MY TOP 100.

a countdown

by Hunter Jon

As of today it has been one year since I started this blog. I figured I should mark the occasion with a post. One of serious significance. It didn’t take long for me realize what it should be.

I bet every movie buff either has an official Top 100, or is constantly compiling one in their head. I’ve been in the ‘compiling’ camp for years now. Maybe a decade. The problem I always come up against is that the list changes as often as I do. I stub my toe and a movie falls off. I develop a crush and suddenly #42 needs swapping out. My list is always changing, shifting, growing. Daily. Hourly. As a result, I’ve been hesitant to ever make it official in any way. Because it’ll be different as soon as tomorrow… or five minutes from now. Declaring a movie one of your ‘favourites’ is kind of comparable to getting a tattoo. A year from now you might wonder, “What on Earth was I thinking?” But, for better or worse, it paints an accurate portrait of who you were at that time. So as long as this is seen as a snapshot of who I am at this very moment, and this moment alone, I’m happy to finally put my feelings down on wax.

Still, it’s a very vulnerable thing to put a list of this sort out so publicly. There’s a bizarre level of intimacy in knowing someone’s all time favourite movies. You can learn a lot about a person. Therefore, I’m running the risk of people thinking less of me. Or less of my taste, at least. Thankfully, I’ve never really been the kind of person who tries to impress people by claiming to like (or dislike) any given movie. So disagree with and mock certain picks all you want. But just know that I carry no shame in loving these titles as much as I do.

It’s also worth noting that there are thousands of movies I’ve never seen, including hundreds of so-called ‘classics’. It’s easy to get defensive as to why one hasn’t seen some of these. Mostly because there are no shortage of immature fools out there who love giving you a hard time for not having seen something they consider essential. But the reality is that there are only so many hours in a day and I’ve only lived so many of them so far. If you can’t believe some masterpiece isn’t on my list, there’s a good chance I simply haven’t seen it. Or maybe I have and I just didn’t like it. Either way - relax. Maybe eat a pickle.

100. My Winnipeg (2007)

99. Humoresque (1946)

98. Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)

97. The Haunting (1963)

96. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

95. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

94. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

93. Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

92. The Nutty Professor (1963)

91. The Muppet Movie (1979)

90. Big (1988)

89. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)

88. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

87. King and Country (1964)

86. King Kong (1933)

85. The Naked Jungle (1954)

84. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

83. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock ’n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

82. Pleasantville (1998)

81. The General (1926)

80. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

79. American Beauty (1999)

78. Je Tu Il Elle (1974)

77. Free Solo (2018)

76. Alien (1979)

75. Toy Story 3 (2010)

74. The Seventh Seal (1957)

73. Two Women (1960)

72. Downfall (2003)

71. Clue (1985)

70. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

69. Remember the Titans (2001)

68. Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

67. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

66. The Last Picture Show (1971)

65. The Gold Rush (1925)

64. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

63. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

62. Day for Night (1973)

61. Back to the Future (1985)

60. Adaptation (2002)

59. All the President’s Men (1976)

58. War and Peace (1966)

57. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

56. A Christmas Carol (1951)

55. The Great Escape (1963)

54. King Kong (2005)

53. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

52. The Godfather Part II (1974)

51. Sideways (2004)

50. 3 Women (1977)

49. The Browning Version (1951)

48. Forgotten Silver (1995)

47. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

46. Toy Story (1995)

45. City Lights (1931)

44. A Night to Remember (1958)

43. Clerks. (1994)

42. Stop Making Sense (1984)

41. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

40. Hamlet (1948)

39. Mother (1996)

38. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

37. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

36. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

35. The Silence (1963)

34. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

33. Forrest Gump (1994)

32. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

31. Dazed and Confused (1993)

30. Shallow Grave (1994)

29. Ordinary People (1980)

28. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

27. Good Will Hunting (1997)

26. Toy Story 2 (1999)

25. Goodfellas (1990)

24. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

23. Phantom Thread (2017)

22. 12 Angry Men (1943)

21. To Kill a Mockingbird (1963)

20. Fargo (1996)

19. Breathless (1960)

18. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

17. The Lion King (1994)

16. Frankenstein (1931)

15. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

14. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

13. Lost in Translation (2003)

12. Annie Hall (1977)

11. Rocky (1976)

10. The Kid (1921)

9. Psycho (1960)

8. American Graffiti (1973)

7. The Graduate (1967)

6. Citizen Kane (1941)

5. Jaws (1975)

4. It’s a Wonderful Life (1947)

3. Pulp Fiction (1994)

2. Almost Famous (2000)

1. The Sting (1973)