Top 20 favourite films

[kiddo]

That`s a good question. But I have to say that I REALLY enjoyed the film and was quite shocked to see it on imdbs top 100 worst list. Of course it`s a bad film in many ways, but at the same time I must say it has many great elements put into it as well. The camerawork is overall very good and the dialogue is often so ridicolous and absurd that it becomes great! The acting is pretty poor, but it`s kind of charming, you know. Apart from all that, the story is very simple, yet quite interesting. And I just loved the end of the film! The last shot youst did it for me ;D

I must add that I saw the movie without ANY expectations. If you go and see this thinking it will be a great film, you will definitively be highly dissapointed.

[snb]

1. Sátántangó (Béla Tarr 1994)
2. Der Siebente Kontinent (Michael Haneke 1989)
3. The Elephant Man (David Lynch 1980)
4. Topio stin omichli (Theo Angelopoulos 1988)
5. Zerkalo (Andrei Tarkovsky 1975)
6. Werckmeister harmóniák (Béla Tarr 2000)
7. Trilogia I: To Livadi pou dakryzei (Theo Angelopoulos 2004)
8. El espíritu de la colmena (Víctor Erice 1973)
9. Caché (Michael Haneke 2005)
10. Trolösa (Liv Ullmann 2000)
11. Black Moon (Louis Malle 1975)
12. Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch 1986)
13. Taxidi sta Kithira (Theo Angelopoulos 1984)
14. Höstsonaten (Ingmar Bergman 1978)
15. Offret (Andrei Tarkovsky 1986)
16. Tian bian yi duo yun (Tsai Ming-Liang 2005)
17. Vai E Vem (João César Monteiro 2003)
18. Kárhozat (Béla Tarr 1988)
19. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier 2000)
20. Stroszek (Werner Herzog 1977)

[kiddo]

Welcome to the forum!

And what an interesting list. So many titles here I have not seen, but The Elephant Man and Stroszek are two brilliant films you`ll find on my list as well. Excellent picks, in other words! I also love Höstsonaten; Bergman is, as always, a genious in bringing powerful human emotion to the surface through heavily impressing, poetic filmmaking. I am definitively going to check out many films on your list...

And I hope to have some good discussions with you. I think we all do...

[ie]

Good to see a list that doesn't have the familiar favorites, even if those are pretty good.

Well come.

[Clark Nova]

Yeah, so I just realized how much of an overhaul my top 20's taken since my movie acquisitions have increased. With that, I give you folks a comparison of the first list I submitted here and the current one:

May 21:
1) Lawrence of Arabia
2) The Return of the King
3) The Empire Strikes Back
4) Once Upon a Time in the West
5) Star Wars
6) The Godfather
7) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
8) The Fellowship of the Ring
9) Once Upon a Time in America
10) Seven Samurai
11) Citizen Kane
12) Chinatown
13) The Godfather: Part II
14) Oldboy
15) Dr. Strangelove
16) Goodfellas
17) Ran
18) Blade Runner
19) 2001: A Space Odyssey
20) Alien

October 12:
1) Seven Samurai
2) Once Upon a Time in the West
3) Chinatown
4) Dr. Strangelove
5) Lawrence of Arabia
6) Ikiru
7) Ran
8) Apocalypse Now
9) Once Upon a Time in America
10) The Godfather
11) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
12) Sunset Boulevard
13) Blade Runner
14) Mulholland Dr.
15) The Godfather: Part II
16) Raging Bull
17) Citizen Kane
18) Taxi Driver
19) Oldboy
20) Star Wars
21) 2001: A Space Odyssey

I included 2001 at # 21 because it goes in 'n out of my top 20 every minute and a half, it seems.

Yeah, so notice how Lord of the Rings is pretty much a non-factor now and how I replaced one Scorcese with two others...wow, this is fun.

oh, and check out my YMDB page for the rest of my top 110 to see how I have way too much time on my hands...

[agentknight]

My current list, unfortunately leaning towards contemporary films.

1. 8 1/2 (1963) [Frederico Fellini]
2. Lost Highway (1997) [David Lynch]
3. Lost in Translation (2003) [Sofia Copolla]
4. Sonatine (1993) [Takeshi Kitano]
5. Annie Hall (1977) [Woody Allen]
6. Punch Drunk Love (2002) [P.T. Anderson]
7. The New World (2005) [Terrence Malick]
8. Wings of Desire (1987) [Wim Wenders]
9. Solyaris (1972) [Andrei Tarkovsky]
10. In The Mood For Love (2000) [Wong Kar-Wai]
11. Down by Law (1986) [Jim Jarmusch]
12. Requiem For a Dream (2000) [Darren Aronofsky]
13. Naked Lunch (1991) [David Cronenberg]
14. After Hours (1985) [Martin Scorcese]
15. Sex and Lucia (2003) [Julio Medem]
16. Primer (2004) [Shane Carruth]
17. Happiness (1998) [Todd Solondz]
18. Buffalo '66 (1998) [Vincent Gallo]
19. Conversation, The (1974) [Francis Ford Copolla]
20. I Heart Huckabees (2004) [David O. Russel]

[nonfiction]

snb said:

8. El espíritu de la colmena (Víctor Erice 1973)
16. Tian bian yi duo yun (Tsai Ming-Liang 2005)

Nice! Finally found someone else with The Spirit of the Beehive in their top 20. It's also nice to see Tsai's Wayward Cloud in your list as well (although it's not on my top 20).

[agentknight]

I wish to post my new list. It's pretty cool imo.

1. Lost in Translation (2003) [Sofia Copolla]
2. Lost Highway (1997) [David Lynch]
3. Der Himmel über Berlin (1987) [Wim Wenders]
4. Trouble Every Day (2003) [Claire Denis]
5. The Brown Bunny (2003) [Vincent Gallo]
6. Takeshis' (2005) [Takeshi Kitano]
7. Caché (2005) [Michael Haneke]
8. The New World (2005) [Terrence Malick]
9. Down by Law (1986) [Jim Jarmusch]
10. Solyaris (1972) [Andrei Tarkovsky]
11. Videodrome (1986) [David Cronenberg]
12. After Hours (1985) [Martin Scorcese]
13. Pusher (1996) [Nicolas Winding Refn]
14. Punch-Drunk Love (2002) [P.T. Anderson]
15. Lucía y el sexo (2003) [Julio Medem]
16. Vertigo (1957) [Alfred Hitchcock]
17. Primer (2004) [Shane Carruth]
18. Deconstructing Harry (1997) [Woody Allen]
19. Pi (1997) [Darren Aronofksy]
20. Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965) [Jean-Luc Godard]

[kiddo]

Yes, it is cool.

I'm looking forward to Takeshis' and Alphaville! Definitively going to check those out as soon as possible. There's a couple here that I haven't seen, though, and I think Vertigo is slightly overrated. But After Hours is such a playful, utterly great film, and I'm very glad to see it on your list. Yeah, cool list.

I'll post my updated list as well. Comments are very much appreciated.

Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle (Herzog, '74)
Europa (aka. Zentropa, Von Trier, 91)
Smultronstället (Bergman, '57)
Chinatown (Polanski, '74)
Stroszek (Herzog, 76)
Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 76)
Touch of Evil (Welles, '58)
Det Sjunde Inseglet (Bergman, 57)
C'era una volta il West (Leone, '68)
The Elephant Man (Lynch, '80)
Day of the Dead (Romero, '85)
Goodfellas (Scorsese, '90)
Repulsion (Polanski, '65)
Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettô Ganryûjima (Samurai trilogy p.3, Inagaki, '56)
12 Angry Men (Lumet, '57)
Sunset Blvd. (Wilder, '50)
The Godfather (Coppola, '72)
A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, '71)
8 1/2 (Fellini, '60)
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (Greenaway, '89)

[criterionmaster]

1 Fanny and Alexander (1982, R)
2 Dancer in the Dark (2000, R)
3 Seven Samurai (1954, Unrated)
4 Werckmeister Harmoniak (2001, Unrated)
5 A Clockwork Orange (1971, R)
6 Raging Bull (1980, R)
7 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, G)
8 Almost Famous (2000, R)
9 Persona (1966, Unrated)
10 Faces (1968, PG-13)
11 8 1/2 (1963, Unrated)
12 Pulp Fiction (1994, R)
13 The 400 Blows (1959, Unrated)
14 Yi Yi (2000, Unrated)
15 Rear Window (1954, PG)
16 The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, Unrated)
17 Jules and Jim (1962, Unrated)
18 Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki (When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) (1963, Unrated)
19 The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964, Unrated)
20 Titicut Follies (1967, Unrated)
21 Le Ángel exterminador (The Exterminating Angel) (1962, Unrated)
22 Children of Paradise (1946, Unrated)

[Clark Nova]

my updated list, which took me a hell of a long time to remember since YMDB IS STILL DOWN

1) Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa) (1954)
2) Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone) (1968)
3) Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa) (1952)
4) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone) (1966)
5) Ran (Akira Kurosawa) (1985)
6) Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola) (1979)
7) The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola) (1972)
8) Taxi Driver (Martin Scorcese) (1976)
9) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean) (1962)
10) Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone) (1984)
11) Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch) (2001)
12) Chinatown (Roman Polanski) (1974)
13) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick) (1964)
14) Oldboy (Chan-wook Park) (2003)
15) Raging Bull (Martin Scorcese) (1980)
16) The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola) (1974)
17) Blade Runner (Ridley Scott) (1982)
18) Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen) (1989)
19) Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder) (1950)
20) Citizen Kane (Orson Welles) (1941)

there's 100 more that I put in order, but it looks like that's gone forever unless YMDB DECIDES TO FIX ITSELF

...as you can tell, i'm a bit distressed...

[Nomansvally]

MY TOP-20 FAVORITE FILMS

1. La Double vie de Véronique (1991)
2. Barry Lyndon (1975)
3. The Red Shoes (1948)
4. Belle de jour (1967)
5. Le Doulos (1961)
6. Cul-De-Sac (1966)
7. Shadow of a doubt (1943)
8. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
9. Le Notti di Cabiria (1957)
10. Jules et Jim (1961)
11. Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)
12. Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
13. Fanny och Alexander (1982)
14. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
15. Mouchette (1967)
16. Le Mépris (1963)
17. Cleo De 5 á 7 (1962)
18. Love And Death (1975)
19. Il Deserto Rosso (1964)
20. Network (1976)

This is what my YMDB-list looked like before it went down.

The top-10 is rock solid, I can't think of any other films I've seen that have affected me more than these ones. I change alot of the rankings from #11-20, but most rarely in my top-10, these films are perfect for me.

[ie]

My Top 20 has a lot of holes in it because I think there are still plenty of movies that are more deserving than filler to make it into my Top 20. It's shaping up pretty nicely; I just added Pierrot le Fou last week.


Also, Agent Knight, your new Top 20 is quite good, although that's mainly because a certain movie... isn't... on it any... more.

Don't worry, Clark Nova, YMDB is probably in the middle of server problems or something, even though I haven't heard any news about how they're doing; you'd think they'd at least try to post a notice somewhere. Oh well.

[eatawiiner]

1. Woman in the Dunes
2. George Washington
3. Blue Velvet

[ie]

Well, here is what the definite items on my Top 20 look like:


1.) Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
2.) The Seven Samurai
3.)
4.) {All Purpose Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli slot} Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle
5.) American Beauty
6.) Enter the Dragon
7.) 7th Street
8.)
9.)
10.)
11.)
12.)
13.)
14.) The Long Goodbye
15.)
16.)
17.)
18.)
19.) Waking Life
20.) Fargo

Beyond, from the Animatrix, is my favorite short movie, so I would like to include it (as well as an all-purpose Matrix slot for the Animatrix movies and the first Matrix movie) in my Top 20 as well, but I'm not sure where exactly to pin it. Then there's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a few others. But the list above is the most accurate, as of right now. It's just a skeleton. ;D ;D

[PTAhole]

OVERHALL!!!! Since I haven't updated my list in ages, here is a slightly more recent version.

1. Star Wars (77-83; Lucas, Kershner, Marquand)
2. Untitled (AKA Almost Famous; 00; Crowe)
3. Seven Samurai (54; Kurosawa)
4. Pulp Fiction (94; Tarantino)
5. Rear Window (54; Hitchcock)
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark (81; Spielberg)
7. Blade Runner (82; Scott)
8. The Fountain (06; Aronofsky)
9. Princess Mononoke (97; Miyazaki)
10. 2001: A Space Oddyssey (68; Kubrick)
11. Lord of the Rings (01-03; Jackson)
12. Clerks. (94; Smith)
13. Aliens (86; Cameron)
14. Dazed and Confused (93; Linklater)
15. Dawn of the Dead (78; Romero)
16. Army of Darkness (93; Raimi)
17. Basket Case (82; Hennenlotter)
18. 3-Iron (04; Ki-duk)
19. Chungking Express (94; Kar Wai)
20. Taxi Driver (76; Scorsese)

[criterionmaster]

Jesus, number 8. That's crazy. I hope you aren't just overrating it, having just seen it.

[PTAhole]

You put stuff on your top 20 right after seeing them. I have mulled over the film for five days, and I find it to be one of my favorites. I may lower it down into the teens, though.

[Nomansvally]

I feel exacly the same about it ptahole, one gotta have a close relationship with personal favourite films. Especially with your top-10. One better know alot about 'em 'cos they represent your taste somthing about you. I think that's important also in terms of music and art in general.

[dontdigonswine]

[01] 8 ½ (Fellini) - 1963
[02] Seven Samurai (Kurosawa) - 1954
[03] Citizen Kane (Welles) - 1941
[04] Seventh Seal (Bergman) - 1957
[05] Pulp Fiction (Tarantino) - 1994
[06] Chinatown (Polanski) - 1974
[07] Fanny and Alexander (Bergman) - 1982
[08] Bout de souffle (Godard) – 1959
[09] La dolce vita (Fellini) - 1960
[10] Le samourai (Melville) - 1967
[11] Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone) - 1968
[12] The Departed (Scorsese) - 2006
[13] Blowup (Antonioni) - 1966
[14] Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry) - 2004
[15] L’Avventura (Antonioni) - 1960
[16] Vertigo (Hitchcock) - 1958
[17] M (Lang) - 1931
[18] 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick) - 1968
[19] Double Indemnity (Wilder) - 1944
[20] The 400 Blows (Truffaut) - 1959

Glad to see The Fountain on your list. It was in the 50s on my list, though it may go up or down after seeing it a few more times.

[agentknight]

Kiddo: great list, good to see 8 1/2 and The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover. I must see Stroszek.

Criterionmaster: Excellent list, some films I really have to see there, particularly Werckmeister Harmoniak and The Gospel According to St. Matthew. I wasn't too big on The Exterminating Angel, though, as you know.

Clark Nova: Great list, I've got to see Crimes and Misdemeanors soon. Mulholland Dr. is one of my all time faves.

Nomansvally: Excellent list, even if I've only seen three of the films there. The Red Shoes is really that good, huh?

Eatawiiner: Good top three. Blue Velvet is amazing, but I like Lost Highway better, and I hope to watch Woman in the Dunes today or tomorrow.

ie: So like, how do you decide on the ranks of films if there are so many gaps?

ptahole: Pretty impressive, I can't wait for The Fountain! I think Vertigo is better than Rear Window, though.

dontdigonswine: Good to see someone who likes Vertigo as much as I do!

[captainofbeef]

1. TGBU
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Seven Samurai
4. Le Samourai
5. OUATIW
6. Reservoir Dogs
7. Shawshank Redemption
8. Million Dollar Baby
9. Unforgiven
10. Band of Outsiders
11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
12. OUATIA
13. Breathless
14. Chinatown
15. 8 1/2
16. Solaris
17. Man Bites Dog
18. Wages of Fear
19. Amadeus
20. Dead Man

My list hasnt changed in the longest time.

[mixed]

My top 10

Aguirre
Sonatine
The Maltese Falcon
Happiness
The third man
Badlands
Jules et Jim
The Phantom of Liberty
Cries and whispers
Ikiru

[misterbalco]

Id post mine, but i cant get into my ymdb.

[ie]

Google search with your user name. It should bring up your Top 20.

[ie]

agentknight said:

ie: So like, how do you decide on the ranks of films if there are so many gaps?

Basically, the Top 5 are ones that really changed my perspective on movies or life in general, with my #1 slot going to my favorite movie. Enter the Dragon just missed this, because I really dug it but it just didn't fit in my Top 5.

7th Street just worked at the #7 slot. The Long Goodbye is at #14 because it just seemed to work, and the last two - Waking Life and Fargo - just kind of nicely rounded off the Top 20.

Those were just definite places. As for all the gaps, well, I've seen a good amount of movies, but I haven't seen, like, a thousand movies or something, so instead of just constantly knocking good movies that would eventually be replaced by better movies, I just keep holes in it.

[kiddo]

mixed: Great to see Aguirre on top! It's such a unique film with so utterly absorbing images and atmosphere. You really see that Herzog is a master of the medium, and that he can create pictures and produce thougths few others manage to do.
Also quite wonderful to see The Third Man and Viskningar och rop on the list. I must see Ikiru!

andruini: I haven't seen a single film on your list! What the fuck is the matter with you, kiddo!? (I've only seen 3/4 of Nostalghia)

[kiddo]

Haha, nice. Just from the fact that you had The Cook, the Thief... on your list, I can tell you have a taste for great artistic cinema. Your a good boy.

[misterbalco]

1. Raging Bull (1980)
2. Offret [The Sacrifice] (1986)
3. Viskningar och rop [Cries and Whispers] (1972)
4. La dolce vita (1960)
5. Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)
6. Rosetta (1999)
7. Woman Under the Influence, A (1974)
8. Andrei Rublyov (1969)
9. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
10. Days of Heaven (1978)
11. Espíritu de la colmena, El [The Spirit of the Beehive] (1973)
12. Såsom i en spegel [Through A Glass Darkly] (1961)
13. George Washington (2000)
14. Dead Man (1995)
15. Le Fils [The Son] (2002)
16. Hoop Dreams (1994)
17. Easy Rider (1969)
18. Ma nuit chez Maud [My Night At Maud's] (1969)
19. Woodstock : 3 jours de musique et de paix (1970)
20. Vacances de M. Hulot, Les [M. Hulots Holiday] (1953)

Yea.

[agentknight]

GG on Cries and Whispers at #3!