MASTER LIST #9: The 101 Greatest Romantic Movies

These are the movies that highlight both the pluses and minuses of romance--amazing films, all! Thus, based on (1) lilt, (2) realism, (3) overall quality, (4) relevance to genre, and (5) influence, here are the results:

1) A Little Romance (George Roy Hill, 79)
2) Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 77)
3) Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 42)
4) Sunrise, A Song of Two Humans (F.W. Murnau, 27)
5) Brief Encounter (David Lean, 45)
6) Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier, 96)
7) L’Atalante (Jean Vigo, 34)
8) The Crowd (King Vidor, 28)
9) Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming, 39)
10) Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 71)
11) The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Philip Kaufman, 88)
12) David and Lisa (Frank Perry, 62)
13) West Side Story (Robert Wise and Joshua Logan, 61)
14) City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 31)
15) Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 87)
16) The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 41)
17) Manhattan (Woody Allen, 79)
18) All The Real Girls (David Gordon Green, 2003)
19) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 65)
20) Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut, 62)
21) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
22) The More The Merrier (George Stevens, 43)
23) A Star is Born (George Cukor, 54)
24) Gregory’s Girl (Bill Forsyth, 81)
25) Chilly Scenes of Winter (Joan Micklin Silver, 79)
26) The Green Ray (a.k.a. Summer) (Eric Rohmer, 86)
27) Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
28) Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
29) The Quiet Man (John Ford, 52)
30) A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressberger, 46)
31) Claire’s Knee (Eric Rohmer, 70)
32) Before Sunrise and Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 95/2004)
33) La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016)
34) Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
35) The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
36) Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 90)
37) Lady and the Tramp (Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson, 55)
38) Reds (Warren Beatty, 81)
39) Lianna (John Sayles, 83)
40) Leaving Las Vegas (Mike Figgis, 95)
41) Marty (Delbert Mann, 55)
42) Tess (Roman Polanski, 80)
43) Nothing But a Man (Michael Rohmer, 64)
44) Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 59)
45) Breathless (Jean Luc Godard, 60)
46) The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 93)
47) Dogfight (Nancy Savoca, 91)
48) The Lovers on the Bridge (Leos Carax, 99)
49) Arthur (Steve Gordon, 81)
50) Déjà Vu (Henry Jaglom, 97)
51) Lonely Hearts (Paul Cox, 82)
52) The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood, 95)
53) Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 39)
54) Coal Miner’s Daughter (Michael Apted, 80)
55) The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 37)
56) Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 99)
57) Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001)
58) Children of Paradise (Marcel Carne, 45)
59) It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 34)
60) The African Queen (John Huston, 51)
61) Scenes From a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 75)
62) Two for the Road (Stanley Donen, 67)
63) Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 91)
64) It’s A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 48)
65) Summertime (David Lean, 55)
66) Ryan’s Daughter (David Lean, 70)
67) Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wei, 94)
68) Intermezzo (Gregory Ratoff, 39)
69) Sabrina (Billy Wilder, 54)
70) Madchen in Uniform (Leontine Sagan, 31)
71) Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 65)
72) The Way We Were (Sydney Pollack, 74)
73) Say Anything…(Cameron Crowe, 89)
74) True Romance (Tony Scott, 93)
75) Beautiful Thing (Hettie MacDonald, 96)
76) Someone to Love (Henry Jaglom, 87) 
77) Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 86)
78) Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 49)
79) Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeaunet, 2001)
80) Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 61)
81) To Have and Have Not (John Huston, 44)
82) "I Know Where I'm Going" (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressberger, 45)
83) Once (John Carney, 2006)
84) An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey, 57)
85) Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 93)
86) Il Postino (Michael Radford, 94)
87) That Hamilton Woman (Alexander Korda, 41)
88) Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2006)
89) Map of the Human Heart (Vincent Ward, 93)
90) Play It Again, Sam (Herbert Ross, 71)
91) Penny Serenade (George Stevens, 41)
92) Starting Over (Alan J. Pakula, 79)
93) Truly Madly Deeply (Anthony Mingella, 90)
94) Modern Romance (Albert Brooks, 81)
95) 84 Charing Cross Road (David Hugh Jones, 87)
96) Down with Love (Peyton Reed, 2003)
97) Best Friends (Norman Jewison, 82)
98) Valley Girl (Martha Coolidge, 83)
99) Lucas (David Seltzer, 86)
100) Greenberg (Noah Baumbach, 2010)
101) Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley, 2012)

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE: 

The 1920 (2):
4) Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 27)
8) The Crowd (King Vidor, 28)

The 1930s (7, 3 in 1939):
7) L’Atalante (Jean Vigo, 34)
9) Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming, 39)
14) City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 31)
53) Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 39)
55) The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 37)
59) It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 34)
68) Intermezzo (Gregory Ratoff, 39)

The 1940s (10, 2 in 1941):
3) Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 42)
5) Brief Encounter (David Lean, 45)
16) The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 41)
22) The More The Merrier (George Stevens, 43)
30) A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, 46) 
64) It’s A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 48)
78) Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 49)
81) To Have and Have Not (John Huston, 44) 87) That Hamilton Woman (Alexander Korda, 41) 82) "I Know Where I'm Going" (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, 45)

The 1950s (10, 4 in 1955):
23) A Star is Born (George Cukor, 54)
29) The Quiet Man (John Ford, 52)
37) Lady and the Tramp (Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson, 55)
41) Marty (Delbert Mann, 55)
44) Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 59)
56) Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, 55)
60) The African Queen (John Huston, 51)
65) Summertime (David Lean, 55)
69) Sabrina (Billy Wilder, 54)
84) An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey, 57)

The 1960s (9, 2 in 1962 and in 1965):
12) David and Lisa (Frank Perry, 62)
13) West Side Story (Robert Wise and Joshua Logan, 61)
19) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 65)
20) Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut, 62)
43) Nothing But a Man (Michael Rohmer, 64)
45) Breathless (Jean Luc Godard, 60)
62) Two for the Road (Stanley Donen, 67)
71) Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 65)
80) Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 61)

The 1970s (10, 4 in 1979):
1) A Little Romance (George Roy Hill, 79)
2) Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 77)
10) Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 71)
17) Manhattan (Woody Allen, 79)
25) Chilly Scenes of Winter (Joan Micklin Silver, 79)
31) Claire’s Knee (Eric Rohmer, 70)
61) Scenes From a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 75)
66) Ryan’s Daughter (David Lean, 70)
72) The Way We Were (Sydney Pollack, 74)
90) Play It Again, Sam (Herbert Ross, 71)

The 1980s (17, 4 in 1981)
11) The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Philip Kaufman, 88)
15) Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 87)
24) Gregory’s Girl (Bill Forsyth, 81)
26) Summer (Eric Rohmer, 86)
38) Reds (Warren Beatty, 81)
39) Lianna (John Sayles, 83) 
42) Tess (Roman Polanski, 80)
49) Arthur (Steve Gordon, 81)
51) Lonely Hearts (Paul Cox, 82)
54) Coal Miner’s Daughter (Michael Apted, 80)
73) Say Anything…(Cameron Crowe, 89)
76) Someone to Love (Henry Jaglom, 87)
77) Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 86)
94) Modern Romance (Albert Brooks, 81)
95) 84 Charing Cross Road (David Hugh Jones, 87)
97) Best Friends (Norman Jewison, 82)
98) Valley Girl (Martha Coolidge, 83)
99) Lucas (David Seltzer, 86)

The 1990s (17, 3 in 1995 and 1996):
6) Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier, 96)
32) Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater, 95)
36) Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 90)
40) Leaving Las Vegas (Mike Figgis, 95)
47) Dogfight (Nancy Savoca, 91)
48) The Lovers on the Bridge (Leos Carax, 99)
50) Déjà Vu (Henry Jaglom, 97)
52) The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood, 95)
56) Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 99)
63) Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 91)
67) Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wei, 94)
74) True Romance (Tony Scott, 93)
75) Beautiful Thing (Hettie MacDonald, 96)
85) Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 93)
86) Il Postino (Michael Radford, 94)
93) Truly Madly Deeply (Anthony Mingella, 90)
96) The Whole Wide World (Dan Ireland, 96)

The 2000s (11, 3 in 2001):
18) All The Real Girls (David Gordon Green, 2003)
21) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
27) Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
28) Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
32) Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
34) Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
35) The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
57) Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001)
79) Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeaunet, 2001)
83) Once (John Carney, 2006)
88) Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2006)

The 2010s (3) 
33) La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016)
100) Greenberg (Noah Baumbach, 2010)
101) Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley, 2012)

BREAKDOWN BY DIRECTOR:
WITH 4 FILMS:
David Lean: Brief Encounter (5), Summertime (65), Ryan’s Daughter (66), Doctor Zhivago (71)

WITH 3 FILMS:
Woody Allen: Annie Hall (2), Manhattan (17), Hannah and Her Sisters (77)

WITH 2 FILMS:
George Stevens: The More The Merrier (22), Penny Serenade (91)
Billy Wilder: Some Like It Hot (44), Sabrina (69)
George Cukor: A Star is Born (23), Adam’s Rib (78)
Eric Rohmer: Summer (26), Claire’s Knee (31)
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger:  A Matter of Life and Death (30),
"I Know Where I'm Going" (82)
Richard Linklater: Before Sunrise (33), Before Sunset (33)
Henry Jaglom: Déjà Vu (50), Someone to Love (76)  
Leo McCarey: The Awful Truth (55), An Affair to Remember (84)
Frank Capra: It Happened One Night (59), It’s A Wonderful Life (64)
Ingmar Bergman: Smiles of a Summer Night (56), Scenes From a Marriage (61)
Sarah Polley: Away From Her (88), Take This Waltz (101)

NEXT: 101 Best Mysteries/Suspence/Film Noir!

MASTER LIST #8: The 101 Greatest Action Movies

I discovered in doing this list that the action genre (as we know it today) was really born in the 1960s. Before then, most movie "action" came in the form of war movies, westerns, film noir, and serials (to which the #1 film on the list is a complete homage). When the long-dominating western started to lose steam in the late '60s, the action genre--which, for the most part, is a wildly-differing urban-based one--took its place. We still had guns a-firing, but instead of horses, we had cars (it was the popularity of the automobile that really changed the genre). Thus, save for a very few titles, you won't see many movies made before 1960 on this list. Now I have lists for the best war movies and westerns, so I left them off this overview (the best film noir/mystery compendium is coming soon). And even though I did a best sci-fi movies list, there are still a few science-fiction-colored movies mentioned here; however, I kept their numbers down to a minimum--the ones that do pop up generally feel as if they could be set in contemporary times (as often they are). The Matrix, The Terminator and Mad Max (to name a few) are sci-fi movies that really let the action-movie in them do all the "talking." Anyway, I was surprised at how many action movies I genuinely love, because I'm always lamenting at how the genre seems to have taken over present-day popular moviemaking. Hell, I even have a few superhero movies on the list, and that's a subgenre I generally abhor! Anyway, based on (1) thrills, (2) overall quality, (3) relevance to genre, and (4) influence, here are the results:

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 81)
2) The Matrix (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 99)
3) Die Hard (John McTiernan, 88)
4) Mad Max (George Miller, 79)
5) The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 54)
6) Leon (Luc Besson, 94)
7) The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three (Joseph Sargent, 74)
8) Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 71)
9) Hard Boiled (John Woo, 92)
10) Aliens (James Cameron, 86)
11) Goldfinger (Guy Hamilton, 64)
12) The Road Warrior (George Miller, 81)
13) The Terminator (James Cameron, 84)
14) The Warriors (Walter Hill, 79)
15) Gone in 60 Seconds (H.B. Halicki, 74)
16) Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino, 2003/2004)
17) Bullitt (Peter Yates, 68)
18) 48 HRS. (Walter Hill, 82)
19) The French Connection (William Friedkin, 71)
20) Vanishing Point (Richard C. Sarafian, 71)
21) Heat (Michael Mann, 95)
22) Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 73)
23) The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
24) Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 81)
25) Deliverance (John Boorman, 72)
26) The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz, 38)
27) Point Blank (John Boorman, 67)
28) The Italian Job (Peter Collinson, 69)
29) Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 71)
30) Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 67)
31) Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, 76)
32) El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 92)
33) Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 99)
34) La Femme Nikita (Luc Besson, 90)
35) Across 110th Street (Barry Shear, 72)
36) Executive Decision (Stuart Baird, 96)
37) The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 93)
38) Superman (Richard Donner, 78)
39) Truck Turner (Jonathan Kaplan, 74)
40) Thief (Michael Mann, 81)
41) The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 72)
42) Sharkey’s Machine (Burt Reynolds, 81)
43) The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 80)
44) Breakdown (Jonathan Mostow, 97)
45) Duel (Steven Spielberg, 71)
46) The Flight of the Phoenix (Robert Aldrich, 65)
47) The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)
48) Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (Russ Meyer, 65)
49) Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano, 93)
50) Beverly Hills Cop (Martin Brest, 84)
51) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 69)
52) The Killer (John Woo, 89)
53) Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, 2006)
54) Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 61)
55) Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
56) Danger: Diabolik (Mario Bava, 68)
57) Foxy Brown (Jack Hill, 74)
58) Predator (John McTiernan, 87)
59) Pusher (Nicolas Winding Refn, 96)
60) Under Siege (Andrew Davis, 92)
61) First Blood (Ted Kotcheff, 82)
62) Southern Comfort (Walter Hill, 81)
63) To Live and Die in L.A. (William Friedkin, 85)
64) Coogan’s Bluff (Don Siegel, 68)
65) City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002)
66) Police Story (Jackie Chan, 85)
67) Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 77)
68) Electra Glide in Blue (James William Guercio, 73)
69) Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
70) Smokey and the Bandit (Hal Needham, 77)
71) Nighthawks (Bruce Malmuth, 81)
72) The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)
73) X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000)
74) Coffy (Jack Hill, 73)
75) Point Break (Katherine Bigelow, 91)
76) Spiderman 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
77) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino, 74)
78) Charley Varrick (Don Siegel, 73)
79) The Abyss (James Cameron, 89)
80) The Bourne Supremecy (Paul Greengrass, 2004)
81) In The Line of Fire (Wolfgang Petersen, 93)
82) Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
83) The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
84) Series 7: The Contenders (Daniel Minahan, 2001)
85) The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 87)
86) Death Race 2000 (Paul Bartel, 75)
87) Prime Cut (Michael Richie, 72)
88) Shaft (Gordon Parks, 71)
89) Deep Cover (Bill Duke, 92)
90) Die Hard: With A Vengence (John McTiernan, 95)
91) Magnum Force (Ted Post, 73)
92) Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (John Hough, 74)
93) The Mask of Zorro (Martin Campbell, 98)
94) The Gauntlet (Clint Eastwood, 77)
95) Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 88)
96) Lethal Weapon 2 (Richard Donner, 89)
97) The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 77)
98) Dolemite (D’Urville Martin, 75)
99) Speed (Jan De Bont, 94)
100) Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 77)
101) Night of the Juggler (Robert Butler, 80)

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE:
Pre-1960 (2):
5) The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 54)
26) The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz, 38)

The 1960s (11, 3 in 1968):
11) Goldfinger (Guy Hamilton, 64)
17) Bullitt (Peter Yates, 68)
27) Point Blank (John Boorman, 67)
28) The Italian Job (Peter Collinson, 69)
30) Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 67)
46) The Flight of the Phoenix (Robert Aldrich, 65)
48) Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (Russ Meyer, 65)
51) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 69)
54) Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 61)
56) Danger: Diabolik (Mario Bava, 68)
64) Coogan’s Bluff (Don Siegel, 68)

The 1970s (Officially the best decade for action, with 32--5 in 71, 73, 74, and 77):
4) Mad Max (George Miller, 79)
7) The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three (Joseph Sargent, 74)
8) Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 71)
14) The Warriors (Walter Hill, 79)
15) Gone in 60 Seconds (H.B. Halicki, 74)
19) The French Connection (William Friedkin, 71)
20) Vanishing Point (Richard C. Sarafian, 71)
22) Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 73)
25) Deliverance (John Boorman, 72)
29) Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 71)
31) Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, 76)
35) Across 110th Street (Barry Shear, 72)
38) Superman (Richard Donner, 78)
39) Truck Turner (Jonathan Kaplan, 74)
41) The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 72)
45) Duel (Steven Spielberg, 71)
51) Deliverance (John Boorman, 72)
57) Foxy Brown (Jack Hill, 74)
67) Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 77)
68) Electra Glide in Blue (James William Guercio, 73)
70) Smokey and the Bandit (Hal Needham, 77)
74) Coffy (Jack Hill, 73)
77) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino, 74)
78) Charley Varrick (Don Siegel, 73)
86) Death Race 2000 (Paul Bartel, 75)
87) Prime Cut (Michael Richie, 72)
88) Shaft (Gordon Parks, 71)
91) Magnum Force (Ted Post, 73)
92) Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (John Hough, 74)
94) The Gauntlet (Clint Eastwood, 77)
97) The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 77)
98) Dolemite (D’Urville Martin, 75)
100) Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 77)

The 1980s (23, with 6 in 1981—officially the best year for action movies):
1) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 81)
3) Die Hard (John McTiernan, 88)
10) Aliens (James Cameron, 86)
12) The Road Warrior (George Miller, 81)
13) The Terminator (James Cameron, 84)
18) 48 HRS. (Walter Hill, 82)
24) Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 81)
40) Thief (Michael Mann, 81)
42) Sharkey’s Machine (Burt Reynolds, 81)
43) The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 80)
50) Beverly Hills Cop (Martin Brest, 84)
52) The Killer (John Woo, 89)
58) Predator (John McTiernan, 87)
61) First Blood (Ted Kotcheff, 82)
62) Southern Comfort (Walter Hill, 81)
63) To Live and Die in L.A. (William Friedkin, 85)
66) Police Story (Jackie Chan, 85)
71) Nighthawks (Bruce Malmuth, 81)
79) The Abyss (James Cameron, 89)
85) The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 87)
95) Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 88)
96) Lethal Weapon 2 (Richard Donner, 89)
101) Night of the Juggler (Robert Butler, 80)

The 1990s (19, with 4 in 1992)
2) The Matrix (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 99)
6) Leon (Luc Besson, 94)
9) Hard Boiled (John Woo, 92)
21) Heat (Michael Mann, 95)
32) El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 92)
33) Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 99)
34) La Femme Nikita (Luc Besson, 90)
36) Executive Decision (Stuart Baird, 96)
37) The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 93)
44) Breakdown (Jonathan Mostow, 97)
49) Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano, 93)
59) Pusher (Nicolas Winding Refn, 96)
60) Under Siege (Andrew Davis, 92)
75) Point Break (Katherine Bigelow, 91)
81) In The Line of Fire (Wolfgang Petersen, 93)
89) Deep Cover (Bill Duke, 92)
90) Die Hard: With A Vengence (John McTiernan, 95)
93) The Mask of Zorro (Martin Campbell, 98)
99) Speed (Jan De Bont, 94)

The 2000s (14, with 4 in 2004):
16) Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino, 2003/2004)
23) The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
47) The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2007)
53) Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, 2006)
55) Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
65) City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002)
69) Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
72) The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)
73) X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000)
76) Spiderman 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
80) The Bourne Supremecy (Paul Greengrass, 2004)
82) Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
83) The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
84) Series 7: The Contenders (Daniel Minahan, 2001)

BREAKDOWN BY DIRECTOR:
WITH 3 FILMS:
John McTiernan: Die Hard (3), Predator (58), Die Hard: With A Vengence (90)
Don Siegel: Dirty Harry (8), Coogan’s Bluff (64), Charley Varrick (78)
James Cameron: Aliens (10), The Terminator (13), The Abyss (79)
Walter Hill: The Warriors (14), 48 HRS. (18), Southern Comfort (62)
William Friedkin: The French Connection (19), To Live and Die in L.A. (63), Sorcerer (67)

WITH 2 FILMS:
Steven Spielberg: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1), Duel (45)
George Miller: Mad Max (4), The Road Warrior (12)
Akira Kurosawa: The Seven Samurai (5), Yojimbo (54)
Luc Besson: Leon (6), La Femme Nikita (34)
John Woo: Hard Boiled (9), The Killer (52)
Quentin Tarantino: Kill Bill (16), Grindhouse (53)
Michael Mann: Heat (21), Thief (40)
John Carpenter: Escape from New York (24), Assault on Precinct 13 (31)
John Boorman: Deliverance (25), Point Blank (27
Robert Rodriguez: El Mariachi (32), Grindhouse (53)
Andrew Davis: The Fugitive (37), Under Siege (60)
Richard Donner: Superman (38), Lethal Weapon 2 (96)
Paul Greengrass: The Bourne Ultimatum (47), The Bourne Supremecy (80)
Martin Campbell: Casino Royale (55), The Mask of Zorro (93)
Jack Hill: Foxy Brown (57), Coffy (74)

NEXT: The 101 Greatest Romantic Movies Ever Made

MASTER LIST #7: The 101 Greatest War Movies

An amazing list of movies here, I guess because war is perhaps the most dramatic of subjects. I didn't include documentaries or films with war as a peripheral subject (like Casablanca, Since You Went Away, The Wild Bunch or The Best Years of Our Lives). So here, based on (1) quality, (2) relevance to genre, and (3) influence, are the results:

1) Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 57)
2) Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 79)
3) Pork Chop Hill (Lewis Milestone, 59)
4) Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 82)
5) Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 85)
6) Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 37)
7) They Were Expendable (John Ford, 45)
8) The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 98)
9) Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 64)
10) Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein, 38)
11) Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 57)
12) Overlord (Stuart Cooper, 75)
13) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 62)
14) Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 45)
15) Culloden (Peter Watkins, 64)
16) Come and See (Elim Klimov, 85)
17) Threads (Mick Jackson, 84)
18) Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 93)
19) Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 81)
20) All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 30)
21) The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 78)
22) Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 98)
23) It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, 65)
24) Kanal (Andrzej Vajda, 57)
25) Zulu (Cy Endfield, 64)
26) The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 66)
27) Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 87)
28) The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 84)
29) The Gladiators (Peter Watkins, 69)
30) Fixed Bayonets (Sam Fuller, 51)
31) Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)
32) The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 40)
33) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
34) Three Kings (David O. Russell, 99)
35) Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 60)
36) Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg, 87)
37) Battleground (William Wellman, 49)
38) Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 90)
39) Stalingrad (Joseph Vilsmeier, 93)
40) The Sullivans (Lloyd Bacon, 44)
41) Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
42) M*A*S*H* (Robert Altman, 70)
43) Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 77)
44) Fail-Safe (Sidney Lumet, 64)
45) The Big Red One (Sam Fuller, 80)
46) Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006)
47) Play Dirty (Andre De Toth, 68)
48) The Bridge over the River Kwai (David Lean, 57)
49) A Midnight Clear (Keith Gordon, 92)
50) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
51) The Day After (Nicholas Meyer, 83)
52) The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 67)
53) The Great Escape (John Sturges, 63)
54) The General (Buster Keaton, 27)
55) The Red Badge of Courage (John Huston, 51)
56) Glory (Edward Zwick, 89)
57) Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
58) Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 87)
59) The Beast (Kevin Reynolds, 88)
60) Catch-22 (Mike Nichols, 70)
61) Twelve O’Clock High (Henry King, 49)
62) Beau Geste (William Wellman, 39)
63) Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 80)
64) United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
65) Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 70)
66) Hell in the Pacific (John Boorman, 68)
67) The Desert Fox (Henry Hathaway, 51)
68) Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 41)
69) The Longest Day (Andrew Marton, Ken Annikis & Bernard Wicki, 62)
70) The Steel Helmet (Sam Fuller, 51)
71) Attack! (Robert Aldrich, 56)
72) Go Tell The Spartans (Ted Post, 78)
73) Black Rain (Shohei Imamura, 89)
74) Wings (William Wellman, 27)
75) Born on the Forth of July (Oliver Stone, 89)
76) The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 77)
77) Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 49)
78) Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 80)
79) Merrill’s Marauders (Sam Fuller, 62)
80) Enigma (Michael Apted, 2001)
81) Salvador (Oliver Stone, 86)
82) Buffalo Soldiers (Gregor Jordan, 2003)
83) Kelly’s Heroes (Brian G. Hutton, 70)
84) Platoon (Oliver Stone, 86)
85) The Train (John Frankenheimer, 64)
86) Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo, 71)
87) The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
88) Bataan (Tay Garnett, 43)
89) The Odd Angry Shot (Tom Jeffrey, 79)
90) Lebanon (Samuel Maoz, 2009)
91) The Dawn Patrol (Howard Hawks, 30)
92) Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller, 76)
93) Mister Roberts (John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, 55)
94) Courage Under Fire (Edward Zwick, 96)
95) Tigerland (Joel Schumacher, 2000)
96) Taps (Harold Russell, 81)
97) The Execution of Private Slovik (Lamont Johnson, 74)
98) Zentropa (Lars Von Trier, 91)
99) Fear and Desire (Stanley Kubrick, 53)
100) Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
101) Joyeux Noel (Christian Carion, 2005)

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE:
The 1920s (2 in 1927):
54) The General (Buster Keaton, 27)
74) Wings (William Wellman, 27)

The 1930s (5, 2 in 1930):
6) Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 37)
10) Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein, 38)
20) All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 30)
62) Beau Geste (William Wellman, 39)
91) The Dawn Patrol (Howard Hawks, 30)

The 1940s (9, 3 in 1949):
7) They Were Expendable (John Ford, 45)
14) Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 45)
32) The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 40)
37) Battleground (William Wellman, 49)
40) The Sullivans (Lloyd Bacon, 44)
61) Twelve O’Clock High (Henry King, 49)
68) Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 41)
77) Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 49)
88) Bataan (Tay Garnett, 43)

The 1950s (12, 4 in 1957)
1) Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 57)
3) Pork Chop Hill (Lewis Milestone, 59)
11) Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 57)
24) Kanal (Andrzej Vajda, 57)
30) Fixed Bayonets (Sam Fuller, 51)
48) The Bridge over the River Kwai (David Lean, 57)
55) The Red Badge of Courage (John Huston,
67) The Desert Fox (Henry Hathaway, 51)
70) The Steel Helmet (Sam Fuller, 51)
71) Attack! (Robert Aldrich, 56)
93) Mister Roberts (John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, 55)
99) Fear and Desire (Stanley Kubrick, 53)

The 1960s (15, 5 in 1964--the best year for war movies):
9) Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 64)
13) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 62)
15) Culloden (Peter Watkins, 64)
23) It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, 65)
25) Zulu (Cy Endfield, 64)
26) The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 66)
29) The Gladiators (Peter Watkins, 69)
35) Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 60)
44) Fail-Safe (Sidney Lumet, 64)
47) Play Dirty (Andre De Toth, 68)
52) The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 67)
66) Hell in the Pacific (John Boorman, 68)
69) The Longest Day (Andrew Marton, Ken Annikin, Bernard Wicki and Darryl F. Zanuck, 62)
79) Merrill’s Marauders (Sam Fuller, 62)
85) The Train (John Frankenheimer, 64)

The 1970s (15, 4 in 1970):
2) Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 79)
12) Overlord (Stuart Cooper, 75)
21) The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 78)
42) M*A*S*H* (Robert Altman, 70)
43) Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 77)
60) Catch-22 (Mike Nichols, 70)
65) Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 70)
72) Go Tell The Spartans (Ted Post, 78)
76) The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 77)
83) Kelly’s Heroes (Brian G. Hutton, 70)
86) Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo, 71)
89) The Odd Angry Shot (Tom Jeffrey, 79)
92) Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller, 76)
97) The Execution of Private Slovik (Lamont Johnson, 74)

The 1980s (Officially the best decade for war movies—20, 3 in 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, and 1989)
4) Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 82)
5) Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 85)
16) Come and See (Elim Klimov, 85)
17) Threads (Mick Jackson, 84)
19) Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 81)
27) Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 87)
28) The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 84)
36) Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg, 87)
45) The Big Red One (Sam Fuller, 80)
51) The Day After (Nicholas Meyer, 83)
56) Glory (Edward Zwick, 89)
58) Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 87)
59) The Beast (Kevin Reynolds, 88)
63) Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 80)
73) Black Rain (Shohei Imamura, 89)
75) Born on the Forth of July (Oliver Stone, 89)
78) Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 80)
81) Salvador (Oliver Stone, 86)
84) Platoon (Oliver Stone, 86)
96) Taps (Harold Becker, 81)

The 1990s (10, 3 in 1993):
8) The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 98)
18) Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 93)
22) Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 98)
34) Three Kings (David O. Russell, 99)
38) Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 90)
39) Stalingrad (Joseph Vilsmeier, 93)
49) A Midnight Clear (Keith Gordon, 92)
94) Courage Under Fire (Edward Zwick, 96)
98) Zentropa (Lars Von Trier, 91)

The 2000s (13, 3 in 2006):
31) Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)
33) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
41) Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
46) Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006)
50) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
57) Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
64) United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
80) Enigma (Michael Apted, 2001)
82) Buffalo Soldiers (Gregor Jordan, 2003)
87) The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
90) Lebanon (Samuel Maoz, 2009)
95) Tigerland (Joel Schumacher, 2000)
100) Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
101) Joyeux Noel (Christian Carion, 2005)

BREAKDOWN BY DIRECTOR:
WITH 5 FILMS:
Stanley Kubrick: Paths of Glory (1), Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (9), Full Metal Jacket (27), Spartacus (35), Fear and Desire (99)

WITH 4 FILMS:
Sam Fuller: Fixed Bayonets (30), The Big Red One (45), The Steel Helmet (70), Merrill’s Marauders (79)

WITH 3 FILMS:
Akira Kurosawa: Ran (5), Throne of Blood (11), Kagemusha (63)
Steven Spielberg: Schindler’s List (18), Saving Private Ryan (22), Empire of the Sun (36)
William Wellman: Battleground (37), Beau Geste (62), Wings (74)
Oliver Stone: Born on the Forth of July (75), Salvador (81), Platoon (84)

WITH 2 FILMS:
Lewis Milestone: Pork Chop Hill (3), All Quiet on the Western Front (20)
John Ford: They Were Expendable (7), Mister Roberts (93)
David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia (13), The Bridge over the River Kwai (48)
Peter Watkins: Culloden (15), The Gladiators (29)
Peter Weir: Gallipoli (19), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (33)
Ridley Scott: Black Hawk Down (31), The Duellists (76)
Robert Aldrich: The Dirty Dozen (52), Attack! (71)
Edward Zwick: Glory (56), Courage Under Fire (94)
John Boorman: Hope and Glory (58), Hell in the Pacific (66)
Howard Hawks: Sergeant York (68), The Dawn Patrol (91)
Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker (87), Zero Dark Thirty (100) 

BREAKDOWN BY CONFLICT:
World War I: Paths of Glory, Grand Illusion, Lawrence of Arabia, Gallipoli, All Quiet on the Western Front, Beau Geste, Sergeant York, Wings, Johnny Got His Gun, The Dawn Patrol, Joyeux Noel
World War II: Das Boot, They Were Expendable, The Thin Red Line, Overlord, Rome-- Open City, Come and See, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, It Happened Here, The Great Dictator, Empire of the Sun, Battleground, Europa Europa, Stalingrad, The Sullivans, Downfall, Cross of Iron, The Big Red One, Letters from Iwo Jima, Play Dirty, The Bridge over the River Kwai, A Midnight Clear, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Dunkirk (2017), Hope and Glory, Catch-22, Twelve O’Clock High, Patton, Hell in the Pacific, The Desert Fox, The Longest Day, Attack!, Sands of Iwo Jima, Merrill’s Marauders, Enigma, Kelly’s Heroes, The Train, Bataan, Black Rain, Seven Beauties, Mister Roberts, The Execution of Private Slovik, Zentropa, Fear and Desire
Vietnam: Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter, The Killing Fields, Go Tell The Spartans, Born on the Forth of July, Platoon, The Odd Angry Shot, Tigerland
Korea: Pork Chop Hill, Fixed Bayonets, M*A*S*H*, The Steel Helmet
The American Civil War: The General, The Red Badge of Courage, Glory
Pre-20th Century: Alexander Nevsky, Throne of Blood, Culloden, Ran, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Spartacus, Kagemusha, The Duellists
Post-1980 American conflicts: Black Hawk Down, Three Kings, United 93, Courage Under Fire, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty
20th Century Sideshows: Zulu, The Battle of Algiers, Breaker Morant, The Beast, Salvador, Lebanon
War for the hell of it: Taps, Buffalo Soldiers
Future war: The Gladiators, Children of Men
Nuclear War: Dr. Strangelove, Threads, Fail-Safe, The Day After, Black Rain

NEXT MASTER LIST: The 101 Greatest Action Movies