Master List #18: The 101 Best Films of the 1930s

Even though the planet's mired in a similarly decade-defining depression, the movies of the 1930s are rooted so distantly away from the noisy present that watching them makes one obsess over how much life has seemingly since wriggled backwards or hence. They really feel not of this earth. Their striking opulence and risky experimentation; their steadfast dedication to amusement (there are more comedies, musicals, love stories, action movies, horror tales and animated works on this list than on the roster of any other decade I've examined); their directorial, craft, and acting confections--all float fathoms above the well-moneyed drabness we're seeing screened today; when you see a '30s movie, you're absolutely transported elsewhere--that is, if you give them the proper attention. (For those who may exclaim "I don't like old movies": my heart goes out to ya but a word of advise: forget about the pace of the editing, the less-"real" acting style, and the quietude and REALLY pay attention to the unusual--hell, mind-blowing--quality of these movies). To boot, they're entertaining and smart--and I'm taking it incredibly easy on the hyperbole here.

Largely message-less (and when messages were sent to audiences, they often arrived in the unlikely packaging of Duck Soup and Modern Times), these 101 movies transmit rich emotions all their own--a toasty glow and snazzy rap that's impossible to recreate. The era gave light to directorial greats like Chaplin, Hawks, Hitchcock, Ford, Whale, Curtiz, McCarey, Eisenstein, Browning, Vigo, Renoir, Lang, Wyler, Capra, Disney, Dave Fleicher, and even the infamous Leni Riefenstahl. Then, on screen, you see James Stewart, John Wayne, the Marx Brothers, Boris Karloff, Greta Garbo, Vivian Leigh, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, W.C. Fields, Jean Harlow, Myrna Low, William Powell, James Cagney, Peter Lorre, The Little Rascals, Edward G. Robinson, Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Popeye, King Kong, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis and...sheesh, you could go on and on. It don't matter if these movie don't make your heart palpitate like a modern Michael Bay epic: obviously, with such a glittery roll call, the 1930s ranks as very nearly the greatest decade ever for film achievement. So here, evaluated by (1) overall quality, (2) historical importance, (3) influence, and (4) personal affection, are my choices (with one-line synopses to be added later):

1) City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 31)
(That smile...)
2) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 39)
("Somebody will listen to me. Somebody...")
3) Stagecoach (John Ford, 39)
(The guide to the movies, according to Orson Welles, and one of the first great westerns)
4) Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 33)
(The most revolutionary political comedy ever filmed)
5) Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming/David O. Selznick et al., 39)
(The most stirring epic love story ever filmed, and the most popular movie of all time)
6) Vampyr (Carl Th. Dreyer, 32)
(Nightmares)
7) Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 34)
(The template for the "screwball" comedy)
8) The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 35)
(Horror and laughs boldly mix)
9) Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 36)
(Technology eats us alive)
10) The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz, 38)
(Swashbuckling color comes ahead full force)
11) Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 38)
12) Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (David Hand/Walt Disney, 37)
13) 42nd Street (Lloyd Bacon, 32)
14) Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 33)
15) M (Fritz Lang, 31)
16) Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein & Dmitri Vasilyev, 38)
17) The Music Box (James Parrott, 32)
18) L'Age D'Or (Luis Bunuel, 30)
19) The Tale of the Fox (Wladyslaw and Irene Starewicz, 30)
20) Freaks (Tod Browning, 32)
21) Frankenstein (James Whale, 31)
22) The Private Life of Henry VIII (Alexander Korda, 33)
23) Zero For Conduct (Jean Vigo, 33)
24) L'Atalante (Jean Vigo, 34)
25) Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 38)
26) Fury (Fritz Lang, 36)
27) The Old Mill (Wilfred Jackson/Walt Disney, 37)
28) It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 34)
29) Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 39)
30) The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming et al., 39)
31) Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (Howard Hawks, 31)
32) The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 35)
33) The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 36)
34) King Kong (Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack, 33)
35) It's A Gift (Norman Z. McLeod, 34)
36) Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 35)
37) The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 31)
38) The Rules of the Game (Jean Remoir, 39)
39) The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg, 30)
40) The Public Enemy (William Wellman, 31)
41) All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 30)
42) The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 38)
43) Nothing Sacred (William Wellman, 37)
44) A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 35)
45) Dinner at Eight (George Cukor, 33)
46) The Front Page (Lewis Milestone, 31)
47) Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 35)
48) The Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke, 34)
49) Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 38)
50) Gunga Din (Howard Hawks, 39)
51) Lost Horizon (Frank Capra, 37)
52) Gulliver's Travels (Dave Fleischer, 39)
53) I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy, 32)
54) Sylvia Scarlett (George Cukor, 35)
55) Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 39)
56) The Petrified Forest (Archie Mayo, 36)
57) The Old Dark House (James Whale, 32)
58) Murder (Alfred Hitchcock, 30)
59) Pygmalion (Anthony Asquith, 38)
60) Little Caesar (Mervyn Leroy, 31)
61) My Man Godfrey (Gregory LaCava, 36)
62) I Love to Singa (Tex Avery, 36)
63) Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 36)
64) Popeye the Sailor (Dave Fleischer, 33)
65) Babes in Arms (Busby Berkeley, 39)
66) Way Out West (James W. Horne, 37)
67) Minnie the Moocher (Dave Fleischer, 32)
68) Captain Blood (Michael Curtiz, 35)
69) A Midsummer Night's Dream (William Dieterle & Max Reinhardt, 35)
70) Boudu Saved From Drowning (Jean Renoir, 32)
71) Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (Frank Capra, 36)
72) The Most Dangerous Game (Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack, 32)
73) Ferdinand The Bull (Walt Disney, 38)
74) Intermezzo (Gustaf Molander, 36)
75) Monkey Business (Norman Z. McLeod, 31)
76) The Band Concert (Wilfred Jackson/Walt Disney, 35)
77) Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 39)
78) Alice in Wonderland (Mervyn LeRoy, 33)
79) Angels with Dirty Faces (Michael Curtiz, 38)
80) These Three (William Wyler, 36)
81) Dead End (William Wyler, 37)
82) Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch, 39)
83) Horse Feathers (Norman Z. McLeod, 32)
84) Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 32)
85) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (William Dieterle, 39)
86) Goodbye Mr. Chips (Sam Wood, 39)
87) Sons of the Desert (William A. Seiter, 33)
88) Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 35)
89) The Mystery of the Wax Museum (Michael Curtiz, 33)
90) Of Human Bondage (John Cromwell, 34)
91) A Tale of Two Cities (Jack Conway, 35)
92) Bored of Education (Gordon Douglas/Hal Roach, 35)
93) Dodsworth (William Wyler, 36)
94) The Bat Whispers (Roland West, 30)
95) The Green Pastures (Marc Connelly & William Keighley, 36)
96) A Day at the Races (Sam Wood, 37)
97) Man on the Flying Trapeze (Clyde Bruckman, 35)
98) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Norman Taurog, 38)
99) The Big House (George W. Hill, 30)
100) The Champ (King Vidor, 31)
101) Flowers and Trees (Walt Disney, 32)

2009 Movie Diary--Late May to Late August

I have to clear my MOVIE DIARY sidebar, so I'm committing it to posterity as an entry into the body of my blog. I review each film in fifteen words or less (which is harder than one might think). The best movies are marked with 2 stars. Anyway, from mid-May 2009 to late August 2009 (from bottom to top), I watched:

**Village of the Damned (creepy kids abound in staid but entertaining 60s British horror/sci-fi classic)
Planet of the Apes (season one) (TV adaptation of famed series is kid-friendly fun)
**The Office (season 4) (Remains the best sitcom on TV, for my money; brilliantly filmed and acted)
**Easy Living (Opulent screwball, written by Sturges, with blustery Edward Arnold and always-charming Jean Arthur)
Gommorah (What's all the hoopla about? Feels real, but never engages)
Trans Siberian (Brad Anderson thriller seems stupid initially, but damn if it doesn't pull the rug out!)
Nothing But The Truth (torn-from-headlines story makes it feel a bit TV-movie, but Kate Beckinsale's performance is beyond reproach)
**Adventureland (not riotous like Mottola's "Superbad," but better; sweet, real, impeccable period detail, perfect soundtrack; terrific)
**Alice in Wonderland (1933) (Paramount-produced all-star vehicle is surrealistic wonder, thanks to idiosyncratic performances and trippy costume/makeup/production design)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 4) ("Producers" subplot captivates, but irritainment quotient almost makes David's series jump the shark)
**Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (Directorially inventive documentary about secretive American singer/songwriter/producer whose genius has defined decades of British music)

**For All Mankind (Moon- landings doc sports pristine footage, narrated by astronauts; mesmerizing, but "It's amazing" comments get tiresome)
Play It As It Lays (Hollywood hate, 60s-style; it ain't The Bad and the Beautiful)
**The 7th Victim (Val Lewton's Greenwich Village-set Satan-fest is typically brilliant; I love Kim Hunter's bottom lip)
Public Enemies (Aside from mesmerizing Stephen Lang--who also has best lines--absolutely zero to recommend here)
Whatever Works (musty Woody Allen effort's another downfall notch; Larry David's unimpressive, but Evan Rachel Wood's luminous)
Romance and Cigarettes (Ambitious film inspired by "Pennies From Heaven" fails via substandard story; Walken excels in wasted cast)
**The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis De Sade (AKA "Marat/Sade") (Cinema's truest depiction of insanity, with amazing songs and direction by Peter Brook)
**Swamp Thing (Comic-booky as all get out, directed with heart by Wes Craven)
**Blue Velvet (Remains a masterpiece)
Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (TV doc-flavored, but still enlightens to genoside's long-taboo cinematic status)
**Mad Men (Season 2) (Just keeps getting better and better; one of the greatest TV series of all time)
**The Hurt Locker (Best film made about Iraq War features Bigelow's exacting direction and Jeremy Renner's star-making lead)
I've Loved You For So Long (Sometimes dull, extremely mopey French film enlivened by radiant Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein)
**I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (Terrible title mars Jeff Garlin's funny, sweet movie about fat man looking for love)
Live Free or Die Hard (Fun but absolutely ridiculous actioner takes John McClane's invulnerability as far as can go)
Next Stop, Greenwich Village (Good to see early Walken, but Mazursky's 50's-era tale is too twee for my tastes)
Invaders From Mars (Menzies' visually resplendant interpretation of a now ho-hum sci-fi script)
**The Staircase (Brilliant 8-part true-crime miniseries shows what kind of defense money buys, even with obvious guilt)
The Carol Burnett Show (9 disc set) (Smart vaudvillian comedy is superb, but gaudy musical numbers deserve unceremonious dropkicking)
Eye of the Tiger (The very definition of 80s action cheesiness, with Busey, Kotto, and Cassell)
Frozen River (Leo is believable in lead but writer Courtney Hunt fails to direct to material's potential)
**Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (Tells well a story you only think you know; excellent period footage, too)
**Pulling (season 1) (Saucy femme-driven Britcom is sharp comeback to stupidity of "Sex and the City")
Ghosts of Mars (Carpenter's final big-screen outing too dumb to even be taken lightly; dates his talents terribly)
**Citizen's Band (Demme's layered, beautifully cast tale of CB-obsessed outcasts is completely captivating)
Last Embrace (Jonathan Demme's attempt to run with Hitchcock comes closer to really bad De Palma)

**[rec] (Spanish horror film, remade as Quarrentine, is riveting genre entry--the best in many years)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (John C. Reilly excels in not hysterical spoof of rock bio films, with excellent songs)
**White Lightning (Terrific hooch-slinging southern noir with charismatic Burt Reynolds and greasy Ned Beatty)
**Crime of Passion (Excellent domestic noir with harried Barbara Stanwyck getting cop husband Sterling Hayden in hot water)
The Dying Gaul (Ho-hum melodrama enlivened by always reliable Peter Saarsgard and Patricia Clarkson)
**One-Trick Pony (Energetic Robert M. Young music biz drama requires that you REALLY like writer/star/composer Paul Simon)
**The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (Crushing comic leads from Holly Hunter, Beau Bridges in Michael Richie's tale of trailer-trashy ladder-climbing)
**Blast of Silence (Allan Barron's low-budgeter deserves credit for its masterful shot set-ups and 60s NYC locations)
The Three Musketeers (The Ritz Brothers are the highlight of this routine Allan Dwan entry)
**Synecdoche, NY (Definitely not for everyone, this look at life as entertainment is absolutely amazing, and pretentious)
Razorback (Aussie horror with gigantic wild boar is extremely well-shot; suffers from weak lead, pedestrian finale)
The Ruins (Dunce-capped rehash of The Blob with Aztec plants as Blob replacements; waste of time)
**Alien (Completely contemporary-looking, even after 30 years; however, opt for original over unnecessary director's cut)
W. (Underrated Oliver Stone dissection of Bushie Jr.s rise, with magnificent lead perf from Josh Brolin)
**Love Eternal (Glowing Cocteau adaptation of Tristan and Isolde saga; romantic and sometimes hilarious)
Revolution- ary Road (stiff- necked screamfest with DiCaprio and Winslet coming off as squabbling siblings playing dress-up; disappointing)
Entourage (Season 5) (More of the same; I respect the show, but it's ADD and depressing simultaneously)
**Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Great seeing Jason Siegel commanding; smart, hilarious--like all rom-coms should be--but often lowbrow)
September 30, 1955 (Worshipful 50s kids mourn James Dean's death; good cast, sometimes thoughful, often embarassingly silly)
Patti Smith: Dream of Life (Just because we like your stuff doesn't mean we're really interested in your life)
**Tess (Polanski's adaptation of Hardy's epic of heartbreak remains unspeakably beautiful in every way)
Shoot (The nutsiness of warmongers gets another once-over, this time with ultimately ridiculous results; begins strongly, though)
**The Big Combo (John Alton's stylized B&W images are magnificent in this perfect noir from Joseph H. Lewis)
**Attack! (Bitter Aldrich WWII slamfest with sniveling Eddie Albert, hammy Jack Palance, sly Lee Marvin)
Nobel Son (Stupidest movie EVVV-ARRRRRR)
Pickpocket (Celebrated Bresson film may be cold by design, but its distancing effects left me unmoved)
**Prime Cut (Lee Marvin kicks hick ass in sloppily entertaining potboiler co-starring slimy Hackman and cute Spacek)
**The King of Comedy (Creepy Scorsese character study, with Lewis and Bernhard invaluably supporting unusually nerdy De Niro)
**When Willie Comes Marching Home (Charming one-joke Ford romp, with Dan Dailey as frustrated WWII soldier; features gorgeous Corinne Calvet)
Up The River (Early John Ford comedic curio with Tracy and Bogart as prisonyard buddies)
**Gentleman Jim (Raoul Walsh's quaint, cartoony biopic of boxer Jim Corbett, with dashing Errol Flynn out front)
The Law (Jules Dassin's saucy Italian-set sex comedy starring an electrifying Gina Lollabrigida)
**Rear Window (watched Hitchcock's classic with my mother, and we noticed many sublime details)
**Wendy and Lucy (studied, beautiful Kelly Reichardt movie with shattering lead performance from Michelle Williams)
**Happy-Go-Lucky (another Mike Leigh masterpiece, about the pluses and perils of happiness, with terrific Sally Hawkins)
Shooting Henry Hill (laughably awful documentary about famed "Goodfellas" mobster's present-day trevails; know-nothing filmmakers emerge with crap)
**The Outlaw Josey Wales (stands as perhaps Eastwood's best directorial effort--right up there with Unforgiven)
Trouble Along The Way (playing a precocious kid, Sherry Jackson steals football comedy away from likable John Wayne)
Someone Like You (not-bad romantic comedy is lucky to have the always watchable Ashley Judd as its lead)
While She Was Out (stupid feminist revenge fantasy is poorly directed and acted)
The International (globe-hopping financial intrigue "actioner" is a complete waste of time)
Kicking and Screaming (whiny overintellectuals prove occasionally funny in typically drab Noah Baumbach film)
**Changeling (underrated Eastwood film is unrelentingly horrific, but could have been shortened)
Not Only But Always (lifeless biopic of Dudley Moore/Peter Cook proves Brits can be as fatuous as yanks)
**At Last The 1948 Show (B&W precursor to Monty Python is suitably smart and funny)
Syriana (It may be complex, but that don't mean it's smart; blah)
Sansho The Baliff (I know it's a classic, but this exquisitely photographed tale of slavery left me cold)
**Ride the High Country (Peckinpah's first masterwork speeds by at breathtaking pace)
The 2000 Year Old Man (unnecessary but still diverting adaptation of Carl Reiner/Mel Brooks comedy staple)
**Inside Moves (a tearjerking tale surrounding the highest of the low; Richard Donner's masterpiece)
**Anvil!: The Story of Anvil (so far my favorite movie of 2009: a touching tribute to brotherhood forged in metal)
**Drag Me To Hell (funny and scary return to horror genre for director Sam Raimi; Alison Lohman's a trooper)
**The Shining (Kubrick's classic about a disintegrating family is amusing and singularly well-mounted horror)
**THX-1138 (Lucas' director's cut seems like a wholly different movie--and a one-of-a-kind sci-fi gem)
**The End of Summer (Ozu's elegant swansong, with typically slow pacing, well-considered shots, and intense family dynamics)
**The Old Dark House (James Whales' followup to "Frankenstein" is weird, atmospheric, surprisingly funny; as always, Karloff is superb)
**Star Trek (doubtful that 2009 summer movies will get much better than J.J. Abrams' smart, entertaining, well-cast reboot)
Up (Pixar's newest falls into Standard Operation Procedure after brilliant first 20 minutes; disappointing)
**Dragonslayer (unjustly forgotten 1981 fantasy film is technically brilliant, but could use more dragon play)
A History Of Violence (overrated Cronenberg has jolting individual scenes and dynamic Viggo Mortensen, but disintergrates as it progresses)
**Vanishing Point (Seminal 70s action can be enjoyed on two levels: smash-em-up and elegantly photographed existentialism)
Age of Consent (florid Michael Powell finale is too 60s-Movie-like, but James Mason and nude-scuba-diving Helen Mirren shine)
**Chilly Scenes of Winter (masterpiece of malaise and barely requited love, with perfect cast and Joan Micklin Silver writing/direction)
**Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock's favorite of all of his films, and justifyably so; stunning acting from all)
**Hard Times (rib-cracking Walter Hill actioner about Depression-era bare-fisted fighter Charles Bronson, as minimalist as ever)
**A Kiss Before Dying (twisted Robert Wagner vehicle from the 50s, with heartthrob perfectly cast as evil, ambitious boytoy)
**The Quiet Man (John Ford's happiest, most colorful and romantic film, with lilting leads from Wayne and O'Hara)
**The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (kinetically edited 1974 action film with great cast, slyly humorous touches, incredible David Shire score)
**Raggedy Man (40s-era romance with Sissy Spacek and Eric Roberts is a wonder; directed by Jack Fisk)
Vigilante Force (deceptively complex 1976 drive-in movie plays like western; Kris Kristofferson is a likable villain)
**Bigger Than Life (terrifying Nicholas Ray domestic drama with frantic, sweaty headcase James Mason at center)
It, The Terror From Beyond Space (early template for Alien suffers under first-act plotting but gains steam towards end)

Master List #17: The 101 Best Films of the 1940s

Though the 101 movies mentioned here are some of the best ever made, the 1940s still stands as my least favorite decade for movies. The texture of cinema in that era feels boxed in to me--as if only a few directors made an attempt to get away from the confines of studio-approved packaging. Those who did break out--like Welles, Sturges, and Capra, for instance--paid the price for their mavericking. Thus I've always maintained a distaste for the 1940s (and particularly for Casablanca, which is the most overrated movie of all time, and which I grudgingly include in the list only because of the sheer number of memorable lines it contributed to the world lexicon). Still, for the singular hat-wearing feel they have to offer, the titles on this list are must-sees, for sure. So here, evaluated by (1) overall quality, (2) historical importance, (3) influence, and (4) personal affection, are my choices (with one-line synopses to be added later):

1) It's A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 48)
(Feel really bad, then feel good, forever)
2) The Treasure of Sierra Madre (John Huston, 48)
("Nobody monkeys around with Fred C. Dobbs")
3) Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 41)
(THE movie, if not for love, then for history's sake)
4) Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, 41)
(Make 'em laugh)
5) The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 43)
(The REAL movie; sadly, a lost cause)
6) Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincent Minnelli, 44)
(The musical, as we know it, is born)
7) Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 43)
(Hitch's favorite of his films, and rightfully so)
8) Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 46)
(A true-to-life fairy tale, surrealistic in the telling)
9) Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 49)
(Criminal madness, and a hapless victim along for the ride)
10) Great Expectations (David Lean, 48)
(Dickens, impeccably committed to the 20th Century)
11) The Set-Up (Robert Wise, 49)
(Boxing's brutality, in real time)
12) The Third Man (Carol Reed, 49)
(A cuckoo clock)
13) The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 40)
(Dust, depravity and redemption)
14) Ball of Fire (Howard Hawks, 41)
15) Children of Paradise (Marcel Carné, 45)
16) They Were Expendable (John Ford, 45)
(The ultimate sacrifice)
17) The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 41)
("The stuff that dreams are made of...")
18) The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 41)
19) Bambi (David Hand/Walt Disney, 42)
(A guaranteed tearjerker and smile-causer)
20) The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica, 48)
21) My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 46)
22) To Be or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 42)
23) Brief Encounter (David Lean, 46)
24) The Red Shoes (Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, 48)
(Dedication to movement)
25) Detour (Edgar Ulmer, 45)
26) She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 49)
27) The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 40)
(The globe as a plaything)
28) On The Town (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 49)
29) Monsiuer Verdoux (Charles Chaplin, 47)
30) Red River (Howard Hawks, 48)
31) Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock, 44)
(Possibly the great master's most strenuous and successful film exercise)
32) The More The Merrier (George Stevens, 43)
33) Fantasia (Luske/Jackson/Algar/Disney et al., 40)
34) His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 40)
35) The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett, 46)
36) The Thief of Bagdad (Powell/Berger/Whelan et al., 40)
37) I Walked With a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur/Val Lewton, 43)
38) White Heat (Raoul Walsh, 49)
("Made it, Ma! Top of the world!")
39) The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges, 42)
40) Long-Haired Hare (Chuck Jones, 49)
(Bugs Bunny at his most understanding, and most devious)
41) Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 44)
42) Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 46)
43) Rome--Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 45)
44) Cat People (Jacques Tourneur/Val Lewton, 42)
45) The Heiress (William Wyler, 49)
46) Superman Vs. The Mechanical Monsters (Max Fleicher, 41)
(Jaw-dropping animation)
47) Begone Dull Care (Evelyn Lambart/Norman McLaren, 49)
(An experimental masterpiece)
48) The Sullivans (Lloyd Bacon, 44)
(One family makes a stunning sacrifice for freedom)
49) King-Size Canary (Tex Avery, 47)
50) Yellow Sky (William Wellman, 48)
51) The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (Preston Sturges, 44)
52) The Ox-Bow Incident (William Wellman, 43)
53) The Pride of the Yankees (Sam Wood, 42)
("Tanglefoot!")
54) Battleground (William Wellman, 49)
(WWII grunts on a snowy mission)
55) Force of Evil (Abraham Polonsky, 48)
56) Pinocchio (Luske/Sharpsteen/Disney, 40)
57) Arsenic and Old Lace (Frank Capra, 44)
58) The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 46)
59) Laura (Otto Preminger, 44)
60) Murder My Sweet (Edward Dmytryk, 44)
61) The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 47)
62) Yankee Doodle Dandy (Michael Curtiz, 42)
63) Leave Her to Heaven (John M. Stahl, 45)
64) The Cat That Hated People (Tex Avery, 48)
65) The Shop Around The Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 40)
66) Nightmare Alley (Edmond Goulding, 47)
67) Macbeth (Orson Welles, 48)
68) Letter From An Unknown Woman (Max Ophuls. 48)
69) Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton, 47)
70) Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen/Walt Disney, 46)
71) Shoeshine (Vittorio De Sica, 46)
72) Wilson (Henry King, 44)
73) The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise/Val Lewton, 47)
74) Champion (Mark Robson, 49)
75) Foreign Correspondent (Alfred Hitchcock, 40)
76) A Letter to Three Wives (Joseph L. Manckiewicz, 49)
77) Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 47)
78) Since You Went Away (John Cromwell/David O. Selznick, 44)
79) Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 49)
80) Meet John Doe (Frank Capra, 41)
81) Body and Soul (Robert Rossen, 47)
82) The Little Foxes (William Wyler, 41)
83) Christmas in July (Preston Sturges, 40)
84) The Why We Fight series (Capra, Stevens, Huston et.al, 43-45)
85) Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 41)
86) That Hamilton Woman (Alexander Korda, 41)
87) The Major and the Minor (Billy Wilder, 42)
88) Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 42)
89) The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed, 48)
90) Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 45)
91) Henry V (Lawrence Olivier, 44)
92) It Happens Every Spring (Lloyd Bacon, 49)
93) Lady in the Lake (Robert Montgomery, 47)
94) The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder, 45)
95) Mighty Joe Young (Ernest B. Schoedsack, 49)
96) Red Hot Riding Hood (Tex Avery, 43)
97) The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 46)
98) Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 45)
99) The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak, 45)
100) Der Fuehrer's Face (Jack Kinney/Walt Disney, 42)
101) The Picture of Dorian Gray (Albert Lewin, 45)

MASTER LIST #16: The 101 Best Films of the 1950s

Of course, a staggering array of masterworks hail from the 1950s--so much so that putting them in order of preference was like splitting an already split hair. One can really see that this was another monumental era for cinema, with Kurosawa, Bergman, Donen, Hitchcock, Huston, Ford, Kubrick, Welles, Fellini, Nicholas Ray, Anthony Mann, Max Ophuls, and Billy Wilder, among others, delivering many of their greatest works (it was a brilliant time for short films, with the Warner Brothers-based works of Chuck Jones garnering four spots among the eight short films mentioned). You can see the building blocks for the upcoming tumult of the 60s and 70s here, too (despite what some may think, it was not entirely a Leave It To Beaver decade; there are some seriously cynical movies on this list). It's also a decade of supreme sophistication and, at the same time, entertainment; here, The Seventh Seal and Sweet Smell of Success sits right beside 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Court Jester. And there's even room for George Pal and Ed Wood! So here, evaluated by (1) overall quality, (2) historical importance, (3) influence, and (4) personal affection, are my choices:

1) Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 58)
("He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?")
2) The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut, 59 (France))
(A rancorous childhood, and the beginnings of a film movement)
3) Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 57)
(Irony and hypocrisy on the battlefield)
4) Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 54)
(In a room without a TV, a new era of watching)
5) Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 59)
("Well, nobody's perfect" in a perfect comedy)
6) The Searchers (John Ford, 56)
(Ford's masterpiece closes the door on an already antiquated way of thought)
7) Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 52 (Japan))
(A dying man's final search for his life's marker)
8) The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 55)
(Love and hate duke it out)
9) Singin' In The Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 52)
(The first words in movies, and the last word in song and dance)
10) Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 52 (Italy))
(The old man and his little dog)
11) Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 58 (Sweden))
(An elderly professor's journey of dignity and regret)
12) Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, 50)
(Hollywood horror)
13) Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 58)
(Hitchcock, dreaming in color)
14) La Ronde (Max Ophuls, 50 (France))
(Love and sex go round and round)
15) Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 57 (Italy))
(Giulietta Masina, breaking hearts)
16) Winchester '73 (Anthony Mann, 50)
(A prized rifle changes hands)
17) Giant (George Stevens, 56)
(A Texas cattle empire faces its many-sided Waterloo)
18) Kiss Me, Deadly (Robert Aldrich, 55)
(What's in the box?)
19) High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 52)
(Redemption in real time)
20) The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 57 (Russia))
(The decade's most flightful love story)
21) What's Opera, Doc? (Chuck Jones, 57)
(The fat rabbit sings)
22) The Seven Samarai (Akira Kurosawa, 54 (Japan))
(A genre is born into the big time)
23) Twelve Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 57)
(Justice in action)
24) The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, 53)
(The decade's most briskly entertaining western)
25) North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 59)
(The ultimate mistaken identity saga)
26) Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 57 (Japan))
(Macbeth, on Mount Fuji)
27) Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 53 (France))
(The comedy master debuts)
28) Pork Chop Hill (Lewis Milestone, 59)
(A Korean War bloodbath)
29) The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 55)
(The most wildly photographed noir of the 1950s, with a superb script)
30) The Quiet Man (John Ford, 52 (USA/Ireland))
(John Ford's joyous ode to his homeland)
31) Neighbours (Norman McLaren, 52 (Canada))
(Comedy of war)
32) In A Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 50)
("I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I was alive for the few weeks she loved me")
33) Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 58 (Poland))
(Resistance during the last gasps of WWII)
34) The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 57 (Sweden))
(A chess match with death, and a final dance)
35) Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 53 (Japan))
(Ground-level family dynamics)
36) Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 59)
(Expertly directed and acted entertainment)
37) The Wrong Man (Alfred Hitchcock, 56)
(Hitch goes docu-style in possibly his most personal film)
38) Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 58 (France))
(More Hulot madness)
39) The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 56)
(A heist, presciently shot and edited)
40) A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 51)
(Brando debuts, and not as a kind stranger)
41) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 56)
(Cold War paranoia, via sci-fi)
42) Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 51)
(Media's feeding frenzy for headlines)
43) Les Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 55 (France))
(Bait and switch)
44) The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (Roy Rowland, 53)
(Dr. Seuss comes alive)
45) Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray, 56)
("God was wrong!")
46) Shane (George Stevens, 53)
(The dangers of hero worship)
47) Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 50 (Japan))
(Differing stories from differing shoes)
48) A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 57)
("Free man in the mornin'")
49) East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 55)
(James Dean)
50) Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 59)
(Courtroom procedure)
51) Curse of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 57 (Britain))
(Satanic noir)
52) Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones, 53)
("Ain't I a stinka?")
53) The Day The Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, 51)
("Klaatu barada nikto")
54) There's Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk, 56)
(From a director known for his feminine side, a tale about the forgotten father)
55) Lady and The Tramp (Geronimi/Jackso/Luske, 55)
(THE Disney masterpiece, entertainment-wise)
56) Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 51)
(You wash my back, I'll wash yours)
57) Lola Montes (Max Ophuls, 55 (France))
(A final go-round for a cinematic wonder)
58) The African Queen (John Huston, 51)
(Star power and star-scripting merge)
59) A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 51)
("Tell mama")
60) Limelight (Charles Chaplin, 52 (Britain))
(A movie master at his nadir, and a brief melding of like-minded comedians)
61) Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 57)
("Well son, it looks like we have to call this game on account of darkness")
62) All About Eve (Joseph L. Manckiewicz, 50)
(Cutting backstage drama and comedy)
63) Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 54)
(Western operatics)
64) The Bad and the Beautiful (Vincente Minnelli, 53)
(Cut-throat moviemakers happen upon humanity)
65) The Man From Laramie (Anthony Mann, 55)
(Abject defiance)
66) Othello (Orson Welles, 55 (USA/Finland/France)
(An idiosyncratic stamp on an old tale)
67) Summertime (David Lean, 59 (Britain/Italy))
(Late in life, joy)
68) The Tell-Tale Heart (Ted Parmelee, 53)
(A new realm for animation)
69) Fixed Bayonets! (Samuel Fuller, 51)
(Korea, grunt-side)
70) Wagon Master (John Ford, 50)
(Ford's background players take center stage)
71) The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse, 56 (France))
(The buoyence of childhood)
72) On The Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 54)
(Justification for naming names)
73) A Star is Born (George Cukor, 54)
("This is Mrs. Norman Maine")
74) Rebel Without A Cause (Nicholas Ray, 55)
(Birth of the teenager ethos)
75) Executive Suite (Robert Wise, 54)
(Boardroom machinations)
76) The Girl Can't Help It (Frank Tashlin, 56)
(Rock n' Roll)
77) The Lavender Hill Mob (Charles Crichton, 51 (Britain))
(Comedy in cruelty)
78) The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 57)
(Honor and respect)
79) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Stanley Donen, 54)
(The decade's most breathlessly energetic musical)
80) One Froggy Evening (Chuck Jones, 55)
("Hello, my baby. Hello, my honey" as dreams are crushed)
81) Kanal (Andrzej Wajda, 57)
(A desperate escape)
82) Sleeping Beauty (Clyde Geronimi, 59)
(Excepting Fantasia and The Tale of the Fox, the most beautiful animated film ever made)
83) The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 50)
("After all, crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor")
84) Funny Face (Stanley Donen, 57)
(Insanely saturated color and dance, with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire)
85) Day of the Outlaw (Andre De Toth, 59)
(Snowy subterfuge in a western town)
86) Mister Roberts (John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, 55)
(Soldiers on the sidelines of war)
87) 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (Richard Fleicher, 54)
(A crowdpleaser)
88) Beat the Devil (John Huston, 53)
(Party-time for a phalanx of geniuses)
89) The Diary of Anne Frank (George Stevens, 59)
(Loss)
90) Plan 9 From Outer Space (Edward D. Wood, Jr., 59)
(Whether by mistake or vision, indelible)
91) Feed The Kitty (Chuck Jones, 52)
(Finally: fellowship between cat and dog)
92) Bend of the River (Anthony Mann, 52)
("The greatness...the glory...the fury...of the Northwest Frontier!")
93) The Caine Mutiny (Edward Dmytryk, 54)
(Authority soured)
94) Moonbird (John and Faith Hubley, 59)
(Through love, steadfast independence enters into animated shorts)
95) Quo Vadis (Mervyn LeRoy, 51)
(The finest Biblical/Roman epic)
96) The Court Jester (Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, 55)
(Danny Kaye, unbound)
97) Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 53 (Sweden))
(The true arrival of Ingmar Bergman)
98) Bad Day at Black Rock (John Sturges, 55)
(Nastiness)
99) Guys and Dolls (Joseph L. Manckiewicz, 55)
(Brando sings, in a monumental musical)
100) Bus Stop (Joshua Logan, 56)
(Marilyn Monroe croons nervously: "That old black magic has me in its spell...")
101) The War of the Worlds (George Pal, 53)
(Our fear of the ultimate other)

MASTER LIST #15: The 101 Best Films of the 1960s

Whoa! Easily the most challenging decade for films since the silent era, in my opinion. So many of the following 1960s films cited are not for everyone (popular filmmaking, spearheaded by the Americans, on the other hand, was at its lowest ebb, with dunderheaded musicals, epics, and comedies taking the forefront at the box office). Very nearly half of the entries on the list hail from the finest filmic artists of World Cinema--Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni, Lester, Germi, Leone, and so on--working outside the states, and then there are so many more filmmakers who transplanted themselves in less-familiar parts of the world to mount their creations (Kubrick did his great works in Britain, while, for instance, Britain's Alfred Hitchcock and John Schlesinger did their decade-defining works in America). There was a lot more give-and-take between commonwealths in this era; that, plus the massive social and political transformations occurring all over the globe during the decade (not to mention the great strides in literature, music, and movies themselves) contributed to the one-time-only richness of 1960s cinema. So, based on (1) overall quality, (2) influence, (3) historical importance, and (4) personal affection, here are my choices:

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 68)
(Mankind's bloody history, and its possibly transcendent future)
2) The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 69)
("If they move, kill 'em")
3) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 60)
(Mother, stuffed birds, and Norman Bates)
4) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 62 (Britain/USA))
(The epic seeds of an Arab empire, sown by a Brit searching for identity)
5) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leone, 66 (Italy))
(A wartime triangle of not-so-simplistic moral agendas)
6) Blow Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 66 (Britain/Italy))
(The art of seeing)
7) Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 64 (Britain/USA))
(The decade's finest comedy, sobering and crass)
8) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 62)
(The great director's defining word on civilization vs. lawlessness)
9) Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 66 (Sweden))
(Soul expression from perhaps the decade's finest moviemaker)
10) The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 61 (Britain))
(Exquisitely directed horror, shocking in multiple fashions)
11) Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 69)
(A desperate, bizarrely tender friendship, built on grudging need)
12) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 64 (France))
(Effusive music and color in service of romance)
13) Salesman (Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerlin, 69)
(Getting the job done)
14) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 66)
(A night of fun and games with George and Martha)
15) Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 68)
("Is that what I was afraid of?")
16) Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 65 (Britain))
(Stifling sexual repression's aftermath)
17) Once Upon A Time In The West (Sergio Leone, 69 (Italy))
(The violent structure of progress)
18) The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, 62 (Spain))
(A locked-room satire)
19) Playtime (Jacques Tati, 67 (France))
(Modern urban headaches, stunningly staged for laffs)
20) The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 67)
(A summer, and a manhood, spent drifting)
21) Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 67)
(Movie violence steps up to a new age)
22) I Am Cuba (Mikhail Kalatozov, 64 (Russia/Cuba))
(Camera stuntwork, silvery and luminous, records a country's transformation)
23) Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 65 (France))
(Godard's vibrantly colorful dip into crime)
24) The Music Man (Morton Da Costa, 62)
(Our most joyous and memorably tuneful musical)
25) Ride The High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 62)
("All I want is to enter my house justified")
26) Masculin-Feminin (Jean-Luc Godard, 66 (France))
(Sexual relations, intellectually speaking)
27) West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 61)
(Shakespeare played out against an energetic city wasteland)
28) Point of Order! (Emile De Antonio, 64)
(The death of McCarthyism)
29) War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 68 (Russia))
(A most detailed and devout literary adaptation)
30) A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester, 64 (Britain))
(Screaming chaos boxes in four Liverpool lads)
31) David and Lisa (Frank Perry, 62)
(Falling for each other: a boy who cannot touch and a girl speaking only in rhyme)
32) Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 68)
(Flesh, alive and dead)
33) Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 60 (Britain))
(The perversity of film)
34) Mothlight (Stan Brakhage, 63)
(Nature and light)
35) 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 63 (Italy))
(A filmmaker's frustrations)
36) The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paulo Pasolini, 66 (Italy))
(Jesus as political insurgent)
37) Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 61 (Japan))
(Enemies set against one another, by a stranger)
38) if... (Lindsay Anderson, 69 (Britain))
(A dream-swept peer into boy's school sadism)
39) Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard, 67 (France))
(A wry rant against the automobile)
40) 7 Up (Michael Apted, 64 (Britain))
(The beginnings of a still-lively documentary opus)
41) The Color of Pomegranates (Sergei Parajanov, 68 (Russia))
(Arguably the decade's brightest, one-of-a-kind object of beauty)
42) Medium Cool (Haskell Wexler, 69)
(The 1960's boldest confluence of reality and imagination)
43) Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, 65 (Britain/USA))
(A brotherhood passes away)
44) La Jetee (Chris Marker, 62 (France))
(Memories of the future)
45) Monterey Pop (D.A. Pennebaker, 69)
(The premier document of a decade's great musicmaking)
46) In Cold Blood (Richard Brooks, 67)
(The new epoch of modern terror)
47) Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 66 (Russia))
(The soaring life of an iconic artist)
48) Cul-de-Sac (Roman Polanski, 66 (Britain))
(Impotence)
49) Primary (Robert Drew, 60)
(Democrats and Republicans)
50) Hud (Martin Ritt, 63)
("My mama loved me...but she died")
51) The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, 62)
(Head-spinning paranoia--or not)
52) Shock Corridor (Samuel Fuller, 63)
(Journalistic ambition collects its toll)
53) Faces (John Cassevetes, 68)
(Film's great independent breaks through, in close-up)
54) To Kill A Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 62)
(Simple recollections of a complex southern summer)
55) The Misfits (John Huston, 61)
(The demise of eras past, eerily foreseen)
56) Petulia (Richard Lester, 68 (Britain))
(The arch kook)
57) The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 61)
(Hard-bitten survivors of felt-table battlefields)
58) The War Game (Peter Watkins, 65 (Britain))
(Dire warnings)
59) The Knack, And How to Get It (Richard Lester, 65 (Britain))
(Swinging London, with someone who can't swing as our guide)
60) Stolen Kisses (Francois Truffaut, 68 (France))
(Antoine Doinel reaches manhood)
61) Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel, 66 (Czechoslovakia)
(Lovable tribute to silent movie ethics, on the Nazis' watch)
62) It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, 66 (Britain))
(The ultimate "what if?" movie)
63) The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 60 (Sweden))
(Reverent revenge)
64) Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 64 (Japan))
(Woman and man, at each other's throats)
65) Fail-Safe (Sidney Lumet, 64)
(Strangelove redux, strangely minus the giggles)
66) Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut, 62 (France))
(Adoration, unbound, eats itself)
67) Culloden (Peter Watkin, 64 (Britain))
(An ecstatic mash-up of eras)
68) Don't Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 67)
(For hence forth, the lauded song-and-dance man)
69) Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa, 60 (Japan))
(Touring Hell)
70) Point Blank (John Boorman, 67)
(Dazzling double-crosses)
71) The Rain People (Francis Ford Coppola, 69)
(One dissatisfied woman makes a break for it)
72) Divorce, Italian Style (Pietro Germi, 61 (Italy))
(Sickeningly crooked morality in a man-centric society--and it's funny, too)
73) Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman, 68 (Sweden))
(The disappearing edge of sanity)
74) The Dot and the Line (Chuck Jones, 65)
(A animation of differences)
75) The Naked Kiss (Samuel Fuller, 64)
(Early feminist rumblings, B-movie style, from an unlikely source)
76) Oliver! (Carol Reed, 68 (Britain))
(Where is love?)
77) Belle De Jour (Luis Bunuel, 68 (Spain/France))
(A flower that blooms only during the day)
78) Nothing But A Man (Michael Roemer, 64)
(The black man's search for respect)
79) Bullitt (Peter Yates, 68)
(The true genesis of the action genre, with a hard-to-read Steve McQueen)
80) Mickey One (Arthur Penn, 65)
(Film noir, 60s style)
81) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 69)
(Star power prevails)
82) One, Two, Three (Billy Wilder, 61)
(Captalism and communism meet at the gates)
83) Head (Bob Rafelson, 68)
(A well-made American product blows itself up with great relief)
84) Bedazzled (Stanley Donen, 67 (Britain))
(A sour battle of wits)
85) 101 Dalmatians (Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske & Wolfgang Reitherman, 61)
(Spots, spots everywhere in a Disney masterpiece)
86) The Hill (Sidney Lumet, 65)
(The harrowing clash with authority, with a career-best for Sean Connery)
87) A Man For All Seasons (Fred Zinnemann, 66 (Britain))
("I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos")
88) They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Sydney Pollack, 69)
(An endless race, and the prize is a chance to breathe)
89) The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 63)
(Nature's vengence)
90) Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 60 (Britain))
(The prime example of epic moviemaking, from an era obsessed)
91) The Bellboy (Jerry Lewis, 60)
(Set-up and knock-down comedy, from its 1960s master)
92) Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 67)
(A sweaty messiah does chain gang time)
93) Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 68 (Britain))
(Color, music, fantasy, and the cult of personality)
94) Seven Days in May (John Frankenheimer, 64)
(American coup)
95) Zulu (Cy Endfield, 64 (Britain))
(Battle to the death, and respect between combatants)
96) On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 69) (Britain))
(A difficult entry in cinema's most popular series)
97) Judgment at Nuremberg (Stanley Kramer, 61)
(Genocide's participants receive justice--but it's inevitably small comfort)
98) A Shot in the Dark (Blake Edwards, 64 (Britain))
(Peter Sellers, in Clouseau mode)
99) Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 62)
(Nightmares)
100) Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 61)
(A sexual flowering stunted by the times)
101) Two For The Road (Stanley Donen, 67 (Britain))
(Marriage 101)

MASTER LIST #14: The 101 Best Films of the 1980s

Having followed the stellar 1970s, and heavily steeped with former movie star Ronald Reagan's culture-changing presidential agenda (at least in its latter half), the 1980s may seem at first glance as a nadir for cinema (especially since the decade itself was, in my opinion, the beginning of the end for serious movies). But I find nothing worthy of burial in this list. All titles cited that were released before 1983 are suitable for inclusion in the golden age of the previous decade, and those that came afterwards are only VERY slightly weaker. Among those doing some of their best work in this decade: Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Philip Kaufman, Terry Gilliam, Stanley Kubrick, John Huston, Sidney Lumet, Jonathan Demme, Albert Brooks, and Steven Spielberg. Plus we have the emergence of Alex Cox, Jim Jaramusch, Bill Forsyth, Steven Soderburgh, Joel and Ethan Coen, Ross McElwee, and Sam Raimi. Not a bad batch of filmmakers there. Anyway, according to (1) influence, (2) overall quality, and (3) personal affection, here's my lineup for the decade, with short commentary:

1) Fanny and Alexander (TV or film version) (Ingmar Bergman, 83 (Sweden))
(Memory and family, examined via a Dickensian ghost story)
2) Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 80)
(A boxer's unavoidable eternal fight)
3) Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 82 (Scotland))
(A glorious break-out into a new life)
4) Sherman's March (Ross McEllwee, 86)
(One man vacillates between two loves: movies and southern women)
5) Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 86)
(The bugs chomp away beneath a fantasy hometown)
6) Reds (Warren Beatty, 81)
(A challenging, intellectual romance cast against epic history)
7) Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 87)
(The Vietnam conflict in toto)
8) Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, 89)
(Colorful race clashes in heated Brooklyn)
9) The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 84)
(Undying friendship)
10) Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (Claude Berri, 87/88 (France))
(Greek Tragedy projected upon the old French countryside)
11) Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 85 (Britain))
(The future predicted)
12) Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 89)
(Morality unattended in large and small ways)
13) Das Boot (TV or film version) (Wolfgang Petersen, 83 (Germany))
(Wartime gusto filmed with utmost verisimilitude)
14) Chilly Scenes of Winter (Joan Micklin Silver, 81)
(The sadness and reality of unchecked romance)
15) The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 83)
(Modern heroics)
16) Blade Runner (Director's Cut) (Ridley Scott, 82/92 (Britain))
(Film Noir cast in a futuristic light)
17) Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant, 89)
(The drug war dramatized in miniature)
18) 'Round Midnight (Bertrand Tavernier, 86 (France/USA))
(A friendship forged in be-bop)
19) Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads, 84)
(Film's beatified source of tonal energy)
20) Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 85 (Japan))
(Ancient familial clashes come alive)
21) The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Philip Kaufman, 88)
(Sexual adventurousness rages in a rebellious milieu)
22) Entre Nous (Diane Kurys, 83 (France))
(The opening and closing of life's doors)
23) The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 86)
(Justice delayed)
24) Matewan (John Sayles, 87)
(The everlasting motives driving the worker's urge to unionize)
25) E.T. The Extraterrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 82)
(Childhood dreams are entertained)
26) The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky, 86 (Russia))
(Stark spirituality)
27) This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 84)
(The race for recognition, with unparalleled improv and music; the most quotable comedy of the 1980s)
28) Burden of Dreams (Les Blank, 82)
(An artist's insanity, mirrored by his subject of choice)
29) Le Rayon Vert / Summer (Eric Rohmer, 86 (France))
(A awkward girl stumbles around, looking for joy)
30) Cutter's Way (Ivan Passer, 81)
(Ideals smashed and rebuilt)
31) Prince of the City (Sidney Lumet, 81)
(Fighting for what's right, by someone once wrong)
32) The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 83)
(The insistent obsession with celebrityhood)
33) Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 85)
(Barren black-and-white America)
34) Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 82)
(War of the Sexes)
35) The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 88)
(The true crux of Christianity)
36) Tess (Roman Polanski, 80 (France/Britain))
(A 19th Century clash of sexual and economic castes, gorgeously filmed)
37) The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 80)
(Trouble in a galaxy far, far away...)
38) Pennies From Heaven (Herbert Ross, 81)
(The Depression in mind-twisting song and dance)
39) Star 80 (Bob Fosse, 83)
(Murder, sex, desperation, and media)
40) Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 81 (Australia))
(Elegant WWI drama, beautifully directed and shot)
41) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Speilberg, 82)
(A pitch-perfect tribute to 1930s serials)
42) High Hopes (Mike Leigh, 88 (Britain))
(In a lighthearted vein, the socioeconomics of Thatcherism)
43) Ordinary People (Robert Redford, 80)
(Suburban grudges and forgiveness, part 1)
44) Shoot The Moon (Alan Parker, 82)
(Suburban grudges and forgiveness, part 2)
45) Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 89)
(The heartland of the South, seen through transplanted eyes)
46) Wings of Desire (Wim Winders, 87 (Germany))
(An exceptional romance bonds two worlds in gleaming blacks and whites)
47) Last Night at the Alamo (Eagle Pennell, 83)
(Booze-sodden regrets spill out of a doomed Texas watering hole)
48) Gregory's Girl (Bill Forsyth, 81 (Scotland))
(Goofy Scottish romantic comedy may be the decade's happiest movie)
49) ...sex, lies and videotape (Steven Soderburgh, 89)
(Battered hearts trying to mend in Baton Rouge)
50) Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 81)
(Pure cinema in reds, whites, and blues)
51) Broadway Danny Rose (Woody Allen, 84)
(Star, smile, strong)
52) Sophie's Choice (Alan J. Pakula, 82)
(A perfect literary adaptation, and a true breakthrough for our premier film actress, Meryl Streep)
53) Once Upon A Time in America (long version) (Sergio Leone, 84)
(The past and present intermingle in Leone's final opus)
54) Used Cars (Robert Zemeckis, 80)
(The most raucous comedy of the 1980s)
55) The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 82)
(A crowning performance from Paul Newman, in an autumnal masterwork)
56) Modern Romance (Albert Brooks, 80)
(A wonderfully lackadaisical take on love tainted by jealousy)
57) After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 86)
(One really, really, really bad night)
58) The Long Riders (Walter Hill, 81)
(The best western of the 1980s also sports the decade's greatest casting coup)
59) Missing (Costa-Gavras, 82)
(Dictatorial terrors in 1970s Chile, with obvious American culpability)
60) Diner (Barry Levinson, 82)
(Superb dialogue and characterization in 50s-era male-bonding period piece)
61) Thief (Michael Mann, 81)
(The tick-tick-ticks of the criminal ethos)
62) Drowning by Numbers (Peter Greenaway, 88 (Britain))
(A visually playful countdown to death)
63) Smash Palace (Roger Donaldson, 81 (Australia))
(A junkyard marriage)
64) Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen, 85)
(The playful noir debut for, as we now see, the seventh art's chief American practitioners)
65) Pixote (Hector Babenco, 81 (Brazil))
(The gritty mean streets of Brazil, with children running in packs)
66) Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg, 87)
(Astonishing acts of bravery and survival as signposts of wisdom)
67) The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 80)
(One family disappears, like ghosts)
68) The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen, 85)
(The pains and comforts of movie fandom)
69) The Fourth Man (Paul Verhoeven, 83 (Germany))
(Sexual trickery)
70) Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, 83 (Britain))
(The final word from the 1970s' legendary humor troupe)
71) Aliens (James Cameron, 88)
(Motherhood, enforced with military precision)
72) The Vanishing (George Sluzier, 88 (Denmark))
(Some things are better left unknown)
73) Out of the Blue (Dennis Hopper, 80)
(The punk ideal)
74) Threads (Mick Jackson, 84 (Britain))
(Frightening and blunt, the finest movie ever about the effects of apocalypse)
75) Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Francis Ford Coppola, 88)
(Building the better mousetrap, and the resulting big-business smackdown)
76) The Dead (John Huston, 87 (Ireland/USA))
(A drama of tiny moves)
77) My Dinner With Andre (Louis Malle, 81)
(Two great minds meld over supper in a singular cinematic experiment)
78) A Passage to India (David Lean, 85 (Britain))
(The mysterious final effort from a movie master)
79) The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 80 (Britain/USA))
(A gentle soul trapped in a perverse body)
80) Lost in America (Albert Brooks, 85)
(Damnation of the Yuppie mindset)
81) Broadcast News (James L. Brooks, 87)
(Prescient examination of the newsroom's now-pervasive need for fabled flash over substance)
82) The Color of Money (Martin Scorsese, 86)
(Ruin and rebirth)
83) Evil Dead (Sam Raimi, 81)
(Sumptuous blend of jumpy scares and mouth-agape laughs)
84) Prizzi's Honor (John Huston, 85)
(Blood in, blood out)
85) The Road Warrior (George Miller, 81)
(Wacked-out stuntwork, editing, scoring, and direction)
86) Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 87 (Britain))
(The most joyous war movie ever)
87) Zelig (Woody Allen, 83)
("Everybody go chameleon...")
88) Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 86)
("Sid, what about the goodbye drugs?")
89) Die Hard (John McTiernan, 88)
(Action and fun)
90) Coal Miner's Daughter (Michael Apted, 80)
(More a love story than a biopic; superb on both counts)
91) Altered States (Ken Russell, 80)
(A DNA-bending search for ultimate truth)
92) Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 88 (Canada))
(The twin bond, in love and death)
93) Airplane! (Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker, 80)
(The American comedy is reinvented)
94) Something Wild (Jonathan Demme, 86)
(An assault on, and embrace of, a spicy normalcy)
95) Raising Arizona (Joel and Ethan Coen, 86)
(A wild-eyed yelp in favor of parenthood)
96) One-Trick Pony (Robert M. Young, 80)
(An aging musician sees the writing on the wall for his now-dated tunesmithing)
97) Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 86)
(Silliness)
98) The Stunt Man (Richard Rush, 80)
("If God could do the tricks we do, he'd be a happy man")
99) They Live (John Carpenter, 88)
(50s sci-fi with 80s-flavored political/cultural snarks)
100) Old Enough (Marisa Silver, 84)
(Young girlhood)
101) Marvin and Tige (Eric Weston, 83)
(A sentimental favorite; perhaps the best film shot in Atlanta, featuring John Cassevetes final performance)

MASTER LIST #13: The 101 Best Films of the 1970s

In response to the current poll being held at the magnificent Wonders in the Dark, I decided to commit to posterity my 101 favorite films from the 1970s. I came of age in the 1970s, so I saw about 65% of these titles in first-run theaters (it was an unbelievable time to be a budding film lover). So, in order, based on (1) influence, (2) personal affection, and (3) overall quality, here's my list, with short commentary:

1) The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 72/74)
(The family, capitalized, in rise and decline)
2) Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 77)
(A map of infatuation, intimacy, heartbreak, and recovery)
3) A Little Romance (George Roy Hill, 79 (France/USA))
(Cinema's time machine to the years when love remained unsullied)
4) Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 74)
(The brain and heart must collude on vision's truth)
5) Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 76)
(God's lonely man)
6) All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 79)
(Here, an artist truly gives his all)
7) Eraserhead (David Lynch, 77)
("A dream of dark and troubling things")
8) Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 78)
(Earth's beauty marches on, despite man's doings)
9) The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 71)
(A small town's death, destined to be repeated ad infinitum)
10) Aguirre The Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 72 (Germany))
(Lost causes, chased for the wrong reasons)
11) Manhattan (Woody Allen, 79)
(Intellectually rich, emotionally desperate sexual gamesmanship projected against the monochromatic beauty of America's greatest city)
12) Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 79)
(The horror of men twisted by war)
13) Nashville (Robert Altman, 75)
(Music and politics swirl about)
14) Deliverance (John Boorman, 72)
(Urbanity eschewed in lieu of base survival)
15) Network (Sidney Lumet, 76)
(A prescient view of the current media climate; not as funny as it once was, but that means it's now even more powerful)
16) Gimme Shelter (Maysles/Maysles/Zwerlin, 71)
(The death of the 1960s)
17) The Day of the Locust (John Schlesinger, 75)
(Perhaps the decade's most accomplished and unsung literary adaptation)
18) One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Milos Forman, 75)
(The brick wall of authority, faced by a stubborn headbutter)
19) O Lucky Man! (Lindsay Anderson, 73 (Britain))
(Britain's comedic epic of establishmentary confrontation)
20) Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller, 76 (Italy))
(Good intentions gone spectacularly bad)
21) Breaking Away (Peter Yates, 79)
(Victory, loss, joy, family, and friendship)
22) Best Boy (Ira Wohl, 79)
(The genesis of autobiographical filmmaking)
23) Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 75 (Britain))
(The not-so-distant past, portrayed otherworldly)
24) Over The Edge (Jonathan Kaplan, 79)
(The new youth)
25) Frank Film (Frank Mouris, 73)
(A triple hat-trick: the decade's best autobiographical/experimental/animated film, in five minutes flat)
26) Badlands (Terrence Malick, 73)
(Possibly the beginnings of America's ongoing rash of random violence, recounted with passion and delicacy)
27) McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 71)
(Capitalism dies and thrives in the snowy Old West)
28) Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 76)
(The grim and grimy state of NYC in the 1970s)
29) The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 78)
(America absorbs the torn emotions of a consternating overseas conflict)
30) The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 76)
(The finest Western of the 1970s)
31) Oblomov (Nikita Mikhalov, 79 (Russia))
(An extraordinary argument for and against underachievement)
32) Small Change (Francois Truffaut, 76 (France))
(Childhood writ large)
33) American Graffiti (George Lucas, 73)
(The bittersweet end of innocence)
34) Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 73)
(The crazy reckless come-of-age in a small-time world of crime)
35) Claire’s Knee (Eric Rohmer, 71 (France))
(Erotic obsession and its very secretive release)
36) The Tin Drum (Volker Schlondorff, 79 (Germany))
(Peter Pan for the bloody latter half of the 20th Century)
37) Alien (Ridley Scott, 79)
(Cinema enters a new realm via seductive B-movie trappings and A-title production)
38) All The President’s Men (Alan J. Pakula, 76)
(The premier thriller for a politically-charged decade)
39) The Black Stallion (Carroll Ballard, 79)
(A brashly colored, mythic look at childhood and trust)
40) Being There (Hal Ashby, 79)
(It's a one-joke movie, but it's a helluva joke)
41) The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 74)
(Paranoia felt by one of the emotion's most dedicated agents)
42) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 77)
(Wonder and belief)
43) The Honeymoon Killers (Leonard Kastle, 70)
(Perverse love and death)
44) Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard, 78)
(If you're making plans, be prepared for them to explode in your face)
45) Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 74)
(An accurate throwback to 1930s/40s filmmaking, seen through a 70s patina)
46) The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 73)
(The eternal battle between faith and doubt)
47) Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 74)
(A comedic ode to genre movies gone by)
48) Special Delivery (Weldon/MacCauley, 78)
(Confusion and crime, in crayon)
49) A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 71)
(The rage revolving around Christian ideals (Britain))
50) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 74)
(Abject terror)
51) Images (Robert Altman, 72)
(One woman's insistent mental dissolution)
52) Tommy (Ken Russell, 75 (Britain))
(A guilty pleasure--music and images fold in on each other in the greatest video ever made)
53) Interiors (Woody Allen, 78)
(Brilliance doesn't preclude this family from misery--in fact, it invites it)
54) A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 74)
(Love endures, and so does its wonderful illogic)
55) The Candidate (Michael Richie, 72)
(The political landscape, as it lives today)
56) Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 71)
(A gut-stomping template for the 1970s action genre)
57) Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 71)
(Where do we go from here?)
58) Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 71)
(An unconventional romance told with such grace it seems ideal)
59) An Unmarried Woman (Paul Mazursky, 78)
(Strength in an unexpectedly vibrant life)
60) Grey Gardens (Maysles/Hovde/Maysles/Meyer, 75)
(Lovable eccentricity)
61) Scenes from a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 76 (Sweden))
(Truth and deception in matrimonial intimacy)
62) Halloween (John Carpenter, 78)
(The Boogey Man)
63) Bad Company (Robert Benton, 72)
(The less heroic side of the Civil War Between The States)
64) Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 75 (Australia))
(Sexual longings and unfulfilled promise)
65) Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 79)
(Consumerism in extrema)
66) Husbands (John Cassavetes, 70)
(Unapologetic male-bonding)
67) The Parallax View (Alan J. Pakula, 74)
(The dangers of knowing too much)
68) Carnal Knowledge (Mike Nichols, 71)
(The modern sexual bloodlettings)
70) Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 72 (Russia))
(Memory, time, and space)
71) 3 Women (Robert Altman, 77)
(A terrific shredding of identity)
72) Gates of Heaven (Errol Morris, 78)
(The death of unconditional love, and the resulting industry)
73) M.A.S.H. (Robert Altman, 70)
(In war, death hasta be salted with humor or survival is impossible)
74) F for Fake (Orson Welles, 74)
(Slight-of-hand, exposed)
75) Punishment Park (Peter Watkins, 71 (Britain))
(The terrors of an American dictatorship)
76) Kramer Vs. Kramer (Robert Benton, 79)
(The dissolution of the American family, and its remaking, is popularized)
77) The Last Waltz (Martin Scorsese, 78)
(A musical family's final breath)
78) THX-1138 (Director’s Cut) (George Lucas, 71/2001)
(Orwellian dispeptia)
79) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel, 72 (Spain))
(Abstraction of the wealthy's obscure headaches)
80) General Idi Amin Dada (Barbet Schroeder, 74 (German))
(Unprecedented closeness, and the cult of personality, amidst Third World carnage)
81) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Jones/Gilliam, 75 (Britain))
(The most quotable comedy of the 1970s)
82) Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 71)
(Road to nowhere)
83) Who’ll Stop The Rain? (Karel Reitz, 78)
(Misplaced ideals and true devotion)
84) Fiddler on the Roof (Norman Jewison, 71)
(Tradition, ecstatic)
85) The Bad News Bears (Michael Richie, 76)
(The pressures of competition)
86) Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 75)
(Primal urges rear up in idyllic civilization)
87) Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg, 71 (Australia))
(Discovery and awakening)
88) What's Up Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, 72)
("Screwball comedies. Remember them?")
89) The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston, 75)
(The decade's greatest film adventure)
90) Citizen’s Band / Handle With Care (Jonathan Demme, 77)
(Interconnectedness on the asphalt)
91) Ryan’s Daughter (David Lean, 70 (Britain))
(A 19th Century tale, in a 20th Century mold)
92) Night Moves (Arthur Penn, 75)
(Film noir, 70s style--part 1)
93) The Silent Partner (Darryl Dukes, 79)
(Film noir, 70s style--part 2)
94) 1900 (Bernardo Bertolucci, 76 (Italy))
(Truly massive storytelling, with painful closeness)
95) The Front (Ritt, 76)
(Bravery in the face of the communist scare)
96) Richard Pryor Live in Concert (Jeff Margolin, 79)
(Arguably the 1970s finest black talent, unfettered)
97) Electra Glide in Blue (James William Guercio, 73)
(Ambition and its crushing follow-up)
98) Going in Style (Martin Brest, 79)
(Old age disavowed and reconsidered)
99) The Wold Shadow (Stan Brakhage, 72)
(Light and mystery, in the '70s most stunning, purely experimental work)
100) Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 74)
(Pure laffs, with a fourth-wall-breaking spirit)
101) Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 78)
(Blessed with groundbreaking sound comes the decade's best silent film)