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

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Once Upon a Time in the West and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are top-ten favorites of mine, and they occupied those same spots on my ballot. The former is simply the coolest western ever made. Leone's iconic close-ups with Morricone's iconic score, a blue-eyed Fonda playing against type, Charles Bronson making me want to learn how to play harmonica . . . An epic, operatic tale of revenge set in the dust of a mythologized Old West. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly always places higher on these lists, but to me Once Upon a Time in the West is Leone's ultimate masterpiece.

Very few, if any, films affect me emotionally as much as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. From immense joy (the "Juicy Fruit" scene, for instance) to rage to heartbreaking sorrow. I think it's Nicholson's best performance, and I'd also rank Nurse Ratched among the most effective movie villains due to her complexity and how successfully she gets under my skin. She's the ultimate embodiment of every authority figure whom I've ever felt had it out for me and the movie perfectly projects that helpless feeling of doing anything about it -- at least not without making the situation even worse.

I don't think I've commented since Rocky appeared way back at #59. Too many movies have appeared since then for me to give a proper rundown, so I'll just say that Sunset Blvd., No Country for Old Men, Unforgiven and Rear Window are the ones I adore the most. All of those would make my top 100, if not top 50. I'm surprised by some of the films already appearing on the countdown. I expected stuff like Back to the Future and Godfather Part II to easily make the top 20. I think we've got quite a few surprises in store, hopefully of the good kind and not of the "OMG, look at all the superheroes dominating the top of the list" kind.

All total I've had four movies from my ballot to appear (OUaTitW, Cuckoo's Nest, Toy Story, The Apartment). Andrei Rublev and Come and See remain the only two I haven't seen. I'm starting to worry that I'm the only one who voted for all those comedy masterpieces featuring Spade and Schneider.

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A Clockwork Orange has long been one of my biggest favorites and the movie I quote the most often. Along with Leaving Las Vegas and Deliverance, it's one of the movies I'd watch the most during my heavy drinking days for uncontrollable laughter.

Seen OUATITW once and thought it was awesome. It made my westerns ballot somewhere in the late teens or early 20s.

6. American Beauty
9. A Clockwork Orange
18. City of God
19. The Apartment
21. Die Hard



Tomorrow's hint:

Some teachers are tough
Both strict and restrictive
Tell you to move mountains
Or act downright vindictive

But numbers and koans
It has to be said
Can't be forced or coerced
Into your head



Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and The Matrix?
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
A backlog bigger than my film addiction!

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is my least favorite from the trilogy and I'm pretty sure at least the first one will also appear on the list - and very, very high, too, it seems. Way too high but hey, it's a fun adventure for the entire family! I saw the entire thing at least twice but many years ago last time. I was never on the LOTR hype train but greatly enjoyed these films as a kid.

Schindler's List is easily my favorite Spielberg film. "But man was created alone to teach you that whoever kills one life kills the world entire, and whoever saves one life saves the world entire." But again, it's been yeeeeeeeeears. You know, I start seeing the point of rewatches!

Rear Window is so fun I watched it twice. James Stewart is one of my favorite actors ever when it comes to the sheer joy of observing somebody on the screen. Grace Kelly is easy on the eyes, too, but sadly after two or so years, she decided to change her occupation from actress to princess. Oh well, the film is a voyeur's wet dream and made De Palma's Body Double possible. I like De Palma's kitsch even more than Hitchcock (sorry for the blasphemy).

Spirited Away is my second favorite Miyazaki right after Totoro (stop hating on Ponyo, it's the cutest ever and my third favorite!). Saying it's magical is an understatement. And that soundtrack kills! If you're new to Ghibli, this is the film you oughtta watch first! Guaporense thinks this is the best movie ever made and he's not far off. Just some 500-odd movies off.

It's A Wonderful Life is the paragon of Capra's naivety. Blindly believing in the American court system (or any court system for that matter) might be even more naive of him but it's It's A Wonderful Life that turns that naivety into something really wonderful! The best I can describe the film is the magic of cinema right in front of your eyes! American movies rarely get so dreamlike. Also, it makes a good Christmas film AND the lasso the moon scene is so iconic. Not my personal favorite but perhaps it should be?

Aliens is a film I watched only once years, years ago as a little kid and can't say a word about. Perhaps I ought to rewatch it but I'm not a fan of the first one (sorry for the blasphemy again) so I'm not sure if I should.

The Wizard of Oz is a fine film. The only scene I really remember is the jump of the lion through that window. That's so hilarious.

The Godfather: Part II is in my book perhaps even better than the first one. I rewatched the entire trilogy fairly recently (which means years ago but not long enough to not remember a thing) and the first two parts are really good cinema. The third one is better left unspoken of.

Back to the Future is another one of them classics I saw so long ago I can't really remember a thing.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is my favorite Milos Forman and even though I haven't seen all of his Czech films I doubt anything can top that! Watched it at least twice. Not much to say here except that it is a masterpiece of American cinema.

A Clockwork Orange is not my favorite Kubrick but I sure appreciate it. Could use a rewatch as I hardly remember it. What I can remember, though, is recommending it to my mom. She watched it and the film blew her away! Oh yeah, I can still remember the giant dildo scene. Kinky!

Once Upon a Time in the West is my favorite western of all time and my favorite Leone film, too. It's just so masterfully crafted, engaging, and I love how the mystery gradually unfolds in front of you. Watched it twice, second time with my mom and she was crazy about it!
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



Tomorrow's hint:

Some teachers are tough
Both strict and restrictive
Tell you to move mountains
Or act downright vindictive

But numbers and koans
It has to be said
Can't be forced or coerced
Into your head

Se7en



Tomorrow's hint:

Some teachers are tough
Both strict and restrictive
Tell you to move mountains
Or act downright vindictive

But numbers and koans
It has to be said
Can't be forced or coerced
Into your head
The Matrix and Se7en are my guesses
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Moviefan1988's Favorite Movies
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...?t=67103<br />

Welcome to the Dance: My Favorite 20 High School Movies
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...02#post2413502



If we weren't so far into this list I would have guessed one of the Kill Bill films for the first clue. I'm also thinking Raiders of the Lost Ark but can't get it quite to fit. The answers said on here seem a lot more likely, especially Seven with the head clue.



Tomorrow's hint:

Some teachers are tough
Both strict and restrictive
Tell you to move mountains
Or act downright vindictive

But numbers and koans
It has to be said
Can't be forced or coerced
Into your head
Interesting combo of The Matrix and Inception there.



Just a note that a lot of the clues are interwoven. It's been pretty rare that one group of lines is about one film and one about another, it's almost always both, usually back and forth/alternating, but not always (since sometimes one word points to both).



too far behind to give my thoughts on every movie, but here's my list so far:

1.
2. Lord the Rings: The Two Towers
3.
4. A Woman Under the Influence
5. Mulholland Drive
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Singin' in the Rain
11. The Night of the Hunter
12.
13. No Country for Old Men
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25. Good Manners (2018)

other films in my top 100: rear window (34), eternal sunshine (35), die hard (52), the silence of the lambs (57), godfather pt 2 (78), cuckoo's nest (84)
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Most Biblical movies were long If I Recall.
seen A Clockwork Orange. In all honesty, the movie was weird and silly
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