You should definitely watch the original Dangerous Liasons with Malcovich, Close, Pfeifer etc. It's an absloute classic.

I highly recommend the following from my list....

The Departed - really surprised its not mentioned more in this thread, defo in my top 5
The Usual Suspects - also excellent, top 5 too
Leon - not mentioned much here either, brilliant film
The Big Lebowski - my favourite comedy
Pulp Fiction - a must see, Tarantinos best effort
City of God - great foreign language film
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - not to everyones tastes, surreal but brilliant
LA Confidential - excellent cop drama
Hunt for the Red October - classic submarine drama
Silence of the Lambs - superb intense thriller, surely enough recommendations to see this one (!)

Try some Ghibli ones - my faves are Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away

From your list i also think you will enjoy Stardust.



not great viewing mate! better style of play last season tho, hope Malky continues the improvement

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God

City of God goes on the list after yet another reccomendation for that one. Just two more to find now. I will save one spot for whatever film gets furthest in the world cup that I have not seen. The last spot ought to be a Western as I don't really watch Westerns and this is all about broadening my film viewing. So what is the best Western ever?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly apparently
round 1 a results
round 1 b results

round 2 results

re Westerns, I'd pick The Outlaw Josey Wales (or the lightweight but very enjoyable Butch and Sundance).

Or how about Unforgiven - appeals to everyone whether they like westerns or not IMO.

I'd also second Leon and the Usual Suspects. Both great films. I've also got a soft spot for Angelheart (or maybe that's just a soft spot for Lisa Bonet?)

Given that you've told us you don't like violent and/or 18 films, you can pretty much discount all of those (apart from Princess Bride, which admittedly I haven't seen, but it doesn't sound like a slasher movie )

Watching The Usual Suspects (again) on Sky at the mo'.

Whatever, you have to add it to your watch list, simply a superb film.

Apparently I have to watch The Usual Suspects and it got further than anything else I havn't seen that is not already on the list in the world cup too.

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects

The greatest western ever made according to my film prof in my Uni course on westerns earlier this year is without question The Searchers, John Fords brilliant indictment of the racism that underlies the settlement of the American west. I could hardly agree more. Set in Arizona's magnificent Monument Valley it is possibly the most beautiful and stunningly photographed film ever. It is surely John Wayne's greatest performance. It was made in 1956. My second pick would be Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo, also starring Wayne. Next I would go with Unforgiven, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, My Darling Clementine, Red River and the little known Ulzana's Raid. We basically viewed every one of the great westerns, 23 in all, and The Searchers, which I have watched about 10 times over the course of 30 years, and wrote my major essay on, was head and shoulders the best. Many of the top critics consider in among the handful of best films ever made.

I'm going to trust the man on the film course! We have our ten. Not sure how much this will expand my film knowledge - looks more like FISO loves guns to me, but we'll see.

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers

I commenced my FISO reccomended viewing with The Silence of the Lambs as I reccorded it when it was on ITV2 the other day. I can see why you are reccomending it as in moviemaking quality terms it is an outstanding film in every possible way. I found the chase scene through the basement particually exciting. In the end though it was a film about serial killers and so like se7en before it it does not go into my top 100. I like dark films but they cannot be dark have a realistic subject matter. (A dark sci fi or fantasy is fine.) I think it is unlikely I will ever watch a film about serial killer and feel entertained by it.

It is a bit like The Passion and Schindler's List. The subject matter of these films mean I cannot subjectivly rate them as good or not. These films are not made for entertainment but my top 100 list is.

I'll get the rest for you (to watch via your pc).

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers

FISOs obsession with gangster films led to City of God making it into my list of films to see. Thanks for the reccomendation FISO. Outstanding film. Usually I find I dislike crime films because so often the view is being asked to symphise with criminals, but who could not symphise when the outlook appears to be so bleak for those born in the City of God.

The film had me gripped from start to finish! It must go into my top 100.

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers

I've heard it said everyone should see The Princess Bride. I don't see why. I love fantasy films and enjoyed this one. Yet I also the story quite dull and did not like the main characters, Westley and Buttercup. If you don't really care about the heroes of a film then it kindof spoils it.

So it was fun but required no emotional involvement. Not top 100.

Actually, as I just wrap up three months of intensive study of the gangster film genre I am convinced that Goodfellas is a masterpiece, superior to the Godfather and Godfather 2. Goodfellas is certainly a potent deglamourizing of the gangster film which boils the life down to you take what you want, you never have to deny yourself. Screw socialization. Bling is everything. It also displays the shallow, tawdry life of the real gangster, a theme which is further developed in The Sopranos of course. Yes, I do love the Godfather films (3 doesn't count. I prefer to believe it doesn't exist) as we see Michael reduced to a hollow figure. almost a death head by the end of G2, emotionlessly executing his harmless, idiot brother for no sensible reason. It is educative above the inevitable consequences of pursuing a life of unfiltered aggression. If you are not appalled by what Michael and the family have become you are in need of therapy. I love the way the compelling ethnic authenticity of the wedding scene that opens The Godfather, is replaced by the soulless celebration of Michael's son's first communion in Las Vegas to open the sequel. Brilliant.
I also loved The French Connection, which examines the very thin line that separates the cop and the gangster, as does Friedkin's other great film, To Live and Die in LA. If the reckless thuggery of Popeye Doyle doesn't disturb you, you've got a problem. If the lawless, out of control obsession of Rick Chance makes you like him, you're probably past help. I also loved rewatching the great early gangster film, The Public Enemy, featuring the wise cracking, fast talking, unbelievably dynamic Jimmy Cagney, the greatest film gangster actor of them all. Two very underrated films that I loved are High Sierra, with Bogart as the best man in a shallow modern world and They Live by Night, a fantastic, very stylized film, the first by one of my all-time favourite directors, Nicholas Ray (Johnny Guitar, ON Dangerous Ground, Rebel Without a Cause) about a young couple who get trapped in the gangster world and never have a chance. I liked Heat, except for Al Pacino's absurd scenery chewing performance and a very lame ending. A very honest and thought provoking examination of masculinity and obsession with the one brilliant scene in which obsessed brilliant cop, Pacino, has a coffee with obsessed brilliant gangster and heist man, DeNiro, and they talk about core issues, the emptiness of their lives, mutual respect and the fact if it comes to it, neither will hesitate to take the other down, a prophecy which of course comes true. Flawed but fascinating. The unrelenting excess of Scarface almost made me puke, although it has its virtues. The shallowness of The Untouchables, little deeper than a comic book, which is a non-stop cliche fest and an unbroken symphony of false notes, made me regret wasting another 2 hours watching it. Still a very interesting genre.

WHATEVER, I like most of the films on your list. I browsed it thinking "I bet this guy is a year or two older than me" and also that you like certain types of film, which you've described in some of your other posts in this thread.

I judge films on whether I want to watch them more than once, so although the majority of my favourite films will never appear in a film connoisseur's greatest films list, I find the films are entertaining enough for me to want to watch them again and again. I call it the "DVD test", as I would only buy something that I want to watch more than once, rather than buying it to watch once and have in my collection so that other film fans can consider me to be 'learned' in respect of what makes a great film. I have watched a lot of "great" films and I do appreciate why they are considered great, but that in itself does not make them automatically qualify to be in my favourite films list.

So, having browsed your list and considered your taste as similar to mine, I too wanted to find some films to suggest that you may enjoy (if you have not watched them already). Here's my suggestions:

The Bourne trilogy (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Bourne Ultimatum)
You may have dismissed these as they are about an assassin and you've said you're not keen on violent films, but in truth it is no more violent than The Matrix and I suppose you could find some Christian allegory in there about discovering oneself and wanting to change for the better. I think you'd really enjoy these films. I must have watched them about 10 times each and still get engrossed in them every time they are on TV.

If you like the spy/assassin/sniper type genre as much as I do and could accept watching a realistic war film then you would love Enemy At The Gates. I say realistic as it is not gory and blood soaked, but being about a sniper in the middle of a war torn city you are always going to get some unpleasant scenes, though they are all handled exceptionally well and are all completely relevant to the story line. Another film I enjoy about a sniper is Shooter, though it's not in the same class as Enemy At The Gates.

For more family orientated films, I would recommend The Incredibles and Monsters Inc.. Monsters Inc. is funny for adults and kids alike and despite the title is not scary at all. If anything it would make a child that is scared of the dark less afraid of what is in their closet!

I'll try and think of some more that aren't in your list, and will check out the few from your list that I haven't already seen.

Glad to see you took our recommendation. Cracking film.

I await your view on The Usual Suspects

I'm 30.



I enjoyed these at the cinema and would like to see then together as I think I would get a lot out of seeing them again, and together.



I've always dismissed that one but as you like many of the films on my list I'll give it a go. Thanks.



For reasons I cannot explain I did not particularly enjoy this one. It was OK but not something I would want to watch again - fails the DVD test.



How is that not on my list? It was defiantly on the shortlist but somehow got squeezed out of the top 100.



Thanks.

We tried our best

Amazingly, the internet is still a sci-fi w**fest

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers

Pulp fiction is rated as the 5th best film of all time on imdb. I thought it was so bad I tried watching much of it again straight away to try to see if I was missing something really obvious. I thought it was a boring film. All the characters spend ages wasting time talking about nothing. I don't understand what there is to enjoy. I could not find any redeeming features. From the first few minutes I was waiting for something to happen. After sitting though John Travolta and Uma Therman's lengthy date I was just waiting for it to end. Dull, dull, dull. What a waste of time.

Help me out FISO. What does everyone think is so good about it? I have no idea!

I thought Pulp Fiction was stunning - I was literally stunned in admiration. I admit it's a very filmic film - that is, the things about it that appeal to me are the mood, the tension, the deadpan macho dialogue, the superb acting, the distinctive and original direction. The plot is deliberately farcical - it's not meant to be taken that seriously, although thanks to its execution it remains gripping nevertheless. It's as though real people have wandered onto the set of an arthouse film, and all hell breaks loose. It's also a homage to the gangster/crime tradition both on film and TV, so part of the enjoyment is picking up on all the screen references - this is a film that the viewer becomes a part of, like a cinematic parlour game.

God, that all sounds very pretentious, but you did ask!

That's very helpful.

One of the problems I had with it is why you like it. The dialogoue was like what you would hear at the pub. As I have seen very little in the way of gangster/crime films I probably missed out on a lot.

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers

I watched The Godfather over the weekend marking the halfway point in my FISO reccommended viewing. It was OK but I cannot see what all the fuss is about. I thought I hadn't folowed it very well but a quick look on wikipedia would suggest that I actually got the plot fine and just was not particually interested/entertained by it. It passed time but I wouldn't bother seeing it again. The best thing about it was it gave me a deeper understanding of The Simpsons, particually when Lisa [spoiler]wakes up next to a horses head[/spoiler].

Many of the films in your list are great, but I have to ask myself about some of them, in what sense? In the sense of film history, and the way certain films and filmmakers have influenced other films and filmmakers then I wouldn't deny that the majority of the films you mention are 'great'. But whether or not an influential film still holds the same power it did 40, 50, 60, 70 years ago, this is something that might not necessarilly be true.

For example, 'Breathless' is an extremely influential film, and was very cutting edge for its time. It's still interesting in a way, but overall I can't say that it's a film that I particularly enjoyed, or was moved by in anyway.

The majority of people who aren't 'film buffs' will struggle to get past the opening 20 minutes I expect. The same could be said about The Battleship Potemkin, or Rashomon, not that the direction and editing in these films isn't excellent and wasn't groundbreaking for it's time.

At least it's how I felt about those two films.

Some very thoughtful comments, McLombardo. I agree that the films you mentioned are generally most interesting for their powerful influence, although I believe the Odessa Steps sequence in Potemkin is still the most powerful example of montage ever filmed. In order to enjoy and fully appreciate the value of these films it is necessary to watch them in the historical context you referred to, something understandably beyond the interest of all but film buffs or film students. That does not make them less great in my view, it just makes their greatness a little more elusive. In addition most of the films on my list, such as The 400 Blows and Bicycle Thieves, are important because they kicked off cinematic trends, like the French New Wave and Italian neorealism, but are also among the best and most moving films ever whether that is considered or not.
To me the mark of an educated person is their acute awareness that their world view was largely formed by the cultural climate in which they were raised and their commitment to reexamining their preconceptions and comparing them to the views of other times and other cultures. Otherwise there is no hope of ever even partially transcending the limits of your own cultural box or time. To fully appreciate Shakespeare, Chaucer, Plato etc., eternal as their thoughts may be, we must grasp the cultural climate in which their work was produced and strive to understand them in that context, as well as for the transcendent value of their ideas. Simply rejecting them because "nobody speaks like that today" or "we know better than that today" is a shallow if not uncommon response. First consider Plato on his own terms, then decide whether time has passed him by. The same of course holds true for films. You have to appreciate the cultural climate in which silent films, classical Hollywood films, post-classic or postmodern films, and foreign language art films are made, to give them their due. I am not saying everyone should bother to do that, but if you don't you will be missing out on some great films and some great stimulation. If you go to movies to escape, or to turn off your brain and be entertained by magnificent spectacle for two hours, ignore this list. If you regard film as a potent art form, which can move us and provoke us and challenge our world views, if you go to a film prepared to work hard and think through the implications of what you have seen, discuss it with your friends and then watch it again (if it's worth it) then try a few on this list or on much better lists by infinitely more knowledgeable people.

A spirited and powerful defence of artistic integrity, Pouzar. Well said.

Indeed.

Princess Bride
The Godfather
The Godfather part 2
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
The Silence of the Lambs
City of God
The Usual Suspects
The Searchers



At the moment I am reading a commentary on the gospel of Matthew (Matthew for Everyone by Tom Wright). Matthew was writing his gospel for a Jewish audience and the commentry is helping me to appreciate many apects that would be of great interest to a Jew that I was not aware of before I started reading it. I guess it is similar to films.

So help me out. I've watched part two of The Godfather now. Is someone able to put it is some sort of filmatic context that I am unaware of?

What other sort of audience, in that region, was there when he was writing?