The Top 376 Films Of All Time So Far, Mostly Ten By Ten

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Charlton Heston had it right, too. The vastness of the internet is all-encompassing. I feel lone-ly......

140. Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
139. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
138. The Getting of Wisdom (1978)
137. Dog Soldiers (2002)
136. Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
135. The Mist (2007)
134. Logan's Run (1976)
133. Altered States (1980)
132. Brute Force (1947)
131. Primary Colors (1998)

Number 136, without knowing it, predicted the future by having its fictional President shot in 1981.
I'm seeing Number 134 for the first time inside a theater 3 pm this Saturday at the AFI in Silver Spring, Maryland. If any one reading this decides to go also, be sure to call out ''134'' before it begins. Then two of us will know what you mean.

 

[Harvey]

I saw Altered States a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it. It comes out on Blu-Ray this summer; I'm curious to see how it holds up on repeat viewings (besides Jordan Cronenweth's cinematography, which, like most of his work, remains clearly in my mind).

I've only seen two others on this list; Invasion of the Body Snatchers is either a masterpiece or very close to it. Primary Colors is good, although a bit exaggerated from it's real life source material.

Actually, come to think of it, I've also seen Dog Soldiers, but beyond liking it the film didn't leave much of an impression.

I saw a number of films at AFI Silver Spring in 2007-2008. It's an excellent theater. On the wrong coast to pay a visit now, though.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

130. Margin Call (2011)
129. Frenzy (1972)
128. Damien: Omen II (1978)
127. Harry and Tonto (1974)
126. The Big Easy (1987)
125. The Petrified Forest (1936)
124. Obsession (1976)
123. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
122. Little Women (1994)
121. From Russia with Love (1963)

MARGIN CALL is the youngest film of the 376......

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I forgot to mention that, whether you may be in a minor funk, or even a major depression, HARRY AND TONTO might help you out of it like no other movie could. It worked with me.

120. Blackboard Jungle (1955)
119. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
118. The Ninth Configuration (1979)
117. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
116. Kings Row (1942)
115. The Seven Samurai (1954)
114. The Grey Zone (2002)
113. Catch-22 (1970)
112. Team America: World Police (2004)
111. The Lost Patrol (1934)

And perhaps KINGS ROW might get some out of their funks as well. Perhaps....

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

110. The Queen (2006)
109. True Grit (1969)
108. Munich (2005)
107. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
106. Straw Dogs (1971)
105. American Beauty (1999)
104. The Searchers (1956)
103. The Night Stalker (1972) (made-for-TV)
102. Advise and Consent (1962)
101. Casino Royale (2006)

Though it'll be a one-time-only occurrence here, I broke the ''theatrical films only'' rule by choosing THE NIGHT STALKER on the grounds of its comparative excellence, at least for its time. Most 70s TV-movies are utterly forgettable. Not that one.

 

[Harvey]

If we're going to talk TV-Movies, I think Don Siegel's version of The Killers with Lee Marvin and Ronald Reagan (as the villain!) is terrific. Technically, that was released theatrically, though (NBC thought it was too violent for TV after seeing the finished product).

I suppose the Nicholas Meyer-directed The Day After might be the most famous TV-Movie, although I haven't seen it.

The John Wayne version of True Grit is okay, but I prefer the remake by a wide margin. Bridges matches Wayne's performance, and it just has so much more to offer when it comes to everything else in the movie.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

THE KILLERS, in a manner different from TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, also has the President shot before he was actually shot.....or actually President.

Comparing both TRUE GRITs, Matt Damon is clearly superior to Glen Campbell.........but how does Hailee Steinfeld rank against Kim Darby? You don't have to be Harvey to answer this. Three's company, four's an asset, five is fine.....but there are only 100 contenders left until tonight.

 

[Harvey]

Kim Darby gives a satisfactory performance, I suppose, but Hailee Steinfeld was absolutely perfect for the role. I have the 2010 version of the movie on Blu-Ray, but although I've seen the 1969 version on sale for $10, I haven't had any inclination to purchase it.

I am kind of curious about the 1975 sequel, Rooster Cogburn. It seems so ill-advised, but it had Hepburn in it! Has anyone seen it?

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I've seen it, finally in full, about two years ago. It's very similar to THE AFRICAN QUEEN when Wayne and Hepburn escape by boat. It won't make you forget TRUE GRIT, but the pairing's good for historical value. Richard Jordan (from LOGAN'S RUN) is the villain, while Anthony Zerbe is half-hero, half-villain.

A 1978 TV-sequel, TRUE GRIT 2, featured Warren Oates and Lisa Pelikan as Rooster and Matty. I wish the 1969 DVD had added that sequel, since I only saw it once on cable and had to switch channels before it ended.

I concur that Steinfeld was the ultimate Matty Ross to date. Darby happily agrees with that verdict herself.

Moving on to the final 100.......(cue ominous music)

100. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
99. Almost Famous (2000)
98. Goldfinger (1964)
97. Excalibur (1981)
96. Fame (1980)
95. Inside Man (2006)
94. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
93. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
92. Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
91. A Passage to India (1984)

 

[Harvey]

Eh, Goldfinger. It establishes a lot of the tropes that would characterize the Bond series from that point on, but I far prefer From Russia with Love, which was less focused on gadgetry and world-domination, and still gave Bond the hard-edge he also had in Dr. No.

Return of the King has too many endings; either of the previous films (especially the first) are better.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Recapping all Bond wins at this point:

Moonraker is 341, The Living Daylights 240, The Spy Who Loved Me 222, You Only Live Twice 213, Die Another Day 198, From Russia With Love 121, Casino Royale 101, Goldfinger 98.

Do you suppose I left anything out?

For all its length and faithfulness to Tolkien, you'd think RETURN OF THE KING could've preserved Christopher Lee's fatal sendoff instead of saying ''Oh, he's captured now'' while consigning him to the deleted scenes!!!!! That's what I hated.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service?

Also, Die Another Day and Moonraker being on this list completely invalidate it.

 

[Harvey]

At least he didn't include Diamond are Forever. It seems like they really worked hard on that one to dull any excitement over Sean Connery returning to the part. To be honest, one might say the same thing about Never Say Never Again, but that one wasn't quite as bad.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I have never invalidate anything in my life. It's clearly impossible from the get-go. It's only human nature to find two less likable berries out of the lowest 290. Still....mule fritters, horse hockey and buffalo bagels. A film in which the long-suffering Miss Moneypenny is finally rewarded with her lifetime dream of snogging James Bond is worth at least Number 198. Of course, it should've been Lois Maxwell, but....

If only Connery had stayed to do MAJESTY. He did manage to elevate DIAMONDS a bit from its material, but after all he's been through with Blofeld, the film's ending doesn't specify whether Blofeld's captured or killed. Since he had Bond's wife murdered, would capturing him be enough for the Connery-Bond?

When I first saw NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN it seemed pretty slick and polished in a good way, but now I'd have to say it hasn't aged well for me. (Neither did OCTOPUSSY.) Of course, not being allowed to use the signature theme music, and to recycle formerly dead characters while re-using Connery thwarts the whole enterprise, playing total havoc with the continuity. As a stand alone, perhaps it works.

With a new Q on the way in next year's Bond film, we may see the return of the GOLDFINGER effect. I think the last film was a desperate attempt to imitate the BOURNE films. Problem is, that series ran out of any new approaches after Part Two and for the Bond series to raid it for ''inspiration'' is utterly sad and an admission of defeat. There's no place to go but up now.

90. Enema (1992)
89. The Wrinkles of Experience (1987)
88. Man Scratches Nose (1913)
87. Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1983)
86. Jeanne Dielmann (1973)
85. Quantum of Solace (2008)
84. Anchorman Deux (2013)
83. Being Michael Madsen (2011)
82. Dog of Norway (1944)
81. Generic Song Title (1998)

 

[Harvey]

Friday the 13th Part IV? Meh. As far as slashers go, you can do better. The original Halloween and either A Nightmare on Elm Street or Wes Craven's New Nightmare for starters, but I suppose I was never very partial to the Jason Vorhees series.

Wikipedia and IMDB seem to agree that Being Michael Madsen was a 2007, not 2011, release.

And a movie that hasn't even been made yet (let alone released)? Yeah, I'm not going to waste time discussing that one.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Friday the 13 part IV is one of the better installments in that series, but those films are shlock. They don't belong anywhere near this list.

And if you hadn't shown how worthless this list already was with several of your choices, putting in a movie that hasn't even been made yet is the nail in the coffin. Seriously, are you trying to pull off a lengthy troll here?

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Only if you believed those last ten choices were genuine, which I never did. Five of them don't even exist, while the others are terrible or still unseen. The real 90-81 will be revealed tomorrow.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

^If you're gonna try an April Fool, you need to do it on April Fool's Day. You also need to make sure that it doesn't fit perfectly with the rest of your already ridiculous list.

 

[Gepard]

[furious back-pedaling]

Okay.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

If you're going to try to write invalidated, you need to remember both of the Ds. You also need a less ridiculous avatar. No film choice is as worthless as a My Little Green Lantern Pony. Calling any FRIDAY the 13th film ''better'' seems wacko as well, but I'm satisfied you found the absolute worst possible ten convincing even though the date was wrong. Bad films or good, your reaction's been the same. Thanks for your feedback.

Harvey, sorry about the confusion. My postings tend to be attributed by the BBS to the following day. I expected this to be listed as April 1st, If I had posted a bit later, that would have been the case. Which explains the forged back-pedaling.