| 48HRS. |
1982 |
Walter Hill |
Relentlessly fun action comedy, Eddie Murphy's debut. |
| After the Thin Man |
1936 |
W.S. Van Dyke II |
The best of the Thin Man series, all of which are delightful. |
| Airplane! |
1980 |
Abrahams, Zucker and Zucker |
Probably the funniest film ever made. |
| All About Eve |
1950 |
Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
Wonderfully droll comedy stolen by George Sanders. |
| All the President's Men |
1976 |
Alan J. Pakula |
It feels like the audience is a fly on the wall as history unfolded. |
| Amadeus |
1984 |
Milos Forman |
Exquisitely-rendered story of Mozart and Saliere. |
| American Beauty |
1999 |
Sam Mendes |
Familiar story turned on its head, perfectly acted, gorgeously filmed. |
| Annie Hall |
1977 |
Woody Allen |
Quintessential Allen film. Worth seeing 20 times. |
| Arsenic and Old Lace |
1944 |
Frank Capra |
Surprising black comedy. |
| Arthur |
1981 |
Steve Gordon |
If you get past the incredibly inappropriate basis of the comedy, it's hilarious. |
| Avalon |
1990 |
Barry Levinson |
Semi-autobiographical epic lovingly produced. It's "Stagecoach!" |
| Being John Malkovich |
1999 |
Spike Jonze |
Wildly inventive debut film from music video genius. |
| Best Years of Our Lives, The |
1946 |
William Wyler |
Shockingly modern film about personal fallout of World War II. |
| Better Off Dead |
1985 |
Savage Steve Holland |
"Zany" is actually an appropriate word for this personal fave. |
| Big Picture, The |
1989 |
Christopher Guest |
Wildly underrated Hollywood send-up. |
| Big Sleep, The |
1946 |
Howard Hawks |
Everything "The Maltese Falcon" is supposed to be, but isn't. Best detective film ever made. |
| Birdy |
1984 |
Alan Parker |
Gripping, powerful film. |
| Blazing Saddles |
1973 |
Mel Brooks |
Tasteless, but unbelievably funny. |
| Brazil |
1985 |
Terry Gilliam |
Worth repeated viewings, one of several brilliant dystopic films on my list. |
| Broadcast News |
1987 |
James L. Brooks |
Perhaps the best Hollywood film of the 1980s. Albert Brooks should have won a best acting Oscar. |
| Casablanca |
1942 |
Michael Curtiz |
A perfect film, deserving of all its accolades. |
| Children of the Revolution |
1996 |
Peter Duncan |
Unpredictable little gem of a comedy. |
| Chinatown |
1974 |
Roman Polanski |
Reinvention of detective fiction, a film course in and of itself. |
| Citizen Kane |
1941 |
Orson Welles |
The greatest film ever made. |
| Clockwork Orange, A |
1971 |
Stanley Kubrick |
Dystopia #2. Hilarious and horrifying. |
| Conversation, The |
1974 |
Francis Ford Coppola |
Disturbing treatise on privacy, obsession and personal responsibility. |
| Crimes and Misdemeanors |
1989 |
Woody Allen |
Perfect marriage of comedy and drama, my favorite Allen film. |
| Delicatessen |
1991 |
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro |
Dystopia #3. Monty Python meets Ridley Scott meets Tex Avery. |
| Desperate Hours, The |
1955 |
William Wyler |
Gripping, simple suspense film. |
| Die Hard |
1988 |
John McTiernan |
Truly one of the great action films. |
| Double Indemnity |
1944 |
Billy Wilder |
Delicious film noir. |
| Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb |
1964 |
Stanley Kubrick |
A tad dated, but nonetheless trenchant and uproarious satire on the Cold War. |
| Duck Soup |
1933 |
Leo McCarey |
Best Marx Brots. film, and that's saying something! |
| East of Eden |
1955 |
Elia Kazan |
James Dean with a great story (as opposed to his other two films). |
| Ferris Bueller's Day Off |
1986 |
John Hughes |
Still funny after all the times I've seen it on Comedy Central. |
| Foreign Correspondent |
1940 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Largely unacclaimed film worth seeing. |
| Front, The |
1976 |
Martin Ritt |
My favorite political film complete with a seminal Woody Allen performance. |
| Glengarry Glen Ross |
1992 |
James Foley |
Cutting David Mamet script powerfully acted. |
| Godfather Part II, The |
1972 |
Francis Ford Coppola |
The only sequel that surpassed the original. |
| Godfather, The |
1974 |
Francis Ford Coppola |
Despite its pulp origins, this is master filmmaking. |
| Grapes of Wrath |
1940 |
John Ford |
Subtle its not, but Fonda's performance is tremendous. |
| Heathers |
1989 |
Michael Lehmann |
Best high school comedy ever made? |
| Heaven Can Wait |
1978 |
Warren Beatty |
What Hollywood movies should be. |
| Henry V |
1989 |
Kenneth Branagh |
Best Shakespeare drama ever produced. |
| Howard's End |
1992 |
James Ivory |
Difficult story to capture in two hours, Merchant-Ivory accomplish the near-impossible. |
| Impromptu |
1991 |
James Lapine |
Merchant-Ivory light, but stellar nonetheless. |
| Inherit the Wind |
1960 |
Stanley Kramer |
Stirring fictionalization of Scopes-Monkey Trial. |
| Jerk, The |
1979 |
Carl Reiner |
As stupid as it gets, but a funnier movie is hard to find. Jim Carrey wishes he could pull this off. |
| Kagemusha |
1980 |
Akira Kurosawa |
The Master gives us one more masterpiece. |
| Key Largo |
1948 |
John Huston |
On the second tier of Bogie films, still great. |
| Killer, The |
1989 |
John Woo |
Stylish and surprisingly good Hong Kong actioner. |
| King of Comedy, The |
1983 |
Martin Scorsese |
DeNiro playing largely against type in this brilliant black comedy. |
| Lady Vanishes, The |
1938 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Another overlooked Hitch gem. |
| Living In Oblivion |
1995 |
Tom DiCillo |
Terrific satire of indie films. |
| Lone Star |
1996 |
John Sayles |
Tour de force from one of America's best (and most underrated) filmmakers. |
| Lost in America |
1985 |
Albert Brooks |
Quintessential Brooks' film -- the California Woody Allen. |
| Love and Death |
1975 |
Woody Allen |
A background in Russian lit would help, but it's funny no matter what. |
| Manchurian Candidate, The |
1962 |
John Frankenheimer |
Devilishly clever thriller. |
| Manhattan |
1979 |
Woody Allen |
Companion piece to Annie Hall. |
| Metropolitan |
1990 |
Whit Stilman |
Hopefully not the peak of his career, but debut film displays wit and wisdom of writer/director wise beyond his years. |
| Midnight Run |
1988 |
Martin Brest |
Hilarious road movie stolen by Charles Grodin (which he often did). |
| Miller's Crossing |
1990 |
Joel Coen |
Stylish retelling of Kurosawa tale in Irish gangster millieu. |
| Monty Python and the Holy Grail |
1975 |
Terry Gilliam |
Is any comment needed? |
| Monty Python's Life of Brian |
1979 |
Terry Gilliam |
Actually a more clever film than Grail. |
| Moonstruck |
1987 |
Norman Jewison |
Great Hollywood filmmaking. |
| Much Ado About Nothing |
1993 |
Kenneth Branagh |
Best Shakespearean comedic film. |
| Murder By Death |
1976 |
Robert Moore |
Fun detective spoof. |
| Music Man, The |
1962 |
Morton Da Costa |
Best musical ever made. |
| Mystery Train |
1989 |
Jim Jarmusch |
Quirky, funny, otherworldly. |
| Network |
1976 |
Sidney Lumet |
Powerhouse performances, satire of American culture. |
| North By Northwest |
1959 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Mistaken identity plots often bcome tiresome, but it works here beautifully. |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
1975 |
Milos Forman |
Career highlight for Jack. |
| Opposite of Sex, The |
1998 |
Don Roos |
Delightfully surprising black comedy. |
| Parenthood |
1989 |
Ron Howard |
Smarmy and pat, I still love it and tear up at all the right parts. |
| Philadelphia Story, The |
1940 |
George Cukor |
Wonderful banter. |
| Princess Bride, The |
1987 |
Rob Reiner |
Incredible dialogue, great comedic performances. |
| Pulp Fiction |
1994 |
Quentin Tarantino |
Over the top roller coaster ride. |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark |
1981 |
Steven Spielberg |
Best adventure film ever made. |
| Raise the Red Lantern |
1991 |
Zhang Yimou |
Lovingly crafted story, breathtaking cinematography. |
| Raising Arizona |
1987 |
Joel Coen |
Hilarious. |
| Rashomon |
1950 |
Akira Kurosawa |
Groundbreaking treatise on perspective and truth. |
| Rear Window |
1954 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Strongest Hitch film, exploration of voyeurism. |
| Rebecca |
1940 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Gripping ghost story. |
| Remains of the Day |
1993 |
James Ivory |
Has there ever been better acting? |
| Reservoir Dogs |
1992 |
Quentin Tarantino |
Mindblowing, pioneering (for USA anyway) debut. |
| Rope |
1948 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Terrific experimental film. Urbane. |
| Seems Like Old Times |
1980 |
Jay Sandrich |
Great slapstick. |
| Sixteen Candles |
1984 |
John Hughes |
Best Hughes film, chock full of memorable scenes. |
| Sixth Sense, The |
1999 |
M. Night Shyamalan |
Wonderful surprise (and I don't mean jus the ending). |
| Sullivan's Travels |
1941 |
Preston Sturges |
Non-stop badinage. |
| Take the Money and Run |
1969 |
Woody Allen |
Knee-slapping dumb funny. |
| Throw Momma From the Train |
1987 |
Danny DeVito |
Flawless black comedy. |
| Trainspotting |
1996 |
Danny Boyle |
Astonishing exploration of world of heroin. |
| Twelve Angry Men |
1957 |
Sidney Lumet |
Powerful reproduction of stage play. |
| Welcome to the Dollhouse |
1995 |
Todd Solondz |
Incredibly painful story of middle school girl coming of age. |
| Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory |
1971 |
Mel Stuart |
Delectable black comedy. |
| World According to Garp, The |
1982 |
George Roy Hill |
Masterful production of Irving novel. |
| Young Frankenstein |
1974 |
Mel Brooks |
Best spoof ever made. |
