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

Citizen Kane I really knew very little about this when I first saw it except that it was always being mentioned as the best movie of all time. After watching it, I'll listen to that argument. This is the movie that made me change my opinion of old b&w films. I watched it after the first AFI list was released because I figured if I'm gonna be a movie fan I need to see things that may be a tad out of my comfort zone. It wasn't the first b&w I saw but it was way better than anything else I had seen to that point, which was probably Freaks. The first thing that struck me was that it didn't FEEL like an old movie. The technical brilliance of Kane has already been discussed and all I can add to that is "Yep!" But technical brilliance doesn't make a great movie. If it did then Revenge of the Nerds would be top ten material. The way the story was told was just as impressive. I was sucked in pretty quick and by the time it was over I had a whole new level of appreciation for what I considered ancient flicks. Was on my list at lucky no. 13. Something about Kane and 13 just seem to go together.

Apocalypse Now Not a favorite but it's very good. Prefer the original over Redux. Had to go look it up and I have it at . That means it's probably hanging around my top 100. I haven't seen it in awhile so there's not much to say. I do remember the first time I saw it being completely hypnotized by the opening but not much else. I think, initially, I was expecting something more realistic but have grown to love it for what it is. The Jungle has never looked so good. Not surprised it's on the list and high on the list at that, but a little surprised it's top ten. Not complaining.

Apocalypse Now is one of those seminal classics that I have never really been over the moon for. I have seen it a couple of times, and certain scenes made an indelible impression, scenes I can still recall vividly, but I never really get the urge to revisit this film.

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Apocalypse Now was my #1. Another one of those fundamental touchstone kind of films where so much of what I like (and dislike) about cinema as a whole can be traced back to what it does, whether it's the lushly evocative means of rendering war at its most absurdly horrific or how it uses a basic narrative (hunt a guy down) and uses it as a peg on which to hang all manner of digressions about the human condition. As noted earlier, this does not mean it is a perfect film (because what is) but it was an easy pick for the top spot in my estimation.

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Apocalypse Now currently sits in my #10 spot, so I'm happy to see others boost it a nudge higher. This was a movie that I grew up knowing its title, a few quotes from it, and little more. I'm not sure when I first watched this, but I'm guessing during my college VHS days. I remember liking it well enough and acknowledging its place in cinematic history---or at least pretending to, mentally noting, "yeah. I've finally seen this one and I can tick it off my to-do list." I'm not sure how many times I've re-watched it, but it couldn't have been many. I'm not sure why, either.

Some time during the last quarter of 2020 I got a hankering to revisit it while compiling my personal top 100. I may have rented it from Amazon. I must admit that I was smitten with the lighting, cinematography, compositions, mood, on and on. As Mark f commented, "There are so many perfect scenes..." Truly, there are. I do remember sitting at my desk, in awe, noticing how even character shadows seemed to be playing their own roles. I mean, this film is gorgeous. I struggle thinking of more than a handful of other films that are as technically beautiful to look at. After that viewing, I immediately placed it into my MOFO top 10 list. I will need to test it again in a few months to see if I am still as attracted to it as I am now, but for the time being I am comfortable in where it is.

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I couldn't decide which Coen Bros. to put on my list so I didn't include any. Would have been between Fargo and Raising Arizona. Arizona didn't have a chance and I didn't think Fargo needed any help.

I'm just as surprised to not see The Princess Bride make it. Not in my top 100 but it is such a beloved movie that I thought it was a shoo-in. Overall, though, this list is MUCH better than the 2010 list.

APOCALYPSE NOW: People seem to talk alot about how much Coppola's Apocalypse Now unravels, becomes too self indulgent, is a mess and falls short of being a masterpiece. Well, good on it. Sometimes stumbling towards masterpiece status is what makes a film the most interesting. Sometimes having a fearless director like Coppola indulge every one of his ridiculous and unhinged ideas, is what I pay for. Does it all come together in the end? Yes and no and who cares? How else should a trip into madness end up? With something we can scribble down as the films overarching thesis, something that can make sense of everything we've seen once we step back into the cold light of day? Or something that simply leaves us exhausted and asking 'what the **** was that overripe melon of man babbling about in the shadows?" Having the biggest star in the world roll onto set, and mumble out whatever came to his mind instead of bothering with the script, IS the films point, even if Coppola might have been envisioning something even better. Indulgence has never smelled so good.

Apocalypse Now is a damn fine film, just not one I’m very passionate about.

And since we’re sounding off on Fargo it’s always been a kid-tier Coen for me.

Oh I’ve been planning on it. It’s gonna be like the airing of grievances during Festivus.

I got a lot of problems with you people! Tremors didn’t make the list? Are you insane?!

Called it


Great film, but voted for another Coppola..

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On a high note, at least 5 of my top 10 made the list.

Those screenshots show how important Vittorio Storaro was to the film. Sensational images.

Apocalypse Now is an amazing film that deserves the hype it gets. It's a classic for a reason. It still didn't make my list. I wish it were a top 50 instead of a top 25, it's just too difficult to include everything that deserves it.

10 Citizen Kane

9 Apocalypse Now

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Yeah, saw that a few years ago since I'd heard so many stories about the horror show that filming was. Would agree that it's a must-see. I enjoyed it more than the film itself. But as you allude to, it goes more towards admiring the work than enjoying it.

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?

Apocalypse Now - 7.5/10


(I gave the Redux an 8/10, but the score on IMDB on the original movie is a 7/10)... I guess I liked the dinner table discussion with the French.

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I had always heard how great Heart Of Darkness was, I finally watched it a couple years ago. I didn't get much out of it. Remember hardly anything about it at this point. I was pretty disappointed.

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Apocalypse Now is quite brilliant at times and fully deserves to be on a list such as this but for me is not the easiest of watches.

Seen: 82/92 (Own: 43/92)


Faildictions (Eternal vsn 1.0):
8. M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931)

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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.

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Apocalypse Now is great, except it took me some time to warm up to it. I initially found it boring, but rewatches have caused me to like it much more. With my subsequent viewings, I've noticed more and more thematic complexity, like how the various "stops" Willard's crew arrives at along the way to Kurtz represent different stages of dehumanization, or more layers of Kurtz's characterization in the final act. And, of course, the surrealism which runs through the film never gets old. This film didn't make my ballot, but it's definitely one of my top 10 war films. Glad to see it on here.

Come and See is still my favorite war film though.

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