My Top 100 Films

I've often been asked what my top 5 or top 10 films would be, so, after Paul Kelly compiled a top 100 films list, I thought I'd have a go myself. Going through this list, so many would be interchangeable depending on the mood I'm in, but after hours of filtering through my favourite films, and some great films being left out I've come up with what I feel is a list of the 100 greatest films ever made.

100. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle)
99.  There's Something about Mary (Bobby Farrelly & Peter Farrelly)
98. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)
97. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells (Guy Ritchie)
96. The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock)
95. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (Stephen Spielberg)
94. Back to the Future (Rick Zemeckis)
93. The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky)
92. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese)
91. Shrek (Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess)
89. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (David Zucker)
88. Cape Fear (Martin Scorsese)
87. Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone)
86. Dumb and Dumber (Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly)
85. Fargo (Joel & Ethan Coen)
84. Public Enemies (Michael Mann)
83. Cinema Paradiso(Giuseppe Tornatore)
82. RocknRolla (Guy Ritchie)
81. White Men Can't Jump (Ron Shelton)
80. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan)
79. Cemetary Junction (Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant)
78. Boyz 'n' the Hood (John Singleton)
77. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick)
76. Home Alone (Chris Columbus)
75. Warrior (Gavin O'Connor)
74. American Beauty (Sam Mendes)
73. Arlington Road (Mark Pellington)
72. The Sixth Sense(M. Night Shayamalan)
71. Star Wars (George Lucas)
70. Super Troopers (Jay Chandrasekhar)
69. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood)
68. Sin City (Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino)
67. Mystic River (Clint Eastwood)
66. A Bronx Tale (Robert DeNiro)
65. Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet)
64. The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
63. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
62. Toy Story (John Lasseter)
61. Sunshine (Danny Boyle)
60. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
59. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
58. Miller's Crossing (Joel and Ethan Coen)
57. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel)
56. Wayne's World (Penelope Spheeris)
55. Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese)
54. The Hangover (Todd Phillips)
53. The Godfather Part 3 (Francis Ford Coppola)
52. American History X (Tony Kaye)
51. Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Gerry Zucker)
50. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma)
49. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese)
48. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)
47. American Psycho (Mary Harron)
46. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles)
45. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott)
44. Chinatown (Roman Polanski)
43. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (George Lucas)
42. Platoon (Oliver Stone)
41. Team America: World Police (Trey Parker and Matt Stone)
40. The Fighter (David O. Russell)
39. Scarface (Brian De Palma)
38. Casino (Martin Scorsese)
37. Serpico (Sidney Lumet)
36. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik)
35. Jaws (Steven Spielberg)
34. The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen)
33. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes)
32. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)
31. Heat (Michael Mann)
30. Se7en (David Fincher)
29. Terminator 2 - Judgement Day (James Cameron)
28. Once Upon a time in America (Sergio Leone)
27. Rocky (John G. Avildsen)
26. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
25. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick)
24. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
23. Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)
22. The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
21. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
20. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick)
19. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam)
18. The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer)
17. This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner)
16. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen)
15. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
14. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
13. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)
12. On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan)
11. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)

10. The Dark Night (Christopher Nolan)

 I wouldn't be a big fan of super hero films, but there are aways exceptions to every rule. Tim Burton's Batman was a quality film and Nolan's Batman Begins was excellent. The Dark Knight however as set a new standard for Superhero films. The death of Heath Ledger meant a huge focus on his performance in this film, but excellent as he is in this, I think the emphasis on Ledger does a disservice to the film. This film is so much more than Heath Ledger. Phenomenal as Superhero films go.

9. City of God (Fernando Meirelles)

Subtitled films turn many people off, but please don't let the fact that this is subtitled stop you from watching what is one of the best films ever made. Beautifully shot film but gritty and harsh at times. If Scorsese and Tarantino were to collaborate on a film in Portugese, this would be it. A must see.

8. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese)

 The true story of Henry Hill needs no real discription as anyone who knows anything about film has seen this multiple times. Scorsese in the genre he does best, DeNiro and Pesci in the type of roles they do best and Ray Liotta giving the performance of his career all combine to make this an absolute classic. Watch this or get your fucking shine box.

7. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)

 I may have said in the piece about Goodfellas that Jimmy Conway was the type of role that DeNiro does best, but this is the film that really shows DeNiro to be one of the finest actors to ever grace the screen. New York at it's seediest. Keitel, Shepherd and a young Jodie Foster all play their part in making this a great film, but really, this is all about DeNiro. If anyone wants to be an actor tell them to study this film. This is an acting masterclass.

6. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino)

The greatest wedding I was never at. The first hour of this film leaves you wondering are they ever going to shoot some deer or are they ever going to Vietnam, but what the scene sets up is an intense film in which Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken are outstanding. The effects of Vietnam are shown in this film like no other. The most famous scene (I won't reveal if you don't know) is one of the most intense pieces of cinema you will ever watch.

5. Fight Club (David Fincher)

A controversial one at number 5 I think. Many consider it over-rated but I cannot speak highly enough about this film. The first time you watch it it will just blow you away and in fact, knowing the story, it's almost better the second time. Pitt and Norton both put in top notch performances in the lead roles. David Fincher has put together a film of absolute class here.

4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Milos Forman)

 Jack Nicholson delivers the performance of his distinguished career in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. R.P. McMurphy is one of my favourite characters ever and that is down to Nicholson. This film has everything going for it from outright hilarious to heartbreaking. This whole film is fantastic but the final scenes are just amazing.

3. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola)

 Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishbourne and Marlon Brando. That should be enough to sell this film to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. The fact that this film was even made considering the problems with the cast is a testament to Coppola but what he made was the greatest war film ever, in my opinion. So many great scenes such as the helicopters flying to Ride of the Valkeries but Marlon Brando steals the show in what is effectively a cameo from him.

2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)

This film is perfect, right from the opening credits. The Scorsese/ DeNiro partnership at its very best. DeNiro once again delivers an outstanding performance and as he has so many times in his career, had Joe Pesci in top form along side him. This has been billed as the best boxing film of all time and the best sports film of all time but both these statements do a disservice to the Jake LaMotta biopic. This is simply one of the best films ever.

1. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
1. The Godfather Part 2 (Francis Ford Coppola)

 OK, so I cheated! This is my top 101 films because I could not seperate these two films. Individually they are the greatest pieces of cinema ever created but together they are simply perfect. Between the two, these films have made the careers of Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton and John Cazale while reinforcing the belief that Marlon Brando is one of the best to ever grace the screen. It's impossible for me to pick a favourite because both films are made better by the other. DeNiro's portrayal of the young Vito Corleone is so good and even better when you look back at Brando in the originial. Al Pacino was excellent in The Godfather but he surpassed himself in Part II. I genuinely cannot say enough about these films. If you haven't seen them, well, you should be ashamed of yourself!