Top 100 movies of all time: 100 - 96

Well, here we are. Its December 1st and my bottom 5 is about to be revealed. But before I start I wish to talk about the list and how it came to be.

The list is a representation of my taste in movies at this time in life. Movies I feel are just that little bit better then the rest. And let me tell you, narrowing down over 500 movies into top 100 was no easy task (and putting them in order was even harder). So this list is not meant to represent the best movies of all time, but MY top 100 of all time. I hope to do this list once a year and see how my taste shifts and changes.

Also, movies I haven't seen in a very long time is not on the list. Only movies I can remember well enough to know how I truly feel about them made the list which excluded allot of very good movies that I just haven't seen in forever.

And of course the same goes for movies I haven't seen. So if a movie you love and that might be extremely good is not on the list, chances are I haven't seen it yet.

As always feel free to comment and ask about anything after each post.

Alright then, lets get this show on the road. I present to you my Top 100 movies of all time: 100 - 96.

NR. 100:

ROPE (1948)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, John Dal and Farley Granger.



Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.

WHY IT MADE MY TOP 100

Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense, a fact that is so perfectly illustrated in the movie Rope. The entire movie takes place in the apartment where the two murderers are having a dinner party with the body hidden in a chest that doubles as the buffet table and it is only a matter of time before suspicion sneaks in. You are not supposed to root for the murderers to get away with it, but because this is an Alfred Hitchcock movie, you can't help but do exactly that. Surely there must be such a thing as the perfect crime?



NR. 99:


CITIZEN KANE (1941)

Directed by: Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton and Dorothy Comingore



Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.

WHY IT MADE MY TOP 100

Citizen Kane is one of those films I never would have thought I would enjoy. Until I actually saw it that is. As a student of film I was, and still am, amazed by the innovation presented both in front and behind the camera. From cinematography to the screenplay, Citizen Kane is a masterpiece through and through.



NR: 98:

THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933)

Directed by: James Whale
Starring: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart and William Harrigan



A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

WHY IT MADE MY TOP 100

The invisible man is part of the classic Universal monster collection, sharing the ranks with Frankenstein, The Wolf-man, The Mummy and the Creature from the black lagoon. However, as good as some of them are none of them come close to the perfect insanity that is The invisible man. Claude Rains does a beautiful job of portraying a scientist gone mad and the effects are astounding for the times.




NR. 97:

REAR WINDOW (1954)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Wendell Corey.



A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

WHY IT MADE MY TOP 100

What Rope managed with suspense, Rear Window does but with an even better story. Hitchcock manages to capture the paranoia and the helplessness of being stuck to a wheelchair in an apartment all day and all night perfectly. This all comes together due to James Stewart's superb acting coupled with Hitchcock's complete mastery of the screen.



NR. 96:

THE GODFATHER (1972)

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and James Caan



The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

WHY IT MADE MY TOP 100

I admit that The Godfather is a movie that took me a while to really like. Obviously it is a very mature film and younger audiences might feel the same as I did when younger. However, having seen it from time to time through the years I have started to realize the genius of the film. This is, not unlike Citizen Kane before it, a cinematic masterpiece. Everything from the acting to story structure is done with such painstakingly attention to detail that the end result is near perfect.



Well, there you have it: the first 5. Hope you enjoyed it and come back tomorrow for 95 - 91.