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YOUR Top Ten List

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 12:40 PM

What are your favorite movies? Not which ones have the best stories, have the best acting, or were the most groundbreaking in cinematography....unless those are the criteria you use to pick your favorite movies. As In the Bedroom taught us, a movie can have all the pieces of a great movie and still be a snooze-fest. These are the movies that you would bring with you if you had to live for a year on a deserted island that came equipped with electricity and surround sound. And don't pick a movie just because it has the Katie Holmes' nude scene, because you can bring stills with you from any movie you want. Rank them 1-10 if you can.

seawolf17 Jul 24 2006 12:54 PM

In no particular order, my Top Ten: Clue Airplane The Three Amigos Field of Dreams Forget Paris This Is Spinal Tap Spaceballs PCU Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut

ScarletKnight41 Jul 24 2006 12:54 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 24 2006 12:56 PM

In no particular order, and totally off the cuff - The Producers (1968) Radio Days Airplane Yellow Submarine Ruthless People Johnny Dangerously A Christmas Story America's Sweethearts Four Weddings and a Funeral Annie Hall If I'm sitting on that island for a year, I'm going to need some laughs. If I can add a few others, I'd throw in Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and Party Girl - a Parker Posey trio.

metirish Jul 24 2006 12:55 PM

1 - Unforgiven 2 - Gangs of New York 3 - The Deer Hunter 4 - Heat 5 - The Abyss 6 - In The Name Of The Father 7 -In America 8 -Trainspotting 9 - The Field 10 - The Commitments Well that list would probably change every day but that's it....

Vic Sage Jul 24 2006 01:03 PM

Here's 10 off the top of my head, in the order in which they occurred to me (tomorrow would likely be an entirely different list): The Good, The Bad & the Ugly The Producers The Crow Moulin Rouge The In-Laws All That Jazz Barbarella Kill Bill (v1-v2) Field of Dreams Bladerunner

metirish Jul 24 2006 01:04 PM

See I forgot Field of Dreams.....

ScarletKnight41 Jul 24 2006 01:07 PM

All That Jazz is a great choice. I remembered seeing that one when I was in college, and hating it the first time because it was so different from what I was prepared to see. By the second viewing, though, I was hooked - it's brilliant.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 01:27 PM

I think my top 10 list would stay relatively the same from day to day, it would just take some time to come up with it.

TransMonk Jul 24 2006 02:14 PM

1. Glengary Glenross A movie I can watch again and again and again. It has superb acting by everyone and great dialogue. I enjoy most of Mamet’s screenplays, but this one by far hit the nail on the head in translating to the screen. No violence, no chicks, no drugs…just two set pieces and a whole lot of cursing. Stayed true to the play and blows me away every time I see it. 2. True Romance Like Mamet, I love Tarantino’s screenplays…also like Mamet, I feel that Tarantino messes his movies up to a certain extent when he directs them. Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were great flicks, yet still so stylish and overblown that it sometimes got in the way of the story. True Romance keeps the script but lets Tony Scott tell the tale. He gets great performances from an all-star cast. 3. Empire Strikes Back My favorite movie from childhood…again, some great stories are better told when someone other than the writer is telling them. Lucas didn’t have the chance to ruin this movie with cheesy gags and over the top animation. It’s still my favorite of the series, dark yet funny. It will always take me back to being 8 years old again. 4. Swingers Funny, sweet, dated yet hip…this movie always makes me smile. Along with “Beautiful Girls,â€

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 02:26 PM

8. Requiem for a Dream This is the only movie that has effected me on a physical level…which is to say when I got done with this film, I left the theater feeling like I had just been hit in the head with a baseball bat. Oh my god you said it perfectly. I didn't see it in theaters but rented it, and I was depressed for the rest of the day after I watched it. Felt like a zombie.

Edgy MD Jul 24 2006 02:40 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 26 2006 11:47 AM

metirish wrote: 1 - Unforgiven 2 - Gangs of New York 3 - The Deer Hunter 4 - Heat 5 - The Abyss 6 - In The Name Of The Father 7 -In America 8 -Trainspotting 9 - The Field 10 - The Commitments Well that list would probably change every day but that's it.... metirish following the flag: 1 - Featuring notable Irish actor Richard Harris 2 - Starring notable Irish (assumed citizenship as an adult) actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Full of themes of Irish-American controlled gang activity in New York. 3 - Featured no Irish connections that I know of, though there was a Latvian in the cast. 4 - Featured no Irish connections that I know of. 5 - Featured no Irish connections that I know of. 6 - Again featured Day-Lewis, in a story about Irish prisoners allegedly steamrolled in Britain. 7 -The story of an Irish Immigrant family in New york. 8 -Scottish. 9 - Very Irish story again featuring Richard Harris 10 - Very Irish story. Very Irish cast. Very British director. Very American music.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 02:51 PM

Edgy DC wrote: metirish wrote: 4 - Heat 4 - Featured no Irish connections that I know of. I think De Niro has Irish ancestry on his mother's side.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 02:54 PM

Funny story about about a friend of a relative. She was working at a store (jewelry I think, but can't remember) and was filling out a customer's order form. She asked for his name while looking down at the form but didn't quite hear him. *still looking down* "Could you spell your last name please?" "D-E-N-I-R-O" *Repeating it back as she writes* "D-E-N-I-R......" *looks up, mouth slowly opening in shock* *nods and half-smiles* "Yup" --------- I think it's funny at least. Really needs to be told in person.

Edgy MD Jul 24 2006 02:56 PM

Sure. So does Clint Eastwood. I've got to give metirish the benefit of the doubt somewhere though, and I'll assume that his Eastwood Jones and his DeNiro DeSire aren't ethnically linked.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 02:58 PM

Edgy DC wrote: Sure. So does Clint Eastwood. I've got to give metirish the benefit of the doubt somewhere though, and I'll assume that his Eastwood Jones and his DeNiro DeSire aren't ethnically linked. Sure. I only posted that to be a pain in the neck.

Edgy MD Jul 24 2006 03:16 PM

Like I wasn't? God, who in their right mind is going to hire us?

ScarletKnight41 Jul 24 2006 03:22 PM

Perhaps the solution is to focus on employers who aren't in their right mind? ;)

metirish Jul 24 2006 07:19 PM

You lads are too funny..I just thought of Gladiator...I love that movie...and Crowe thinks he's Irish. Again featured Day-Lewis, in a story about Irish prisoners allegedly steamrolled in Britian They were steamrolled, plain and simple.....

RealityChuck Jul 25 2006 06:47 AM

My list changes all the time, but for now: 1. Singin' in the Rain 2. Citizen Kane 3. Duck Soup 4. The Maltese Falcon 5. North by Northwest 6. Love and Death 7. Playtime 8. Stagecoach 9. Chicago 10. The General

Benjamin Grimm Jul 25 2006 07:14 AM

I'll do the top-of-my-head thing too: King Kong (1933) Duck Soup Casablanca Bride of Frankenstein Treasure of the Sierra Madre High Noon The Desperate Hours The Out-of-Towners Take the Money and Run Spider-Man

Edgy MD Jul 25 2006 07:22 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 25 2006 08:05 AM

They were steamrolled, plain and simple..... Hook baited. Fish caught. Of course they were. I was working at a bookstore inthe mid-nineties. It was starting to get aggravating how many "real" stories featured book covers, not with the real person who lived the story, but instead with Daniel Day-Lewis.

MFS62 Jul 25 2006 07:26 AM

No particular order: Touch of Evil Dr. Strangelove History of the World (Part I) G-dfather (parts I and II edited in chrono sequence) Kill Bill (V1) Primal Fear King Kong (1933) West Side Story Napoleon (Abel Gance - Director) Since I'd have plenty of time to kill on that island, I might as well take a brilliant seven hour long movie. Hoosiers Later

dgwphotography Jul 25 2006 07:45 AM

In no particular order: The Sting Singing In The Rain Bull Durham That Thing You Do The Music Man Jaws North By Northwest Field Of Dreams The Candidate Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Edgy MD Jul 25 2006 08:13 AM

I think your common thread is ruggedly handsome leading men, with sinewy forarms and a charming rascally anti-heroism. Except North by Northwest and Singing in the Rain, where you went for classy handsome leading men. I have no idea what my favorite movies are.

Vic Sage Jul 25 2006 08:49 AM

well, since today is another day, here's my new "top 10 desert island movies": True Romance - it was a toss-up between this and PULP FICTION, but this one wins due to the comicbook connection. Empire Strikes Back - best of Star Wars Almost Famous - great music, great characters, funny and sad Singin in the Rain - greatest movie musical ever Duck Soup - greatest Marx Brox movie Wizard of Oz - i can't believe i didn't put this on my list yesterday King Kong (33) - I've watched it every Thanksgiving since i was a kid Casablanca - you MUST remember this! Bull Durham - After "field of dreams" but before "the natural". Outlaw Josey Wales - as much as i like "Unforgiven", this one gets the nod. and tomorrow i can make another top 10... and we can go on like that for weeks...

Willets Point Jul 25 2006 09:16 AM

Vic Sage wrote: Duck Soup - greatest Marx Brox movie Saw that a few weeks ago at a local ahts theatre. Meant to put up a poll. Pretty darn hillarious.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 25 2006 09:42 AM

Hail Fredonia!

Vic Sage Jul 25 2006 11:23 AM

I gots guns you gots guns all god's chilln' got gunnnss..... We should make that our new national anthem. "Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honour, which is probably more than she ever did."

Benjamin Grimm Jul 25 2006 11:39 AM

I had Duck Soup on my list too. In fact, I had three overlaps with Vic, (Duck Soup, King Kong, and Casablanca) and they were probably my only three no-brainers. I thought about going with two Marx Brothers movies and also including Animal Crackers but Duck Soup is the only film the Brothers made that wasn't bogged down with romantic subplots, and stands far above the rest. I ended up picking Humphrey Bogart three times and could easily have gone with more: The African Queen and The Maltese Falcon for example.

MFS62 Jul 25 2006 12:16 PM

Oh crap! African Queen. How could I have forgotten? Looks like I have to drop Hoosiers from my list. Later

dgwphotography Jul 25 2006 07:22 PM

Edgy DC wrote: I think your common thread is ruggedly handsome leading men, with sinewy forarms and a charming rascally anti-heroism. Except North by Northwest and Singing in the Rain, where you went for classy handsome leading men. I have no idea what my favorite movies are. um. That Thing You Do?

ScarletKnight41 Jul 25 2006 08:50 PM

Iubitul wrote: um. That Thing You Do? That was one of the reasons that we almost considered naming MK Spartacus.

Willets Point Jul 25 2006 09:35 PM

I thought of several movies I like that would make a good pretentious list to show how cultured I am but figured instead to go with movies I've watched over and over and over again and still like: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ( 1971 ) Young Frankenstein Monty Python and the Holy Grail Jaws Raiders of the Lost Ark The Right Stuff The Princess Bride Roger & Me Delicatessen Donnie Darko I left out Midnight Madness because even though I watched it over and over I don't think I ever thought it was good (damned HBO). Honorable mention to Party Girl for helping me choose my career path. I know I'm forgetting something.

seawolf17 Jul 26 2006 07:27 AM

Ah! The Princess Bride! How did I forget that? That knocks Bill & Ted off my list.

Edgy MD Jul 26 2006 07:40 AM

Leprechaun Leprechaun in tha Hood Darby O'Gill and the Little People The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold Finnian's Rainbow The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns A Gnome Named Gnorm Leapin' Leprechauns Leprechaun in Space Gnomeo and Juliet

Willets Point Jul 26 2006 07:42 AM

Edgy DC wrote: Darby O'Gill and the Little People Worth watching if only for the unlikely moment when Sean Connery sings.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 26 2006 08:05 AM

Ten movies I pretty much know all the lines to: 1. Monty Python & the Holy Grail 2. Robocop 3. Goodfellas 4. The Big Lebowski 5. Fargo 6. Rocky 7. Back to the Future 8. Local Hero 9. 16 Candles 10. The Graduate

Vic Sage Jul 26 2006 09:13 AM

LOCAL HERO is a great movie. Great Mark Knopler soundtrack, too.

Vic Sage Jul 26 2006 09:37 AM

[u:2cme3bkh]Day 3, 3rd top 10 list (again, in no particular order):[/u:2cme3bkh] BREAKFAST CLUB - Hughes' brand of teen angst in its purest form, undiluted by plot or even much humor. Reminiscent of DUCK SOUP, in that way. THIS IS SPINAL TAP - the Ur-text for the mockumentary form. CLOCKWORK ORANGE - ultra violence and Ludwig Van, my droogies. STARDUST MEMORIES - Woody's quirky, personal 8 1/2. WILLY WONKA - Wilder + songs + oompa loompas = many viewings. MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL - how could i have forgotten this one? THE TWELVE CHAIRS - my second favorite Brooks film. "Oh God, you're so strict!" ROBOCOP - violent and funny... my favorite combination. LOCAL HERO - gentle, whimsical and sad fairy tale, of a sort, with great score. THE NATURAL - 3rd favorite baseball movie. Betrays the book, but stands on its own.

Willets Point Jul 27 2006 03:04 PM

If we're doing different lists for different days, here's my list for today. Dr. Strangelove A Fish Called Wanda Bringing Up Baby You Can't Take it With You The Trouble With Harry Breaking Away The Empire Strikes Back Glory Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Next Stop, Wonderland

Vic Sage Jul 27 2006 03:25 PM

day 4, list #4: Conan the barbarian - Milius' Ahnold epic Seconds - fascinating "twilight zone" type frankenheimer movie Sleeper - Woody when he was funny Magnificent 7 - love it, love it, love it Matrix - i can watch it indefinitely Maltese Falcon - love that snappy dialogue Terminator - i can watch it even more than "Matrix" Young Frankenstein - Brooks #3 Kind Hearts & Coronets - Ealing comedies always work Jaws - heartpounding thriller

MFS62 Jul 28 2006 07:13 AM

Vic, your mention of Magnificent 7 made me ponder a while. Have you noticed that if it wasn't for (having to save) kids and small animals in action adventure/ western movies, many of the characters wouldn't have been killed? Just a thought. LAter

Willets Point Jul 28 2006 07:58 AM

Vic Sage wrote: Jaws - heartpounding thriller What I like about Jaws beyond the thriller aspects is the relationship among Scheider, Shaw and Dreyfuss. The movie works well because its really about these three very different men and how they're changed on this boat journey. The sequels were all about the shark and thus failures as drama. Same thing with the Rocky franchise. Rocky was about people, one of whom happened to be a boxer. The sequels were about boxing.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 28 2006 08:03 AM

Interesting point, Willets. Rings true to me. (I only saw the first Jaws sequel, and the first two Rocky sequels, by the way.)

Frayed Knot Jul 28 2006 08:10 AM

The sequels were about boxing The sequels were about making shit-loads of money ... but that's a different story. I generally suck at these 'list' projects, but here goes: Casablanca Godfather (original) Some Like it Hot Cabaret (NTTAWWT) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Monty Python & the Holy Grail Duck Soup Wizard of Oz Network The Sting (I need some newer flicks)

MFS62 Jul 28 2006 08:14 AM

More about Jaws. A few years ago, there was a poll taken. The question was (I paraphrase): "If you are clicking through the channels and you see a movie is on, which one will you always watch to the end, no matter where you come in?" The overwhelming majority said Jaws. Later

Johnny Dickshot Jul 28 2006 10:08 PM

Willets Point wrote: Vic Sage wrote: Jaws - heartpounding thriller What I like about Jaws beyond the thriller aspects is the relationship among Scheider, Shaw and Dreyfuss. The movie works well because its really about these three very different men and how they're changed on this boat journey. The sequels were all about the shark and thus failures as drama. Same thing with the Rocky franchise. Rocky was about people, one of whom happened to be a boxer. The sequels were about boxing. Absolutely. Though the movie was more shark and less people than the book! In the book, Hooper banged Brody's wife and got eaten by the shark.

dgwphotography Jul 29 2006 02:49 PM

Iubitul wrote: In no particular order: The Sting Singing In The Rain Bull Durham That Thing You Do The Music Man Jaws North By Northwest Field Of Dreams The Candidate Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid How did I not include The Right Stuff?!?

batmagadanleadoff Apr 21 2008 01:30 PM

Here's my top 10 list off the top of my head, without giving this topic too much thought other than to alphabetize my picks. BTW, that Vic Sage had a nifty idea here, back when this thread was active during the Salty Parker era, about posting different top 10's every so often as a nod to the fact that a person's list changes often: City of God Duck Soup. I had to have a Marx Bros. pick in here and I'm not the first person with the idea that this one was their best ever. I can enjoy any Marx Bros. movie other than The Big Store and Room Service. A Night in Casablanca is my second favorite. I realize that NIC is considered one of their lesser movies but this list is personal and this one's a personal fave. Plus, NIC has some terrific Harpo bits including (baseball tie-in coming up) some clever business involving a catcher's mask and chest protector. A Face in the Crowd GoodFellas Midnight Cowboy The Purple Rose of Cairo I'm a big Woody Allen fan and this one's my personal fave, slighly edging out Hannah and Her Sisters and Stardust Memories. Purple Rose rarely makes critic's lists of top Woody movies. Psycho Much of the charm of this movie (yeah, I know - charm's a funny way to describe this one) involves the surprise plot twists and turns and unfortunately, this can only be enjoyed the first time around. I saw Psycho again recently and couldn't help but notice how far ahead of its' time the film was. Plus that bone-chilling Bernard Hermann musical score that I hear in the back of my head whenever the #2 guy in Willie's lineup crouches down to telegraph a freakin' sac bunt. Rosemary's Baby Saving Private Ryan Umberto D. When I made up this list, I had 13 films. The three that didn't make the cut: Requiem for a Dream. To be honest, I had forgotten about this one and was reminded of it by reading this thread, where several of you had mentioned it. When I first discovered Requiem, I must have seen it like half a dozen times in about two months. A powerfully depressing movie. Singin' in the Rain. Sixty years old and still watchable. I watch this movie about once every 10 months or so. Misses the cut because last month, I slipped the DVD into the player, and after 5 minutes, decided I had seen it too many times and shut off the DVD player. Maybe it'll make the next list. Treasure of Sierra Madre. Bogie's no gangster in my favorite Bogie movie. Not Really Applicable but I'm putting it in: I'm currently watching TV reruns of the old early 60's TV detective show Naked City on DVD. Almost every single exterior shot is filmed on location in NYC. Also, many of the interior shots are also filmed on location. So if a scene occurs in a grocery store, the director is is just as likely to have picked out an actual NYC grocery store to film the scene.

sharpie Apr 21 2008 01:54 PM

Yow. Magadan doing a big reachback.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 21 2008 04:21 PM

Yeah. I'm reachin' here. I'm reachin' here.

Nymr83 Apr 21 2008 04:40 PM

I'm going off the top of my head here so this is all subject to change: The Hunt for Red October Shawshank Redemption The Final Countdown Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn Goodfellas Ghostbusters The Sixth Sense Knocked Up X-Men 2 the first 6 are in no particular order but are higher than the bottom 4. i like knocked up alot but i'm sure that spot could just as easily have gone to a different comedy like Road Trip or American Pie

Batty31 Apr 21 2008 06:26 PM

The top 7 are locked in...the bottom 3 change upon my mood, but basically any old Universal, Hammer or Vincent Price or film noir movie goes in the rotation. The Nightmare Before Christmas Godfather I and II Strangers on a Train Rear Window Dial M for Murder Ed Wood Young Frankenstein Dracula Nosferatu Dracula AD 1972

soupcan Apr 22 2008 07:51 AM

I guess I missed this thread the first time. Tough to do just 10 so here's my 11. Not ranked - just there. Pulp Fiction A Fish Called Wanda The Sting Back To The Future Diamonds Are Forever Full Metal Jacket Reservoir Dogs Jaws Bull Durham The Natural The Professional

Centerfield Apr 22 2008 12:47 PM

Star Wars Raiders of the Lost Ark The Godfather My Cousin Vinny Bull Durham Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Ring) Major League Beautiful Girls Dances With Wolves Tombstone

Nymr83 Apr 22 2008 01:15 PM

I'll take Sixth Sense and Ghostbusters off my list in favor of Back to the Future which i didn't think of and a Bond movie - likely Goldeneye or Goldfinger.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 22 2008 01:36 PM

Top of my head: King Kong (1933) Casablanca Duck Soup The Treasure of the Sierra Madre The Out-of-Towners (1970) Bull Durham Bride of Frankenstein The Desperate Hours High Noon The Untouchables

Centerfield Apr 22 2008 01:51 PM

Grimm's head is remarkably consistent to the tune of 8 out of 10.

metsmarathon Apr 22 2008 03:12 PM

in no particular order, save the first, and with many a presumed oversight: better off dead heat terminator 2 die hard star trek iv raiders of the lost ark back to the future true lies down to you disney's aladdin

TransMonk Apr 22 2008 03:50 PM

Centerfield wrote: Beautiful Girls nice metsmarathon wrote: better off dead as well

Batty31 Apr 22 2008 04:49 PM

Oh I forgot The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Better Off Dead (I can quote that movie line for line). Grimm...very impressed to see Bride of Frankenstein! Great pick. BTW, I've met Boris Karloff's daughter several times and she's a really nice lady..tells some funny stories about her father on the set in the Monster makeup.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 22 2008 06:12 PM

Bride of Frankenstein is my favorite of the old Universal horror movies. The scene in the cabin with the blind man, the strange little king and queen who are kept under glass, that strange woman who's always shrieking, the inexplicable lever that, when pulled, destroys the whole building (who would have one of those installed?) and some of the quotes from Karloff: "Love... dead. Hate... living..." And the reaction of the "bride" when she meets her groom! The way that Elsa Lanchester moved as the bride, and her dual role as Mary Shelley. What an insane movie! I love it!

The Second Spitter Apr 23 2008 04:41 AM

1. GoodFellas 2. The Guns of Navarone 3. The Third Man 4. North by Northwest 5. Reservoir Dogs 6. The Godfather Part II 7. Full Metal Jacket 8. Catch Me If You Can 9. Groundhog Day = 10.Unbreakable = 10. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

sharpie Apr 23 2008 09:46 AM

Surprised to see Full Metal Jacket show up on two recent lists. Toward the bottom of the Kubrick ouevre IMO, above Killer's Kiss, The Killing and Eyes Wide Shut but certainly below the rest (Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining).

AG/DC Apr 23 2008 09:58 AM

"Full Metal" deserves a poll. It's like two movies, and I'm not sure what to make of the second.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 23 2008 11:28 AM

AG/DC wrote: "Full Metal" deserves a poll. It's like two movies, and I'm not sure what to make of the second. I always liked Full Metal and rank it as one of my favorite Vietnam, if not all purpose War movies. It could easily make my top 10 list if my top 10 list were permitted to go to 20. MILD SPOILER ALERT COMING UP To me, the second half of Full Metal was a perfect metaphor for the senselessness of war. All of those American soldiers, and all the training they went through to get to where they were, all the resources assembled, human and machine, and for what? To commandeer a building already reduced to rubble before the soldiers even got there, and to eliminate what turned out to be just one sniper who perhaps was not even affiliated in an official sense, with the opposing forces. I write this post with the caveat that I do so only for the purpose of reviewing the Kubrick movie. I have no real opinion on whether Wars in general, or the Vietnam War specifically, were senseless, although I do suspect that there are people out there with concrete opinions on the matter. If I were forced to opine as to the senselessness of Wars, I would probably take the easy way out, and note that all Wars have some purpose and are also senseless in some other sense, and that some Wars, I would suppose, are more senseless than others. Or less senseless. Does this make any sense?