Any top list ranking is subjective, and don’t let any other critic or movie watcher tell you differently. Movies are a personal experience, so know what you like, and rank using your criteria.
#30-21 is filled with genre tentpoles that would start with “Best ….” Best anime. Best African American Drama. Best Sci-Fi. Best Time Travel Movie. Best Kids Movie. And maybe perhaps Best Movie Ever Made for some people.
Most Americans think Disney is the unbeatable powerhouse of the animation game. But since the 1980s, Japan has been producing amazing animated stories. In large part, this is thanks to Hayao Miyazaki, a found of Studio Ghibli and arguably the greatest animated filmmaker of all time, directing the best movies in Ghibli’s filmmography. The best of the best is this adventure film. While Miyazaki was famous for very kid friendly storytelling, Mononoke is much more adult and dangerous; minutes in we see a possessed beast fly out of a forest and start attacking/killing innocent people. But those immediate stakes couple with Miyazaki’s penchant for crafting complex characters makes this movie grow more and more exciting, minute by minute. His animation captures these spectacular visuals of natural and unnatural beauty, and the poetry of motion, both good (riding a horse) and evil (creatures in battle), while serving a story that tells adult themes about living in harmony with nature, the trials of war, and the consequences of seeking power. Even on repeat viewings when I know what is going to happen, I find myself glued to the screen, eagerly awaiting the next amazing moment in a movie filled with them.
Very few movies can proudly say they pushed the limits of filmmaking/storytelling, and completely redefined how to make a certain type of film. The minute the cameras swing 360 degrees around Carrie-Anne Moss as she lays waste to a bad guy, the Wachowskis let me know I was in for something special. “Bullet time” became an awesome new way to direct action sequences, the internet/hacker culture went mainstream, and buildings bend like water on bonds. In fact, the greatest feat the Wachowski’s pull off here is creating a world where reality is a veil that can be lifted: the world isn’t real. After one brilliant Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), monologue, the audience becomes Neo (Keanu Reeves), questioning everything they see while they try to discover the actual truth of what is going on. All while dodging bullets, fighting peopleshifting agents (Hugo Weaving), and possibly even changing reality itself. I saw this movie at 14, the absolute perfect age for anyone to see this film, and be blown away by what the Wachowskis pull off amazingly in just over 2 hours.
Mel Brooks tends to be remembered most in the US as the king of silly, lampooning all of societies ills. As good as Brooks can be at his best, the Monty Python gentlemen surpass Brooks with the sheer brilliance of their satire skewering. This one is the Python’s at their best, taking on the medieval quest movies and what I assume to be England’s worship of those time periods because of the country’s historical dominance at the time. What results is a movie that mocks the very notion of self-importance from minute one, redoing the credits every few seconds because people screw them up. We get memorable moments aplenty: the mighty in spirit but weak in strength black knight, the knights who say “Ni”, brave sir Robin who bravely runs away from every battle in song, terrifying rabbits, etc. All along the way, the movie openly mocks the concept of what the knights are doing and what everyone is fighting for, culminating in the brilliant, stupid anti-climax that will initially confuse you then make you cry laughing. As far as movie lampooning goes, few are better and have been aging as well as this gem.
Similar to the movie right above it, Rob Reiner’s movie finds that perfect sweet spot for the very specific genre its in. This film wants to mock the concept of a romantic fairytale while telling a completely enchanting romantic fairytale at the same time. Cary Elwes is amazing as the “farm boy” Wesley turned Dread Pirate Roberts, who chases down a group of kidnappers (amazing performances from Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, and Mandy Patinkin) who have taken his love Buttercup (Robin Wright). The perfect encapsulation of how amazing this movie has become is the Patinkin/Elwes sword fight. Channeling the great Errol Flynn, the pair engage in one of the great swordfights in movie history…but while doing so, overly complimenting each other, choosing a polite camaraderie over pure good guy/bad guy expectations. Reiner constantly upends fairytale storytelling in totally wonderful ways: a reluctant pissy magician (Billy Crystal), bad guys who run away, and a brain over brawn castle storming. What results is a movie that’s both exciting in the expected ways but also exciting with how it is not bound by any of the genre’s rules, resulting in something wholly fresh, original, and smile inducing, as you wish.
Widely considered one of the greatest movies ever made, it has to settle for #26 on my list. Gregory Tolund, the famous cinematographer, opens this movie in a way I’d never seen before, slowly zooming into Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles) bedroom window, showing us the mansion’s surroundings in their glorious haunting grandeur, and then snap! We get the “Rosebud,” and we’re off on one of cinema’s great journeys. Writer Herman Mankiewicz drew inspiration from newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst when writing what can be described as a perfect arc of the idealized American life that would be templated heretofore: a child from small beginnings, rising up into fame and power, getting drunk off that power, alienating friends, and dying with everything and nothing, all at once. Welles directs and stars as the larger than life Charles Foster Kane, giving the man a commanding presence hiding a sweet vulnerability underneath, perfect for the wide ranging emotional arc of the story, which also includes a fair amount of social commentary, a great twist ending, and beautiful pioneering cinematography.
South American cinema doesn’t get the notoriety it deserves, because when it’s cooking it’s downright special, like this Fernando Meirelles masterpiece. Taking place in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, we get the Brazilian version of a mobster movie. What that looks like on paper is horrifying: starting from the age of 10 or so, you’re better off getting a gun in the streets than an education. Meirelles gives a tour de force performance behind the camera, breathing excitement and energy into a well crafted non linear story that keeps you engaged so you don’t get woefully depressed at what’s happening to the kids in the Rio slums, but he’s also constantly reminding you that tragedy can strike from anywhere at any time. In addition to the superb writing and directing, the movie gives us 5+ amazing characters who could probably have a whole movie unto themselves, including an Omar Little inspiration: Knockout Ned, and Lil Ze’, in the running with the great mafia/gangster performances up there with Don Corleone and Tommy from Goodfellas. Yes, his character is THAT good. Just like the movie. It’s “better than Citizen Kane” good for me.
The African American Experience in the United States, in movie form, had been told by mostly white men for years, and more than Hollywood would like to admit, told the white apologist version of historical events (Birth of a Nation, about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, was the first blockbuster movie, not great) or casting white people in blackface to play African Americans. In the 1970s we started seeing Blaxsploitation films try to articulate the complex state of race relations in the United States from the black perspective in a mainstream way. Out of this history, Spike Lee burst onto the scene in the mid 1980s, culminating in this amazing work of art. Set during the hottest day in Brooklyn, Lee stars (while also writing and directing) as Mookie, a pizza delivery man working for the Italian American Run Sal’s Pizza smack in the middle of the now very African American Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. What follows is a day in the life study of racial tension and conversation, as Lee bravely plunges headfirst into the dialogue America hadn’t been having, but needed to have. The point isn’t to arrive at a right answer; Lee’s goal is to simply make aware stories and issues people weren’t aware of but happen, day in and day out. I don’t think I ever recalled seeing a movie that entertaining, fearless, and smart all at the same time, and probably won’t ever see one again, at least not anytime soon.
Time Travel had been a movie trope before. And it would obviously be one again. But no film captured the entertainment value of it so universally as did this Robert Zemeckis ball of fun. Using the terrible car but amazing time machine, a DeLorean, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) goes back in time 30 years, and seeks out the help of his scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) to try to get home, along the way bumping into the teenage version of his parents. Zemeckis’s film walks this brilliant tightrope: it could so easily fall into really creepy or really dark subplots, but his script and Michael J. Fox’s acting keep the tone light and amusing at each revelation Marty gets about his parents: what were their hopes/dreams? Maybe they were more devious than they let on? Maybe they can be cool and rise to the occasion if given the opportunity? All questions every kid wonders about their parents as they grow up. Thomas Wilson is cartoonishly evil as the amazingly named Biff Tannen, and Alan Silvestri’s score takes turns the movie at times into a rousing thriller as we hope the DeLorean can hit 88 mph at 10:04 PM or Marty can evade Biff and his goons on a 1950’s skateboard. Sprinkle in a host of great past/present humor (Marvin Berry, John F. Kennedy), and a killer set of special effects/set design, and you’ve got yourself one of the great blockbusters of all time that I rewatch at least once a year and smile at everytime.
In an amazing career analyzing men, gangsters, and masculinity, this is Martin Scorcese’s crowning achievement. Half Italian Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) works his way from humble beginnings into a high ranking job inside of a mobster organization in Brooklyn. He and his two best mafioso buddies, Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and Tommy (Joe Pesci), become a triad of power and money, robbing all sorts of people under cover, and becoming the toast of the town. Scorcese takes us down to the ground level of the Italian American mafia world, as Henry, Tommy, and Jimmy actually do the robbing/stealing/killing for mob boss Paulie (Paul Sorvino). The movie showcases a talented director at the peak of his powers: there’s great freeze frames, amazing montages leading to shocking plot twists, and legendary tracking shots walking through a club that would be homaged by generations of directors. Those directorial flourishes are icing on this brilliant movie cake however. Goodfellas weaves a complex study of a combination of compelling stories: the rise and fall of the powerful, life on the streets in the mob, tribulations of drug addiction, relationships with bad people, and the emotional journey of a manly man. Liotta, De Niro, Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco and a host of great actors bring their A game, but Joe Pesci is the one everyone will remember here, as maybe the greatest mafia character in movie history, turbulent Tommy DeVito.
Before Lord of the Rings, this film was the ruby standard of fantasy filmmaking: the tale of Dorothy (Judy Garland), an innocent Kansas farm girl who gets swept up by a tornado into the land of Oz, encountering all sorts of colorful characters. Literally. At a time where few movies were in color, Oz pops the minute we’re swept away from black and white Kansas, dreaming of what’s over the rainbow. Colors aren’t the only thing that stands out though: we also get a kid’s childhood worth of entertainment. The songs are all pretty catchy and memorable, Dorothy’s sidekicks Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the brilliantly conceived cowardly Lion remain etched forever in my memory, the sets excite my imagination (Muchkinland, Emerald City, the Dark Forest) with where the story might take us next, and maybe most importantly, I was introduced to one of cinemas first and best villains, the Wicked Witch of the West, with a couple chilling catch phrases and a great character capper. All of this serving a lovely tale about a girl who wanders away and is just trying to get back home. This is one of the few films that deserves the title: For Everybody. Because it is, beginning to end.
Below I’ve included a little mini recognition section to honor some of the films above!
Will Probably Drop Out
I doubt any of these films will go lower for me, but, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, Citizen Kane might have a slim chance to fall because some age related wrinkles are on that film of its time and place.
The Newbie
All of these have been locks for a long time now. But Monty Python moved up a bunch of spots after a rewatch; it’s humor holds up remarkably well, and is much more potent than I remembered.
Growing in Esteem
Hayao Miyazaki really put it all together with Princess Mononoke, one of the greatest films of all time made by one of its greatest filmmakers.
Needs a Rewatch
Do the Right Thing is one of the great American works of art, and each new watch finds something more to admire.
The Surprise
City of God is Brazilian Goodfellas. While that’s horrifying comparing 20something mafia men to 11 year old boys, the favela power struggle is very reminiscent of Scorcese’s greatest movie, and Fernando Meirelles’s epic film has aged as well as that classic, and deserves to be considered among this spectacular set of stories.
How the Subjective 100 was made…
My process to get 100 films was as follows: go through each top 10 list from every movie year on my website, and pull the best movies of that year that might qualify for my all time list (number of films per year varies, depending on the quality of the year). I took that set of films, and put them into their respective genres (sci-fi, drama, horror, etc). From there the films in each genre got ranked against each other. Then I worked backwards, taking the worst film from each of the genres and ranking them based on my personal judgment. Once the worst film from a genre was used, it was discarded, and the next highest film was then ranked against the current set. This process was repeated until I exhausted the entire film list, creating the list you’ll see forthcoming.
