Listing away

SamuraiFrog over at Electronic Cerebrectomy (still love a blog that names itself after an obscure Muppet Movie device) is spreading this pseudo meme that is a sort of checklist based off the imdb's top 250. Mind you the list being internet user generated has transformed over the years, there are fewer foreign films and films that pre-date the 1970's, still this list represents a pretty solid grouping of films. How many have I seen? I've bolded them.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. City of God (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
19. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007)
34. Se7en (1995)
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999)
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Amélie (2001)
41. American History X (1998)
42. The Departed (2006)
43. No Country for Old Men (2007)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. The Lives of Others (2006)
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
51. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
55. The Shining (1980)
56. Spirited Away (2001)
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
60. Forrest Gump (1994)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. Das Boot (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Downfall (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
77. Sin City (2005)
78. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
79. Rebecca (1940)
80. The Seventh Seal (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. On the Waterfront (1954)
86. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975)
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. The Great Dictator (1940)
100. Blade Runner (1982)

Hell yeah. That's right, 100 out of 100. Not that I don't have some problems with this list, there are couple that just flat-out do not belong on a 100 top list. Counting up from 100 I can see that The Prestige is a brilliantly constructed puzzle-box but it's too soon to call it an all-time classic. That's the problem with a lot of these, they've got their spots from recent enthusiasm. It's just too soon to tell. The same could be said for The Pianist, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Time has shown Life is Beautiful to be a rather mawkish, manipulative and ultimately forgettable film (man did people get over Roberto Begnini fast). Sin City is a solid, nasty, b-movie for grown-ups but greatest of all-time? No. Downfall is an epic look at the last days of Hitler but for me didn't provide a lot of insight. I do think the film works well as a parable discussing the crumbling of a regime but I do not think it will endure. Hotel Rwanda has some moving performances and hopefully put some well-intentioned eyes on African genocide but is not particularly remarkable in it's film-making (though I did read an excellent article about the passionate production of the film in Premiere [back when such a thing existed]). Saving Private Ryan and Forest Gump present a thorny sent of problems, I think both get bumps of praise from Greatest Generation fans and Baby Boomers respectively. I'm not wild about either film but respect them for the advances both films made in forwarding HOW films are made.

Ultimately there are a lot of great movies on this list but it's a popularity contest. A striaght-male heavy popularity contest. I still think it's a good foundation for start-up film fans, but if you really want to branch out check THIS site here. I will say this though, The Godfather is a worthy number one. Anything you think belongs on this list or absolutely does not? Anything you haven't seen you want a recommendation on? Put it in the comments.