110 ALL-TIME FAVORITES
The F&SN Critic finally tackles the question: what do you think are the best movies ev-ar?
I�ve divided my answer into several sections, with minimal overlapping. I wish I were cool enough to come up with a Top 100, but between a Top 25 and a Top 500 I just can�t hack it. Think of these lists as a rough draft for that probably-never-to-be-seen Top 100.
Speaking of �rough drafts,� everything on these lists is liable to change at a moment�s notice, and movies may well hop from one list to another.
The Mind: �Battleship Potemkin,� �Birth of Nation,� �Balthazar.� This is a list of the movies that I intellectually realize as great or enormously influential but with which I have not (yet) made a personal connection. (Because, really, something might be wrong with you if you feel a personal connection to �Birth of a Nation.�) Movies from this list, upon further viewing or contemplation, are liable to graduate to The Soul. (Although, if �Birth of a Nation� ever does, please shoot me.)
The Heart: �Full Metal Jacket,� �The Princess Bride.� Here are the movies whose greatness is open for debate and movies that are fun; my guilty pleasures and idiosyncratic favorites. I love them all but might not be able to convince anyone (including myself) of their importance. When it comes to this list, I just won�t listen to reason.
The Soul: �Der Dritte Mann,� �Dr. Strangelove.� My Top 110. Here you will find the movies that touch both my heart and my mind, the movies that are both great intellectually and personally meaningful to me. If I were to buckle down and make a Top 100 of all-time, most of them would come from this list.
I haven�t seen because I�m such a big loser: The name explains it all.
Other Great Movies: Movies whose status as �Great� I question for one of three reasons: 1) I haven�t seen them in a really long time; 2) I didn�t get it; or 3) No, they really aren�t great, they�re only good (or not even that).
Back to home.