to construct a list. bein a film geek i'll force myself to stick to 25.

Conquest of the North Pole (George Melies, - 1910!!); "M;" Metropolis (two fritz langs maybe?); Boudou Saved From Drowning; Camille (greta garbo rules); Modern Times (chaplin's a genius); Double Indemnity; Sunset Boulevard;(gotta have some noir) Night of the Hunter (Robert Mitchummmm); Ivan and Abraham (French film about two children in 1930s poland, best sound editing ever, absolutely wrenching film); Days and Nights in the Forest; Duel In The Sun (must be seen to be believed); Rashomon; Nashville; Alien; Life is Sweet; Brother From Another Planet (or Men With Guns); Brazil; Do the Right Thing; Vagabond (dir. Agnes Varda); Underground (Emil Kusturica); Barton Fink; Delicatessen; Afterlife

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2000