My 100 Favorite Movies
Movies are one of my favorite things, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a mental list of their favorites right readily available. One of the joys of having the “What are your favorite movies?” conversation is that it seems endless: just when you think you’ve named all your favorites, another one pops into your mind. Or, you ask for some kind of criteria to help limit your focus. Favorite of all time, or just comedies? Or just action movies? Or just Christmas movies?
With this in mind, I answered the call on Nathan Bransford’s site for my 100 favorite movies. Remember that “favorite” and “best” are, of course, not the same thing. And as soon as I post this, I’ll almost certainly think of a couple that I left out. Picking a top hundred isn’t all that hard. Putting them in order was really hard. But I did my best, and reserve the right to change my mind frequently. And I will. So, thanks, Nathan, for the motivation!
Onward!
100. The Graduate
99. The 40 Year Old Virgin
98. Rounders
97. Devil in a Blue Dress
96. Harold and Maude
95. Beginners
94. The Deer Hunter
93. Harvey
92. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
91. Raiders of the Lost Ark
90. Last of the Mohicans
89. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
88. Dead Poets Society
87. Dumbo
86. Badlands
85. Shattered Glass
84. Point Break
83. Road House
82. The Quiet Man
81. My Cousin Vinny
80. Mystic River
79. Taxi Driver
78. The Last Boy Scout
77. Heat
76. Fresh
75. Touch of Evil
74. Romancing the Stone
73. Unforgiven
72. Tequila Sunrise
71. Bringing Up Baby
70. Commando
69. The Ref
68. The Exorcist
67. Cool Hand Luke
66. The Sting
65. Blue Valentine
64. In Bruges
63. Fight Club
62. Se7en
61. Drive
60. Croupier
59. Touch of Evil
58. Toy Story
57. The Sweet Hereafter
56. Memento
55. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
54. Fight Club
53. Jerry Maguire
52. Clerks
51. The Fugitive
50. Alien
49. The Terminator
48. Ocean’s Eleven
47. When Harry Meet Sally
46. Wonder Boys
45. Rushmore
44. Fargo
43. The Maltese Falcon
42. Notorious
41. North by Northwest
40. Being John Malkovich
39. Before Sunrise
38. Cloak & Dagger
37. 12 Angry Men
36. The Princess Bride
35. The Blues Brothers
34. Ghost Busters
33. The Dark Knight
32. No Country For Old Men
31. There Will Be Blood
30. Casablanca
29. Swingers
28. The Lives of Others
27. Michael Clayton
26. Dog Day Afternoon
25. Wall-E
24. L.A. Confidential
23. The Longest Day
22. Lost in Translation
21. The Third Man
20. The Conversation
19. The Talented Mr. Ripley
18. Pulp Fiction
17. Reservoir Dogs
16. The Bourne Identity
15. The Insider
14. Out of Sight
13. Serpico
12. Get Shorty
11. Hot Fuzz
10. Where Eagles Dare
9. Beverly Hills Cop
8. The Godfather
7. The Big Sleep
6. The Godfather Part II
5. Apocalypse Now
4. Frankie & Johnny
3. Midnight Run
2. Good Will Hunting
1. Die Hard
What can I say: I vividly remember the first time I watched Die Hard, and I enjoy it more each time I rewatch it. It’s an incredibly dumb, loud, funny, absurd, crazy film that I thoroughly enjoy, and if I came across it on cable, I will stop what I’m doing and watch. While this is certainly true of all the top 20 films or so, making Bruce Willis’s breakout film my top choice was easy and obvious.