Top 20 Films
And now for a special treat. Here are my 20 favorite movies of all time. No guidelines, rules, or stipulations. These are the 20 movies I would choose to take with me to a deserted island – 20 movies I’ve seen multiple times that never fail to ‘wow’ and emotionally impact me.
1. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
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2. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998)
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3. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
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4. George Washington (David Gordon Green, 2000)
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5. Street Angel (Frank Borzage, 1928)
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6. Ashes of Time (Wong Kar-wai, 1994)
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7. Ménilmontant (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1926)
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8. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)
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9. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
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10. Clean (Olivier Assayas, 2004)
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11. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)
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12. I Fidanzati (Ermanno Olmi, 1963)
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13. All the Real Girls (David Gordon Green, 2003)
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14. Slow Moves (Jon Jost, 1983)
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15. Bronco Billy (Clint Eastwood, 1980)
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16. Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1955)
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17. Code 46 (Michael Winterbottom, 2003)
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18. Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958)
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19. Vernon, Florida (Errol Morris, 1981)
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20. The Priest and the Girl (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1966)
chrisfilm.wordpress.com 
August 16, 2011 at 5:42 am
Chris, some lovely films in your list, and wonderful stills. I’m glad to see you have included one of my all-time favorites, Ermanno Olmi’s I Fidanzati.
August 16, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Glad to find another I Fidanzati (and Olmi) fan! What are some of your other favorites?
August 16, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Other favorites include:
Kaurismaki’s The Man Without a Past
Oshima’s Boy
Rossellini’s Stromboli
Ozu’s Autumn Afternoon
Mike Leigh’s High Hopes
Ford’s Wagon Master
Renoir’s La Nuit du carrefour
Peckinpah’s Ride the HIgh Country
Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest
Marker’s Sans Soleil
Shimizu’s Ormanmental Hairpin
Barnet’s By the Bluest of Seas
Lubitsch’s Angel
One could go on…….
By the way, how many times have you watched Olmi’s I Fidanzati? His other films are good too. Il Posto, Tree of Wooden Clogs and Walking walking, Lunga vita alla Signora, The Legend of the Holy Drinker. I Fidanzati is still by fave I reckon, followed by Tree of Wooden Clogs.
Apropos Trees, what did you think of Malick’s The Tree of Life? I have seen it twice. I like all his films.
October 3, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Hmm, can’t seem to find the reply button for your latest post (and I’m replying a month and a half late, but I too like Tree of Wooden Clogs second best for Olmi. If you haven’t seen it, watch La Cotta (it’s an extra on the Il Posto Criterion dvd). It’s actually my 3rd fav from him.
Tree of Life was great. Ranks 4th on my Malick list, but still sits in my top 50. 🙂
October 27, 2011 at 10:32 am
Days of Heaven is a beautiful film, especially when seen on the big screen.
May 2, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Bronco Billy AND Slow Moves? Now THAT is a highly personal and eclectic list (as all such lists should be). Seeing how much you love Malick and Malick-ites I’m curious what you think about The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford.
May 2, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Haha, Bronco Billy is definitely the guilty pleasure on the list. Have you seen Slow Moves? If so, very impressive.
Jesse James is just outside of my top 20 – a fantastic film. Though I don’t really think it compares to Malick outside of its cinematography.
May 2, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Yeah, I’ve seen Slow Moves. I used to be a huge Jon Jost fan and was even e-mail pen pals with him about a dozen years ago. My favorite of his films is Sure Fire.
Jesse James is, along with Fincher’s Zodiac, my favorite Hollywood film of the 21st century. I’m excited about Killing Them Softly (though I loathe the title change).
There’s no need to feel guilty about finding pleasure in Bronco Billy!
May 2, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Pen pals with Jost? That’s amazing. You might be a good person to ask – how can I watch some of his more current films?
May 2, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Ask and you shall receive: http://www.jon-jost.com/sales.html