Prospero's 100 Faves

What the hell, I might as well jump on the Top 100 bandwagon. But it has proven very difficult to come up with a list, let me tell ya. I keep thinking of more and more great movies the longer I work on it. But I have finally finished the list, and now I'm just working on the details and collecting pics.

The list itself is very changeable, too, depending on my mood. Is #50 always better than #53? Of course not. But I've tried to put them in some sort of approximate order. You will see many familiar names here, but hopefully some that you may not have heard of.

As far as presentation goes, someone else has already done the quote thing, so I think I will just present the name, year and director along with the pics, and each film will receive a one-sentence review or comment. What this means is that I'm a lazy bum.

But anyway, here goes.

100. Marat/Sade (1967) Directed by Peter Brook
Talky and disturbing, this movie makes it onto the list because of the strong script by Peter Weiss and Adrian Mitchell and the brilliant performances of all involved, especially Patrick Magee and Glenda Jackson (in her feature debut).





99. Throne of Blood (1957) Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa’s masterful adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of my favorites of his, with “Lady Macbeth” guaranteed to give you the creeps.






98. The Quiet Man (1952) Directed by John Ford
Okay, so maybe I’m a sucker, but I love John Ford’s Irish love story, corny as it may be.







97. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) Directed by John Frankenheimer
It’s a testament to this paranoid thriller’s greatness (and Angela Lansbury's remarkable performance) that I love it even though I really can’t stand Frank Sinatra.






96. The Graduate (1967) Directed by Mike Nichols
I know, I know: this movie is one everyone’s top 100 list, but it’s a brilliant look at the disaffection of youth, so it belongs there.






95. The Thing (1982) Directed by John Carpenter
Carpenter’s terrific adaptation of the John W. Campbell short story is a classic tale of horror, suspense and paranoia.






94. Das Boot (1981) Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Claustrophobic and suspenseful, this ranks as one of the greatest submarine epics.






93. A Cockwork Orange (1971) Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Malcolm McDowell’s breakthrough performance is just one of the highlights of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece.






92. The 39 Steps (1935) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
It was a tough decision between this, Strangers on a Train, and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), but this deft mixture of suspense and humor won out for its place in my top 100.






91. High Fidelity (2000) Directed by Stephen Frears
I can’t even begin to say how much fun this movie is.

Well, that's a pretty solid start, although I'd probably rank The Thing much higher.

I think you need to fix that up.

Looking forward to the rest of this list.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

I think it's highly appropriate the way it is.

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Thanks, guys.

I expect some disagreement of course.
And I just realized I left Dr. Strangelove off the list! Now I have to back and figure out what to bump, because it definitely needs to be included. Oh well.

I just love these things, I can't wait to see the rest of it. I really liked The Quiet Man and its on the Lists so I don't think you need to be sorry that you like it. Pretty solid film I reckon...

I love High Fidelity as well.

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90. Pinocchio (1940) Directed by Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen
My favorite Disney movie, this is a beautiful tale of love, yearning, and what it takes to become real.






89. A Christmas Story (1983) Directed by Bob Clark
A true piece of Americana, this is the charming story of Ralphie Parker and his quest for a Red Rider bb gun for Christmas, told as only Jean Shepherd can tell it.






88. My Life as a Dog (1985) Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
By turns funny and heartbreaking, this is the truly wonderful story of Ingemar and his ability to overcome a multitude of problems through his unfailing optimism and good humor.






87. O Lucky Man! (1973) Directed by Lindsey Anderson
Speaking of unfailing optimism, O Lucky Man! is the surrealistic story of a coffee salesman who goes through some sh*t that you just would not believe.







86. Ran (1985) Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Ran is another Shakespeare adaptation by Kurosawa: this time of King Lear, and even more brilliant than Throne of Blood.






85. The Body Snatcher (1945) Directed by Robert Wise
I had to include at least one Val Lewton film, and this is my favorite, with Karloff at his evil and menacing best.







84. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Directed by Frank Darabont
The best Stephen King adaptation ever to grace the screen, this is the story of an innocent man who is sent to prison and changes everything and everyone there.







83. The Killer (1989) Directed by John Woo
If you’ve never seen any of the action movies John Woo made starring Chow Yun-Fat (and you really, really should), this is a great place to start.






82. Small Change (1986) Directed by Francois Truffaut
Yeah, yeah, everyone chooses The 400 Blows or Jules and Jim by Truffaut, but this little tale of childhood in a small French village charmed the socks off me.






81. Ikiru (1952) Directed by Akira Kurosawa
The heartbreaking story of a dying man who tries to find meaning in his life and to create something of lasting worth before he dies.

80. Hellboy (2004) Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Hell yeah.




79. Raising Arizona (1987) Directed by Joel Coen
Some love it, some hate it; I love it.




78. Duck Soup (1933) Directed by Leo McCarey
Sheer insanity as only the Marx Brothers can do it.




77. Leon (1994) Directed by Luc Besson
Funny, exciting, and touching, a hit man takes in a 12 year old girl after her family is killed.






76. Snatch (2000) Directed by Guy Ritchie
Outstanding performances by the whole cast help make this funny and violent story of British gangsters work.







75. Alien (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott
Basically an “old dark house” story set in outer space, this movie will have you digging your fingernails out of the chair arms by the time you’re finished.






74. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) Directed by Joel Coen
A (very) loose retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, this movie follows the cross country exploits of three escaped convicts with warmth and a great deal of humor.







73. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) Directed by William A. Wellman
This story of the horrors of a lynch mob is, like To Kill a Mockingbird, must-see viewing, IMO.






72. Dog Soldiers (2002) Directed by Neil Marshall
With a top notch script, this is the story of a squad a British soldiers trapped in a farmhouse surrounded by werewolves.







71. Night of the Demon (aka Curse of the Demon) (1957) Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Based on the M. R. James story “Casting the Runes”, this movie is about a skeptic who must come to terms with the fact that what he has spent all his life disbelieving and disproving might actually be real.

It's a great list.

This is why I do mine in the way that I do. I could never, and I do me never ever, make a list without constantly altering it. Now I don't have to. I just add, whenever I please.

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Great looking list. Dog Soldiers? I wouldn't have expected it but I think it's an excellent choice. It's always nice to see someone put together an authentic top 100 list rather than some text book list of general classics. Good stuff.

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Great list. So glad to see someone else give My Life as a Dog some love, although its placing is much higher on my list.

Also nice to see The Thing, Raising Arizona, and ,Snatch on your list.

Yeah, these are my favorites, not necessarily the "best" movies. For instance, I think The 400 Blows is probably a better film than Small Change, but which one would I rather watch? Small Change, no question.

Oh, and I love Dog Soldiers. It's very rewatchable. In fact, the surprise should be that it's not higher on my list.

"There is no Spoon!"

So you don't like the "best" movies ...

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Fallen in love with your list after seeing Dog Soldiers! Thinking this is looking like one closest to mine, so far.

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Very nice start to your list, I'm liking it

That's okay, neither do you.

70. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Directed by Stephen Spielberg
Spielberg’s homage to Saturday cliff hangers is pure, unadulterated fun.






69. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Directed by Stephen Spielberg
Spielberg’s classic science fiction film is equal on my list to Raiders, but for entirely different reasons.






68. The Ladykillers (1955) Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
This original version is only better than the remake BY ABOUT A MILLION MILES.






67. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) Directed by Jack Arnold
With a superb existential script by Richard Matheson, this movie is way, way better than the title would lead you to believe.






66. Fort Apache (1948) Directed by John Ford
The first, and best, entry in Ford’s Cavalry Trilogy, this ranks as one of my favorite westerns.





65. Black Sunday (1960) Directed by Mario Bava
My review of this gothic horror classic is here







64. Fight Club (1999) Directed by David Fincher
Another love-it-or-hate-it movie, I think you need to look at this film through the lens of irony and social satire to see its genius.







63. The Road Warrior, aka Mad Max 2 (1981) Directed by George Miller
Gritty and violent, this has one of the best car chases ever, and put Mel Gibson on the map.






62. The Limey (1999) Directed by Steven Soderbergh
The story of a man’s quest to find out what happened to his daughter and to seek revenge for her death.







61. Gigi (1958) Directed by Vincente Minnelli
You can talk all you want about My Fair Lady, but I’ll take this bright, sparkling musical any day of the week.

He got ya there!

I still need to check this one out. I like the remake, but the language gets annoying, and that's saying a lot, coming from me. Trust me!

Where have I seen this before, hmmmmmmmmmm

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