Lists: Top Ten Greatest Films Of All Time (Two Lists, and Why)

Chris and I thought we'd run down what we each feel are our personal Top Ten Greatest Films Of All Time and share them with you. And then a sentence briefly outlining why we feel that way. What do you think? Do you agree with our lists? Do you have your own? Have at it in the comments section.


Chris's Top Ten

PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino) 1994 – "Created an entire generation of admirers and wannabe film directors, often imitated, never duplicated. "

GOODFELLAS (Martin Scorsese) 1990 – "The perfect Scorsese film, a man in complete control of his craft working in a genre that seems tailor made to his sensibilities."

CITIZEN KANE (Orson Welles) 1941 – "KANE may not have done it first, but it did it best. Stealing liberally from his contemporaries Welles made a film that took the best from a variety of sources and made a movie unlike any the world had ever seen before."

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont) 1994 – "A great character ensemble up against some stiff competition that stands the test of time, 1994 was a high water mark for filmmaking."

RAGING BULL (Martin Scorcese)1980 – "A searing character piece. Great direction, brilliant acting, exceptional film."

ALIENS (James Cameron) 1986 – "More than just another generic action film, ALIENS carves out its own terrifying niche."

SEVEN (David Fincher) 1995 – "Gritty and grimy. Helped shape and change the look and feel of film in a most disturbing fashion."

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Stanley Kubrick) 1971 – "Powerful, disturbing, unforgettable."

SCHINDLER’S LIST (Steven Spielberg) 1993 – "A movie that affected me so strongly I’ve never had the strength to sit through it a second time. 20 years later Spielberg officially arrives."

12 ANGRY MEN (Sidney Lumet) 1957 – "My first exposure to a film that successfully manages to pull off the conceit of taking place in a single room."



Scott's Top Ten

ALIEN (Ridley Scott) 1979 – “This film is so good at what it does that it actually defies the genre it exists in, and rises to become something so much more.”

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont) 1994 – “Nearly every line of dialogue and narration in the script is so powerful that it gives me chills to watch the film, every damned time.”

LOVE ACTUALLY (Richard Curtis) 2003 – “This is probably the greatest film about “love” in all its crazy incarnations, and never fails to remind me what’s important in life.”

THE DARK KNIGHT (Christopher Nolan) 2008 – “To me this film exemplifies who the character of Batman is, and how that translates to the sacrifices heroes actually have to make.”

LITTLE WOMEN (Gillian Armstrong) 1994 – “This film is so well crafted and warm-hearted that it will fill you with a desire to live in Concord, Massachusetts circa 1860’s, next-door to the March house.”

PRINCESS MONONOKE (Hayao Miyazaki) 1997 – “Miyazaki paints the screen with fluid animation and quiet global philosophy as humans, beasts, and gods go to war.”

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Peter Jackson) 2001 – “There is something so stunning about seeing fantasy on the big screen done with such reverence, detail and emotion; this is fantasy.”

AMADEUS (Milos Forman) 1984 – “If there is a more perfectly executed, visceral and compelling biopic out there, I don’t know what it is.”

OCEAN’S ELEVEN (Steven Soderbergh) 2001 – “As far as I am concerned this film is heist-perfection.”

GROOVE (Greg Harrison) 2000 – “This film is what it must be like to exist within the throbbing beats, cascading euphoria, and flashing lights of a rave... on a molecular level.”