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I first published a roster of what I then considered the best 50 movies I had ever seen in June 1998, as a response to
the then-recent publication of the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest American Movies" list. Obviously, I felt my
list was superior to AFI's—who among us doesn't think we hold the secret to great taste and true quality? (Only 16
of my own 100 entries correspond to that original AFI group, though yes, Citizen Kane still ranks high.) Over the years,
I've seen more movies, and my reactions even to films I know well can change in significant ways. I maintain this feature
both out of an inveterate mania for lists, especially of films I love; as a sort of public diary of compass points by which I
register my ideals of great moviemaking, marking how they change as the years pass; and, primarily, so my readers can quickly determine
how similar your tastes are to mine or else bemoan why certain films do or do not appear here. Obviously the whole idea of ranking films qualitatively is silly, and it gets even sillier when you admit my over-exposure to American films and my yawning gaps in so many other national cultures and in other traditions like the avant-garde. I'm working to correct these lacunae all the time, and I hope you'll feel free to suggest films you suspect I will admire, either because they suggest a continuity with titles you see here or because they are liable to broaden my horizons in an especially tremendous way. Otherwise, happy perusing, and if you'd like to browse another list of films close to my heart, often for more idiosyncratic reasons than these, click here. |
