The Tatty 100

I'm curious to see where Withnail & I will be on this list.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

If it appears at all...

Ooohhhh the tension!

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

RE: Silent Running - I used to love this film as a kid, and would cry at the end. Now, I can barely get through this film. The Baez stuff is simply unbearable. I still enjoy the interactions between Dern's character and the bots etc., but the heavy handed enviro stuff and the music seem to make me pass this one by when I am browsing my DVD shelves for something to watch...

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I know what you mean as the soundtrack sets my teeth on edge thesedays. Dern's performance is a joy to behold though, and the effects are still darned good.

20. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, James Foley)



Hard as nails.

Foley’s adaptation of David Mamet’s Pulitzer winning play crackles and fizzles it’s way into my top twenty.

People talk in awe of the specially written Alec Baldwin speech but, for me, I had to listen to the old Cadillac/steak knives spiel every Saturday morning at work…

A film I hold in my heart for many reasons, one of them being that Ricky Roma is a damned good salesman.

19. All The President’s Men (1976, Alan Pakula)



The doyen of modern political thrillers which becomes more relevant with each passing year.

18. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951, Charles Crichton)



As heist movies go, I can’t think of any better…apart from one.

Tense, wryly funny and with wonderfully drawn characters. Mr Soderbergh should take note…

17. North By Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)



Quintessential Hitchcock. North By Northwest sees the tubby suspensemeister at the very top of his game with a film chock full of chases, trains, femmes fetales, one liners, set pieces and innocent men on the run.

16. Chinatown (1974, Roman Polanski)



“You’re screwin’ just like a Chinaman!”

Now, I love gumshoe movies and Chinatown’s effortless evocation of 1930s California owes its brilliance to the winning combination of Robert Towne’s screenplay, Polanski’s reverentially fertile direction and Saucy Jack’s roguishly delivered lead.

As with everything in my top twenty, I could watch Chinatown till the cows come home.

15. The Long Goodbye (1973, Robert Altman)



Another gumshoe, this time from the master of cinema in the 1970s, Robert Altman. More than a parody or homage, the twist here is that Chandler’s Marlowe has been drop-kicked forward and, if anything, gains as a result. Again, a fantastic screenplay and likeable performance from Elliot Gould can’t fail to shine even brighter in Altman’s hands.

The Long Goodbye also features the best neighbours in cinematic history, or is that just me thinking with my ‘second brain’ again?

14. Unforgiven (1992, Clint Eastwood)



Clint’s marvellously rich elegy to the Western has been among my very favourite films since I saw it in the cinema. If anything, Unforgiven has matured and improved with further viewings and it now sits as one of the greatest Horse Operas ever made.

13. Brazil (1985, Terry Gilliam)



No one sees the world quite like Terry Gilliam and when he’s called upon to create a dystopian fairytale you’re pretty sure it’s going to end up in the box marked ‘unique’.

12. Blade Runner (1982, Ridley Scott)



Only number 12? I asked myself the same question as, for easily a decade, if you’d quizzed me on what my three favourite films were I’d have put Blade Runner straight in there.

I still think Scott’s film is a brilliantly realised near-future detective story but maybe my cinematic palette has been drenched by so much more in the last ten years that I can think of eleven films to place ahead of it…

11. The Wild Bunch (1969, Sam Peckinpah)



The finest collection of old gits in film who make The Dirty Dozen look like a Sunday School teachers’ glee club.

It’s meanderings around the ideas of aging and friendship (plus one of the most iconic walking shots in film) pull The Wild Bunch almost, but not quite, into the top ten.

Be afraid, my children. Be very afraid...

For The Tatty Top Ten is almost amongst us!

The suspense is, quite literally, giving me a slightly acid stomach.

::quakes::
This just keeps getting better! Ok, that's the point, but still: really enjoying your list, D.

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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10

Thanks my dear.

Hopefully, once this job of work finishes I can begin to watch new releases again.

Hang on, my DVD player's shot a dirty look in my direction. The little bugger's just spat it's tray out at me!

good list- there are a few that better make their way into the top- but i'll just have to wait and see.The suspense is terribble.....I hope it lasts....

How many of these films have you rewatched while working on this list?

Brazil? Wild Bunch? Glengarry Glen Ross? Chinatown?

This paves a tantalising glimpse of the top 10, although if you put Blade Runner at #12 - I don't know...

I'm not quite sure of the exact number. Lets just say the majority...

I put Blade Runner as 12 for a very specific reason - there's 11 films I'd place above it.

It's 28 (I know the date as my mum keeps reminding me that I fell asleep and had to be carried out - which is still the only time I've left a film before the end) years since I was first dragged, kicking and screaming, to a cinema. Thus followed a life of Saturday matinees down at the local fleapit (Lord knows why I don't have a contract out on Pearl & Dean by now) and a huge, noisy VCR as soon as we could afford one without remortgaging the family home.

I've seen, and loved, a heck of a lot of films and there were quite a few childhood favourites, like Blade Runner, that I rewatched for this list. Not in an 'I know it by heart and it brings back great memories' kinda way, which was very difficult with some, Ridley's film being the most difficult to rate as I've probably watched it more times than anything on the list.

The list is me, at 33, with a busted back and too much time on my hands. It's different to one that I would have made 10 years ago and hopefully different to one that I would make in 10 years time.

Enough of my yakkin', lets boogie!

They're seven of my all-time favorites too, and The Wild Bunch and Unforgiven are great films. I haven't seen The Lavender Hill Mob, but I'll be sure to check it out some time.

Lookin' forward to your top ten, Tatty.

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TOP 100 | "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

This list is personal. And I like it.

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The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.

Do you need more tea to finish your top 10 Dave?


Btw...are you also planning on doing another 100 list after this...like Afi's 100 lists? 100 laughs? 100 Thrills? 100 Hero's and Villian's and so on?

Sorry Annie, I've not been too well this last couple of days. Hopefully tomorrow as I don't want to keep you in suspenders any longer.

I think any more 100 lists would only serve to annoy people, not least myself.

I'm sorry to hear you've had a couple of rough days. Take it easy and get some rest. And, don't worry about my suspenders...they're pretty sturdy and can last a few more days.

Annnd...any additional list you come up with would never annoy me.

I am loving your list I have seen nearly all of them, and loved them i don't need to make a list you have done it for me waiting to see the last lot. great work

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

I'll send a bill later for saving you all that work nebbie.

Anyway, after a short hiatus: The beginning of the end...

10. Touch Of Evil (1958, Orson Welles)



Welles’ suspenseful, steamy Noir has some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen. He had a career of ups and downs, probably more of the latter than the former, but the creative spark was always present. None more so than Touch Of Evil.

9. The Ladykillers (1955, Alexander Mackendrick)



You can see why the Coens decided to remake The Ladykillers - ostensibly it’s a comedy thriller about a gang of criminals, with that offbeat rhythm and style so evocative of their best work. Perhaps it was an indication of their hubris or failing vision that the brothers thought they could begin to match this Ealing masterpiece. Not a snowball’s chance in The Hot Place.

The admirable supporting cast (including the cutest old dear in cinema) are perfect foils for a prime Alec Guinness as the bungling, slightly creepy mastermind. He looks like he’s having a ball…

8. Do The Right Thing (1989, Spike Lee)



Comin’ at ya like a sledgehammer, Do The Right Thing was one of the very few films to leave me open-mouthed on first viewing. Spike’s take on racial tension might well be a tougher watch than the cuddlier, glossier Crash, for example. It would be simple to huff and puff towards some form of righteously indignant finale but thankfully Do The Right Thing smoulders and builds quite masterfully towards the memorable crescendo.

I haven’t been so captivated by an American film since.

7. Withnail & I (1987, Bruce Robinson)



What can I say really? Withnail & I was such a favourite of mine from my late teens onwards that it’s indirectly responsible for my marriage - my future ex loved the film as much as I did and, being the only one of our circle of friends with it on video, I invited her round for a wine-soaked screening. We even went as far as renting a cottage near Penrith for 6 weeks one Summer…

A joyous, witty, profane and moving elegy to both the end of the 60s and the divergence of two friends. A treasure.

6. Naked (1993, Mike Leigh)



Mike Leigh’s Naked sees the fag ash of Thatcher’s Britain being chucked in the bin, with an astonishing performance by David Thewlis as Johnny. Part prophet, part poet, part prima Donna, part priest; Johnny is on a sarcastic, spite-fuelled train ride through the underbelly of London.

Naked isn‘t a comfortable viewing experience, but would have been far tougher if Thewlis hadn’t imbued his character with a spiky wit, moments of sincere tenderness and an unshakeable conviction in his fractured worldview. A triumph in organic filmmaking.


And so, as we chug our way to a conclusion like a car running out of petrol just before the precipice, I'll be back with the final five...

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Which ones? The only one I could find was from the film that stole your name...