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

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I had it at #22. It's a good film-- quirky story and innovative dialogue. I think Sam Jackson's character was good enough the he more or less acted the same character in most of the movies he's done since...
I would say objectively it's a very good film...it's very unique and was ground breaking too. But I just plum don't like that Tarantino's films



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
We got it all, on UHF (U-H-F)!


hmmm. How does this circle around to Bartertown, I wonder....



The trick is not minding
We got it all, on UHF (U-H-F)!


hmmm. How does this circle around to Bartertown, I wonder....
It doesn’t. Don’t force it. We don’t need another hero



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
It doesn’t. Don’t force it. We don’t need another hero

*SPRUNG!!*
You took the bait!!!!! mmmmwahahaahahahahahaa.....




*quick serious look. Through. your. soul.*
Play something ....tragic, Ton Ton.



The trick is not minding
*SPRUNG!!*
You took the bait!!!!! mmmmwahahaahahahahahaa.....




*quick serious look. Through. your. soul.*
Play something ....tragic, Ton Ton.

It was my trap you have sprung!
Mwa.
Ha.
Ha.

Well, ain't we a pair, raggedy man?



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
It was my trap you have sprung!
Mwa.
Ha.
Ha.

Well, ain't we a pair, raggedy man?

I just lol'd 3x.. Was pretty sinister sounding too.



This is the first time I remember where there's two movies this high up that people don't know which one will make it

I'm leaning The Departed at 4, 2001, Goodfellas, and then Godfather taking the cake

Fell a bit behind but the final two films from my list made it, was getting a bit nervous about Chinatown- which is not only my favorite film but the greatest film ever made

1. Chinatown
2. Persona
4.Rosemary’s Baby
7.Apocalypse Now
11. Rear window
14. 12 Angry Men
16. The Shining
17.Mulholland Drive
19. Vertigo
25. The florida project (1 Pointer)

My list: 9/25

Either way of who's top 4 looks like I've only seen 68 movies from this list- I'd say The Thin Man is my highest priority to knock out next
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Yeah, there's no body mutilation in it



My Summary:

Seen: 87/96
My list: 15/25

My List  


Like some of you, I'm gonna jump ahead a bit and highlight one of my choices that I knew had no shot from the beginning of this, but I love it anyway, and it's HBO's Conspiracy, from 2001.


The film follows the events of the Wannsee Conference, held by a group of high-ranking Nazis during World War II, to ensure their cooperation on the "Final Solution" and delineate some logistics about the "program". However, the meeting was primarily a power play by Reinhard Heydrich (played by Kenneth Branagh) as he attempted to consolidate support and power from the party.

In a similar vein to 12 Angry Men, the film takes place in one location, most notably the room where this group of 11 individuals sit, plan, talk, and joke about the mass extermination of Jews, all while munching on hors d'oeuvres. In that aspect, I've always found it impressive how much the film managed (and still manages!) to captivate me ever since one of my older brothers led me to it years ago.

The film is anchored by a solid cast that features Branagh, Stanley Tucci, and Colin Firth, among many others, mostly British theater actors; all delivering great work full of nuance. I'm a World War II buff, but I think even regular viewers would find themselves engrossed by it. The script and dialogue are chillingly great, and to see how this madness could have been unfolded, presented, digested, and accepted by so many people is quite something.

I wrote something about it years ago (click here), but to sum it up, I think this film is definitely worth a watch for anyone, but especially to WW2 buffs like me.

(Film is available on HBO Max, for those interested)
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I had already seen Pulp Fiction and I didn't like it, but I knew that it was going to place high on the countdown, so I decided to watch it again to try to figure out why people seem to like this movie so much, but I just don't get it. I don't think there was even one likable character in the movie, and there is way too much violence. I think the only scene that I liked was the final scene in the diner with Tim Roth and Samuel Jackson.
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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.



This is the first time I remember where there's two movies this high up that people don't know which one will make it

I'm leaning The Departed at 4, 2001, Goodfellas, and then Godfather taking the cake

There actually isn't a mystery. It's Casablanca, Goodfellas, The Godfather, and 2001. Sorry, but The Departed did not make it.
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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.



I had Pulp Fiction somewhere around the middle of my list, but there are not many films that will ever be as important and influential as it to me.

I had just watched Reservoir Dogs and can remember thinking "wow, who on Earth made this? I want more", Pulp Fiction was next and then the rest of Tarantino's films, then I went on to Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson and so on. My eyes had been opened to films as an artistic medium beyond anything I had ever noticed before.

It's the film I have seen more times than any other film. If I was to guess how many times it would probably be about the 50 mark. One of those was at the cinema with my brother, a great experience. In a way perhaps that's the reason why I've gone with other films that have impressed me more recently above it in my list, but I can promise you that still every time I watched the film I find it to be absolutely fantastic, fun, fresh, as hilarious and exciting as it ever has been.

I'll copy in the thoughts of 18 year old me:

Quentin Tarantino is and probably always will be one of my favourite film directors, and probably the first ever director whose films I truly fell in love with.

Despite his popularity and success, largely gained through his two first films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, the name Quentin Tarantino tends to divide the opinions of film watchers and critics. Whilst some are huge fans that thoroughly enjoy the director’s unmistakable style, others are less enthusiastic when it comes to his work, less impressed by his often used mixture of violence, comedy and pop culture references, some considering him a talentless hack, ripping off the work of others, a film geek that got lucky. Whilst I would be lying if I said I did not consider myself a ‘Tarantino Fanboy’, I am not here to argue with his critics over whether Tarantino is a con artist, whether his career has gone downhill since Pulp Fiction, or various other topics I often hear discussed, I simply want to share with you the reasons that I love Tarantino and talk about the influence and impact his films have had on me personally.

The first ever Tarantino film that I saw was also the director’s first: Reservoir Dogs, although this viewing was not until 20 years after the film’s original release. Before watching this film I never really considered myself to be a serious film watcher, I watched films purely for enjoyment, normally with friends and family and I certainly never read about films or discussed them with others fully or seriously.

This film was like nothing I had ever seen before, and completely changed my perspective of films. After watching it I was amazed, it was quite violent yet definitely one of the ‘coolest’ films I had ever watched, Tarantino’s combination of various elements hit all the right chords for me as a film viewer: a fantastic cast, a superb screenplay filled with tons of memorable dialogue that makes watching these characters who are stuck in a warehouse fascinating, great use of music in scenes ranging from ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’ in the film’s most iconic scene to ‘Put the Lime in the Coconut’ at the films end, and a bizarre mixture of violence and humour as mentioned before that I certainly found entertaining.

I watched the film again within a week of first seeing it; I had to see it again, it was one of the most fun film experiences I had ever had. When this film was originally released, a video store worker, wannabee film actor and writer Tarantino become an instant hit with American audiences thanks to the funding of Harvey Keitel, if this film started a cult following of Tarantino back in the 90s then I can certainly see why as it had a similar affect on me, I was immediately swept into the world of Tarantino and just wanted to see more and more of his films. My next film was a natural choice for two reasons, it was his second directed feature and I also knew it was regarded as his strongest film: Pulp Fiction.



Pulp Fiction
had everything I loved about Tarantino’s first film and more, never had a two and a half hour film flown by so fast, an exhilarating experience to say the least, I thought Reservoir Dogs was ‘cool’ but this film took it to another level once again in terms of film greatness. It became an instant classic for me, and will be a film I will always remember, whilst since watching it I have gone on to expand my film viewings to various countries, directors and decades across cinema, and although I have viewed many magnificent films, none of them come close to Pulp Fiction as a first time film watching experience for me.

Watching Pulp Fiction gave me a greater insight into the mind of Tarantino and after watching it a few times I began to get a greater idea of his directorial style. Pulp Fiction might just be the greatest ‘men’s’ film ever created, with the laid back characters bringing so much style and charisma to the screen. I had fallen in love with Tarantino the director, but also importantly, the writer.

One similarity I noticed between Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction was how their openings had me gripped from the very start, Reservoir Dogs opens with a fantastic conversation between the group of criminals discussing the meaning of Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin’ and in this conversation are many great and humorous quotes, then we see them walking down the street to the sound of ‘Little Green Bag’, the film kicks into gear to the sound of a fantastic energetic 1970s song. In Pulp Fiction we have a similar style opening, a strange but great conversation between two characters, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny in which Tarantino slowly builds up until the point where they stand up, get out their guns and tell everybody to get down, then the iconic tune ‘Misirlou’ hits to get the film going. These highly detailed, full of dialogue scenes in which Tarantino introduces his characters have remained as the opening formula for his films as I will talk about later.

I could write thousands of words per film when it comes to Tarantino, and whilst I want to individually review all of his films eventually, I won’t really do that here, and instead just talk about how the films made such a big impact on me and what exactly drew me towards Tarantino. With his first two films I think they appealed to me mainly because I am a young male, the films are driven by masculine characters, cool, laid back characters that are extremely likable and we wish we knew. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson remain two of the coolest on screen characters ever created, the latter is just brilliant and carries such a fantastic screen presence in his role as Jules, then in Pulp Fiction you have Bruce Willis, one of the ultimate masculine male actors who was superb in such a role in Die Hard.
I'm also disappointed we didn't get to see more of his films on this list. Inglourious Basterds missing out is probably the most surprising.

I know I'm in the minority but for me, his last two films would probably be contenders for my favourite film of his nowadays. They seem to be perceived as more indulgent but I personally think that they're more complex and nuanced in many ways and very interesting social/political commentaries. They have the two most emotional endings that he has written, I reckon.
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I know I'm in the minority but for me, his last two films would probably be contenders for my favourite film of his nowadays. They seem to be perceived as more indulgent but I personally think that they're more complex and nuanced in many ways and very interesting social/political commentaries. They have the two most emotional endings that he has written, I reckon.
I liked The Hateful Eight, but didn't care for it that much. However, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is probably my #3 from him. Loved it.



I liked The Hateful Eight, but didn't care for it that much. However, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is probably my #3 from him. Loved it.
I thought that The Hateful Eight was especially interesting because it was released at a time of inflamed racial tensions in America. I remember some of the Black Lives Matter protests before the film that Tarantino attended and got a lot of criticism for, especially from Police Unions who called on the public to boycott the films.

Watching the film with this extra added context just amplifies its power and story to me. I think it's a very depressing film that highlights the fact that despite we're now 140+ years on from the American Civil War, we've still got a lot of work to do, and that racism still exists and hurts many in society.

When the Abraham Lincoln letter is read out at the end, I find it to be very emotionally moving. You have this document which is fake but reads like it could be from Lincoln addressed to a black man, congratulating him on his service, talking about the wonders of life, saying we hope to speak again soon. It's fake in the film, and you can argue that it's fake in another way in reality. The truth is that this optimistic hope for America has in many ways not materialise, and why not? At the end of the day we are all human, we have no reason to hate each other. We all die the same.



Pulp Fiction did not make my list but is a
movie. I liked it enough the first time I watched it but it's a movie that really benefits from multiple viewings. There are so many little details that can be missed on the first or even second viewing that really add to the film as you begin to pick them up. I also love movies that have what I call uncomfortable laughter. Laughing at horrible things and two movies stand out as the best examples of that: Pulp Fiction and Fargo. Tarantino has as many 5/5 movies from me as Spielberg yet none made my top 25. I've always had a crush on Pam Grier so Jackie Brown is my favorite Tarantino. Not just because of Pam but her being the star of it doesn't hurt.