Because Nobody Asked For It: The Panda's Top 250 Movies of All Time - COMPLETE

[chasmmi]

That brief period where I was worried I was going to end up preferring the fake number one to the real number one. 

 

Luckily that was not the case. 

[The Panda]

1 hour ago, chasmmi said:

That brief period where I was worried I was going to end up preferring the fake number one to the real number one. 

 

Luckily that was not the case. 

 

I don't know if I could be friends with somebody that thought JW was a better movie than Raiders (and I actually did really enjoy JW).

[Ethan Hunt]

Can never go wrong with Raiders. Don't agree with everything (and haven't seen a lot of stuff) but your choices seem inspired

[baumer]

Raiders is simply one of the three best films ever made, imo.  Terrific choice as your number one Panda.  FWIW, here is my review of Raiders from almost 20 years ago.

 

Spoiler

It is a hot sunny day in South America. We see a bunch of men, shot mostly from the back. They are walking deep into the forest. We see a tall dark figure. He is wearing an old leather jacket, he has the 5 o'clock shadow looking like it's closer to midnight, he wears a fedora and he carries a bull-whip ( yes a bull-whip ). Finally, two of the men enter a cave and we hear about some guy named Forstall, who was good, very, very good, but he never came out of the place alive. But they enter anyway. They are confronted with tarantulas, spears that are triggered by blocking out the light, a pit that they must swing over and then more tiny poisonous darts that come out of the wall. All this to protect an ancient gold statue. They recover it. One guy dies and the other barely makes it out of the room before it all falls on him. Then he has to get out of the cave and a giant boulder chases him. Finally he makes it out of the cave only to be surrounded by Hovitos and his arch enemy named Belloq. He takes the gold statue that this guy worked so hard for and then the guy runs and makes it to the plane where he is in the passenger seat and there is big snake in the plane. He hates snakes. This mans name? Indiana Jones!

Whhhoooooo!! I'm left breathless just describing that opening. But is there a better beginning of a movie ever? Absolutely not. Does the beginning have anything to do with the rest of the film. No. It is all decoration for what the movie is going to put you through in the 90 minutes to come.

Indiana Jones is the best character to ever hit the screens. And he better be. He is created by George, Steven and played by Harrison Ford. That may seem normal now that we have lived with him for 20 years, but can you imagine what that must have been like back in 1981. That would be like Tom Hanks or Will Smith joining forces with James Cameron and Steven Spielberg for a completely original idea in today's terms.

Raiders took a simple idea and maybe an idea that the guys had from watching Saturday afternoon movies and made it larger than life. This film never stops for you to take your breath. It is filled with rich characters from Indy himself to Marion to Belloq and even to Marcus Brody. Each has their own personality that shines through in certain scenes. Some of my faves were when we first meet Marion having a shot contest in her bar in Nepal. Then there is her scene with Belloq and they get drunk together and she tries to leave using only a butter knife. And of course who can forget Indy's battle with the swordsman and his unrivaled determination to get the ark. " Indy, there is not time. If you still want the truck it is being loaded on a truck for Cairo. " ( a battered and bloody Indy ) " Truck? What truck?" ( and then later ) "Get some transport back to England, boat, plane, anything. Meet me at Omar's. I'm going after that truck. "

Sola ) " How? " ( Indy ) I don't know I'm making this up as I go."

Raiders has more energy than three action films. And that is what makes it the classic that it is. If you like movies, then Raiders is a movie that will not let you down. It is pure entertainment and that is indisputable. It finds the youngster in all of us and bombards us with this silly, whip-cracking, average, incredibly determined archaeologist and only asks us to have fun. And that we do. And to me, the only reason that Chariots of Fire won best picture that year is because it is a serious film. Raiders was heads and shoulders above Chariots and it should have cleaned up at the Oscars in 81. But more politics with the academy.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the epitome of entertainment. What more can be said about it. If you haven't seen this movie in a while or if you haven't seen it at all ( gasp ) then do yourself a favour and rent it tonight. It is awesome.

 

[aabattery]

I watched Raiders with a live orchestra a few weeks back and it was incredible. Such a great movie.

[Eevin]

Raiders is utterly and totally fantastic. The best film of the 1980s, and that's saying a lot.

[Plain Old Tele]

A wonderful list, Panda, despite my occasional quibbles and rage.  

[baumer]

1 hour ago, Tele Came Back said:

A wonderful list, Panda, despite my perpetual quibbles and rage.  

 

FTFY

[RandomCat]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 1:06 AM, 2 Panda 2 Furious said:

Number 1

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

 

Last Crusade was still better.

 

But I'll accept Raiders.

[Ethan Hunt]

2 hours ago, RandomJC said:

 

Last Crusade was still better.

 

 

[DAJK]

I actually watched raiders on tv a couple of days ago. Awesome movie! Great choice

[The Panda]

Also, here is the complete list (as well as 50 films at the bottom that missed the cut)

 

1.    Raiders of the Lost Ark
2.    The Wizard of Oz
3.    Once Upon a Time in the West
4.    Before Sunrise
5.    Schindler’s List
6.    The Shawshank Redemption
7.    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8.    Monty Python and the Holy Grail
9.    The Empire Strikes Back
10.    Casablanca
11.    Lawrence of Arabia
12.    The Sound of Music
13.    Before Sunset
14.    It’s a Wonderful Life
15.    Children of Men
16.    The Grapes of Wrath
17.    12 Angry Men
18.    Pan’s Labyrinth
19.    The Searchers
20.    2001: A Space Odyssey
21.    Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
22.    Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
23.    Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
24.    acclaimed science-fiction film acclaimed science-fiction film Gravity
25.    Inside Out
26.    The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
27.    Star Wars: The Force Awakens
28.    Gone With the Wind
29.    Harvey
30.    Star Wars
31.    Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
32.    Citizen Kane
33.    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
34.    Pulp Fiction
35.    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
36.    Apocalypse Now
37.    A Clockwork Orange
38.    Vertigo
39.    Monty Python’s Life of Brian
40.    Chinatown
41.    The Godfather
42.    Blade Runner
43.    Unforgiven
44.    Singin’ in the Rain
45.    Saving Private Ryan
46.    Spirited Away
47.    Life of Pi
48.    Ben-Hur
49.    The Godfather Part II
50.    Gladiator
51.    Fargo
52.    The Bridge on the River Kwai
53.    The Great Dictator
54.    Tarzan
55.    Planet of the Apes
56.    Boyhood
57.    Psycho
58.    Finding Nemo
59.    City of God
60.    The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
61.    The Last of the Mohicans
62.    Jaws
63.    Seven Samurai
64.    The Big Lebowski
65.    Mary Poppins
66.    Jurassic Park
67.    The Lion King
68.    Rosemary’s Baby
69.    Goodfellas
70.    The Manchurian Candidate
71.    West Side Story
72.    The Social Network
73.    Alien
74.    Mississippi Burning
75.    La La Land
76.    Before Midnight
77.    For a Few Dollars More
78.    Beauty and the Beast
79.    Her
80.    Forrest Gump
81.    King Kong
82.    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
83.    The Exorcist
84.    Doctor Zhivago
85.    The Rocky Horror Picture Show
86.    North By Northwest
87.    True Grit
88.    The Terminator
89.    Fruitvale Station
90.    No Country For Old Men
91.    The Truman Shw
92.    Taxi Driver
93.    Good Will Hunting
94.    There Will Be Blood
95.    Back to the Future
96.    Mad Max: Fury Road
97.    Django Unchained
98.    Sunset Boulevard
99.    The Producers
100.    Moonlight
101.    Mulholland Drive
102.    The 400 Blows
103.    Wall-E
104.    The Shining
105.    Glengarry Glen Ross
106.    Rear Window
107.    Short Term 12
108.    A Streetcar Named Desire
109.    Amadeus
110.    Breakfast at Tiffany’s
111.    The Hurt Locker
112.    Shane 
113.    Apollo 13
114.    Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
115.    Raging Bull
116.    The Silence of the Lambs
117.    Braveheart
118.    Pinocchio
119.    Fiddler on the Roof
120.    Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
121.    Close Encounters of the Third Kind
122.    The Princess Bride
123.    Grave of the Fireflies
124.    To Kill a Mockingbird
125.    On the Waterfront
126.    The Third Man
127.    The Revenant
128.    Airplane!
129.    Strangers on a Train
130.    E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
131.    The French Connection
132.    The Thief of Bagdad
133.    The Maltese Falcon
134.    All Quiet on the Western Front
135.    The Deer Hunter
136.    Up
137.    The Graduate
138.    Requiem For a Dream    
139.    Arrival
140.    Alexander Nevsky
141.    Mean Girls
142.    Rebecca
143.    Deadpool
144.    The Nightmare Before Christmas
145.    Judgement at Nuremberg
146.    Once (2007)
147.    Princess Mononoke
148.    The Last Picture Show
149.    Mad Max
150.    Beasts of the Southern Wild
151.    The Jungle Book (1967)
152.    Whiplash
153.    All the President’s Men
154.    John Carpenter’s Halloween
155.    Ghostbusters
156.    Guardians of the Galaxy
157.    Magnolia
158.    The Informer
159.    Heathers
160.    Blue Velvet
161.    Inside Llewyn Davis
162.    Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan
163.    Boogie Nights
164.    The Wolf of Wall Street
165.    Evil Dead 2
166.    Dances With Wolves
167.    The Lady Eve
168.    Animal House
169.    Night of the Living Dead
170.    Stand By Me
171.    Manhattan
172.    Of Mice and Men (1939)
173.    Full Metal Jacket
174.    My Fair Lady
175.    Donnie Darko
176.    The Breakfast Club
177.    Blazing Saddles
178.    The Immigrant (2014)
179.    Minority Report
180.    Aliens 
181.    The King of Comedy
182.    Sicario
183.    Young Frankenstein
184.    The Matrix
185.    The Incredibles
186.    50/50
187.    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
188.    The Big Short
189.    An American Werewolf in London
190.    Aladdin
191.    The Treasure of Sierra Madre
192.    All the King’s Men
193.    A Fistful of Dollars
194.    National Lampoon’s Vacation
195.    High Noon
196.    White Christmas
197.    This is Spinal Tap
198.    Dazed and Confused
199.    The Birds
200.    The Ten Commandments
201.    What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
202.    October Sky
203.    South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
204.    Bonnie and Clyde
205.    Cast Away 
206.    Total Recall
207.    How Green Was My Valley
208.    The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
209.    A Christmas Story
210.    Letter to Iwo Jima
211.    Rain Man
212.    The Last Temptation of Christ
213.    The Evil Dead
214.    Platoon
215.    Poltergeist
216.    Being John Malkovich 
217.    Godzilla
218.    Hunt for Kiwi Smurfs
219.    Men in Black
220.    An American in Paris
221.    The Iron Giant
222.    The Best Years of Our Lives
223.    Hell or High Water
224.    Beetlejuice
225.    Star Trek (2009)
226.    It Happened One Night
227.    A Monster Calls
228.    The Grand Budapest Hotel
229.     (500) Days of Summer
230.    The Bride of Frankenstein
231.    Miracle on 34th Street
232.    Terminator 2: Judgement Day
233.    American Graffiti
234.    Cabaret
235.    Silver Linings Playbook
236.    Red River
237.    Y Tu Mama Tambien
238.    Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
239.    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
240.    O Brother, Where Art Thou?
241.    District 9
242.    Modern Times
243.    Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
244.    Wall Street
245.    Groundhog Day
246.    Superman
247.    Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
248.    Kill Bill Vol 2
249.    Kill Bill Vol 1
250.    The Great Escape

251.    Dr. No

252.    The Karate Kid
253.    The Fly
254.    Tropic Thunder
255.    Into the Wild
256.    Toy Story
257.    Bambi
258.    Dead Poet’s Society
259.    Brazil
260.    Galaxy Quest
261.    Reservoir Dogs
262.    Memento
263.    The Caine Mutiny
264.    In the Heat of the Night
265.    The King and I
266.    Of Mice and Men (1992)
267.    The Battle of Algiers
268.    Manchester By The Sea
269.    The Magnificent Seven (1960)
270.    Labyrinth
271.    Slumdog Millionaire
272.    The Italian Job
273.    The Great Race 
274.    How the West Was Won
275.    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
276.    Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe
277.    American Beauty
278.    Pretty Woman
279.    The Conversation
280.    Who Framed Roger Rabbit
281.    The Nightmare on Elm Street
282.    Some Like It Hot
283.    Mulan
284.    The Wild Bunch
285.    Do the Right Thing
286.    The Witch
287.    The Blair Witch Project
288.    Borat
289.    The Goonies
290.    Superman II
291.    Thunderball
292.    Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
293.    The Texas Chainsaw Massacure
294.    MASH
295.    Zero Dark Thirty
296.    Enemy
297.    Scream
298.    True Grit (1969)
299.    The Departed
300.    The Tree of Life
 

 

Edited April 23, 2017 by The Panda

[Tower]

On 12/03/2017 at 11:03 PM, The Last Panda said:

Number 119

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

 

"I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"

 

On 12/03/2017 at 11:23 PM, Tower said:

 

That would be me 

Sounds Interesting, I'll add to  my watch list.

So @The Last Panda, I finally saw Fiddler On The Roof, and I'm surprised at how much I loved this considering how much I usually don't like musicals. For most musicals I find that the musical parts just get in the way of the film and make it worse (this was definitely the case with a film that made it even higher up this list, Singin' In The Rain, where I ended up hoping for the music to stop so that the story could continue.), but in this film it was the opposite, the musical parts fit in perfectly with the rest of the film and made it better.

 

Fiddler will easily make my next top 100 list.

[The Panda]

42 minutes ago, Tower said:

 

So @The Last Panda, I finally saw Fiddler On The Roof, and I'm surprised at how much I loved this considering how much I usually don't like musicals. For most musicals I find that the musical parts just get in the way of the film and make it worse (this was definitely the case with a film that made it even higher up this list, Singin' In The Rain, where I ended up hoping for the music to stop so that the story could continue.), but in this film it was the opposite, the musical parts fit in perfectly with the rest of the film and made it better.

 

Fiddler will easily make my next top 100 list.

I'm glad you took the time to watch it.  It's a fantastic film, and I also love the stage play too.

[Brainbug]

@The Last Panda would The Last Jedi make your list? Im curious

[IronJimbo]

Obviously we can all look through each others list and be confused why X is above Y but overall the list has loads of great films so it's a thumbs up from me.

 

What I will do is ask why some films are missing, films which I think you would like from the films you've listed.

 

At #63 you have Seven Samurai which is regarded as one of Kurosawa's best and you have it really high. I didn't see any other Kurosawa films on the list so I have to ask why? My favourites are Yojimbo and it's sequel Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, Ran and Throne of Blood.

 

You have sci-fi's really high up on the list but I didn't see Stalker or Solaris which are in my opinion two of the absolute best.

 

The Thing, where is The Thing? The action sci-fi classics Starship Troopers, Robocop and Predator. You've got all the recent good sci-fi's but not Ex Machina, it's got TWO star wars actors as the male leads!

 

Sprited Away is really high (my favourite animated film) and Princess Mononoke in the top 150. However Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery service, Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies are absent.

 

I don't see any Korean films, Oldboy and Memories of Murder would be in my top 100. The Wailing was a hell of a ride too.

 

The fact I see most of Ridley's best but don't see Kingdom of Heaven, heavily suggests you haven't see the directors cut. It's the greatest jump in quality I've ever seen from a theatrical to a directors cut I've ever seen. From a 6/10 to a 10/10. This isn't hyperbole it's really that good, better than Gladiator. Also I think Ridleys Black Hawk Down is real good.

 

Also finally, where's Avatar and Titanic?

 

edit:

The Hunt and Apocalypto are two under watched films I love.

If you haven't seen The Raid 1&2 and you like Martial Arts, and you like action, you should check them out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by IronJimbo

[The Panda]

36 minutes ago, IronJimbo said:

Obviously we can all look through each others list and be confused why X is above Y but overall the list has loads of great films so it's a thumbs up from me.

 

What I will do is ask why some films are missing, films which I think you would like from the films you've listed.

 

At #63 you have Seven Samurai which is regarded as one of Kurosawa's best and you have it really high. I didn't see any other Kurosawa films on the list so I have to ask why? My favourites are Yojimbo and it's sequel Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, Ran and Throne of Blood.

 

You have sci-fi's really high up on the list but I didn't see Stalker or Solaris which are in my opinion two of the absolute best.

 

The Thing, where is The Thing? The action sci-fi classics Starship Troopers, Robocop and Predator. You've got all the recent good sci-fi's but not Ex Machina, it's got TWO star wars actors as the male leads!

 

Sprited Away is really high (my favourite animated film) and Princess Mononoke in the top 150. However Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery service, Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies are absent.

 

I don't see any Korean films, Oldboy and Memories of Murder would be in my top 100. The Wailing was a hell of a ride too.

 

The fact I see most of Ridley's best but don't see Kingdom of Heaven, heavily suggests you haven't see the directors cut. It's the greatest jump in quality I've ever seen from a theatrical to a directors cut I've ever seen. From a 6/10 to a 10/10. This isn't hyperbole it's really that good, better than Gladiator. Also I think Ridleys Black Hawk Down is real good.

 

Also finally, where's Avatar and Titanic?

 

edit:

The Hunt and Apocalypto are two under watched films I love.

If you haven't seen The Raid 1&2 and you like Martial Arts, and you like action, you should check them out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of those I haven't seen.  And then there's only so many slots I can give.  Going back, some of the 2016 stuff like A Monster Calls would probably miss in favor of something less recent (but the list would relatively be the same, maybe a few switches)

 

As for Avatar and Titanic, they're both B+ films for me.

 

4 hours ago, Brainbug said:

@The Last Panda would The Last Jedi make your list? Im curious

 

Possibly, need to see it again.  Haven't even decided my rankings for this year yet.