So a short while back I took part in the Online Film Communities Top 100 Films List. Here’s how it worked: Everyone submitted a list of 100 films they felt should be considered for the final list. Those combined lists were then narrowed down to 500 possible nominees. From there, the participants ranked their top 100 from the nominees, and a final list was then created from those results. It was fun and a good way to bring some movie websites together. Unfortunately, many of my choices didn’t end up on the final list, and NOT ONE documentary made it through to the end! Either way, it was still good times. I figured i’d post my final list (containing my actual choices for my top 100 films) here on The Documentary Blog, seeing as my number one film is a documentary. Have a look and list some of your favourite films in the comments below! Also, head over to Film Junk where my list, among other Film Junk contributors, is posted. You can also check out our Film Junk Top 100 podcast here.
1. Gates of Heaven (Morris, 1980)
2. Thing, The (Carpenter, 1982)
3. Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
4. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)
5. Salesman (Maysles, 1968)
6. Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990)
7. Raising Arizona (Coen, 1987)
8. Dawn of the Dead (Romero, 1978)
9. Dog Day Afternoon (Lumet, 1975)
10. Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (Leone, 1966)
11. Vernon, Florida (Morris, 1982)
12. Exorcist, The (Friedkin, 1973)
13. After Hours (Scorsese, 1985)
14. A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971)
15. Assault on Precinct 13 (Carpenter, 1976)
16. Paradise Lost 2: Revalations (Berlinger – Sinsofsky, 2000)
17. Land of Silence and Darkness (Herzog, 1971)
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How ILearned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Kubrick, 1964)
19. Happiness (Solondz, 1998)
20. Modern Times (Chaplin, 1936)
21. North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959)
22. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, 1980)
23. Halloween (Carpenter, 1978)
24. Burden of Dreams (Blank, 1982)
25. Rio Bravo (Hawks, 1959)
26. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg, 1977)
27. Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968)
28. Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)
29. Fail-Safe (Lumet, 1964)
30. Rushmore (Anderson, 1998)
31. Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1996)
32. Do the Right Thing (S Lee, 1989)
33. Thin Blue Line, The (Morris, 1988)
34. Aguirre: Wrath of God (Herzog, 1972)
35. Grey Gardens (Maysles, 1975)
36. Duel (Spielberg, 1971)
37. They Live! (Carpenter, 1988)
38. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Lucas, 1977)
39. Hoop Dreams (S James, 1994)
40. The Godfather (Coppola, 1972)
41. Graduate, The (Nichols, 1967)
42. Shining, The (Kubrick, 1980)
43. The Vanishing (Sluizer, 1988)
44. Freaks (Browning, 1932)
45. American Movie (C. Smith, 1999)
46. Big Trouble in Little China (Carpenter, 1986)
47. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg, 1981)
48. Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922)
49. Cool Hand Luke (Rosenberg, 1967)
50. Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)
51. Black Christmas (Clark, 1974)
52. United 93 (Greengrass, 2006)
53. Children of Men (Cuarón, 2006)
54. Danger:Diabolik (Bava, 1968)
55. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (Hooper, 1974)
56. Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005)
57. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)
58. Alien (R. Scott, 1979)
59. Hudsucker Proxy (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1994)
60. Robocop (Verhoeven, 1987)
61. Gimme Shelter (Maysles, 1970)
62. Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976)
63. Welcome to the Dollhouse (Solondz, 1995)
64. Prince of Darkness (Carpenter, 1987)
65. Evil Dead II (Raimi, 1987)
66. Deliverance (Boorman, 1972)
67. Band of Outsiders (Godard, 1964)
68. Oldboy (Park, 2003)
69. Being John Malkovich (Jonze, 1999)
70. Royal Tenenbaums, The (Anderson, 2001)
71. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Tarantino, 2003)
72. Boogie Nights (PT Anderson, 1997)
73. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975)
74. Poltergeist (Hooper, 1982)
75. Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1983)
76. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Feuerzeig, 2005)
77. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Tarantino, 2004)
78. Lost in Translation (Coppola, 2003)
79. Aliens (Cameron, 1986)
80. Se7en (Fincher, 1995)
81. Down by Law (Jarmusch, 1986)
82. Shock Corridor (Fuller, 1963)
83. The Blair Witch Project (Myrick – Sánchez, 1999)
84. Escape from New York (Carpenter, 1981)
85. Barton Fink (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1991)
86. Crimson Tide (Scott, 1995)
87. Batman: The Movie (Martinson, 1966)
88. All the Real Girls (Green, 2003)
89. Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)
90. Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
91. Rescue Dawn (Herzog, 2007)
92. Shawshank Redemption, The (Darabont, 1994)
93. Die Hard (McTiernan, 1988)
94. Point Blank (Boorman, 1967)
95. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Meyer, 1991)
96. Election (Payne, 1999)
97. Spider-Man 2 (Raimi, 2004)
98. Three Kings (Russel, 1999)
99. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (McKay, 2004)
100. Gummo (Korine, 1997)
Your list is so much more interesting then the finsihed Online Film Communities Top 100 Films List. Citizen Kane and The Godfather in the top two spots, how original.
I was pretty suprised that no documentaries made the final OFC list. Oh well. I guess it’s expected seeing as there was some debate as to whether or not documentaries should even count for inclusion.
All I have to say about the OFC list is this:
#30: Die Hard
#91: 400 Blows
What a waste of time!
I may not agree with many of your selections, but at least your list clearly reflects a specific aesthetic and a lot of thought.
I love your list, very diverse and personal. One of the reasons why I tend to prefer individul lists to consensus lists. It’s a shame documentaries tend to be ignored or forgotten when lists like this come along, very few big name lists rank any documentaries at all.
I’m also curious where you’d rank The Fog of War in Morris’ filmography, I’ve seen three of hls films (the other two, The Thin Blue Line and Mr. Death), but it’s still my favourite (and high on my own list, if I were to make one).
Eric: Thanks for the comment. I’d like to say a good amount of thought went into my list. However, having said that, much of the films below my top twenty are pretty randomly ordered. (Well, not ENTIRELY random, but you know what I mean.)
Justine: I also prefer individual lists. The OFC list is ok, but I think the way the votes were calculated automatically counted out any chance for some unique entries. But that’s not the fault of anyone. As for Fog of War, I really enjoy the film, but i’d say it’s near the bottom of my favourite Morris documentaries. (Near the bottom in this regard isn’t bad at all, i really love all of his films.) I do prefer his earlier work.
Have you seen any of the ‘First Person’ series he did? I highly recommend it. There’s certain episodes that rank up there with some of his best films.
Funny, I think Fog of War is masterful – visually stunning and completely riveting. A real example of collaboration between filmmaker and subject. (As a photographer said to me once, a portrait is given as well as taken.) Gates of Heaven is sort of in a different category – extremely quirky, a study in the eccentricity of seemingly ordinary folks, but without a strongly developed visual style. That came later.
Jay:
I really like the the thought that goes into a list like this. Even more interesting: a great new movie comes along and something has to go to make room for it…
I found some movies in your list that I think need to be in mine… but 100 is the limit.
I like your #78, 18, 100
I am an avid documentary fan and happened upon your site. I, too, am a great admirer of Morris (agree that the “First Person” series is a must-see), Maysles (probably my favorite filmmaker. I bought “Salesman” after Netflix refused to add it to their collection.), & Herzog (I thought I was the only one who saw “Land Of Silence & Darkness!). Your list is fantastic! I will be adding a few films on your list to my queue. If you’re interested, I have a list of films I’ve been watching at http://www.andsomeguy.com/films
Thanks Chris! I’ll check out your list.
Glenn if you haven’t seen Dr. Strangelove yet, then you have to go buy it! I have yet to meet a person (even the most fucking retarded people above 17) who didn’t at least think it was good after they saw it.
It is, in my opinion of course, one of the 10 best movies ever thought, financed and filmed in the history of the world.