Flickchart pulls me in

It’s pretty basic.  Do you like this movie or that movie better?

Somehow I get drawn into playing Flickchart.com a lot longer than I had planned.  The rankings come out a little wonky for me sometimes. Here are a few top 5 lists.

Combined rankings for Best 2008 horror – 1. Let the Right One In 2. The Orphanage 3. The Midnight Meat Train 4. Diary of the Dead 5.  Teeth

My rankings for Best haunted house movies: 1. Stir of Echoes 2. The Shining 3. Monster House 4. Poltergeist 5. Dark Water – I don’t recommend Dark Water except as sleep aid.  I should have added Monster House to my own list.

Combined rankings for Best 1990s romance:  1. Edward Scissorhands 2. Titanic 3. Jerry McGuire 4. Interview with a Vampire 5. As Good as It Gets

My rankings for Best 1990s romance:  1. Romeo + Juliet 2. Strictly Ballroom 3. Edward Scissorhands 4. Clueless 5. Jane Eyre.  – at least we agree on Scissorhands.

Combined rankings for Best 1940s mystery: 1. The Third Man 2. The Maltese Falcon 3. The Big Sleep 4. Rebecca 5. Spellbound

My rankings for Best 1940s mystery: 1. Rebecca 2. Spellbound 3. The Third Man 4. The Big Sleep 5. Laura – the last kind of surprises me since I really didn’t like Laura.  The rest I have no complaints about.

Anyway, try it out if you have some time to kill.

Silent Movies – top 25

This list is taken from Digital Dream Door’s list of 100 best movies from the silent film era. These are only the first 25.

Here are my other top 25 lists:

Silent :: 1930s :: 1940s :: 1950s :: 1960s :: 1970s :: 1980s :: 1990s :: 2000s

Underlined means I’ve seen it. Blue text means I haven’t.

1. The Birth of a Nation – (1915, D.W. Griffith)
2. Wings - (1927, William A. Wellman)
3. Modern Times – (1936, Charles Chaplin)
4. Intolerance – (1916, D.W. Griffith)
5. Metropolis – (1927, Fritz Lang)
6. The Battleship Potemkin – (1925, Sergei M. Eisenstein)
7. City Lights – (1931, Charles Chaplin)
8. Napoleon – (1927, Abel Gance)
9. The General – (1927, Clyde Bruckman)
10. The Phantom of the Opera – (1925, Rupert Julian)
11. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – (1921, Rex Ingram)
12. Nosferatu, the Vampire – (1922, F.W. Murnau)
13. The Hunchback of Notre Dame – (1923, Wallace Worsley)
14. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – (1920, Robert Wiene)
15. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ – (1925, Fred Niblo)
16. The Passion of Joan of Arc – (1928, Carl Theodor Dreyer)
17. The Gold Rush – (1925, Charles Chaplin)
18. The Big Parade – (1925, King Vidor)
19. The Wind – (1928, Victor Sjöström)
20. Greed - (1924, Erich von Stroheim)
21. Beau Geste – (1926, Herbert Brenon)
22. The Circus - (1928, Charles Chaplin)
23. Sunrise – (1927, F.W. Murnau)
24. Orphans of the Storm – (1921, D.W. Griffith)
25. Show People – (1928, King Vidor)

David Bordwell on the missing scenes of Metropolis.

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1001 Movies (162-221)

You know that book, “1001 movies you must watch before you die”?  When I was reading through the lists, I was thinking that if I were going to die in say, a year, I wouldn’t actually spend 2 hours out of my last 365 days on some of these movies.  So, I’m going through and deciding whether I think the movies on this list are all that great.  Fine morbid fun.

Movies 1-60 ::  Movies 61-100 ::  Movies 101-160 :: Movies 162-220

Movies 221-260 ::  Movies 261-300

On the rating system:
Watch anytime:  Superb entertainment
Repeat viewing: Good entertainment
Worth once: if you’ve nothing better to do
Historical significance: not for pleasure

---

163. Shadow of a Doubt 1943
Type: mystery
Rating: worth once
Comments: This is worth watching but it’s not a necessity. See my full comments.

165. Meet Me in St. Louis 1944
Type: period
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: I think this is like Little Women – a kind of all-American must-see for girls. I don’t know about the boys.  It’s my favorite Judy Garland musical – even better than Wizard of Oz. Fav moments: the Trolley song and the heartbreaking scene with the snowmen.

167. Laura 1944
Type: mystery
Rating: historical significance
Comments: This did not work for me.  But you could watch if your life is that meaningless.  See my full comments.

168. Gaslight 1944
Type: suspense
Rating: worth once
Comments:Fun woman-in-jeopardy film but not a must see.  It’s also amusing to see Angela Lansbury as a very young woman.

171. Double Indemnity 1944
Type: crime
Rating: repeat value
Comments: YES YES YES – I don’t really like film noir that much and I LOVED this one.  The storytelling is still razor-sharp, and the characters are fascinating.

182. Brief Encounter 1945
Type: romance
Rating: historical significance
Comments: This one made me gag.  Everyone appears to love it.  They’re probably right.  But…the only character I liked was the cuckolded husband.  I don’t think he deserved his stupid wife.

187. Beauty and the Beast 1946
Type: fantasy
Rating: repeat viewing
YES. This should be seen by anyone who enjoys fairy tales or fantasy.

188. Big Sleep 1946
Type: mystery
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: This one is my favorite Humphrey Bogart movie.  It’s perfect for him, which makes it perfect for watching.  I prefer watching movies in groups but this one is best watched alone on a rainy evening.

194. It’s a Wonderful Life 1946
Type: fantasy
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: Yeah – I know it was running each Christmas for years.  But it’s still quite good.

195. Gilda 1946
Type: crime
Rating: worth once
Comments: I haven’t seen this one in a while.  As I recall, it was a well done piece of drama.

197. Out of the Past 1947
Type: crime
Rating: worth once
Comments: Solid movie.  See my full comments.

198. Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947
Type: fantasy
Rating: worth once
Comments: This one drags in the last half hour but charming enough at the beginning.  A nice contribution to the Gothic/Paranormal romance with a couple of well-drawn characters.

206. Rope 1948
Type: crime
Rating: historical significance
Comments: Dull. Dull. Dull.  I can believe that some incredibly sensitive and thoughtful people have had their life changed by this movie.  Didn’t work for me.

220. The Third Man 1949
Type: spy
Rating: worth once
Comments: In a humanity-is-worthless kind of way, this is very much worth seeing.  My full comments.

After the break is the full list from 162 to 221:

1001 Movies (1-60)

Movies 1-60 ::  Movies 61-100 ::  Movies 101-160 :: Movies 161-220

Movies 221-260 ::  Movies 261-300

You know that book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Stephen Jay Schneider? I don’t know if I would watch some of these if I only had a little time left. I mean I’m sure they all have cinematic significance but not all of them are fun. If I were about to shuffle off the mortal coil, I wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of lame movies just beforehand.

So, I went through the ones I’d seen to check.

Note on the rating system:
Watch anytime:  Superb entertainment
Repeat viewing: Good entertainment
Worth once: if you’ve nothing better to do
Historical significance: not for pleasure

No. 6 on the list: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
Type: suspense
Rating: historical significance
Comments: The sets are great and if you really like sets, I encourage you to watch for it for them. They are amazing and I rewound it for a couple of them. The story has been done much better and much worse by every filmmaker ever since. Also, the villain in it reminds me of Edward Scissorhands, especially the bit where he’s stalking the girl. I’d rather re-watch Suspicion.

No. 7 on the list: Broken Blossoms (1919).
Type: drama
Rating: historical significance
Comments: The racist characterization of the protagonist Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) is painful and disturbing. Other than that, you’ve a got a physically (and possibly sexually) abusive father terrorizing his teenage daughter till she runs away. I’d rather watch Night of the Hunter again.

No. 15 on the list: Nosferatu (1922). Now this is pretty good. In a way, I thought it much creepier than the 1930s Dracula. Good stuff, a little more robust than horror movies were for a long time. Cool ending too.

No. 16 on the list: Haxen (1923).
Type: historical drama
Rating: Worth viewing once
Comments: Other people watching this one with me liked it. But I was repulsed by the torturing of the elderly woman, and didn’t finish it. Can’t say it was dull though.

No. 20 on the list: The Thief of Bagdad (1924).
Type: Fantasy Adventure
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: This is a great movie. You can tell it was an inspiration for the Disney artists on Aladdin. Just a fun, fast-paced movie (and that’s a lot to say, considering it’s a silent film). Plus, Anna May Wong is it, and thus the movie earns many bonus points.

No. 26 on the list: The Phantom of the Opera (1925).
Type: suspense
Rating: Worth watching once
Comments: I thought this phantom’s real threats and real deformity makes the story a lot more interesting. Closer to the book too.

No. 28 on the list: The Gold Rush (1925).
Type: comedy
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: This is genuinely funny and the pathos doesn’t overwhelm it. Those shoes do look tasty.

No. 30 on the list: Metropolis (1927).
Type: Science Fiction
Rating: worth viewing once
Comments: The end is marred by an endless chase scene. Otherwise, it’s got an evil robot and mad scientists and a befuddled hero and a noble heroine and a nice futuristic city scape. Just start fast-forwarding when they start the running parts.

No. 51 on the list: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).
Type: war drama, social conscience movie
Rating: historical significance
Comments: This is a well-meaning movie and it’s not meant to be a diversion but still it’s kind of dry. If I want to watch an anti-war movie, I’d prefer Grave of the Fireflies.

No. 55 on the list: Dracula (1931).
Type: horror
Rating: historical significance
Comments: The first half is pretty good. I especially liked Dracula’s brides stalking the camera. (heh.) But once Dracula gets to London, the movie pretty much dies and not in the fun way. I enjoyed Coppola’s Dracula much more.

No. 56. on the list: Frankenstein (1931).
Type: horror
Rating: historical significance
Comments: This is a well-made movie but it took pains to exonerate Dr. Frankenstein at every turn. I’m not sure what was going on. But the sequel – Bride of Frankenstein – is worth watching, especially the prologue with Mary Shelley. Also, ‘we belong dead’ makes me start to tear up.

No. 58 on the list: Public Enemy (1931).
Type: Crime
Rating: worth watching once
Comments: Gangster movies don’t really do much for me. But this was good drama and surprisingly violent in places. I should really watch more Cagney movies…

After the break is the full list from 1 to 60:

2000s movies – top 25

This list is taken from Digital Dream Door’s list of 100 best movies from the 2000s These are only the first 25.

Here are my other top 25 lists:

Silent :: 1930s :: 1940s :: 1950s :: 1960s :: 1970s :: 1980s :: 1990s :: 2000s

Underlined means I’ve seen it. Blue text means I haven’t. A ♣ means I want to see it.

1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – (2003, Peter Jackson)
2. City of God – (2002, Fernando Meirelles)
3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – (2000, Ang Lee)
4. The Pianist – (2002, Roman Polinski)
5. Traffic – (2000, Steven Soderbergh)
6. Mystic River – (2003, Clint Eastwood)
7. The Departed (2006, Martin Scorsese)
8. Pan’s Labyrinth- (2006, Guillermo del Toro)♣
9. Brokeback Mountain -(2005, Ang Lee)
10. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings – (2001, Peter Jackson)
11. Gladiator – (2000, Ridley Scott)
12. Shrek – (2001, Andrew Adamson)
13. Moulin Rouge – (2001, Baz Luhrmann)
14. Crash – (2005, Paul Haggis)
15. Mulholland Dr. – (2001, David Lynch)
16. Almost Famous – (2000, Cameron Crowe)
17. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – (2002, Peter Jackson)
18. Children Of Men – (2006, Alfonso Cuaron)
19. Chicago – (2002, Rob Marshall)
20. Letters From Iwo Jima – (2006, Clint Eastwood)
21. A Beautiful Mind – (2001, Ron Howard)
22. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – (2004, Michael Gondry)
23. Million Dollar Baby – (2004, Clint Eastwood)
24. Yi Yi - (2000, Edward Yang)♣
25. Spirited Away – (2001, Hayao Miyazaki)

1990s movies – top 25

This list is taken from Digital Dream Door’s list of 100 best movies from the 1990s. These are only the first 25.

Here are my other top 25 lists:

Silent :: 1930s :: 1940s :: 1950s :: 1960s :: 1970s :: 1980s :: 1990s :: 2000s

Underlined means I’ve seen it. Blue text means I haven’t.

1. Schindler’s List – (1993, Steven Spielberg)
2. GoodFellas – (1990, Martin Scorsese)
3. Saving Private Ryan – (1998, Steven Spielberg)
4. Pulp Fiction- (1994, Quentin Tarantino)
5. The Silence of the Lambs – (1991, Jonathan Demme)
6. Fargo – (1996. Joel Coen)
7. Unforgiven – (1992, Clint Eastwood)
8. Shawshank Redemption – (1994, Frank Darabont)
9. Malcolm X – (1992, Spike Lee)
10. American Beauty – (1999, Sam Mendes)
11. Dances With Wolves – (1990, Kevin Costner)
12. Forrest Gump – (1994, Robert Zemmeckis)
13. Sling Blade – (1996, Billy Bob Thornton)
14. Titanic – (1997, James Cameron)
15. Braveheart – (1995, Mel Gibson)
16. The Usual Suspects – (1995, Brian Singer)
17. The Sixth Sense – (1999, M. Night Shyamalan)
18. Reservoir Dogs – (1992, Quentin Tarantino)
19. Barton Fink – (1991, Joel Coen)
20. Boyz ‘N The Hood – (1991, John Singleton)
21. JFK - (1991, Oliver Stone)
22. Se7en – (1995, David Fincher)
23. Dead Man Walking – (1995, Tim Robbins)
24. Toy Story – (1995, John Lasseter)
25. The Piano – (1993, Jane Campion)

1980s movies – top 25

This list is taken from Digital Dream Door’s list of 100 best movies from the 1980s. These are only the first 25. The most interesting ones were after the cut for consistency’s sake.

Here are my other top 25 lists:

Silent :: 1930s :: 1940s :: 1950s :: 1960s :: 1970s :: 1980s :: 1990s :: 2000s

Underlined means I’ve seen it. Blue text means I haven’t.

1. Raging Bull - (1980, Martin Scorsese)
2. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial- (1982, Steven Spielberg)
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark- (1981, Steven Spielberg)
4. Amadeus- (1984, Milos Forman)
5. Platoon- (1986, Oliver Stone)
6. Cinema Paradiso- (1988, Giuseppe Tornatore)
7. Once Upon a Time in America- (1984, Sergio Leone)
8. Blade Runner- (1982, Ridley Scott)
9. Ran- (1985, Akira Kurosawa)
10. Do the Right Thing- (1989, Spike Lee)
11. Blue Velvet- (1986, David Lynch)
12. The Empire Strikes Back- (1980, Irvin Kershner)
13. The Elephant Man- (1980, David Lynch)
14. The Shining- (1980, Stanley Kubrick)
15. Full Metal Jacket- (1987, Stanley Kubrick)
16. Brazil- (1985, Terry Gilliam)
17. Airplane!- (1980, Jim Abrahams)
18. Das Boot- (1981, Wolfgang Peterson)
19. Tootsie- (1982, Sydney Pollack)
20. The Untouchables- (1987, Brian De Palma)
21. The Terminator- (1984, James Cameron)
22. Die Hard- (1988, John McTiernan)
23. The Last Emperor- (1987, Bernardo Bertolucci)
24. Gandhi- (1982, Richard Attenborough)
25. Raising Arizona- (1987, Joel Coen)

1970s movies – top 25

This list is taken from Digital Dream Door’s list of 100 best movies from the 1970s. These are only the first 25. I really didn’t do so well this time.

Here are my other top 25 lists:

Silent :: 1930s :: 1940s :: 1950s :: 1960s :: 1970s :: 1980s :: 1990s :: 2000s

Underlined means I’ve seen it. Blue text means I haven’t. A ♣ means I want to see it.

1. The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola)♣
2. The Godfather part II (1974, Francis Ford Coppola)♣
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, Milos Forman)♣
4. Apocalypse Now (1979, Francis Ford Coppola)
5. Chinatown (1974, Roman Polanski)
6. A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)
7. Star Wars (1977, George Lucas)
8. Jaws (1975, Steven Spielberg)
9. Taxi Driver (1976, Martin Scorsese)♣
10. The Deer Hunter (1978, Michael Cimino)
11. Annie Hall (1977, Woody Allen)
12. Network (1976, Sydney Lumet)
13. Rocky (1976, John G. Avildsen)♣
14. Patton (1970, Franklin J. Schaffner)
15. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, Steven Spielberg)
16. M*A*S*H (1970, Robert Altman)♣
17. The Exorcist (1973, William Friedkin)
18. American Graffiti (1973, George Lucas)
19. The French Connection (1971, William Friedkin)
20. Mean Streets (1973, Martin Scorsese)
21. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972, Werner Herzog)
22. Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks) (Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little)
23. Last Tango in Paris (1972, Bernardo Bertolucci)
24. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones)
25. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Jim Sharmon)

1960s movies – top 25

This list is taken from Digital Dream Door’s list of 100 best movies from the 1960s. These are only the first 25. I really didn’t do so well this time.

Here are my other top 25 lists:

Silent :: 1930s :: 1940s :: 1950s :: 1960s :: 1970s :: 1980s :: 1990s :: 2000s

Underlined means I’ve seen it. Blue text means I haven’t. A ♣ means I want to see it.

1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962, David Lean)
2. Psycho (1960, Alfred Hitchcock)
3. Dr. Strangelove… (1964, Stanley Kubrick)
4. 8 1/2 (1963, Federico Fellini)
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)
6. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, Sergio Leone)
7. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, Robert Mulligan)
8. Midnight Cowboy (1969, John Schlesinger)
9. Bonnie and Clyde (1967, Arthur Penn)
10. La Dolce Vita (1960, Federico Fellini)♣
11. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966, Sergio Leone)
12. The Graduate (1967, Mike Nichols)
13. Breathless (1960, Jean-Luc Godard)
14. Yojimbo (1961, Akira Kurosawa)♣
15. Wild Bunch (1969, Sam Peckinpah)
16. Persona (1966, Ingmar Bergman)♣
17. The Leopard (1963, Luchino Visconti)
18. L’Avventura (1960, Michelangelo Antonioni)♣
19. The Apartment (1960, Billy Wilder)♣
20. The Manchurian Candidate – (1962, John Frankenheimer)
21. Easy Rider (1969, Dennis Hopper)
22. Last Year at Marienbad (1961, Alain Resnais)
23. West Side Story (1961, Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise)
24. Cool Hand Luke (1967, Stuart Rosenberg)
25. The Battle of Algiers (1966, Gillo Pontecorvo)