It is so ridiculously hard to make a list of the best films of all time. No matter what you decide to include, most people will disagree with a majority of the list. Should one choose nothing but personal favorites? Should one place emphasis on films that have had influence and importance in the world of cinema? For me, the term 'best' should be a combination of every factor you can think of. So I present this list as an amalgam of the aforementioned criteria coupled with a little whimsy and guesswork. The list is an ever changing one and will be updated three or four times a year.

To give a little insight as to some of my reasoning... Citizen Kane is easily the most influential film in history, but, although I like it a great deal, it doesn't happen to be one that I enjoy watching time and time again. There are some films that are undeniably re-watchable but may not carry enough substance to scale the elite list to the top... Die Hard might be a fitting example of that. Can a silent film crack the list? Buster Keaton's The General is arguably one of the best from the silent era, but I am unconvinced that a great silent film can reach the lofty heights of a great talkie. Should slapstick comedies be given leeway in spite of their lack of depth? Airplane would make many top comedy lists... but very few critics would include it in an all time Top 100. Apocalypse Now is a film I just cannot bring myself to like... can I justify a spot in the Top 100 for a film I don't like? What about a brand new film? Should movies that have just been released be allowed on to the list immediately or would a waiting period be prudent? Irreversible made my list immediately... it was too good to omit just because it was released in 2003.

The decennial Sight & Sound Poll doesn't typically include films from the 1980's or 1990's & the AFI list of the 100 greatest films is a veritable showcase of black and white. Now, I can understand the exclusion of most movies from the 80's because that decade was a baron wasteland of cinema! However, since 1993 we have seen a renaissance in cinematic art, due to the spectacular influence of independent filmmakers, the likes of which I don't think we have ever seen before. I truly believe that history will prove that the past decade (1993-2004) has been a 'golden age' of movies. I have seen over 3000 films in my life and about 1800 of them are post 1990. It would seem logical to presume that the same percentage would apply to the Top 100 list. However, that is not the case. The median year seems to be 1980. About half of the list is comprised of films from 1925-1980. The rest are 'contemporary' films. My list is definitely more contemporary than the AFI list or that of an older critic... I think that is only to be expected.

All this taken in to account, I will try to present the films that have had the greatest impact on my life and the ones I cherish the most. I have also given weight to longevity and historical influence. These lists are not to be agreed or disagreed with... this list is factual in that my opinion holds that these are the best films of all time. Feel free to email me your own lists, but don't bother criticizing mine or anybody else's for that matter... You won't get anywhere! Just try to have fun with the list and come up with your own. So without further ado, here we go...

101-150

Blazing Saddles
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Breathless (1960)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Cincinnati Kid, The
City Slickers
Dark City
Das Boot
Dead Calm
Dogville
Dreamers, The
Edge, The
Facing Windows
Falling Down
Firefox
Full Metal Jacket
Gattaca
Good Will Hunting
Grand Illusion
In the Company of Men
Jacob's Ladder
Jaws
Jean de Florette
Joe Versus the Volcano
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Kill Bill: Volume 1
Maltese Falcon, The
Mission: Impossible
North by Northwest
Oasis
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Pleasantville
Ponette
Remains of the Day
Roger & Me
Rosetta
Secretary
Shape of Things, The
Signs
Taxi Driver
Threesome
Tokyo Story
Tombstone
Top Secret!
Truman Show, The
Usual Suspects, The
Vanilla Sky
Vertigo
Very Long Engagement, A
Where Eagles Dare

151-200

25th Hour
400 Blows, The
Affair of Love, An
Almost Famous
Amadeus
Apartment, The
Being John Malkovich
Birthday Girl
Blair Witch Project
Bowling for Columbine
Bridge on the River Kwai
Cast Away
Count of Monte Cristo, The
Dangerous Liaisons
Daylight
Dead Poets Society
End of the Affair, The
Experiment, Das
Femme Fatale
Fly, The
Gladiator
Hours, The
Jude
Killing Fields, The
Kissing Jessica Stein
Lawrence of Arabia
Love & Sex
Mansfield Park
Moulin Rouge
Myth of Fingerprints
New World, The
Perfect Murder, A
Phone Booth
Planet of the Apes
Player, The
Point of No Return
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raise the Red Lantern
Ronin
Runaway Train
Score, The
Sex and Lucia
Silence of the Lambs
Sixth Sense, The
Sliding Doors
Thelma & Louise
Three Colors: Red
Tommy Boy
Training Day
Wedding Crashers, The

201-300

About a Boy
About Schmidt
Abyss, The
All About Eve
American Pie
Artificial Intelligence: AI
Basic Instinct
Bestia nel cuore, La
The Bicycle Thief
Boyz N the Hood
Breakdown
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Catch Me If You Can
Children of Paradise
Crimson Rivers, The
Day the Earth Stood Still
Deer Hunter, The
Dirty Dozen, The
Dog Day Afternoon
Donnie Brasco
Dr. Strangelove
Elizabeth
Escape from Alcatraz
Few Good Men, A
Firm, The
French Connection
Fried Green Tomatoes
From Dusk till Dawn
Gilda
Hannibal
Happiness
Hidden Fortress, The
In America
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Jerry Maguire
JFK
Jules et Jim
King Kong (1933)
Kramer vs. Kramer
L.A. Confidential
Last of the Mohicans
Last Tango in Paris
Libertine, The
Lifeboat
Memento
Nosferatu the Vampire
Notorious
Le Notti Bianche
The Party
Paths of Glory
Quiz Show
Rebecca
Rififi
Ring, The
Rising Sun
Rob Roy
Roger Dodger
Spellbound
La Strada
Strangers on a Train
Sunset Blvd.
Syriana
Unbearable Lightness of Being
Vanishing, The
When a Man Loves a Woman
Wild Strawberries
Your Friends & Neighbors

Possible 2006 Entries

Black Book
Good Shepherd, The
Marie Antoinette
Departed, The
Fountain, The
Casino Royale
Pan's Labyrinth
Apocalypto
Little Children
V for Vendetta
Descent, The

 

INTERESTING STATISTICS ABOUT THE LIST

• There are 35+ shared films on this list and the AFI list of Greatest Films.

• There are 45+ shared films on this list and the IMDB Top 100.

• There are 45+ shared films on this list and Ebert's list of Great Movies.

• There are 35+ shared films on this list and James Berardinelli's Top 100.

• There are 4 films on this list among the 100 highest grossing films ever.

• There are 20+ foreign language films on the list.

• The oldest film on the list is from 1925.

• The newest is from 2005.

• There are 15+ Best Picture Oscar Winners on the list.

• There are 5 Hitchcock films included.

• There are 5 Kubrick films.

• Spielberg & PT Anderson are represented 3 times each.

• There are over 100 films listed in the top 100??? Do you know how?

• Titanic and All About Eve are the most nominated films in the list. (13)

• Titanic and Ben Hur won the most Oscars on this list. (11)

• There are 20½ Black & White films on the list. (Pleasantville is the ½)

• There are 2 'silent' films represented.

• 60 of the films are pre-1980 and 40 are post-1980

• Robert de Niro heads the list with roles in 5 of the 100 films.

• John C. Reilly has also appeared in 5 of the 100 films.

• Anthony Hopkins, Phillip S. Hoffman & Harvey Keitel are all tied with 3.

• Julianne Moore has appeared in 3 of the films.

• Over 20 other actors and actresses appear on the list twice.

• There are only two musicals on the list.

• 20 of the entries are war films or have strong elements of war.

• 5 of the films can be considered comedies.

• 32 of the films have strong elements of romance.

• 26 of the films are 3 hours long or thereabouts.

• 18 of the films have nudity.

• 64 of the films feature at least one death.

• Only 2 of the films relate to sports.

The accuracy of these stats can vary as new films come and go!