In the preparation of looking forward to my Oscar podcast, Patreon rewards and blogs in general for Sonic Cinema, it occurred to me that it had been a while since I have posted some of my all-time lists. Going through them, working on fine-tuning them, I felt it was time to do so again. Patrons of Sonic Cinema got an advanced look at the lists below, which are the 100 best films I’ve ever seen, my 100 favorite films, and the 50 worst films I’ve ever seen. I think there’s a lot to chew on here, and I hope you enjoy doing so!
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 & Roy E. Disney, Exec. Producers)
8. “Ran” (1985; Akira Kurosawa)
9. “GoodFellas” (1990; Martin Scorsese)
10. “Gone With the Wind” (1939; David O. Selznick, Producer)
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: A New Hope” (1977; George Lucas)
15. “Saving Private Ryan” (1998; Steven Spielberg)
16. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004; Michel Gondry)
17. “The Big Sleep” (1946; Howard Hawks)
18. “Dark City” (1998; Alex Proyas)
19. “Cloud Atlas” (2012; Lana & Lily Wachowski, Tom Tykwer)
20. “Wall-E” (2008; Andrew Stanton)
21. “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying…” (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. “Raging Bull” (1980; Martin Scorsese)
41. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946; Frank Capra)
42. “The Maltese Falcon” (1941; John Huston)
43. “Casablanca” (1942; Michael Curtiz)
44. “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980; Irvin Kershner)
45. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981; Steven Spielberg)
46. “King Kong” (1933; Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack)
47. “Toy Story 2” (1999; John Lassiter)
48. “City Lights” (1931; Charlie Chaplin)
49. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948; John Huston)
50. “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952; Gene Kelly & Stanley Donan)
51. “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962; David Lean)
52. “La Dolce Vita” (1960; Federico Fellini)
53. “Sunset Blvd.” (1950; Billy Wilder)
54. “Citizen Kane” (1941; Orson Welles)
55. “Cat People” (1942; Jacques Tourneur)
56. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939; Frank Capra)
57. “JFK” (1991; Oliver Stone)
58. “Ghost in the Shell” (1995; Mamoru Oshii)
59. “Jaws” (1975; Steven Spielberg)
60. “Do the Right Thing” (1989; Spike Lee)
61. “Our Hospitality” (1923; Buster Keaton & John Blystone)
62. “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964; Roger Corman)
63. “Edward Scissorhands” (1990; Tim Burton)
64. “Some Like It Hot” (1959; Billy Wilder)
65. “Stalker” (1979; Andrei Tarkovsky)
66. “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935; James Whale)
67. “Amadeus” (1984; Milos Forman)
68. “Haxan” (1922; Benjamin Christensen)
69. “North By Northwest” (1959; Alfred Hitchcock)
70. “L.A. Confidential” (1997; Curtis Hanson)
71. “Day for Night” (1973; Francois Truffaut)
72. “Pink Floyd The Wall” (1982; Alan Parker)
73. “The Trial” (1962; Orson Welles)
74. “The Dead” (1987; John Huston)
75. “In a Lonely Place” (1950; Nicholas Ray)
76. “Mulholland Dr.” (2001; David Lynch)
77. “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991; Jonathan Demme)
78. “Horror of Dracula” (1958; Terence Fisher)
79. “Rear Window” (1954; Alfred Hitchcock)
80. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937; David Hand, Supervising Director)
81. “Annie Hall” (1977; Woody Allen)
82. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920; Robert Weine)
83. “Seven Samurai” (1954; Akira Kurosawa)
84. “Woodstock” (1970; Michael Wadleigh)
85. “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018; Barry Jenkins)
86. “Roger & Me” (1989; Michael Moore)
87. “There Will Be Blood” (2007; Paul Thomas Anderson)
88. “The Godfather Pt. II” (1974; Francis Ford Coppola)
89. “Unforgiven” (1992; Clint Eastwood)
90. “Perfect Blue” (1997; Satoshi Kon)
91. “The Mirror” (1975; Andrei Tarkovsky)
92. “Parenthood” (1989; Ron Howard)
93. “Au Hasard Balthazar” (1965; Robert Bresson)
94. “Lolita” (1997; Adrian Lyne)
95. “The Great Dictator” (1940; Charlie Chaplin)
96. “12 Monkeys” (1995; Terry Gilliam)
97. “Godzilla” (1954; Ishiro Honda)
98. “Princess Mononoke” (1997; Hayao Miyazaki)
99. “The Sting” (1973; George Roy Hill)
100. “The Purple Rose of Cairo” (1985; Woody Allen)
Brian’s 100 Favorite Movies
1. “Sherlock Jr.” (1924)
2. “The Crow” (1994)
3. “Hugo” (2011)
4. The “Star Wars” Franchise (1977-2018)
5. “The Whole Wide World” (1996)
6. “Braveheart” (1995)
7. “Pulp Fiction” (1994)
8. “Waking Life” (2001)
9. “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001)
10. “Keeping the Faith” (2000)
11. “Stalker” (1979)
12. “Up” (2009)
13. “Face/Off” (1997)
14. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
15. “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” (1967)
16. “Ed Wood” (1994)
17. “High Fidelity” (2000)
18. “A Few Good Men” (1992)
19. “The Ref” (1994)
20. “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie” (1996)
21. “A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies” (1995)
22. “Il Mia Viaggio in Italia (My Voyage to Italy)” (1999)
23. “Vertigo” (1958)
24. “The Shining” (1980)
25. “Cloud Atlas” (2012)
26. “Andrei Rublev” (1966)
27. “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988)
28. “Amadeus” (1984)
29. “Predator” (1987)
30. The “How to Train Your Dragon” Trilogy (2010-19)
31. “Moneyball” (2011)
32. “Dark City” (1998)
33. “The Fantasia Anthology” (1940 & 2000)
34. “Arrival” (2016)
35. The “Spider-Man” Trilogy (2002-2007)
36. “The Prestige” (2006)
37. “GoodFellas” (1990)
38. “Ratatouille” (2007)
39. “Doctor Strange” (2016)
40. “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)
41. “Adaptation.” (2002)
42. “Bowfinger” (1999)
43. “Life Itself” (2014)
44. “The Big Sleep” (1946)
45. “Wall-E” (2008)
46. “The Karate Kid” (1984)
47. “A Christmas Story” (1983)
48. “Young Frankenstein” (1974)
49. “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944)
50. “Interstellar” (2014)
51. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004)
52. “Speed Racer” (2008)
53. “Dogma” (1999)
54. “Jurassic Park” (1993)
55. “The Princess Bride” (1987)
56. “Cat People” (1942)
57. “Apollo 13” (1995)
58. “The Goonies” (1985)
59. “JFK” (1991)
60. “Broken Arrow” (1996)
61. “The Fountain” (2006)
62. “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001)
63. “The Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003) & “The Hobbit” (2012-14)
64. “Spaceballs” (1987)
65. “Pacific Rim” (2013)
66. The “Indiana Jones” Adventures (1981-2008)
67. “Serenity” (2005)
68. “Mulholland Dr.” (2001)
69. “Friday the 13th” & “Part 2” (1980-81)
70. “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999)
71. “Evil Dead II” (1987)
72. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)
73. “Super 8” (2011)
74. “Jackie Brown” (1997)
75. “Independence Day” (1996)
76. The “Before” Trilogy (1995-2013)
77. “Lady Beware” (1987)
78. “A Walk to Remember” (2002)
79. “Ready Player One” (2018)
80. “Lost in La Mancha” (2002)
81. The “Dark Knight” Trilogy (2005-2012)
82. “The Replacements” (2000)
83. “The Adjustment Bureau” (2011)
84. “Big Fish” (2003)
85. “Simply Irresistible” (1999)
86. Marvel’s “Avengers” Movies (2012-18)
87. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975)
88. “The Holiday” (2006)
89. “Baby Driver” (2017)
90. “Chance” (2002)
91. The “Pitch Perfect” Trilogy (2012-17)
92. “Rent” (2005)
93. “50/50” (2011)
94. The “Lethal Weapon” Series (1987-1998)
95. “Ikiru” (1952)
96. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010)
97. “Swingers” (1996)
98. “Untitled: Almost Famous- The Bootleg Cut” (2000)
99. “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1995)
100. “Back to the Future” Trilogy (1985-90)
50 Worst Movies
1. “I Spit on Your Grave” (1978)
2. “An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn” (1998)
3. “Glen or Glenda” (1953)
4. “Troll 2” (1990)
5. “The Room” (2003)
6. “Turbulence” (1997)
7. “3000 Miles to Graceland” (2001)
8. “Birdemic: Shock and Terror” (2010)
9. “Spawn” (1997)
10. “Whipped” (2000)
11. “Friday the 13th: Part VIII- Jason Takes Manhattan” (1988)
12. “Basic Instinct 2” (2006)
13. “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” (2008)
14. “Laser Mission” (1989)
15. “Alien vs. Predator” (2004)
16. “Showgirls” (1995)
17. “Soldier” (1998)
18. “Crash” (1996)
19. “Hush” (1998)
20. “Four Rooms” (1995)
21. “Bulletproof” (1996)
22. “Sphere” (1998)
23. “Body of Evidence” (1993)
24. “Godzilla” (1998)
25. “Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000” (2000)
26. “Jail Bait” (1954)
27. “Armageddon” (1998)
28. “My Soul to Take” (2010)
29. “Nine Months” (1995)
30. “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005)
31. “Blindfold: Acts of Obsession” (1994)
32. “Twilight” (2008)
33. “Natural Born Killers” (1994)
34. “Howard the Duck” (1986)
35. “Movie 43” (2013)
36. “Striptease” (1996)
37. “The Ridiculous 6” (2015)
38. “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1956)
39. “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” (2008)
40. “Bride of the Monster” (1956)
41. “An American Carol” (2008)
42. “Batman and Robin” (1997)
43. “The Island of Dr. Moreau” (1996)
44. “Wild Wild West” (1999)
45. “Rollerball” (2002)
46. “The Million Dollar Hotel” (2000)
47. “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987)
48. “The Love Guru” (2008)
49. “Swept Away” (2002)
50. “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever” (2002)
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
