100 Favorite Movies

(Updated November 11, 2008.)

Top 20 (roughly in order of preference)

1. Magnolia. 1999. Anderson, Paul Thomas. Essay, essay, essay, and commentary track.
2. Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control. 1997. Morris, Errol.
3. Calendar. 1993. Egoyan, Atom. Essay.
4. Memento. 2001. Nolan, Christopher. Essay and aborted essay.
5. Antonia’s Line. 1995. Gorris, Marleen.
6. Trees Lounge. 1996. Buscemi, Steve.
7. Before the Rain. 1994. Manchevski, Milcho.
8. Sweet Hereafter, The. 1997. Egoyan, Atom.
9. Pan’s Labyrinth. 2006. Del Toro, Guillermo. Brief commentary track.
10. Vertigo. 1958. Hitchcock, Alfred.
11. Picnic at Hanging Rock. 1975. Weir, Peter. Essay.
12. Crumb. 1994. Zwigoff, Terry.
13. Truman Show, The. 1998. Weir, Peter. Brief commentary track.
14. Monster in a Box. 1992. Broomfield, Nick. Essay.
15. Requiem for a Dream. 2000. Aronofsky, Darren. Essay.
16. Three Colors: Blue. 1993. Kieslowski, Krzysztof. Commentary track and essay.
17. No Country for Old Men. 2007. Coen, Ethan, and Joel Coen. Essay.
18. Fearless. 1993. Weir, Peter. Essay.
19. Spider Forest (Geomi sup). 2004. Song, Il-gon. Essay.
20. Batman Begins. 2005. Nolan, Christopher. Essay.

21-40 (alphabetical order)

• π. 1998. Aronofsky, Darren.
• Brief History of Time, A. 1992. Morris, Errol.
• Casablanca. 1942. Curtiz, Michael.
• Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. 2002. Clooney, George. Essay.
• Conversation, The. 1974. Coppola, Francis Ford.
• Devil’s Backbone, The. 2001. Del Toro, Guillermo.
• Donnie Darko. 2001. Kelly, Richard. Essay and essay.
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 2004. Gondry, Michel. Essay.
• Fireworks (Hana-Bi). 1997. Kitano, Takeshi. Essay.
• Godfather, The, Part II. 1974. Coppola, Francis Ford.
• Godfather, The. 1972. Coppola, Francis Ford.
• Heat. 1995. Mann, Michael.
• Intacto. 2001. Fresnadillo, Juan Carlos. Essay.
• JFK. 1991. Stone, Oliver. Brief commentary track.
• Oldboy. 2003. Park, Chan-wook. Essay.
• Player, The. 1992. Altman, Robert. Essay.
• Prestige, The. 2006. Nolan, Christopher. Essay and commentary track.
• Primer. 2004. Carruth, Shane. Essay.
• Rosemary’s Baby. 1968. Polanski, Roman.
• Rushmore. 1998. Anderson, Wes. Essay.

41-60 (alphabetical order)

• American Splendor. 2003. Berman, Shari Springer, and Robert Pulcini. Essay.
• Brood, The. 1979. Cronenberg, David. Essay.
• Chinatown. 1974. Polanski, Roman.
• Defending Your Life. 1991. Brooks, Albert.
• Descent, The. 2005. Marshall, Neil. Essay and commentary track.
• Do the Right Thing. 1989. Lee, Spike.
• Eastern Promises. 2007. Cronenberg, David.
• Fight Club. 1999. Fincher, David. Essay.
• Five Obstructions, The. 2003. Leth, Jørgen, and Lars von Trier. Essay.
• Fly, The. 1986. Cronenberg, David.
• Insomnia. 1997. Skjoldbjaerg, Erik.
• L.A. Confidential. 1997. Hanson, Curtis.
• Mothman Prophecies, The. 2002. Pellington, Mark. Essay.
• Plumber, The (television). 1979. Weir, Peter. Essay.
• Royal Tenenbaums, The. 2001. Anderson, Wes. Essay.
• Run Lola Run. 2000. Tykwer, Tom.
• Schindler’s List. 1993. Spielberg, Steven.
• Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The. 1974. Hooper, Tobe.
• This Is Spinal Tap. 1983. Reiner, Rob.
• Zodiac. 2007. Fincher, David.

61-80 (alphabetical order)

• American Movie. 1999. Smith, Chris.
• Being John Malkovich. 1999. Jonze, Spike.
• Birds, The. 1963. Hitchcock, Alfred.
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 1977. Spielberg, Steven.
• Cronos. 1993. Del Toro, Guillermo.
• Dead Ringers. 1988. Cronenberg, David.
• Election. 1999. Payne, Alexander.
• eXistenZ. 1999. Cronenberg, David. Essay.
• Ginger Snaps. 2001. Fawcett, John. Essay.
• Heavenly Creatures. 1994. Jackson, Peter.
• Holes. 2003. Davis, Andrew. Essay.
• Insider, The. 1999. Mann, Michael. Essay.
• Iron Giant, The. 1999. Bird, Brad.
• Karaoke (television). 1996. Rye, Renny.
• Last Temptation of Christ, The. 1988. Scorsese, Martin.
• Miller’s Crossing. 1990.
  Coen, Joel.
• Mulholland Drive. 2001. Lynch, David.
• Out of Sight. 1998. Soderbergh, Steven.
• Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. 2006. Tykwer, Tom. Essay and commentary track.
• Touching the Void. 2003. Macdonald, Kevin. Essay.

81-100 (alphabetical order)

• 25th Hour. 2002. Lee, Spike. Essay.
• 28 Days Later. 2003. Boyle, Danny. Essay.
• Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. 1974. Scorsese, Martin.
• Babe. 1995. Noonan, Chris.
• Beauty and the Beast. 1991. Trousdale, Gary, and Kirk Wise.
• Carnival of Souls. 1962. Harvey, Harold.
• Citizen Kane. 1941. Welles, Orson.
• Clockers. 1995. Lee, Spike.
• Dawn of the Dead. 1978. Romero, George. Essay.
• Halloween. 1978. Carpenter, John.
• Jacob’s Ladder. 1990. Lyne, Adrian. Essay.
• Jaws. 1976. Spielberg, Steven.
• Little Princess, A. 1995. Cuaron, Alfonso.
• Martin. 1977. Romero, George.
• Moulin Rouge. 2001. Luhrmann, Baz.
• Se7en. 1995. Fincher, David.
• Searching for Bobby Fischer. 1993. Zaillian, Steven.
• Shining, The. 1980. Kubrick, Stanley. Essay.
• Vanishing, The (Spoorloos). 1988. Sluizer, George.
• Vincent and Theo. 1990. Altman, Robert.