During this stretch of downtime in our NFL year, I wanted to keep the discussion lively by diverting our attention to non-football things. (Actually, with free agency about to begin, I think other NFL team blogs are busy speculating about what their GMs might do – in the land of cheese and bratwurst, we don’t have to debate about which free agents to go after because we know TT isn’t giving much thought to it).
Inspired by comments from the previous post (and following Ace’s suggestion in particular), I’ve decided I’m going to try to name my top 20 movies. Now, I don’t know much about movies and movie history (like readers Schaef, Brother Dan), so be prepared for a fairly unsophisticated list. But I won’t apologize for the list because these are the ones I just happen to like the best. I should note, as will be obvious from my list, that I’d rather watch a comedy than any other kind of movie (watched Stir Crazy last night, a movie with some quality moments – Gene Wilder is tremendous in this movie). I know many “purests” (especially those who decide on Oscar winners) often dismiss comedies, but I think it takes as much talent or more than drama acting to pull off making your character truly hilarious. (One quick disclaimer, I reserve the right to change this list at any time because it’s so hard to think of all the movies I really like when I don’t have much time to think about it.) Anyway, here it goes:
- Airplane
- A Shot in the Dark
- Caddyshack
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Being There
- The Mission
- The Jerk
- Bottle Rocket
- Waking Ned Devine
- A Christmas Story
- The Deer Hunter
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Napoleon Dynamite
- The Godfather
- Once
- Dumb and Dumber
- Office Space
- Sling Blade
- Blazing Saddles
- Hoosiers
(By the way, for those of you who read the previous post about the Shawshank Redemption, please note that IMDB.com, THE movie website, conducted a survey to come up with readers’ top 250 movies…Shawshank = #1. Also note, that I do fall prey to the trendiness of picking the Godfather, though I would say that part of the reason I like that movie so much is that my wife and I watch it on Italian dinner night – we drink nice Italian wine and eat the ____ out of some high, high quality pasta).
packergeeks 
February 15, 2009 at 6:43 pm |
Great topic, especially the previous post as well. I too had noticed in the past several years how “Shawshank” was usually people’s go-to movie when naming some of their favorites.
No particular order after the #1 spot, which is pretty much my all-time fav. A few of my favorites:
1. Heat
2. The Insider
3. the original Star Wars trilogy
4. the LOTR movies
5. Silence of the Lambs
6. the Oceans’ movies.
7. The Score
8. the Man with No Name trilogy
9. V for Vendetta
10. the French “Taxi” movies
February 15, 2009 at 7:11 pm |
Any man decrying Shawsank and then having the temerity to include Dumb and Dumber on his ‘Top 20 Movies’ list, should just stop right now…
February 15, 2009 at 8:30 pm |
Well, I’ll need to add a few chick flicks to this discussion. These are my top movies.
1. Fried Green Tomatoes
2. 84 Charing Cross Road
3. The Spitfire Grill
4. Desert Hearts
5. Dirty Dancing (No one puts Baby in the corner!)
I have more but I don’t want to put a tear in the time/space continuem that is PackerGeeks.
February 15, 2009 at 9:29 pm |
A top 20 movie list that does not contain ‘Red Dawn’? Wolverines!!!!
February 15, 2009 at 9:34 pm |
Just in case you forgot the awesomeness:
February 16, 2009 at 10:25 am |
Five Easy Pieces
Rushmore
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
The Long Goodbye
Local Hero
Metropolitan
Barcelona
The Wild Bunch
Raising Arizona
Miller’s Crossing
February 16, 2009 at 11:46 am |
Except for the first on this list, which I consider by far the greatest film ever made, these are not in any particular order:
2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
A Clockwork Orange
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Moulin Rouge!
The Godfather
The Shawshank Redemption
North By Northwest
Goldfinger
The Manchurian Candidate
The Searchers
The Third Man
L.A. Story
The Dark Knight
Fight Club
Lawrence of Arabia
Giant
To Kill a Mockingbird
Touch of Evil
Apocalypse Now
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Blade Runner
The Empire Strikes Back
The Color Purple
I should note that in pulling this together, my wife made the point that it’s a little homogenous. I don’t agree, but there you are.
Red Dawn? Please. I haven’t been 14 years old for a very long time.
February 16, 2009 at 12:40 pm |
Off Topic Alert!!
Apparently, Brett Favre is spilling his guts to Peter King. WTMJ News quotes Favre as telling King, “TT was the reason I played last year.”
February 16, 2009 at 12:44 pm |
My Top 25 Movies-Any Order
1. Jaws-The only movie to make me jump out of my seat.
2. The Deer Hunter-I lost family members and friends in Viet Nam, so this film really hits home for me in so many ways.
3. Rat Race-One of the most unexpectedly funny movies. It made me laugh so hard until it hurt and beyond.
4. The Last Samurai-The pageantry and historic scope really drew me in.
5. Goldfinger-Multiple great villians-Goldfinger/Odd Job/Pussy Galore-Plus,
I still would give anything to have that Bond car with the machine guns, oil slick device and of course the infamous ejector seat!
6. A Christmas Carol (The version starring George C. Scott)-It made me feel like I was back in England in the 1800’s and say what you will about Scott’s volatile personality, he was one superior actor. He nailed the role of Scrooge just as much as he was so convincing as Patton.
7. Animal House-Sophomoric humor at its best.
8. Bridge on the River Kwai-Superbly portrayed in all aspects.
9. The Natural- The only film I have gladly watched over ten times.
10. The Impossible Years-A film from the early 1960’s that the clever and wonderful actor, David Niven, starred in. This film captured the essence of an urbane, light-hearted, family comedy.
11. Annie Hall-Classic Woody Allen.
12. Face-Off – Travolta and Cage, a great script, made this movie exiciting.
13. Star Wars-The first realistic looking science fiction movie of great scope.
14. As Good As It Gets-Jack Nicholson is a national treasure. A great performance by all in this film.
15. The Wizard of Oz- This film should be on every person’s list. This is a true classic, more so than any other film, including Gone With The Wind.
16. True Grit-How can you not have at least one John Wayne film. The Duke was the last bigger than life itself movie star, and I don’t even particularly like westerns. Did you realize that in True Grit, the Duke was over 60’s year’s old and still did mostly all of his stunts. At the end of this film, he takes off his hat to wave to goodbye to the character played by Kim Darby while at the same time having his horse run at full speed and jump over the fence, that he actually performed this stunt. And add to all that the fact that just before he started filming True Grit he had one lung removed due to lung cancer. The guy was absolutely tough and really lived up to his persona, in real life and film.
17. The Verdict-One of the best dramas of all-time. Paul Newman turns in a great performance even by his own usually very high standards. James was also terrific.
18. On Golden Pond- Not only was this a great film, but it also made me feel this was really life imitating art with the Fondas’ complicated relationship that they most certainly had.
19. Jurassic Park-Interesting concept of cloning merging with prehistoric creatures.
20. Seabiscuit-If you read the book first and then watch the movie, even if it is for the second time, there is no question this is one of the most compelling stories of the 20th Century.
21. The Producers (The version that starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder)-Zero had more comedic expression in just his eyes than most top notch actors have taken altogether. This was Wilder’s first film and he played his part perfectly. But, Zero was one of the true kings of comedy and made this movie outrageously funny. Also, I recommend watching Zero in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, he was superb in this film as well.
22. The Exorcist-A truly frightening film. When ever I hear its theme song of Tubular Bells, I think my bed raises a couple of inches and starts talking in Latin!
23. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest-Great book/Great Film. The convergence of all the characters’ longing to be healthy and free with the fear of knowing they may never be quite right. Great film.
24. Love Story- This is s a good film that had a bunch of one hit wonders, including the writer, come together early in their careers to make this film and then never do anything else that was even close to being mediocre.
25. Patton-George Scott in another great performance.
Well, Andy and Steve this is my list. Please let me know what you think of any of the selections or my reasoning. Please also know that I am a big Packer fan and love reading Packergeeks. This is the first time I ever responded. Just as a suggestion, I also made up a list of what I think are some of the worst films of all-time, as well, maybe we could post our own personal Razzies. A few of mine are actually former Oscar Best Picture award winners. Take Care and Go Pack-Let’s have a great April Draft!
Bob Schnell
February 16, 2009 at 1:09 pm |
I agree with almost everything on Bucky’s list but Red Dawn is on my list as is the Outsiders.
February 16, 2009 at 1:34 pm |
Tremendous feedback – I love it. I must admit there was a dual purpose in writing this post – not only was it fun to consider my top 20, but by soliciting feedback, we’re getting some great suggestions for movies I haven’t seen. Bob, thanks for your comment and your thoughts – always know that you’re comments are welcome here. (And by the way, One Flew almost made my list and The Producers is a movie I haven’t seen, but sounds like I must rent…I’m a huge Gene Wilder fan. And, my sister also said she’d put As Good As It Gets in there too – I liked it too…Nicholson was really good in that movie.)
I’m already wondering about my own list and some movies you’ve all mentioned that may actually replace some of my existing top 20:
*The Natural – great movie
*Raising Arizona
*Rushmore
*Raiders of the Lost Ark
*Silence of the Lambs (was a sick movie, but acting was unreal)
*Empire Strikes Back
*Dr. Stranglove (like just about any Peter Sellers movie)
*The Outsiders – great movie
*The Color Purple
*Miller’s Crossing
*Shawshank Redemption – despite my misgivings with its “cool” factor, fact is, I must admit I too fall prey to Morgan Freeman’s narration – the guy’s voice just adds immediate legitimacy to anything (even that Penguin movie he narrated).
How about Mississippi Burning? Really liked that movie…
February 16, 2009 at 2:24 pm |
No particular order
Tombstone (Val Kilmer does a great Doc Holliday)
One Flew OVer the Cuckoo’s Nest
Band of Brothers (not really a movie but I have it on DVD & watch it a lot)
Lord of The Rings Trilogy
Pulp Fiction
To Kill A Mockingbird
Godfather (I & II)
Apocalypse Now
Silence of the Lambs
Deerhunter
North by Northwest (and most of the Hitchcock classics)
2001 Space Odyssey
Face Off (Nicholas Cage & Travolta both do great jobs)
Fargo
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Ben Hur
Blue Velvet (David Lynch Classic–Not for the kiddies)
Easy Rider
Young Frankenstein
And, in honor of my wife who got me hooked on thuis Winnie The Pooh & The Blustery Day (Why I’m a little black rain cloud — of course)
Honorable mentions to the Peter Sellers Pink Panther’s
February 16, 2009 at 2:34 pm |
Re. Movie Topic
I hate Hollywood. Haven’t cared about movies since the original “Curly” died.
February 16, 2009 at 2:44 pm |
Ron–One day I’d like to sit down and have a beer with you.. You are hilarious.
And Favre finally comes clean on his vindictiveness.
February 16, 2009 at 5:10 pm |
nothing really new to add, but thought I’d put mine up there. Mainly based the list on my favorite movies I stop to watch when I see they are playing on TV, even though I’ve seen most of them way too many times…
Greetings From The Shore
Casablanca
Heat
Old School
Dumb and Dumber
Godfather (1 & 2)
Star Wars (original trilogy)
LOTR trilogy
Braveheart
Shawshank Redemption (I want to be cool)
Hoosiers
Pulp Fiction
Good Will Hunting
Tombstone (I agree with 56Coop – Crazy Val Kilmer should’ve been nominated)
Die Hard
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Big Lebowski
Dazed and Confused
Seabiscuit (really underrated movie)
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Go Pack!
February 16, 2009 at 6:58 pm |
56,
Salute’ How about a quart of Fox Head 400?
February 16, 2009 at 7:21 pm |
How did Napoleon Dynamite get ahead of Office Space?? I am also surprised to not see Rudy, Friday Night Lights, Jerry Maguire, or any other good football movie..
February 16, 2009 at 8:04 pm |
ONe of these days Ron, one of these days
How about Brian’s Song Aaron–if you want a real tear jerker
February 16, 2009 at 9:09 pm |
Bob – I agree about including a John Wayne film. True Grit was great along with the sequel Rooster Cogburn. My favorite John Wayne movie though is El Dorado. I get sucked into watching it every time it gets runs on TV to my wife’s chagrin.
Bucky – I was half joking about Red Dawn. I saw it again a few months back on TV and was surprised how badly done it was. Bad acting, melodramatic scenes, etc… But still, that movie was awesome when I was 10 years old and I still get a kick out of watching it.
February 16, 2009 at 9:28 pm |
A couple of additional comments:
John Wayne- rather than True Grit, watch The Searchers. His best movie. He plays a flat out racist, unlikeable character, but he also has a certain sense of honor that comes through. Also with Jeffrey Hunter, the price of Whitefish Bay, WI and the original captain Christopher Pike.
One of the wife’s criticisms was that I should have more comedy. It was very hard to look past Animal House, Some Like it Hot, Annie Hall, Blazing Saddles, The Producers (a big fan of Mel Brooks, I’m sure that’s obvious), Office Space, and Raising Arizona. Any or all of these movies would be worthwhile substitutes for many of the movies on my list. I’m also a huge fan of Ruthless People (in my opinion, the Zucker brothers’ best) and Big Trouble (I absolutely love Dennis Farina in this movie).
Sports movies: The Natural, Hoosiers, Field of Dreams, Eight Men Out, and Seabiscuit. Never got into Raging Bull (or Rocky, for that matter). As for football movies- I’m not sure there’s been a great one since Horse Feathers, although the original The Longest Yard was pretty good.
You know, Andy’s original thought about Shawshank being the movie that it’s cool to like- I get the same feeling about The Big Lebowski. I like it, it’s a good movie, but it’s not as good as Fargo, Blood Simple, or even The Hudsucker Proxy. Yet tons of people consider it one of the best. Go figure.
February 16, 2009 at 11:46 pm |
I was attempted during a meeting today to put together a list, but couldn’t do one from 1-20. With movies, like music and books, I find it hard to do a true Top 5 or Top 20 without breaking it into categories. My categories though aren’t the normal categories, such as Top 5 Sports Movies, Top 5 Action, Top 5 Comedy, etc.
I tend to take a bit more unconventional approach and take other factors into account with my lists. For example:
Top 5 from the mid-90’s when I was living with 3 college friends and we had a “black box” – see: Usual Suspects, Tommy Boy, Braveheart, Pulp Fiction, anything on Spice with an up-and-coming starlet by the name of Jenna Jameson),
Top 5 High School/College Pre-Game Preparation Movies – Hoosiers, Vision Quest, Rocky II (the last 30 minutes only), Rocky 3, Rocky 4
Top 5 After Bar movies in college – see: Blues Brothers, Predator, Top Gun, Cocktail, All The Right Moves. (Side note: 3 Cruise films made this list as one of my roommate has a tape with all 3 on. We were poor at the time I think these 5 might have been the only movies we owned collectively.)
Top 5 movies I would never admit to liking outloud – this list is hidden to protect the guilty
Top 5 movies I always end up getting sucked into on cable, regardless of the number of times I have seen them – see: Roadhouse (you don’t mess with the Swayz…), Heat, The Contender, Office Space, and as of late: Friday Night Lights (the movie, not the series).
In retrospect, I am glad the meeting was only an hour as I put together 17 unique Top 5 lists during the meeting today. Thanks for the diversion, Andy. It made the afternoon go faster.
February 17, 2009 at 12:08 am |
1. Bottle Rocket
2. Airplane
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. The Stoning of Soraya M
5. The Godfather
6. The Jerk
7. Caddyshack
8. Napoleon Dynamite
9. Metropolitan
10. I Confess
11. Platoon
12. Miller’s Crossing
13. Rear Window
14. The Pink Panther
15. Dial M for Murder
16. Memento
17. American Movie
18. Little Miss Sunshine
19. Vernon, Florida
20. Top Secret
21. Schindler’s List
22. Office Space
23. Braveheart
There’s my Top 23. A few comments on the entries that might need some explanation.
Bottle Rocket is phenomenal. It doesn’t feel epic enough to be my favorite movie, but there it is. “She said you’re a failure? What has she ever accomplished with her life? Nothing. Nothing.” That is brilliant. Or: “How’s an asshole like Bob get such a great kitchen.”
The Stoning of Soraya M is extraordinary. It’s a film about Islamic law and women’s rights in modern Iran – based on a true story in a book of the same name. It’s not out yet – I saw it at a small, private screening last fall. I thought it was one of the most powerful and moving films – maybe the most powerful and moving film – I’ve ever seen.
I liked Napoleon Dynamite before it was cool to like Napoleon Dynamite. I’ve probably seen it thirty times and it doesn’t get old.
Metropolitan – Whit Stillman’s best – a classic, and subtle, social commentary.
Yes, I’m a Hitchcock freak. The three Hitchcock films on this list could have easily been three or four longer (Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rope).
How could a bunch of commentators with ties to Wisconsin omit “American Movie.” For shame.
Vernon, Florida, is a fascinating documentary by Errol Morris (director who did, most famously, “The Fog of War.”) Entertaining, sad and disturbing all at once. Find it, watch it.
And I completely agree with Andy on The Shawshank Redemption. Very overrated. (So was The Usual Suspects back in the day.)
February 17, 2009 at 12:16 am |
I like this from Trav: “Top 5 movies I would never admit to liking out loud.” Fortunately for PackerGeeks readers, I got ahold of the person sitting next to Trav in the meeting and he passed it along.
5. Thelma and Louise
4. Enchanted
3. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
2. Maid in Manhattan
1. Cool as Ice
February 17, 2009 at 3:34 am |
There are some great movies listed here. A couple others to be considered:
Princess Bride
Death at a Funeral
Magnolia
What’s Up Doc?
The In-Laws (original)
Meet the Parents
Groundhog Day
February 17, 2009 at 9:21 am |
Aristomenes – Princess Bride is one my wife lobbied to add…very funny moments in that one. Meet the Parents was also hilarious and I’m surprised there hasn’t been more mention of Ground Hog Day. Just saw Death at a Funeral and that has some quality moments too.
Trav – Tommy Boy is a movie I had actually considered for my top 20. I think Farley and Spade are so good in that movie and unlike some comedies, it manages to keep a plot afloat the whole while.
Bucky – I’ve never heard of the movie Ruthless People and I thought I’d seen all of the Zucker brother films. I will bump that up top on the Netflix list. (And I’ve only seen a few scenes from the Big Lebowski and while I do need to watch the whole thing for sure, it seemed like it was mostly about swearing…)
February 17, 2009 at 9:25 am |
Well played, sir.
You seems to underestimate the talent of Rob Van Winkle as an actor. I, on the other hand, embrace his genius and continue to await his comeback: Cool As Ice 2: Older and Colder.
February 17, 2009 at 9:29 am |
I just noticed the spelling in my original post. I must have been drunk or typing with my fists. I need to talk with my 9 year old daughter about proof-reading. Good lord.
February 17, 2009 at 11:30 am |
I thuoght of one I used to watch in collegge in various states of “entrancement”, I think it was one of Woodie Allens first attempys. It’s called what’s up Tigerlily–Japanese movie that Woodie subtitled in English about stealing a top secret Potatoe Salad recipe. Sincel I no longer partake of the “Phelps’ Favorite Herb” it may not be as funny as I remember.
February 18, 2009 at 10:06 am |
Then focus on sports movies.
top several
To Kill a Mockingbird
Wait Until Dark (makes Jaws seem like a nursery story-Alan Arkin is a great villain.
Psycho (original only)
Airplane
Mississippi Burning
The Mission
Sleuth-2 terrific acting jobs-M Caine and L. Olivier
A Shot in the Dark/Pink Panther
recent sleeper–Rabbit Proof Fence–Australian award winner
February 25, 2010 at 2:26 am |
You need to write more you do a good job