posts352 movies I have seen from an arbitrary list
Going through these lists are strange — I expected the 1,001 books to be the best books, or the new Classics, things that an educated person should read to know about life or something like that. It was more of a little of literary-pop novels rather than Good Books. That there were so many books written in in the last 50 years and no little before is bizarre. I read a lot I wouldn’t have limited it to this kind of fiction, but I guess I didn’t make the list.
I know two different people actually who have asked their friends to recommend two of their favorite, most thought provoking books and are spending the year working through the collected list. That’s sort of neat because you learn a little about the friends who recommended them and about books that are good, not popular. Too bad the list wasn’t 1,001 books you need to read, not 1,001 novels.
But I did better with these 1,001 arbitrary movies (via berbectura via kottke.) And if it was shocking that I found the time to read that many books, lets say on average a movie is 100 minutes, though frankly plenty of these are in the 3 hour range, that’s 35,200 minutes at least sitting in a chair staring at a screen Clockwork Orange style, which is 5,293 hours, or 220 continuous days, 60% of a year or I spent 2% of my existence watching these movies. And like, these are not the only movies I’ve seen. Christ, I hope no one posts a list of “pointless websites I’ve stared at”; that would be embarrassing.
Stars next to the ones I’d put on a much watch list. (Where’s Harvey for that matter?)
- The Birth of a Nation (1915)
- Metropolis (1927) *
- Freaks (1932)
- Duck Soup (1933) *
- The Thin Man (1934)
- The 39 Steps (1935)
- Modern Times (1936)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- Gone With the Wind (1939)
- Wuthering Heights (1939)
- His Girl Friday (1940)
- Fantasia (1940)
- The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
- Pinocchio (1940)
- Citizen Kane (1941) *
- The Maltese Falcon (1941) *
- Sergeant York (1941)
- High Sierra (1941)
- Casablanca (1942) *
- Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
- To Have and Have Not (1944)
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
- The Big Sleep (1946)
- Great Expectations (1946)
- Notorious (1946)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
- The Bicycle Thief (1948) *
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
- The Third Man (1949) *
- Rashomon (1950) *
- Sunset Blvd. (1950)
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
- Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
- Roman Holiday (1953)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
- The Big Heat (1953)
- Rear Window (1954)
- La Strada (1954)
- The Seven Samurai (1954)
- Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
- Forbidden Planet (1956)
- The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
- High Society (1956)
- The Ten Commandments (1956)
- The Seventh Seal (1957)
- An Affair to Remember (1957)
- The Nights of Cabiria (1957)
- Paths of Glory (1957)
- The 400 Blows (1959)
- North by Northwest (1959)
- Some Like It Hot (1959)
- Ben-Hur (1959)
- La Dolce Vita (1960) *
- Spartacus (1960)
- La Jetee (1961)
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) *
- The Hustler (1961)
- West Side Story (1961)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
- The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
- Lolita (1962) *
- The Nutty Professor (1963)
- 8 1/2 (1963)
- The Great Escape (1963)
- The Leopard (1963)
- Goldfinger (1964) *
- My Fair Lady (1964)
- Dr. Strangelove (1964) *
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
- The Battle of Algiers (1965) *
- The Sound of Music (1965)
- Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
- The Graduate (1967)
- Belle de Jour (1967)
- Cool Hand Luke (1967) *
- Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) *
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
- Easy Rider (1969) *
- The Wild Bunch (1969)
- Five Easy Pieces (1970)
- El Topo (1970)
- A Clockwork Orange (1971) *
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) *
- Klute (1971)
- Harold and Maude (1971) *
- Get Carter (1971)
- The French Connection (1971)
- Shaft (1971)
- Dirty Harry (1971)
- Last Tango in Paris (1972)
- Solaris (1972)
- The Godfather (1972) *
- Superfly (1972) * (If only for the soundtrack)
- The Sting (1973)
- Badlands (1973)
- American Graffiti (1973)
- Papillon (1973)
- Enter the Dragon (1973) *
- Mean Streets (1973)
- Sleeper (1973)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
- Chinatown (1974)
- Blazing Saddles (1974)
- The Godfather Part II (1974) *
- One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
- The Wall (1975)
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) *
- Barry Lyndon (1975)
- Carrie (1976)
- All the President’s Men (1976)
- Rocky (1976)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- Network (1976)
- The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
- Star Wars (1977) *
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Annie Hall (1977) *
- Saturday Night Fever (1977)
- Killer of Sheep (1977)
- Grease (1978)
- Shaolin Master Killer (1978)
- Up in Smoke (1978)
- Halloween (1978)
- Alien (1979) *
- Being There (1979) *
- Life of Brian (1979) *
- Apocalypse Now (1979) *
- The Jerk (1979)
- The Muppet Movie (1979)
- Manhattan (1979)
- Mad Max (1979)
- The Shining (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) *
- Airplane! (1980)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) *
- Gallipoli (1981)
- Chariots of Fire (1981)
- Reds (1981)
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1981) *
- E.T.: The Extra-Terestrial (1982)
- The Thing (1982)
- Poltergeist (1982)
- Blade Runner (1982) *
- Tootsie (1982)
- Gandhi (1982)
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) *
- The Big Chill (1983)
- Terms of Endearment (1983)
- The Fourth Man (1983)
- The Right Stuff (1983)
- Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
- Once Upon a Time in America (1983)
- Scarface (1983)
- Amadeus (1984) *
- The Terminator (1984)
- Paris, Texas (1984)
- This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
- Beverly Hills Cop (1984) *
- Ghostbusters (1984) *
- A Passage to India (1984)
- The Natural (1984)
- The Breakfast Club (1985)
- Ran (1985)
- Out of Africa (1985)
- Back to the Future (1985) *
- Brazil (1985) *
- The Color Purple (1985)
- Stand By Me (1986)
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
- The Fly (1986)
- Aliens (1986) *
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) *
- Down by Law (1986)
- A Room with a View (1986)
- Tampopo (1986) **
- Top Gun (1986)
- Wings of Desire (1987)
- Raising Arizona (1987)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Withnail and I (1987) (such a terrible movie)
- Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
- The Princess Bride (1987) *
- Moonstruck (1987)
- The Untouchables (1987)
- Fatal Attraction (1987)
- Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
- Bull Durham (1988) *
- The Thin Blue Line (1988)
- Akira (1988) *
- Cinema Paradiso (1988) *
- A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
- The Naked Gun (1988)
- Big (1988)
- Dangerous Liaisons (1988) *
- Die Hard (1988) *
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
- Rain Man (1988) *
- The Accidental Tourist (1988)
- Alice (1988)
- Batman (1989)
- When Harry Met Sally (1989) *
- Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
- The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989)
- Drugstore Cowboy (1989) *
- My Left Foot (1989)
- The Killer (1989)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Glory (1989)
- The Asthenic Syndrome (1989)
- Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
- Say Anything (1989)
- Goodfellas (1990) *
- Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
- Dances with Wolves (1990)
- Europa Europa (1990)
- Pretty Woman (1990)
- Edward Scissorhands (1990)
- Total Recall (1990)
- Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
- Boyz ‘n the Hood (1991)
- Delicatessen (1991)
- A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
- Naked Lunch (1991)
- My Own Private Idaho (1991)
- Thelma & Louise (1991)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991) *
- JFK (1991)
- Slacker (1991)
- Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) *
- Strictly Ballroom (1992)
- The Player (1992)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- Unforgiven (1992)
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
- Candy Man (1992)
- The Crying Game (1992)
- Farewell My Concubine (1993)
- Groundhog Day (1993) *
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- Schindler’s List (1993)
- Three Colors: Blue (1993) *
- The Piano (1993)
- Three Colors: Red (1994) *
- Hoop Dreams (1994)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- Clerks (1994)
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Natural Born Killers (1994)
- Pulp Fiction (1994) *
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994) *
- Crumb (1994)
- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
- Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
- Casino (1995)
- Babe (1995) *
- Toy Story (1995)
- Strange Days (1995)
- Braveheart (1995)
- Safe (1995)
- Clueless (1995) *
- Heat (1995)
- Seven (1995)
- The Usual Suspects (1995) *
- Shine (1996) *
- Fargo (1996)
- Independence Day (1996)
- Secrets and Lies (1996)
- The English Patient (1996)
- Trainspotting (1996)
- Deconstructing Harry (1997)
- L.A. Confidential (1997) *
- Princess Mononoke (1997) *
- Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997)
- The Ice Storm (1997)
- Boogie Nights (1997)
- Kundun (1997) *
- Open Your Eyes (1997) *
- Titanic (1997)
- Tetsuo (1998)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Buffalo 66 (1998)
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
- Run Lola Run (1998)
- Rushmore (1998) *
- Pi (1998)
- The Thin Red Line (1998)
- Ring (1998)
- There’s Something About Mary (1998)
- The Big Lebowski (1998) *
- Magnolia (1999)
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- All About My Mother (1999)
- Three Kings (1999)
- Time Regained (1999)
- Fight Club (1999) *
- Being John Malkovich (1999)
- American Beauty (1999)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999) *
- The Sixth Sense (1999) *
- The Matrix (1999) *
- Gladiator (2000)
- Amores Perros (2000)
- Meet the Parents (2000)
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- Traffic (2000)
- Memento (2000)
- Dancer in the Dark (2000)
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) *
- Amelie (2001) *
- Spirited Away (2001) *
- The Piano Teacher (2001)
- The Son’s Room (2001)
- Moulin Rouge (2001)
- Monsoon Wedding (2001)
- Mulholland Dr. (2001)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) *
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
- Gangs of New York (2002)
- The Pianist (2002)
- Talk to Her (2002)
- City of God (2002) *
- Chicago (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
- Oldboy (2003)
- Good Bye Lenin! (2003) *
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- Lost in Translation (2003)
- Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
- Collateral (2004)
- The Aviator (2004)
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Sideways (2004)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005)
- Tsotsi (2005) *
- The Constant Gardener (2005)