HitchFan97's Top 50: 2012 Update

It's sooo underrated; for my money, Play Misty For Me is one of the best thrillers ever made. Some complain it's dated, but I think it just adds to the atmosphere.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Me too

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
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Soon, my ten favorite films of all time

Some good films there, Hitch. Overrated, but good... Except The Shining, of course, which is an overrated snorefest.

"The Godfather Part II" is widely regarded as the best sequel ever made, and for good reason. Clocking in at a whopping 3 hours and 20 minutes, the film leaves plenty of room for expanding on its predecessor; indeed, it is a grand epic of a movie, perhaps even more so than "The Godfather". Its narrative is original and ingenious; switching back and forth between two different stories. We are not only given the continuing story of the Corleone crime family, as Michael expands his vast empire, but also the origins of this criminal network by showing us the immigration of his father and the actions that gave him power. In this manner, Coppola simultaneously creates both a sequel and a prequel to his masterpiece.




The performances, much like the first film, are flawless; so flawless that one does not even miss the absence of the wise old don that Marlon Brando creates in the first film. The best is Al Pacino, who reprises his role as Michael Corleone, and he delivers his finest performance in "The Godfather Part II". Much of the story revolves around his moral fall from grace, corrupted by the power that his father could somehow control. Because of Pacino, "The Godfather Part II" becomes more than just a sequel: it becomes a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions and the greatest screen portrait of a man who gains the world but loses his soul.

You know what I like The Shining

#9: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)

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In a time when Star Wars and E.T. were the dominant forces at the box office, it's easy to recognize why "Blade Runner", with a somewhat slow narrative, didn't do so well. Like so many great films, its reputation has increased with time; it is my opinion that Ridley Scott's dystopian masterpiece is the finest science fiction movie to emerge from the golden age of Hollywood blockbusters.




In futuristic Los Angeles, Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, the titular Blade Runner whose job it is to hunt down and kill rogue human clones called Replicants. He finds his toughest assignment in Roy Batty, one of the best and most complex of all screen villains. Beneath this simple action sci-fi plot is compelling philosophy that I suspect many viewers in 1982 did not recognize. Aside from all this, the film is a visual triumpth as well; with its rain soaked streets, endless pollution, and neon lights, "Blade Runner" virtually creates the tech-noir subgenre of science fiction.

#8: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

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The film that rejuvenated the crime genre for a new generation. The storyline of "Goodfellas" is simple enough; it is essentially a biography of Irish-Italian mobster Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta. But in the hands of a master filmmaker like Scorsese, the movie becomes something extraordinary.




"Goodfellas" is, like much of Scorsese's work, extremely violent, but we often forget this through the humor that the film injects. With its episodic vignettes and of-the-era soundtrack, it takes on a nostalgic quality, and we quickly find ourselves drawn in to Henry Hill's world. The performances are top-notch as well, and Pesci's Oscar is well deserved, even though "Goodfellas" was robbed for Best Picture. To put things simply, this is one of the most engrossing and purely entertaining movies ever made.

A genuine masterpiece. I love and adore this film. This is a brilliant choice.

that is a solid choice. Goodfellas is in my top 100 as well

Trying not to sound condescending, I find it weird yet pretty awesome that you're only 14. Fellow young people with a genuine appreciation for great film-making are bloody hard to come by these days. I have four years on you and you've seen more of the classics!

Nice to see Mulholland Drive. One of my favorites!

#7: Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

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Perhaps more than any other film on my Top Ten, I love "Pulp Fiction" purely as incredible entertainment. There isn't much more to it than that; yes, the narrative is unique and innovative, but Tarantino's masterpiece is nothing if not a superbly written and stylish piece of filmmaking that is virtually unsurpassed for sheer entertainment value.




Essentially, "Pulp Fiction" tells the intertwining stories of two mob hitmen, a boxer, and a gangster's wife. The less you know beforehand about it the better, but then again, it's unlikely that you haven't seen the film yet.

I still really like this film, but it doesn't excite me at all any more. I really should watch it again, but I feel a sense of dread about doing that.

I know I've said this before, but The Gold Watch gets weaker and weaker everytime I watch it.

That top 15 is quality so far, mate. Except Blade Runner, I just couldn't get into that film at all.

Not many movies can be called perfect. "Casablanca", the crown jewel of Hollywood's studio era, is one of these select few motion pictures. Since its intitial release in 1942, the film has reached an iconic status; a perennial classic whose reputation has increased, rather than diminished, with age. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick Blaine, a cafe owner in wartime Casablanca who finds himself forced to choose between love and his own safety when an old flame and her husband ask for his help in escaping the Nazis.




"Casablanca" was not meant to be anything more than just another film produced by Warner Bros. that year. Nevertheless, everything works so perfectly well here: the screenplay is endlessly quotable, the direction is immaculate, and we are treated to perhaps the most tender love story ever put on film. "Casablanca" becomes, then, an achievement of filmmaking and a reminder that classical Hollywood must have been a beautiful time.

I have to congratulate you on choosing so much 'quality' for your list even I myself don't particularly 'like' all of them. Goodfellas is a good example. I finally saw it last year and while I appreciated the acting, writing, directing etc it's far from a film I'd say I loved or even especially liked, and I can't really see myself watching it again that much.

Same goes for Casablanca, Chinatown, Dark Knight and like Brodinski, Blade Runner. Favourites from your list so far would be Batman Begins, Anchorman, First Blood, Toy Story trilogy, Rope and Forrest Gump

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Great list Hitch

FYI: Just got done editing a ton of my posts to give "Casino" a (rather high) spot on my list, which I watched recently. Ranks, for me, as one of Scorsese's finest.

#5: Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

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The pinnacle of the American New Wave? Artistically, yes; 36 years later "Taxi Driver" still remains Robert De Niro's finest performance ("Raging Bull" runs a close second) and Martin Scorsese's masterpiece. Not since this film has he ever crafted a motion picture that so perfectly blends thrills and entertainment with technical bravura, as Scorsese's New York City is easily the most grim yet hypnotically beautiful rendition of the Big Apple ever committed to celluloid.




This story of Travis Bickle, a nightshift cabbie and Vietnam War veteran on the edge of insanity, has become one of the most morally unsettling films of all time. It is the ultimate portrait of urban decay, social isolation, and maddening alienation. And these are the themes that guarantee "Taxi Driver" will hold universal relevance far outside of NYC's borders for years to come.

Good choice