It's here!!! THE LIST

With a film shoot tomorrow, you'd think I'd be getting a good night's sleep. But the truth of the matter is our call time is 4pm and we'll be shooting until around 6am. Because of this, I've been staying up later and later each night this week, getting myself more physically ready for the long nights. And I've been stressing out about work on this film all week, so it's been good to take my mind off of it for a few hours and just blog.

So what this has done is provided me with a late-night opportunity to catch up on Coverville back episodes and put my LIST together (see this post to know what I'm talking about). (I really need to learn html code so I know how to put links in my blog. One of these days, after I take down my Christmas decorations and sell my junk on ebay and finish my movie and....)

As I mentioned in my previous post, lists like this are constantly evolving. There are some recent films on here that, in a year or two, may be nowhere to be seen. And there are movies that have been in my Top 10 that have disappeared simply because I'm not in the mood for them at 2:38am this morning. So without further ado, here it is, with some notes and thoughts thrown in for your enjoyment. The top 50 are in numerical order, the last 50 in alphabetical order.

Last 50:
About a Boy
Airplane!
Amelie
Amores Perros
Being John Malkovich
Bringing Up Baby
Citizen Kane
Clue
Detour
Die Hard
Election
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eve's Bayou
Fargo
Fight Club
Finding Nemo
A Fish Called Wanda
The Fly (1986)
The General (1926)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
GoodFellas
Harold and Maude
High Noon
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Ikiru
In America
The Incredibles
It's A Wonderful Life
Lawrence of Arabia
Memento
Million Dollar Baby
The Mission
Moulin Rouge!
Once Upon a Time in the West
Out of the Past
The Princess Bride
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Rashomon
Requiem for a Dream
RoboCop
Rosemary's Baby
Rushmore
Seconds
Serenity
The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
Stand By Me
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Unforgiven
50. Back to the Future -- I've loved this since I first saw it in 1985. Robert Zemeckis really knows how to construct a tight film.
49. Jerry Maguire -- despite the constant spoofing of the line, "You had me at 'hello,'" it's still a brilliant film that I can't turn off.
48. Blade Runner -- Incredible vision of the future
47. L.A. Confidential -- not only a great film, but a great book
46. To Kill a Mockingbird -- Gregory Peck at his finest
45. The Third Man -- I'm always blown away by the gorgeous lighting in the sewer climax.
44. Toy Story -- So many unbelievable memories of watching this in 1995 when I was working at Walt Disney World. Such a perfect place to view this movie countless times.
43. Planet of the Apes (1968) -- One of my theatrical highlights: watching a horribly scratched print of this in 1998, introduced by Charlton Heston in person as one of the highlights of his career. (Not that I'm a fan of Heston, but it was just a really cool experience.)
42. The Exorcist -- so damn creepy, and Ellen Burstyn is always one of my faves
41. Moonstruck -- John Patrick Shanley's writing at its finest
40. Poltergeist -- I'll never get over that damn clown!
39. The Big Lebowski -- "Hey, watch it, man! There's a beverage here!"
38. Jaws -- I still jump when Roy Scheider is chumming and the shark pops up.
37. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir -- I've been so hooked on this lately, which I never thought would happen. It's sappy and sweet and I love it!
36. Joe Versus the Volcano -- John Patrick Shanley created such a great film here and so few seem to like it. I love it, and Tom Hanks, being my favorite actor ever, makes it all the better.
35. Traffic -- First viewing, I thought it was great but didn't think I'd watch it again. Then I bought it on an impulse, and watched it 3 times in 1 weekend. Couldn't get enough, and still can't. Steven Soderbergh's best film, IMHO.
34. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) -- I never thought I'd be able to hate Mrs. Potts so much.
33. Touch of Evil -- Citizen Kane is widely regarded one of the greatest films of all times and I love it, but to me, this is Orson Welles' masterpiece.
32. The Maltese Falcon -- If only I could write dialogue like this.
31. The Lord of the Rings trilogy -- If only I had 12 or 13 free hours more often to watch it all in one go. Peter Jackson really blew me away with what he did here. I never thought I'd get so emotionally attached to a fantasy epic -- I can't contain myself when I watch it.
30. Alien -- If only I could create an amalgam of the original with the director's cut. I'm not a fan some of the added material, but some of it is brilliant.
29. Shaun of the Dead -- One of the funniest romantic comedy zombie movies ever.
28. se7en -- Should be higher on my list but I'm getting tired. David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Andrew Kevin Walker, Howard Shore and Darius Khondji all in top form.
27. 12 Monkeys -- the first of my slew of Terry Gilliam films on my list, and should probably be higher as well. Higher being closer to #1.
26. Being There -- Peter Sellers is unbelievable in this film. A quiet film but gets me every time.
25. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold -- absolutely brilliant cold war thriller based on John Le Carre's novel.
24. The 'Burbs -- Makes me laugh every damn time. And Jerry Goldsmith's score is possibly one of his best.
23. The Empire Strikes Back (or Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, if you prefer to go the long title route) -- the best of the Star Wars films still.
22. The Money Pit -- Possibly the movie with more laugh-out-loud moments for me than any other. Watching Tom Hanks laugh hysterically after the bathtub falls through the floor is my favorite movie comedy moment EVER.
21. Planes, Trains & Automobiles -- Steve Martin and John Candy are perfect in this film.
20. Three Amigos -- my guilty pleasure movie. My little buttercup.
19. Network -- One of those movies that I think of from time to time and it makes me want to scream at the world that I'm not going to take it anymore.
18. The Philadelphia Story -- Katharine Hepburn at her finest.
17. Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- One of the films I quote all the time and will never cease to get tired of.
16. Casablanca -- Brilliant dialogue, brilliant story, beautiful Ingrid.
15. Double Indemnity -- started my love for Film Noir.
14. North by Northwest -- My favorite Hitchcock film, and that's hard to say because there are about 7 that I think are flawless.
13. Some Like It Hot -- I never tire of watching Jack Lemmon bound around as a woman -- it seems so wrong but it so damn funny!
12. The Fisher King -- Another of Terry Gilliam's great films. Jeff Bridges, my other favorite actor of all time, in one of his best performances (it's the long hair -- he's always best when his hair is long).
11. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb -- Peter Sellers is perfect, Stanley Kubrick is perfect -- it's all perfect. The President talk w/the Russian premier is one of the funniest conversations on celluloid (and it's completely 1-sided).

The Top 10:
10. Raising Arizona -- Some of the best lines to quote ever.
9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind -- An absolutely solid film in every way.
8. Chinatown -- Roman Polanski's masterpiece. Another great Jerry Goldsmith score, by the way.
7. Charade -- I don't know what it is about this film. Perhaps that it was the first VHS tape I ever owned and I watched it countless times as a kid. Or that Peter Stone's writing is so brilliant. Or Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Or Stanley Donen who directs it brilliantly. Who knows? It's a perfect film in my book.
6. The Godfather trilogy -- I watch this with my wife about every year or two. I never get tired of it. Not even Sophia's acting (though I still cringe a bit).
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark -- Spielberg's masterpiece. Such a brilliant film. And 2 great sequels as well. As a teen, this was my favorite film of all time. It hasn't moved too far.
4. Brazil -- Terry Gilliam's masterpiece (but if you're going to watch it, please do yourself a favor and track down the director's cut on Criterion DVD -- it's the only way to watch it). I like it more every time I see it.
3. The Shawshank Redemption -- it normally would be higher, but I've been completely taken by the next two films, and they've been my favorite films of all time for a while now. Still, this is a perfect film and I could watch it anytime.
2. Wonder Boys -- Unbelievable film. Michael Douglas isn't afraid to look old and messy. Curtis Hanson really created a perfect film here, even though it's not as recognized as L.A. Confidential. That's a shame because this is so good! Brilliant writing (based on a book which I haven't read but assume it's brilliant), solid characters, and it always moves in a direction I wouldn't expect it to. I could watch this over and over and over...
1. All About Eve -- I must be transfixed with brilliant writing as of late, because this is one of the most amazingly written films ever. I sat in the Writers Guild of America's library and read the original script (anyone can go there and read scripts for free -- stop by when you're in LA next time!). I couldn't put it down. Joseph L. Mankiewicz wrote and directed this flawlessly. It wouldn't be here w/o the brilliant performances, too. Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, even Marilyn Monroe's brief appearance -- they're all made for these roles (or seemingly vice versa). Watch it and tell me it's not brilliant. I dare you.

So there you have it. Feel free to watch some of these and start up a debate. And feel free to put together your own list. It's a challenge for sure, but a fun one. If you do, email me a link to it. I'd love to see what you come up with.

Well, for now, it's finally bedtime. 3:23am. I figure I'll sleep until 10 then get up and start getting myself organized for my shoot. Wish me luck! I'll drop a blog if I can midway through to fill you in on the trials and tribulations. If not, definitely on Sunday after I sleep all day.

Until then.

TMM