Friday, June 29, 2007

My Hundred

These are my hundred favorite films. Look it over because in these hundred movies you'll find me. What makes me happy, sad, scared, disturbed, entertained. Damian, Moviezzz, Ed Copeland, The Shamus, Weepingsam, Jim Emerson and The Siren have posted theirs as well. These movies are not ranked in preference for they all hold a dear place in my heart. The first is no more important than the hundredth. Some of these movies I watch more often than not and some I watch less than I should.

Feel free to question them, praise them or ridicule them. As always, I welcome all comments.

100. Goodfellas - Martin Scorsese (1990)
99. Out Of Sight - Steven Soderbergh (1998)
98. Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson (2001)
97. Escape From New York - John Carpenter (1981)
96. Blue Velvet - David Lynch (1986)
95. The Silence Of The Lambs - Johnathan Demme (1991)
94. This Is Spinal Tap - Rob Reiner (1984)
93. Meet Me In St. Louis - Vincente Minelli (1944)
92. The Godfather Part II - Fancis Ford Coppola (1974)
91. M*A*S*H - Robert Altman (1970)
90. North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock (1959)















89. After Hours - Martin Scorsese (1985)
88. The Insider - Michael Mann (1999)
87. All The President’s Men - Alan J. Pakula (1976)
86. La Femme Nikita - Luc Besson (1990)
85. Traffic - Steven Soderbergh (2000)
84. The Last Picture Show - Peter Bogdanovich (1971)
83. The Rules Of The Game - Jean Renoir (1939)
82. Fight Club - David Fincher (1999)
81. Saving Private Ryan - Stephen Spielberg (1998)
80. Monty Python And The Holy Grail - Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones (1975)
79. Rushmore - Wes Anderson (1998)
78. Blazing Saddles - Mel Brooks (1974)
77. Caddyshack - Harold Ramis (1980)
76. Dazed and Confused - Richard Linklatter (1993)
75. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers - Peter Jackson (2002)
74. Munich - Stephen Spielberg (2005)





















73. Gross Pointe Blank - George Armitage (1997)
72. A Clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubrick (1971)
71. Citizen Kane - Orson Wells (1941)
70. Raising Arizona - Joel Coen (1987)
69. Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
68. Broadcast News - James L. Brooks (1987)
67. Boogie Nights - P.T. Anderson (1997)
66. Wild At Heart - David Lynch (1990)
65. Aliens - James Cameron (1986)
64. Blade Runner - Ridley Scott (1982)
63. Young Frankenstein - Mel Brooks (1974)
62. The Incredibles - Brad Bird (2004)
61. Do The Right Thing - Spike Lee (1989)
60. Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki (2001)
59. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino (1994)
58. The Player - Robert Altman (1992)
57. Raiders Of The Lost Ark - Stephen Spielberg (1981)
56. Die Hard - John McTiernen (1998)
55. Blow Out - Brian DePalma (1981)




















54. Rear Window - Alfred Hitchcock (1954)
53. Election - Alexander Payne (1999)
52. Defending Your Life - Albert Brooks (1991)
51. Punch Drunk Love - P.T. Anderson (2002)
50. Army Of Darkness - Sam Raimi (1992)
49. Dr. Strangelove - Stanley Kubrick (1964)
48. Enter The Dragon - Robert Clouse (1973)
47. Miller’s Crossing - Joel Coen (1990)
46. Three Kings - David O'Russell (1999)
45. The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
44. Heat - Michael Mann (1995)
43. The Empire Strikes Back - Irvin Kershner (1980)
42. The Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa (1954)
41. Kill Bill - Quentin Tarantino (2003)
40. Assault On Precinct 13 - John Carpenter (1976)
39. Sleeper - Woody Allen (1973)
38. The Brood - David Cronenberg (1979)
37. Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)






















36. Jaws - Stephen Spielberg (1975)
35. It’s a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
34. Goldfinger - Guy Hamilton (1964)
33. Se7en - David Fincher (1995)
32. Wonder Boys - Curtis Hanson (2000)
31. Unforgiven - Clint Eastwood (1992)
30. Robocop - Paul Verhoeven (1987)
29. Sideways - Alexander Payne (2004)
28. The Road Warrior - George Miller (1981)






















27. Prince Of The City - Sidney Lumet (1981)
26. There’s Something About Mary - Bobby and Peter Farrelly (1998)
25. The Vanishing - George Sluizer (1988)
24. Love and Death - Woody Allen (1975)
23. Dogtown and Z-Boys - Stacy Peralta (2001)
22. Mulholland Dr. - David Lynch (2001)
21. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Stephen Spielberg (1977)
20. High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000)
19. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee (2000)
18. The Deer Hunter - Michael Cimino (1978)
17. Wily Wonka and The Chocolate Factory - Mel Stuart (1971)
16. L.A. Confidential - Curtis Hanson (1997)
15. School Daze - Spike Lee (1988)
14. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Frank Capra (1939)
13. His Girl Friday - Howard Hawks (1940)
12. The Fly - David Cronenberg (1986)
11. Oldboy - Chan-wook Park (2003)





















10. Peter Pan - Clyde Geronimi/Wilfred Jackson (1953)
9. Brazil - Terry Gilliam (1985)
8. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick (1980)
7. Leave Her To Heaven - John M. Stahl (1945)
6. Fandango - Kevin Reynolds (1985)
5. To Kill A Mockingbird - Robert Mulligan (1962)
4. The Manchurian Candidate - John Frankenheimer (1962)
3. The Matrix - Andy and Larry Wachowski (1999)
2. Dawn Of The Dead - George A. Romero (1978)
1. The Thing - John Carpenter (1982)

25 comments:

TALKING MOVIEzzz said...

Oh man.

I just posted my list too, and you have 4 films I forgot, or I would have added.

How could I have forgotten THE VANISHING???? Oh wait, there was that remake. That did it.

Damian Arlyn said...

Nice work, Piper. Some great films on there.

I like how you made it clear that this was a list of your favorite films and not necessarily your list of "greats" because with some people's lists I can't quite figure out which one they're doing. I know that for me a list of favorites would look rather different than my list of the greatest films I've ever seen (though there ould obviously be some cross-over).

I also think it was wise of you not to rank them, to say that "the first was no more important than the hundredtth" because the most difficult task I found in the creation of my list was placing the films in some sort of order when it was the case that, with a great many of them, I couldn't possibly say definitely which I liked more. Someone even asked me what makes #37 greater than #38 and I don't have a good answer. I just had to face the fact that the rankings on my list were approximations and that was the best I was going to be able to do.

Anyway, well done. :)

PIPER said...

Moviezzz,

You can't let a bad remake spoil the great original.

Damian,

Thanks. Yeah, I ended up calling it my favorite movies because I didn't feel comfortable calling it the greatest movies ever made. Says who? Says me? Who the hell am I? Like you said in your post, it's hard for me to say which are the greatest movies made because there are still a lot out there I haven't seen. But I would say about 80% of these movies fall in that category for me. They are the greatest movies made, in my very humble opinion.

Anonymous said...

John Carpenter in the #1 spot?

I just reviewed a John Carpenter film for my horror film dvd review!

PIPER said...

Mexican,

It doesn't mean The Thing is my first favorite movie. I said that I had not ranked them.

Damian Arlyn said...

Exactly, Piper. Unless a person has actually seen every single movie ever made (which of course nobody has) than he/she is not really in a position to make such a claim with any authority. As Kip Dynamite says: "Like anyone can even know that, Napoleon." That's why I pretty much avoid using that phrase altogether anymore and, for the purposes of my list, chose to employ the somewhat safer moniker of "the greatest films I've ever seen."

Garrett Sorrels said...

I thought Roadhouse was a favorite?

PIPER said...

Garrett,

You make a good point and it brings me back to what Damian and I were writing about. While I like Roadhouse very much, I would not include it on a movie list. Especially one that also included Citizen Kane and Godfather and Dr. Strangelove. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Ross Ruediger said...

Any list that places SILENCE OF THE LAMBS exactly one spot ahead of BLUE VELVET is fucked.

PIPER said...

Whoah Ross,

I haven't placed it ahead or behind. I love it the same.

This is not a ranking.

So have I insulted Silence or Blue Velvet?

Ross Ruediger said...

The internets are a strange places, no? I was mostly pokin' fun, Piper.

But to answer your question, you have tainted the might of BLUE VELVET with that other ~thing~.

I really think LAMBS is a goofy piece of nonsense, with an incomprehensible third act.

Of course, many could say the exact same thing about BLUE VELVET, so I should probably learn to keep my trap shut. ;-)

All that said, ~anybody~ with the balls to put THE THING at #1 automatically earns my respect.

PIPER said...

Man, I knew I should have aced the numbers. I should have just put down the movies. Everyone thinks I put The Thing at #1, which I didn't.

But as much as I like Lambs, it doesn't hold a candle to Blue Velvet. That movie holds and holds hard.

And if I had a top 10, Blue Velvet would be there.

brian said...

I would never quibble with your list.

It's YOUR list.

And there are some great movies.

But where is Graduate, Godfather and Fargo?

Guess they are on my list.

brian said...

I stand corrected. I saw Godfather.

I would have liked to have seen Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters or Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Oh and Wizard of Oz and Tootsie.

But you have some that others missed:

Blow Out, Enter the Dragon and Young Frankenstein.

Nice work!

* (asterisk) said...

Wow, I'm not sure I've got the time to do a "my fave 100 movies" list, but kudos to you. I would find it difficult not to attempt some sort of ranking, even if I decided not to.

Anonymous said...

I don't think I could come up with a top 100. That takes some major moxie , my friend.

PIPER said...

Brian,

You're right for nailing me on Fargo. I should have included that and thought I did.

Anonymous said...

Yay, someone else finally recognizes After Hours!

Anonymous said...

I wish you did a snippit on each movie. A sentence about what you love about it. It'd be fun to read. Long to write.

PIPER said...

Jake,

I wanted to do that, but it would have taken so long. I was even going to write about certain movies but again, so, so, long.

tomdwayne said...

love your list, especially the many actionmovies on it - and your carpenter-ratio is great, too.
you have many movies on there i have on mine, and many more i should have thought of or should watch again to maybe put them on the next list.
i actually tried to have it both ways: a mixture between favorites and greatest. i think that´s one of the greater challenges to try and "synchronize" taste with the canon - is it possible to argue the inclusion of a favorite (in your case maybe "road house") in the canon, even though many people don´t consider it so great? after all, doesn´t the canon usually consist of favorites, too?
i thínk this list-making is most interesting in this area of conflict between personal and "public".

PIPER said...

tomwayne,

I am guilty of including a few favorites that may not be the greatest movies made.

The Brood may not be Cronenberg's best film, but I think it's his most interesting and sums up the feel of isolation that most of his movies capture and the idea that your body can and will eventually turn on itself.

Assault On Precinct 13 has horrible acting and some bad lines but as a modern remake of Howard Hawks, it's pretty damn good.

I include Gross Pointe Blank because at any time I can pick up that movie and watch it. It may have its faults, but I can't find them.

And Fandango is a long time favorite and is probably not the best film in the scheme of things.

Road House is a fun, fun movie but I would find myself feeling very guilty in including it along the ranks of Rules Of The Game and Prince Of The City, and Munich and the like.

However, I have no problem including Army Of Darkness on that list. I'm not sure that makes any sense.

Garrett Sorrels said...

I just noticed you didnt have Casablanca? Not that it has to be on "your" list I'm just kind of surprised.

Anonymous said...

God, that list is pathetic.

-- Bertram Potts

PIPER said...

Bertram Potts,

Nice of you to use a real name.

Stop by often. Your comments are witty and insightful.