Yeah, I can't take it anymore. 2016 is one of the worst years for movies in my lifetime, and this summer's shitacular offerings are the worst I've ever seen for a summer. Ghostbusters, Cafe Society, Jason Bourne, Suicide Squad and Star Trek Beyond are unbelievably horrible disappointments.
So I've rushed my 61-80 best films into print just because I need to think about great movies right now.
The 1-20 list is here
The 21-40 list is here
The 41-60 list is here.
80: The Maltese Falcon (1941)
I've discussed the time when I saw this movie for the third or fourth time in a theater with Quentin Tarantino sitting directly in front of me. #ILoveLA This film works because it has the perfect touches of comedy with a moving and deep story that seems so real. Also, the Peter Lorre and Humphrey Bogart combo was killer back in the day (see: Casablanca). If it has any drawbacks it's in its long-winded dialogue that runs on for paragraphs sometimes instead of the standard two or three lines that screenwriters prefer.
79: Capote (2005)
I would include this film on the list even if Phillip Seymour Hofman weren't dead. His debut as a lead actor was long overdue. I had read several of Capote's short stories when I was in college, but it was my true introduction to the man. Afterward, when I read two biographies about him, I knew that Hoffman nailed the character. This film is one of the few things that helped me relieve the massive psychological pain that I experienced from the 2004 election. Bless PSH forever.
78: On The Waterfront (1954)
Budd Schulberg is the screenwriting genius who brought this film and "A Face in the Crowd" to us. Even though Marlon Brando's lines are quoted by old people in everyday conversations, I believe that Karl Malden outshone him in this film. Even Brando himself admitted that his famous scene with Rod Steiger in the backseat of the car was far from his best acting. As he put it, "the AUDIENCE was doing the acting. THEY thought that they could have been contenders."
77: Twelve Monkeys (1995)
It's Brad Pitt's best acting in anything (yes, I'm familiar with "Fight Club" and "Seven"). Every straight man who saw it fell in love with Madeleine Stowe, too. I remember every detail of its story, and I haven't watched it in almost ten years. Its ending is among the best in movie history.
76: A Hard Day's Night (1964)
John Lennon was not impressed with its director Richard Lester. He is rumored to have said, "Dick Lester couldn't direct his way out of a wet paper bag." But the rest of us love this film. Music videos didn't exist at the time, so we have this badass collection of their music coupled with their great quips instead. George Harrison claimed that their comedy didn't come across well because they were inside jokes, but I and the other diehard fans disagree. It's just a fucking fun, great film.
75: Die Hard (1988)
The late, great David Foster loved this film, but he acknowledged, "it's also very formulaic, and rather cynically reuses a lot of formulas." Is it derivative of the Dirty Harry movies? Yes. Is it great regardless? Hell yes. Its main character John McClane is an American icon, for god's sake. It's also the vehicle that launched Bruce Willis out of TV mediocrity. RIP to the great Alan Rickman, who turned in an outstanding performance as the villain.
74: Jackie Brown (1995)
Tarantino himself and many other critics claim that it's his best film. Obviously I disagree and think that the honor goes to "Reservoir Dogs," but Jackie is definitely better than Pulp Fiction. The scene in which Robert De Niro's character very suddenly and subtly "resolves" his argument with Bridget Fonda's character in the parking lot is one of the most haunting scenes in cinematic history. I've met Pam Grier a couple of times. Nice woman.
73: Seven (1995)
It's one of those films in which Kevin Spacey's greatness leapt off the screen. With this film along with "American Beauty," "L.A. Confidential" and "The Usual Suspects" he really owned the '90s. Speaking of the '90s, when you see its gruesome imagery you get the feeling that its director David Fincher was inspired by Nine Inch Nails videos. The rest of the cast really held everything together well and maintained a great sense of suspense and dread. GREAT FILM.
72: Back to School (1986)
In the late '80s you couldn't turn on HBO without seeing this film playing. It was my introduction to Sam Kinson and Rodney Dangerfield, so I will always have massive sentimental attachment to it. I saw a special screening of it in a theater last year in a packed theater. Everyone laughed at the jokes like they were hearing them for the first time. It holds up extremely well.
71: The French Connection (1971)
One of the all-time great thrills of my life was watching this movie in a theater a few months ago with its director William Friedkin sitting to my immediate right and chuckling with him as we watched Gene Hackman's manic, awesome facial expressions during his famous car chase scene underneath a train. Hackman was a virtual unknown at the time, and Friedkin was just a young, desperate director who took a chance on him. It paid off massively.
70: The Exorcist (1973)
It's Friedkin's other masterpiece. I'm going to rank it slightly higher than "The French Connection" just because I thought that FC's ending left a bit to be desired. Also, when I presented the two posters of those films to Friedkin he said, "I'll just do one" then signed "The Exorcist." Draw your own conclusions. Stanley Kubrick was originally chosen to direct this film, but he later declined because he wanted to write its script. There were also murmurings that they were never going to find a twelve-year-old child who could play the lead. Enter Linda Blair. Obviously Friedkin came through again during another studio crisis.
69: A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Many years ago when I actually listened to director-nerd Kevin Smith's long and often tedious speeches he mentioned that this film is among the forgotten classics. When I watched it I obviously agreed that it's great. It won so many awards back in the day. The main complaint about it is that it's boring. If you think that a pivotal moment in the history of Western civilization is boring then you're a moron anyway. Look for Orson Welles's small-yet-monumental part.
68: The Natural (1984)
My favorite baseball movie is based on a novel by Bernard Malamud that was inspired by a true story about a player named Eddie Waitkus who got shot in 1949 by a female stalker then recovered enough to return to the majors and win comeback player player of the year. Obviously it's a compelling story.
67: Jaws (1975)
This film began the "era of the summer blockbuster," which many people would claim is dying in 2016. When I was in film school the anecdote about the mechanical shark that they used was told to us time and time again-- it often didn't work, so director Spielberg needed to use the creepy element of an unseen danger, which was assisted greatly by John Williams's outstanding score. Also when I was in film school I saw one of the shark models that they used in the film. It was just laying disused and falling apart in a shed in a Universal back lot. I literally tripped over it when I was pacing as I talked to my father on the phone during a break from the class.
66: M (1931)
I was so impressed with Peter Lorre's acting in "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" that I knew that I needed to see this film. He does not disappoint as an unbelievably creepy child killer. Don't let this film's production year fool you-- it certainly holds up.
65: Psycho (1960)
So the ancient, overrated bastard Alfred Hitchcock actually made a great film, yet even this classic has a major flaw-- the utterly moronic scene at the end in which a psychiatrist spells out everything that we just saw. He was fortunate that he had Anthony Perkins to carry the film for him. Perkins, who was gay and I imagine needed to hide this fact during the era in which he lived, used those circumstances to turn in a gripping lead performance.
64: Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Luke was the Bizarro Bernie Sanders. In other words, whereas Sanders would sell his soul to the highest bidder, Luke was the stubborn, unbowed man. This film has outstanding cinematography, from the opening scene in which the camera is tilted to indicate that Luke is drunk to the final scene in which the camera zooms out.
63: Star 80 (1983)
This film is criminally underrated on imdb at 6.6. It's the true story of my favorite playmate Dorothy Stratten's rise from Canadian girl next door to the most desired woman of her time, and the toll that it took on her deranged boyfriend. It's the best work that I've ever seen from Eric Roberts and Mariel Hemingway. Director Bob Fosse shot the house scenes in the house in which Dorothy was actually murdered.
62: Rain Man (1988)
I re-watched this film earlier this year to make certain that it belongs on this list. OOOOOOOH, HELL YES IT DOES. Its story is solid, but the film really relies on Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman making two rather unlikable people seem likable. They succeeded with two of the best performances in cinematic history. They're at a Daniel Day Lewis in "There will Be Blood" level.
61: Goldfinger (1964)
I'm a major James Bond fan, and it's my favorite Bond film. So when I began this top 100 list I thought that it was going to rank much higher. But I've remembered so many great movies that it got pushed down to 61. Although there were Bond films that preceded it, it placed the entire Bond franchise on the map and made multimillionaires of Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli.
During the last seven decades many men have played Bond. No one will top Sean Connery.
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