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Cowboy Jim Timlin

Haven't seen that many foreign films. Not a big fan of reading subtitles. Don't do Merchant Ivory Victorian soap operas. No matter the vaunted 'literature' it's based on.

My criteria - will I watch these movies over and over. Most yes. War movies maybe not. Just my humble opinions.

  1. Lonesome Dove (Simon Wincer, 1989) -- Only western you need to see and READ.

  2. The Jungle Book (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1967) -- For Phil Harris' voice of Baloo. Vulture caricatures of the Beatles. "Bare Necessities" - perhaps the best movie song of all time. Just plain fun - makes me smile EVERY TIME!

  3. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) -- nuff said.

  4. Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982) -- If for nothing else than to remember that he once walked the earth. And personally I thought it was BRILLIANT.

  5. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) -- Generational staple. There's a reason for these. Can't be analyzed - but it must touch all of us in unique ways.

  6. Waking Ned Devine (Kirk Jones, 1998) -- Made me proud of my IRISH dna.

  7. Das Boot (Wolfgang Peterson, 1981) -- as an Ex U.S. Submariner I can remember walking out of the theatre and heading for a bar for a stiff one. Totally empathized with NAZI'S on this. Common bond so to speak. And Germany's first public post war recognition of their role in WWII.

  8. The Milagro Beanfield War (Robert Redford, 1988) -- my Own "It's a Wonderful Life".

  9. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998) -- Should be shown in schools world-wide in order to drive home the HORROR and cost of WAR.

  10. The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952) -- John Wayne not a cowboy. Maureen O'hara as a dangerously beautiful redhead colleen. Made me glad to have freckles.

tally after this list / September 22, 2005


Christopher Null

  1. Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
  2. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
  3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  4. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
  5. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
  6. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
  7. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
  8. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
  9. House of Games (David Mamet, 1987)
  10. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

Christopher Null is the founder and editor in chief of filmcritic.com, the web's oldest movie review site.

tally after this list / September 21, 2005


Edward Havens

  1. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000) (162m "Bootleg" cut)
  2. Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)
  3. Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988)
  4. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) (142m director's cut)
  5. My Man Godfrey (Gregory La Cava, 1936)
  6. Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)
  7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)
  8. La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
  9. All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)
  10. Kumonosu jô (Throne of Blood) (Akira Kurosawa, 1957)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Preston Sturges
  2. Terry Gilliam
  3. Martin Scorsese
  4. Billy Wilder
  5. Orson Welles
  6. Akira Kurosawa
  7. Cameron Crowe
  8. Wong Kar-Wai
  9. Federico Fellini
  10. Anthony Mann

Edward Havens, the publisher of FilmJerk.com and a Governing Committee member of the Online Film Critics Society, has worked on practically every level of film, from writing and production to distribution, exhibition and home entertainment. An unflinching fan of cinema, Havens and his wife have recently returned to the West Coast after several years in New York City, purposely settling in to a new home within a few minutes walk of the El Capitan, Chinese and Cinerama Dome theatres in Hollywood.

tally after this list / September 21, 2005


Rick Curnutte

  1. Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, 1965)
  2. La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)
  3. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
  4. Week-End (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)
  5. Au hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966)
  6. F For Fake (Orson Welles, 1974)
  7. The Long Goodbye (Robert Altman, 1973)
  8. Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, 1994)
  9. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
  10. Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Orson Welles
  2. John Ford
  3. Jean-Luc Godard
  4. Howard Hawks
  5. Alfred Hitchcock
  6. Robert Bresson
  7. George A. Romero
  8. Carl Theodor Dreyer
  9. Samuel Fuller
  10. Stanley Kubrick

Richard A. Curnutte, Jr. has studied English and Film at Ohio University and Ohio State University. He has written for Countingdown.com and Cinemayhem.com. He is a featured critic at RottenTomatoes.com, and he is also a member of the Nominating Committee of the Bubaker Awards, as well as a founding member of the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA). He is also a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and hee also writes a regular column for Columbus Cityscene magazine.

tally after this list / September 20, 2005


Graeme Donnelly

  1. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
  2. The General (Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1927)
  3. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
  4. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
  5. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
  6. Singin' In the Rain (Stanley Donan/Gene Kelly, 1952)
  7. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
  8. La Regle de Jeu (The Rules of the Game) (Jean Renoir, 1938)
  9. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
  10. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Alfred Hitchcock
  2. Wong Kar-wai
  3. Krzysztof Kieslowski
  4. Akira Kurosawa
  5. Ingmar Bergman
  6. Billy Wilder
  7. Yasujiro Ozu
  8. Buster Keaton
  9. Robert Altman
  10. Rainer Werner Fassbinder

tally after this list / September 20, 2005


William Keisling

  1. La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954)
  2. The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
  3. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
  4. Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
  5. Dr. Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
  6. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
  7. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
  8. À bout de souffle (Breathless) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
  9. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
  10. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

William Keisling is the author of The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna, Not Fade Away, The Meltdown, The Wrong Car and many other works of both fiction and non-fiction. He is also the founder of Yardbird Books.

tally after this list / September 19, 2005


Khoo Guan Soon

At the heart of my film appreciation is Andre Bazin's theory of "The Myth of Total Film". Film is a highly popular art form for about 100 years & has remained a cultural phenomenon for generations for a reason: our instinct to re-create our perceptions as a narrative that someone else has consciously explored with a camera & film editing. Film style is probably my favourite topic thanks to films by Yashugiro Ozu, Douglas Sirk, Wong Kar-Wai, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, Mike Mann, David Cronenberg.

My TT Film list should probably include Casablanca, Singin' In The Rain, Adam's Rib, The Shop Around The Corner & Blade Runner, but, unfortunately, the hexadecimal numbering system never caught on.... " Hoop Dreams" may be the greatest, most organic film ever made, in the spirit of Bazin's philosophy of film. I could not think of more comedies to add to my list, but I still think Christopher Walken is a force to be reckoned with; "Gotta have more cow bell!"

(in no particular order)

  • Shoot The Piano Player (Francois Truffaut, 1960)
  • Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
  • La Passion de Jeanne d'arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)
  • The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
  • The General (Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1927)
  • Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
  • Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)
  • The Godfather: Part I & Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972-74)
  • Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
  • Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)

TOP 10 DIRECTORS (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):
Ernst Lubitsch, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen, John Ford, Orson Welles, Claude Chabrol, Howard Hawks, Michael Mann, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Powell.


I teach a large film class in a small college town that brews the best Scottish Ale & a reality-jazzing beverage casually known as "The Triple".

tally after this list / September 19, 2005


Le Hinton

  1. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
  2. The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)
  3. Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989)
  4. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
  5. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kirshner, 1980)
  6. It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
  7. Carnal Knowledge (Mike Nichols, 1971)
  8. Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)
  9. Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood, 1995)
  10. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967)

Le Hinton has a B.A. in English from St.Joseph ’s University and in a moment of weakness pursued master ’s level work in American Studies at Penn State University. He swims in the third stream that is somewhere between being a spoken word poet and a page poet. He has read his poems at a variety of venues in the Central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia areas and has previously published some of the poems contained in this work. He insists that everyone should own at least one copy of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, Mary Oliver’s poem “John Chapman,”and a print of David Brumbach’s painting “Star Barn.” And once, just once, everyone should taste green eggs and ham.

tally after this list / September 15, 2005


Christopher Mitchell

Here are my Top Ten Films of all time, in order of preference.

Am I the only person who believes Woody Allen's films of the 90's are his finest? I also think comedies are vastly underrated, hence I have six of them on my list.

With regard to the top two films, it has to be said that virtually every frame in these movies would make a wonderful still. Perhaps of all directors, Josef von Sternberg understands and realizes the power of beauty on the cinema screen better than anyone.

  1. The Devil is a Woman (Josef von Sternberg, 1935)
  2. Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)
  3. Husbands & Wives (Woody Allen, 1992)
  4. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
  5. Bullets over Broadway (Woody Allen, 1994)
  6. The Man Who Came to Dinner (William Keighley, 1942)
  7. Deconstructing Harry (Woody Allen, 1997)
  8. Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945)
  9. To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
  10. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)

Christopher Mitchell works for the London Wildlife trust and is a former special needs teacher.

tally after this list / September 15, 2005


J.E. Snavely

  1. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
  2. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  3. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931)
  4. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
  5. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
  6. The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, 1962)
  7. 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)
  8. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
  9. Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)
  10. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Alfred Hitchcock
  2. Stanley Kubrick
  3. Orson Welles
  4. Akira Kurosawa
  5. Charles Chaplin
  6. Federico Fellini
  7. Billy Wilder
  8. Woody Allen
  9. Robert Altman
  10. Robert Wise

James Snavely is a graduate of Penn State University and for the last five years has worked as counselor, investigator, and victim's rights advocate for the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office. He has recently been promoted to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault unit of the DA's Office and has seen and experienced the worst elements of humankind. He never watches "true crime" shows on prime time TV.

tally after this list / September 14, 2005


Paul Hood

(in no particular order)

  • The Color Purple (Steven Spielberg, 1985)
  • Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  • The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994)
  • American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)
  • Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987)
  • Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983)
  • Taxi driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
  • Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
  • Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

TOP 10 DIRECTORS (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):
Brian DePalma, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Sam Peckinpah, Quentin Tarantino, Alfred Hitchcock, David Cronenberg.


Paul Hood writes film reviews for Hbgonline.com (Harrisburgonline) he's a novelist and as well contributes to numerous online publications (bluealmonds.net, vinlandjournal.com) as well as print magazines(Alternative Central). He lives and works in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. His first novel, ON THE DOUBLE, is due out this year.

tally after this list / September 13, 2005


William Hall

  1. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957)
  2. Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)
  3. Shane (George Stevens, 1953)
  4. Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donan & Gene Kelly, 1952)
  5. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
  6. Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1957)
  7. Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)
  8. Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959)
  9. The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956)
  10. White Heat (Raoul Walsh, 1949)

William Hall is a film critic for Candis Magazine, past-president of the Critics Circle (UK), biographer (Michael Caine, James Dean and other celebritsy biographies) and broadcaster. He was also film columnist for the London Evening News for 21 years, then movie critic for Prima Magazine, Sunmday Magazine, The People and QuckSilver Magazine.

tally after this list / September 13, 2005


Rich Cline

  1. La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954)
  2. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  3. The Stunt Man (Richard Rush, 1980)
  4. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
  5. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
  6. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
  7. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
  8. Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
  9. It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
  10. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Alfred Hitchcock
  2. Orson Welles
  3. Yasujiro Ozu
  4. David Lynch
  5. Akira Kurosawa
  6. Satyajit Ray
  7. Charles Chaplin
  8. Stanley Kubrick
  9. Martin Scorsese
  10. Quentin Tarantino

Rich Cline has been reviewing films since 1981 for a variety of newspapers, magazines, radio stations and internet sites. He lives in London where, among other outlets, he reviews films every week on BBC Radio and publishes the UK-based website Shadows on the Wall.

tally after this list / September 13, 2005


Ashley Shellenberger

  1. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) -- Forget the fact that Humphrey Bogart has made an artform out of looking morose, and let's concentrate on how spectacular his, and everyone else's acting in the movie is.
  2. Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994) -- Tim Robbins' best work.
  3. Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985) -- Classic. this movie speaks to everyoneon the planet, even when it's dubbed really badly.
  4. The Boondock Saints (Troy Duffy, 1999) -- Not too many twists, but the plot is just great.
  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002) -- The best one in the trilogy. Esp. the relationship between Leg. and Gimmly.
  6. American History X (Tony Kaye, 1998) -- Wow!! This was a good movie on so many levels.
  7. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978) -- 1st movie to be filmed in Vietnam, that's rockin'.
  8. Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000) -- It was between Snatch and Fight Club, but Jason Statham did it for me.
  9. Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004) -- Zach Braff did a stellar job. I'm looking forward to Chicken Little.
  10. Spanglish (James L. Brooks, 2004) -- I think every countdown has to contain at least 1 Adam Sandler movie.

"5' 10" blonde with an education from W & J College in Washington, PA. I love my job, legal secretary for an attorney in Harrisburg, and my b/f Jake. I am lucky enough to have had a friend in Washington who loved going to movies with me every chance we had off work. It is to him I owe my appriciation of movies and music."

tally after this list / September 12, 2005


Daniel Fletcher

  1. The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998)
  2. True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993)
  3. Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975)
  4. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
  5. A Mighty Wind (Christopher Guest, 2003)
  6. Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell, 1997)
  7. The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973)
  8. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels/Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 1998/2000)
  9. Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996)
  10. Meeting People is Easy (Grant Gee, 1999)

Bio
Name: Daniel Fletcher / Occupation: N/A / Inspiration: Raindrops, pork chops, belly flops, and hatin cops / Favorite color: off-white

tally after this list / September 11, 2005


Matthew McCue

Again, the difficulty is whether one should pick one's favorites or those films that should be put in a time capsule... tough.

  1. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
  2. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
  3. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
  4. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
  6. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
  7. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
  8. Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1982)
  9. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
  10. It's A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)



Matthew McCue is a writer living in New York City.

tally after this list / September 11, 2005


Rob Vaux

Here's my list. I should probably add that I consider these personal favorites, rather than a more objective "finest films ever made." I realize that films such as Citizen Kane and Battleship Potemkin have had a greater impact on the medium and are more technically and artistically proficient. But these are the films which speak most profoundly to my sensibilities: the ones I would take with me to the proverbial desert island:

  1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
  2. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
  3. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
  4. Kumonosu jô (Throne of Blood) (Akira Kurosawa, 1957)
  5. West Side Story (Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, 1961)
  6. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
  7. John Carpenter’s The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)
  8. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
  9. Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire) (Wim Wenders, 1987)
  10. The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935)

It's still a little early to put The Lord of the Rings on the list, but it's moving up the charts. With a bullet.

A native Californian, Rob Vaux grew up in the greater Los Angeles area before attending college in Minnesota and graduate school in Syracuse, NY. He moved back to So Cal after earning his M.A. and currently works as a writer and editor for a small games company, as well as serving as a film critic for Flipside Movie Emporium online (www.flipsidemovies.com). He's also a faithful fan of Angels baseball, though he considers the Rally Monkey a dubious asset at best. He lives in the suburbs, has two black cats, and probably liked The Phantom Menace more than you.

tally after this list / September 8, 2005


Carrie Rickey

(in no particular order)

  • Sherlock, Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)
  • Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
  • The Godfather, Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
  • La Règle de Jeu (The Rules of the Game) (Jean Renoir, 1939)
  • Madame de... (Max Ophüls, 1953)
  • Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
  • Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
  • Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch, 1939)
  • Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
  • Ordet (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1955)

Carrie Rickey is a film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

tally after this list / September 7, 2005


Susan Norris

  1. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) -- It's an easy choice for the number one slot! This is the original, unaltered, dreadfully-acted, groundbreaking, breathtaking space opera that started the whole Summer Blockbuster phenomenon (okay, that's not necessarily a Good Thing). I've watched it so many times that I can't watch it any more. I sat mezmerized through my first viewing--never seen anything like it before, or since--and it reintroduced audiences to the Hero's Journey.

  2. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996) -- Here is the antithesis of Star Wars: lyrical, wrenching, subtle; an amazing concatenation of script, direction, music, art and acting. It made me weep for weeks. Ralph Fiennes is just incredible; Kristen Scott-Thomas is more than his match. The supporting cast is superb, as is the cinematography and script. Nearly flawless. Twelve well-deserved Oscars.

  3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001) -- I totally geeked-out in the whole trilogy, but this is the best of the lot. It is the truest to the books, and is infused with so much love! It isn't perfect (Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen being the weakest links in an otherwise stellar cast), but it's close enough!

  4. The Matrix (Wachowski Brothers, 1999) -- Whoah, what can i say about this film? It's sci-fi. It's political commentary. It's comic book kick-ass come to life. It's downright awesome!

  5. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) -- Released in that incredible year along with Wuthering Heights, this is my favorite classic film. It's the Heroine's Journey.

  6. Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee, 1995) -- Jane Austen--with Emma Thompson's Oscar-winning screenplay and Ang Lee's direction--is amazing. Beautiful, just beautiful. Who could not fall in love with the Dashwood sisters?

  7. When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989) -- When Nora Ephron, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were all at the top of their game!

  8. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) -- Is it a martial arts movie or a love story or a fable? Whatever it is, it's great!

  9. Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard, 1940) -- Another Austen novel, this time with Aldous Huxley's light and witty screenplay. Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson are perfect leads, with an impeccable supporting cast. It's a delight in every respect.

  10. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) -- Bogie & Astor in Dashiell Hammett's noir classic (in John Huston's directorial debut!). 'Nuf said

Runners-up:
  • Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
  • Singin' In the Rain (Donan & Kelly, 1952)
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney, 1937)
  • A Streetcar Named Desire (Kazan, 1951)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)

"I’m a tree-lovin', cat-huggin' artistic hippie chick, running screaming into my fifth decade."

tally after this list / September 7, 2005


Richard Kostelanetz

(in no particular order)

  • Fantasia (Walt Disney, 1940)
  • Intolerance (D.W. Griffith, 1916)
  • Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938)
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
  • Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
  • A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 1935)
  • La Région centrale (Michael Snow, 1971)
  • What's Opera, Doc? (Chuck Jones, 1957)

Mr. Kostelanetz is a prolific author, critic, editor, and artist. Since the 1960's he has written and edited close to one hundred books, including Imaged Words and Worded Images (1970), Breakthrough Fictioneers (1973), Text-Sound Texts (1980), Wordworks (1993), and the monumental Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes (2nd ed., 1999). His essays, poems, fictions, and experimental prose explore the limits of language. He has also worked with various other media, including audio recordings, holograms, photographs, video and film, prints, and high-tech installations.

Mr. Kostelanetz holds a bachelor's degree from Brown University, where he graduated with honors in American Civilization. In 1966 he earned a master's in American History from Columbia University. He is the recipient of numerous honors, grants, and prizes, including a Fulbright Scholarship and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

tally after this list / September 7, 2005


Albert H. Muth

  1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
  3. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
  4. The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
  5. The Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915)
  6. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1943)
  7. Ivan the Terrible I & II (Sergei Eisenstein, 1944-46)
  8. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931)
  9. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
  10. The Apu Trilogy (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
Also masterpieces:
  • A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971)
  • Nashville (Altman, 1975)
  • McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Altman, 1970)
  • The Decalogue (Kieslowski, 1988)
  • Renaldo and Clara (Dylan, 1978)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
  • Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986)
  • Intolerance (Griffith, 1916)
  • Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950)
  • Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)
  • Grand Illusion (Renoir, 1937)
  • Jules et Jim (Truffaut, 1962)
  • Andrej Rublev (Tarkovsky, 1969)
  • The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah, 1969)
  • Fanny and Alexander (Bergman, 1982)
to name a few...


Top 10 Directors
  1. Orson Welles
  2. David Wark Griffith
  3. Alfred Hitchcock
  4. Sergei Eisenstein
  5. Charles Chaplin
  6. Stanley Kubrick
  7. Federico Fellini
  8. Michelangelo Antonioni
  9. Ingmar Bergman
  10. Akira Kurosawa

and also equal to the above:
Luchino Visconti, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, Francois Truffaut, Billy Wilder, Carl Th. Dreyer, Luis Buñuel, John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Robert Altman, Jean Renoir


Albert H. Muth has been writing about film since the 1960's and is a regular contributor to TheCinematheque.com. He has also been published in The Signpost and Campus. He is a connoisseur of fine art, music, and literature, and is a renaissance man and all-around bon vivant and CRMP.

tally after this list / September 6, 2005


Michael Musto

  1. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
  2. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
  3. Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937)
  4. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
  5. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
  6. Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
  7. Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 1952)
  8. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
  9. All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)
  10. Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)

Michael Musto is a Village Voice columnist and cinefile who is sorry he had to leave out Wild Strawberries, Raging Bull, Strangers on a Train, M*A*S*H, The Great Dictator, Miracle at Morgan's Creek, and Forbidden Games.

tally after this list / September 6, 2005


Sherry Messimer

  1. Foolish Wives (Erich von Stroheim, 1922)
  2. The Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger, 1947)
  3. On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
  4. That Obscure Object of Desire (Luis Buñuel, 1977)
  5. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1951)
  6. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
  7. Le Mépris (Contempt) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
  8. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
  9. La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954)
  10. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai, 2000)
Honorable mention:
  • Gone With the Wind (Fleming, et al, 1939)
  • The Searchers (Ford, 1956)
  • The Lady Eve (Sturges, 1941)
  • Touch of Evil (Welles, 1958)
  • Sadie Thompson (Walsh, 1928)
  • Shanghai Express (von Sternberg, 1932)
  • Sin City (Miller, Rodriguez, Tarantino, 2005)
  • Mulholland Drive (Lynch, 2001)
  • The Pianist (Polanski, 2001)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Erich von Stroheim
  2. John Ford
  3. Ingmar Bergman
  4. Akira Kurosawa
  5. Orson Welles
  6. Elia Kazan
  7. Vittorio De Sica
  8. Andrei Tarkovsky
  9. Luis Buñuel
  10. Federico Fellini


Bio
Passion: philosophy / Quest: meaning / Pleasures: film, food & conversation / Drink: vodka martinis, champagne / Creative outlets: French cuisine, writing / People: Dietrich, Deneuve, Durrell, Duras / Aim: world travel, enlightenment / Motto: "L'enfer, c'est les autres." and "Beware of spiritual & intellectual midgets."

tally after this list / September 6, 2005


Kevyn Knox

  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
  2. La Passion de Jeanne d'arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)
  3. Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
  4. Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
  5. Au hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966)
  6. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
  7. Ordet (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1955)
  8. Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, 1994)
  9. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
  10. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pasolini, 1964)

Top 10 Directors
  1. Ingmar Bergman
  2. F.W. Murnau
  3. Luis Buñuel
  4. Carl Th. Dreyer
  5. Robert Bresson
  6. Jean-Luc Godard
  7. Andrei Tarkovsky
  8. Federico Fellini
  9. Orson Welles
  10. Akira Kurosawa

Kevyn Knox is a film critic and historian from Harrisburg Pa. He is also a published poet and editor of the long-running poetry magazine, Experimental Forest, and, in case you were curious, he is also the creator and webmaster of this very site, and right now he is writing in a third person narrative.

tally after this list / September 5, 2005

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