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numi_nami.Entertainment Weekly's list of the top movies of the last 25 years.
Go through their list and BOLD the ones you have seen and underline the ones you own on
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006) (Actually I'm not positive we own it because I can't find it right now.)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
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chasethestars
chasethestars
Comments
Wow. They have...interesting...taste.
Blair Witch? Really? The only thing remarkable about it was that it was a surprise money maker. It was boring and made my physically ill. Cloverfield did it better.
Naked Gun? Oh, come ON...
Where's Collateral? Clue?
At least they got L.A. Confidental...
And I wouldn't really call Blair Witch that, anyway. Groundbreaking implies that it paved the way for something to happen. It didn't re-create horror (Japanese horror did that for us). It didn't open us up more for indie films (we already had film festivals like Sundance for that), and it didn't real innovate a new style of film-making (no real hit handhelds since then except Cloverfield, which was...what, ten years later?).
It's more like a one-shot phenomenon that gets mocked occasionally in pop culture...
It's hard for me to judge maybe half those films, since I don't usually watch outside my genres, so I can't tell if things like Sid and Nancy or Y Tu Mamá También should be on there. But of the things I DO know, I'd only agree with about half of it...which is par for the course on these "magazine lists" things. :)
It had the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture ever, thus proving that you don't need a huge budget to produce a money-maker. Does that stop huge budgets? Of course not, but it did pave the way for other low-budget success stories.
Also, on the front of hand-held camera work, there are actually a lot of movies that use that. The Borne series, Casino Royale, Gladiator—Blair Witch showed how the hand-held work can not only increase the immediacy of the action, but that people will go see it. I can't think of examples of hand-held work in mainstream movies before Blair Witch, which doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but BWP did a lot to prove that people will sit through 2 hours of it.
Also, personally, BWP put UCF on the map as a school for filmmakers. And maybe that doesn't mean anything to you, but Blair Witch came out in 1999, so going to school at UCF around that time—wanting to be in film—was kind of a huge fucking deal because for one, it gave us all hope, for two, it gave the film department major credibility and boosted enrollment, and for three, it just made it a better department to get into because they had to be so much more selective. It was awesome and incredible to have that kind of success story right at home.
I totally understand not agreeing on these kinds of lists, but just because you don't agree or think that something else should be on there, it doesn't mean that the stuff that's on there isn't excellent or groundbreaking for a reason that maybe you're not aware of.
Does that stop huge budgets? Of course not, but it did pave the way for other low-budget success stories.
I haven't heard of any movies that have done the same since. And Rocky had done similar years before. Not the same ratio, but it was a low-budget film that made a crapton of money.
From what I observe, we have the same occasional low-budget breakaway hits that we've always had, and just as many flops.
Also, on the front of hand-held camera work, there are actually a lot of movies that use that.
Use it, yes. Made entirely around it? Not really.
BWP did a lot to prove that people will sit through 2 hours of it.
Sit through it once, sure. I don't know how many people liked it AFTER coming out of Blair Witch. Personally, I *hated* the way they used it in Gladiator. I want to actually SEE the fights, kthx.
Also, personally, BWP put UCF on the map as a school for filmmakers. And maybe that doesn't mean anything to you
Oh, snap. I'll try really hard NOT to be offended by that, since my degree in Motion Picture Technology CAME from UCF in 1998. I was on campus a lot around then, even though I had just graduated. Mary Johnson and I talked a lot about how the movie was doing. Still didn't change the fact that I thought it was a crappy movie.
I totally understand not agreeing on these kinds of lists, but just because you don't agree or think that something else should be on there, it doesn't mean that the stuff that's on there isn't excellent or groundbreaking for a reason that maybe you're not aware of.
Look, if my opinion or conversation isn't welcome here, I can just go. Just assuming that I don't know what I'm talking about it equally offensive, you know.
Did it possibly occur to you that I don't know that. What I said was that personally the success of that film did amp up being at UCF at that time.
I never said that you didn't know what you're talking about; what I said was "aware of." There's lots of stuff that I know about but may not be aware of this other thing that would complete the picture. But the main point is that I don't know really know you, so I don't know what you know or don't know. What you came off as saying in your comment were digs on Blair Witch and then admitting that you couldn't judge several of the films on the list because they're outside of your genre experience—and that combined to make me think that you were someone who'd seen the movie, didn't like it, and formed an opinion about it, but may not be aware of influence it may have had in genres you don't follow. Which isn't to say that you can't form opinions about the movie or that your opinions aren't valid.
Did it possibly occur to you that I don't know that.
Well, I had HOPED that you didn't know that. Otherwise, it would have been even MORE insulting that you were lecturing me on things I already knew about.
I never said that you didn't know what you're talking about;
You just assumed a lot.
But the main point is that I don't know really know you, so I don't know what you know or don't know.
Exactly. Which is why that conversation would have been MUCH more pleasant if you had just disagreed and hadn't assumed that I needed a full education on the subject.
What you came off as saying in your comment were digs on Blair Witch and then admitting that you couldn't judge several of the films on the list because they're outside of your genre experience—and that combined to make me think that you were someone who'd seen the movie, didn't like it, and formed an opinion about it, but may not be aware of influence it may have had in genres you don't follow.
That logic doesn't follow, since you didn't KNOW which genres I follow. All the movies you cited were in genres that I watch. The Bourne series is one of my favorite action series.
My lack of knowledge in one area of a subject does not mean I need to be talked down to, condscended to, or educated. It's particularly grating to have it done to you when you already know the points the person trying to inform you of.
Which isn't to say that you can't form opinions about the movie or that your opinions aren't valid.
Thanks for that. It was kind of the whole point in the first place- my original post was an opinion on something you posted. Completely open to conversation, but NOT worth getting defensive about.
I want to be very clear here. I don't just randomly insult movies or shows to be mean or insult the taste of the person who might like it (I had no idea you were so attached to BW, or I probably would have kept my mouth shut). And I certainly don't mind people disagreeing with me...especially when it's more like, "Awww, man, I disagree! It did this, and this, etc." A much lighter tone than the one you were using.
I DO mind when people talk down to me. Being assumed stupid is one thing I won't tolerate. YOU wouldn't like it if someone talked to you that way, I'd wager.
You've decided to defriend me, and I'm returning the favor. I am sorry that you felt spoke down to as that's certainly not what I was intending to do.