# Best 100 movies of the decade? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993 "2009-11-10T02:59:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/1 "2009-11-10T02:59:02Z")
As 2010 approaches there will doubtless be many more of these but [here](http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/wait-are-these-actually-the-100-best-movies-of-the-decade/), courtesy of the _New York Times_, is an Arts Beat blogpost on two different “100 best movies of the decade” lists recently published by two UK broadsheet newspapers: the _Telegraph_ and the _London Times_. [Here](http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6902642.ece) is a direct link to the _Times_’s list and [here](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/6501160/Top-100-movies-defining-the-noughties-00s-in-film.html) to the _Telegraph_’s. I somehow doubt that any US paper would agree with either choice for #1 but the rest may be less controversial. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/2 "2009-11-10T03:07:27Z")
Momento? Biiiiitch please. It’s a good movie but not in the top ten of the decade. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/3 "2009-11-10T03:31:12Z")
I should probably make it a bit easier for a sneak peek ahead since both lists run backwards from 100. [Here’s](http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6902642.ece?token=null&offset=96&page=9) the first page, featuring the top four, for the _Times_. The _Telegraph_’s just asks you to scroll down. _Memento_ - yeah, I agree. I do actually love the movie but it’s the kind of movie you watch 2x or 3x and then you’ve pretty much learned what you can learn. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/4 "2009-11-10T10:41:08Z")
I’ve seen 69 of The Times Online’s list. Lots of great movies there, but, **There Will Be Blood** at #63? I’d list it at #1, with **Brokeback Mountain** at #2 (#17 on their list), and **Fellowship of the Ring** #3 (not on their list at all). Maybe it’s too American for them. I’ve seen 75 of the Telegraph’s list, and at least they had **There Will Be Blood** , **Brokeback Mountain** and **Fellowship of the Ring** all in the Top 10. There are some WTFs? on both lists (Borat? Saw? Really?), but they do serve to remind that this past decade has been a great one for films. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/5 "2009-11-10T14:29:03Z")
Hey that is good **Equipoise**. I’m running closer to half. I need to get out more. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/6 "2009-11-10T15:09:44Z")
I’m agape at #5 on the Times list. **Team America: World Police**? Really? _Really?_ I mean, it was funny, but seriously? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/7 "2009-11-10T15:25:28Z")
Times: 9 films Telegraph: 17 films. I have to get out more often… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/8 "2009-11-10T16:11:30Z")
69 of the Telegraph list and 61 of the Times one. But Cache? What a piece of shit! That is the Emperor’s New Film, one that managed to fool a huge number of critics into thinking that it was about something. But as they weren’t able to say exactly what it was about, all of them were forced to pretend they got it to avoid looking like great fools. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/9 "2009-11-10T18:25:14Z")
I’m of very mixed emotions to see _Far from Heaven_ on the Telegraph list: one one hand “Yay!” on the other “Behind that abortion _Gladiator_? Feh!” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/10 "2009-11-10T18:46:04Z")
any list that does not include both [The Station Agent](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340377/) and [In Bruges](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/) is not worth considering. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/11 "2009-11-10T19:19:55Z")
I would have included [American Gangster](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765429/), [Notes on a Scandal](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465551/) and [O Brother, Where Art Thou?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/12 "2009-11-10T20:36:19Z")
Thanks for mentioning movies not on the lists **spoke-** and **Jeff Lichtman**. When (or if) I make up my own, it’ll be good to remember films left off. **O Brother** and **In Bruge** would be in my Top 20 or maybe even 10, but I forgot all about them. I liked the others mentioned too, especially **The Station Agent**. I’m struck by how many American movies are on both lists. How many GOOD American movies. Anyone who says America makes crap movies is full of crap themselves. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/13 "2009-11-10T21:02:50Z")
I’ve seen 85 on each of the lists. Too many things to dispute (_Mamma Mia!?!?_ :rolleyes:), though I’m glad one list or another mentioned the excellent _Los Angeles Plays Itself, Together, Lagaan, Russian Ark, Oldboy, Capturing the Friedmans, Team America, L’Enfant, Yi Yi, The Beat that My Heart Skipped, Dirty Pretty Things, The Gleaners and I_ and _You, Me and Everyone We Know_. Still, would’ve liked to see _The New World, Into Great Silence, The Memory of a Killer, All the Real Girls, A.I., The Triplets of Belleville, The Wind Will Carry Us_ and _Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring_ mentioned somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/14 "2009-11-10T23:46:38Z")
I’ve seen 44 of the Telegraph’s and 45 of the Times’. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/15 "2009-11-11T00:05:54Z")
These lists just seem random to me. They throw in some popular movies, some hated movies, a bunch of Oscar winners, and some critic’s darlings, and just randomly sort them. Seriously, “The Brown Bunny” is a lost classic? No, it’s not; that’s just the “really strange choice” pick for the list. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/16 "2009-11-12T14:54:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > These lists just seem random to me. They throw in some popular movies, some hated movies, a bunch of Oscar winners, and some critic’s darlings, and just randomly sort them. Seriously, “The Brown Bunny” is a lost classic? No, it’s not; that’s just the “really strange choice” pick for the list. You’re right **RickJay** , they are random and there is doubtless a selection principle at work like what you describe. But lists like this are, IMO, interesting for showing what kinds of cinema are being legitimized. News to me was that “torture porn” appears to be a genre one must take seriously now. I have never and will never see _The Passion_ but I’m curious to see it as apparently the birth of a new kind of aesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/17 "2009-11-12T15:04:03Z")
Have to admit, I haven’t seen a lot of those. Off the top of my head, though, my list would include: _LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring Memento The Incredibles The Queen Casino Royale The Bourne Supremacy Pride and Prejudice_ ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/18 "2009-11-12T21:29:05Z")
The _Telegraph_ list is actually most “defining” films on the decade. In fact, the article even concedes that the no one spot, _Farenheit 9/11_, probably wasn’t the “best” film of the decade. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/19 "2009-11-12T21:48:12Z")
_Fahrenheit 9/11_ is probably the most defining film in the last ten years because the date is right there in the title. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![bramma23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@bramma23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bramma23)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993/20 "2009-11-13T00:46:00Z")
Sorry but any list that has Slumdog Millionaire, Casino Royale, Borat, Fahrenheit 9/11, and/or Bourne Supremacy in it’s top 10 movies for the decade does not deserve to be taken seriously. Slumdog Millionaire wasn’t even one of the best 10 movies of last year. And Casino Royale and Bourne Supremacy are fine action movies but no chance in hell are they top 10 of the entire decade. They are probably not even in the top 10 AMERICAN movies in their year of release. Ditto Borat and the early verdict was in on Fahrenheit 9/11 when it didn’t even vault Kerry into the White House. And Saw is in the top 20 of one. That’s embarrassing. And these lists generally are as they are a smattering of popular movies, award winners, watercooler talk, pop cultural reference-ability, etc. As is usually the case, these lists are heavily biased toward English-speaking, pop cultural currency, and box office successes. They should not in any way be called “The 100 Best Movies” as the Telegraph suggests. “The Top 100 Movies: Defining the [decade],” as suggested by the Times, is a marginally better concept in that it gives them more leeway to include a variety and not worry about the quality of the films. I’ve seen 65 of the Telegraph’s and 65 of the Times. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-100-movies-of-the-decade/516993.md?page=2)