My 450 Favorite Films Ever-A List I'll probably Never Finish

Tools    






444 Another Woman


Very underrated Woody Allen film about a woman desperately trying to find meaning in her empty life. Criminally underseen.
Love this movie...was sure I was the only person on the planet who had seen it.




412 This is Spinal Tap


Didn't laugh much, but this is still a superbly crafted,surprisingly subtle,and impeccably written rock mockumentary. It gets better the more I think about.
It's quite brilliant and trust me, with each re-watch, it gets more brilliant.



Finished here. It's been fun.


184 The Traveling Players
Theo Angelopoulos' mosaic that weaves together Greek mythology & history. One of the maestro's best.

183 Husbands
The most inaccessible of John Cassavettes' career--but also one of his most fascinating. There's a rawness to the character interactions here, as they feel less like movie characters, and more like actual people. A difficult, but fascinating, work.

182 Die Hard
As far as action films go, not many are better than this. Always replicated, never equaled.

181 Blood Simple
One of the Coen's best, mainly due to how masterful of a neo-noir it is. Difficult to believe that this was their directorial debut.

180 Once Upon a Time in America
I have issues with the film, but on a purely audiovisual level, masterful. Morricone's etheral music combined with Sergio Leone's indelible cinematography helps create visual poetry of the highest order.

179 Our Hospitality
Hilarious, visually inventive masterpiece from Keaton. One of his absolute best!

178 Creepshow
Childhood favorite that I adore for nostalgic reasons.

177 Eraserhead
Lynch, baby.

176 Bicycle Thieves
One of the essential classics from the Italian Neo-Realism movement.

175 McCabe and Mrs. Miller
I do take issue with the anachronistic song choices, but, apart from that, an excellent western.

174 Orpheus
The magic of Cocteau.

173 The Trial of Joan of Arc
Haunting like all of Bresson's films. However, not my favorite Joan of Arc film adaptation.

172 Notorious
One of Hitchcock's most sensuous films. The chemistry between Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman is palpable.

171 The Exterminating Angel
The brilliance of Buñuel on full display.



Finished here. It's been fun.


170 The Man Who Sleeps
Somewhere between Le Révélateur and Last Year at Marienbad lies this film. Shot in majestic black & white, it captures the loneliness of self-isolation.

169 Canyon Passage
The mastery of Jacques Tourneur on full display. Like the best of the American westerns--simple on the outside, complex beneath the surface.

168 Seven Samurai
Not much that can really be said about this one...

167 The Maltese Falcon
One of the essential film noirs. Bogey punching lots of people in the face.

166 Kiss Me Deadly
Unsettling film noir with a deep Cold War-paranoia undercurrent.

165 Body Snatchers
Abel Ferrara's chilling modern update of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers tale.



410 [b][size="3"]
408 The Warriors


Have to respect some of these 70's cult classics.
Nice to see some love for The Warriors...love that movie...might be time for a re-watch.



407 [b][size="3"]

406 Moon


I'm a sucker for speculative sci-fi, even if it may be somewhat flawed. Moon is one of the better sci-fi films in the last few years. Great performance by Sam Rockwell.
Loved Moon...Sam Rockwell is amazing.



Finished here. It's been fun.


164 Je, Tu, Il, Elle
I like *the* art-house.

163 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
I rank the trilogy all in close proximity to one another; this one is the weakest.

162 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Battle at Helms Deep is A-grade action filmmaking. At times, this is my favorite of the trilogy.

161 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Masterful worldbuilding and the best on-screen fantast

160 Phenomena
Argento is super kewl.

159 The Fire Within
A subtle, nuanced examination of a man who decides to end it all. It's spared of any saccharine nonsense that derails other films of this variety.

158 My Dinner with Andre
The type of film that I appreciate more and more as time goes by.

157 Jules et Jim
Lovely.

156 The Ascent
One of the greatest films about war because it doesn't sugarcoat or propagandize the horrors of what it does on the human conscience.

155 Shadows in Paradise
Droll romance, Kaurisamaki-style.

154 Autumn Sonata
The two bergmans, Ingmar and Ingrid, unite for one of the best drama's of the 1970s.

153 La Vie De Boheme
The most melancholic, and humanistic, of Kaurismaki's films. A perfect blend of tragedy and comedy.

152 Back to the Future
Grade-A entertainment.

151 The Killing
An excellent film-noir from Stanley Kubrick.

150 Every-Night Dreams
Directed by legendary Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse, a deeply-heartfelt drama about mothers, sons and absentee fathers.

149 Walkabout
Nicholas Roeg's atmospheric coming-of-age tale.

148 The House is Black
Life goes on, even in spite of deformity.

147 Touki Bouki
Unforgettable.

146 Opera
Not only Argento's bleakest film, but also one of his most experimental. The camera itself becomes a character.

145 Sonatine
An action flick coated in art-house themes and style.



Finished here. It's been fun.

144 Damnation
Severely underrated masterwork from Hungarian film legend Béla Tarr. The sequence in the titanik bar is one of my favorites...ever. The seedy, rain-drenched atmosphere is filled with the ennui and tedium that have come to define Tarr's films.

143 Cemetery of Splendor
Weeresethakul is a modern master. The reason: he has a style that's completely his own. His films aren't pastiches or "homages"; they're his vision.

142 Goodbye South, Goodbye
The gangster film gets the art-house treatment.

141 Ikiru
A film from one of my favorite sub-sub-sub genres: art-house films where a man nearing death reflects back on his life.

140 Wild Strawberries
Speaking of that genre...

139 Angel's Egg
One of the best animations I've ever seen, and, perhaps, the most artistic. Its ambiguous nature leaves a lot of room for interpretation, which is something I love. Don't spoonfeed me!!!

138 Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
This really goes to show what a versatile filmmaker the ol' Kubester was.

137 The Clowns
One of Fellini's most underseen films, which is quite unfortunate. I've never been a fan of clowns, but Fellini managed to show me why they were once such a popular form of entertainment.

136 Drive
The Goose drives a car. Spoiler: he's a real human-bean.

135 On the Waterfront
One of those films that made me say, "huh. Old movies aren't that boring."



This might just do nobody any good.
I've long maintained that a person's reaction to the ending of Ikiru is a foolproof indicator as to whether or not they have soul.



Finished here. It's been fun.

134 Carlito's Way
It's sort of a pastiche of other gangster films, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. De Palma is a master stylist who, in many ways, supplants his influences. This is one of his best.

133 City Lights
I'm more of a Buster Keaton guy, but I can still appreciate many of Chaplin's films. Of his silent features, this is my second favorite (my # 1 will be showing up soon).

132 In the Mouth of Madness
It's quite campy, yet that only lends to its Carpenter-ian charm. A grim, nightmarish vision from one of the true auteurs of cinema.

131 The Social Network
One of David Fincher's best films.

130 Syndromes and a Century
My favorite Weerasethakul (from what I've seen thus far). A showcase that the art of cinema is far from dead.

129 Ace in a Hole
Billy Wilder in peak form: human sentiment coated beneath cynicism. Also, features my favorite performance from screen legend, Kirk Douglas.

128 Cobra Verde
Kinski was a mad bastard, and his madness is on full display here. Of the Herzog-Kinski collaborations, this is easily the most underappreciated. It says so much about colonialism, slavery, and man's relationship to nature.

126 The Wild Bunch
My favorite Peckinpah, and one of the best revisionist westerns. It's a brutal, stark, and disturbing view of the west that's freed of Fordian idealism.

125 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Those colors....


124 Do the Right Thing
Pure atmosphere. I've yet to see a film that better captures the tangible feeling of those scorching summer months.

123 Blow-Up
Antonioni's brand of cinema can definitely be bothersome...but not for me. There's so much going on beneath the surface in all of his films; this one is no different.



Finished here. It's been fun.


122 Full Metal Jacket
As much as I love the first half, it's the second half that brings the themes full circle. This is a genuine anti-war film, showcasing both the chaos of war, and it's effect on the human soul.

121 North by Northwest
One of Hitchcock's most entertaining films.

120 F for Fake
A profound deconstruction of the cinematic image, reality vs. illusion, and what makes something 'genuine.' Makes me all the more excited that The Other Side of the Wind is getting an actual release.

119 Fellini's Casanova
Cinema as a dream.

118 Fallen Angels
One word: stylish.

117 Princess Yang Kwei-Fei
Mizoguchi in colour! Criminally, criminally underrated and as graceful as anything in King Mizo's career.

116 Man with a Movie Camera
The joys of cinema and all it can provide. This film makes me appreciate why film, of all the art-forms, is my favorite.

115 Grand Illusion
Humanity can be found, even in the midst of war.

114 Scenes from a Marriage
Viewed the condensed film version--and it's excellent. I definitely plan on seeing the full TV version one day.

113 Moonlight
A profoundly beautiful film. Viewing this at the cinema was one of my defining theater-going experiences.



Finished here. It's been fun.


112 Battleship Potemkin

111 The Ox-Bow Incident

110 Death in Venice

109 The Face of Another

108 Jackie Brown

107 The Gold Rush

106 In the Heat of the Night

105 The Match-Factory Girl

104 A Matter of Life and Death

103 Nights of Cabiria

102 Rififi

101 Il Sorpasso

100 A Summer's Tale

99 Alien

98 The Rendezvous of Anna

98 Star Wars: A New Hope & Empire Strikes Back

97 Blue Velvet

96 We Won't Grow Old Together

95 New Rose Hotel

94 Rio Bravo

93 The Third Man

92The Immortal Story

91 Escape from New York

90 Au Hasard Balthazar



Finished here. It's been fun.


89 Inland Empire

88 Cat People

87 Year of the Dragon

86 The Earrings of Madame De...

85 Cleo from 5 to 7

84 Ivan's Childhood

83 Laura

82 The Long Gray Line

81 Cool Hand Luke

80 Nashville

79 Le Cercle Rouge

78 Back to the Future

77 Floating Clouds

76 Breathless

75 The Spirit of the Beehive

74 The Before Trilogy

73 Orson Welles' Othello

72 Shoot the Piano Player

71 La Strada

70 Ran

69 I Vitelloni

68 Winter Light

67 Metropolis

66 Chungking Express

65 Double Indemnity

64 Pickpocket

63 Gertrud

62 Solaris

61 My Darling Clementine

60 The Browning Version



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Been a while since Ive seen such a good list!
__________________
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.



Finished here. It's been fun.
Been a while since Ive seen such a good list!
Thank you so much for the compliment! I think the final 59 will be the strongest yet--many masterpieces to come.



This might just do nobody any good.
Lots of wonderful titles in the last entry. Glad to see more love for Le Cercle Rouge, which I think I like more than Le Samourai. One of the coolest films ever.

Dying to see Ran, though I might wait to see in theatres. I saw an anniversary restoration trailer and it was quite something to behold on a phone so...

Chungking Express is another high on my watchlist. Moved up after hearing Barry Jenkins talk about his inspirations for Moonlight.



Finished here. It's been fun.


59 Ugetsu

58 Casablanca

57 As I was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

56 Taxi Driver

55 Jaws

54 Goodfellas

53 Vertigo

52 Rosemary's Baby

51 The Blackout

50 When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

49 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

48 The Shop on Main Street

47 Out 1

46 A Countess from Hong Kong

45 All That Heaven Allows

44 Chinatown

43 Love Streams

42 The Searchers

41 Hatari!

40 How Green Was My Valley

39 Only Angels Have Wings

38 Zodiac

37 Eternity and a day

36 The Thing

35 L'Avventura

34 Fitzcarraldo

33 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

32 Miami Vice

31 The New World

30 Sansho Dayu

29 Young Mr. Lincoln

28 Paths of Glory

27 Suspira

26 Werckmeister Harmonies

25 Days of Heaven

24 Heat

23 Blackhat

22 Amarcord

21 Barry Lyndon

20 The Passion of Joan or Arc

19 Paris, Texas

18 Cries and Whispers

17 The Mirror

16 The Lady from Shanghai

15 Los Olvidados

14 Letter Never Sent

13 8 1/2

12 Citizen Kane

11 Nostalghia

10 Picnic at Hanging Rock

9 A Woman Under the Influence

8 The Shining

7 The Godfather Part 1 & 2

6 Fanny and Alexander



Finished here. It's been fun.


5 The Turin Horse

This changed it all for me: the way I view cinema, the way I analyze films, and the way I approach art. Never have I seen a film that haunted me for so long, making me quiver even in my dreams. I will never forget the moment when I saw this film's final frame. After two-and-a-half hours of tedium and repetition, the main characters sit at a table to eat their daily meal, until one of them stops eating. It was at that moment when I understood Tarr's message; oh, how I understood.