The greatest films throughout the decades

[Circled Square]

I'm just mad because the black ghostbuster sucked.

[EmperorWu]

Seven Samurai made your top 10.

[VaderBomb]

Seven Samurai made your top 10.

Damn right.

[VaderBomb]

The Greatest Films of the 1990s

50
Europa [Europe] (1991)

49
زیر درختان زیتون [Through the Olive Trees] (1994)

48
زندگی و دیگر هیچ [Life, and Nothing More...] (1992)

47
C'est arrivé près de chez vous [Man Bites Dog] (1992)

46
Jackie Brown (1997)

45
Rosetta (1999)

44
Twelve Monkeys (1995)

43
Portrait d'une jeune fille de la fin des années 60 à Bruxelles [Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the 1960s in Brussels] (1994)

42
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

41
Happiness (1998)

40
Festen [The Celebration] (1998)

39
The Player (1992)

38
Night on Earth (1991)

37
Trois couleurs : Blanc [Three Colours: White] (1994)

36
GoodFellas (1990)

35
大紅燈籠高高掛 [Raise the Red Lantern] (1991)

34
Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)

33
La promesse [The Promise] (1996)

32
Dead Man (1995)

31
Heat (1995)

30
Gummo (1997)

29
Hana-bi [Fireworks] (1997)

28
Rushmore (1998)

27
The Big Lebowski (1998)

26
Underground (1995)

25
The Blair Witch Project (1999)

24
もののけ姫 [Princess Mononoke] (1997)

23
Boogie Nights (1997)

22
Short Cuts (1993)

21
Trois couleurs : Bleu [Three Colours: Blue] (1993)

20
Magnolia (1999)

19
Trois couleurs : Rouge [Three Colours: Red] (1994)

18
Miller's Crossing (1990)

17
طعم گيلاس [Taste of Cherry] (1997)

16
Barton Fink (1991)

15
La haine [Hate] (1995)

14
重慶森林 [Chungking Express] (1994)

13
La double vie de Véronique [The Double Life of Veronique] (1991)

12
Dazed and Confused (1993)

11
کلوزآپ [Close-Up] (1990)

10
Naked (1993)

9
Slacker (1991)

8
Fargo (1996)

7
Before Sunrise (1995)- 10/10

6
Breaking the Waves (1996)- 10/10

5
The Thin Red Line (1998)- 10/10

4
La belle noiseuse [The Beautiful Troublemaker] (1991)- 10/10

3
牯嶺街少年殺人事件 [A Brighter Summer Day] (1991)- 10/10

2
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)- 10/10

1
Sátántangó [Satan's Tango] (1994) - 10/10

[Daz]

Surprised to see Eyes Wide Shut rated so highly.

[VaderBomb]

Surprised to see Eyes Wide Shut rated so highly.

Eyes Wide Shut is an extremely engrossing psychological mystery. Sex and intelligence have been in battle for centuries, but here they are woven seamlessly into the same tale.

Kubrick's final masterpiece is his greatest achievement and a grandiose vision into the complex mysteries of the world. People assume that they know everything that's going on, but there are secrets that are quite deep and when exposed could potentially bring doom to those who access those secrets.

Like all of Kubrick's best works, it's visually stunning. Eyes Wide Shut is full of symbolism and metaphorical imagery and really takes a toll on the psyche. Every single second of this film has so much attention dedicated to it that it's impossible to accept the overt symbolism as coincidental.

The only scenes that don't feature rainbow colored Christmas lights are the scenes that take place "at the end of the rainbow" where the people who's eyes are wide shut refuse to acknowledge exists. Ziegler's room with the overdosed sex slave. The satanic ritual. Ziegler's man cave near the end when he's attempting to cover up the "conspiracy". Pause your DVD on the frame when Bill Harford is reading the newspaper excerpt about Mandy's death. The amount of depth that is revealed in that text alone is more telling and interesting than most films' entire subtexts.

Kubrick demands that we listen and understand that this sort of shit is happening all around us. In our very hometowns. Right through the woods and iron gates. Kubrick's film demands that the viewer must attempt to come to the realization of how they would react if put in the position that Bill Harford has gotten himself into. The final scene in the toy store has endless amounts of depth. The connections between characters, the meanings of their names. It all means something.

Kubrick is an absolutely brilliant and this film is clearly a warning for future generations. He'd likely seen some shit and knew that this could potentially be his final statement and decided to go all out, guns blazing.

Not once within the film did he succumb to showing child abduction/Johnny Gosch-esque depravity and torture which is likely prevalent within many of these occult rituals attended by the world elite but his poetic rendering of the situation is just as powerfully effective.

Eyes Wide Shut could possibly be the most impacting and important film of all.

[Daz]

Not sure I can agree with you on that.

There’s an intellectual depth it’s trying to achieve, but I’m not sure it actually ever does. Although that being said, I find a lot of Kubrick’s work to be tedious, if attentively and meticulously assembled. In fact, I view Kubrick’s work a lot like I view Ridley Scott’s current day work; visually stunning with a lot of greats ideas, but I know there will be long stretches where I’ll be bored, mulling over a lot of the background ideas (or more appropriately in Kubrick’s case, the subtext and symbolism) whilst bemoaning the fact that the characters and the plot being presented aren’t more interesting in the forefront.

I understand what’s going on under the surface. I get all the symbolism being presented. I’m not sure if it serves as a warning for future generations … I guess we’ll find out … but ultimately, I just find the film completely devoid of life. Thematically, it covers deviance, corruption among the high society, sex, fantasy so on and so forth, and yet it’s so cold. The presentation is of course immaculate, without blemish and perfectly in order. It’s Kubrick, so I have no doubt the juxtaposition thematically with the visual presentation is entirely intended, but it makes it a slog to sit through for nearly three hours.

For me, it’s overlong, overwrought, with extremely wooden performances all around. Every line Nicole Kidman delivers actively makes me want to turn the film off… especially when she’s playing drunk. I think ultimately, I like what’s being said, or rather, what it’s trying to say, but I don’t like the way it goes about saying it. If that makes any sense.

I could probably get deeper into this and be far more eloquent and concise if it wasn’t nearly seven in the morning, and I had slept at all.

[Daz]

All that being said, it has been a few years since I've watched it, and yours is an opinion I respect and tend to agree with, so maybe it's time for a repeat viewing.

[Circled Square]

wait where the hell is Leon: The Professional at? Or am I overrating it?

[Hanley!]

wait where the hell is Leon: The Professional at? Or am I overrating it?

You are not.

[Matteo]

Thematically, it covers deviance, corruption among the high society, sex, fantasy so on and so forth, and yet it’s so cold.

This is a reoccurring criticism amongst Kubrick as a filmmaker. Namely, he is cold, detached, misanthropic and and disconnected, and this all manifests in his work. I simply can not agree with it. Eyes Wide Shut, at least to me, is a very honest and real film about relationships. I think it's a relatively accessible and simple work at its core, too, and has unnecessarily spawned way too many ill-founded and baseless analyses.

I do, however, agree with you on Kidman, but her wonderful ass and body makes up for it quite easily.

[Daz]

Thematically, it covers deviance, corruption among the high society, sex, fantasy so on and so forth, and yet it’s so cold.

This is a reoccurring criticism amongst Kubrick as a filmmaker. Namely, he is cold, detached, misanthropic and and disconnected, and this all manifests in his work. I simply can not agree with it. Eyes Wide Shut, at least to me, is a very honest and real film about relationships. I think it's a relatively accessible and simple work at its core, too, and has unnecessarily spawned way too many ill-founded and baseless analyses.

I do, however, agree with you on Kidman, but her wonderful ass and body makes up for it quite easily.

My lasting impression of Eyes Wide Shut was that Nicole Kidman must do a lot of sit ups. So I can at least concur with you on your last point lol.

[KaiserGlider]

I'm surprised Schindler's List isn't on there.

[VaderBomb]

Aside from E.T. which is one of the greatest movies ever, Spielberg doesn't go beyond that 8.5/8 territory at best and wallows among the 3s or 4s/10 at worst. Schindler's List is a beautifully shot, but overrated film.

[VaderBomb]

The Greatest Films of the 2000s


30
Le scaphandre et le papillon [The Diving Bell and the Butterfly] (2007)

29
Mister Lonely (2007)

28
Dzień świra [Day of the Wacko] (2002)

27
Team America: World Police (2004)

26
千と千尋の神隠し [Spirited Away] (2001)

25
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

24
花樣年華 [In the Mood for Love] (2000)

23
The New World (2005)

22
Entre les murs [The Class] (2008)

21
Elephant (2003)

20
Al primo soffio di vento [At the First Breath of Wind] (2002)

19
Antichrist (2009)

18
L' enfant [The Child] (2005)

17
Before Sunset (2004)

16
Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte [The White Ribbon] (2009)

15
ユリイカ [Eureka] (2000)

14
Dogville (2003)

13
Synecdoche, New York (2008)

12
No Country for Old Men (2007)

11
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

10
Caché [Hidden] (2005)

9
There Will Be Blood (2007)

8
Inland Empire (2006)

7
一一 [Yi Yi: A One and a Two] (2000)

6
Mulholland Dr. (2001)

5
4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile [4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days] (2007)

4
สุดเสน่หา [Blissfully Yours] (2002)

3
Werckmeister harmóniák [Werckmeister Harmonies] (2000)

2
สัตว์ประหลาด [Tropical Malady] (2004)

1
แสงศตวรรษ [Syndromes and a Century] (2006)

[Circled Square]

Not big into superhero movies but the Dark Knight deserves a top 30, or top 50 spot imo.

[VaderBomb]

I'd give it a 7.5 or so, not really close to making my list to be honest. Great movie nonetheless, but I hardly had a personal attachment to Nolan's film.

[Circled Square]

What about Up? That movie was great. Casino Royale, too.

[Daz]

Gonna have to re-watch The New World after seeing it on this list. Love that film.

[Hanley!]

Circled Square's mention of Up (fantastic film, high up on my list) along with your inclusion of Spirited Away (another wonderful film that I would likely have placed higher) makes me think that I would have liked to see more of the great animated films on here.

Obviously, no two people would be able to come up with similar lists because of how subjective film is. So it's hard to argue that your list is wrong or that such a thing should have been ranked over a certain other thing. It's pointless getting into those kinds of arguments.

But were there other animated films that almost made the list? I'm a huge fan of animated films when they're done well. My greatest movies lists would likely have loads of them.