I can't possibly narrow my list to ten... but I'll try and then also offer a runners-up list, if you'll indulge me.
1. Notorious (1946), Director Alfred Hitchcock. Classic film noir/spy thriller starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains. I absolutely love Casablanca, but love Notorious more.
2. The Taming of the Shrew (1967) Director Franco Zeffirelli. Shakespeare beautifully interpreted and spectacularly presented by Taylor and Burton as kate and Petrucchio, filmed in Rome at the Dino DeLaurentis Studios.
3. Charade (1963) Director Stanley Donen. Thriller with a dash of sly and engaging humor, known as the best Hitchcock film not actually directed by Hitchcock. Great cast including Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn and Arthur Kennedy. Score by Henry Mancini.
4. The Americanization of Emily (1964) Director Arthur Hiller, writer Paddy Chayefsky. Slyly celebrates the insanity of war. James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn.
5. Á Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (1960) Director Jean Luc Godard, Writers Francois Truffaut, Goadard and Claude Chabrol. Disaffected youth in late '50s France starring Jean Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg.
6. Il Postino (1994) Director Michael Radford & Massimo Troisi. A languidly sweet and moving film about love, the language of it, and yearning. Massimo Troisi, Phillippe Noiret and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.
7. The Natural (1984) Director Barry Levinson, from the novel by Bernard Malamud, adapted by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry. Allegory set in the ballpark! I adore baseball movies and this one stands head and shoulders above Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out. Unbelievable cast includes Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Wilford Brimley, Richard Farnsworth, et al.
8. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Director David Lean. Haunting score. Peter O'Toole, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains.
9. The King's Speech (2010) Director Tom Hopper. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter. Every frame is a visual feast.
10. Silkwood (1983) Director Mike Nichols, writers Nora Ephron (before she was funny) and Alice Arlen. Meryl Streep (one of her best IMO), Cher (who knew?) and Kurt Russell.
Runners Up:
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Moonstruck (1987)
The Pink Panther (1963)
Victor/Victoria (1982)
Two Women (1960)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
The Man Who shot Liberty Valance (1962)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Adam's Rib (1949)
All the President's Men (1976)
The French Connection (1971)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Sleuth (1972)
Apparently, I live in the past and have rather eclectic taste in cinematic entertainment.
I ADORE so many of those movies, Kelly. And The French Connection (1, but not 2 or 3) is one of John's top five. 1 was perfection. The rest (much like The Matrix, in my opinion) were simply awful.
I don't mind subtitles but am not a fan of dubbing. But with a dyslexic husband, I only watch subtitled movies if I'm watching on my own. And end up watching more dubbed movies and shows than I'd prefer. But I'd rather be able to watch and discuss with my husband, so there's that.
My son is dyslexic! They're a pretty remarkable bunch, taken on the aggregate. It may be a curse in a formal academic setting, but in other settings, it's a super power.
#1. The Lives of Others ( Won best foreign film from Germany, subtitled) In a nutshell, The East German police monitor their citizens( cultural elite, writers, artists etc.) 😃🍿
YOU’RE FREAKING ME OUT. Look, I know we’re cousins, but The Lives of Others is one of my favorite movies! I’m crazy about Soinal Tap and I not only love Fargo the movie, I loved the TV series, too!
Yeah, The ending of Lives of Others is brilliant! That movie got me delving into other foreign films like Ran(Kurosawa), Roma(Cuaron) and some Fellini’s of course. Tarantino, Kubrick, Gilliam, and Guillermo del Toro are some of my fave directors, who I think are great story tellers and always deliver. 🥰
For me, the problem with "Gone With the Wind" is not Scarlett's behavior, which is just the story. My problem is the revisionist history and celebratory racism. And even here, it is not the characters' racism: it is the fact that it is not even noticed as racism. I mention this because of my #2 film.
That said, I'm not sure I can even come up with 10. There are films I watch over and over again because they entertain me, and then there are films that strike me dumb with awe. There is very little overlap between the two. Anyway ...
#1: Casablanca. Hands down. I start tearing up just thinking about the "La Marseillaise" scene. And the camera work there is so intense: people looking at other people, waiting for someone to pull the pin.
#2: The Searchers. Most of Ford's white characters are overt racists, but he's not celebrating that, he's merely presenting the fact. (Consider that the real hero of the piece is the "half-breed" Marty.) I know people despise John Wayne, but the man could actually act, and in the hands of a great director he was a great actor.
Those are films I can see again and again.
#3: 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was 12 when I saw that in the theater on a BIG screen, in original release. Nothing had ever made me think that hard or that carefully before.
#4: The Deer Hunter. I was just out of the army and had known a number of NCO's who were combat vets. The criticisms of the Russian roulette scenes were staggering in their infantilism. It is as though these so-called "professionals" had never heard of a metaphor. I was unable to speak for three days the first time I saw it.
I'm not quite sure how to fill in the remaining six. The numbers are not ordinal, merely labels.
5 & 6: LadyHawke and Willow. These are the films that taught me fantasy, above and beyond LoTR (which I dearly love). The central characters were not the big heroes. And Willow was the first film to use morphing.
7, 8, 9, 10: I don't know.
Hal Wallis' 1968(ish) version of "True Grit". Yes, it has John Wayne; yes the actress is in her 20's, and not a "real" 14 year old. But they call it "acting" for a reason. And there was real father/daughter chemistry between John Wayne and Kim Darby that was completely lacking in the later version.
I suppose I should say something about "Star Wars," because it was so ground breaking. But the truth is, it was "Return of The Jedi" that I saw 12 times in the theater because of that beautifully choreographed sword fight at the end. Not even the fight between Anarkin and Obi Wan in "Revenge" could live up to that. It was about visualizing an action sequence with the right timing in the beats and emotional energy that made it something I could study and learn from.
I love your film picks! I would have guessed 2001 and Deer Hunter for you. Hall Wallis's True Grit, no. I wouldn't have paired that with your top ten list. Return of the Jedi is the best of the entire franchise. I LOVE that movie.
This was a lot of fun. I confirmed things I think I know about you and learned some others.
2001 A Space Odyssey is the worst movie I've ever seen. Spectacular colors but really lousy story line. Sorry, we had a dog my wife wanted to name Hal snd I lost it.
No way! Well, this just confirms what I have always said: 10% of the folks with love a work of art, 80% will be indifferent, and 10% will hate it. Clearly, you're in that last category when it comes to 2001.
I do agree with you about the Big Lebowski, would been my number one on your list. Little more grounded. 2001 repeating the same line at the end would have elicited a “Shut the f—-up Donnie from me
This sort of highly subjective madness is not the sort of thing I care to take on. I already did it when I wrote about my belief that Tom Petty's "Woman in Love" is the greatest rock and roll song of all time. As for movies, I think I'd drive myself around the bend trying to narrow the list down to ten.
BTW, can any top-ten list without "Blue is the Warmest Color" be considered legitimate? Asking for a friend.
Neat post, Stacey. There's a few on your list that I haven't seen, but have been on my list for awhile. I'm fine with subtitles, since my hearing is not great, even with hearing aids!
. I'm going to add a few traditional films: On the Waterfront (I fell in love with Brando when I was 13), The Godfather, Annie Hall, Dog Day Afternoon, and... Days of Heaven. By the way, love the Christian Bale.
YES. I'm crazy about On the Waterfront. What a movie that was! Godfather, absolutely. Annie Hall was Woodie's best, although I can't catch his movies right now on account of the reflexive vomiting. DDA is another fabulous movie, as is DOH.
I can't possibly narrow my list to ten... but I'll try and then also offer a runners-up list, if you'll indulge me.
1. Notorious (1946), Director Alfred Hitchcock. Classic film noir/spy thriller starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains. I absolutely love Casablanca, but love Notorious more.
2. The Taming of the Shrew (1967) Director Franco Zeffirelli. Shakespeare beautifully interpreted and spectacularly presented by Taylor and Burton as kate and Petrucchio, filmed in Rome at the Dino DeLaurentis Studios.
3. Charade (1963) Director Stanley Donen. Thriller with a dash of sly and engaging humor, known as the best Hitchcock film not actually directed by Hitchcock. Great cast including Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn and Arthur Kennedy. Score by Henry Mancini.
4. The Americanization of Emily (1964) Director Arthur Hiller, writer Paddy Chayefsky. Slyly celebrates the insanity of war. James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn.
5. Á Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (1960) Director Jean Luc Godard, Writers Francois Truffaut, Goadard and Claude Chabrol. Disaffected youth in late '50s France starring Jean Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg.
6. Il Postino (1994) Director Michael Radford & Massimo Troisi. A languidly sweet and moving film about love, the language of it, and yearning. Massimo Troisi, Phillippe Noiret and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.
7. The Natural (1984) Director Barry Levinson, from the novel by Bernard Malamud, adapted by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry. Allegory set in the ballpark! I adore baseball movies and this one stands head and shoulders above Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out. Unbelievable cast includes Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Wilford Brimley, Richard Farnsworth, et al.
8. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Director David Lean. Haunting score. Peter O'Toole, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains.
9. The King's Speech (2010) Director Tom Hopper. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter. Every frame is a visual feast.
10. Silkwood (1983) Director Mike Nichols, writers Nora Ephron (before she was funny) and Alice Arlen. Meryl Streep (one of her best IMO), Cher (who knew?) and Kurt Russell.
Runners Up:
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Moonstruck (1987)
The Pink Panther (1963)
Victor/Victoria (1982)
Two Women (1960)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
The Man Who shot Liberty Valance (1962)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Adam's Rib (1949)
All the President's Men (1976)
The French Connection (1971)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Sleuth (1972)
Apparently, I live in the past and have rather eclectic taste in cinematic entertainment.
I ADORE so many of those movies, Kelly. And The French Connection (1, but not 2 or 3) is one of John's top five. 1 was perfection. The rest (much like The Matrix, in my opinion) were simply awful.
Love your cinemaphilia!
I don't mind subtitles but am not a fan of dubbing. But with a dyslexic husband, I only watch subtitled movies if I'm watching on my own. And end up watching more dubbed movies and shows than I'd prefer. But I'd rather be able to watch and discuss with my husband, so there's that.
My son is dyslexic! They're a pretty remarkable bunch, taken on the aggregate. It may be a curse in a formal academic setting, but in other settings, it's a super power.
10. Pulp Fiction
9. The Third Man
8. Chinatown
7. Fargo
6. This is Spinal Tap
5. Young Frankenstein
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. Brazil
2. Pan’s Labyrinth
#1. The Lives of Others ( Won best foreign film from Germany, subtitled) In a nutshell, The East German police monitor their citizens( cultural elite, writers, artists etc.) 😃🍿
YOU’RE FREAKING ME OUT. Look, I know we’re cousins, but The Lives of Others is one of my favorite movies! I’m crazy about Soinal Tap and I not only love Fargo the movie, I loved the TV series, too!
Yeah, The ending of Lives of Others is brilliant! That movie got me delving into other foreign films like Ran(Kurosawa), Roma(Cuaron) and some Fellini’s of course. Tarantino, Kubrick, Gilliam, and Guillermo del Toro are some of my fave directors, who I think are great story tellers and always deliver. 🥰
They really really do! I can't believe we love so many of the same thing. It really does lend weight to the whole "it must be genetic" theory.
For me, the problem with "Gone With the Wind" is not Scarlett's behavior, which is just the story. My problem is the revisionist history and celebratory racism. And even here, it is not the characters' racism: it is the fact that it is not even noticed as racism. I mention this because of my #2 film.
That said, I'm not sure I can even come up with 10. There are films I watch over and over again because they entertain me, and then there are films that strike me dumb with awe. There is very little overlap between the two. Anyway ...
#1: Casablanca. Hands down. I start tearing up just thinking about the "La Marseillaise" scene. And the camera work there is so intense: people looking at other people, waiting for someone to pull the pin.
#2: The Searchers. Most of Ford's white characters are overt racists, but he's not celebrating that, he's merely presenting the fact. (Consider that the real hero of the piece is the "half-breed" Marty.) I know people despise John Wayne, but the man could actually act, and in the hands of a great director he was a great actor.
Those are films I can see again and again.
#3: 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was 12 when I saw that in the theater on a BIG screen, in original release. Nothing had ever made me think that hard or that carefully before.
#4: The Deer Hunter. I was just out of the army and had known a number of NCO's who were combat vets. The criticisms of the Russian roulette scenes were staggering in their infantilism. It is as though these so-called "professionals" had never heard of a metaphor. I was unable to speak for three days the first time I saw it.
I'm not quite sure how to fill in the remaining six. The numbers are not ordinal, merely labels.
5 & 6: LadyHawke and Willow. These are the films that taught me fantasy, above and beyond LoTR (which I dearly love). The central characters were not the big heroes. And Willow was the first film to use morphing.
7, 8, 9, 10: I don't know.
Hal Wallis' 1968(ish) version of "True Grit". Yes, it has John Wayne; yes the actress is in her 20's, and not a "real" 14 year old. But they call it "acting" for a reason. And there was real father/daughter chemistry between John Wayne and Kim Darby that was completely lacking in the later version.
I suppose I should say something about "Star Wars," because it was so ground breaking. But the truth is, it was "Return of The Jedi" that I saw 12 times in the theater because of that beautifully choreographed sword fight at the end. Not even the fight between Anarkin and Obi Wan in "Revenge" could live up to that. It was about visualizing an action sequence with the right timing in the beats and emotional energy that made it something I could study and learn from.
I quit.
I love your film picks! I would have guessed 2001 and Deer Hunter for you. Hall Wallis's True Grit, no. I wouldn't have paired that with your top ten list. Return of the Jedi is the best of the entire franchise. I LOVE that movie.
This was a lot of fun. I confirmed things I think I know about you and learned some others.
2001 A Space Odyssey is the worst movie I've ever seen. Spectacular colors but really lousy story line. Sorry, we had a dog my wife wanted to name Hal snd I lost it.
No way! Well, this just confirms what I have always said: 10% of the folks with love a work of art, 80% will be indifferent, and 10% will hate it. Clearly, you're in that last category when it comes to 2001.
I do agree with you about the Big Lebowski, would been my number one on your list. Little more grounded. 2001 repeating the same line at the end would have elicited a “Shut the f—-up Donnie from me
Work of art? 😊
This sort of highly subjective madness is not the sort of thing I care to take on. I already did it when I wrote about my belief that Tom Petty's "Woman in Love" is the greatest rock and roll song of all time. As for movies, I think I'd drive myself around the bend trying to narrow the list down to ten.
BTW, can any top-ten list without "Blue is the Warmest Color" be considered legitimate? Asking for a friend.
I totally get that. It IS an exercise in madness to try to narrow it down to a ten top. But ... you know me. I go where angels fear to tread.
And that, m’dear, is what fascinates me about you. 😝
LOL! Yeah, who can turn their eyes away from a train wreck?
😝😝😝😝😝
Neat post, Stacey. There's a few on your list that I haven't seen, but have been on my list for awhile. I'm fine with subtitles, since my hearing is not great, even with hearing aids!
. I'm going to add a few traditional films: On the Waterfront (I fell in love with Brando when I was 13), The Godfather, Annie Hall, Dog Day Afternoon, and... Days of Heaven. By the way, love the Christian Bale.
YES. I'm crazy about On the Waterfront. What a movie that was! Godfather, absolutely. Annie Hall was Woodie's best, although I can't catch his movies right now on account of the reflexive vomiting. DDA is another fabulous movie, as is DOH.
Can't argue with any of your choices.
Nor I with any of yours!
Wow! So many movies I haven't heard of and need to check out. I've never minded subtitles, kind of like them, in fact.
My favorite movie is Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Have you seen it? Pedro Almodovar creates amazing movies.
I trust your judgment, Kris, so I CLEARLY need to watch your recommendation. I'm putting on the list.
Just a few I recommend (not 10… it’s past my bedtime 😵💫)
Luchino Visconti’s The Conversation Piece
Tom Ford’s A Single Man
Mary Harron’s American Psycho
Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd.
I love The Big Lebowski (as you may recall, I’m an ordained Dudeist Priest) and Boogie Nights, as well!
Stacey, you sound so angry
Without context, I have no idea what you're talking about.