The Lists Project

[ola t]

My suggestion is that we split the current decade exactly in half, so the list spans the years 2000 to 2004 -- because out of all the films that premiered this year, it's really only the blockbusters and the local mainstream product that I've had a chance to see yet; it usually takes about a year for me to catch up with the films that interest me the most in the Cannes lineup, for example. And I would guess it's the same for most of us. Could be wrong, of course.

[clutch44]

I really don't see any reason to change things at this point, you might be surprized at response the 00's list may generate. Worst case, we get a shorter list like the 40's, why not play it out and see how it goes.

[Kambei]

I think the odds of us hearing about movies we hadn't considered watching would be greater with a list of 50 movies. i suspect the longer everone's lists are, the less congruent they will be.

[backstreetsbackalright]

My suggestion is that we split the current decade exactly in half, so the list spans the years 2000 to 2004 -- because out of all the films that premiered this year, it's really only the blockbusters and the local mainstream product that I've had a chance to see yet; it usually takes about a year for me to catch up with the films that interest me the most in the Cannes lineup, for example. And I would guess it's the same for most of us. Could be wrong, of course.

This is a very good point. Looking over my top 25, there are no entries for 2005; there are 2004 films that finally played in Seattle in 2005.

[backstreetsbackalright]

I think the odds of us hearing about movies we hadn't considered watching would be greater with a list of 50 movies. i suspect the longer everone's lists are, the less congruent they will be.

You're probably right that a longer list will improve the odds of new discoveries. However, in the case of the 00s, I'm not sure how useful that'll be. The New Films section is a more ideal forum for that, and I'm guessing most people have spoken in favor of their darlings there.

[Michael]

The 80s List:

1. Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986) 918
2. Fanny and Alexander (Bergman, 1982) 915
3. Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980) 798
4. The Decalogue (Kieslowski, 1988-89) 677
5. Brazil (Gilliam, 1985) 598
6. Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989) 541
7. The Shining (Kubrick, 1980) 520
8. Ran (Kurosawa, 1985) 515
9. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Allen, 1989) 491
10. Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) 483
11. Wings of Desire (Wenders, 1987) 466
12. Fitzcarraldo (Herzog, 1982) 440
13. The Elephant Man (Lynch, 1980) 423
14. The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, 1980) 409
15. L' Argent (Bresson, 1983) 397
16. Paris, Texas (Wenders, 1984) 396
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg, 1981) 392
18. Stranger Than Paradise (Jarmusch, 1984) 377
Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1983) 377
20. The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky, 1986) 370
21. Hanna and Her Sisters (Allen, 1986) 354
22. The Last Temptation of Christ (Scorsese, 1988) 344
23. Dead Ringers (Cronenberg, 1988) 323
24. Nostalghia (Tarkovsky, 1983) 313
25. Sans Soleil (Marker, 1983) 307
26. Veronika Voss (Fassbinder, 1982) 305
27. Cinema Paradiso (Tornatore, 1989) 300
28. Koyaanisqatsi (Reggio, 1983) 293
29. Full Metal Jacket (Kubrick, 1987) 288
This is Spinal Tap (Reiner, 1984) 288
31. Stardust Memories (Allen, 1980) 271
32. Broadway Danny Rose (Allen, 1984) 269
33. After Hours (Scorsese, 1985) 268
34. Blow Out (De Palma, 1981) 261
35. The King of Comedy (Scorsese, 1983) 259
36, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (Greenaway, 1989) 249
37, Where is the Friend's Home? (Kiarostami, 1987) 241
38, Once Upon a Time in America (Leone, 1984) 231
39. Amadeus (Forman, 1984) 228
40. Vagabond (Varda, 1985) 226
Zelig (Allen, 1983) 226
42. The Fly (Cronenberg, 1986) 225
43. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Kaufman, 1988) 223
44. The Green Ray (Rohmer, 1986) 219
45. The Killer (Woo, 1989) 217
46. Gates of Heaven (Morris, 1980) 213
47. My Neighbor Totoro (Miyazaki, 1988) 202
48. Down by Law (Jarmusch, 1986) 194
Raising Arizona (Coen, 1987) 194
50. The Vanishing (Sluizer, 1988) 191
51. The Thin Blue Line (Morris, 1988) 188
52. Grave of the Fireflies (Takahata, 1988) 187
The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) 187
Lola (Fassbinder, 1981) 187
The Purple Rose of Cairo (Allen, 1985) 187
56. Kagemusha (Kurosawa, 1980) 186
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Almodovar, 1988) 186
58. Day of the Dead (Romero, 1985) 175
59. Come and See (Klimov, 1985) 171
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Miyazaki, 1984) 171
61. Berlin Alexanderplatz (Fassbinder, 1980) 170
62. House of Games (Mamet, 1987) 165
Pee Wee's Big Adventure (Burton, 1985) 165
64. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Soderbergh, 1989) 160
65. Blood Simple (Coen, 1984) 156
66. Aliens (Cameron, 1986) 155
67. My Dinner with Andre (Malle, 1981) 154
68. Alice (Svankmajer, 1988) 144
69. Street of Crocodiles (Quay, 1986) 142
70. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Haynes, 1987) 134
71. The Thing (Carpenter, 1982) 133
72. A Room with a View (Ivory, 1985) 132
73. Matewan (Sayles, 1987) 131
74. Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984) 129
75. Shoah (Lanzmann, 1985) 128
76. A Christmas Story (Clark, 1983) 127
Robocop (Verhoeven, 1987) 127
78. Das Boot (Petersen, 1981) 125
Evil Dead 2 (Raimi, 1987) 125
80. Heaven's Gate (Cimino, 1980) 122
81. 28 Up (Apted, 1985) 121
82. Dimensions of Dialogue (Svankmajer, 1982) 120
83. Hail Mary (Godard, 1985) 119
84. Back to the Future (Zemeckis, 1985) 118
Scarface (De Palma, 1983) 118
86. Pauline at the Beach (Rohmer, 1983) 115
87. Repo Man (Cox, 1984) 116
Sherman's March (McElwee, 1986) 116
89. Time Bandits (Gilliam, 1981) 114
90. Bad Blood (Carax, 1986) 112
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Schrader, 1985) 112
92. Akira (Otomo, 1988) 111
93. The Draughtsman's Contact (Greenaway, 1982) 110
94. The Time to Live and the Time to Die (Hou, 1985) 105
95. Drowning by Numbers (Greenaway, 1988) 104
Stop Making Sense (Demme, 1984) 104
97. The Dante Quartet (Brakhage, 1987) 103
98. Black Rain (Imamura, 1989) 102
99. Missing (Costa-Gavras, 1982) 101
Mystery Train (Jarmusch, 1989) 101

[backstreetsbackalright]

I posted something grossly catty, but after a third run through the list I finally found Sans Soleil. Phew.

Still, Blue Velvet?

[Michael]

Yeah, Blue Velvet. Anything wrong with it?

I thought for sure that Raging Bull would reign the master list and it was #1 on my list. Oh well.

One of my all time favorites A Christmas Story made the list. Very happy about that.

[zedz]

That was quick! Thanks Michael. I haven't got into great depth with the selections yet, but at first glimpse this looks like a much more interesting and balanced list than the 70s one turned out to be (at least we got a bit more world cinema into its upper reaches).

Somewhat bitter irony that Blue Velvet tops this list while its sine qua non, Scorpio Rising, got only my lone vote in the sixties list. The amount of Woody Allen, if personally perplexing, is unsurprising. (Most of the films are fine and good, but is he really personally responsible for 10% of the fifty greatest films of this decade?)

I was delighted to find personal favourites such as Berlin Alexanderplatz, Street of Crocodiles and Sherman's March make the grade, against some steep odds; dismayed to find no Edward Yang, who had two films in my top ten. I'll be defending my darlings in the appropriate thread. See you there.

[Hrossa]

I just want to welcome you all to return to Defend Your Darlings.

I also find the final 25 or so titles to be much more interesting than the rest.

[scotty]

I believe that there are actually 101 titles (Zelig and Vagabond take up 40-41). I have no problem with 101. Thanks for doing this. I'm not surprised that Blue Velvet edged my top choice, Fanny & Alexander, but what a close race.

[bunuelian]

Come and See isn't there? Or am I just missing it?

[Michael]

bunuelian, Come and See is #59.

[Hrossa]

I just noticed -- NO LOVE STREAMS?!!

[Michael]

Hrossa, Love Streams received 88 points so it didn't make the final list.

Scotty, thanks for pointing out the error.

[scotty]

Who would have guessed a few years ago that in a top 100 of the 80s list, Heaven's Gate would make it but not Platoon? And that Full Metal Jacket would rank 29th with no Platoon in sight? Oliver Stone's reputation continues to sink (payback for Alexander?).

[scotty]

Woody Allen: first Annie Hall wins the 70s, then he places 6 films in the top 52 of the 80s: Crimes & Misdemeanors (9), Hanna and Her Sisters (21), Stardust Memories (31), Broadway Danny Rose (32 and my favorite of the six), Zelig (40), The Purple Rose of Cairo (52). I have a soft spot for Radio Days too, though I didn't list it. All this without the aid of The Criterion Effect. Is this a sign of the weakness of 80s cinema in general (as Nick James and other writers have asserted) or were the 80s really Allen's best decade? Personally, I love the guy, and "I don't mean to be didactic or facetious."

[toiletduck!]

Alright, Pee-Wee!

Paul Reubens breathing down the back of Berlin Alexanderplatz's neck? That makes me grin.

-Toilet Dcuk

[bunuelian]

Thanks, Michael. I was blinded by the light.

[Dylan]

Nice job again Michael, and it's a tremendous joy to see "Blue Velvet" triumph in the top spot (it was my #2 pick, after "Elephant Man"...I believe it's been posted elsewhere, but Woody Allen declared that he too felt "Blue Velvet" was the greatest film of the 80s).

Speaking of Woody Allen, I'd say that his prime was from 1977 with "Annie Hall" to 1992 with "Husbands and Wives," and that the 1980's are right in the middle of it (so I'd call the 80s an Allen goldmine). Nine of his 80s films made my top 50 (including some that didn't make the masterlist: "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" and "Another Woman"). I'm very pleased to see Allen take as many spots as he did on this list (I can't help but feel surprised at this, as I know next to nobody in real life who actively likes his work, but he is appreciated on this forum...needless to say, I love him). "Heaven's Gate" made #5 on my list, so I was glad to see it on the master list as well.

I don't really have any darlings to defend (all of the best films on my list made it other than those two aforementioned of Allen's). I guess I could say that "The Last Emperor" didn't make it high enough, but that's being picky. Nice job Michael, I'll get the 90s ready soon!

Dylan

[Kambei]

I have no problem with the Woody Allen either! Quite a few were on my list as well. I'm glad to see some comedy recognized, as it seems to be held up to a higher standard than most types of films on these lists (i.e. the missing "A Fish Called Wanda"). Also glad to see an "Up" documentary recognized. I guess people were waiting for the big "reveal" of Neil at age 28?

[kieslowski_67]

No "Landscape in the mist"? No Kusturica's "time of the gypsies" or "when father was away"?

And "Berlin Alexanderplatz" at 61 behind the likes of "blow out" and "Zelig"?

[backstreetsbackalright]

And "Berlin Alexanderplatz" at 61 behind the likes of "blow out" and "Zelig"?

Probably most haven't had an opportunity (or, as in my case, made the time) for a viewing of Fassbinder's lengthy epic. I won't even bother until the rumored Criterion discs come out. Plus, I still haven't seen Heimat (I know, I know, for shame!), and I'm a little more enthusiastic about that one.

[denti alligator]

No Kusturica's "time of the gypsies"

I voted for this and could have sworn I saw it on the final list. Am I imagining something? It's not there now.

[backstreetsbackalright]

No Kusturica's "time of the gypsies"

I voted for this and could have sworn I saw it on the final list. Am I imagining something? It's not there now.

It was Number 99 when the list was first posted, but then there was that 101 Movies oddity, so probably that's what's up.