Charts: Lists
This page shows you the list charts. By default, the movies are ordered by how many times they have been marked as a favorite. However, you can also sort by other information, such as the total number of times it has been marked as a dislike.
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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die On Hulu Plus
Favs/dislikes: 8:0. **UPDATED 3/2/2014** All movies from the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list that are available for streaming on Hulu Plus. -
Lillehammer Filmklubb - all films screened since 2010
Favs/dislikes: 4:0. The list of every film Lillehammer Filmklubb (Lillehammer Film Society) has screened since the reboot in 2010. Note that EDVARD MUNCH has been screened twice, but is only represented on this list once. -
Condemned by the Legion of Decency
Favs/dislikes: 17:1. This is a list of films condemned by the Legion of Decency, a United States Catholic organization, and its successor (from 1965), the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures. The condemned (or C) rating was issued from the time of the Legion's formation in 1933 until 1978, when the C rating and the B rating were merged into the new O ("morally offensive") rating. In 1980, the NCOMP film office was shut down, along with the biweekly Review, which had published ratings on 16,251 feature films. The Legion's ratings were applied to movies made in the United States (which were subject to the Production Code until 1967) as well as those imported from other countries. Beginning in 1968, the ratings were applied in addition to any rating assigned by the MPAA film rating system. Legion-organized boycotts made a C rating harmful to a film's distribution and profitability. Accordingly, for the majority of years that the rating was applied, most condemned films were made outside of the United States, where their producers didn't have as much to fear from the condemnation. Of the 53 movies the Legion had placed on its condemned list by 1943, only Howard Hughes' The Outlaw came from a major US studio, and it had not been approved by the Production Code or distributed widely. Despite rumors to the contrary, Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire and Billy Wilder's The Seven Year Itch did not receive C ratings. Rather, Kazan's film was cut by 4 minutes to avoid condemnation, while Wilder's film had to cut scenes from the original play to be approved by Legion of Decency. [wikipedia] -
Laputa Animation Festival's 150 Best Animations of All Time (modified version)
Favs/dislikes: 29:0. At the 2003 Laputa Animation Festival, 140 animation artists and film critics from around the world listed their 20 favorite animations. They used these lists to create a top 150 list and published the list in a [url=http://www.amazon.co.jp/世界と日本のアニメーションベスト150/dp/4893933671]book[/url]. This is not exactly the same as the original list because I made a few changes. The original list includes series of shorts (some of which include more than 100 shorts). Each short is listed separately on IMDb. I'm including only the most acclaimed short from each series (or the 1st short if they are equally acclaimed). I'm including the 1980 version of The King and the Mockingbird because it's the complete version of the film (the book specifies the original version, but I'm guessing that both versions received votes and then they combined them). The Overcoat (Shinel) is an unfinished film. See also: [url=http://www.imdb.com/list/cS6nsI9PksQ/]IMDb list[/url] (with a list of films missing from IMDb) [url=http://nishikataeiga.blogspot.com/2011/02/30-treasures-of-world-animation.html]Pick Up 30[/url] (30 important animations which were excluded from the top 150) [url=http://nishikataeiga.blogspot.com/search/label/Laputa2003]Some of the ballots[/url] [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/tom+and+jerry+theatrical+shorts/mrbungle/]Tom and Jerry shorts[/url] (iCM list) [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/betty+boop+series/billiedove/]Betty Boop shorts[/url] (iCM list) -
LISTE PROBLEMATISCHER FILME
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Oktober 2013 / Schweizerischer Video-Verband -
Tour de Cine Frances en Mexico
Favs/dislikes: 7:0. This tour (Tour de Cine Francés) is a film festival that displays the best selection of the french contemporaneous films at their original version with subs, all around Mexico and Central America every year at mid september. -
Selected Political Films
Favs/dislikes: 7:0. compiled by Richard A. Schwartz, Professor (Department of English, Florida International University) -
Dansk Spillefilm Top 100
Favs/dislikes: 29:0. Top 100 Danish films as selected by the Danish film institute. Yes, the list has 122 films. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20130701034742/http://www.dfi.dk/Filmhuset/Filmarkivet/Bevaring/Dansk-spillefilm-Top-100.aspx -
Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Non-Fiction Films
Favs/dislikes: 119:0. This list is "an educational resource that offers guidance and encouragement as students seek to find points of orientation within the vast history of film and video." It is not a list of the best films of all time. Rather, it reflects a variety of criteria. The list is divided into 5 sections: I. [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/harvard+universitys+suggested+film+viewing+list+narrative+films+2012/]Narrative Films[/url] [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/harvard+universitys+suggested+film+viewing+list+hollywood+genres+2012/mjf314/]Hollywood Genres (with an emphasis on the classical studio era)[/url] II. [url=https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/harvard+universitys+suggested+film+viewing+list+non-fiction+films+2012/]Non-Fiction Films[/url] III. [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/harvard+universitys+suggested+film+viewing+list+animated+films+2012/mjf314/]Animated Films[/url] IV. [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/harvard+universitys+suggested+film+viewing+list+experimentalslashavant-gardeslashunderground+films+2012/mjf314/]Experimental/Avant-garde/Underground Films[/url] V. [url=https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/harvard+universitys+suggested+film+viewing+list+single-channel+video+2012/mjf314/]Single-channel Video[/url] [url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416235509/https://ves.fas.harvard.edu/files/ves/files/fvs_suggested_viewing_2012.pdf]Source[/url] -
100 Years of Japanese Cinema
Favs/dislikes: 14:0. List of movies that was mentioned in BFI documentary project -
BFI's 100 Documentary Films
Favs/dislikes: 131:1. "100 Documentary Films is the first book to offer concise and authoritative individual critical commentaries on some of the key documentary films - from the Lumière brothers and the beginnings of cinema through to recent films such as Bowling for Columbine and When the Levees Broke - and is global in perspective. Many different types of documentary are discussed, as well as films by major documentary directors, including Robert Flaherty, Humphrey Jennings, Jean Rouch, Dziga Vertov, Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield and Michael Moore. Each entry provides concise critical analysis, while frequent cross reference to other films featured helps to place films in their historical and aesthetic contexts." [url=http://shop.bfi.org.uk/100-documentary-films.html#.WgywgGhSzIU]Source[/url] -
Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase (2007-2019)
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. The Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase (TCFS) is an annual film festival representing filmmakers from the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and its diasporas. The Showcase is devoted to the preservation of the audiovisual memoir of the Caribbean in all its diversity. It offers an opportunity to learn and assess the achievements of the Caribbean film industry. First Traveling Caribbean Film Showcase (2007) Second Traveling Caribbean Showcase - For Youth (2009) Third Traveling Caribbean Showcase (2011) IV Edition - Devoted to the Caribbean Diaspora (2012) V Edition (2013) VI Edition - Dedicated to Caribbean Culture (2014) VII Edition - Dedicated to Diversity (2015) VIII Edition (2017-2018) This list includes all films screened at the festivals. MISSING from IMDB 1st Salt in My Eyes (Shamira Raphaela, 2002) - Aruba Steps to Forgiveness (Pamela Whitehall, 2005) - Barbados The Baobab Tree (Claire Once, 2005) - Barbados The Day of the Dead (Suzette Zayden, 2002) - Belize Jazz and Us (Gloria Rolando, 2004) - Cuba Port Au Prince is Mine (Rigoberto López, 2000) - Cuba Price: Hundred Thousand (Amauris Peres, 2006) - Dominican Republic Under the Shadow of Blood (José Gómez De Vargas, Natalia Cabral, 2005) - Dominican Republic 2nd La serpiente del cielo (Stephanie Rueckoldt, 2007) - Colombia El color no hace al ladrón (Frammy Garcia, Lady Fernandez, 2006) - Colombia Chester (Pablo Cespedes, 2006) - Costa Rica Kukuy El Guije Del Charco Azul En El Almiquí Valiente (Juan Ruiz, 2006) - Cuba El propietario (Ernesto Piña and Wilbur Noguel, 2007) - Cuba Una niña una escuela (Alejandro Ramirez, 2008) - Cuba Sin-derella (John Nagtegaal, Segni Bernardina, Robert Emperator, 2004) - Curacao Mira I diskubri (Corry van Heyningen, 1985) - Curacao My First Day in School (Sudani Mowaki, 2002) - Jamaica Cricket at School (Mary Wells, 2002) - Jamaica Forgive and Forget (Codae Pennicott, 2006) - Jamaica High Grade (Tony Robinson, 2006) - Jamaica Casa de Muñecas (Joaquín Zúniga, 2007) -Nicaragua) Creciendo (Virginia Lacayo and Arlene Centeno, 2005) - Nicaragua Puedo Volar (Cesar A. Zayas, 2005) - Dominican Republic Abigail (Justine Themen, 2007) - Suriname Sarajan, met het ene been in suriname, met het ene been in nederland (Hennah Draaibaar, 2004) - Suriname Deborah en Surinam (Helen Kamperveen, 2005) - Suriname Cheomarra, 53 Brothers and Sisters (Miriam Marks, 2007) - Suriname Work, Work, Work (Hester Jonkhout, 2007) - Suriname Villa Paramaribo: na wata, na faya; geen water, geen licht (Nina Jurna, 2004) - Suriname I Spy: things in my garden (Elspeth Duncan, 2006) - Trinidad & Tobago Something Doh Changes (Mathew Hudson, 2004) - Trinidad & Tobago Old Rabbit Die Hard (Camille Selvon, 2007) - Trinidad & Tobago The Red House (Shevon Guevara, 2006) - Trinidad & Tobago Atiba Williams (Bruce Paddington and Christopher Laird, 2000) - Trinidad & Tobago "One Minute for My Rights" - UNICEF [7 shorts] 3rd Hooked (Nigel Harris, 2009) - Antigua & Barbudas Tomasa in Time (Steven Berry) - Belize Mario, el niño de la tambora (Comfenalco and Cartagena Film Festival) - Colombia Leche (Alex Cottrell, 2008) - Columbia 20 Años (Joel Ruiz) - Cuba Una misma raza (Jorge Neyra) - Cuba Cecilia Valdés - Cuba Un cuento de Hadas (Rogelio Paris, 2008) - Cuba Pubertad: El Secreto de Javier (Ernesto Piña) - Cuba Pubertad: Me gustas tú, (Ernesto Piña) - Cuba Churandy - Curacao Woman!! - Haiti Anancy and Common Sense (Andrew Davies) - Jamaica Almendron Mi Corazon (Steve and Stéphanie James, 2008) - Guadeloupe / Cuba Southern Lights (Nathalie Glaudon) - Martinique ¡Ya No Mas! (Felix Zurita De Higes, 2010) - Nicaragua El valor de las mujeres: la lucha por el derecho a la tierra (Rossana Locaya) - Nicaragua El Tesoro perdido del Caribe (Félix Zurita and Joaquín Zuñiga, 2006) - Nicaragua Bolívar, canto al libertador (Nora Marcano Camacho, 1999) - Venezuela Calypso @ Dirty Jim's (Pascale Obolo, 2005) - Trinidad & Tobago Haiti Trembles (Claude Mancuso) - Haiti Lest We Forget (Produced by the Clare Hall Secondary School) - Antigua & Barbudas Finding Phoebe (Antigua Girl Guides) - Antigua & Barbudas The Vegetarian Super Machine 5 (Camille Selvon Abrahams) - Trinidad & Tobago Under The Leaf (Dominique Duport) - Guadeloupe A Voice of Our Own 4th El Barco Prometido (Luciano Capelli and Yazmin Ross, 2001) - Costa Rica Playing with words (Karel Ducasse, 2007) - Cuba Le lapin méchant (José E. García, 2009) - Cuba Yo Soy Tumbero (Bilko Cuervo) - Cuba Le chemin des mouettes (Sergio Gienes & Alexander Rodríguez, 2011) - Cuba Black Mozart in Cuba (Steve and Stephanie James, 2006) - Guadeloupe The Amerindians (Tracy Assing and Sophie Meyer) - Trinidad & Tobago Nawuin (José Marquez and Miguel Alvarado, 2010) - Venezuela Barrabás (Giuliano Salvatore, 2009) - Venezuela 5th Fans do Brasil (Steve's and Stéphanie James, 2008) - Guadeloupe 1912: Voces para un Silencio, Cap. 1 (Gloria Rolando, 2010) - Cuba Hija de puta (Alexandra Bas, 2011) - Venezuela Del Cafetal a la Tumba Francesa (Jean-François Chalut, 2010) - Haiti La Mystique du Baobab (Gerard Cesar and Dimitri Zandronis, 2011) - Guadeloupe Figueroa (Rigoberto López, 2007) - Cuba Moi, Maryse C. écrivain noire et rebelle. (Dimitry Zandronis, 2011) - Guadeloupe El oso Miyoi (Edgar Vivas, 2010) - Venezuela Guardianes del agua (Jean-Charles L'Ami, 2010) - Venezuela Abdala: El retorno de los señores de Xibalbá (Adrian López, 2011) - Cuba Eyeri, un músico con magia (Frank Elías, 2010) - Puerto Rico Town’s Queen The Faces of the Devil Without you, with you No chucho pie for dinner tonight Art Naif - Barbados/U.K. 6th Rumbero de Nacimiento – Rumbero by Birth (Angel Alderete, 2012) - Cuba Tengo Talento “El niño Jesús”‐ I have Talent “Jesus Kid” (Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi, 2013) - USA Rumbos de la Rumba: Parada Central Park – Rumba Roads (Berta Jottar, 2012) - Mexico Young Explorers Caribbean ‐ Point Fortin (Lorraine O'Connor, 2006) - Trinidad and Tobago Al Son de Miss Lizzie (Ileana Lacayo, 2010) - Nicaragua The Black Creoles (Maria Jose Alvarez and Martha Hernandez) - Nicaragua Maestro Issa (Frantz Voltaire) - Haiti Fly (Ermitis Blanco, Yolanda Durán, 2012) - Cuba - Organized by country of production Antigua and Barbuda (1) Bahamas (2-4) Barbados (5) Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua (6) Canada (7-9) Chile, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela (10) Colombia (11-15) Cuba (16-42) Cuba, Dominican Republic (43) Cuba, Spain, France (44) Cuba, United States (45) Dominican Republic (46-50) Dominican Republic, Mexico (51) France (52-55) France, Cuba (56) France, Haiti (57) France, Martinique (58) France, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles (59) Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America (60) Guadaloupe, France (61-62) Haiti (63-66) Haiti, United States of America (67) Jamaica (68-73) Mexico, Cuba (74) Netherlands (75-77) Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands (78) Nicaragua (79) Puerto Rico (80-82) Saint Lucia (83) South Africa, Netherlands, Germany (84) Suriname (85) Trinidad and Tobago (86-90) Trinidad and Tobago, France (91) Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom (92) United Kingdom (93-96) United States (97-102) United States of America, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (103) United States, Cuba (104) United States, Jamaica, United Kingdom (105) United States, Trinidad and Tobago (106) United States, Venezuela (107) Venezuela (108-117) -
BFI's 100 Cult Films
Favs/dislikes: 85:1. "Some films should never have been made. They are too unsettling, too dangerous, too challenging, too outrageous and even too badly made to be let loose on unsuspecting audiences. Yet these films, from the shocking Cannibal Holocaust to the apocalyptic Donnie Darko, from the destructive Tetsuo to the awfully bad The Room, from the hilarious This Is Spı¨nal Tap to the campy Showgirls, from the asylum of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari to the circus of Freaks, from the gangs of The Warriors to the gangsters of In Bruges and from the flamboyant Rocky Horror Picture Show to the ultimate cool of The Big Lebowski, have all garnered passionate fan followings. Cult cinema has made tragic misfits, monsters and cyborgs, such as Edward Scissorhands or Blade Runner's replicants, heroes of our times. 100 Cult Films explains why these figures continue to inspire fans around the globe. Cult film experts Ernest Mathijs and Xavier Mendik round up the most cultish of giallo, blaxploitation, anime, sexploitation, zombie, vampire and werewolf films, exploring both the cults that live hidden inside the underground (Nekromantik, Café Flesh) and the cult side of the mainstream (Dirty Dancing, The Lord of the Rings, and even The Sound of Music). 100 Cult Films is a true trip around the world, providing a lively and illuminating guide to films from more than a dozen countries, across nine decades, representing a wide range of genres and key cult directors such as David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam and David Lynch." -
The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films
Favs/dislikes: 23:0. "While there are plenty of encyclopedic lists of films, this compulsively readable book of 100 essays—most written expressly for this volume-flags the best of the best as chosen by a consensus of the National Society of Film Critics." -
TIFF's The Essential 100: Expert Panel
Favs/dislikes: 20:0. TIFF's [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/toronto+international+film+festival+-+the+essential+100/rtrench/]Essential 100[/url] "represents the merging of one 100 film list as determined by an expert panel of TIFF curators with one 100 film list as determined by TIFF stakeholders." This is the expert panel's list, compiled by five TIFF curators in 2009. Their goal was to create a list of "essential cinema" that balanced "best" and "most influential," with a limit of one film per director. -
Georgia Institute of Technology's Experimental Film and Media
Favs/dislikes: 7:0. [b]Course Description:[/b] This course provides an overview of experimental moving images from the European "city symphonies" and abstract films of the 1920s to the flowering of the American postwar avant-garde; from the advent of video art in the 1960s to the online viral videos and digital gallery installations of today. The class thus surveys the artists, institutions, and viewers that have fostered moving image art throughout the history of film, and asks students to consider the historical, social, and institutional forces that have engendered oppositional, political, and aesthetically radical cinemas. A central premise of the course is that technological developments such as video and new media are not historical ruptures, but rather, part of an ongoing tradition of moving-image art making. Other core topics will include the consideration of the meaning and use-value of the avant-garde, the issue of “artists’ film and video” as opposed to “experimental film,” and the thorny relationship between avant-garde and commercial filmmaking. [b]Not on the list:[/b] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqwIXyqwZZg]The Jump (Jack Goldstein, 1978)[/url] (not on IMDb) Melies Shorts (unspecified) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opg4VGvyi3M]Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra (Gotye, various, 2012)[/url] Reflektorische Farblichtspiele (Kurt Schwerdtfeger, 1922/1966) (not on IMDb) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmeag1rwQgo]“Round the Bend” music video for Beck (2002)[/url] for Jeremy Blake's artwork (not on IMDb) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDhuZ2Ya2wM]Walking in an Exaggerated Manner around the Perimeter of a Square (Bruce Nauman, 1967-68)[/url] (not on IMDb) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z32JTnRrHc]Boomerang (Richard Serra, 1974)[/url] (not on IMDb) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2deSy2ri1w]Six Colorful Inside Jobs (John Baldessari 1977)[/url] (not on IMDb) Union (Steve Beck, Jordan Belson, 1974) (not on IMDb) Bill Viola, selections (unspecified) Omer Fast, selections (unspecified) [url=http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/paul-chan-lights-and-drawings]The Seven Lights (Paul Chan, 2008)[/url] (not on IMDb) Fragment of a Crucifixion (After Francis Bacon) (Paul Pfeiffer, 1999) (not on IMDb) [url=http://dziga.perrybard.net/]Man With a Movie Camera remix project (2007-ongoing)[/url] (not on IMDb) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btQ48LMmzMQ]Untitled (The Birds without the birds, or give us today our daily terror) (Martijn Hendriks, 2007)[/url] (not on IMDb) I’m Not Here to Make Friends (richfofo, 2008) Guitar Solo Threeway (John Michael Boling, 2008) In Bb 2.0 (2010) STS, Rolling Stones (2009) The Shining mash up trailer (PS 260, 2005) Artist Looking At Camera (Gutherie Lonergan, 2006) Valentine for Perfect Strangers (Ben Cooley, 2007) You’re Not My Father (Paul Slocum, 2007) JODI game hacks Downfall mashups Zidane headbutt gifs Footlight Parade (1931) is listed for the “By a Waterfall” section Spellbound is listed for the dream sequence (designed by Salvador Dalí) Vertigo is listed for the title sequence Midnight Cowboy is listed for the Joshua Light Show used in the party scene Punch Drunk Love is listed for the abstract hallucination scenes painted by Jeremy Blake The Right Stuff is listed for Jordan Belson's F/X work -
A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears
Favs/dislikes: 16:0. Stephen Frears and a quartet of film industry notables - representing different cinematic periods - drink tea and discuss ups and downs of British cinema. -
Cahiers du Cinéma's Greatest Films (9-15 votes)
Favs/dislikes: 25:0. In a 2007, Cahiers du Cinéma asked 78 critics and historians to vote for the 100 greatest films. The cutoff for the [url=http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/cahiers+du+cinema+100/]top 100[/url] was 16 votes. This is a list of films that received 9-15 votes. See [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AhCbA3xledPhdF8wbjFkZ2V4eFhzRy0zYkdaNkRzaXc]this spreadsheet[/url] for the vote counts. -
Sight & Sound's Directors’ 100 Greatest Films of All Time
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Every decade since 1992, Sight and Sound has complemented its celebrated critics’ poll by formally sounding out the world’s leading directors on the ten films they believe to be the greatest of all time. Though it has always been global and inclusive in scope, the poll has expanded significantly each decade. In 1992, 101 directors voted; fast-forward to 2012, when 358 filmmakers took part. This year, for the fourth edition of the poll, we received ballots from 480 directors. This electorate spans experimental, arthouse, mainstream and genre filmmakers from around the world. In every case, the voter is a director of note. Here are the 100 greatest films of all time, as voted for by many of today’s greatest living filmmakers. -
Brighton Film Academy's 100 Documentary Films to Watch
Favs/dislikes: 8:0. The goals with this list were as follows: To, try not to include more than one film from the same director. Two, to cover a broad range of topics and styles, and not just what is currently popular. -
100 Modern Soundtracks (BFI Screen Guide)
Favs/dislikes: 13:0. Philip Brophy's book provides a soundmap to a hundred films that engage the ears. Covering titles as diverse as "Way of the Dragon" and "Apocalypse Now," "Le Samourai" and "Stalker," "Angel Dust" and "Citizen Kane," each entry outlines the film's distinctive contribution to the hitherto underexplored world of sound and music in cinema. -
Alamo 100
Favs/dislikes: 4:0. The 100 best movies according to the programmers of the famous American Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain. From their website: `We just love the hell out of movies. And so this list is defined, not by filmmaking genius or cultural impact, but by the space reserved in our hearts. The Alamo 100 encompasses the movies that we wore out on VHS, the films our friends are sick of hearing us rave about, the cinematic gems that feel like living, breathing members of our family. This is a list that reminds us why we fell in love with cinema in the first place, and why the magic of that romance will never fade.` -
100 Bollywood Films (BFI Screen Guide)
Favs/dislikes: 16:0. Bollywood film is the national cinema of India, describing movies made in Mumbai, distributed nationally across India and with their own production, distribution, and exhibition networks worldwide. This informative screen guide reflects the work of key directors, major stars, and important music directors and screenplay writers. Historically important films have been included along with certain cult movies and top box-office successes. -
101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century by WGA
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. Fifteen years ago, when the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) compiled the 101 Greatest Screenplays of all time, the list was nothing short of a 20th century canon. The romantic wartime spy thriller Casablanca (written by the brothers Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch) was voted number 1; 99 screenplays later, at 101, was another romantic wartime spy thriller, Notorious (written by Ben Hecht). In between were foundational examples of film noir (Double Indemnity, written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler), romantic comedy (Annie Hall, written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman), and gritty social drama (On the Waterfront, written by Budd Schulberg). But “canon” is a double-edged word: Of those 101 scripts, there were no writers of color, and only seven had a female screenwriter credited. 'The new 101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (*so far) could not but tell a different, and fluid, story. On the prior list, classic films about women, like Sunset Boulevard or All About Eve, were still narrated by men—one lying dead in a swimming pool. There are some 30 female screenwriters this time around, and five writers of color in the top 10. More to the point, there is not the sense that the writer had to contrive a way to make his or her character more…relatable, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. As the number one vote-getter, Get Out is this list’s version of Casablanca: Imagine Jordan Peele pitching his concept to Jack Warner, and it immediately becomes apparent why comparing screenplays across Hollywood epochs is a non-starter. “We weren’t making art, we were making a living,” screenwriter Julius Epstein famously quipped of the studio system under which Casablanca was written. Get Out wasn’t conceived and written under any such restrictions, with a catch: The very concept of “writing for the screen” is in existential crisis. The studio system has given way to the streaming system, where everything, no matter the source, competes for eyeballs. This great (right?) democratization of content has also changed a lot of hard-and-fast rules. There are seven scripts for animated films on the new list. Depth of character, once strictly the province of the drama, or the issue film, is not out of place in a superhero movie or one starring a badly behaving bridesmaid. And formerly individuated genres like sci-fi, horror, comedy, and drama intersect freely, sometimes all in the same screenplay—see Parasite or The Lobster. Some things haven’t changed, list to list. Among the screenwriter’s roles is to reveal what is sick or horribly amiss in the culture. It was as true of Network or The Sweet Smell of Success as it is of The Big Short or Promising Young Woman. Universal themes are universal for a reason. For instance, the destructive nature of outsize power, concentrated in the hands of one apparently friend-less man. Charles Foster Kane, meet Mark Zuckerberg. There are other cool double bills across lists. All the President’s Men and Spotlight; Harold and Maude and Lars and the Real Girl; Sullivan’s Travels and Nomadland. Speaking of which, it is worth noting that most of the protagonists from the 20th century list had enviable job security, even if this meant Mafia boss, intergalactic warrior, or shark hunter. On the new list, occupation no longer defines character; but then again the middle class has vanished, the chasm between rich and poor evinced in movies from Roma to Little Miss Sunshine. And in screenplays like Wall-E, Arrival, or Children of Men, there is the heavy presence of a question: What exactly are we doing to ourselves, if not the planet? Perhaps that’s why the relatively earnest romantic comedy, at least as practiced by Nora Ephron’s When Harry Met Sally, is absent from the new list, unless you count the man-on-operating-system love of Her, or the teenage besties of Superbad and Booksmart. The screenwriters of the 20th century list were men who had either served in war, fled persecution in their home country, or come of age in war’s shadow. Cinema’s first job, until the studio system died and the rebel filmmakers of the 1960s and ’70s came along, was escape. The characters of the 21st century list are plagued by a different sort of battle. It involves the hard-fought realization of selfhood against mitigating forces of circumstance, biology, technology, identity, and neurosis. See Adaptation, Boyhood, Moonlight, and Inside Out. Destiny is now an option question, happily ever after just a construct. From Get Out at number 1, to Silver Linings Playbook at 101, the screenplays on this list invariably approach this question of self with authentic curiosity, boldness of vision, and a sense of artistic—if not personal—risk. -
WGA 101 Funniest Screenplays
Favs/dislikes: 11:0. The Writers Guild of America selected the 101 Funniest Screenplays
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