Today I went into the cinema library here, and the selection is ridiculous. Can some of you film buffs give me a list of the very best movies that have ever been made? I've got a lot of watching to do.

Here we go...

In alphabetical order...

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The 400 Blows (1959)
8 1/2 (1963)
Adaptation (2002)
American Beauty (1999)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Band of Outsiders (1964)
Barton Fink (1991)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Bowling For Columbine (2002)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Citizen Kane (1941)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964)
East of Eden (1955)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Fargo (1996)
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1999)
Fight Club (1999)
Gladiator (2000)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
GoodFellas (1990)
Jaws (1975)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
King Kong (1933)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999)
Lost In Translation (2003)
Magnolia (1999)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1986)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
North By Northwest (1959)
Nosferatu (1922)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Once Upon a Time In The West (1969)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Patton (1970)
Pi (1998)
The Pianist (2002)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Scarface (1983)
The Seventh Seal (1958)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
The Shining (1980)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Trainspotting (1996)
The Truman Show (1998)
Young Frankenstein (1974)

*Note: Though I VERY much enjoy all of these movies, this is not a favorites list, but a list of movies I honestly consider to be the best.

This one needs to be seen by anyone remotely interested in rock-bands. And anyone else for that matter.

Orpheus, check out this site and see what interests you:

http://www.filmsite.org/

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Fanny and Alexander

Good list Jordan, I've seen most of those, including Spinal Tap.

I'm going to try to watch at least two movies a week if I can.

If you're going to put Gladiator on the list you need to put Braveheart, as well. Merely for comparison of "epic" movies, at least.

Or, since Gladiator is nowhere near being a "great" movie, we leave it out altogether?

Cool Hand Luke

I thought I'd take a more tactful approach, but I concur.

If you don't mind, which of your favourites didn't make the honest best?

Add to that:

The Day of the Jackal
La Haine
The Barbarian Invasions
The French Connection
Manhattan
Annie Hall
Blazing Saddles

Breathless.

And, as I Wish mentioned, Annie Hall. Pretty much anything Woody Allen did for that matter.

Aliens (1986)
Die Hard (1988)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)
Signs (2002)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (2003)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Almost Famous (2000)
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Ichi The Killer (2001)
Office Space (1999)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Haute Tension (2003)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
The Crow (1994)
Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) (Looking back, I should have included this.)
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Sin City (2005)
Broken Flowers (2005)
Kung Pow!: Enter The Fist (2002)
Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different (1971)
Army of Darkness (1993)
The Evil Dead (1982)
I Heart Huckabees (2004)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Dead Alive (1992)
Spirited Away (2002)
The Thing (1982)
Singles (1992)
Snatch (2000)
Laura (1944)
Mallrats (1995)

Sorry, that was long.

all three Indiana Jones movies...mmm, harrison ford....
Pieces of April
Benny and Joon
Empire Records

The IMDB top 250 is a good place to start. I highlited the ones I have seen.


Rank Rating Title Votes
1. 9.0 The Godfather (1972) 136,028
2. 9.0 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 164,695
3. 8.9 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 119,087
4. 8.9 The Godfather: Part II (1974) 78,358
5. 8.8 Shichinin no samurai (1954) 35,977
6. 8.8 Schindler's List (1993) 105,400
7. 8.7 Casablanca (1942) 71,080
8. 8.7 Star Wars (1977) 148,117
9. 8.7 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 115,212
10. 8.7 Pulp Fiction (1994) 146,371 11. 8.7 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) 34,734
12. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 170,002
13. 8.7 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 75,806
14. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 126,714
15. 8.7 Rear Window (1954) 44,407
16. 8.6 Citizen Kane (1941) 65,377
17. 8.6 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 68,502 18. 8.6 Cidade de Deus (2002) 31,664
19. 8.6 The Usual Suspects (1995) 111,763
20. 8.6 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 100,523
21. 8.6 12 Angry Men (1957) 32,035
22. 8.6 Memento (2000) 99,065
23. 8.6 C'era una volta il West (1968) 19,561
24. 8.5 North by Northwest (1959) 38,301
25. 8.5 Psycho (1960) 57,877
26. 8.5 Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) 65,633
27. 8.5 Goodfellas (1990) 74,664
28. 8.5 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 33,565
29. 8.5 It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 43,861
30. 8.5 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 98,548
31. 8.5 Sunset Blvd. (1950) 17,678
32. 8.5 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 56,551
33. 8.5 American Beauty (1999) 118,347
34. 8.5 The Matrix (1999) 154,972
35. 8.5 Fight Club (1999) 123,697
36. 8.4 Apocalypse Now (1979) 69,973
37. 8.4 Vertigo (1958) 36,476
38. 8.4 The Pianist (2002) 34,670
39. 8.4 Paths of Glory (1957) 15,798
40. 8.4 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 32,540 41. 8.4 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) 27,920
42. 8.4 Taxi Driver (1976) 52,208 43. 8.4 The Third Man (1949) 19,876
44. 8.4 Se7en (1995) 96,371
45. 8.4 Hotel Rwanda (2004) 14,165
46. 8.4 Boot, Das (1981) 31,076
47. 8.3 Léon (1994) 58,383 48. 8.3 M (1931) 13,148
49. 8.3 Double Indemnity (1944) 12,587
50. 8.3 Requiem for a Dream (2000) 53,602
51. 8.3 Singin' in the Rain (1952) 22,157
52. 8.3 Crash (2004) 15,169
53. 8.3 Chinatown (1974) 27,961
54. 8.3 Rashômon (1950) 12,881 55. 8.3 Some Like It Hot (1959) 27,375
56. 8.3 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 65,695
57. 8.3 L.A. Confidential (1997) 74,223 58. 8.3 All About Eve (1950) 14,080
59. 8.3 The Maltese Falcon (1941) 20,917
60. 8.3 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 24,146
61. 8.3 American History X (1998) 65,947 62. 8.3 Modern Times (1936) 11,301
63. 8.3 Untergang, Der (2004) 12,698
64. 8.3 Raging Bull (1980) 29,586
65. 8.3 Alien (1979) 68,374
66. 8.3 Million Dollar Baby (2004) 29,850
67. 8.3 Saving Private Ryan (1998) 107,936 68. 8.3 Vita è bella, La (1997) 40,762
69. 8.3 A Clockwork Orange (1971) 70,868
70. 8.3 The Sting (1973) 25,404
71. 8.2 The Incredibles (2004) 38,498
72. 8.2 Reservoir Dogs (1992) 75,657
73. 8.2 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 73,872 74. 8.2 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 11,363
75. 8.2 Amadeus (1984) 39,628
76. 8.2 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 12,533
77. 8.2 The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 15,460 78. 8.2 City Lights (1931) 8,522
79. 8.2 On the Waterfront (1954) 14,051
80. 8.2 The Apartment (1960) 12,189
81. 8.2 The Great Escape (1963) 22,064
82. 8.2 The Shining (1980) 55,526 83. 8.2 Ran (1985) 13,261
84. 8.2 The Wizard of Oz (1939) 41,356
85. 8.2 Aliens (1986) 68,602 86. 8.2 Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957) 10,742
87. 8.2 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 69,313
88. 8.2 Touch of Evil (1958) 12,683 89. 8.2 Metropolis (1927) 13,100
90. 8.2 Sin City (2005) 51,982
91. 8.2 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) 51,729
92. 8.2 Braveheart (1995) 99,111 93. 8.2 The Great Dictator (1940) 11,609
94. 8.2 Donnie Darko (2001) 60,127 95. 8.2 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1989) 15,229
96. 8.2 Jaws (1975) 51,229
97. 8.2 Strangers on a Train (1951) 11,553
98. 8.2 High Noon (1952) 13,460
99. 8.2 Oldboy (2003) 13,250
100. 8.2 Finding Nemo (2003) 47,362
101. 8.2 Annie Hall (1977) 23,384
102. 8.2 Fargo (1996) 69,947
103. 8.2 Mononoke-hime (1997) 21,487
104. 8.1 Forrest Gump (1994) 97,731
105. 8.1 Blade Runner (1982) 79,839
106. 8.1 Wo hu cang long (2000) 55,428 107. 8.1 The General (1927) 7,213
108. 8.1 Full Metal Jacket (1987) 51,983 109. 8.1 Rebecca (1940) 12,349
110. 8.1 Yojimbo (1961) 10,028
111. 8.1 Ladri di biciclette (1948) 8,123
112. 8.1 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 83,810
113. 8.1 Before Sunset (2004) 11,347
114. 8.1 The Princess Bride (1987) 57,643 115. 8.1 The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 6,716
116. 8.1 The Sixth Sense (1999) 104,075
117. 8.1 Batman Begins (2005) 52,909
118. 8.1 Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 21,346 119. 8.1 The Big Sleep (1946) 10,825
120. 8.1 Notorious (1946) 11,521
121. 8.1 It Happened One Night (1934) 8,596
122. 8.1 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 21,854 123. 8.1 Smultronstället (1957) 5,883
124. 8.1 Duck Soup (1933) 10,709
125. 8.1 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 92,012
126. 8.1 The Elephant Man (1980) 17,949
127. 8.1 Finding Neverland (2004) 24,206
128. 8.1 Cool Hand Luke (1967) 15,403
129. 8.1 The Graduate (1967) 29,828
130. 8.1 Patton (1970) 15,584
131. 8.1 Unforgiven (1992) 33,523
132. 8.1 Lola rennt (1998) 35,395
133. 8.0 The Deer Hunter (1978) 30,752
134. 8.0 Amores perros (2000) 17,124
135. 8.0 The Green Mile (1999) 65,705
136. 8.0 Back to the Future (1985) 74,234
137. 8.0 The Philadelphia Story (1940) 11,349 138. 8.0 Ying xiong (2002) 28,087
139. 8.0 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 66,490
140. 8.0 Glory (1989) 23,454
141. 8.0 Ben-Hur (1959) 22,690
142. 8.0 The Gold Rush (1925) 6,993
143. 8.0 Toy Story 2 (1999) 44,125
144. 8.0 Stalag 17 (1953) 7,747
145. 8.0 Platoon (1986) 38,339 146. 8.0 Bringing Up Baby (1938) 10,042
147. 8.0 Manhattan (1979) 13,427
148. 8.0 A Christmas Story (1983) 21,213
149. 8.0 Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 12,219
150. 8.0 Life of Brian (1979) 36,053
151. 8.0 The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 8,490
152. 8.0 The Wild Bunch (1969) 11,437
153. 8.0 The African Queen (1951) 14,676 154. 8.0 Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 5,566
155. 8.0 The Hustler (1961) 8,985
156. 8.0 The Searchers (1956) 11,018 157. 8.0 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) 7,490
158. 8.0 Hable con ella (2002) 14,115
159. 8.0 Gone with the Wind (1939) 31,145
160. 8.0 Big Fish (2003) 37,478
161. 8.0 Mystic River (2003) 33,553
162. 8.0 Die Hard (1988) 63,409 163. 8.0 Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) 7,178
164. 8.0 Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La (1928) 3,954
165. 8.0 The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 8,064
166. 8.0 Shrek (2001) 70,976 167. 8.0 Roman Holiday (1953) 10,349
168. 8.0 The Night of the Hunter (1955) 8,310
169. 8.0 The Straight Story (1999) 16,019
170. 8.0 Gladiator (2000) 100,192 171. 8.0 The Killing (1956) 7,724
172. 8.0 Mar adentro (2004/I) 5,584
173. 8.0 His Girl Friday (1940) 7,312
174. 8.0 Festen (1998) 13,061
175. 8.0 Hotaru no haka (1988) 8,035
176. 7.9 Young Frankenstein (1974) 24,098 177. 7.9 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) 7,969
178. 7.9 Ikiru (1952) 4,774
179. 7.9 Sideways (2004) 23,605
180. 7.9 Magnolia (1999) 49,989 181. 7.9 Grande illusion, La (1937) 5,435
182. 7.9 Harvey (1950) 8,506
183. 7.9 Charade (1963) 9,976
184. 7.9 Ed Wood (1994) 25,056 185. 7.9 Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925) 6,643
186. 7.9 The Conversation (1974) 11,142
187. 7.9 8½ (1963) 8,824
188. 7.9 Monsters, Inc. (2001) 42,393 189. 7.9 Strada, La (1954) 5,515
190. 7.9 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) 10,971
191. 7.9 Sling Blade (1996) 21,841
192. 7.9 Gandhi (1982) 17,143 193. 7.9 Per qualche dollaro in più (1965) 10,183
194. 7.9 Groundhog Day (1993) 48,564
195. 7.9 Trainspotting (1996) 56,349
196. 7.9 Spartacus (1960) 18,601
197. 7.9 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 10,544
198. 7.9 Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994) 11,227
199. 7.9 Stand by Me (1986) 33,388
200. 7.9 Brazil (1985) 33,088 201. 7.9 Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 6,303
202. 7.9 A Night at the Opera (1935) 6,514
203. 7.9 Twelve Monkeys (1995) 67,084
204. 7.9 All the President's Men (1976) 13,806
205. 7.9 Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 16,631 206. 7.9 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) 2,958
207. 7.9 Laura (1944) 5,159
208. 7.9 In America (2002) 9,782
209. 7.9 Toy Story (1995) 49,506
210. 7.9 Lost in Translation (2003) 48,688
211. 7.9 Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) 9,291 212. 7.9 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) 7,623
213. 7.9 Almost Famous (2000) 41,903
214. 7.9 The Big Lebowski (1998) 55,267
215. 7.9 The Insider (1999) 30,938 216. 7.9 To Be or Not to Be (1942) 4,022
217. 7.9 Persona (1966) 4,206
218. 7.9 Snatch. (2000) 49,823
219. 7.9 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 37,910
220. 7.9 The Lion in Winter (1968) 6,360
221. 7.9 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 68,995 222. 7.9 Network (1976) 10,384
223. 7.9 Fanny och Alexander (1982) 4,903
224. 7.9 This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 22,491
225. 7.9 The Exorcist (1973) 37,234
226. 7.9 Mulholland Dr. (2001) 39,230
227. 7.9 The Terminator (1984) 64,520 228. 7.9 Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004) 3,113
229. 7.8 Garden State (2004) 31,242 230. 7.8 Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) 3,795
231. 7.8 The Station Agent (2003) 8,487
232. 7.8 Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) 3,923
233. 7.8 21 Grams (2003) 25,645
234. 7.8 Heat (1995) 48,923
235. 7.8 Being There (1979) 11,434
236. 7.8 Miller's Crossing (1990) 15,990
237. 7.8 Rain Man (1988) 46,204 238. 7.8 Battaglia di Algeri, La (1965) 2,527
239. 7.8 Barry Lyndon (1975) 13,636
240. 7.8 Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003) 3,804
241. 7.8 Cinderella Man (2005) 6,368
242. 7.8 Brief Encounter (1945) 2,965
243. 7.8 Being John Malkovich (1999) 59,352
244. 7.8 Sullivan's Travels (1941) 3,262
245. 7.8 Diarios de motocicleta (2004) 11,518
246. 7.8 Spider-Man 2 (2004) 47,587
247. 7.8 In the Heat of the Night (1967) 7,527
248. 7.8 The Thin Man (1934) 5,330
249. 7.8 Scarface (1983) 33,079
250. 7.8 Ray (2004/I) 13,780

The formula for calculating the Top Rated 250 Titles gives a true Bayesian estimate:

weighted rank (WR) = (v ÷ (v+m)) × R + (m ÷ (v+m)) × C

The Bicycle Thief
M
Seventh Seal
Breathless

I posted it. Jacktor posted it. Nate, watch it.

thats right!

The Jean-Luc Godard film from 1960, right?