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BBC announces the top 100 American films of all time according to critics
- Thread starter kerotan_eater
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Lionel Mandrake
Member
Jaws should be first.
Fancy Clown
Member
They'll be eating crow for sure!
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Nah, it's not even better than Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Nappuccino
Member
I think they list Star Wars for two reasons. 1) It was a pretty masterful blend of Space Opera, special effects, and exploration/wonder in its own right and was a landmark film that triggered an interest in the genre. 2) Empire Strikes Back can't really stand on its own.
RaySpencer
Member
ctrl+F "Shawshank"
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....haha, sure BBC, suuuuuuure.
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....haha, sure BBC, suuuuuuure.
Cool list. By my count, I've seen 51 of those films. Citizen Kane is a boring pick for number one, if only because it seems to top just about every list. Still a great film though.
... and If Jaws and Star Wars get to make that list, I don't see why Dark Knight can't. Faraci's argument that 'Michael Mann should be there instead' isn't particularly compelling. A film can transcend its influences (and I'd only put a couple of Mann films on the same level as TDK).
... and If Jaws and Star Wars get to make that list, I don't see why Dark Knight can't. Faraci's argument that 'Michael Mann should be there instead' isn't particularly compelling. A film can transcend its influences (and I'd only put a couple of Mann films on the same level as TDK).
OH NO YOU DIDN'T. Seriously, no, The Godfather is timeless.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
For the record, Empire Strikes Back is on the BBC list at #76. And I do agree that its always a bit odd how Star Wars is above it. ESB is slicker, its performances are better, its world-building richer, its themes more powerful, its effects more impressive, more swooningly romantic and darkly compelling. I guess the only "real" problem it doesn't stand on its own, or even brings a resolution to much of its plot and character arcs, demanding you come back for the mediocre cartoon Return of the Jedi to see how it ends.
I agree!
I agree!
Bobby Roberts
Banned
It's maybe the best Soap Opera ever filmed, true.
Godfather II is also widely considered to be the best of the 3 films and yet Godfather is always the one that shows up highest in the rankings.
To me, it feels like evidence of the sort of unspoken rules that keep these lists looking/feeling samey than it is an actual reflection of critical tastes.
HuskerDutheDu
Member
I'm not usually somebody who gets upset about lists not matching my tastes exactly but lack of the Coens/PTA/Wes/other defining modern directors is a little weird. I understand wanting to see how movies are viewed with age, but all three have movies that are old enough to qualify.
I like II more I think, but I wouldn't call it a soap opera, more like a tragic saga. If it /was/ a soap opera (it isn't) I wish every film was a soap opera. God knows we need a new Godfather, it's been 40 years.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
You might not have noticed cuz how classy its performances are, or how incredible Gordon Willis' cinematography is, but the Godfather's bones are all big juicy family melodrama. Kind of movie where dudes wake up with horse heads in their beds and people are killed off in sync to cathedral music. Where brothers betray and kill each other and the central couple have emotional swings in their interpersonal.
Seriously, watch Fox's Empire back to back with The Godfather. They're closer than you think, just one is more honest/trashy about its pulpy roots.
Seriously, watch Fox's Empire back to back with The Godfather. They're closer than you think, just one is more honest/trashy about its pulpy roots.
Z..
Member
This is false. I prefer 2, but if anything there's a slight leaning towards 1, "widely".
People need to stop with this shit. Shawshank isn't the movie you seem to believe it is.
It's widespread appeal is only rivalled by it's lack or originality and technical/stylistic sterility. It's a lab assembled movie that delivers an enjoyable experience anyone can enjoy but is completely unextraordinary in every single way.
helloresolven
Member
The Graduate at #55? Not bad. One day I'll meet someone else who realizes that it's the best film ever.
I hated it. It didn't help that I thought it was a comedy before I actually watched it.
Hate may be strong. An incredibly well done movie about the lives of people who all fucking suck. But at least you can loathe them to an amazing soundtrack.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
It kinda is. Or rather, the moments that are funny are supposed to be funny. It's an intentionally funny film. Just not all of the time. But quite a bit.
Vincent Alexander
Member
My exact thought. I went to school for filmmaking though, and unfortunately this list just about summarizes my 4 years and the crap I had to watch over and over and over again...I mean, most are good movies. But come on.
manzoman96
Member
Frankly my dear the BBC don't give a damn
sorry I had to
I still love The Lion King but I agree. Fantasia especially. That movie is a work of art.
I feel the same way about this movie (except for the comedy part
). Watched it senior year of high school in film class and I wasn't a fan.George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Only six films from the 2000s and you go with that?
Fancy Clown
Member
Too soon
Pagusas
Elden Member
I know it probably makes me like evil to some film buffs, but I to this day do not understand why Jaws is considered a good film. Maybe I was born to late to understand it.
It's not scary
The effects are horrible
The charecters are all horrible, I'd prefer they all die
The best part of the movie is its music, and even that is forgettable other than the universal notes
I just don't get it, people can love this but hate on Jurasic Park?
It's not scary
The effects are horrible
The charecters are all horrible, I'd prefer they all die
The best part of the movie is its music, and even that is forgettable other than the universal notes
I just don't get it, people can love this but hate on Jurasic Park?
Seems like a fine list to me. If it's filled with a lot of the usual boring picks, it's because a lot of the best movies of the 20th century are, for some reason, still some of the best movies of the 20th century. Weird how history kinda just remains the same. Respect for Viewtiful's list though.
That said, what the fuck at Heaven's Gate making the list over the Deer Hunter. I feel like the revisionism for Heaven's Gate is starting to swing way too hard in the other direction.
That said, what the fuck at Heaven's Gate making the list over the Deer Hunter. I feel like the revisionism for Heaven's Gate is starting to swing way too hard in the other direction.
Probably because it's not good. It's great. There genuinely isn't a single flaw in the entire movie. And it's not even a film buff movie like some of these. There's a reason it was in the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time for over 20 years.
You know all of the cliches and cheap shots in the movie? Before it came out that stuff essentially did not exist.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Real talk though, fuck Mulholland Drive.
More like ignorant talk.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I refuse all this Heaven's Gate pet project rediscovery shit.
The thing with Cimino...I mean I didn't even like The Deer Hunter, and that was the one everybody liked. I mean, if you look at from a craft perspective, its virtually unassailable. De Niro, Walker, Streep, Cazale, Savage, all wonderful. The story, crazy intense, once it gets going. Almost impossibly gorgeous, I mean the costume design, the production design, Zsigmond's cinematography...a real marvel for cinema lovers.
But good lord, its some of the most undisciplined storytelling I've ever seen. That first hour goes on for about ten, it feels, one endless scene after another, characters repeating the same information again and again. The Russian roulette stuff is so overwrought and melodramatic, not to mention the racist caricatures of the Vietnameses, it stretches well past the point of believability and dramatic restraint. Pretentious, sloppy, and plain ol' unpleasant.
Heaven's Gate is the same, but longer and even more tedious. I'm not against long-ass movies(Lawrence of Arabia is only a minute shorter), but there's gotta be a good hour or so of mindnumbingly repetitive, ass-numbing runtime in this thing. Impossibly beautiful of course, impeccably well mounted, with real warm and textured performances and production design...but it all adds to nothing as a dramatic experience. Where he wants to be subtle, characters end up underdeveloped and muddy, and when he tries profundity, its just pretentious. Also, there's a five-hour long roller-skating scene in here.
An impressive feat!
no way bro
Pagusas
Elden Member
Ah so we are relating income to quality? Guess avatar and titanic should be up there with it then right?
It's not flawless, no more flawless than JP was.
Discotheque
Banned
I've seen about 30 in the top 10
I like viewtiful's list better. And excluding mann yet throwing in TDK is....lmao
But fuck all Yall who put days of heaven over the malick holy trinity (thin red line, new world, days of heaven)
No, he's saying you don't need to be a film buff to appreciate Jaws.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
2001 is terrible. I'll never understand its popularity. Incredibly boring with a "leave the ending obtuse" writer crutch included.
manzoman96
Member
Also, where is Rocky on that list?
Definitely the best sports movie of all time and a great drama.
Definitely the best sports movie of all time and a great drama.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Welp, we got into the "affront to film buff" part of the conversation, so here we go with my record skip.
I really do not like 2001: A Space Odyssey
I really do not like 2001: A Space Odyssey
JP (the original) was near flawless.
Jaws IS flawless. Even the ACTUAL flaws are industry legend (i.e. Bruce, etc)
The point of gross being that a 40 year old movie continually called one of the greatest movies of all time, and enough people agreed with that that it stayed in the top 10 for 20 years. It is virtually unanimous on quality, so the one person saying "it isn't that good" is either a genius or... not. You can certainly not care for it, but it's quality is near unanimous with almost every other person in the world.
Fancy Clown
Member
Haha the ending isn't even obtuse, as you put it. Maybe tough to understand on a first watch, but the film has a pretty clear overarching narrative. Easily one of the best films of all time.
Discotheque
Banned
The GOAT kubrick is barry lyndon (followed by eyes wide shut)
2001 isn't one of my favorites but it's one of the backbones of the sci-fi genre and an inspiration to many filmmakers who followed tbh. I think some films deserve their spot just for how important they were
2001 isn't one of my favorites but it's one of the backbones of the sci-fi genre and an inspiration to many filmmakers who followed tbh. I think some films deserve their spot just for how important they were
Z..
Member
Don't blame the movie for your ignorance. The film even opens with Zarathustra just to make sure you won't miss it. If you can't puzzle the rest yourself, this movie is clearly not for you.
It's technically a marvelous film that looks great even up against contemporary films.
The plot was a convoluted mess that presented a ham-fisted philosophical statement on the nature of science and man.
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