Hello one and all. So yesterday, I turned 34, but unfortunately I was too busy to post this between work and partying. I was glad to be so busy, but I have some time to finally post the following lists. They are pretty self-explanatory: my 100 Best Films, my 100 Favorite Films, my 50 Worst Films, my 25 Worst Films (from the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” projects), and finally, the 25 films that I look most forward to watching in the future. Even if you’ve seen these lists before, I’m sure you’ll notice some changes, and some updated links to reviews and commentaries on Sonic Cinema. I hope you enjoy!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
Brian’s 100 Best Films
1. “Vertigo” (1958; Alfred Hitchcock)
2. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968; Stanley Kubrick)
3. “Schindler’s List” (1993; Steven Spielberg)
4. “Pulp Fiction” (1994; Quentin Tarantino)
5. “Andrei Rublev” (1966; Andrei Tarkovsky)
6. “Sherlock Jr.” (1924; Buster Keaton)
7. “The Fantasia Anthology” (1940 & 2000; Walt Disney & Roy E. Disney, Executive Producers)
8. “Gone With the Wind” (1939; David O. Selznick, Producer)
9. “GoodFellas” (1990; Martin Scorsese)
10. “Ran” (1985; Akira Kurosawa)
11. “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982; Steven Spielberg)
12. “Nosferatu” (1922; F.W. Murneau)
13. “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962; John Frankenheimer)
14. “Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope” (1977; George Lucas)
15. “Saving Private Ryan” (1998; Steven Spielberg)
16. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004; Michel Gondry)
17. “Wall-E” (2008; Andrew Stanton)
18. “The Big Sleep” (1946; Howard Hawks)
19. “Dark City” (1998; Alex Proyas)
20. “Face/Off” (1997; John Woo)
21. “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964; Stanley Kubrick)
22. “Touch of Evil” (1958; Orson Welles)
23. “Apocalypse Now” (1979; Francis Ford Coppola)
24. “8 1/2” (1963; Federicio Fellini)
25. “Rebecca” (1940; Alfred Hitchcock)
26. “Metropolis” (1927; Fritz Lang)
27. “The Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003; Peter Jackson)
28. “Ikiru” (1952; Akira Kurosawa)
29. “Greed” (1925; Erich von Stroheim)
30. “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” (1967; Sergio Leone)
31. “The Wizard of Oz” (1939; Victor Fleming)
32. “The Godfather” (1972; Francis Ford Coppola)
33. “Intolerance” (1916; D.W. Griffith)
34. “Wild Strawberries” (1957; Ingmar Bergman)
35. “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972; Werner Herzog)
36. “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988; Martin Scorsese)
37. “Fargo” (1996; Joel Coen)
38. “Spirited Away” (2001; Hayao Miyazaki)
39. “Psycho” (1960; Alfred Hitchcock)
40. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946; Frank Capra)
41. “The Maltese Falcon” (1941; John Huston)
42. “Casablanca” (1942; Michael Curtiz)
43. “Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back” (1980; Irvin Kershner)
44. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981; Steven Spielberg)
45. “King Kong” (1933; Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack)
46. “Toy Story 2” (1999; John Lasster)
47. “City Lights” (1931; Charlie Chaplin)
48. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948; John Huston)
49. “Sunset Boulevard” (1950; Billy Wilder)
50. “Raging Bull” (1980; Martin Scorsese)
51. “Citizen Kane” (1941; Orson Welles)
52. “Cat People” (1942; Jacques Tourneur)
53. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939; Frank Capra)
54. “JFK” (1991; Oliver Stone)
55. “Ghost in the Shell” (1995; Mamoru Oshii)
56. “Jaws” (1975; Steven Spielberg)
57. “Do the Right Thing” (1989; Spike Lee)
58. “Our Hospitality” (1923; Buster Keaton & John Blystone)
59. “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964; Roger Corman)
60. “Edward Scissorhands” (1990; Tim Burton)
61. “Stalker” (1979; Andrei Tarkovsky)
62. “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952; Gene Kelly & Stanley Donan)
63. “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935; James Whale)
64. “Amadeus” (1984; Milos Forman)
65. “Haxan” (1922; Benjamin Christensen)
66. “L.A. Confidential” (1997; Curtis Hanson)
67. “North By Northwest” (1959; Alfred Hitchcock)
68. “Horror of Dracula” (1958; Terence Fisher)
69. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937; David Hand, Supervising Director)
70. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1919; Robert Weine)
71. “Some Like It Hot” (1959; Billy Wilder)
72. “Mulholland Dr.” (2001; David Lynch)
73. “Pink Floyd The Wall” (1982; Alan Parker)
74. “The Trial” (1962; Orson Welles)
75. “King of the Hill” (1993; Steven Soderbergh)
76. “In a Lonely Place” (1950; Nicholas Ray)
77. “Seven Samurai” (1954; Akira Kurosawa)
78. “Broken Blossoms” (1919; D.W. Griffith)
79. “Unforgiven” (1992; Clint Eastwood)
80. “There Will Be Blood” (2007; Paul Thomas Anderson)
81. “The Godfather Pt. II” (1974; Francis Ford Coppola)
82. “The Mirror” (1975; Andrei Tarkovsky)
83. “…Say Anything” (1989; Cameron Crowe)
84. “Perfect Blue” (1997; Satoshi Kon)
85. “The Great Dictator” (1940; Charlie Chaplin)
86. “Lolita” (1997; Adrian Lyne)
87. “The General” (1927; Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman)
88. “The Fountain” (2006; Darren Aronofsky)
89. “One, Two, Three” (1961; Billy Wilder)
90. “12 Monkeys” (1995; Terry Gilliam)
91. “The Killer” (1989; John Woo)
92. “The Shining” (1980; Stanley Kubrick)
93. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951; Robert Wise)
94. “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991; Jonathan Demme)
95. “A Shot in the Dark” (1964; Blake Edwards)
96. “Roger & Me” (1989; Michael Moore)
97. “Princess Mononoke” (1997; Hayao Miyazaki)
98. “Black Hawk Down” (2001; Ridley Scott)
99. “Hour of the Wolf” (1968; Ingmar Bergman)
100. “Brokeback Mountain” (2005; Ang Lee)
Brian’s 100 Favorite Movies
1. “Sherlock Jr.” (1924; Buster Keaton)
2. “The Crow” (1994; Alex Proyas)
3. “Braveheart” (1995; Mel Gibson)
4. “Pulp Fiction” (1994; Quentin Tarantino)
5. “The Star Wars Saga” (1977-2005; George Lucas, Executive Producer)
6. “Face/Off” (1997; John Woo)
7. “The Whole Wide World” (1996; Dan Ireland)
8. “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001; Steven Spielberg)
9. “Keeping the Faith” (2000; Edward Norton)
10. “Stalker” (1979; Andrei Tarkovsky)
11. “Adaptation.” (2002; Spike Jonze)
12. “Big Fish” (2003; Tim Burton)
13. “Wall-E” (2008; Andrew Stanton)
14. “Proof” (2005; John Madden)
15. “High Fidelity” (2000; Stephen Frears)
16. “Before Sunrise” & “Before Sunset” (1995 & 2004; Richard Linklater)
17. “Swingers” (1996; Doug Liman)
18. “A Few Good Men” (1992; Rob Reiner)
19. “The Ref” (1994; Ted Demme)
20. “Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie” (1996; Jim Mallon)
21. “A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies” (1995)
22. “Il Mia Viaggio in Italia (My Voyage to Italy)” (1999)
23. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
24. “Vertigo” (1958)
25. “Dark City” (1998)
26. “The Shining” (1980)
27. “Andrei Rublev” (1966)
28. “Ratatouille” (2007)
29. “The Fantasia Anthology” (1940 & 2000)
30. “GoodFellas” (1990)
31. “Ed Wood” (1994)
32. “Predator” (1987)
33. “Cat People” (1942)
34. “The Holiday” (2006)
35. “The Big Sleep” (1946)
36. “JFK” (1991)
37. “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005)
38. The “Spider-Man” Trilogy (2002-2007)
39. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004)
40. “Serenity” (2005)
41. “The Fountain” (2006)
42. “A Christmas Story” (1983)
43. “Waking Life” (2001)
44. “Rent” (2005)
45. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010)
46. “Up” (2009)
47. “Speed Racer” (2008)
48. “A Walk to Remember” (2002)
49. “Batman Begins” (2005) & “The Dark Knight” (2008)
50. “Young Frankenstein” (1974)
51. “Mulholland Dr.” (2001)
52. “Dogma” (1999)
53. “Jackie Brown” (1997)
54. “Bowfinger” (1999)
55. “Spaceballs” (1987)
56. “Chance” (2002)
57. “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)
58. “Untitled: Almost Famous- The Bootleg Cut” (2000)
59. “Heat” (1995)
60. The “Indiana Jones” Adventures (1981-2008)
61. “Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn” (1987)
62. “Lost in La Mancha” (2002)
63. “Lady Beware” (1987)
64. “The Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003)
65. “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999)
66. “Office Space” (1999)
67. “Simply Irresistible” (1999)
68. “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964)
69. “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” (1967)
70. “Jurassic Park” (1993)
71. The “Harry Potter” Series (2001-2011)
72. “The Adjustment Bureau” (2011)
73. “Zodiac” (2007)
74. “Nurse Betty” (2000)
75. “Nosferatu” (1922)
76. “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001)
77. “The Big Lebowski” (1998)
78. “Emma” (1996)
79. “Ikiru” (1952)
80. “The Karate Kid” (1984)
81. “Rudy” (1993)
82. “Broken Arrow” (1996)
83. The “Toy Story” Trilogy (1995-2010)
84. “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1946)
85. “The Replacements” (2000)
86. “Grosse Pointe Blank” (1997)
87. “(500) Days of Summer” (2009)
88. “The Ring” (2002)
89. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975)
90. “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002)
91. “Bubba ho-Tep” (2002)
92. “Independence Day” (1996)
93. “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1995)
94. “Leon the Professional” (1994)
95. “The Killer” (1989)
96. The “Lethal Weapon” Series (1987-1998)
97. “Inception” (2010)
98. “The Lion King” (1994)
99. “The Usual Suspects” (1995)
100. “The River Wild” (1994)
50 Worst Movies
1. “An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn” (1998)
2. “Glen or Glenda” (1953)
3. “Troll 2” (1990)
4. “The Room” (2003)
5. “Turbulence” (1997)
6. “3000 Miles to Graceland”  (2001)
7. “Birdemic: Shock and Terror” (2010)
8. “Spawn” (1997)
9. “Whipped” (2000)
10. “Friday the 13th: Part VIII- Jason Takes Manhattan” (1988)
11. “Basic Instinct 2” (2006)
12. “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” (2008)
13. “Alien vs. Predator” (2004)
14. “Showgirls” (1995)
15. “The Sea” (2003)
16. “Idle Hands” (1999)
17. “Soldier” (1998)
18. “Crash” (1996)
19. “Hush” (1998)
20. “Four Rooms” (1995)
21. “Sphere” (1998)
22. “Bulletproof” (1996)
23. “Rollerball” (2002)
24. “Body of Evidence” (1993)
25. “Virus” (1999)
26. “Jail Bait” (1954)
27. “Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000” (2000)
28. “Armageddon” (1998)
29. “My Soul to Take” (2010)
30. “Nine Months” (1995)
31. “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005)
32. “Vampire in Brooklyn” (1995)
33. “Blindfold: Acts of Obsession” (1994)
34. “Twilight” (2008)
35. “Natural Born Killers” (1994)
36. “Striptease” (1996)
37. “Balls of Fury” (2007)
38. “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” (2002)
39. “Bride of the Monster” (1956)
40. “Starship Troopers” (1997)
41. “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” (2008)
42. “There’s Something About Mary” (1998)
43. “What Lies Beneath” (2000)
44. “The Million Dollar Hotel” (2000)
45. “Excess Baggage” (1997)
46. “Saving Silverman” (2001)
47. “The Mod Squad” (1999)
48. “Godsend” (2004)
49. “Soul Survivors” (2001)
50. “The Island of Dr. Moreau” (1996)
25 Worst Films- MSTie List
1. “Manos: The Hands of Fate” (1966)
2. “Monster a Go-Go” (1965)
3. “Robot Monster” (1953)
4. “Time Chasers” (1994)
5. “Blood of the Vampire” (1966)
6. “Reefer Madness” (1936)
7. “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964)
8. “Doomsday Machine” (1972)
9. “The Giant Spider Invasion” (1975)
10. “Red Zone Cuba” (1966)
11. “Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny” (1972)
12. “Cave Dwellers” (1984)
13. “Hobgoblins” (1987)
14. “Prince of Space” (1959)
15. “Maniac” (1934)
16. “Planet of Dinosaurs” (1978)
17. “The Starfighters” (1964)
18. “The Final Sacrifice” (1990)
19. “Werewolf” (1996)
20. “I Accuse My Parents” (1945)
21. “Eegah” (1962)
22. “Mitchell” (1975)
23. “Attack of the Eye Creatures” (1965)
24. “The Killer Shrews” (1959)
25. “Parts: The Clonus Horror” (1979)
Brian’s 25 Movies To See in Coming Years
1. “Chimes at Midnight” (1965); Dir. Orson Welles
2. “After Hours” (1985); Dir. Martin Scorsese
3. “Directed by John Ford” (1971); Dir. Peter Bogdanovich
4. “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” (1970); Dir. Russ Meyer, written by Roger Ebert
5. “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” (1989); Dir. Terry Gilliam, starring Uma Thurman
6. “Burden of Dreams” (1982); Documentary on Werner Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo”
7. “Ace in the Hole” (1951); Dir. Billy Wilder, starring Kirk Douglas
8. “Passion of Anna” (1969); Dir. Ingmar Bergman
9. “Red Beard” (1965); Dir. Akira Kurosawa
10. “El Topo” (1970); Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky
11. “Moscow Elegy” (1987); Documentary on director Andrei Tarkovsky
12. “Shoah” (1985); Documentary on the Holocaust
13. “1941” (1979); Dir. Steven Spielberg, starring John Belushi
14. “Orson Welles’s Don Quixote” (1992); Orson Welles’s incomplete version of the classic novel
15. “The African Queen” (1954); Dir. John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn
16. “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” (1985); Dir. Paul Schrader, score by Philip Glass
17. “Triumph of the Will” (1935); Dir. Leni Riefenstahl, documentary about the Nazi rally at Nuremberg
18. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957); Dir. David Lean, starring Sir Alec Guinness
19. “Out of the Past” (1947); Dir. Jacques Tourneur, starring Robert Mitchum
20. “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (1927); Dir. F.W. Murnau
21. “Cries and Whispers” (1972); Dir. Ingmar Bergman
22. “The Red Shoes” (1948); Dir. Michael Powell, written by Emeric Pressburger
23. “Dr. No” (1962); First James Bond film
24. “Duck Soup” (1933); Starring the Marx Brothers
25. “The Silence” (1963); Dir. Ingmar Bergman
