So most of you by now have seen the New Classics movie list at Entertainment Weekly. Needless to say, I have my own opinions on the matter. I’ve been mulling these over for some time now, and I can’t commit to anything past a 50-movie list. These are my 50 best films since 1983. Are they simply my favorites, or do I find them to be the highest quality films? It’s too difficult to separate the two– although I’m sure The Pianist is probably a “better film” than a Norm MacDonald comedy, but there must be some logical reason why I’m compelled to leave it off in favor of Norm. There’s no analysis here unfortunately, just my list. Agree, disagree, tell me how it compares to EW’s list, give me feedback.
50. Dirty Work
49. Purple Rain
48. School of Rock
47. High Fidelity
46. A Mighty Wind
45. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
44. Iron Man
43. Ratatouille
42. Return of the Jedi
41. Superbad
40. King Kong
39. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
38. This is Spinal Tap
37. Jackie Brown
36. The Big Lebowski
35. The Princess Bride
34. The Truman Show
33. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
32. There Will Be Blood
31. No Country For Old Men
30. Men In Black
29. Hoop Dreams
28. Finding Nemo
27. Full Metal Jacket
26. 25th Hour
25. Malcolm X
24. Wall-E
23. X2: X-Men United
22. Children of Men
21. Hannah and her Sisters
20. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
19. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
18. Murderball
17. Barton Fink
16. The Incredibles
15. Waiting For Guffman
14. Being John Malkovich
13. Brazil
12. Rushmore
11. Jerry Maguire
10. Toy Story
9. Boogie Nights
8. Ran
7. Almost Famous
6. Die Hard
5. Back to the Future
4. Fargo
3. Groundhog Day
2. Goodfellas
1. Do the Right Thing
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~ by russellhainline on July 31, 2008.
Posted in Listmania
Tags: 25th Hour, A Mighty Wind, Akira Kurosawa, Alfonso Cuaron, Almost Famous, Andrew Dominik, Back to the Future, Barton Fink, Being John Malkovich, Bill Murray, Boogie Nights, Brad Pitt, Brazil, Bruce Willis, Cameron Crowe, Cameron Diaz, Casey Affleck, Catherine O'Hara, Charlie Kaufman, Children of Men, Christopher Guest, Clive Owen, Coen Brothers, Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, Die Hard, Dirty Work, Do the Right Thing, Edward Norton, Entertainment Weekly, Eugene Levy, Fargo, Finding Nemo, Frances McDormand, Full Metal Jacket, George Lucas, Goodfellas, Groundhog Day, Halle Berry, Hannah and Her Sisters, Harold Ramis, Harrison Ford, Heather Graham, High Fidelity, Hoop Dreams, Hugh Jackman, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Jack Black, Jackie Brown, Javier Bardem, Jerry Maguire, Jim Carrey, John Cusack, Jon Favreau, Jonah Hill, Josh Brolin, Judd Apatow, Julianne Moore, Kate Hudson, King Kong, Malcolm X, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Scorsese, Marvel Comics, Men In Black, Michael Caine, Michael Cera, Michael J. Fox, Monty Python, Murderball, Naomi Watts, No Country For Old Men, Norm Macdonald, Parker Posey, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pee Wee Herman, Peter Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Pixar, Prince, Purple Rain, Quentin Tarantino, Ratatouille, Renee Zellweger, Return of the Jedi, Richard Linklater, Rob Reiner, Robert DeNiro, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Zemeckis, Rosario Dawson, Rushmore, Samuel L. Jackson, School of Rock, Sean Connery, South Park, Spike Jonze, Spike Lee, Spinal Tap, Stanley Kubrick, Steve Buscemi, Steven Spielberg, Superbad, Terry Gilliam, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Brilliance of Pixar, The Coen Brothers, The Incredibles, The Princess Bride, The Truman Show, There Will Be Blood, Tim Burton, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Tommy Lee Jones, Toy Story, Waiting For Guffman, Wall-E, Wes Anderson, Will Smith, William H. Macy, Woody Allen, X-Men
The Password is Swordfish 
hey #3 and #7 are the same.
julie said this on July 31, 2008 at 7:42 pm |
This list definitely falls under the “my favorite” genre of lists, as opposed to “best.” However, I agree with you on most of them. Great films, all, and certainly a lot of my top favorites from the given time span, just not what I would consider “best.” That being said, my “favorite” movie of the last 25 years is O Brother Where Art Thou. Not many, if any, would agree, but I love that film.
Eric said this on July 31, 2008 at 10:24 pm |
Julie– thanks for pointing that out. Oddly enough, the deja vu repeat was taking the place of Groundhog Day.
And Eric– I’ll agree that 50 and 49 don’t belong, but they’re so damn good. But I would say 1-45 all qualify as “best.” And you should read the Entertainment Weekly of O Brother Where Art Thou. Not only did they give it an F, but they called it the Worst Film of the Year. Food for thought.
russellhainline said this on August 1, 2008 at 4:30 am |
Nothing in 40-50 is better than Forrest Gump. Should be Top Ten, IMO.
Derek said this on August 1, 2008 at 5:42 am |
Solid list.
Would have liked to have participated at PTP, but I can barely remember 50 movies i’ve watched.
Mageddon said this on August 19, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
I always hate seeing these lists a year later, lol. There’s so much I’d change! The Top 5 would remain the same though.
russellhainline said this on May 29, 2009 at 6:28 am |