comment #1

Richardson says ...

If you expect serious film criticism from EW, then the problem is with you.

comment #2

Jay T. says ...

Please tell me they included LA Confidential... knowing that POS magazine, they probably didn't. Actually, EW isn't bad, but they would easily win the award for best magazine with the worst taste.

comment #3

Doug Pratt says ...

This was the same gang that decided not to include Charles Chaplin in the '100 greatest film directors'

comment #4

BurmaShave says ...

Well the cheat fade revealing the actual old man at the end made me cry, but I suppose it is something to criticize. "Earn this" is a line I would say that summarizes just about every WWII movie. That said, where's TRAINSPOTTING?

comment #5

115thDreamer says ...

Well, it's EW, so "Best" translates to "Most Popular" for the most part, with some critical faves (i.e. "Wings Of Desire") thrown in so that people will take them at least a little seriously, they hope. They have choices 100 down to 26 up on their site. Hmmm, let's see - "No Country For Old Men" is at # 64, one spot ahead of "Dirty Dancing", and four spots behind "Scream". So, um, yes, the list should be taken not with just a grain of salt, but something approaching an actual pillar of salt. Also, "Fargo" (# 34) is trailing four spots behind "When Harry Met Sally" (# 30), so again, pillar of salt.

comment #6

Doug Pratt says ...

My favorite 25 films from the past 25 years in descending order:
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Eyes Wide Shut
Jackie Brown
Secret Defense
Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me
The Silence of the Lambs
The Terminator
Beauty and the Beast
GoldenEye
Die Hard
The Long Goodbye
Once a Thief
Starship Troopers
Blue Velvet
Topsy-Turvy
Field of Dreams
Tim Burton’s A Nightmare before Christmas
Vivement Dimanche!
Mrs. Winterbourne
The Sheltering Sky
Gosford Park
Kiki’s Delivery Service
The Last Emperor
Pauline at the Beach
Elephant

comment #7

The InSneider says ...

GoldenEye, Doug? That would actually make my list of the WORST 25 films ever. One of two movies I've ever had to shut off, and that was back when I was 13! For the record the other was The Man Who Knew Too Little.

comment #8

Doug Pratt says ...

GoldenEye ressucitated the James Bond franchise. Seen from the perspective of View to a Kill, it's a masterpiece.

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

From 1-10:

CHILDREN OF MEN
ROBOCOP
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
THE TALENED MR RIPLEY
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
CITY OF GOD
LA CONFIDENTIAL
SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR
GOODFELLAS
SEVEN

comment #10

Mgmax says ...

"The Long Goodbye"

You've got to be confusing that with something else (The Long Kiss Goodnight?), I assume you can count from 1973 to 2008.

comment #11

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Burma Shave: I haven't put together a list of my own but yours isn't bad. I would just replace Mohicans with Heat, deepsix Ripley and go online to learn about Songs From the Second Floor. Kidding -- of course I know that one. What's it about again?

comment #12

BurmaShave says ...

gruver SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR is that really arty and I admit pretentious Swedish satirical film that totally kicked my ass the one time I saw it about 6 years ago. Roy Andersson, played at Cannes.

comment #13

Jeremy Smith says ...

Wait... is that your list or EW's, Burma? Can't be theirs. No one employed by that magazine (now) could possibly be aware of SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (nice pick, btw).

comment #14

BurmaShave says ...

And yeah the MOHICANS/HEAT decision was tough but I just was never expecting such exceptional epic filmmaking from Mann.

comment #15

Jeremy Smith says ...

Never mind.

And SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR isn't *that* arty. It's pretty accessible for a film that couldn't get distribution in the U.S.

I'd have to put Haneke in there somewhere. THE PIANO TEACHER or CODE INCONNU.

comment #16

BurmaShave says ...

It couldn't get distribution? That's a shame I remember seeing it an an arthouse in DC but I guess it was some special exhibition. It's accessible just I imagine disturbing for someone looking for normal narrative. It's not comfortable, we'll say that, but damn if it isn't great.

comment #17

Doug Pratt says ...

Mgmax: Right. Drop Long Goodbye and add Weekend at Bernie's to the end of the list.

comment #18

Jeremy Smith says ...

Well, New Yorker Films finally acquired SONGS for a very small release, but it took over a year IIRC. Perhaps if it'd featured a nine-minute rape scene, Lionsgate would've picked it up.

That said, I'd have to seriously consider putting IRREVERSIBLE on my top 25.

comment #19

Mgmax says ...

Considering the number of times I've watched Lord of the Rings beginning to end, I'd have to include it. But by the same token, Jeff's reaction would make it equally hypocritical for him to include it...

So do we include 1983 or not? The Right Stuff, King of Comedy and The Ballad of Narayama would have to be in, if we are.

Mohicans AND Heat. Miller's Crossing, Fargo, No Country For Old Men. Blue Velvet. Yes, Gosford Park, absolutely. Full Metal Jacket. A.I., I don't care what anybody says. The Thin Red Line and The New World, flawed as they are. LA Confidential. Pulp Fiction. Sorry, though, Children of Men didn't hold up to a second viewing for me. But The Fountain got better.

Bowfinger. The Freshman. Talladega Nights. Meet the Parents. Four Weddings and a Funeral. It is not a dishonorable thing to make a commercial comedy solidly and well.

Red. City of God. The Lives of Others. Trainspotting. Raining Stones. Topsy-Turvy. Wings of Desire. Colonel Chabert. Henry V-- Branagh seems overfamiliar now, but Shakespeare seemed fresh again when he first appeared.

The Fugitive. Casino Royale.

Visions of Light.

comment #20

K. Bowen says ...

Did they really include Saving Private Ryan? It's a good film, but not even the best World War II-set film from 1998. That of course being The Thin Red Line.

comment #21

K. Bowen says ...

I see that South Park is No. 100. I can pretty much quit taking it seriously from there.

comment #22

Dr. Smith says ...

According to this list, Speed, Clueless, Pretty Woman and The Bourne Supremacy are better than Unforgiven and LA Confidential. Got it.

comment #23

Arran says ...

Die Hard and Toy Story deserve to be there a hell of a lot more than Silence of the Lambs.

comment #24

David Ehrlich says ...

michael mann = incredibly overrated, as far as i'm concerned.

manhunter = good
mohicans = very good.
heat = just about great.
insider = almost great
ali = bad
collateral = good
miami vice = unwatchable.

a solid roster of very respectable films that just never really knock on the door of indelibility for me. moreover ali: the musical is half-baked at best and miami vice is cosmically awful. i just don't see anything in this man's oeuvre that affords him the right to be considered alongside the true masters. and if he doesn't knock another project outta the park in the next 5-6 years, his legacy will diminish considerably.

over the past 25 years give me herzog's recent output, kiarostami, von trier, miyazaki, sofia coppola (too bad, jeff), the coen brothers, pta, wong kar-wai, patrice leconte, park chan-wook, zhang yimou, hou hsiao-hsien (who has the best name of any director of the past 25 years), edward yang, SPIELBERG (ha!... but seriously), alexander payne, the list goes on... but mann just ain't anywhere near it.

if benjamin button lives up to that miraculous trailer then i'd have to include fincher in the conversation, as well. just a random thought that floated in...

comment #25

Geoff says ...

Good list Burmashave...I love THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. But I agree with Wells...HEAT needs to be on there.

comment #26

JeffGP says ...

I'm a sucker for lists so... top 10 of the category...

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Eyes Wide Shut
3. Beauty and the Beast
4. Rushmore
5. Pulp Fiction (are you guys leaving this off to be cool or something?)
6. Goodfellas
7. Do the Right Thing
8. Gosford Park
9. Hoop Dreams
10. Lord of the Rings

comment #27

jjgittes says ...

The jjgittes list, no order and no documentaries

Memento (and haters can bite me, it's a great film)
The Decalogue
No Country For Old Men
Jean De Florette/Manon of the Spring
Unforgiven
Pulp Fiction
Heat
Oldboy
Au Revoir Les Enfants
Spoorloos

Although it's killing me not to include Brazil and Crimes & Misdemeanors - so I demand the right to do an edit.

comment #28

dangovich says ...

Are docs eligible?

comment #29

Josh Massey says ...

My list, very hastily thought through and subject to change:

Aliens
Children of Men
Die Hard
Goodfellas
Heat
The Hunt For Red October
Midnight Run
Mulholland Dr.
The Right Stuff
Seven

Yep, I said Red October and Midnight Run. On purpose.

comment #30

Arran says ...

A lot of my list would be too much of a personal thing to bother posting. Not that I'm embarrassed as such by it, but it would just engender a stream of "WHAT? CHASING AMY?!?!?!"-type comments.

I mean, it's impossible to come up with some kind of "objective" best of list. My favourites are MY favourites.

comment #31

KeithNYC says ...

O.K, here it goes, in no particular order:

Pulp Fiction
The Insider
Schindler's List
Unforgiven
Shawshank Redemption
Fargo
SIdeways
Boogie Nights
Magnolia
There Will Be Blood
Heat
Goodfellas
Die Hard
Ghostbusters
Traffic
Back to the Future
L.A. Confidential
Full Metal Jacket
JFK
Nixon
In the Line of Fire
No Country for Old Men
Big Lebowski
United 93
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Thin Red Line
Saving Private Ryan
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Rain Man
Memento

I give up....

On a totally unrelated note. I just finished watching Oceans 13 on HBO. I didn't think it was possible that it could be worse than Oceans 12, but I was proven wrong.

comment #32

K. Bowen says ...

Are there 70 films in history better than Unforgiven, much less since 1983?

comment #33

berkguru says ...

why do you dorks keep posting lists? it's obnoxious

comment #34

KeithNYC says ...

Shit, totally forgot:

Quiz Show
Mullholland Drive
Aliens

comment #35

quitstaringatme says ...

K. Bowen, is that because you think South Park doesn't deserve to be on the list, or because it should be higher? It's a sublime satire with infectious music, it's great.

comment #36

K. Bowen says ...

At the risk of dorkiness, my top 25:

1980s
The Right Stuff
Blue Velvet
Wings of Desire
Drugstore Cowboy

1990s
My Own Private Idaho
Unforgiven
Dazed and Confused
The Piano
Schindler's List
Chungking Express
Red
Safe
Dead Man
The Big Lebowski
Flowers of Shanghai
The Thin Red Line
Rushmore
Eyes Wide Shut

2000s
In the Mood for Love
Requiem for a Dream
Amores Perros
Mulholland Drive
Man on Fire
Grizzly Man
The New World
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

OK, that's 26, but I couldn't make the last cut.

comment #37

VoiceOfReason says ...

Hey Burma-
What arthouse in DC was showing SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR? There was no E St Landmark back then, was there?

comment #38

Josh Massey says ...

Crap, forgot Boogie Nights. See ya, Alec and Sean.

Oh, and South Park is the best animated film of the last 25 years, Pixar included.

comment #39

K. Bowen says ...

Re: South Park

Admittedly without running through the whole exercise, because I can't imagine it being that high. Although it's better than some of the other riff raff on the list. And at least it's not one of the 70 films ranked ahead of Unforgiven.

comment #40

LexG says ...

Now if I can get some attention here admidst all these LISTS THAT EVERYONE IS TOTALLY SKIMMING OVER (Gee, wonder what xty62551's top 25 movies are!), I WANT TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT EW.

Man, has that magazine gone down the toilet in recent years. I can usually read it cover to cover in about 11 minutes; It was never particularly thought-provoking, but had kind of a Premiere/Movieline quality.

Now it's just fallen victim to the same SNARK and SMARTASSERY of blogdom and TV RECAPPING; Their smarmy "quick blurbs" TV section is campy, smug, sloppy and annoying, just Larry King-esque RANDOM THOUGHTS on totally bullshit shows, written like Kathy Griffin with writer's block.

Gleiberman and Ken Tucker fight the good fight for some quality, but that Yenta Schwarbaum is just blowsy and borderline unreadable.

Stephen King's inane UNCLE STEVIE PODNER! column was embarrassing enough, but Diablo Cody hasn't added too much and MARK HARRIS BITCHING ABOUT THE DEARTH OF WOMEN'S PICTURES EVERY WEEK gets, oh, just a little tiresome.

comment #41

K. Bowen says ...

Men In Black: Better than Unforgiven!

Oh lord.

hahaha.

comment #42

4th grade army says ...

No one has mentioned YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. Amazing film....

comment #43

Breedlove says ...

THE NEW WORLD
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
THE PIANO
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
JERRY MAGUIRE
OUT OF SIGHT
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
MAGNOLIA
BOOGIE NIGHTS
JFK
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
HEAT

ok, that's 12, i'll stop

comment #44

Breedlove says ...

can't...stop..

ALIENS
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
VANILLA SKY
TALK TO HER
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
T2
RUSHMORE

seriously, if i had to choose between sex and making lists for the rest of my life, i would be tough.

comment #45

Breedlove says ...

IT would be tough...and my guilty pleasure pick is LEGENDS OF THE FALL. we should each be allowed one embarrassing choice. I love that movie.

comment #46

EOTW says ...

It makes me smile to see HEAT get os much love. It is a film that has NEVER stopped gripping, entertaining and rewaqrding me. Saw it (3x) when it first came out and have loved it os much more than most of the work of that decade (including, as I now see it, the vastly overrated PULP FICTION). It's a masterpiece fro mbeginning to end. Is there another almost 3 hour pic that goes by so fast, so effortlessly. It's Mann's opera. Period.

Some said ALI = bad. I felt the same way when I first saw it. Go back and see it again. Seriously. The first time I saw it, I felt it was just reenacting too much of the public Ali we all know and I think that making it so soon after WHEN WE WERE KINGS was released didn't help (especially the Africa stuff). But go back. I did years after and found a lot of it VERY well done.

comment #47

Rob says ...

Short Cuts
The Grifters
Mulholland Drive
After Hours
Zodiac
Safe
Showgirls
To Die For
Flirting With Disaster
Kings and Queen
Red
Boogie Nights
Heathers
Little Children
Fargo
Pulp Fiction
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Lovely and Amazing
Heavenly Creatures
Husbands and Wives

Err, I've realized I have a huge knowledge gap between the 70s and the 90s, so I'm gonna stop.

comment #48

Rob says ...

D'oh, can't resist: Far From Heaven, LA Confidential, Bullets Over Broadway, There Will Be Blood, Being John Malkovich

comment #49

Jeremy Smith says ...

The Sam Cooke-scored opening of ALI is perfection. The rest of the film assumes that you have a working knowledge of Ali's life, so I understand why it didn't catch on critically or commercially. Still, the opening... that's like fifteen minutes of pure cinema.

Mann has a tendency to overthink his films (I really miss the theatrical cut of MOHICANS), but he is a master.

comment #50

LexG says ...

EOTW...

ALI is pretty underrated; It suffers, if that's the word (I think it's intentional), from some of the same lopsided structuring and pacing that many find in MIAMI VICE: Extended amounts of screen time devoted to particular plot points, stylistic devices and setpieces, followed by other details being curiously rushed along or entirely unshown.

Just as VICE will spend 5 or 10 minutes on a "mood" then shortchange info that would be the "meat" of most other movies, ALI spends huge amounts of time on, say, the running montage, the first fight, or a Sam Cooke musical numbers, then glazes over 25 years of the man's life with a title card.

It's an odd, lopsided structure... almost a half a movie punched up with impressionistic moments... yet what's there is still perfectly riveting and fully the work of an impassioned artist. If anything, I think one of its big issues is it spends an inordinate amount of time on Malcolm X material that can't help but seem rushed when compared to Spike's excellent film.

comment #51

Josh Massey says ...

Wow, Breedlove. Vanilla Sky.

I'm impressed. I thought I was the only one who loved that movie. Crowe's best, in my opinion.

comment #52

berkguru says ...

Ok fine here is my all-time list:

A Nous la Liberte (1932)
About Schmidt (2002)
Absence of Malice (1981)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Adaptation (2002)
The Adjuster (1991)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Affliction (1998)
The African Queen (1952)
L'Age d'Or (1930, reviewed 1964)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972, reviewed 1977)
A.I. (2001)
Airplane! (1980)
Aladdin (1992)
Alexander Nevsky (1939)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1975)
Alice's Restaurant (1969)
Aliens (1986)
All About Eve (1950)
All About My Mother (1999)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
All That Heaven Allows (1956)
All the King's Men (1949)
All the President's Men (1976)
Amadeus (1984)
Amarcord (1974)
Amélie (2001)
America, America (1963)
The American Friend (1977)
American Graffiti (1973)
An American in Paris (1951)
The Americanization of Emily (1964)
American Movie (1999)
Amores Perros (2000)
Anastasia (1956)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Angry Silence (1960)
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
Anna Christie (1930)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Apartment (1960)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Apollo 13 (1995)
The Apostle (1997)
L'Argent (1983)
Ashes and Diamonds (1958, reviewed 1961)
Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
L'Atalante (1934, reviewed 1947)
Atlantic City (1981)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1988)
L'Avventura (1961)
The Awful Truth (1937)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Babette's Feast (1987)
Baby Doll (1956)
Back to the Future (1985)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1953)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Badlands (1973)
The Baker's Wife (1940)
Ball of Fire (1942)
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
Bambi (1942)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
The Bank Dick (1940)
Barfly (1987)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Barton Fink (1991)
The Battle of Algiers (1965, reviewed 1967)
Le Beau Mariage (1982)
Beautiful People (2000)
Beauty and the Beast (1947)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Bed and Board (1971)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Before Night Falls (2000)
Before the Rain (1994, reviewed 1995)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Being There (1979)
Belle de Jour (1968)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1983)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
The Bicycle Thief (1949)
The Big Chill (1983)
The Big Clock (1948)
The Big Deal on Madonna Street (1960)
The Big Heat (1953)
Big Night (1996)
The Big Red One (1980)
The Big Sky (1952)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Billy Liar (1963)
Biloxi Blues (1988)
The Birds (1963)
Birdy (1984)
Black Narcissus (1947)
Black Orpheus (1959)
Black Robe (1991)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Bloody Sunday (2002)
Blow-Up (1966)
Blue Collar (1978)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
Bob le Flambeur (1955, reviewed 1981)
Body Heat (1981)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Born Yesterday (1950)
Le Boucher (1970)
Bound for Glory (1976)
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Boyz N the Hood (1991)
Brazil (1985)
Bread, Love and Dreams (1954)
Breaker Morant (1980)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Breaking Away (1979)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Breathless (1961)
The Bride Wore Black (1968)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Brief Encounter (1946)
A Brief History of Time (1992)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Broadcast News (1987)
Brother's Keeper (1992)
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
Bull Durham (1988)
Bullitt (1968)
Bus Stop (1956)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
The Butcher Boy (1998)
Bye Bye Brasil (1980)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
The Earrings of Madame De . . . (1954)
Cabaret (1972)
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
California Suite (1978)
Calle 54 (2000)
Camelot (1967)
Camille (1937)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Casablanca (1942)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Catch-22 (1970)
Cavalcade (1933)
The Celebration (1998)
La Cérémonie (1996)
Chan Is Missing (1982)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Charley Varrick (1973)
Chicago (2002)
Chicken Run (2000)
La Chienne (1931, reviewed 1975)
Chinatown (1974)
Chloë in the Afternoon (1972)
Chocolat (1988, reviewed 1989)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
The Citadel (1938)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Claire's Knee (1971)
The Clockmaker (1973, reviewed 1976)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Close-Up (1990, reviewed 1999)
Clueless (1995)
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
The Color of Money (1986)
Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
Coming Home (1978)
The Conformist (1970)
The Conquest of Everest (1953)
Contempt (1964)
The Conversation (1974)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
The Country Girl (1954)
The Cousins (1959)
The Cranes Are Flying (1960)
Cries and Whispers (1972)
Crossfire (1947)
Crumb (1994)
Cry, the Beloved Country (1952)
The Crying Game (1992)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Damn Yankees (1958)
The Damned (1969)
Dance with a Stranger (1985)
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Daniel (1983)
Danton (1983)
Dark Eyes (1987)
Dark Victory (1939)
Darling (1965)
David Copperfield (1935)
David Holtzman's Diary (1968, reviewed 1973)
Dawn of the Dead (1979)
Day for Night (1973)
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Days of Heaven (1978)
Days of Wine and Roses (1963)
The Dead (1987)
Dead Calm (1989)
Dead End (1937)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Dead of Night (1946, reviewed 1946)
Dead Ringers (1988)
Death in Venice (1971)
Death of a Salesman (1951)
The Decalogue (2000)
Deep End (1971)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Deliverance (1972)
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Diabolique (1955)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)
Diary of a Country Priest (1950, reviewed 1954)
Die Hard (1988)
Diner (1982)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Disraeli (1929)
Distant Thunder (1973)
Diva (1982)
Divorce-Italian Style (1962)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Dodsworth (1936)
La Dolce Vita (1961)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Don't Look Back (1967)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Down by Law (1986)
Dracula (1931)
The Dreamlife of Angels (1998)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
The Dresser (1983)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Drowning by Numbers (1991)
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Duck Soup (1933)
The Duellists (1978)
Dumbo (1941)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
The Earrings of Madame De . . .
East of Eden (1955)
Easy Living (1937)
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
Effi Briest (1977)
8 1/2 (1963)
Eight Men Out (1988)
The Elephant Man (1980)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Enemies, A Love Story (1989)
Les Enfants du Paradis (1945, reviewed 1947)
The English Patient (1996)
The Entertainer (1960)
Entre Nous (1983)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Europa, Europa (1991)
Every Man for Himself (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exterminating Angel (1967)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Face to Face (1976)
Faces (1968)
The Family Game (1984)
Fanny & Alexander (1983)
Fantasia (1940)
Farewell, My Concubine (1993)
Far from Heaven (2002)
Fargo (1996)
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
Fast Runner (Atanarjuat) (2002)
Fat City (1972)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
Father of the Bride (1950)
Fellini Satyricon (1970)
La Femme Infidèle (1969)
La Femme Nikita (1991)
The Fisher King (1991)
Fist in His Pocket (1968)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
The Flamingo Kid (1984)
The Fly (1958)
The Flamingo Kid (1984)
Force of Evil (1948)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
Forbidden Games (1952)
A Foreign Affair (1948)
The Fortune Cookie (1966)
The 400 Blows (1959)
Frankenstein (1931)
The French Connection (1971)
Frenzy (1972)
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
The Fugitive (1947)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Full Monty (1997)
Funny Face (1957)
Funny Girl (1968)
Fury (1936)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Gallipoli (1981)
Gandhi (1982)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971)
Gas Food Lodging (1992)
Gaslight (1944)
Gate of Hell (1954)
A Geisha (1978)
The General (1998)
General Della Rovere (1960)
Genevieve (1954)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Georgy Girl (1966)
Get Carter (1971)
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)
Ghost World (2001)
Giant (1956)
Gigi (1958)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
Girl with a Suitcase (1961)
The Gleaners and I (2001)
The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1977)
The Go-Between (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Going My Way (1944)
Goldfinger (1964)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968)
The Good Earth (1937)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
GoodFellas (1990)
Gosford Park (2001)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Hotel (1932)
Grand Illusion (1938)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Great Expectations (1947)
The Great Man (1957)
The Great McGinty (1940)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Green for Danger (1947)
Gregory's Girl (1982)
The Grifters (1990)
Groundhog Day (1993)
The Gunfighter (1950)
Gunga Din (1939)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
Hair (1979)
Hamlet (1948)
Hamlet (2000)
Handle With Care (1977)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Happiness (1998)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Harlan County, USA (1976)
Harry and Tonto (1974)
A Hatful of Rain (1957)
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Heartland (1981)
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
Heat and Dust (1983)
Heathers (1989)
Heavy Traffic (1973)
Heimat (1985)
The Heiress (1949)
Henry V (1946)
Henry V (1989)
Henry Fool (1998)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
High and Low (Japan) (1963)
The High and the Mighty (1954)
High Art (1998)
High Hopes (1988)
High Noon (1952)
High Sierra (1941)
The Hill (1965)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1960)
His Girl Friday (1940)
The Homecoming (1973)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Hope and Glory (1987)
Hotel Terminus: Klaus Barbie et son Temps (1988)
The Hours (2002)
Household Saints (1993)
House of Games (1987)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Howards End (1992)
Hud (1963)
Ken Burns' America: Huey Long (1985)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
The Hustler (1961)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
I Know Where I'm Going! (1947)
I Remember Mama (1948)
I Want to Live! (1958)
If... (1969)
Ikiru (1952, reviewed 1960)
I'm All Right Jack (1960)
Imitation of Life (1959)
In Cold Blood (1967)
In the Bedroom (2001)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
The Informer (1935)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
The Insider (1999)
Internal Affairs (1990)
The Ipcress File (1965)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It's a Gift (1935)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Jaws (1975)
The Jazz Singer (1927)
Jean de Florette (1987)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Johnny Guitar (1954)
The Judge and the Assassin (1982)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Ju Dou (1990)
Jules and Jim (1962)
Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Junior Bonner (1972)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Kagemusha (1980)
The Killers (1946)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1950)
The King and I (1956)
King Kong (1933)
King Lear (1971)
The King of Comedy (1983)
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
Klute (1971)
Knife in the Water (1963)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Lacombe Lucien (1974)
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Ladybird, Ladybird (1994)
Lamerica (1994, reviewed 1995)
The Last American Hero (1973)
The Last Emperor (1987)
The Last Metro (1980)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
The Last Seduction (1994)
Last Tango in Paris (1973)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
The Last Waltz (1978)
Laura (1944)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
A League of Their Own (1992)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
The Leopard (1963)
The Letter (1963)
A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (1961)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1945)
Life Is Sweet (1991)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Life With Father (1947)
Like Water for Chocolate (1992, reviewed 1993)
Lili (1953)
Little Big Man (1970)
Little Caesar (1931)
The Little Foxes (1941)
The Little Fugitive (1953)
The Little Kidnappers (1954)
Little Vera (1988, reviewed 1989)
Little Women (1933)
Little Women (1994)
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
Living in Oblivion (1995)
Local Hero (1983)
Lola (1982)
Lola Montès (1968)
Lolita (1962)
Lone Star (1996)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Long Day's Journey into Night (1962)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
The Long Good Friday (1982)
The Long Voyage Home (1940)
The Longest Day (1962)
Look Back in Anger (1959)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Lost in America (1985)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Love (1973)
Love Affair (1939)
Love and Death (1975)
A Love in Germany (1984)
Love in the Afternoon (1957)
Lovely and Amazing (2002)
Love on the Run (1979)
Lover Come Back (1962)
The Lovers (1959)
Loves of a Blonde (1966)
Loving (1970)
Lust for Life (1956)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
M (1931, reviewed 1933)
Mad Max (1980)
The Madness of King George (1994)
The Magic Flute (1975)
The Major and the Minor (1942)
Major Barbara (1941)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Malcolm X (1992)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Man Hunt (1941)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
The Man Who Loved Women (1977)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Manhattan (1979)
Manon of the Spring (1987)
Marriage Italian Style (1964)
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Married to the Mob (1988)
The Marrying Kind (1952)
Marty (1955)
Mary Poppins (1964)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Match Factory Girl (1990)
Mayerling (1937)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Mean Streets (1973)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Melvin and Howard (1980)
Memories of Underdevelopment (1973)
The Memory of Justice (1976)
The Men (1950)
Ménage (1986)
Metropolitan (1990)
Midnight (1939)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
Les Miserables (1935)
The Misfits (1961)
Missing (1982)
Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1954)
Mister Roberts (1955)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Mon Oncle d'Amérique (1980)
Mona Lisa (1986)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947, reviewed 1964)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Moonlighting (1982)
Moonstruck (1987)
The More the Merrier (1943)
Morgan! (1966)
The Mortal Storm (1940)
Mother (1996)
Moulin Rouge (1953)
The Mouthpiece (1932)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
My Beautiful Laundrette (1986)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
My Dinner With Andre (1981)
My Fair Lady (1964)
My Left Foot (1989)
My Life as a Dog (1987)
My Man Godfrey (1936)
My Night at Maud's (1969)
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
My 20th Century (1990)
Mon Oncle (1958)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Nashville (1975)
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
National Velvet (1944)
Network (1976)
Never on Sunday (1960)
Night Moves (1975)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
A Night to Remember (1958)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
1900 (1977)
Ninotchka (1939)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
Norma Rae (1979)
North by Northwest (1959)
Nothing But the Best (1964)
Notorious (1946)
Now, Voyager (1942)
La Nuit De Varennes (1983)
The Nun's Story (1959)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Odd Man Out (1947)
Of Mice and Men (1940)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Oliver Twist (1951)
Los Olvidados (1950, reviewed 1952)
On the Beach (1959)
On the Town (1949)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One False Move (1992)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One Foot in Heaven (1941)
One Hour with You (1932)
One Night of Love (1934)
One Potato, Two Potato (1964)
One, Two, Three (1961)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Open City (1946)
Operation Crossbow (1965)
The Opposite of Sex (1998)
Ordinary People (1980)
Ossessione (1942, reviewed 1976)
Othello (1952, reviewed 1955)
Our Town (1940)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Overlanders (1946)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Paisan (1948)
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
The Parallax View (1974)
A Passage to India (1984)
The Passion of Anna (1970)
Pather Panchali (1958)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Patton (1970)
The Pawnbroker (1965)
Payday (1973)
Pelle the Conqueror (1988)
The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
Persona (1967)
Persuasion (1995)
Le Petit Theatre de Jean Renoir (1974)
Petulia (1968)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Pianist (2002)
The Piano (1993)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
The Pillow Book (1997)
Pillow Talk (1959)
The Pink Panther (1964)
Pinocchio (1940)
Pixote (1981)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
Places in the Heart (1984)
Platoon (1986)
Play Misty for Me (1971)
The Player (1992)
Playtime (1967, reviewed 1973)
Point Blank (1967)
Poltergeist (1982)
Ponette (1997)
Il Postino (The Postman) (1994)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Pretty Baby (1978)
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Prince of the City (1981)
The Prisoner (1955)
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
The Producers (1968)
Psycho (1960)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Pygmalion (1938)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Quadrophenia (1979)
The Quiet Man (1952)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Rain Man (1988)
Raise the Red Lantern (1991, reviewed 1992)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Ran (1985)
The Rapture (1991)
Rashomon (1951)
Re-Animator (1985)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebecca (1940)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Red (1994)
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Red River (1948)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Reds (1981)
The Remains of the Day (1993)
Repo Man (1984)
Repulsion (1965)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The Return of Martin Guerre (1983)
Reuben, Reuben (1983)
Reversal of Fortune (1990)
Richard III (1956)
Ride the High Country (1962)
Rififi (1956)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Risky Business (1983)
River's Edge (1987)
The Road Warrior (1982)
Robocop (1987)
Rocco and His Brothers (1960, reviewed 1961)
Roger & Me (1989)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Romeo and Juliet (1936)
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Room at the Top (1959)
A Room With a View (1986)
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
'Round Midnight (1986)
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
The Rules of the Game (1939, reviewed 1950 and 1961)
The Ruling Class (1972)
Rushmore (1998)
Ruthless People (1986)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Sahara (1943)
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
Salesman (1969)
Sanjuro (1963)
Sansho the Bailiff (1969)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Say Anything... (1989)
Sayonara (1957)
Scenes From a Marriage (1974)
Schindler's List (1993)
The Scoundrel (1935)
The Search (1948)
The Searchers (1956)
Secret Honor (1985)
Secrets and Lies (1996)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Sergeant York (1941)
Serpico (1973)
The Servant (1963, reviewed 1964)
The Set-Up (1949)
Seven Beauties (1976)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Seven Days to Noon (1950)
The Seven Samurai (1956)
7 Up/28 Up (1985)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
The Seventh Seal (1958)
Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
Sexy Beast (2001)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Shaft (1971)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Shane (1953)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Sherman's March (1986)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)
The Shining (1980)
Ship of Fools (1965)
Shoah (1985)
Shock Corridor (1963)
Shoeshine (1947)
Shoot the Piano Player (1962)
The Shooting Party (1985)
The Shootist (1976)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The Shop on Main Street (1966)
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Shrek (2001)
Sid and Nancy (1986)
The Silence (1964)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silent World (1956)
Silk Stockings (1957)
Silkwood (1983)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Sitting Pretty (1948)
Sleeper (1973)
A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
Smash Palace (1982)
Smile (1975)
Smiles of a Summer Night (1956, reviewed 1957)
The Snake Pit (1948)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la Pitié) (1971)
The Sound of Music (1965)
South Pacific (1958)
Spartacus (1960)
Spellbound (1945)
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Spirited Away (2002)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Stage Door (1937)
Stagecoach (1939)
Stairway to Heaven (1946)
Stalag 17 (1953)
A Star Is Born (1937)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Wars (1977)
Starman (1984)
The Stars Look Down (1941)
State Fair (1933)
Stevie (1981)
Stolen Kisses (1969)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Stormy Monday (1988)
The Story of Adèle H. (1975)
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
The Story of Qiu Ju (1992)
Story of Women (1989)
Storytelling (2001)
La Strada (1956)
The Straight Story (1999)
Straight Time (1978)
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Straw Dogs (1971)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Stroszek (1977)
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Summer (1986)
Summertime (1955)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
Sundays and Cybele (1962)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Suspicion (1941)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
Swept Away (By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August) (1974)
Swing Time (1936)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Talk to Her (2002)
Tampopo (1986)
Taste of Cherry (1997)
A Taste of Honey (1961, reviewed 1962)
Taxi Driver (1976)
A Taxing Woman (1987)
A Taxing Woman's Return (1988)
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
10 (1979)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Tender Mercies (1983)
The Tender Trap (1955)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
La Terra trema (1947, reviewed 1965)
Tess (1980)
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
That's Life! (1986)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
These Three (1936)
They Live by Night (1949)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
They Were Expendable (1945)
They Won't Forget (1937)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
The Thin Man (1934)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Third Generation (1979, reviewed 1980)
The Third Man (1949)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935)
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1994)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The Man Must Die (1970)
This Sporting Life (1963)
Three Comrades (1938)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Tight Little Island (1949)
The Tin Drum (1979)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
To Live (1994)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Tom Jones (1963)
Tootsie (1982)
Top Hat (1935)
Topaz (1969)
Topkapi (1964)
Total Recall (1990)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Toy Story (1995)
Traffic (2000)
The Train (1965)
Trainspotting (1996)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
The Tree of the Wooden Clogs (1979)
The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
Tristana (1970)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
True Grit (1969)
True Love (1989)
Trust (1991)
Tunes of Glory (1960)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Twentieth Century (1934)
Two English Girls (1971)
The Two of Us (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Two Women (1961)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Ugetsu (1954)
Ulzana's Raid (1972)
Umberto D. (1952)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Usual Suspects (1995)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
The Verdict (1982)
Vertigo (1958)
Videodrome (1982)
Violette Nozière (1978)
Viridiana (1962)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
The Voice of the Turtle (1947)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
The Wages of Fear (1955)
Waking Life (2001)
Walkabout (1971)
A Walk in the Sun (1945)
The War Game (1966)
The War of the Roses (1989)
The Warriors (1979)
Watch on the Rhine (1943)
The Waterdance (1991)
The Way We Were (1973)
Weekend (1968)
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)
The Well-Digger's Daughter (1941)
West Side Story (1961)
The Whales of August (1987)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
What's Up, Doc? (1972)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
White Heat (1949)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Wild Child (1970)
Wild Reeds (1994)
Wild Strawberries (1959)
Wilson (1944)
Wings of Desire (1988)
Wise Blood (1979)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Woman of the Year (1942)
The Women (1939)
Women in Love (1970)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Woodstock (1970)
Working Girl (1988)
The World of Apu (1959, reviewed 1960)
The World of Henry Orient (1964)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Wuthering Heights (1939)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
The Yearling (1983)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000)
Yojimbo (1961)
You Can Count On Me (2000)
You Only Live Once (1937)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

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Movie Title More About This Movie
Z (1969)
Zero for Conduct (1933)

comment #53

lipranzer says ...

My top 10 since 1983:

LEAVING LAS VEGAS
CHILDREN OF MEN
PLATOON
21 GRAMS
ALMOST FAMOUS
DO THE RIGHT THING
PRIZZI'S HONOR
MILLER'S CROSSING
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

comment #54

dre says ...

why not...joining the fray

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
HEAT
PULP FICTION
JFK
SEVEN
RUSHMORE
MAGNOLIA
THE INSIDER
THE 6TH SENSE
SCHINDLER'S LIST
THE MATRIX
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
BLUE VELVET
THE FOUNTAIN
BACK TO THE FUTURE
ALIENS
FULL METAL JACKET
NIXON
FIGHT CLUB
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
DIE HARD
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
UNFORGIVEN
FARGO
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

comment #55

dre says ...

Berkguru...that was...long

comment #56

DarthCorleone says ...

3000 MILES TO GRACELAND
BABY GENIUSES
COOL AS ICE
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
JAWS: THE REVENGE
THE LADY IN THE WATER
MANNEQUIN 2: ON THE MOVE
STEALTH
TIDELAND
TRANSFORMERS

Wait...what was this for again?

comment #57

Richardson says ...

American Movie and Miller's Crossing are the only movies in the past 25 years that crack my top 10 (though 'King of Comedy' was there for a while).

comment #58

Craptastic says ...

My short take on this: "best of" lists is the dumbest thing ever created.

Think of it this way... have you ever been on that annoying date where the girl/guy asks: so what are your favorite films of all time?!

Maybe it's just me but I'm asking for the check at that moment.

comment #59

MPNeeb says ...

Oh hell...

HEAT
PLATOON
TRAFFIC
MATRIX TRILOGY
THE LIMEY
EMPIRE OF THE SUN
THE PLAYER
HERO (2002)
IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS
TERMINATOR
THE KILLING FIELDS

comment #60

thevisceral says ...

List of things I hate.

Mosquitos
Those cramps you get in your feet sometimes
Hunts ketchup
Lists

comment #61

fielding says ...

Top Ten films of the last 25 years?

OK, 5 of them are Woody Allen films: Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors and Husbands and Wives.

The remainder are: Miller's Crossing, Short Cuts, Kung Fu Hustle, Jungle Fever and Magnolia.

comment #62

Aladdin Sane says ...

Glad a couple mentions of Empire of the Sun. Definitely my favourite Spielberg film.

comment #63

YND says ...

1. BREAKING THE WAVES
2. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
3. GOODFELLAS
4. MULHOLLAND DRIVE
5. EYES WIDE SHUT
6. THE THIN RED LINE
7. BLUE VELVET
8. THERE WILL BE BLOOD
9. IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
10. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

(Ten Honorable Mentions (no order): THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE, BEFORE SUNSET, PULP FICTION, RUSHMORE, SEVEN, THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, BABE, WINGS OF DESIRE, A ROOM WITH A VIEW)

comment #64

Major Calloway says ...

To all of this, I will only add that my own personal list runs from first to tenth.

But I'm bummed that out of all the lists above, the only one mentioning THIS IS SPINAL TAP also includes 1004 other films including TOTAL RECALL and DUMBO. (Bless you, berkguru, for not including SCARFACE in even the top 1000.)

comment #65

Arizona Joe says ...

Americans are obsessed by lists and ratings. They are philistinic .

These are the movies that touched a chord with me. They are not the definitive best films.

1. Blue Velvet
2. The Sorceress (France, 1987)
3. Flirting
4. Midnight Run
5. Hoosiers

I also liked very much

-L.A. Confidential,
-Fargo,
-Saving Private Ryan,
- Full Metal Jacket,
-Wall Street,
-Zelig,
- American Beauty,
- American Pie,
-Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,
- Roger & Me,
- Sicko,
- Shadow of the Raven
-Cabeza de Vaca,
-Jesus of Montreal,
-The Anchoress,
- The Man Without a Past,
- Under the Sun,
- Sense and Sensibility,
- Hail, Hail, Rock 'n Roll
- Crumb

comment #66

Major Calloway says ...

And yet, I'm strangely compelled. I must throw my own list on the pile.

Not a list of top ten sentimental favorites (well, maybe just one), many of which are deeply flawed. Instead, a list that probably owes too much to the Dr. J. Evans Pritchard rating method required for creating obnoxious lists like these.

Sadly, this does mean it's a mostly unsurprising collection of films. In no particular order:

- "Have you a valediction, boyo?"
- "Man is born crying. When he has cried enough, he dies."
- "Well, you sure killed the hell outta that fella today."
- "You could get killed walking your doggie!"
- "Five hundred bucks for a pillow?"
- "That's for my old Gaffer!"
- "His family's all rats. He'll grow up to be a rat."
- "Is this the face of a rat? Are these the eyes of a rat?"
- "That's a pretty fucking good milkshake."
- "They don't drink milkshakes, I assure you."

comment #67

Major Calloway says ...

Not that each and every one of these isn't also near the top of my list of personal favorites, by the way....Wouldn't list 'em if they weren't.

comment #68

MAGGA says ...

Wells, you MUST MUST MUST see Songs From The Second Floor. Not only is it the most inventive movie film-language wise in ages (Basically it's director is seen here in Scandinavia as one of the great four, the others being Bergman, Von Trier and Dreyer) but it's worldview is right up your alley. You'll adore it.

comment #69

Mgmax says ...

Now Wells should excoriate everyone but Rob for not mentioning Zodiac.

comment #70

T. S. Idiot says ...

Favorite films from 1983 to present:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Bull Durham
Girl on the Bridge
Hannah and Her Sisters
Heat
House of Flying Daggers
In the Mood for Love
Infernal Affairs
The Insider
L.A. Confidential
Layer Cake
The Limey
The Lives of Others
Local Hero
Memento
No Country for Old Men
Out of Sight
Pan’s Labyrinth
A Private Function
Prizzi’s Honor
Pulp Fiction
Ratatouille
Rushmore
Shakespeare in Love
Stranger Than Paradise
There Will Be Blood

comment #71

supertaster says ...

Oh god, not another "Thin Red Line" apologist.

The fact is that 100 years from now when people go back to watch a WWII film, they will watch 'Saving Private Ryan'. And they will weep. And they will dance. And there will be garlands of fresh herbs...

So it's not a perfect movie ... the bookends are awful ... but, come on, between them are some of the most riveting and heartbreaking two hours ever committed to film.

comment #72

T. S. Idiot says ...

While I consider SP Ryan vastly overrated and hate the bookends, I agree with supertaster that most of the rest is good. The slow, meditative sequence with the phonograph is outstanding. That said, the battle at the end is staged and edited like an episode of Combat.

comment #73

pchu says ...

Off the top of my head, definitely will change. My list for the best in last 25 years: (No particular order)

Heat
Pulp Fiction
City Of God
The Last Emperor
Goodfellas
Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind
Lost in Translation
Hoop Dreams
Schindler's List
Wall Street
Do The Right Thing
Boys Don't Cry
Borat (I have never laughed this hard)
Pan's Labyrinth
Spirited Away
Bull Durham
Adaptaion
Broadcast News
Shawshank Redemption
12 Monkeys

Man, this is hard. I left out lots of stuff (Jackie Brown, Mulholland Drive, any PT Anderson films, Amores Perros, etc). I have to rethink...

comment #74

p.Vice says ...

I guess I'll throw down since everyone seems to think I don't like anything.

Top Ten since 83:

Breaking the Waves
Cast Away
The Decalogue
Goodfellas
Jackie Brown
The Killer
Little Children
Schindler's List
Sling Blade
Werckmeister Harmonies

comment #75

JapAdapters says ...

Finally, someone mentions SLING BLADE.

comment #76

K. Bowen says ...

I like Saving Private Ryan very much. But to assume The Thin Red Line is simply a World War II film is to assume a lot.

comment #77

buck.swope says ...

Has no one mentioned Leaving Las Vegas?

Buffalo '66
Bound
Zero Effect
Freeway
Punch Drunk Love
The Squid and the Whale
Swingers
To Live and Die in LA

comment #78

StoneFan1 says ...

Top 25 (1983-2008)
The Right Stuff
Amadeus
Ran
Hoosiers
Empire of the Sun
Accidental Tourist
JFK
Last of the Mohicans
Schindler's List
Remains of the Day
Age of Innocence
Ed Wood
Nixon
Casino
English Patient
Kundun
Thin Red Line
Insider
Titus
A.I.
Gosford Park
The Pianist
Master & Commander : The Far Side of the World
Alexander (yes, that one!)
There Will Be Blood

comment #79

K. Bowen says ...

Holy Crap. I forgot Ran. And Goodfellas

The whole list is up now. Numbers 25 -11 actually had me nodding in agreement a great deal. But 1-10? Ay yi yi.

comment #80

George Prager says ...

Armond White is reading this article right now and is beside himself ("What about BUBBLE BOY, GUN SHY, JIMMY HOLLYWOOD, SCREWED, INTERSECTION, THE BRAVE ONE, SNAKE EYES, MISSION TO MARS?!!!!!!!!")

comment #81

Bocephus says ...

Porco Rosso, 25 times.

comment #82

T. S. Idiot says ...

Call me an idiot, but I actually enjoyed Jimmy Hollywood.

comment #83

Richardson says ...

"between them are some of the most riveting and heartbreaking two hours ever committed to film."

I think that most of the middle of 'Private Ryan' is the most by-the-numbers generic "guys on a mission" movie ever, right down to Tom Hanks "monologue by the guy with the mysterious past". It's never out and out terrible or anything, but I was rarely riveted.

I was also personally disturbed by the audience reaction when Jeremy Davies finally "becomes a man" and kills somebody. I like the cowardly character in 'Magnificent Seven' much better.

comment #84

Gabriel says ...

Well done, p. Vice - "Werckmeister Harmonies" hasn't gotten nearly enough play in this discussion.

comment #85

supertaster says ...

"some of..."

Ribissi's death scene (actually that whole ambush scene), the opening sequence, the night in the church, the mounting dread in the scene leading to up the final showdown (not the actual final showdown), and Adam Goldberg's death are moments that, for me, are unparalleled by other war films ... could be minor details that struck a chord with me, you know our resposnes are colored by our different life experiences. Not saying anyone is right or wrong, but my god, the pretense of 'The Thin Red Line' was more unbareable than even the most cliche scene one could find in SPR.

comment #86

Rich S. says ...

The Best 25 Movies of the Last 25 Years (in no particular order):

Miami Vice
Collateral
Ali
The Insider
Heat
The Last of the Mohicans
Manhunter
Ocean’s Thirteen
The Good German
Bubble
Ocean’s Twelve
Solaris
Full Frontal
Ocean’s Eleven
Traffic
Erin Brockovich
The Limey
Out of Sight
Schizopolis
Gray’s Anatomy
Underneath
King of the Hill
Kafka
Sex, Lies and Videotape

and, of course, Zodiac.

(There, that should keep me in good HE standing for awhile.)

Oh, and if you want to know the worst 25 movies of the past 25 years, just go to IMDB and enter Jackson, Peter, Murphy, Eddie and Spielberg, Steven.

comment #87

T. S. Idiot says ...

"I was also personally disturbed by the audience reaction when Jeremy Davies finally "becomes a man" and kills somebody."

This bothers me as well. His character is a sniveling coward. Does he deserve this second chance?

It reminds me of ET when the brats bully Elliott yet get to ride their bikes in the sky anyway.

Anyone up for the scholarly essay "Spielberg and the Lack of