The Movie Forums Top 100 of All-Time Refresh: Countdown

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Like many genres, "War Film" is problematic. All Quiet On the Western Front and Platoon are obviously war films. But what about Schindler's List which doesn't cover combat? What about Coming Home? What about Henry V? What about The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? What about Starship Troopers? What about Dr. Strangelove? What about Duck Soup?
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I love that act on its own. I think that its surreal and bizarre nature as well as Kurtz' demeanor works as a great contrast to all the chaos and insanity leading there. But aside from that, I give props to Coppola for crafting something workable (letalone as good as I think it turned out) from all the mess he had to deal with, so it works for me on those two levels.
Yeah, I can certainly see that, and I think you and crumbs are on the same page here. It's probably worth mentioning that I watched the movie after I had read Conrad's Heart of Darkness, so at least to some degree I was viewing the film through that lens, fairly or not. Conrad's Kurtz is quite different (mostly, more absent) than Coppola's Kurtz, and I guess I prefer the former.



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Apocalypse Now was a classic I took awhile to see, admired well enough when I saw it, but really have no emotional connection to and no plans to watch again any time soon. That's usually my reaction to any film that spends a lot of time detailing someone's degrading mental state. I can appreciate its ability to try to put the sound-minded into a contrary situation, but it's not the kind of thing I feel the impulse to revisit, or find enjoyable on a deep level.
This is how I feel about such films too--or, really, any film whose feel and ambiance has a certain amount of despair.

But, I am also old enough to remember the emotional fallout from Vietnam and that whole mess of a war. No glory, just confusion and division. So, I can appreciate a film like this dealing with the mix of emotions with which so many were striving to deal. It captures what my teenage self remembers "feeling" during that time, without having actually been there.

But I too never feel I need to rewatch this one, for a lot of those same reasons. It just makes me feel too raw.



My list:  
dont worry chyp, together with @Mr Minio we should have three solid votes for When Woman Ascends the Stairs and the rest is first spot guarantee

oh wait
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Apocalypse Now is a worthy contender, though I went with other Coppola films for my list.


That sound was my tears falling as my Fargo hopes were dashed.

I think Apocalypse Now is really great. I definitely need to see it for a second time. Just bummed Fargo didn't even hit the 100. I really thought it was the most popular Coen.
My sentiments exactly.


Apocalypse Now, I only seen it once and like two decades ago, so I don't remember it well. Though from what I remember I would prefer Platoon over it. Speaking of Platoon did it not make the countdown at all? Maybe we need to do a War Films Countdown next?
Considering how The Great Escape, Grave of Fireflies and Pianist would most probably won't feature on this list now, I support doing this countdown.



My prediction:

1. The Godfather
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Jaws
4. Casablanca
5. Blade Runner
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. Pulp Fiction
8. Goodfellas
9. Citizen Kane
10. Apocalypse Now

I had Citizen Kane and Apocalypse Now reversed. I'm sticking with the remainder of my prediction.
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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
My view of Apocalypse Now is tainted because I saw the overly long Redux version and I would much rather have seen the Theatrical Cut. I might have liked it more than I did.

Due for a revisit though.
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Re: original vs. Redux, I agree with the general consensus that (whatever my issues with it) the original cut is preferable to the Redux cut. The added scenes work better individually than collectively and drag down the pace.

On another topic, The Princess Bride was one of my final cuts; it would easily make my personal Top 100. It's an absolute treasure.



The Adventure Starts Here!
Quick question for the group, perhaps a naive one: Why all the love for Goodfellas as a top-ten? I mean, I loved it myself and have rewatched it many times... but I wouldn't see it as a top-ten pick. What's the appeal? What makes it iconic or classic enough to make the top ten here? (Not disparaging--really, just asking.)



As with most reduxes, I don't think the redux to Apocalypse Now adds much to the theatrical version's themes and more or less bloats its runtime. I greatly prefer the original cut.



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I liked the French Plantation stuff but the Playboy girls part was a waste of time, can't remember what else off hand was in the Redux.
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Quick question for the group, perhaps a naive one: Why all the love for Goodfellas as a top-ten? I mean, I loved it myself and have rewatched it many times... but I wouldn't see it as a top-ten pick. What's the appeal? What makes it iconic or classic enough to make the top ten here? (Not disparaging--really, just asking.)
It's my favorite Scorsese flick, and on this particular list, I tried to lean more into my favorites rather than what I objectively thought were the best films ever made, as I don't think I have the knowledge or will to do such a thing. I would probably put at least two other Scorsese films above Goodfellas if I ever did try to go full-objective (never go full objective!), but I would never do such a thing.

I likes the French Plantation stuff but the Playboy girls part was a waste of time, can't remember what else off hand was in the Redux.
I demand still frames of these playgirls, so as to judge for myself. In a very clinical and academic way, of course!
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Quick question for the group, perhaps a naive one: Why all the love for Goodfellas as a top-ten? I mean, I loved it myself and have rewatched it many times... but I wouldn't see it as a top-ten pick. What's the appeal? What makes it iconic or classic enough to make the top ten here? (Not disparaging--really, just asking.)
Couldn't you ask that of any and every film on this list, top ten or not? Personal taste, I reckon. I happen to think it is Scorsese's masterpiece among masterpieces. I guess enough other MoFos agree?



Couldn't you ask that of any and every film on this list, top ten or not? Personal taste, I reckon. I happen to think it is Scorsese's masterpiece among masterpieces. I guess enough other MoFos agree?
I'm not the biggest Goodfellas or Scorsese fan, which I've said a lot of times, but I agree with the overall statement. If it makes it, it makes it
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We've gone on holiday by mistake
Couldn't you ask that of any and every film on this list, top ten or not? Personal taste, I reckon. I happen to think it is Scorsese's masterpiece among masterpieces. I guess enough other MoFos agree?
Agreed, if the Godfather is the masterpiece of the upper ranks of the Mafia then Goodfellas is the masterpiece of the lower ranked guys.

I would say it's my most likely to just watch if it's on TV.



As with most reduxes, I don't think the redux to Apocalypse Now adds much to the theatrical version's themes and more or less bloats its runtime. I greatly prefer the original cut.
The only time a new cut of a film makes sense as being necessary is if the studio or a producer interfered and forced a filmmaker to make edits they did not want to make. With infamous butcherings, like Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, of course it is glorious to see the film as the director intended. With Gilliam's Brazil or the Final Cut of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner these are the full, uncompromised versions that were originally intended but unable to be realized until years later. The Lord of the Rings are special cases as extra footage was filmed designed to be included in longer cuts for the DVDs. But for a while there in the late '90s and into the 2000s "Director's Cut" simply became a marketing gimmick on DVD packaging. In those types of situations it is always a worse cut because it is unnecessary. Include extra scenes and alternate takes as supplements, I'm all for that, but don't recut the movie just because you can.

To me Coppola's recuts (he has also recut The Cotton Club and most recently The Godfather Part III) feel more like the because-I-can camp. But whatevs.



Even if my list was strictly objective I think Goodfellas would still be there. That long introduction. The frantic storytelling with narration. The stylized use of music. Goodfellas did it best and has been being copied ever since, no?
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