Posted on 03/24/2009 1:12:46 AM PDT by iowamark
Many movies are good, some are great, but only a select few can be called truly "essential." After heated discussions, long negotiations, and a shouting match or two, the staff at Yahoo! Movies has put together this list of the 100 films you must see before you die.
To choose the titles for the list, we considered factors like historical importance and cultural impact. But we also selected films that we believe are the most thrilling, most dramatic, scariest, and funniest movies of all time. Some of these films you've seen, and some you may not have heard of, but we believe that each one is a timeless classic that you absolutely have to see.
12 Angry Men (1957) Directed By: Sidney Lumet Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Directed By: Stanley Kubrick Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
The 400 Blows (1959)Directed By: Francois Truffaut Starring: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Patrick Auffay Why You Should See It
8 ½ (1963) Directed By: Federico Fellini Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee
The African Queen (1952) Directed By: John Huston Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
Alien (1979) Directed By: Ridley Scott Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright
All About Eve (1950) Directed By: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
(Excerpt) Read more at movies.yahoo.com ...
I LOVE BRAZIL!
Twisted on a level of “Dr. Strangelove”.
Genius.
Made kitchens famous to argue in.
They missed “Braveheart”.
:P
Anything to juice circulation.
Some of the choices are good, and others are not.
Silly me, I should have looked under “N” in the first place! /sarc
Thanks for pointing it out, though.
Exactly.
I've never seen 'Birth of a Nation'. Not in its entirity. But I understand any film expert will tell you...
It's a must see.
“However, anybody who’s serious about moviegoing uses the AFI lists. 100 comedies, 100 dramas, etc.”
Those AFI lists were created to promote video sales. Some great films, like “Charade”(1963), were left off the lists because they are public domain. The movie business is first and foremost a business. Art is in third or fourth place.
The first 10 minutes of that movie explains what happened last November...
I disagree. All films are (or should be) judged on the same criteria. The genre is (or should be) immaterial to the process. A truly great film transcends its genre. All the films that you mentioned are great westerns, but great westerns only appeal to people who really appreciate westerns. A truly great film that happened to be a western would appeal to people who didn’t particularly like westerns! In the same way, I’m not a great fan of musical fantasies, but I think “Wizard of Oz” is a great film. To use your analogy, its not a question of whether you prefer a good hamburger or a good steak, its whether you prefer good cooking :)
Now of course this doesn’t happen in reality, because there is a lot of snobbery in film (and in the arts generally, in fact). As an example, check through the list of Oscar winners - very few westerns win awards (out of favor). Very few children’s films win top awards (if a film is for children, people think it must therefore be childish, which is nonsense). Comedies are seriously underrepresented too (people think a serious award should go to serious films - also nonsense).
I’m glad SOMEBODY else was paying attention!
You’ve been an encouragement today. Thanks.
Yeah, I’ve enjoyed SciFi all my life, too.
But even with THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, I realized there was some manipulation going on and I hadn’t really started studying globalism yet.
I just knew ‘in my gut’ that it related to Bible prophecy somehow.
What on (or off) Earth are you TALKING about???????
THAT wasn’t scornful?
Your quickness to talk about my own “madhouse” seems to confirm your underlying attitude.
Sorry I jumped to conclusions. I get derision like that fairly often from naysayers. Perhaps I responded to reflexively.
Regardless, if you’re not willing to do your own research, you might at least consider that a different viewpoint MIGHT BE WELL SUPPORTED BY TONS OF EVIDENCE.
Sheesh.
The evidence has been interesting.
And even with all my 45+ years of study of gloablism . . . it’s a conclusion I’ve been forced to reluctantly, ‘kicking and screaming “NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” as long as possible, so to speak.
I finally had to admit it was true . . . particularly given Spielberg’s candor the last year or two.
Folks who dish it out ought to be better able to take it.
No “Major Dundee” or “Father of the Bride” or “Key Largo” or “Cool Hand Luke” ?
"Goodfellas" is a great gangster movie. It's a great movie. But only if you like gangster movies. If you don't like violence, profanity, and crime, you ain't gonna like it.
I can't stand musicals, and hence, I've got no use for the Wizard of Oz. I love noir, so "Double Indemnity" works great for me.
We simply disagree. To me, a great burger is simple. To someone else, maybe they think they need to "reinvent" the burger, or somehow make it more "important" or "challenging." I disagree. A great burger is simple.
Critics don't like westerns for the same reason. They are simple. They choose Good Bad and the Ugly because it's the choice they are supposed to make, even though they really have no clue what they are talking about.
Reminds me of when I was a short order cook. I always made lousy egg salad. Why? Because I can't stand egg salad and have no clue what good egg salad should be like. Too much mustard? Not enough? Beats me.
Anyway, we disagree. It's fine. I can't think of a single film that "transcends its genre." Every film is a gangster film, or a western, or a noir, or a comedy, or a romance, or a musical, or sci-fi, or horror, etc. The only thing "transcendental" about them is how popular they become, how many people like them, or how many critics decide they belong on their inane lists. They are great within their genre.
I wonder why “Gone with the Wind” was left off and while it was nice to see so many Hitchcock movies, I wonder why “North by Northwest” was left off.
Key Largo is a great movie, too. Love that one.
Idiocracy is a funny concept, but I haven’t been able to make it past around the 30 minute mark.
The 1960 Billy Wilder film, The Apartment, should be on that list
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