Top 100 Films – Full List & Stats

Top 100 Films – Full List

100. Rope (1948) (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
99. The Jerk (1979) (dir. Carl Reiner)
98. Office Space (1999) (dir. Mike Judge)
97. American Movie (1999) (dir. Chris Smith)
96. Touch of Evil (1958) (dir. Orson Welles)
95. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) (dir. Kathryn Bigelow)
94. The Wrestler (2008) (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
93. The Virgin Spring (1960) (dir. Ingmar Bergman)
92. United 93 (2006) (dir. Paul Greengrass)
91. Brokeback Mountain (2003) (dir. Ang Lee)
90. Election (1999) (dir. Alexander Payne)
89. Close-Up (1990) (dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
88. Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) (dir. John Cassavetes)
87. Chungking Express (1994) (dir. Wong Kar-wai)
86. Stand By Me (1986) (dir. Rob Reiner)
85. Blazing Saddles (1974) (dir. Mel Brooks)
84. Metropolis (1927) (dir. Fritz Lang)
83. Boyz n the Hood (1991) (dir. John Singleton)
82. A Man Escaped (1956) (dir. Robert Bresson)
81. Manhattan (1979) (dir. Woody Allen)
80. Sunset Boulevard (1950) (dir. Billy Wilder)
79. All That Heaven Allows (1955) (dir. Douglas Sirk)
78. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) (dir. F.W. Murnau)
77. No Country for Old Men (2007) (dir. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
76. The King of Comedy (1982) (dir. Martin Scorsese)
75. Short Term 12 (2013) (dir. Destin Daniel Cretton)
74. The Fighter (2010) (dir. David O. Russell)
73. Ben-Hur (1956) (dir. William Wyler)
72. There Will Be Blood (2007) (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
71. Playtime (1967) (dir. Jacques Tati)
70. My Darling Clementine (1946) (dir. John Ford)
69. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) (dir. Andrew Dominik)
68. The Sting (1973) (dir. George Roy Hill)
67. Sherlock Jr. (1924) (dir. Buster Keaton)
66. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (dir. Michel Gondry)
65. Kagemusha (1980) (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
64. Citizen Kane (1941) (dir. Orson Welles)
63. Raging Bull (1980) (dir. Martin Scorsese)
62. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) (dir. Sidney Lumet)
61. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) (dir. Wes Anderson)
60. Some Like it Hot (1959) (dir. Billy Wilder)
59. Pulp Fiction (1994) (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
58. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) (dir. Jacques Demy)
57. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) (dir. Frank Capra)
56. This is Spinal Tap (1984) (dir. Carl Reiner)
55. M (1931) (dir. Fritz Lang)
54. When We Were Kings (1996) (dir. Leon Gast)
53. The Gold Rush (1926) (dir. Charlie Chaplin)
52. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (dir. Roman Polanski)
51. The Wages of Fear (1953) (dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot)
50. The Great White Silence (1924) (dir. Herbert Ponting)
49. Autumn Sonata (1978) (dir. Ingmar Bergman)
48. Withnail and I (1987) (dir. Bruce Robinson)
47. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (dir. Wes Anderson)
46. Before Sunrise (1995) (dir. Richard Linklater)
45. True Romance (1993) (dir. Tony Scott)
44. Before Sunset (2004) (dir. Richard Linklater)
43. Inglourious Basterds (2009) (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
42. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007) (dir. Cristian Mungiu)
41. The African Queen (1951) (dir. John Huston)
40. A Matter of Life and Death (1946) (dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
39. Days of Heaven (1978) (dir. Terrence Malick)
38. Rushmore (1998) (dir. Wes Anderson)
37. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) (dir. Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi)
36. 12 Angry Men (1957) (dir. Sidney Lumet)
35. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012) (dir. Don Hertzfeldt)
34. Casablanca (1942) (dir. Michael Curtiz)
33. Scenes from a Marriage (1973) (dir. Ingmar Bergman)
32. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (dir. John Cassavetes)
31. Brief Encounter (1945) (dir. David Lean)
30. The Godfather Part II (1974) (dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
29. Do the Right Thing (1989) (dir. Spike Lee)
28. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) (dir. Vincente Minnelli)
27. The Godfather (1972) (dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
26. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) (dir. Stanley Donen)
25. Wild Strawberries (1957) (dir. Ingmar Bergman)
24. Seven Samurai (1954) (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
23. All That Jazz (1979) (dir. Bob Fosse)
22. Fargo (1996) (dir. Joel Coen)
21. Dersu Uzala (1975) (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
20. Grizzly Man (2005) (dir. Werner Herzog)
19. The Thing (1982) (dir. John Carpenter)
18. A Serious Man (2009) (dir. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
17. The Searchers (1956) (dir. John Ford)
16. Dazed and Confused (1993) (dir. Richard Linklater)
15. The Social Network (2010) (dir. David Fincher)
14. The Apartment (1960) (dir. Billy Wilder)
13. Rear Window (1954) (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
12. Winter Light (1963) (dir. Ingmar Bergman)
11. The Graduate (1967) (dir. Mike Nichols)
10. Harakiri (1962) (dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
9. The Night of the Hunter (1955) (dir. Charles Laughton)
8. Paris, Texas (1984) (dir. Wim Wenders)
7. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) (dir. Frank Capra)
6. Rocky (1976) (dir. John G. Avildsen)
5. Harold and Maude (1971) (dir. Hal Ashby)
4. The Exorcist (1973) (dir. William Friedkin)
3. Annie Hall (1977) (dir. Woody Allen)
2. City Lights (1931) (dir. Charlie Chaplin)
1. Punch-Drunk Love (2002) (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

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Top 100 Films – Statistics

Movies by Decade:
2010’s: 6
2000’s: 15
1990’s: 13
1980’s: 9
1970’s: 18
1960’s: 8
1950’s: 15
1940’s: 8
1930’s: 3
1920’s: 5

Best Year:
2007 – 4 (No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days)

Most Popular Actors/Directors/Writers:
Ingmar Bergman – 5
Diane Keaton – 4
Wes Anderson – 3
John Cassavetes – 3
Seymour Cassel – 3
John Cazale – 3
Joel & Ethan Coen – 3
Robert De Niro – 3
Akira Kurosawa – 3
Richard Linklater – 3
Bill Murray – 3
Al Pacino – 3
Brad Pitt – 3
Talia Shire – 3
James Stewart – 3
Max von Sydow – 3
Quentin Tarantino – 3
Billy Wilder – 3
Owen Wilson – 3

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Counting down 100 films in just 50 days was one heck of an adventure, and something I was fully prepared to give up on halfway through. The list got me through some tough times recently, and provided a nice goal and distraction for me to build towards. I’ve never been more proud of myself as a writer, and seeing #1 finally pop into my feed has been the most rewarding experience yet here at Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Film Club! Thanks to everybody who joined me in the journey, liking, sharing, and commenting on posts, and to all those who read them in their spare time. Your support means the world to me, and I couldn’t have done it without you. Here’s to another great year of films and writing for everybody!

Top 100 Films #59 – Pulp Fiction (1994)

 

#59. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Bruce Willis, Quentin Tarantino, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Christopher Walken

Pulp Fiction is a film that needs no introduction to anybody who even remotely cares about movies.  Quentin Tarantino’s revolutionary 1994 film changed the way people look at films and their structure, at least in terms of mainstream motion pictures. Pulp Fiction weaves multiple boundary-pushing narratives together into one of the most entertaining, remarkable tapestries ever put to celluloid, with stories that saw hit-men Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) collecting a mysterious golden briefcase, having the interior of their car cleaned after an unfortunate accident, and being held at gunpoint in a local diner.  Another saw a boxer named Butch (Bruce Willis) throwing a fixed fight and fleeing the city, only to encounter Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), the man he double-crossed, in a bizarre torture/sex dungeon.  Tarantino’s film was a massive financial and critical success, being nominated for several Academy Awards like Best Picture, Best Director (Tarantino), Best Actor (John Travolta), Best Supporting Actor (Samuel L. Jackson), but only won the award for Best Screenplay (Tarantino) – which it undoubtedly deserved. Tarantino’s screenplay is one of the greatest of the 1990’s, combining gut-busting humor, raw violence, satisfying character arcs, and Tarantino’s unique brand of bizarreness into one beautiful package.  Quentin Tarantino’s direction of Pulp Fiction is another element that cannot be understated – using high energy techniques, great music, and paying homage to some of his favorite cult films of yesteryear, every frame of the film has been carefully constructed and labored over.  The ensemble cast of the film features more than a few memorable performances, from John Travolta’s reluctant swagger, to Samuel L. Jackson questioning his faith and the world around him, and even Uma Thurman’s cool, sexy Mia Wallace.  It’s nearly impossible to argue that Pulp Fiction is not a masterpiece – even if you’re not a fan of the works of Tarantino, there’s something here for nearly everybody. While Ben-Hur is the film that hooked me on movies, Pulp Fiction is the work that made me appreciate how they were constructed, and made me dig far deeper into the rabbit hole than I had ever expected.  It’s been a lifelong favorite of mine and no doubt to millions of others.

Noirvember Feature #9 – Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Written by: A.I. Bezzerides (based on Kiss Me, Deadly by Mickey Spillane)
Starring: Ralph Meeker, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez

Robert Aldrich is perhaps one of the best known directors of the entire marathon, with a filmography including Noirvember’s latest feature Kiss Me Deadly, The Dirty Dozen, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Flight of the Phoenix, and The Longest Yard.  To say that Aldrich has had an undeniable influence on the history of genre filmmaking is an understatement.  Some of the films listed above are very likely to have paved the way for the future generation of blockbuster and big budget filmmakers.  Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly came early on in his directing career, and would would go on to be recognized as one of his great films.  The film perfectly captures the manic paranoia of Cold War era United States.  Nearly every character in the film is mysterious, immoral, unpredictable, and dangerous, just like the threat of imminent nuclear war during the 1950’s.  Kiss Me Deadly stars Ralph Meeker as detective Mike Hammer, a role that would define his career of starring in low budget and cult films.  The success of Kiss Me Deadly can’t be attributed to its director or star, both of whom were relatively unknown as the time of its release, but rather the controversy and discussions that were generated by the famous film noir.  Both the controversial beginning and ending of the film have had critics and historians poring over and debating the merits of Kiss Me Deadly for decades now.  The fact that people are still talking about this film sixty years after its release speaks for itself as far as the final judgment made by the public.

Kiss Me Deadly begins with detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) picking up an extremely distressed hitchhiker Christina (Cloris Leachman).  The panicked woman tells Hammer to drive her to the bus station, where he can then forget all about her.  She mentions that if for some reason they don’t make it to the bus station, that it’s important the detective should remember her.  Hammer and Christina are quickly run off the road, the hitchhiker brutally tortured and murdered, and Mike left for dead.  He wakes up to find himself in the hospital, and very quickly gets to work on trying to solve who the woman was, and what she was on about.  Mike quickly finds out that Christina had escaped from a nearby mental asylum, that she had important knowledge held by few, and that the people who are responsible for her death are now after detective Hammer.  Unfortunately for them, detective Mike Hammer isn’t a man who can be bullied into submission by thugs, because our main character is every bit corrupt and dirty as the criminals he is now chasing.  After meeting Christina’s supposed roommate, Lily Carver (Gaby Rodgers) Hammer learns of a valuable box she held in her position, whose contents are a mystery.  We later come to find out what the contents of the mysterious box are and what they represent, and hold the knowledge that if opened could forever change the lives of those around it.  Will Mike Hammer track down the men responsible for Christina’s death and recover the mysterious box, or will the detective be outmatched and outgunned by the clever criminals chasing him?  Find out in Robert Aldrich’s incredible Kiss Me Deadly.

“If I catch ya snooping around with a gun in your hand, I’ll throw you in jail!” – Going to jail is literally the least of Mike Hammer’s concerns in Kiss Me Deadly, and that fact only makes the film greater in its high stakes nature.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve watched the film nearly three times in the last week in order to fully comprehend the twists and turns it makes, as well as understand the fairly complex plot at hand in the film.  At first nothing clicked with me, and I thought that maybe Kiss Me Deadly’s complex and fast-paced plot and large cast of characters just wasn’t for me.  On a rewatch, however, I found out just how wrong I was.  Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly, based on a novel of the same name by writer Mickey Spillane, is an incredibly taught and suspense noir, and will very likely go down as one of the most memorable I’ve seen to date.  The cast of characters are all corrupt crooks looking out for themselves, which helps establish the film’s dark and eerie mood.  Mike Hammer is such a complex and unique character that it took me those three watches to finally appreciate him.  I can’t possibly imagine how Ralph Meeker’s performance as Hammer didn’t launch him into a more notable career, but at least it’s here for us to praise all these years later.  The film’s climax is one of the most nihilistic and downtrodden I’ve ever seen, not just in the film noir genre I’ve been featuring this past month.  I can’t possibly spoil it for anybody reading, but I’ll say that it’s explosive in its energy and suspense, and that it’s well worth the wait.  Kiss Me Deadly can be looked back upon as the originator of the “mysterious box” trope found in films like Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, which was inspired by Aldrich’s film.  The film is an obvious product of Cold War era Hollywood, feeling incredibly paranoid and untrustworthy in every twist and turn it makes, and this helps further the plot and character building in its own unique way.  

In all of its dark, moody, corrupt, and paranoid glory, it’s easy for me to say that Kiss Me Deadly is an absolute masterpiece of the genre.  The character of Mike Hammer is incredibly complex and a delight to watch onscreen.  It makes me wish that more serious adaptations of the novels featuring him as a character were made, and that the team of Aldrich and Meeker were able to collaborate on more than one of them.  Kiss Me Deadly is about as depressing as film noir gets, and it works in every single frame.  I can say without a doubt in my mind that Kiss Me Deadly is highly recommended, and that anybody reading this would find something in it to fall in love with.