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

[Shrykespeare]

No prob.

And it could have been worse... you could have been caught speeding. You know that joke, right?

[JohnErle]

i know huh, you would think that i would remember, but to be honest, it's been one hell of a week, i'm getting over mild pneumonia, i'm sleep deprived, i guess that's what happens working on an indie film, i basically got molested by the border patrol coming back to texas, because i told them i came from california, so they automatically thought i had weed, i have never even smoked a cigarette in my life, i just want to forget this week ever happened.

sorry also about my number one post, i promise i will post it tomorrow morning, i'm too tired to write it up now. besides it's not like many of you are on here on the weekends. hope you all have a great weekend by the way

It sounds like you had a rough week, but at least you're following your dream. Every fanboy on the internet talks about working in the film industry but you're actually doing something about it. One thing no one ever warns you about is the brutal hours on a film shoot.

Did you ever say what you're doing or what the film is? If you did, I missed it.

[undeadmonkey]

No i didn't. Yea, film hours are brutal. The film is called King of the Road and i was Script Supervisor on it. the production company is project 8 films and they had a film get limited domestic distribution last year. but i highly doubt that this one will get distribution. it was by a first time director and there was very little preproduction done on the shoot, so the two week shoot was very unorganized and they still have to do a few pickup days, at least another week, to finish the script. Also to be honest, them being first timers, they really did not appreciate what a script supervisor is for. there were a few days we were shooting 'guerrilla' without permits and so they wanted to look as inconspicuous as possible, so to have as few people out as possible i was considered expendable and told to go hide inside. also, we were shooting inside an RV for a few days, and there being limited room, i was also thought expendable. So it was a bit awkward because i've been told that on professional shoots, a scripty does not leave the directors side for even a minute. so i fully expect the continuity to be off in some scenes. but hey still good things happened. the 2nd AD liked my work and he is in preproduction on another film and offered me the scripty job on that film, hopefully it'll work out. Also the production coordinator on our shoot personally knows the script supervisors for rob riener and michael bay and she said she would get me in contact with them.


Firstly, thanks shryke for doing this again, the machine wouldn’t work without your elbow grease. I also wanted to commend some of you for picking awesome number one films, daring and outrageous ones even. My pick is much more safe, but remember, if I was asked what my absolute favorite film is, I would not be able to pick between this one or Howl’s Moving Castle (#4), The Assassination of Jesse James (#13), Some Like It Hot (#23) or any movie in between.

#1
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (2001)
Directed By: Peter Jackson
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghen, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Jonathan Rhys Davies, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler.

The magical introduction to Middle Earth, the best of the trilogy, even if only because the two other parts of the story would not exist without the beginning of the story and what a beginning too, The opening monologue is perfect, setting up the history and back-story, so that people who haven’t read the books don’t miss anything.

We are introduced to the beautiful and peaceful shire and to a few of our main characters and we get to see what they are like in their natural habitat. So many movies these days think they have to rush to the inciting incident, or people will get bored, but here, the time is taken to set up characters to make sure that we enjoy the adventure we are going on. Then the danger and evil is introduced, “are you frightened… not nearly enough, I know what hunts you”, and it feels more real than the run of the mill action movie because we care about the characters already.

I was once told that a movie is made by the relationships of the characters in the movie and our relationship to them, and here they are perfect, the director and actors understand their characters and their relationship to each other and that is why a huge epic fantasy film can seem so real. Some only see these films as action films, but that is really closed-minded, the films are about friendship and courage and sacrifice and belief that anyone can change the world for the better.

My absolute favorite part of the movie is Gandalf and Frodo’s conversation about Gollum

Frodo: "It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance!"

Gandalf: "Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or evil before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."

Frodo: "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."

I don’t care what you believe in or don’t believe in, that is the meaning of life. And to think you could find it in a fantasy story. There are also many other interesting, thoughtful, scary and even funny moments that make this movie unforgettable and one of my absolute favorites.

And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend; legend became myth.

[numbersix]

You're right, UDM, script supervisor should always be with director during the shoot. Your crew really didn't think about continuity.

[undeadmonkey]

that's the truth


top 100

100. Stick It
99. The Village
98. The Kite Runner
97. Finding Nemo
96. The Great Raid
95. 10 Things I Hate About You
94. Dear Frankie
93. The Pianist
92. V For Vendetta
91. The Sixth Sense
90. Finding Neverland
89. Slumdog Millionaire
88. Wall-E
87. Big Fish
86. Into the Wild
85. Inside Man
84. Jaws
83. Mary Poppins
82. Stardust
81. 21
80. Chicago
79. Cold Mountain
78. The Addams Family
77. Mulan
76. The Ring
75. Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
74. Pitch Black
73. Lifeboat
72. Sunshine
71. Gattaca
70. Unbreakable
69. Minority Report
68. There Will Be Blood
67. Edward Scissorhands
66. Lars and the Real Girl
65. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
64. The Shawshank Redemption
63. Bend it Like Beckham
62. The Aristocats
61. The Jerk
60. (500) Days of Summer
59. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
58. Speed
57. Little Children
56. Robin Hood (1973)
55. 28 Days Later…
54. A River Runs Through It
53. Office Space
52. Meet Joe Black
51. Hero
50. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
49. Junebug
48. The Princess Bride
47. Defiance
46. LOTR: The Two Towers
45. The Sound of Music
44. Erin Brockovich
43. Pocahontas
42. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
41. 101 Dalmatians
40. Mean Girls
39. Aladdin
38. Good Will Hunting
37. The Prestige
36. Saving Private Ryan
35. Jurassic Park
34. Forrest Gump
33. Revolutionary Road
32. Spider-Man 2
31. Signs
30. The Last King of Scotland
29. The Count of Monte Cristo
28. The Lookout
27. Children of Men
26. Hotel Rwanda
25. Gladiator
24. The Matrix
23. Some Like It Hot
22. El Laberinto del Fauno
21. Princess Mononoke
20. La Vita è Bella
19. Miss Congeniality
18. Casablanca
17. Black Hawk Down
16. Shrek
15. Schindler's List
14. The Incredibles
13. The Assassination of Jesse James
12. Man on Fire
11. House of Flying Daggers
10. LOTR: The Return of the King
9. Memoirs of a Geisha
8. POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl
7. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Pride and Prejudice
4. Howl's Moving Castle
3. The Lion King
2. Se7en

[numbersix]

It's worth sticking with it, and at least you have an opportunity. Not sure what the situation is like in the US, but over here there's a great demand for script supervisors. There's not a lot of them so if you really work hard you can end up making $2,000+ a week, and work consistently throughout the year!

[JohnErle]

One crappy job now can lead to a less crappy job next time and so on and so on. If you're lucky, and if you work hard enough, one day you might be alongside Michael Bay supervising what's laughably referred to as a script. I wasn't aware his movies had scripts, let alone script supervisors.

Good #1 pick, BTW. Definitely my favourite of the trilogy. More Sean Bean, less Orlando Bloom, a lot less Gollum, plus less CGI means it holds up better than the other two which already look a bit dated. And yeah, the emotional core of the film makes it heads and tails better than most blockbusters.

[Shrykespeare]

Unfortunately, NSpan has been so busy with his new job, I'm not certain he'll be able to post his #1 film on his own. Doubly unfortunately, the comments that he sent me a month or so ago I accidentally deleted.

If he doesn't post himself or e-mail me in the next day or so, I'll just post his #1 sans comments, which hopefully he will add in when he gets a chance.

[undeadmonkey]

It's worth sticking with it, and at least you have an opportunity. Not sure what the situation is like in the US, but over here there's a great demand for script supervisors. There's not a lot of them so if you really work hard you can end up making $2,000+ a week, and work consistently throughout the year!

definitely.

I wouldn't say there is an abundant need for script supervisors here, but really there is no film crew position that is in high demand, production stateside is still so low here that there are more than enough qualified people available. hopefully production will pick up soon, there are whispers on the wind that the first few months of this year have seen more productions started then the past few years, so maybe that's a good sign.

a script supervisor that is in the union gets a minimum of $5,000+ a weeks, but that's if you get work. and you gave me a great idea. i have been looking into different film industries in different states, but why not look into other countries as well, i would love to see and live in Ireland or other countries.

[Shrykespeare]

Well, UDM, your list was very respectable. I've seen 57 of your 100, and 55 of them I liked. We had 15 overlaps, also a good number.


Overlaps (15):
92. V For Vendetta
88. Wall-E
70. Unbreakable
64. The Shawshank Redemption
58. Speed
48. The Princess Bride
46. LOTR: The Two Towers
39. Aladdin
24. The Matrix
16. Shrek
14. The Incredibles
10. LOTR: The Return of the King
8. POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl
2. Se7en
1. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring

Loved (19):
97. Finding Nemo
91. The Sixth Sense
89. Slumdog Millionaire
85. Inside Man
77. Mulan
76. The Ring
74. Pitch Black
69. Minority Report
65. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
55. 28 Days Later…
50. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
44. Erin Brockovich
36. Saving Private Ryan
35. Jurassic Park
32. Spider-Man 2
25. Gladiator
19. Miss Congeniality
12. Man on Fire
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Liked (21):
100. Stick It
99. The Village
87. Big Fish
84. Jaws
82. Stardust
81. 21
72. Sunshine
71. Gattaca
67. Edward Scissorhands
56. Robin Hood (1973)
47. Defiance
45. The Sound of Music
37. The Prestige
34. Forrest Gump
31. Signs
28. The Lookout
22. El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
18. Casablanca
15. Schindler's List
7. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
3. The Lion King
21

Hated (2):
27. Children of Men
11. House of Flying Daggers

Movies that I've seen bits of or it's been so long I don't remember them:
83. Mary Poppins
62. The Aristocats
42. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
41. 101 Dalmatians
23. Some Like It Hot
21. Princess Mononoke
4. Howl's Moving Castle

Movies that I plan to see before the year is out:
53. Office Space

[Buscemi]

Michael Bay probably takes Thornton Melon's advice for granted (meaning he doesn't take shit from anyone).

[numbersix]

Well, UDM, considering our vastly different taste in music, it should come as no surprise that you and I didn't see eye to eye in terms of movies. I'm afraid you're at the bottom no matter what way you look at it. Your average overall is 6. Which isn't terrible, but just not as good as everyone else. We only shared 6 films in out Top 100, not much compared to SS's 30 or the average which is 15. Looking down through your list, there's not a huge amount of stinkers, just a lot that failed to impress me in any way. A lot of them I've forgotten (Cold Mountain, Revolutionary Road, Lars and the Real Girl, Inside Man), and others I just found nothing to truly like. You're also an obvious fan of M N Shymalan, a director I simply don't rate. His movies are merely tricks and fail to have thematic depth. At least it was a unique list, even if I can't see anything redeemable about Miss Congeniality (the joint lowest score I gave to a movie on anyone's list. The other was Armageddon) . There's also quite a few of your films that I haven't seen, roughly 27 of them (possibly the most). There's not a lot that interests me. In fact The Lookout was on TV the other night but I just wasn't interested to stick with it. I will however try to check out Howl's Moving Castle, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Last King of Scotland.

The good news is at least I enjoyed your #1 film. I said ti before, but watching Fellowship for the first time must have been like watching Star Wards fro the first time in 1977. It's just a hell of an experience. I think I saw it twice in the cinemas (the Irish premiere, and then on a date), and then again when I bought the extended edition trilogy. None of the films would make my Top 100, but I think they're incredibly entertaining. Jackson did a great job of realising Middle earth and I can't imagine how it could have been made differently. I think Two Towers and Return of the King have some problems, so that makes this the best of the bunch. The journey from innocence to responsibility is a dark and ominous one. Very gripping, and the Aragon fight scene with the Orc at the end is brilliant.

[Shrykespeare]

I still have not heard from NSpan, unfortunately. Since I regrettably deleted the comments for his #1 film, all I can do is post the choice itself, and hope that he finds the time in his incredibly hectic new work schedule to elucidate his choice for us at a later date.

Before I get to his #1 pick, however, here is a recap of NSpan's list:

100. The Secret of NIMH
99. Glengarry Glen Ross
98. A Boy and His Dog
97. 13 Conversations About One Thing
96. Ghost World
95. Following
94. Ghost Busters
93. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
92. Down By Law
91. Vampire's Kiss
90. Jackie Brown
89. Sweet and Lowdown
88. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
87. Idiocracy
86. Young Guns
85. Moon
84. Mallrats
83. Mean Streets
82. Stranger Than Paradise
81. Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny
80. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
79. Tombstone
78. Total Recall
77. Taxi Driver
76. Rocky
75. The Proposition
74. M*A*S*H
73. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
72. Swingers
71. Hannah and Her Sisters
70. Raising Arizona
69. The Godfather Part II
68. Full Metal Jacket
67. The Gate
66. Hot Rod
65. Billy Madison
64. Four Rooms
63. Cool Hand Luke
62. The Conversation
61. Dr. Strangelove
60. The Godfather
59. Observe and Report
58. Willow
57. Young Guns II
56. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
55. Fargo
54. Wall-E
53. Dazed and Confused
52. Night of the Living Dead
51. A Christmas Story
50. An American Werewolf in London
49. Clue
48. Defendor
47. Nashville
46. ¡Three Amigos!
45. Children of Men
44. The Terminator
43. The Road
42. The Princess Bride
41. The Shining
40. National Lampoon's Vacation
39. Monty Python and the Life of Brian
38. Rushmore
37. The Jerk
36. Fletch
35. Army of Darkness
34. Mad Max
33. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
32. Se7en
31. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
30. Grindhouse
29. The Stöned Age
28. The Big Lebowski
27. Evil Dead II
26. Office Space
25. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
24. Primer
23. Aliens
22. Goodfellas
21. Reservoir Dogs
20. Beetlejuice
19. Back to the Future
18. Evil Dead
17. Dead Man
16. Die Hard
15. The Royal Tenenbaums
14. Ed Wood
13. Barton Fink
12. Barry Lyndon
11. Pulp Fiction
10. 8½
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark
8. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
7. Annie Hall
6. Caddyshack
5. Star Wars: A New Hope
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. Buffalo '66
2. Brazil

And NSpan's #1 Film of All Time:

Bottle Rocket (1996) - Director: Wes Anderson; starring Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler, Haley Miller and Robert Musgrave.





I'll post my own #1 tomorrow, and the day after that I'll begin the Fantaverse Collection Top 100.

[Shrykespeare]

Guys, I'll post my #1 later tonight.

In the meantime, I seem to be having trouble with my gmail account. So if any of you get an e-mail from "me" saying that I'm on vacation in Scotland and have lost my wallet and could you please send me $1,500... well, delete it. I hope that I won't have to change addresses, that would suck, because everyone I know uses this address for me.

[Chienfantome]

Yeah, I received that email Shryke, but it seemed pretty clear it wasn't you, I deleted it immediately don't worry