Fantaverse Top 100 Movies of All Time (Thread #11): The #1s

[Shrykespeare]

Okay guys, here is the thread in which we will all post our #1 films, as well as recapping our entire lists, and opinion's of everyone else's.

Here, once again, is the order in which we will be presenting our favorite film of all-time:

2/24: silversurfer
2/25: transformers
2/26: JohnErle
2/28: Banks
3/1: BarcaRulz
3/2: W
3/3: Ron Burgundy
3/4: Buscemi
3/5: leestu
3/6: numbersix
3/7: Geezer
3/8: Chienfantome
3/9: thegreenarrow
3/10: englishozzy
3/11: undeadmonkey
3/12: NSpan
3/13: Shrykespeare


Surf, you're first. Get us off to a great start!

[silversurfer19]

SURFER'S No.1

1. Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Director: Irvin Kershner; starring Mark Hammill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones



We've been building up for this for what must be four months now, and while I've listed many of my absolute favourite movies, and I've been introduced and reintroduced to numerous other movies by others, there is still not a movie in the world I'd rather sit down to right now with a pizza and beer and spend a little over 2 years of my night watching. I would guess, following my comments on my no.8 pick, that The Empire Strikes back being no.1 is not that much of a surprise at all. The Star Wars universe is one I grew up with, and one I continue to be enchanted by on each viewing. As I mentioned earlier, and as others who too have listed it, A New Hope was a great fun space western, a movie which transported me, gave me a sense of escapism, introduced us to some fantastic characters and filled with plenty of entertainment. And I guess when I was younger I probably preferred that over Empire. However, as I have gotten older, I have sought out more than just entertainment, and Empire has been able to offer that much more. George Lucas' limitations as a director and writer of dialogue were thankfully sidelined in favour of a different director and new scriptwriters who take the genius of Lucas' imaginative story and enhanced it with rapid-fire pacing and brilliant melodrama. This then allowed the Star Wars universe to delve deepar and provide more maturity with its dark themes and a blurred line of good and evil.

The full-blown optimism of the first film's happy ending was pushed aside for deepening conflict, worsening odds and a greater awareness of the sheer power and evil of the Dark Side of the Force. Empire is dark; it begins gloomily and ends with merely a glimmer of hope after a finale of tragedy, betrayal and revelation. The atmosphere of Empire is also much more hostile and bleak than ever before. The ice planet Hoth is barren, desolate and so cold at night you could freeze to death. The swamp planet of Dagobah, where Luke receives training, is a sinister, brilliantly gloomy world of forests, bogs and murky rivers. Even Cloud City is revealed to sit atop of a world of limitless space and bleak emptiness. Yet despite all this bleakness, there are glimmer's of hope within the movie, as we see the young Jedi learning the ways of the force, and not being seduced by the forces of evil. We also see the love develop between Leia and Han (as well as the love between Han and Chewy...) grow beyond flirtation to something much more real, and it gives us hope for what is to come. It is also very funny, despite it's tones. Han Solo is splendidly grouchy, and wonderfully played by Harrison Ford. C3PO's campiness is hilariously taken to the logical limit, while Yoda is a glorious new addition to the cast of characters; his early scenes are extremely funny. Suprisingly, even Darth Vader has developed a wickedly nasty sense of humour; his penchant for killing off unsatisfactory lackeys becomes shamefully amusing. I love the scene where the computer operator tries to keep his cool in the background even as Vader's telepathically choking the commanding officer right next to him.

Beyond the themes of the story though, the movie also much improved on the action of A New Hope. The opening sequence on Hoth with the rebels taking on the Empire's AT-AT's is a thrilling sequence, while the final battle between Luke and Darth Vader lived up to everything we'd ever hoped and probably the best lightsabre fight of the entire series, with Luke much more athletic than his old master as he battles away in a brilliantly staged and lit Cloud City.

This movie truly means everything to me. It's a movie which transports me to another world, one which realises all my expectations of cinema and one which I watch numerous times per year. It's been my no.1 movie for well over 15 years, and I very much doubt it will ever be replaced.

And here is my entire list from no.100-1 list:

100. Giant (1956), George Stevens
99. Princess Mononoke (1997), Hayao Miyazaki
98. Sleeping Beauty (1959), Clyde Geronimi
97. Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater
96. Lifeboat (1944), Alfred Hitchcock
95. Peeping Tom (1960), Michael Powell
94. Requiem For A Dream (2000), Darren Aronofsky
93. Starship Troopers (1997), Paul Verhoeven
92. Robin Hood (1973), Wolfgang Reitherman
91. Dead Man's Shoes (2004), Shane Meadows
90. Touch Of Evil (1958), Orson Welles
89. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), Sergio Leone
88. Pulp Fiction (1994), Quentin Tarantino
87. The Princess Bride (1987), Rob Reiner
86. Dawn Of The Dead (1978), George Romero
85. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), Richard Brooks
84. Point Blank (1967), John Boorman
83. The Red Shoes (1948), Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
82. Brazil (1985), Terry Gilliam
81. Aliens, James Cameron, (1986)
80. Rififi (1955), Jules Dassin
79. Sin City (2005), Robert Rodriguez
78. Rosemary's Baby (1968), Roman Polanski
77. Office Space (1999), Mike Judge
76. The 400 Blows (1959), Francois Truffaut
75. High Fidelity (2000), Stephen Frears
74. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Tim Burton
73. Belleville Rendez Vous (2003), Sylvain Chomet
72. His Girl Friday (1940), Howard Hawks
71. Girl, Interrupted, (1999), James Mangold
70. 12 Angry Men (1957), Sidney Lumet
69. Blade Runner (1982), Ridley Scott
68. Night Of The Living Dead (1968), George Romero
67. Oldboy (2003), Chan Wook-Park
66. The Big Lebowski (1998), Joel and Ethan Coen
65. This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Rob Reiner
64. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Stanley Kubrick
63. Star Wars – Episode VI – The Return Of The Jedi (1983), Richard Marquand
62. Shaun Of The Dead (2004), Edgar Wright
61. Cape Fear (1962), J. Lee Thompson
60. The Wages Of Fear (1953), Henri-Georges Clouzot
59. Trainspotting (1996), Danny Boyle
58. The Innocents (1961), Jack Clayton
57. Memento (2000), Christopher Nolan
56. Citizen Kane (1941), Orson Welles
55. Reservoir Dogs (1992), Quentin Tarantino
54. The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Guillermo Del Toro
53. The Matrix (1999), The Wachowski Brothers
52. Gremlins (1984), Joe Dante
51. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Anthony Minghella
50. Delicatessen (1991), Jean-Pierre Jeunet
49. The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed
48. The Bicycle Thief (1948), Vitorio De Sica
47. Se7en (1995), David Fincher
46. A Christmas Story (1983), Bob Clark
45. The Maltese Falcon (1941), John Huston
44. Evil Dead II (1987), Sam Raimi
43. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Robert Zemeckis
42. Early Summer (1951), Yazujiro Ozu
41. Chinatown (1974), Roman Polanski
40. Beetlejuice (1986), Tim Burton
39. The Usual Suspects (1995), Bryan Singer
38. Harold And Maude (1971), Hal Ashby
37. Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo Del Toro
36. Casablanca (1942), Michael Curtiz
35. Vertigo (1958), Alfred Hitchcock
34. A Clockwork Orange (1971), Stanley Kubrickj
33. Ed Wood (1994), Tim Burton
32. In The Mood For Love (2000), Wong Kar Wai
31. Fight Club (1999), David Fincher
30. Fargo (1996), Joel and Ethan Coen
29. Rashomon (1950), Akira Kurosawa
28. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989), Steven Spielberg
27. Spider-Man 2 (2004), Sam Raimi
26. Rear Window (1954), Alfred Hitchcock
25. Ghostbusters (1984), Ivan Reitman
24. The Shining (1980), Stanley Kubrick
23. Amelie (2001), Jean-Pierre Jeunet
22. The Terminator (1984), James Cameron
21. Toy Story (1995), John Lasseter
20. An American Werewolf In London (1981), John Landis
19. The Seven Samurai (1954), Akira Kurosawa
18. Leon (1994), Luc Besson
17. Sleepy Hollow (1999), Tim Burton
16. Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock
15. The Apartment (1960), Billy Wilder
14. Miller's Crossing (1990), Joel And Ethan Coen
13. 28 Days Later (2002), Danny Boyle
12. Brief Encounter (1945), David Lea n
11. Double Indemnity (1944), Billy Wilder
10. Jaws (1975), Steven Spielberg
9. The Thing (1982), John Carpenter
8. Star Wars – Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), George Lucas
7. Rope (1948), Alfred Hitchcock
6. Withnail And I (1987), Bruce Robinson
5. E.T The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Steven Spielberg
4. Back To The Future (1985), Robert Zemeckis
3. Alien (1979), Ridley Scott
2. Edward Scissorhands (1990), Tim Burton
1. Star Wars – Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Irvin Kershner

[numbersix]

Well, SS, it's a shame in a way that you're first to reveal your #1 movie of all time, only because for me it's all downhill from here . Your pick is not only in my Top #100, but it marks the 30th film on both lists. That's bloody impressive, but perhaps not too surprising considering your taste in songs matched mine the most too. In fact, on anohter day there's a few more that could have made my Top 100 (The Thing, 28 Days Later, Psycho, Spinal Tap, Withnail and I, etc). There was very little I didn't like, with Girl, Interrrupted being my least favourite ina batch of overwhelmingly brilliant films. And of course that means that any of your picks I haven't seen (and there are only 10 of them) are certainly on my list. Most notably I plan to check out The Seven Samurai, The Wages of Fear, Rosemary's Baby, and Rififi as soon as I can. In terms of scores, your Top 100 averaged 7.6 in total, which may not seem a lot but remember I rarely rate movies 8 or higher. So believe me that's pretty special.

As for the Empire Strikes Back, what can I say? I had the same experience as a kid, loving the first (and Return of the Jedi for quite some time) the most, until my interest in cinema made me realise the genius of the second film. Its colour palatte, its tone, its atmosphere, its ballsy ending. And of course some of the best action sequences in any sci-fi or fantasy film. Han Solo developed from mecenary rogue into something bigger, better, and deeper. Yoda could have been silly (see his fight scene in Attack of the Clones) but manages to fill the role of pathos. A thrilling film that perhaps influenced a lot of the darker fantasy films of the 80's, like Excalibur, Krull, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth etc. A wonderful film and I can't complain about it being your choice for greatest film of all time.

So good job, dude, I always knew that your next pick would be worth reading about. And some of your descriptions perfectly encapsulated the greatness of the film!

[Ron Burgundy]

Mr Silversurfer,

You have one of the best lists in our little countdown, and a much better collection than your music top 100 but before i say anything else, i must comment on your No 1 of all time.

The Empire Strikes Back
10/10, 10 views

As you may have noticed, 'Empire' is my No 15 movie in my top 100, so i can really dig your pick. For me i was introduced to Star Wars in year 1 at school (6 years old, had to get parents permission), and didnt think much of it, until i went to a family friends house (who had a kick ass setup) and watched all 3 star wars movies one after the other when i was about 9 or 10, i was pretty much mesmerized. But i didnt watch too much more of the original Star Wars films until i saw The Phantom Menace, which i really liked when i first saw that in cinema. But like six and yourself i liked all Star Wars films (minus ep 2 and 3) equally until a little later in my teens. I realised that The Empire Strikes Back is different a few years ago, when it didnt matter what mood i was in or how many times i had seen it, or even if i was drunk/hangover it would always be an awesome viewing. In school there was this book about Star Wars, which went into a huge amount of detail about the lifeforms, technology, characters and offcourse the ever so imaginative worlds, and your comment about hoth, dagobah and cloud city are spot on, they are just one example of the greatness of this movie. Lando is awesome, Han Solo is badass, Luke and Leia are good, Vadar is layered and the rest of the characters are just, well almost perfect. Very happy to see this as at least 1 number 1 movie, and it should feature in the top 10 in the end, so well done SS!

Onto your top 100 overall...

I cant give you an overall rating just yet, ill do that for everyone at the end but let me comment on some of your picks. The best apart from our 16 crossovers which is pretty good considering i haven't seen almost half of you films would be:

4. Back To The Future (1985), Robert Zemeckis
9. The Thing (1982), John Carpenter
14. Miller's Crossing (1990), Joel And Ethan Coen
17. Sleepy Hollow (1999), Tim Burton
24. The Shining (1980), Stanley Kubrick
34. A Clockwork Orange (1971), Stanley Kubrick
66. The Big Lebowski (1998), Joel and Ethan Coen
75. High Fidelity (2000), Stephen Frears
89. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), Sergio Leone
93. Starship Troopers (1997), Paul Verhoeven
94. Requiem For A Dream (2000), Darren Aronofsky

And i have been pretty busy during this countdown watching unseen films in our top films heres, what i got through from you SS:

99. Princess Mononoke (1997), Hayao Miyazaki (9/10)
91. Dead Man's Shoes (2004), Shane Meadows (8/10)
87. The Princess Bride (1987), Rob Reiner (re-watch after many years, 8.5/10)
85. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), Richard Brooks (6.5/10)
46. A Christmas Story (1983), Bob Clark (7.5/10)
15. The Apartment (1960), Billy Wilder (9/10)

And though most films that i have not seen from your list are offcourse in my must see list, here the top must see's from you:
And by the way, which one should i watch first?

6. Withnail And I (1987), Bruce Robinson (sounds very good, my first choice to see first)
11. Double Indemnity (1944), Billy Wilder (the apartment was great)
16. Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock (i own this!)
29. Rashomon (1950), Akira Kurosawa (2nd half)
38. Harold And Maude (1971), Hal Ashby (been on my list for a while)
48. The Bicycle Thief (1948), Vitorio De Sica (sounds sad but i still wana watch it)
50. Delicatessen (1991), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (could be an absolute gem, the darkhorse for choice to see first)
52. Gremlins (1984), Joe Dante (should have seen this by now)
90. Touch Of Evil (1958), Orson Welles (upon seeing The Third Man and six's recommendation, i really gotta see this)
96. Lifeboat (1944), Alfred Hitchcock (been on my list since you chose it)

Anyway, congrats on your excellent top 100, ill give you you final score (on avg) when we finish this, and im already starting to think of another topic for countdown (hmm novels???) BUT- not one movie from NZ?? whats going on? Oh thats right you're a Pom! And yet, no Monty Python!! Ill keep you informed on my must see list views. Good start to the beginning of the end...bro

[JohnErle]

Empire is the first film I clearly recall begging my parents to take me to see in a theatre, so I loved it when I was 8 even though I was never a big Star Wars fan generally. I've seen it as an adult as well and it really holds up as a sweeping, surprisingly dark adventure. It's not on my list but definitely my favourite of the series by a wide margin.

[Shrykespeare]

Guys, I've just heard from NSpan, who is in the middle of a mad dash to both move from Texas to California AND get his new job started, so it is going to be impossible for him to post his #1 movie tonight. Would anyone (the later the better) agree to switch places with him? If not, we'll just push the calendar back one day and stick him in near the end.

[Shrykespeare]

Well, surf, much like your musical tastes, many of your cinematic tastes (as well as your significant other's, which overlapped yours probably half the time) just aren't for me. As a result, I only saw 39/100 of your list. Still, most of what you had that I'd actually seen, I liked. We had a healthy 12 overlaps and only two of your picks do I actively dislike.

Overlaps (12):
87. The Princess Bride (1987), Rob Reiner
81. Aliens (1986), James Cameron
63. Star Wars – Episode VI – The Return Of The Jedi (1983), Richard Marquand
53. The Matrix (1999), The Wachowski Brothers
47. Se7en (1995), David Fincher
39. The Usual Suspects (1995), Bryan Singer
25. Ghostbusters (1984), Ivan Reitman
22. The Terminator (1984), James Cameron
18. Leon (1994), Luc Besson
9. The Thing (1982), John Carpenter
8. Star Wars – Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), George Lucas
4. Back To The Future (1985), Robert Zemeckis

Movies that I loved (gave a ranking of 8-9/10 that didn't make my list) (11):
88. Pulp Fiction (1994), Quentin Tarantino
79. Sin City (2005), Robert Rodriguez
43. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Robert Zemeckis
128. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989), Steven Spielberg
27. Spider-Man 2 (2004), Sam Raimi
21. Toy Story (1995), John Lasseter
17. Sleepy Hollow (1999), Tim Burton
13. 28 Days Later (2002), Danny Boyle
5. E.T The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Steven Spielberg
3. Alien (1979), Ridley Scott
1. Star Wars – Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Irvin Kershner

Movies that I liked (gave a ranking of 5-7/10) (15):
93. Starship Troopers (1997), Paul Verhoeven
92. Robin Hood (1973), Wolfgang Reitherman
89. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), Sergio Leone
74. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Tim Burton
65. This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Rob Reiner
64. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Stanley Kubrick
55. Reservoir Dogs (1992), Quentin Tarantino
40. Beetlejuice (1986), Tim Burton
37. Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo Del Toro
36. Casablanca (1942), Michael Curtiz
34. A Clockwork Orange (1971), Stanley Kubrickj
30. Fargo (1996), Joel and Ethan Coen
24. The Shining (1980), Stanley Kubrick
10. Jaws (1975), Steven Spielberg
2. Edward Scissorhands (1990), Tim Burton

Movies that I hated (gave a ranking of 1-4/10) (2):
57. Memento (2000), Christopher Nolan
56. Citizen Kane (1941), Orson Welles


Some others on your list that either I've only seen bits of, or I have actually seen but it's been so long that I don't remember enough to rate them:
85. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), Richard Brooks
70. 12 Angry Men (1957), Sidney Lumet
69. Blade Runner (1982), Ridley Scott
54. The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Guillermo Del Toro
52. Gremlins (1984), Joe Dante
16. Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock


Films on your list that I will make a real effort to see some time in the near future, based on your (and others') recommendations:
82. Brazil (1985), Terry Gilliam
69. Blade Runner (1982), Ridley Scott
67. Oldboy (2003), Chan Wook-Park
66. The Big Lebowski (1998), Joel and Ethan Coen
62. Shaun Of The Dead (2004), Edgar Wright
31. Fight Club (1999), David Fincher

[transformers2]

Guys, I've just heard from NSpan, who is in the middle of a mad dash to both move from Texas to California AND get his new job started, so it is going to be impossible for him to post his #1 movie tonight. Would anyone (the later the better) agree to switch places with him? If not, we'll just push the calendar back one day and stick him in near the end.

I will swap with him.

[Shrykespeare]

Thanks, tranny. Okay, you're up tomorrow.

I am actually leaving right now to meet NSpan and his GF, who are driving through Phoenix on their way to California. If I take any pictures, I'll be sure to post them.

[Buscemi]

Away We Go 2: The Fantaverse Commotion?

[Shrykespeare]

Okay, just got back. Umm.... how does one post a photo again?

[Chienfantome]

Good question, Shryke... I have no idea

[W]

I know from a website, you just copy the link, paste it here, hilight it, and hit the img button where bold, itallics, etc are.

Now you just need to put them online... perhaps facebook?

[Leestu]

SURFER
Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back - A very good movie, but like I said a few days ago I am not a massive fan of the Star Wars franchise. Not sure why, guess I'm just a freak. I do agree that this is the best of the series though, however it's the only one of the original trilogy that I didn't get to see in the cinema.

As to your complete list it is one of the better ones (if not the best - it's a bit hard to quantify and there are a few others whose lists I really liked as well) in regards to my personal movie tastes with Spiderman 2 being the only dud out of the movies I have seen. Considering I have seen 84 of your picks that's not a bad error rate. Stats wise, at this stage, yours is the best list with 24 movies that also appeared on my list (although depending on what their number one pick is someone else could equal that). Also you were one of only 3 people to have had at least one movie also on my list in every set of ten, and three times you had four. Sorry about all the numbers but I like the way stats can sometimes tell the story.
Some of the excellent movies that didn't make my list but I was glad to see appear were:-
Edward Scissorhands
Withnail and I
Rope
An American Werewolf In London
Ed Wood
Harold And Maude
Evil Dead II
The Maltese Falcon
High Fidelity
Lifeboat

Overall a fantastic list and I am looking forward to seeing the 16 movies I haven't seen yet. Particularly Dead Mans Shoes as I recently watched This Is England (the only Shane Meadows movie I've seen) and was quite impressed.

[Chienfantome]

Well, Surfer, you conclude with a BANG ! The Empire Strikes Back !
More than in the rest of your Top 100, your Top 10 has consisted of films you genuinely love for a long time, you said so yourself, and so finding this purely jubilatory film we kind of all grew up with comes as no surprise. As a film a lot of us have chosen along the way of the Top 100, there won't be many of us to say it's not a fantastic choice. It is indeed, a fantastic choice, a fantastic film. Clearly a film that shaped the cinephile your are. This is a film I hold dear in my heart too, and one I vivdly remember being hypnotized by when I first saw it. It's an awesome favourite movie you got here.

As for a global opinion on your Top 100, I will say too that yours is one which I have particularly appreciated. One that genuinely zigzaged between the eras, between the nationalities, between the genres with the same passion for each. One I recognized a bit myself (and my own tastes) in. There are 23 films of your Top I have not seen, some I meant to see for a long time but never have yet. A couple I had never heard of. I really want to see that Withnail & I comedy, you sold it perfectly to me.
There are some I have seen since you listed them, like "Lifeboat", "Point Blank" and "Rope", and I enjoyed them all.
There are some you listed that made me regret I forgot them, like "Starship Troopers", "Princess Bride" or "The Third Man". And there are 14 films we share in both our lists.
I already had a high opinion of your film tastes, New Zealand man, but now that I have seen your 100 favourite film, it's even higher