Gatsby's Top 51 Films

51. Blazing Saddles: I have started it a couple times, don't know if I will ever get to it.
50. Edward Scissorhands Not my cup of tea
49. Diner I have always loved it. Great dialogue.
48. Mad Max: The reboot finally has me interested.
47. American Graffiti Bored me, been a long time.
46. Life of Pi Hated the book ends, the boat had its moments.
45. Memento Maybe all about the mechanics, but does it tremendously.
44. Jaws If I had seen it younger probably would be a favorite.
43. Black Swan Well done but the themes don't grab me.
42. The Apartment Top ten for me. I love the story and dynamic.
41. Paris, Texas Don't know how often I go back to it but I think its perfect.
40. The Sting Blew me away the first time I saw it.
39. Starship Troopers
38. The Shining Great atmosphere and lead performance.
37. The Conversation Grabbed me and then lost steam.
36. Ghostbusters Makes me feel like the no fun guy, but there it is.
35. Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels
34. 3 Idiots
33. Die Hard See Ghostbusters.
32. 2001: a Space Odyssey Makes me feel like the more fun guy.
31. L.A Confidential Noir, Neo-Noir, I am becoming a junkie.
30. Cinema Paradiso
29. Battle Royale: Sometimes starting ultra violent movies takes me a minute.
28. Plan 9 From Outer Space
27. Amadeus
26. King of Comedy Under rated Scorsese, hard to do.
25. Once Upon a Time in America: Saw it, remember being bored. Have to revisit.
24. The Big Lebowski Not my favorite Coen but I still love it.
23. The Green Mile Needs a rewatch but was very effecting
22. Rear Window Second favorite Hitchcock, in my top 25.
21. Infernal Affairs
20. Wall-E
19. 8 1/2 Loved bits, bored my others.
18. Raiders of the Lost Ark Greatest adventure movie ever.
17. Gladiator Been one of my favorites since my theater viewing.
16. Once
15. Leon: The Professional
14. Life is Beautiful Great premise. Funny in parts.
13. Airplane Used to love it. Sometimes we should leave well enough alone.
12. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Real good. I feel its length.
11. Spirited Away Some amazing sequences.
10. Requiem for a Dream
9. Fargo Top 3 for me. Perfect mix of everything.
8. Network Made its way into my 100. One of the best scripts ever.
7. The Blues Brothers: Don't know why I haven't seen this.
6. Ran
5. Taxi Driver: I think its great, just not as great as others think.
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Seen parts, not a Python guy.
3. Dr. Strangelove Some laugh out loud moments, some not so much.
2. Pulp Ficiton My number 2 as well. doesn't get any better.
1. Oldboy Great revenge film. Really engaging.

That is 34/51

Good list Gatsby. I enjoyed it.

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Letterboxd

Thanks Sean. Out of the films you haven't seen I recommend Cinema Paradiso and Leon.

Not only Sean, but I want to thank every single person who has posted on my thread at least once, regardless of whether you like my choices are not. It was a great few months.

Yeah, they are both on MoFo lists so I will get to them. Leon was pretty popular when I was at Blockbuster years ago. It looked like just another action flick to me so I never checked it out.

I haven't seen many of your top 10, but Pulp Fiction is a fantastic movie. So many memorable scenes of just pointless conversations, yet there so gripping.

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+ rep because Ed Wood is fantastic and on my 100.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Three good films there.

Great honourable mentions

Ed Wood is like one of the few Tim Burton films I like.

Thanks for sticking around for even The Honorable Mentions folks.

Also, hey Captain, I got the rep, but where's the epic speech?

Ed Wood has been on my watchlist forever.

Watch it. Please. Though I'm afraid for a lot of reasons you may not like it.

How do you think of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? I know you didn't really enjoy Sonatine.

Since you've asked me a few times now, I figure I should finally respond to this thread or else you'll start slapping me around. I know you have a propensity for violence.

Requiem for a Dream is a top 20 favorite of mine. There seems to be something in my family's DNA that increases our risk of addiction. I've had numerous relatives struggle with drug abuse and alcoholism. I used to think that I was mentally strong enough to avoid such pitfalls, but I quickly learned that my slope is slippery than most. Once I've gotten a taste of anything that gives a high, a feeling of elation, an escape from reality, etc., it's hard not to become obsessed with recapturing that feeling. Suddenly it takes over your life, dominates your thoughts. It's like the carrot dangling in front of the horse: you keep chasing after it, but it always eludes your grasp. For that reason, I'm drawn to films dealing with obsession and addiction, which is probably why I'm such a fan of Aronofsky, since all of his films explore those themes in some way or another. Requiem for a Dream is the most powerful, hard-hitting, visceral, disturbing film I've seen about the subject. It perfectly captures the tragic romance of addiction, when the weight of a pill or a baggie in the palm of your hand temporarily cancels out all your other troubles, even though most of those troubles are a direct result of your addiction. Requiem for a Dream peels back the soul of addiction: the psychological cravings, the physical deterioration, the toxic seduction, the ups, the downs, the withdrawals . . . Ellen Burstyn is amazing in the film. The score is phenomenal. So many scenes put a knot in my stomach and make me feel physically ill. Incredible film.

I love the Coen Brothers, but I don't love Fargo. I've only seen it once, though, and that was before I had acquired a taste for their trademark, offbeat humor. The mini-series was fantastic and makes me want to revisit the film.

One of my friends is a huge fan of Network, so I've had to listen to him yell "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" countless times. I wish I liked Network more than I did. I think it's extremely well-made and it features a fantastic script and great performances. The satire is brilliant and, in retrospect, quite foretelling. Yet it's a film that I appreciate more than I enjoy. You should check out A Face in the Crowd, a 1957 film by Elia Kazan. It deals with similar subject matter involving the media and the power of celebrity, and since it came out two decades before Network, I'd say it's even more foretelling.

Ever since watching the recent Saturday Night Live: 40th Anniversary Special, I've had a strong desire to watch The Blues Brothers. I plan on renting it one of these forthcoming weekends. The movie looks like a lot of fun.

Even though it's unfair to comedies and smaller films, when I think of the greatest films ever made, I tilt the scale in favor of ambition and scope -- films like Apocalypse Now, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fitzcarraldo, etc. Ran fits that criteria. I still favor Seven Samura by a slight margin, but I have no qualms with anyone who thinks Ran is Kurosawa's masterpiece. When I watched it for the first time, I had been in a bit of a rut with the movies I'd been watching, so it was empowering to watch a film like Ran and be reminded of the true beauty and power of cinema. As Swan said in his thread a few weeks back, Kurosawa and Shakespeare go together like bread and butter. Ran is also one of the most gorgeously photographed films I've seen with its brilliant use of colors.

When people ask, "Which movie character do you relate to most?" the two that first spring to mind are Norman Bates and Travis Bickle, which is a disturbing combination. (Obviously I have a lot of things wrong with me.) I always feel weird writing about my love for Taxi Driver, which is a top five favorite of mine, because the reason I love it so much --- besides Scorsese's technical brilliance and De Niro's transformative, soul-baring performance -- is because I see myself reflected in the character. I don't consider that a good thing, but it is what it is. One day I'll go into more detail about my relation to the film when I make my own favorites list.

Not seen any of the Monty Python films. I don't think their humor is really my style, but I'll check them out someday. Maybe they'll surprise me.

I found myself watching bits and pieces of Dr. Strangelove on TV a few days ago. The humor doesn't make me physically laugh out loud, but it is very amusing and I think you're right about it holding up well with repeat viewings. I prefer the much more dour, more much more straight-faced take on the subject matter in Fail-Safe (a lock for my 60's list), but I'd like to give Dr. Strangelove another chance before I submit my official list. There's something to be said for taking the piss out of a subject as frightening and deadly serious as nuclear war, so I give Dr. Strangelove major props for that. Even though it isn't a personal favorite, I do think the film is surprisingly underrated on this forum.

As you already know, Pulp Fiction is my favorite film of all-time and that will never change. It is the film responsible for opening my eyes to the wider world of cinema. Besides featuring the greatest script ever written, I think the film has a higher re-watch factor than any other film I've seen. No matter how many times I watch it, the film never grows old. I can hang out with Vincent Vega and Jules and Mia and Butch and the rest of the characters for the rest of eternity. Even though the film has a large fan base, I don't think people appreciate how uproariously funny it really is. Pulp Fiction defies traditional labels, but primarily it's a comedy, yet I rarely hear it referred to as such.

After being blown away by I Saw the Devil, I went through a period where I was temporarily obsessed with South Korean revenge thrillers. Compared to typical Hollywood thrillers, South Korea's output seemed so fresh, so exciting, so unpredictable, so daring, so dark! Oldboy is often considered the best of the bunch and several of my friends, despite watching very few foreign films, had already watched it and raved about it. After hearing so much praise for the film and loving other entries in the genre, I guess I had unrealistic expectations, because I was thoroughly underwhelmed. I love the premise. There are some great moments, like the superbly choreographed one-take fight scene. But something about the movie didn't click for me. Maybe it's because I found the mystery's resolution much less interesting than the set-up. Then there's the incest revelation which is supposed to punch the viewer in the gut, but instead seemed like kind of a turn on. Maybe that's just because I've watched far too much porn with incest role-playing. Or maybe I'm just a really sick person. Or all of the above. Hopefully a second viewing will increase my appreciation, but as of right now, Oldboy seems pretty overrated.

As for your honorable mentions, Ed Wood and Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid are favorites of mine. I've been very intrigued about Sonatine ever since you nominated it for the Hall of Fame.

Overall, this was an excellent list, Gatsby, although I think I like your 51-100 more than your top fifty. Regardless, we share a lot in common when it comes to the films we love. Great job with the write-ups, too!

Satisfied now?

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you're my personal hero, Captain!

Nice reply Spaulding. You put so much time into people threads .

Too much maybe. I'm afraid he's going to have his own version of Requiem for a Dream with MoFo.

Anways, thanks buddy for the long-anticipated write-up. You never fail to disappoint me.

Sooo... he always disappoints?

Actually, it was a brilliantly intended enantiosis.

Congrats on the list Gatsby. Few there I've not seen but most of those that I have, I really like.

Edit: great to see Lebowski in there

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.