Author Topic: Top Films of All Time  (Read 944311 times)

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5110 on: August 14, 2019, 08:53:05 PM »
What are people's thoughts on having non-Theatrical features in their list?

I know everyone gets to make their own rules, but I'm considering revising my Essentials and removing all Short Films and Television Work (something that's even murkier now with Netflix airing features.)

Aside from the 24 Shorts that would remove...
208 A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
294 Vanishing Act
295 John Adams
362 Duel     ... (though this did get a theatrical release too.)
373 My Voyage to Italy
392 Indictment: The McMartin Trial
478 Abigail's Party
482 Threads

Bondo

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 23082
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5111 on: August 14, 2019, 09:17:40 PM »
Drawing the line between feature-length non-serial works just because one started in a theatre, one went straight to DVD/straight to streaming, and one played first on a TV channel, seems to be mistaking venue for medium. The defining characteristic of "television" for me is being serial in nature, with some limits on the gaps between iterations (so as to distinguish film series).

Sam the Cinema Snob

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26795
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5112 on: August 14, 2019, 11:11:07 PM »
It's your list. You make the rules. I err on the side of being exclusive but to each his/her own.

smirnoff

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26251
    • smirnoff's Top 100
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5113 on: August 14, 2019, 11:40:17 PM »
Something like Abigail's party is film-length, so I would count it. John Adams is a mini-series, so I wouldn't count that. That's just me though.

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5114 on: August 15, 2019, 12:12:39 AM »
Shoah is longer than John Adams and Satantango is nearly as long. I choose to count The Human Condition as one film, even though it's sometimes listed as a trilogy and sometimes as a series of 6 films, to match the six volume novel. I guess that means someone could make a case for Harry Potter as one film, though I would say 'no' because of the different directors involved and the films were shot separately.

On the other end, I will not be removing Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, even though it's only 43 minutes. What makes this harder to classify is because of legal reasons the film was never allowed to be shown theatrically. That brings to mind Sita Sings the Blues and Girl Walk//All Day, two titles I know MartinTeller will agree should be allowed even though they were never released theatrically.

MartinTeller

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 17864
  • martinteller.wordpress.com
    • my movie blog
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5115 on: August 15, 2019, 09:18:58 AM »
It begs the question... if "released theatrically" is a necessary qualification, then shouldn't you only count movies that you saw in a theater? Otherwise, why is that an important rule for what defines a movie?

...and then that makes me wonder what my top 250 would look like if I restricted it to movies I saw in a theater. It would be a whole lot different. I could still include Fanny & Alexander, but would it have to be the theatrical version?


The only films from my list I've seen in a theater:

8. Alien (1979, Ridley Scott)
27. The Black Stallion (1979, Carroll Ballard)
33. Boogie Nights (1997, Paul Thomas Anderson)
42. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, Steven Spielberg)
57. Do the Right Thing (1989, Spike Lee)
64. The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Irvin Kershner)
71. Fanny and Alexander (1982, Ingmar Bergman)
72. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009, Wes Anderson)
73. Fargo (1996, Joel and Ethan Coen)
79. Gimme the Loot (2012, Adam Leon)
82. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, James Foley)
89. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004, Alfonso Cuaron)
101. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989, Steven Spielberg)
104. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)
121. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002, Peter Jackson)
132. Midnight Run (1988, Martin Brest)
163. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982, Alan Parker)
166. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, Steven Spielberg)
175. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, Wes Anderson)
176. Safe (1995, Todd Haynes)
190. Silent Hill (2006, Christophe Gans)

And a few of these I'm not entirely sure of.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2019, 09:28:46 AM by MartinTeller »

Junior

  • Bert Macklin, FBI
  • Global Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 28709
  • What's the rumpus?
    • Benefits of a Classical Education
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5116 on: August 15, 2019, 10:52:54 AM »
I have two non-theatrically released movies on my list (Fanny and Alexander TV cut and Girl Walk//All Day) but I'd be surprised if they have never been projected in a theater.

Anyways, here's my yearly update. Asterisk next to a movie I saw in a movie theater (42 in total)

100. Mulholland Drive
99. Cloud Atlas*
98. Scream
97. 7th Heaven*
96. Kwaidan
95. Aguirre: The Wrath of God
94. Rebecca
93. The Blair Witch Project*
92. Blade Runner
91. Jurassic Park*
90. Minding the Gap
89. Close Encounters of the Third Kind*
88. Fantasia
87. Personal Shopper
86. The Searchers*
85. High Life*
84. The Shop Around the Corner*
83. The Silence of the Lambs
82. Catch Me If You Can*
81. Memories of Murder
80. Starship Troopers
79. Big Trouble in Little China
78. Princess Mononoke
77. Us*
76. Modern Times*
75. There Will Be Blood
74. A propos de Nice
73. The Sixth Sense
72. The Rules of the Game
71. Sunshine*
70. The General
69. The Act of Killing*
68. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
67. Zodiac*
66. Cries and Whispers*
65. Before Midnight*
64. Pan's Labyrinth*
63. Days of Heaven
62. Fantastic Mr. Fox
61. The Mortal Storm*
60. Hot Fuzz*
59. Night and Fog
58. Girl Walk//All Day
57. The Lion in Winter
56. Skyfall*
55. The Quiet Man*
54. Hiroshima Mon Amour
53. Phantom Thread*
52. All That Jazz
51. We Need To Talk About Kevin*
50. Planes, Train, and Automobiles
49. An American Werewolf in London
48. Inglourious Basterds*
47. Burning
46. The World's End*
45. Lawrence of Arabia
44. The Wind Rises
43. Alien*
42. Mission: Impossible--Fallout*
41. Do the Right Thing
40. Germany Year Zero
39. Moonrise Kingdom*
38. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
37. An American in Paris
36. Star Wars: The Last Jedi*
35. Halloween*
34. Daughters of the Dust
33. Mad Max: Fury Road*
32. The Conversation
31. The Fly
30. The Tree of Life*
29. Cleo from 5 to 7
28. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
27. The Double Life of Veronique
26. Hoop Dreams
25. All About My Mother
24. The Red Shoes
23. Paddington 2
22. The Innocents
21. If Beale Street Could Talk*
20. The Long Day Closes*
19. Leave No Trace
18. Rear Window*
17. City Lights
16. The Exorcist
15. Wendy and Lucy
14. Miller's Crossing
13. The Shining*
12. The Young Girls of Rochefort
11. Jaws*
10. The Night of the Hunter
9. West Side Story
8. High and Low
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse*
6. The Thing*
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark*
4. The Sound of Music
3. Stalker
2. Call Me By Your Name*
1. Fanny and Alexander (TV cut)*
« Last Edit: August 15, 2019, 12:04:35 PM by Junior »
Check out my blog of many topics

“I’m not a quitter, Kimmy! I watched Interstellar all the way to the end!”

Teproc

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3529
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5117 on: August 15, 2019, 11:23:46 AM »
I have two non-theatrically released movies on my list (Fanny and Alexander TV cut and Girl Walk//All Day) but I'd be surprised if they have never been projected in a theater.

Seeing as I just watched the TV cut of Fanny and Alexander two days ago in a theater (with a 15 minute intermission essentially), I can reassure you on that front.

I might write a review. I think the theatrical cut has its merits as well. Both are pretty great.

With the "seen in theaters" restriction, my top 100 would be...

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Tonari no Totoro / My Neighbour Totoro
6. Tengoku to jigoku / High & Low
9. Vertigo
16. Rear Window
24. Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléôpatre / Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
31. WALL-E
32. Room
34. Fanny och Alexander / Fanny & Alexander
35. Unforgiven
39. Ran
44. Stalker
45. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
48. Der letzte Mann / The Last Laugh
50. Se7en
55. Timbuktu
56. Relatos salvajes / Wild Tales
63. La La Land
64. The Hateful Eight
68. Persona
70. Jackie
71. 2001: A Space Odyssey
71. Blade Runner 2049
75. Boyhood
77. Spotlight
81. Interstellar
82. Umimachi Diary / Our Little Sister
85. Nocturama
87. Les ogres / Ogres
89. Victoria
93. Taxi
95. Finding Nemo
97. The Martian

33, so basically a third.
Legend: All-Time Favorite | Great  |  Very Good  |  Good  |  Poor  |  Bad

Letterbox'd

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5118 on: August 15, 2019, 12:10:29 PM »
It begs the question... if "released theatrically" is a necessary qualification, then shouldn't you only count movies that you saw in a theater? Otherwise, why is that an important rule for what defines a movie?
This would void more than half of my Essentials.

Girl Walk never got an official release, but it was made available for theatrical screenings. The official site had a page for if you wanted to host a Girl Walk party at your local theater.


Just looking at my list for this decade I have to decide about...
The American Scream (played at Fantastic Fest before premiering on Amazon TV)
Blackfish (Festival releases only before playing on CNN)
The External World (Short film)
Feast (Short film)
I'm Here (Short film produced by Absolut Vodka)
The Saga of Biorn (Short film)
Temple Grandin (HBO TV Movie)
Toy Story of Terror (ABC Television Special)

I'll probably keep the two documentaries and ditch the rest.

Knocked Out Loaded

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1914
  • I might remember it all differently tomorrow.
Re: Top Films of All Time
« Reply #5119 on: August 15, 2019, 04:15:27 PM »
In Sweden a short movie must be shorter than 72 minutes. In France the necessary prerequisite is around 59 minutes (1600 meters of 35mm film). In the U.S. the running time must be 40 minutes or less.

No rules is the best rule.
Extraordinary (81-100˚) | Very good (61-80˚) | Good (41-60˚) | Fair (21-40˚) | Poor (0-20˚)

 

love