Of the top 250 Movies I have seen…

May 18th, 2004 at 1:56 pm (Other)

Mari posted an interesting idea at her blog. She has marked which of the IMDB Top 250 films she has seen, very similar to my earlier post Film Roar: 37% Library DVD Titles Watched where I counted having seen 540 of the 1,447 DVD titles at Multnomah County Libraries. I liked the idea and thought I would take a whack at the list myself. I disagree with many of these films having such high ratings, but am nonetheless proud to say I have seen 80% of the movies listed.

Seen?   Title
Yes 1 Godfather, The (1972)
Yes 2 Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
Yes 3 Godfather: Part II, The (1974)
Yes 4 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)
Yes 5 Schindler’s List (1993)
Yes 6 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)
Yes 7 Shichinin no samurai [Seven Samurai] (1954)
Yes 8 Casablanca (1942)
Yes 9 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
Yes 10 Star Wars (1977) 8.7/10
Yes 11 Citizen Kane (1941)
Yes 12 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Yes 13 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Yes 14 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Yes 15 Rear Window (1954)
Yes 16 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Yes 17 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Yes 18 Usual Suspects, The (1995)
Yes 19 Memento (2000)
Yes 20 North by Northwest (1959)
No 21 12 Angry Men (1957)
Yes 22 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il [The Good, The Bad and the Ugly] (1966)
Yes 23 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Yes 24 Psycho (1960)
Yes 25 Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
Yes 26 Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
Yes 27 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 8.5/10
Yes 28 Goodfellas (1990)
Yes 29 American Beauty (1999)
No 30 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Yes 31 Vertigo
Yes 32 Matrix, The (1999)
No 33 Cidade de Deus (2002)
Yes 34 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
No 35 C’era una volta il West (1968)
Yes 36 Apocalypse Now (1979)
Yes 37 Pianist, The (2002)
Yes 38 Third Man, The (1949)
No 39 Paths of Glory (1957)
Yes 40 Taxi Driver (1976)
Yes 41 Fight Club (1999)
Yes 42 Some Like It Hot (1959)
Yes 43 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
No 44 Double Indemnity (1944)
Yes 45 Boot, Das (1981)
Yes 46 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Yes 47 Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Yes 48 Chinatown (1974)
Yes 49 L.A. Confidential (1997)
Yes 50 Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
No 51 All About Eve (1950)
Yes 52 Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Yes 53 M (1931)
Yes 54 Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
Yes 55 Se7en (1995)
Yes 56 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Yes 57 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
No 58 Rashômon (1950)
Yes 59 Raging Bull (1980)
Yes 60 Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Yes 61 Alien (1979)
Yes 62 American History X (1998)
Yes 63 Sting, The (1973)
Yes 64 Léon (1994)
Yes 65 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Yes 66 Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
Yes 67 Vita è bella, La (1997)
Yes 68 Touch of Evil (1958)
Yes 69 Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
Yes 70 Finding Nemo (2003)
Yes 71 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Yes 72 Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Yes 73 Great Escape, The (1963)
Yes 74 Modern Times (1936)
Yes 75 Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
Yes 76 Amadeus (1984)
Yes 77 On the Waterfront (1954)
Yes 78 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
No 79 Ran (1985)
Yes 80 Annie Hall (1977)
Yes 81 Wo hu cang long [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon] (2000)
Yes 82 Jaws (1975)
Yes 83 Braveheart (1995)
No 84 Apartment, The (1960)
Yes 85 High Noon (1952)
Yes 86 Aliens (1986)
Yes 87 Fargo (1996)
Yes 88 Strangers on a Train (1951)
Yes 89 Shining, The (1980)
Yes 90 Metropolis (1927)
Yes 91 Blade Runner (1982)
Yes 92 Sixth Sense, The (1999)
Yes 93 Donnie Darko (2001)
Yes 94 City Lights (1931)
Yes 95 Duck Soup (1933)
Yes 96 Great Dictator, The (1940)
Yes 97 Sjunde inseglet, Det [The Seventh Seal] (1957)
No 98 General, The (1927)
Yes 99 Dogville (2003)
Yes 100 Princess Bride, The (1987)
Yes 101 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1989)
Yes 102 Mononoke-hime [Princess Mononoke] (1997)
No 103 Notorious (1946)
Yes 104 Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Yes 105 Rebecca (1940)
Yes 106 Toy Story 2 (1999)
Yes 107 Lola rennt [Run Lola Run] (1998)
Yes 108 Big Sleep, The (1946)
No 109 Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
Yes 110 Yojimbo (1961)
Yes 111 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Yes 112 Ladri di biciclette (1948)
Yes 113 Graduate, The (1967)
Yes 114 Patton (1970)
Yes 115 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
No 116 It Happened One Night (1934)
Yes 117 Deer Hunter, The (1978)
Yes 118 Manhattan (1979)
Yes 119 Forrest Gump (1994)
Yes 120 Glory (1989)
No 121 Searchers, The (1956)
No 122 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
No 123 Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
No 124 Mystic River (2003)
No 125 Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Yes 126 African Queen, The (1951)
Yes 127 Ben-Hur (1959)
Yes 128 Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
No 129 Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Yes 130 Unforgiven (1992)
Yes 131 Green Mile, The (1999)
Yes 132 Hable con ella (2002)
Yes 133 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Yes 134 Stalag 17 (1953)
No 135 Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
Yes 136 Shrek (2001)
Yes 137 Elephant Man, The (1980)
No 138 Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Yes 139 Night of the Hunter, The (1955)
Yes 140 Gone with the Wind (1939)
Yes 141 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Yes 142 Christmas Story, A (1983)
No 143 Wild Bunch, The (1969)
Yes 144 Back to the Future (1985)
No 145 Straight Story, The (1999)
Yes 146 Platoon (1986)
No 147 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Yes 148 Hustler, The (1961)
Yes 149 Amores perros (2000)
Yes 150 Smultronstället [Wild Strawberries] (1957)
Yes 151 Young Frankenstein (1974)
Yes 152 Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
Yes 153 Gold Rush, The (1925)
Yes 154 Die Hard (1988)
Yes 155 Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Yes 156 His Girl Friday (1940)
Yes 157 Lost in Translation (2003)
Yes 158 Life of Brian (1979)
Yes 159 Bronenosets Potyomkin [Battleship Potemkin](1925)
Yes 160 Spartacus (1960)
Yes 161 Grande illusion, La (1937)
No 162 Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962)
Yes 163 Charade (1963)
Yes 164 Quatre cents coups, Les (1959)
Yes 165 Gladiator (2000)
No 166 Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
No 167 Festen (1998)
Yes 168 Conversation, The (1974)
Yes 169 Almost Famous (2000)
No 170 Ying xiong (2002)
Yes 171 Sling Blade (1996)
Yes 172 Toy Story (1995)
Yes 173 Roman Holiday (1953)
Yes 174 Magnolia (1999)
Yes 175 Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)
Yes 176 Night at the Opera, A (1935)
No 177 All the President’s Men (1976)
Yes 178 Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)
Yes 179 Brazil (1985)
No 180 Insider, The (1999)
Yes 181 Ed Wood (1994)
Yes 182 Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
No 183 To Be or Not to Be (1942)
No 184 Killing, The (1956)
Yes 185 Being John Malkovich (1999)
No 186 Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Yes 187 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Yes 188 Exorcist, The (1973)
No 189 Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Yes 190 Stand by Me (1986)
Yes 191 Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Yes 192 Harvey (1950)
Yes 193 Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Yes 194 Terminator, The (1984)
Yes 195 Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
Yes 196 Gandhi (1982)
No 197 Hotaru no haka (1988)
Yes 198 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Yes 199 Groundhog Day (1993)
No 200 Lion in Winter, The (1968)
Yes 201 This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Yes 202 Trainspotting (1996)
Yes 203 Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Yes 204 Whale Rider (2002)
Yes 205 Right Stuff, The (1983)
Yes 206 Adaptation. (2002)
No 207 21 Grams (2003)
Yes 208 Rain Man (1988)
No 209 Ikiru (1952)
No 210 Big Fish (2003)
Yes 211 Network (1976)
Yes 212 Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Yes 213 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
No 214 Laura (1944)
Yes 215 Strada, La (1954)
Yes 216 8½ (1963)
Yes 217 Stagecoach (1939)
Yes 218 King Kong (1933)
Yes 219 X2 (2003)
No 220 39 Steps, The (1935)
Yes 221 Snatch. (2000)
Yes 222 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Yes 223 Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, La (1928)
Yes 224 Big Lebowski, The (1998)
No 225 Others, The (2001)
Yes 226 Untouchables, The (1987)
Yes 227 In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Yes 228 Rio Bravo (1959)
Yes 229 Thin Man, The (1934)
Yes 230 Planet of the Apes (1968)
No 231 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
Yes 232 Minority Report (2002)
No 233 Red River (1948)
No 234 Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Yes 235 Traffic (2000)
Yes 236 Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
No 237 In America (2002)
Yes 238 Fantasia (1940)
No 239 Sleuth (1972)
Yes 240 Good Will Hunting (1997)
No 241 Die xue shuang xiong The Killer] (1989)
Yes 242 Henry V (1989)
Yes 243 Being There (1979)
Yes 244 Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
No 245 Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Yes 246 Enfants du paradis, Les (1945)
Yes 247 Heat (1995)
No 248 Quiet Man, The (1952)
Yes 249 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Yes 250 Clerks. (1994)

Seen 199 79.6%
Not Seen 51 20.4%

6 Comments

  1. Mari said,

    May 18, 2004 at 11:10 pm

    Wow… I can definitely believe that you’ve seen all those movies — what I can’t believe is that you have never seen 12 Angry Men… I really like that movie…

    we should get together and I can try to catch up with your film totals :)

  2. Nick said,

    May 19, 2004 at 11:02 pm

    It was easier to put all the movies I haven’t seen down, 32 of them. I’ll post in a minute the movies you need to see and in order that you should see them. Some, like the previous poster has pointed out, are shameful.

    ONES I HAVEN’T SEEN
    —-

    Cidade de Deus (2002) [City of God]
    Paths of Glory (1957)
    Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) [Spirited Away]
    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    Ran (1985)
    Dogville (2003)
    Lola rennt [Run Lola Run] (1998)
    Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
    Mystic River (2003)
    Night of the Hunter, The (1955)
    Straight Story, The (1999)
    Amores perros (2000)
    Smultronstället [Wild Strawberries] (1957)
    Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
    Festen (1998)
    Ying xiong (2002)
    Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
    To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Hotaru no haka
    Lion in Winter, The (1968)
    21 Grams (2003)
    Ikiru (1952)
    Strada, La
    Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
    Red River (1948)
    In America (2002)
    Sleuth
    Die xue shuang xiong [The Killer] (1989)
    Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
    Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
    Enfants du paradis, Les (1945)
    Quiet Man, The (1952)

  3. Nick said,

    May 20, 2004 at 12:31 am

    Okay, here are the ones you need to see and some reasons why. (btw, there are definitely some on that list that shouldn’t be. Big Fish? Ugh.)

    * 12 Angry Men (1957): I can think of few movies that can so well engage the audience with only one set and a static set of characters. Lifeboat and Rope, both Hitchcock films. Rear Window to a lesser degree, too. This movie established a classic theme and narrative that’s been mimicked over and over. But the original remains the best. Great cast and Fonda was perfectly chosen for the lead.

    * Sunset Blvd. (1950): Film noir classic with many memorable lines and shots. How many films and TV shows started with a dead body speaking to the viewer from beyond after this.

    * Double Indemnity (1944): This is the epitomy of the fast-talking film noir crime drama with a archetypal femme fatale.

    * All About Eve (1950): Bette Davis at her best and bitchiest.

    * Rashômon (1950): Another movie that’s been mimicked in TV and movies ever since. But it’s more than just a clever story about disparate viewpoints. It’s also Kurosawa and so expertly directed.

    * Apartment, The (1960): A romantic comedy that comes across authentic. Jack Lemmon is fantastic. This movie has so much more life to it and woeful heart to it than most romantic comedies.

    * Notorious (1946): Classic Hitchcock more about the characters than the suspense at times. But the suspense is certainly there. There are some great scenes and some fantastic acting. The ending can be a let down, but the more I’ve seen this movie, the more I really appreciate its ending. (I own this.)

    * It Happened One Night (1934): One of the first romantic/screwball comedies that really highlights Gable’s charisma.

    * Searchers, The (1956): Ford’s westerns always had meaningful moral issues, but this is the king of them, imo. John Wayne just had so much presence, but in movies like this you also see how much he brought to the characters as a true actor. Interestingly, this and Notorious share their endings in a way. The plot structure of this movie is unlike most westerns you’re likely to see. This is the type of movie that is myth as well as entertainment, the type of story that would have been told by Homer milleniums ago.

    * Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004): Better than the first one, I think, but also quite different. It’s not a great movie, but it’s pretty darned good.

    * Philadelphia Story, The (1940): Possibly my favorite romantic/screwball comedy of all time. Just an excellent film. (I own it, btw.) Stewart, Grant, Hepburn — what a powerhouse trio.

    * Cool Hand Luke (1967): I really can’t believe you haven’t seen this. This is the type of movie that made the late ’60s and into the ’70s an excellent period for film. Not only is this one of the most fun movies I can think of with classic bits. But it also speaks to alienation and the ’60s generation’s distrust of society’s constraints. There’s also a hell of a lot of religious symbolism in the movie, despite the big soapy boobies on the car windshield. (Now you want to see it.)

    * Grapes of Wrath, The (1940): Despite a couple of speeches, this is a very moving film. You feel the despair of the depression, but also are given hope. Excellent acting and, of course, an excellent story from Steinbeck. An easy pick as one of the best American movies of all time. Wonderful photography, too. Great use of shadows.

    * Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): The lightest dark comedy I can imagine. This is a very fun movie.

    * Wild Bunch, The (1969): My favorite Peckinpah. (I own this, as well.) There are no good guys in a Peckinpah movie. You’ll see some of the influences for both the Wachowski brothers and Tarantino in this film. It’s a great ensemble piece with excellent directing. It’s mostly a fun, violent western, but there’s more there.

    * All Quiet on the Western Front (1930): Certainly one of the best anti-war films of all time. Knowing your political bent, Leopoldo, this is probably a perfect time to see this movie.

    * Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962): John Wayne *and* Jimmy Stewart — does it get any better? Here’s another western where the characters and story transcend the genre and transcend movies. What happened to movies that were both entertaining and meaningful?

    * All the President’s Men (1976): How do you make a story about politics and journalism exciting? You make this movie. Really. A lot of the energy comes from the performances by Redford and Hoffman, especially Hoffman.

    * Dog Day Afternoon (1975): Pacino while he still wasn’t a caricature of himself.

    * 39 Steps, The (1935): One of Hitchcock’s earliest films where he was truly being the director we would come to know. The ending is questionable, but it’s a fun movie and interesting to watch as a piece of cinema history.

    * Others, The (2001): We’ve had a few really good spooky movies in the last decade: Sixth Sense, The Ring, and this. I think the end is a letdown, but the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

    * Beauty and the Beast (1991): Really, Leopold, how can you call yourself an animation geek and not have seen this classic. Sure, it’s Disney, but it solidified a formula and may be the best of the modern Disney musicals.

  4. kelly84 said,

    May 26, 2004 at 6:29 am

    hey guys, ive seen a lot of the films on the list but i really wanna see more foreign language ones,i just dont know where to start!!! if ne one has n e sugestions plese help me out,
    ive seen the following, before u suggest them,

    Battle Royal
    Amelie
    Audition
    Iron Monkey
    Hard Boiled- not great!!
    Lady Snowblood, Blizzard from the netherworld
    City of God
    El Mariachi

    as you can see its a pretty short list!! any sugestions would be apreciated!!

  5. James said,

    August 4, 2004 at 4:58 pm

    Looking for good foriegn films. Wow! where to start. Here are a few I suggest;

    Wings of Desire
    Empire of the Sun
    The Scent of Green Papaya
    Belle de Jour
    Diabolique
    Run Lola Run
    Amores Perros
    Russian Ark
    In The Mood For Love
    Withnail and I (not quite foriegn, British)
    Dreams (Akira Kurosawa)
    Ikiru
    Eat Drink Man Woman
    Bon Voyage
    Artemisia
    Wild Strawberries
    The Hairdressers Wife
    Y Tu Mama Tambien
    Baxter
    Europa Europa
    The Red Lantern
    Fantastic Planet
    Three Colors (Red, White and Blue are all good)

    That is all that come to mind now, but should be a good start.

  6. Lou P. said,

    November 21, 2006 at 2:20 pm

    I found this page looking for top movie lists; if you haven’t seen it yet, I have to reiterate the Run Lola Run recommendation. It’s an excellent film.

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