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Post by mahoney on Oct 17, 2008 10:34:32 GMT
Good thread this, I know some people find lists boring but I'll be sure to check out any films I've not seen on some of these lists!
01: The Godfather [1972] 02: Buffalo '66 [1998] 03: Pulp fiction [1994] 04: Quadrophenia [1979] 05: The Shining [1980] 06: The Long Good Friday [1980] 07: Straw Dogs [1971] 08: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [1974] 09: Django [1966] 10: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [1975]
Noteable mentions to Kill Bill, This Is England, Psycho, Little Miss Sunshine & Vanishing Point.
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Post by salvador on Oct 17, 2008 10:43:29 GMT
Buffalo 66 was on Five US last night, I had never seen it before, amazing film!
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Ria
Full Member
Posts: 55
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Post by Ria on Oct 17, 2008 11:59:49 GMT
Hey, Great thread. Wow, what an amazingly tricky task this was. I've been thinking about this for ages and getting nowhere, so now i'm just gonna write it down and post it quick, and repent at leisure! There's no way that this can be definitive top ten EVER, so I'm going for a bit of a mixture. Also, in no particular order, so do what you like with the points ;D 1) Grey Gardens 2) Rushmore 3) Bill Douglas Trilogy 4) Morvern Callar 5) The Apartment 6) Psycho 7) Werckmeister Harmonies 8) The Age of Innocence 9) Short Film About Love (the full length version) 10) A Matter of Life and Death Thats it! I'm at work just now, so can't give too fulsome reasons. To be honest your lucky to have been spared my gibberish rambling. If anyone wants to call me out of any of them feel free ;D Stuff that just missed out: American Movie, Badlands, Sunrise, The Return, Uzak, Superman... No room for a Meadows film! Arrgh. Would definitley be Room for Romeo Brass though. No Kubrick either. Also pretty much anything by Lynch, Tsai-MIng Liang, Roy Andersson, Tarkovsky, Malick. So many others...Could do with a directors top ten actually. Buffalo 66 was on Five US last night, I had never seen it before, amazing film! Agreed. Such a great film, I absolutely love Angelica Houston in it. The bit when Ben Gazzara 'sings' is defintely a candidate for the favourites scenes thread too!
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Post by Bill Edwards on Oct 17, 2008 12:55:55 GMT
1. Once Upon A Time In The West 2. 2001: A Space Odyssey 3. The Shining 4. Walkabout 5. Picnic At Hanging Rock 6. Laputa: The Castle In The Sky 7. Aliens 8. Get Carter 9. Dead Man's Shoes 10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Bubblin’ under… Wild At Heart : Belleville Rendez-Vous : Star Wars 4, 5 and 6 (that’s ANH, TESB and ROTJ fact fans): This Is England : Leone's 'Eastwood trilogy' : The Amazing Mr Blunden : Spirited Away : Dune : Donnie Darko : Trading Places : Goodfellas : Being John Malkovich : Some Like It Hot : Les Diaboliques (Les version original) : Barefoot In The Park and many, many more…
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Ria
Full Member
Posts: 55
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Post by Ria on Oct 17, 2008 13:21:47 GMT
Hey,
Some nice picks there. I'd choose Don't Look Now (or even Bad Timing) over Walkabout any day though, even though the first 20 minutes or so are pretty brilliant. Just don't get on with it so well after the dad exits. Love Picnic at Hanging Rock.
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Post by jill on Oct 17, 2008 13:23:54 GMT
Ok people, today's update (including Chromebaby)
17 votes, 127 films mentioned.
Maniac’s top ten so far:
1. Dead Man's Shoes 40 2. Taxi Driver 39 3. The Shining 32 4 Harold and Maude 23 5. Clockwork Orange 21/Godfather (part one) 21 7. Buffalo 66 20 8. The Big Lebowski 19/Rushmore 19 10 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 18/ Blue Velvet 18/Amelie 18
Disclaimer: these running totals are being done very quickly, so there might be small errors!
Strange how so many great films are only getting one mention-e.g. Psycho. Still a classy list though.... note to self, must watch Buffalo 66.....
Edit: Just looked up Laputa: The Castle In The Sky on imdb because it sounds kind of fairytaleish and I like stuff like that if it's done well. Looks interesting...another one I'll be giving a watch in the not too distant future. It looks like the only DVD version currently available is dubbed-will that spoil it?
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Post by bleahaa on Oct 18, 2008 0:21:52 GMT
Hmmmmmmmmmm, this isn't gonna be my definitive list but a pretty good idea. You'll see early on that my favourites are that of the 'grand' variety, and the top ones are more to do with my childhood and fueled my ambitions to become a filmmaker and cannot be ignored.
1. Star Wars (1977) & The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - I can never separate them, they are and have always been my two comfort films. It's almost uncool to like Star Wars now, even though I kinda dig the prequels for what they are. But Star Wars perfectly captures the imagination, it does exactly what George Lucas wanted; it takes the audience to somewhere else away from their troubled lives for 2 hours to another universe. And it is a fantastically realised vision. I used to be a MEGA Star Wars freak, but have somewhat cooled down since 2005. But slipping the original trilogy into the DVD player instantly reminds me that I'll always love these films. I literally can't remember the first time watching them, so they have existed 'forever' as far as my conscious life is concerned. The Force is my religion, George Lucas is my God (and like all Gods, they only burn brightly for a little while).
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Already there is a pattern emerging here. Lucas and Spielberg seem to be obsessed with their youth, nostalgia and recreating the films they used to watch and updating them with new technology and technique, and they achieved their goal, they gave a new generation new adventures and characters to idolise. It's what I think I'm obsessed with too on a certain level as a filmmaker. Ignoring that, Raiders is a perfect film, doesn't miss a beat, highly efficient, energetic, hilarious, exciting, rousing, involving, mystical... just doesn't put a foot wrong. It's a shame really that this film is so good, because the sequels had no chance, especially since they're crippled creatively with being 'Indiana Jones' films, whereas Raiders is just a film with a character called Indiana Jones.
3. The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003) - The trilogy is inseparable in my opinion, Peter Jackson's epic achievement is one of the most absorbing tales put on the cinema screen, and again it transports you to an amazingly well realised world... for 11 hours (if watching the extended editions).
4. The Fountain (2006) - Aronofsky's best work, an extraordinarily amazing film that speaks to the soul rather than the mind. It's earnestness could be a bit much for some, and the 'spirituality for beginners' approach easily criticised for being self-indulgent, but for a 90 minute film it says a lot and does so with such style and emotional resonance that it's one of those rare, life affirming films, and can be used as therapy to treat grief as much as celebrate love.
5. The Thin Red Line (1998) - Malick returned with, in my opinion, his best film. It is one of the most beautiful, intellectually and emotionally engaging studies of the human soul that I've seen. It is both thought-provoking and incredibly visceral.
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - A film I hated the first time I watched it (was too young to appreciate). Thankfully I caught it again and was knocked back worse than a nightclub move gone wrong. It really does allow you to develop your own interpretation, and aesthetically its all over the sci-fi films that came after it. Not my favourite Kubrick film if I was to do a 'Kubrick list', but this is the film that affected me most so on it goes.
7. The Terminator (1984) - Not a subtle film by any means, but it is a rich one. Can be enjoyed for the action elements or the ever relevant themes of technology and humankind's downfall. Also a creatively impressive, low budget action film that still stands up (mostly) nearly 25 years later. The sequel is an immense action film, but the heart and grittiness of the original, including the sheer horror of the high concept premise, makes it a more rewarding experience.
8. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) - One of my favourite comedies, insanely rewatchable, perfectly captures the essence of alienation from your past in a rather extreme way. The entire film is quotable and Cusack has never been better (the highschool fight involving the pen makes it better than High Fidelity in my book). Some might class this as a guilty pleasure, but I think its just a case of everyone working at the top of their game and it pays off.
9. Blade Runner (1982) - Another sci-fi film. Another one that I didn't go for too much on first viewing. For anyone into existential theory, this is a nicely packaged summary on some of the great writings. It's a beautiful film, both philosophically and technically, an absolute essential for anyone interested in production design or cinematography. The DVD release is a true gift, and a comparison of the theatrical cut with the Director's or Final cut shows how impactful images alone can be (or images and music). I never liked the narration, but I know some do.
10. Tokyo Story (1953) - An impossibly universal film, it's never going to be irrelevant. I think this is the one time where a film made me understand other people in an epiphany like manner... more accurately, my parents. And then of course I think it also helped that I saw this film at a particularly bad time in my life so that it also helped with forging the beliefs that I still hold to this day on life and all that shit. This might sit odd on my list since Ozu's directing approach is more minimalist, especially in terms of composition, and the rest of the films here are high on spectacle and sugar coating, well, everything. But I think anyone could watch this film and appreciate the observations made.
Damn, I nearly made it to 10 without including any foreign language films ;D
Anyway, other films/directors I respect/enjoy:
Films (in no order) - The Rock, Face/Off, Breathless, Alphaville, Die Hard, Aliens, Black Hawk Down, Back to the Future, Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, Hard Boiled/The Killer, Memento, The Usual Suspects, The Big Lebowski, Dumb & Dumber, Predator, Seven, Fight Club, Hot Fuzz, Night of the Living Dead, Evil Dead 2, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West/America, Solaris, Stalker, Mirror, The Prestige, Glengarry Glen Ross, Happy Gilmore, Heat, Collateral, High Fidelity, History of Violence, Scanners, House of Flying Daggers, The Bourne Supremacy, Toy Story, Wall-E, The Shining, Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, THX 1138, Magnolia, The Cable Guy... bah this could go on forever and I only seem to remember American films ;D
Directors - Méliès, Spielberg, Nolan, Truffaut, Godard, Scorsese, Kubrick, Greengrass, Lean, Boyle, Bresson, Ridley Scott, Peter Jackson, Fincher, Coen Brothers, Soderbergh, Malick, Cronenberg, PTA, Alexander Payne, Jonze, Ang Lee, Wes Anderson, Mike Nichols, Tarkovsky...
Damn, I'm struggling now to stay awake. Oh well it's probably fairly faithful of what I rate. Mostly.
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Post by jill on Oct 18, 2008 8:03:01 GMT
Oi, no doubling up ;D I've given the points to Star Wars (which. unfashionable or not, is a great film imo!!) Nice to see Tokyo Story get a mention.
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Post by salvador on Oct 19, 2008 1:37:50 GMT
Damn it... Cache should have been in my top ten as oppose to The Piano Teacher... cant change but would like it noted!!!
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Post by jill on Oct 19, 2008 7:50:57 GMT
Things haven't changed much since yesterday, but here's how it currently stands:
18 votes, 137 films mentioned.
Maniac’s top twenty so far:
1. Dead Man's Shoes 40 2. Taxi Driver 39 3. The Shining 32 4 Harold and Maude 23 5. Clockwork Orange/Godfarther (part 1) 21 7. Buffalo 66 20 8. The Big Lebowski/Rushmore 19 10 .The Good, The Bad and The Ugly/ Blue Velvet/Amelie 18 13. This Is Spinal Tap/ 2001:A Space Odyssey 16 15. A Room For Romeo Brass/Fargo / Apocalypse Now 14 18. Pulp Fiction 13 19. This is England/ La Haine 11
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Post by Gareth on Oct 19, 2008 10:22:47 GMT
gotta see harold and maude and buffalo 66
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srg
Junior Member
Posts: 40
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Post by srg on Oct 19, 2008 12:02:18 GMT
1. one flew over the cuckoos nest 2. taxi driver 3. saturday night sunday morning 4. this is england 5. mean streets 6. cool hand luke 7. billy liar 8. rocky 9. trainspoting 10. the wickerman
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Post by sammo on Oct 19, 2008 16:56:40 GMT
I will add more sooner, but the only movies I can do from the top of my head is the top 10.
1. The Shining 2. 8 1/2 3. Taxi Driver 4. Vivre Sa Vie 5. Rear Window 6. 2001: A Space Odyssey 7. Mrs. Miniver 8. E.T. 9. Toy Story 10. A Women Under the Influence
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Post by Bill Edwards on Oct 19, 2008 19:12:22 GMT
Edit: Just looked up Laputa: The Castle In The Sky on imdb because it sounds kind of fairytaleish and I like stuff like that if it's done well. Looks interesting...another one I'll be giving a watch in the not too distant future. It looks like the only DVD version currently available is dubbed-will that spoil it? Love me that film I does. Belongs in the category of movies that I came across quite by chance having known nothing about them. Blew me away it did. I've not seen a non-dubbed version but the DVD release has IMHO an inferior dub than the version I have on video tape that I taped off the telly years ago. Everyone I've persuaded to watch it has enjoyed it immensely. BTW, top job you're doing here, Jill. Get your application into NASA as soon as... ;D Hey Ria thanks. Y'know I've never been able to sit through Don't Look Now. Weird. I find it to be over-wrought nonsense and rather boring. I feel that's a really baaaaaad thing to say being a movie fan but it just don't send me. I'm due to give it another try though...
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Post by jill on Oct 19, 2008 20:39:34 GMT
O.K I think I'll do these updates for another couple of days and then stop, so the final ranking's a surprise ;D
20 votes, 147 films mentioned.
Maniac’s top twenty (well 21 actually) so far:
1. Taxi Driver 58 2. The Shining 43 3. Dead Man's Shoes 40 4 Harold and Maude 23 5. 2001:A Space Odyssey 22 6.. Clockwork Orange /Godfather (Part One)/ One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 21 9. Buffalo 66 20 10. The Big Lebowski /Rushmore / This is England 19 13 .The Good, The Bad and The Ugly / Blue Velvet /Amelie 18 16. This Is Spinal Tap 16 17. A Room For Romeo Brass/ Fargo / Apocalypse Now 14 20. Billy Liar/Mean Streets 12
Will give it a go Chromebaby.....I usually avoid dubbed films-would rather read the subs than suffer poor dubbing any day, but I very much doubt there will be another version any time soon. As for doing a good job..many thanks..I got an 'O' level in maths a very long time ago and it's been downhill ever since, so not sure how meaningful this sytem is (sort of logic to it)...
Sammo, I tried to watch 8 1/2 a few weeks back and couldn't get beyond 20 mins.....it's in good company though, 'cause had exactlt the same experience with 2001 (love that film now). Will give it another go.............
I'm using this thread as an opportunity to discover things. I have now watched Gerry and Buffalo 66 (had a VHS version of that one belonging to my daughter on my shelves for years) and by a spooky co-incidence my brother came by today with a copy of Grosse Pointe Blank, so I've now watched that one too. Don't think I'll post in the Last Movie thread though....commenting on people's favourite films is like walking into a mine field (especially on this forum of movie obsessives ;D)
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