100 of the Greatest Films Ever Made

I've been wanting to put this list together for a long time. I've made many others, most of which were smaller and confined to genres or specifics subjects (100 Greatest Characters for example).

Now, AFI has given us two 100 Greatest Films lists over the past 10 years. The latest list finds Raging Bull and Singin' in the Rain over such timeless classics as Gone with The Wind. Then they also added such modern classics as Titanic, Saving Private Ryan and The Sixth Sense. These lists were created by respected people in the industry. And they all seem to agree that Citizen Kane is the greatest film of all time.

I, myself had a hard time choosing the No. 1 film. It boiled down to Kane or Gone With The Wind. I chose the shortest of the two. But in all honesty, if I could have tied any two films for the same spot, it would be Wind and Kane at #1.

This list probably differs a great deal from yours and that's probably a good thing. These 100 Greatest lists are very subjective. AFI's list is no different. They can not say that their list is really the end-all, be-all for film. But AFI still ticks me off. They just don't come out and say that their list is subjective.

Anyway, I didn't want to explain myself and my choices. I just wanted to give you a list of 100 films that I most recommend you see. But I managed to throw in a few reasons and explanations just for the fun of it.

1) Citizen Kane

The first scene alone, the scene in which Kane dies has almost every element of suspense and drama that we enjoy in film today.

2) Gone With The Wind

How can you put such a timeless epic any lower? I mean, "As God as my witness, if I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill - as God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again!" And countless other moments.

3) Casablanca

When Bogie (Rick) sends Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) with her husband is alone worth putting Casablanca at #3.

4) Titanic

This one may be the toughest choice to explain. There's so much unfounded hatred for this film, it's not even funny. But I'll give it a shot.

Titanic seems to combine every element from many different films in a way that is outstanding. Titanic, much like Gone With The Wind and Casablanca perfectly marries two lovers with an historical event in such a brilliant way that you can't help but love it. And the final scene in which Rose returns to Titanic, returns to Jack may very well be the greatest ending in film history. I think there are many other reasons for putting Titanic this high on the list.

5) The Godfather

It was the first film in a trilogy of crime movies that set the bar so high that hardly any film of its kind can match. There is great acting, great writing and directing in The Godfather that many filmmakers haven't come close to duplicating.

6) The Wizard of Oz

It's the most timeless children's film or most timeless family film ever made. Enough said.

7) Lawrence of Arabia

It's the most complex and uniquely filmed of all Hollywood epics. It really makes you think before feeling anything. That sets Lawrence of Arabia apart. That makes it an achievement that has yet to met.

8) Schindler's List

Spielberg's most passionate film is a heart-wrenching experience of death and devastation that is really one of a kind. You can't watch the final 10 minutes of Schindler's List without crying.

9) Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's definitive film in my opinion. It showed us everything Hitch was capable of. Psycho was the first truly terrifying movie-going experience and that really hasn't changed since its release in 1960.

10) The Sound of Music

How can you not enjoy this film? From a purest point of view, The Sound of Music is the most engaging and heart-warming musical I've ever seen. And the musical numbers are so timeless, I could sing them, word for word right now.

11) The Empire Strikes Back

As great as the original Star Wars was, I actually think its sequel is a better film.

12) Vertigo

13) Aliens

Not only one of the greatest sequels ever made - not really an easy feat by itself - but Aliens is also one of the greatest studies of motherhood. It's also one of the most intense and thrilling films ever made. And we also get the first female action hero in film history with Ellen Ripley in this masterpiece of science fiction.

14) Star Wars

15) Singin' In The Rain

16) It's A Wonderful Life

17) Forrest Gump

18) Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Another one of the greatest sequels ever made. It's not an easy task to re-invent the way blockbusters are made and set the bar extremely high for movie sequels, but James Cameron did it again with T2.

19) 2001: A Space Odyssey

20) Bridge on the River Kwai

21) Jaws

22) North by Northwest

23) Dances With Wolves

This is a masterpiece that is severely underrated in the history of movies. What Kevin Costner did in Dances with The Wolves is extraordinary.

24) To Kill a Mocking Bird

25) Alien

26) The Godfather, Part II

27) Saving Private Ryan

28) The Sting

29) Bambi

Still, the most beautiful and most powerful Disney movie in the history of film. It's simple - but then again, has nature ever really been simple?

30) Raiders of the Lost Ark

31) Rear Window

32) Pulp Fiction

33) The Shawshank Redemption

34) The Silence of the Lambs

35) The African Queen

36) Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

37) Rocky

38) Unforgiven

39) Ben-Hur

40) It Happened One Night

41) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

42) The Deer Hunter

43) The Philadelphia Story

44) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

45) Braveheart

This is one of the few movies that makes me cry so much I physically ache.

46) ET: The Extra-Terrestrial

47) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

48) The Grapes of Wrath

49) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

50) My Fair Lady

51) L.A. Confidential

52) Bringing Up Baby

53) The Maltese Falcon

54) Glory

55) The Untouchables

56) All About Eve

57) Shane

58) West Side Story

59) The Great Dictator

60) American Beauty

61) The Ten Commandments

62) The Longest Day

63) Toy Story

64) Some Like It Hot

65) The Bride of Frankenstein

I loved the original 1931 Frankenstein, but this one was a true masterpiece of filmmaking. And the visual effects are staggering for the time.

66) King Kong (1933)

67) The Gold Rush

68) The Exorcist

69) The Sixth Sense

70) The Terminator

71) A Clockwork Orange

72) Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

73) The Searchers

74) City Lights

75) Chinatown

76) The Quiet Man

77) Annie Hall

78) Raging Bull

79) American Graffiti

80) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring

I'm really counting all three Lord of the Rings films - just as I'm sure AFI did - but I didn't want to hog two more spots with Two Towers or Return of the King.

81) The Apartment

82) MASH

83) Heat

84) Fight Club

85) Goodfellas

86) Tootsie

87) The Matrix

88) A Streetcar Named Desire

89) The Graduate

90) Sunset Blvd.

91) Gladiator

92) How Green Was My Valley

93) Duck Soup

94) Taxi Driver

95) Close Encounters of the Third Kind

96) Apocolapse Now

97) X2: X-Men United

I think this may be my favorite superhero film. As good as The Dark Knight or Iron Man or Spider-Man 2 were, I prefer X2. It's also quite the sequel.

98) Platoon

99) Bonnie and Cyde

100) The French Connection

Honorable mentions: The Usual Suspects, Pretty Woman, Sleepless in Seattle, Poltergeist, Halloween ('78), Dark City, When Harry Met Sally, Shrek, Harvey, Wuthering Heights ('39), Spartacus, Good Will Hunting, As Good As It Gets, The Green Mile, Mutiny on The Bounty ('36), Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn and the list goes on and on.