I started out trying to do a top ten movie list and ended up with a top twelve list that was still inadequate to cover all my favourites. Unless you simply throw out the names of the first ten 'good' movies that come to mind, making a list like that can be very difficult to do, especially as it changes over time. If you like watching movies as much as I do, from almost all genres, classics as well as modern films, picking a mere ten favourites out of so many good ones is like picking the best ten apples out of an entire orchard of apple trees. So I've decided to add this page as well.
There are certain directors/writers out there who have made a whole series of films I love and have watched
repeatedly, and some of those are on the short-list of my all-time favourites. So now I'm going to offer several lists, with full descriptions and comments of the ones of special importance to me on my top twelve page. Those twelve are indicated with an *. Feel free to add your own lists or comments.
Joel and Ethan Coen Films:
1. Fargo.*
2. No Country for Old Men.
3. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. The Big Lebowski.*
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez Films (Some are collaborations):
1. Pulp Fiction.*
2. Desperado.
3. Death Proof.
4. Planet Terror.
5. Kill Bill.
6. True Romance (Tarantino wrote the script).
Steven Speilberg and George Lucas collaborations:
1. Star Wars.
2. The Empire Strikes Back.
3. Return of the Jedi.
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark.*
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Alfred Hitchcock Films:
1. Rear Window.*
2. Psycho.
3. Dial 'M' for Murder.
4. Suspicion.
5. Strangers on a Train.
6. Family Plot.
7. North by Northwest.
8. The Trouble With Harry.
9. The Birds.
Stanley Kubrick Films:
1. Apocalypse Now.
2. A Clockwork Orange.
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey.
4. Dr. Strangelove.
5. Full Metal Jacket.
6. The Shining.
7. Eyes Wide Shut.
(To be added: Favourite Clint Eastwood films)
Films Starring Marilyn Monroe:
1. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.*
2. The Seven Year Itch.
3. Niagra.
4. Don't Bother To Knock.
5. The Misfits.
6. Bus Stop.
7. Monkey Business.
8. Some Like It Hot.
Films Built on Cars and Chases:
1. Two-Lane Blacktop.*
2. The Gumball Rally.*
3. Vanishing Point.
4. Bullitt.
5. Deathrace 2000.
My favourite 'virtually unknown' films:
1. The Hot Spot.
2. The Rocketeer.
3. The Quiet.
4. After the Sunset.
5. Thank You For Smoking.
6. Mulholland Falls.
7. Devil in a Blue Dress.
8. 3000 Miles From Graceland.
9. Kalifornia.
10. Great Balls of Fire.
And other big-name, big-hit films:
1. L.A. Confidential.
2. V for Vendetta.
3. Back to the Future.
4. Dawn of the Dead.
5. Scream.
6. Iron Man.
7. Spiderman.
8. Blood Diamond.
9. American Graffiti.*
Finally, special mentions:
1. Touch of Evil. (Orson Welles Noir)
2. Matchstick Men.
3. Inception.
4. District 9.
