dvaeg (Level 17)

In 2008 I put together a list of my top 46 films and put them up on a blog I was writing at the time. For posterity, it is reposted here. Strangely, it looks like I never posted films 44, 45, and 46. I have no clue what they would have been.

One of the things my wife will tell you if you talk to her long enough about me is that I love lists. I like to list things to do, things I've done, my favorite this, my least favorite that. I mean, a blog is really nothing more than a list of thoughts, right? Well, after shaking my head at the AFI's revised Top 100 films of all time, I decided to follow up up with my own.

I'm sure I could think of 100 if I thought hard enough about it, but for me I think 46 is a much more meaningful number. I've decided to expand my list beyond the AFI's as well by including foreign films. I doubt there's a single person on Earth who would read this list and not take some umbrage at a choice or two...or twenty. But to each his own, neh?

A few items of note (of a statistical kind):

There are technically more than 50 films here, as I've taken leisure to combine a few where applicable, even if they aren't equal in merit (Star Wars Trilogy being an example).
There are 9 foreign films (non-English) - 4 from Japan, 2 from Hong Kong, 1 from Spain, 1 from Brazil, and 1 from Germany.
Spielberg is the most represented director with 7 films, though I don't usually hold him as the best in his field, which is weird to me.
A few great filmmakers are noticeable absent, though I love their work: Hitchcock and Kubrik most unfortunately.
Alec Guinness is the most represented actor, appearing in 4 films.
In order to avoid nit-pickery over whether Movie A is really 4 films better than Movie D, I'm presenting them in alphabetical order, and I'll be doing it in sections to avoid a single massive post.

Akira

Katsuhiro Otomo's anime masterpiece defined anime to the world when most people still saw it as "for kids". Beautifully animated with a complex story, Akira created anime conventions we take for granted to this day.

Aliens

"Game over man, game over!" Perhaps one of the best examples out there of sequel-making, James Cameron took on a horror film by Ridley Scott and rebranded it as an adrenaline shot to the heart, deftly mixing scares and action into the best of the series, and one of the best films of all time.

Ben Hur

Charlton Heston's best film (in a career of great ones), Ben Hur was the best of the Bible Epics. CGI cannot compete with the chariot racing set piece, which to this day remains amazingly well conceived and terribly exciting.

Brazil

Described by star Jonathon Pryce as "part nightmare, part dream", Brazil reshapes the dystopian ideas of 1984 and mixes them perfectly with a dysfunctional bureaucracy that hits close to home in a very disturbing way. The story of its making is almost as good as the movie itself.

Bridge on the River Kwai

A study in man's stubborness when he has nothing else to cling to or, a study of madness filtered through British engineering pride. Either way, Alex Guiness dominates the film as a force to be reckoned with, despite spending the entire film in a subservient position. David Lean's best film (well, maybe).

Brokeback Mountain

After seeing this I had several discussions with others who must have seen a different movie than I did. Advertised as a forbidden love story, the real story is one of hate, not love. Heath Ledger's portrayal of a man who hates himself to the core is more moving than the much lauded love between men in a tent. Self-hatred for your vices is a universal human trait, exposed perfectly here.

Casablanca

My personal favorite, it's the timeless, classic love story. Never before and not since have so many great things come together to make a movie like this. Bogart and Bergman tell a story of love, loss and sacrifice that exists outside of time, despite being told in a specific, fixed location and point in history.

Citizen Kane

Widely recognized as one the pioneers of modern filmmaking, Orson Well's masterpiece is worth more than just the designation as the first, it's also a study of what's truly important in our lives and what drives us to do what we do. The ending is simple and revealing, but exposes a truth often overlooked.

City of God

Starting with an escaped chicken, moving to the moment right before the end, then back to the beginning, then through the real end, City of God is a forced march through the dirty side of Rio de Janiero, as foreign a city as there ever was to many of us in the first world. It's a tale of drugs, photography, sex and random turns of events -- all true and disturbing and uplifting. Is the deus ex machina that provides the final closure cheap, or does it all make sense when you stand back and look at it? I vote for the latter.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Ang Lee's kung fu film tells a love story on two levels -- one destructive and brash, one unrealized and sad. Both stories are about the limitations imposed on the lovers (or would-be lovers) by the society they are born into, but the film refuses to take any shortcuts by showing the folly and the joy of defying social conventions for love. Each person (both viewer and character) needs to decide for themselves if it was worth it.

Dances with Wolves

There's a reason it won so many Academy Awards. It represents the best example of the epic western, showing a time and place in history that continues to fascinate us today.

Das Boot

At close to 6 hours, Das Boot asks a lot of those who wish to watch it, but ends up being well worth the investment for those can pull it off. There are a ton of WWII movies, a smaller ton that are great films, but the best of them happens to be told entirely from the German point of view. Some might have issues with the slow start, and that's a valid point -- but by the time the movie picks up the pace, the viewer is in the same boat (har har) as the characters themselves, ready for the action after so much mundane shipwork. Perhaps the best anti-war film ever made.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

It helps that the movie is strange and beautiful, but what makes this film truly work is the story of how intertwined the good and bad in our lives are, and the dangers of wishing away the bad times in your life.

Finding Nemo

A masterpiece of family entertainment, Finding Nemo gets better with each viewing and better with time. The genius of it is how viewers of all ages can find something to like -- it's a film for all ages.

The Godfather 1 & 2

So much has been said about these films that it's hard to add anything new to the dialog. Do you focus on Brando's seminal performance as Don Corleone? The memorable dialog? The epic feel and gorgeous cinematography? Part II, facing the impossible task of topping a near perfect film, somehow pulls it off. Having Rober DeNiro helps in that regard.

Gone With the Wind

Is it possible not to like this movie? Once regarded as the most anticipated movie of all time, Gone With the Wind features old-style acting in a huge way, with actors hamming it up at every opportunity. It also features a spoiled brat as the main character -- usually considered a bad move. Somehow you can't help but love her and respect Rhett for giving her her just desserts at the same time.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

I've heard it referred to as the ultimate guy's movie, and I can't say I could argue that. It might be the fact that there are no main (or even supporting) female characters. It could be that it features nothing more than sweaty men killing each other and looking cool while doing it. It could be that Sergio Leone's definitive Mexican Standoff is a testosterone filled competition over who has the biggest balls. No matter the reason, it's also great cinema.

Goodfellas

It would be easy to fill a book arguing over which Scorcese movie is best, but Goodfellas gets my vote. Scorcese bookends the film with an intro and closer that mirror each other perfectly. Both feel like they are delivered in a single breath by the narrator, the pace rhythmic and non-stop, the excitement and paranoia of the characters reflected in the music, editing and cinematography. Bloody and violent, repulsive and alluring, the view of mafia life is the opposite of the nobility and chivalry of Coppola's masterpiece.

Ikiru

The underlying story seems more popular today than perhaps when the movie was released, but Akira Kurosawa's best film studies the final months of a man who know he is going to die, and how he chooses to live it. No film other than It's a Wonderful Life shows the value of life than Ikiru, but what sets it apart from most films is captured in the final scenes.

Indiana Jones

I speak here of the original trilogy, which represent the best combination of action and adventure in films. Funny, exciting and timeless, Indiana Jones is iconic for a reason.

It's a Wonderful Life

George Baily's journey of discovery is timeless, though why it's known solely as a Christmas movie surprises me, as the best scenes have little to do with the holiday. An affirmation on how being a good man is its own reward, It's a Wonderful Life is universal in its message of inspiration.

Jaws

Although I missed the big to-do about not wanting to swim in the ocean after it was released, seeing Jaws some 25 years after its initial run still had an effect on me. It's well written, well paced, and at times truly terrifying.

Jurassic Park

A pure summer-movie done right, Jurassic Park is equal parts sci-fi and horror. It also happens to be one of the first appealing uses of CGI in film. Though riddled with plot holes, it never claims to be more than it should -- an exciting popcorn flick that doesn't disappoint. The sequel was a different story.

Kill Bill

Kill Bill (1 and 2) isn't so much a movie as it is an homage to a whole bunch of them. It's part John Woo, part Sonny Chiba, part manga, and part Sergio Leone. What amazes is how it actually succeeds in becoming even more than the sum of its parts. Many enjoy it without even knowing what it pays homage to, but I think it's best watched with an eye towards its predecessors.

LA Confidential

Modern noir is the easiest way to categorize this police drama. Perhaps the best pure cop movie ever made, it begs, borrows and steals from the genre and improves upon it immensely. Done with no lead character, it still remains a focused character story.

Lawrence of Arabia

The definition of an epic movie, David Lean's masterpiece is larger than life, but all about the life of a single man who challenged an entire ethnic group to grow beyond a ragtag group of barbarians and join civilized society. It's strangely compelling and so beautifully shot that you can't help but be fascinated by the whole experience.

Leaving Las Vegas

Nicolas Cage's plays a man who hates himself so much he vows to drink himself to death in a Las Vegas hotel room. Not a very happy subject, but his performance makes the movie, which includes a prostitute who falls in love with him, but does nothing to stop his destructive behavior.

Leon

Luc Besson's film about a girl who wants to avenge the death of her parents brought Natalie Portman to the forefront of young actresses, but the movie deserves to be known for much more than that. Portman's character is in love with the much older Leon, but that's only because she doesn't know any better about caring relationships. The father/daughter dynamic is well done, demonstrating a compellingly ad-hoc relationship that frees them both from their personal prisons.

Lord of the Rings

A triumph of filmmaking, the Lord of the Rings is one story in three parts, and it succeeds because it creates a realistically based world that seems unfamiliar and entirely possible at the same time. The best pure fantasy film ever made.

Magnolia

Paul Thomas Anderson followed up his sophomore film Boogie Nights with this, his magnum opus of filmmaking. He takes Scorcese's Goodfellas as a blueprint for shooting the film, then uses it to stage a movie about coincidences both large and small, ending with a deus ex machina that both comes from nowhere and is the only logical ending a film like this could have.

Mary Poppins

As musicals go, it's one of the more whimsical, but unlike most other musicals, it avoids being altogether corny. The backstory is also worth noting: passed over for Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady for not being pretty enough (a role she originated on the stage), Julie Andrews went on to star in Mary Poppins the same year, and won an Oscar for her performance.

Master and Commander

Although I have to admit a certain weakness for seafaring films, the story here is less on the seafaring and more on the relationship between Aubrey and Maturin, two friends and polar opposites who face an uncertain sea for uncertain gains (glory and science, respectively).

Minority Report

Perhaps the most intelligent sci-fi film ever made, what sets it apart is just how close the technology is to our current lives. It's not satire, not farflung, it's simply a logical step beyond our own society. This, combined with a great story and perfect directing make for a masterpiece of film, which even Tom Cruise cannot taint.

Pan's Labyrinth

Disturbingly dark and fantastic, Pan's is a different kind of fairy tale -- a dangerous kind, and the viewer is never sure if what's on the screen is real or imagined for the main character. The imagery and imagination on display come together with a sad and too-true tale of war to make an adult fairy tale that's both haunting and compelling.

Passion of the Christ

Not being a Catholic I have no reference point to the practice of meditating on the Passion. Mel Gibson's film succeeds even without the requisite background as a moving and almost-too-difficult-to-watch recreation of Christs last few hours. Often maligned for its judicious use of graphic torture, Passion is definitely stomach churning and painful to watch, but it's also strangely affirming for the faithful and uplifting in its final scenes.

Princess Mononoke

Miyazaki has often been called the Japanese Disney, and I think this is a disservice to him. Princess Mononoke is one of his best films, but it's not anything close to what Disney would make, and that's not a bad thing. A tale of industry versus nature, Mononoke eschews basic good and evil, as even the bad guys have good qualities, and the good guys aren't always that good.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction has a lot going for it: direction, acting, story, editing, but what sets it apart is the dialog, which is razor sharp, delivered rapidly and without punctuation (unless you count explatives). When it was released there was no film like it. Today, 14 years later, there still isn't.

Schindler's List

A beautiful movie about a horrible crime. It's difficult, if not impossible, to find a more haunting and tear-worthy film that this. Though ultimately a story of redemption, the road taken to redemption by Schindler is through the worst of human depravity and cruelty. Neeson's portrayal of Schindler's shame at not saving one more life is as moving as film gets.

Spirited Away

In the career of the best storyteller in film history, Spirited Away stands as Miyazaki's best -- not a small feat considering the competition he gives himself. There is more imagination per frame in this film than you'll see in 99.9% of the tripe released each year.

Star Wars (the original trilogy)

It's hard to appreciate Star Wars without seeing what came before it. More fantasy than sci-fi, Star Wars was a technical marvel and a fanboy's dream. It inspired millions of young kids (myself included) towards fandom, and was likely the first (and still biggest) film/marketing tie-in combination. Even the final three movies' combined suckage couldn't retroactively harm the original trilogy.

Sunset Boulevard

"I'm ready for my close up Mr. Deville!" And with that any remaining doubts of her sanity are gone. This classic tale of a has-been who wants to become the in-thing once more is creepy, sad, and funny all at once. One of the best characters in filmdom.

Terminator 2

Perhaps the best and purest action film ever made, Terminator 2 took a decent sci-fi plot and ran with it, all the way to the bank. What made this film a success was the perfect blend of action and character development.

The Departed

The film that finally won Scorcese and Oscar, The Departed sets up a great game of cat and mouse and tops it off with fantastic acting and a great, perhaps the great "I did not see that coming" that changes the entire movie. The turn of events is so sudden and so severe that the viewer is left with no choice but to mentally protest and feel cheated. It's to Scorcese's credit that this doesn't harm the movie, instead it elevates it.