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100 Essential Films

posted 20 years ago by monkeeking
43 replies | jump to latest

A local library in association with a film center put out this list. I agree with most of their choices and many are overlooked by people who put their top 100 lists on imdb.

From oldest to most recent:

1. Les Vampires (1915-16)
2. Intolerance (1916)
3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)
4. Nosferatu (1922)
5. Greed (1924)
6. The Navigator (1924)
7. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
8. Metropolis (1925)
9. The General (1927)
10. Napoleon (1927)
11. The Crowd (1928)
12. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
13. Speedy (1928)
14. Un Chien Andalou (1928)
15. The Wind (1928)
16. Pandora’s Box (1929)
17. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
18. The Blue Angel (1930)
19. M (1931)
20. Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
21. King Kong (1933)
22. Duck Soup (1933)
23. Scarface (1933)
24. L’Atlante (1934)
25. Modern Times (1936)
26. La Grande Illusion (1937)
27. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
28. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
29. Olympia (1938)
30. The Rules of The Game (1939)*
31. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
32. Pinocchio (1940)
33. Citizen Kane (1941)
34. The Lady Eve (1941)
35. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
36. Double Indemnity (1944)
37. The Children of Paradise (1945)
38. Beauty And The Beast (1946)
39. Notorious (1946)
40. The Bicycle Thief (1948)
41. Red River (1948)
42. The Third Man (1949)
43. Rashomon (1950)
44. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
45. Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
46. Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
47. Tokyo Story (1953)
48. Ugetsu (1953)
49. Wages of Fear (1953)
50. The Seven Samurai (1954)
51. La Strada (1954)
52. All That Heaven Allows (1955)
53. The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), The World of Apu (1958)
54. Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1956(
55. The Searchers (1956)
56. The Seventh Seal (1956)
57. The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
58. Vertigo (1958)
59. L’Avventura (1959)
60. Breathless (1959)
61. The 400 Blows (1959)
62. Some Like It Hot (1959)
63. La Dolce Vita (1960)
64. Psycho (1960)
65. Jules And Jim (1962)
66. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
67. Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964)
68. Andrei Rublev (1966)
69. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
70. Chimes At Midnight (1966)
71. Belle De Jour (1967)
72. Le Samourai (1967)
73. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
74. Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
75. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
76. The Wild Bunch (1969)
77. Le Boucher (1970)
78. Gimme Shelter (1970)
79. The Conformist (1971)
80. Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)
81. McCabe And Mrs. Miller (1971)
82. The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974)
84. Day For Night (1973)
85. Ali-Fear Eats The Soul
86. Chinatown (1974)
87. The Parallax View (1974)
88. A Woman Under The Influence (1974)
89. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
90. Nashville (1975)
91. Taxi Driver (1976)
92. Network (1976)
93. Apocalypse Now (1979)
94. Raging Bull (1980)
95. Blade Runner (1982)
96. Tootsie (1982)
97. The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
98. Hannah And Her Sisters (1986)
99. Decalogue (1988)
100. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
101. Ju Dou (1989)
102. The Sheltering Sky (1990)
103. Malcolm X (1992)
104. Crumb (1994)
105. Pulp Fiction (1994)
106. Through The Olive Trees (1994)
107. Breaking The Waves (1996)
108. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
109. All About My Mother (1999)
110. Yi Yi (2000)

*Listed as the greatest film by the greatest film director (Jean Renoir).

[–] faraaj-1 12 years ago

I've seen 79 of the 110 films listed (missed over half the silents) and while I enjoy yet usually criticize such lists, I have to admit this is a pretty good list of films. No list can be perfect, but this covers an awful lot of good films...it wouldn't have killed them to include Anatomy of a Murder though...just saying...

Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean..neither tarnished nor afraid..

[–] I_Love_Hutch 10 years ago

Who makes up these self-congratulatory lists?

Okay, here are 25 movies that were both extremely well-done and very entertaining/compelling to watch. And they are just as essential to one's overall movie-going experience as the above mentioned. And some of them even allow the viewer to simply relax and enjoy. I love Marilyn Monroe, and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is so preferable to "Some Like It Hot". Some of them were even directed by men who the critics enjoy revering.

1. The William Castle classic trilogy, "Strait Jacket", "Night Walker", "I Saw What You Did!"
2. "The Tenant" - Roman Polanski
3. "Rosemary's Baby" - Roman Polanski (I like "Chinatown" okay, but never did get all the fuss)
4. "Badlands" - Terrence Malick
5. "3 Women" - Robert Altman
6. "Polyester" - John Waters
7. "The Innocents" - Jack Clayton
8. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - Tobe Hooper
9. "Carrie" - Brian DePalma
10. "Blood and Black Lace" - Mario Bava
11. "A Clockwork Orange" - Stanley Kubrick
12. "Mean Streets" - Martin Scorsese
13. "Umberto D" - De Sica
14. "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" - Scorsese
15. "In a Year With 13 Moons" - Fassbinder
16. "Last House on the Left" - Wes Craven
17. "Glen or Glenda" - Ed Wood, Jr.
18. "Mud Honey" - Russ Meyer
19. "Private Parts" - Paul Bartel
20. "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" - Robert Aldrich
21. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" - Howard Hawks
22. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" - Milos Forman
23. "The Exterminating Angel" - Bunuel
24. "Jaws" - Spielberg
25. "Suspiria" - Argento

[–] rascal67 10 years ago

(I like "Chinatown" okay, but never did get all the fuss)
____________

With CHINATOWN, the devil is in the details. Kind of like 'RB'; but I would say on a more cerebral level. I don't find the characters as appealing or interesting as RB and I also think the 30's LA setting, is not everyone's cup of tea. I don't usually go for this period setting. The last time I watched 'Chinatown'—which was several years ago and had only seen on VHS prior—the framing and dvd presentation enhanced it and I saw glimpses of 'genius', that I hadn't noticed before. It is the clever script and dialogue that really helps the story along and Polanski knew how to milk it.

[–] I_Love_Hutch 10 years ago

Rascal, I guess so. Because I really love Polanski, adore "The Tenant" and "Repulsion" and, of course, RB. Also, I really like "Carnage" and "Knife in the Water". But I could never warm up to "Chinatown" the way it seemed like I was supposed to. It seemed like I was definitely missing something. And I do like period settings, at least early Hollywood period. I like it, but I don't think I get it. Anyway, perhaps I shall give it another try. Thanks for the feedback.

[–] rascal67 10 years ago

I will have to revisit THE TENANT. I haven't seen all of CUL DE SAC or any of KNIFE IN THE WATER. I have both and will have to make an effort. I wasn't so sure about CUL DE SAC and gave up. MACBETH is an interesting watch too; but I really have to be in the mood.

[–] udippel 10 years ago

Oh, why not ...

In the period that I prefer, I'd take out The Maltese Falcon (which is seriously one of my favourites, for the entertainment, but not 'great'), and put in Stagecoach instead (which I like much less, but is a great cornerstone in a whole genre).