Do you think you can finish this before the year is over?

he he he....

A beauty of a film....

5. Vertigo



Well Here we are at the top five. I now give you imo Hitchcock's best work and one of Jimmy Stewart's last great performances. This film is imo beautiful and that is what has made this one of the most respected films of all time especially from critics.
This is also prehaps the greatest example of a film that was flop and was seen as a terribile film, that now is an all time classic. The film's respect and stature has actually grown as the film gets older as it jumped from 81th place to 9th place on AFI list. It has also jumped up the IMDB charts as well.

What is so great about a film from 1958 and how on earth can it look so good even though it is 49 years old??? It is simple, its directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is beautiful in its scenery as it displays San Fransisco at its best. So well in fact that when I went to SF, I was rather disappointed. The film takes all of the city's landmarks so you have a wonderful setting. Then you have the music which is imo one the best soundtracks ever made. The soundtrack is epic, fun and it was haunting and scary at the same time. It makes the film feel like a love story and a tragedy and like a thriller all at the same time. The film score is the 2nd thing that made this film beautiful. The third thing that made this film beautiful is how Hitchcock makes the women in his films so beautiful and exotic. Kim Novak imo look average at best but in this film she is a whole different women. With the blond hair and the grey suit you are literally almost mesmerized by her throughout the film. So the three things that make the film beautiful are the setting, the soundtrack and Kim Novak.

Jimmy Stewart also has a great performance in this film and it marked the beginning of the end of his career that stretched over 30 years and now is today one of the most well loved as he is the most represented actor in the AFI list and on my list as well and was even in our own list at World of KJ as well. His performance is top notch.

However the film has faults, the story is confusing but it provides for great drama and it does lead to an unexpected ending. The story does make the film seem so sophisticated and even makes the film look even better. However some parts were just wierd but I ignored as I was just amazed at how the film looked.

The best part of the film is where Kim Novak dresses back into her original form and when Stewart looks at her. Perfect combination of physical beauty and the beauty of the soundtrack.

The worst scene was the rather questionable acting during the end.

Nonetheless, if you have not heard of this film, you will as many are discovering this film as we speak and expect its stature to rise.




Only pictures describe the beauty of the film well.

No a film that just is so good and popular and I don't really know why...
It is love story that men would adore, and really any film capable of that is great...


4. Casablanca



The definition of the world class or classy must include this film as an a example of when to use that word. If there is one simple word to describe the film it is simply the film is Classy.

This is prehaps a rare kind of a film. It is very strange yet typical. It is a very complicated yet a very simple film all at the same time. The film is old yet timeless, the actors and actress are long dead but their performances are still celebrated even today. This is a film that one can talk about for ages. If there a timeless classic we will all adore and love forever it must be this film.

First of all, when I Watched this film it always appeared to me that I already may have watched this film before. I have actually never saw it before, but the scenes and the dialog were all so familiar to me. I never felt such a feeling in my life before when I watched a film. To me it just high lites how much this film has inspired so many movies around the world.

The story is just great and really the film is predictable and cliche, however we must ask ourselves are these cliches we refer to, not started from this film. One can say the film is cliche, however I think he may not notice that the cliches are from this film. Nonetheless, the story is intriguing, smart, sophisticated, twisting and relatively simple. It it a love story and a spy film but the love story really adds to the film and makes the film really special.

The chemistry by Bogart and Bergman is the best I have ever seen in Hollywood. The two give an all time performance in this film, but imo it was Claude Rains who was the high lite as he provided many laughs and cheers in this film.

The Dialog is some of the best ever written and prehaps most memorable ever. The dialogs are so popular that when I watched the film, when I heard them speak it was as if I already heard it before.
The lines...
"Here's looking at you, kid."
"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"
"Round up the usual suspects."
"We'll always have Paris."
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
are just amazing and so memorable....

The reason why I love this film is that everything is just so good and everything is just so timeless and classy. When Bogart was with Bergman in Paris it was just beautiful and when the two were on that foggy runway in Casablanca that scene just looked superb. Some may find this film to be a great film but not the best ever, I would agree with you as I find Laszlo character to be stiff and boring. Imo it is much much better then GWTW and It easily one of the greatest films ever made and it is one of my most favourite films of all time.

well some of you hate this movie, but I just find mob movies to be soo cool...

3. The Godfather: Part 2



It is called by some as the greatest sequel ever made and some say it is better then the original. I agree with the first part but not the 2nd. If Marlon Brando was somehow in the 2nd film then I would agree.

We all know this film and what is about, so there is no need for me to tell you how great it is.
It is a very long film and I do think that it is a tad bit to long. It is not like the mob movies of today where the focus is more on action or fast pace story lines. This is a more slow, epic, grand story of a mob family from it roots in Sicily to it foundations in NY and the time where the family was at its strongest.

The storyline of the film is very complicated and rather quite hard to understand at first. I had to watch it twice before I got the main meaning and the 3,4,5th times I have noticed even greater things about this film.

The scenes in Cuba and with Diane Keaton are a tad boring however the Scenes with Robert De Niro in Little Italy and in Sicily are just amazing and it is easily the best part of the whole series.

The Music like in the first film is epic and grand and emotional and touching all the same time like the original.

Now the main reason why people and critics really love the series is the depth of acting this film. You rarely see so many all time performances from actors in a single film. Al Pacino gives his best performance, Robert De Niro also gives one of his best performances. The supporting cast all just were perfect in their roles and they all make a great powerful dramatic film. Really Al Pacino gives here some of the greatest acting I ever saw. IMO he matched Marlon Brando performance in the first film. It is a legendary performance, the type you will always remember.

Freddy was just amazing his role, such a sorry and pathetic character. Tom was amazing and really this is like the only reason Robert Duvall became a well known actor. Hyman Roth and # Frankie were just amazing in their roles. The only character I don't like is of course Micheal's sister Connie.

There are some amazing scenes in the film, that will forever be in the minds of movie goers. Like when the Don dressed in white went down the street in Little Italy. To the adventures of the young Vito in little Italy. To the confrontations between Freddy and Micheal throughout the film. To the amazing senate hearings at the end. When that old man came in and just looked at His Brother Frankie (who was going to tell the Senate what Micheal was doing), he just froze and lied. That scene was just amazing really and there are just so many scenes where the characters just say a word or just give a look and you go wow.

This was a really great film with really great scenes, however it did have some boring parts and it is not perfect like the Original...

well my list was a tad predictable and of course by having this as my number 2, my number 1 is obvious.

2. 12 Angry Men



The only film I ever watched where my eyes where always on the screen. Not for a second I looked away from this film. Just so tense and so emotional and it is a film that is getting more popular as time goes by. I have heard of people who find Godfather to be a bad film and Casablanca to be over rated but I have not heard of anyone say anything of that sort about this film.
Yes, it is a great film but number 2??? Well The reason why I adore this film so much, is because it shows everyone that you can make an interesting film without violence, swearing or attractive women. There are film that do this today but they are never successful.

Anyways about the film, you Have Henry Fonda who is known as Mr. Good Guy/Honesty. He does one of those roles where you just look at the man and respect him for his good intentions and his ideals. This is a film that will entertain people and also make people think. It is a film that looks at morality where you pick sides and think about what they are saying. You are put in this room for over 1.5 hours where 12 men yell at each other and things get very heated and emotionally and dramatic as well. You know how the film will end but you are still tense while watching this film wondering what will happen next. You actually feel apart of the film as it is impossible to not interact with this film. Also, by the end of the film, you will be wondering in your head about whether the man was guilty or not guilty. It is not a popcorn film at all, it is a film that questions society as a whole. Is the general public capable of deciding criminal cases in a unbiased manner??


There were 2 different sides in this film. Everyone apart from Fonda votes Guilty but by the middle of the film you have different sides being created.
Henry Fonda of course gives an all time performance in this film but many other jurors are great as well. Lee J. Cobb was amazing in this role as the vigilante conservative and E.G. Marshall who was the stubborn man in glasses was the realist who had a very pessimistic view about everything. Also, on the guilty side you also have Ed Begley as the racist old man and Jack Warden who was the guy who just wanted to get out of there.

The other side had Henry Fonda of course and he slowly convinces people on to his side. You had the nice old man who well really was the reason why this movie lasted more then 10 mins. The Immigrant Watchmaker who was a very smart man who actually knew what a proper Juror really was. Then you have the honest House Painter and the slum dweller as well and the young fellow as well on this side.

The others were really boring characters. (the Foreman, The marketer)

You see by this description you have 12 separate men who are all different types of people and you get such depth from all of these characters. This is why this film was so popular. Directors knew there was no better way to add depth to their characters, then having the characters all at a table yelling at each other. You see it in so many film since, not super
hits but other small artsy films. Even the remake was well done considering how pitiful some of the actors were. You see this film referenced in so many tv shows and tv films. It has had a major effect on filmaking and really a film of this kind will never be made as good as the original.

I like Part 2 more than Part 1 actually

I thought 12AM would be #1, good choice though.

sorry I was planning number 1 for midnight however, I had to go to someone's new years party...


OKay lets make it simple.


1. The Godfather



Marlon Brando with Al Pacino and mix in James Caan and Robert Duvall, and Fredo you get some of the best acting you will ever see. Each on of them gives their best performances apart from Al Pacino who is better in the 2nd film. Marlon Brando literally gives prehaps a legendary performance and prehaps one of the most famous ever. His performance in the film is like movie folklore, we will try to imitate him and who knows how many films had references to him.

The acting is top notch but the story is more tight or tense then in the 2nd film. When Pacino shoots the police captain you are literally tense and you don't have these moments in the 2nd film. There are many great scenes that are now famous like Sunny's death, Brando's death, The Meeting of the Godfathers, The Godfather giving favours, the horse head in the guys bed, the scene in the restaurant, the scene in the hospital and countless others. They were all great scenes and furthermore the entire film is just a great scene after another. Unlike Part 2 were the film is less balanced with great scenes and boring scenes, Part 1 has great scenes throughout the film.


To those who find the film to be boring, I will say it is not a typical mob film. It is more like an epic film. It is on a grand scale and it is long story. I found the film at first to be boring when I watched it on TV when I was young. Then one day, I spent three hours watching the film non stop and I was amazed at the beauty of the film. I have watched it now like 7 times and never get bored as I just notice more things every time I watch the film.

The music of the film is just beautiful and is very famous and is just amazing. When they go to Sicily it is just magnificent. When Micheal is dancing with the girl in Sicily it was one of the most beautiful scenes I ever watched in film.

The films effect on filmaking and our pop cultural is undeniable. It is actually said to have changed the whole Mafia as well, as they never use to kiss the ring of the godfather. Oranges today are seen in a different light and the lines from the film are known by everyone. It also changed the whole Mafia genre, where we got a sympathetic look at the Mafia and we see this in Goodfellas and so many other films since.



One can say this is not the greatest film ever made, but no doubt this film had the greatest cast ever (actually Kubrick said that). Apart from Connie the film just had an amazing cast and you see acting at its best. This is one of those films that is well respected not for action scenes or corny love stories, but because of its acting and its story which are now legendary.

I know I took a long time, but I hope you liked my list. I may have had films we all knew were great and I never added a film apart from the starting that was not seen as a great film.

Anyways It was fun, you can tell I like new films and some classics but my most favourite films are the all time hits.

Good job Manny, the list was long(heh) but you obviously put a lot of work into the setup and explanations

So who's next?

Here's the list that have signed up but either werent ready, or weren't around when their time came, so I guess we should pick it up with whoever is ready next. I think Corpse also asked to be added, so she'd be after Flava'd.

53. Dr. Lecter
54. Zennier
55. Jayhawk
56. makeshift
57. Zingaling
59. Flava'd‡

here was my list to see...
1. The Godfather
2. 12 Angry Men
3. The Godfather Part II
4. Casablanca
5. Vertigo
6. Psycho
7. Rear Window
8. Lawrence Of Arabia
9. The Shawshank Redemption
10. Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo, Il (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)
11. Taxi DLawrence Of Arabiariver
12. Goodfellas
13. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
14. Sangam
15. Star Wars
16. Shichinin No Samurai (Seven Samurai)
17. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
18. It's A Wonderful Life
19. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
20. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
21. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
22. Schindler's List
23. Patton
24. The Maltese Falcon
25. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
26. The Grapes Of Wrath
27. The Bridge On The River Kwai
28. Paths of Glory
29. To Kill A Mockingbird
30. Sholay (Hindi)
31. On The Waterfront
32. Roman Holiday
33. Singin' in the Rain
34. Gattaca
35. Spartacus
36. Saving Private Ryan
37. Monty Python And The Holy Grail
38. A Streetcar Named Desire
39. Apollo 13
40. Unforgiven
41. North By Northwest
42. Jurassic Park
43. Jaws
44. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
45. Once Upon a Time in The West
46. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
47. The Great Escape
48. Glory
49. Airplane!
50. Scarface
51. The Untouchables
52. The Usual Suspects
53. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
54. Das Boot
55. The Breakfast Club
56. Amelie
57. The Fugitive
58. City of God
59. American History X
60. Sunset Boulevard
61. Forrest Gump
62. Batman Begins
63. The Matrix
64. Bobby (hindi)
65. The Apartment
66. Toy Story
67. Blade Runner
68. Last of the Mohicans
69. Titanic
70. Mulan
71. Finding Nemo
72. The Incredibles
73. Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
74. Sen To Chihiro No Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)
75. Mononoke-Hime (Princess Mononoke)
76. Howls Moving Castle
77. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (hindi)
78. Memento
79. Back To the Future
80. The Lion King
81. Deewar (Hindi)
82. Walk The Line
83. X2: X-Men United
84. Y tu Mama Tambien
85. Downfall
86. Hotel Rwanda
87. Count of Monte Cristo
88. Silence of the Lambs
89. Chinatown
90. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
91. A Clockwork Orange
92. Pulp Fiction
93. The Karate Kid
94. Braveheart
95. Ben-Hur (1959)
96. The African Queen
97. All about Eve
98. Gone With The Wind
99. Citizen Cane
100. The 10 Commandments

if no one else volunteers, I can go next. (My old name was Jayhawk)

Just don't take 3 months. (that wasn't a rib against ya Manny, Jay just posted a list on BOF a couple years ago that took months)

It's just more dull if it goes slowly

i got 14 more days of vacation, so pretty sure i could hammer it out pretty quickly

Well, apparently I am a fraud for having very little actual opinions on movies posted here. So I volunteer myself for whenever.

yr a fraud? :huH:

weird. you should gofr it tho. no ones replied saying they were ready.

Oh, well, I'm not quite ready. Need to actually put the list in some sort of order, other than picking the number 1. But I have the list! Or at least 75% of one. Just need a couple more days of horribly boring classes to complete.

Ok, I'm just about ready to start, but before I do I want to preface this by saying that this is an extremely unscientific list and I KNOW I'm missing a few things, I just can't remember what.

It's very ADD, I think, which is appropriate. Also, I have a very short term memory for such things, so probably more heavily favors more recent movies.

100. The Majestic (2001)



I saw this on a whim after it hit DVD. I had never heard of it or anything about it, but it looked good, and I ended up enjoying it. Not the best or most original story, but done well.

99. Men In Black (1997)



This is one of those movies that is just so much fun. It's got some great lines and was one of the first movies I remember seeing that made me start looking at the world with a bit of suspicion that not all is as it seems.

98. America's Sweethearts (2001)



Totally stupid movie that I can't help but enjoy. Also the last Cusack movie that I have actually liked.

97. Hero (2002) (or 2004 for US)



The story here is not one of my favorites at all. I'm not one for super depressing movies. But it's just so beautiful. Plus, I'm a sucker for twists, and it does have one!

96. Pride & Prejudice (2005)



I love Jane Austen, and Pride & Prejudice is my second favorite of her books. Most Jane Austen fans I know hated this movie, because they turned it into a movie rather than a six hour visual version of the book. I loved the mini-series, but the feel of this adaptation was great. I loved this one even more.

95. Dave (1993)



This is another fun movie. It gets more serious towards the end, but the story is solid and very enjoyable.

94. The Money Pit (1986)



This is a remake of a Cary Grant movie, and one of those times when the remake is so much better. Funnier, crazier, just MORE of everything.

93. Charade (1963)



Another terribly fun movie. (Can you tell I'm not much for the serious?) A wonderful pairing of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. This is one of those movies that never gets old, even though you know the ending. And that poor excuse for a remake shouldn't have ever been considered.

92. Independence Day (1996)



I like Will Smith and aliens.

91. The Matrix (1999)



This is a great movie that had the potential to go on to even greater things, but was ruined in the sequels. But the first film is still one of those fun sci-fis, that is an experience just to watch.

Ok, I'm off to eat breakfast at 1pm. More later.

90. Garden State (2004)



When I first saw this I absolutely loved it. I'm less enamored of it now, but there are still parts of it that are just so great that it's still up there.

89. The Awful Truth (1937)



A fun comedy that I have some issues with, but less than a lot of these old movies. Another Cary Grant movie here, and I think there's one more to come. (At least one more.)

88. All of Me (1984)



Laugh out loud funny through most of it. Steve Martin back when he was still funny and hadn't decided he needs to be a serious actor. Or did he just decide he needs to do crap movies? I can't tell.

87. A Night at the Opera (1935)



Ok, so, basically I decided to just choose one Marx Brothers and this is it. This one has some of the best, and to me, most memorable lines. Of course, that may be because this was one of the first ones I ever saw.

86. The Game (1997)



I'm a sucker for twists, and this one was a good one. The actual story and the whole thing with the girl was a bit weak, but the twist made up for it.

85. Hero (1992)



I first saw this when I was pretty young (probably 8 or so), but enjoyed it thoroughly even then. Dustin Hoffman is great as the reluctant hero who no one believes was actually the heroic one.

84. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)



I admit, this movie was a bit of a disappointment. But I went in expecting something so incredibly spectacular that even with the disappointment, this was still a great movie. Loved the music and all the old school movie references. It was fun.

83. Running with Scissors (2006)



I know this didn't get great reviews, and I can see why, but to me, it was this really great feel good movie, simply because it made my family look almost completely un-fucked-up.

82. Adam's Rib (1949)



When I first saw this, my mom told me that people always wondered if this was what Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn were like in real life. And it does make me wonder. But it's another fun comedy, and I enjoyed it.

81. A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)



Ok, I admit it, I like Steve Martin when he's serious, too. I'm not even sure why I like this, since it's not really my normal type of movie, but there's something about it.

I know, entirely too low.