110 ALL-TIME FAVORITES
The F&SN Critic finally tackles the question: what do you think are the best movies ev-ar?
I’ve divided my answer into several sections, with minimal overlapping. I wish I were cool enough to come up with a Top 100, but between a Top 25 and a Top 500 I just can’t hack it. Think of these lists as a rough draft for that probably-never-to-be-seen Top 100.
Speaking of “rough drafts,” everything on these lists is liable to change at a moment’s notice, and movies may well hop from one list to another.
The Mind: “Battleship Potemkin,” “Birth of Nation,” “Balthazar.” This is a list of the movies that I intellectually realize as great or enormously influential but with which I have not (yet) made a personal connection. (Because, really, something might be wrong with you if you feel a personal connection to “Birth of a Nation.”) Movies from this list, upon further viewing or contemplation, are liable to graduate to The Soul. (Although, if “Birth of a Nation” ever does, please shoot me.)
The Heart: “Full Metal Jacket,” “The Princess Bride.” Here are the movies whose greatness is open for debate and movies that are fun; my guilty pleasures and idiosyncratic favorites. I love them all but might not be able to convince anyone (including myself) of their importance. When it comes to this list, I just won’t listen to reason.
The Soul: “Der Dritte Mann,” “Dr. Strangelove.” My Top 110. Here you will find the movies that touch both my heart and my mind, the movies that are both great intellectually and personally meaningful to me. If I were to buckle down and make a Top 100 of all-time, most of them would come from this list.
I haven’t seen because I’m such a big loser: The name explains it all.
Other Great Movies: Movies whose status as “Great” I question for one of three reasons: 1) I haven’t seen them in a really long time; 2) I didn’t get it; or 3) No, they really aren’t great, they’re only good (or not even that).
Back to home.