# Obsessive-Compulsive AT the Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218 "2004-03-03T01:51:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/21 "2004-03-03T22:29:57Z")
I’ll continue with the 50’s list later… Kinda pressed for time at the moment. Maybe be as late as tomorrow afternoon. For the curious. ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/22 "2004-03-04T00:22:30Z")
Yeah you’re crazy, but it could be worse: you could be addicted to internet messageboards. Or heroin. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/23 "2004-03-04T01:06:56Z")
From the silent era you _have_ to add “Broken Blossoms” with Lillian Gish! I saw you had “Battleship Potemkin” on you list. Have you seen Eisenstein’s talky “Alexander Nevsky”? The scene where women are searching for the dead after a battle is heart wrenching. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/24 "2004-03-04T02:18:33Z")
I did almost the same thing as you did! I put as many of 'em in my Netflix queue and there’s still 109 that aren’t available yet. Go Netflix! ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/25 "2004-03-04T19:37:39Z")
At this point, the list gets difficult to reconstruct, but I believe these mostly cover the 1950’s movies on my list. Born Yesterday Father of the Bride Rashomon Day the Earth Stood Still, The Streetcar Named Desire, A Place in the Sun, A High Noon From Here to Eternity Shane Stalag 17 On the Waterfront Strada, La Night of the Hunter, The Rebel Without a Cause The Court Jester Invasion of the Body Snatchers Searchers, The Auntie Mame Touch of Evil Ben-Hur North By Northwest Rear Window Vertigo Strangers on a Train Dial M for Murder Bridge on the River Kwai The Thing From Another World Twelve Angry Men Giant An American in Paris African Queen All About Eve Some Like it Hot Sunset Boulevard Singin in the Rain Seven Year Itch Harvey The Seven Samurai Paths of Glory Rashomon Witness for the Prosecution The 400 Blows The Killing Roman Holiday Rio Bravo The Quiet Man Wild Strawberries The Seventh Seal ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/26 "2004-03-04T19:42:24Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > From the silent era you _have_ to add “Broken Blossoms” with Lillian Gish! > > I saw you had “Battleship Potemkin” on you list. Have you seen Eisenstein’s talky > “Alexander Nevsky”? The scene where women are searching for the dead after a battle is heart wrenching. I may have to add these. Still, with _Battleship Potemkin_ I discovered something important : while I can deal with a horror or comedy silent film, silent dramas really pain me. They’re just… sort of tedious to watch. I notice that I’ve left off _Metropolis_ from the 20’s, now. It was difficult for me as well … as was _The Passion of Joan of Arc_, which was on my secondary list. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/27 "2004-03-04T19:47:54Z")
Upon making many lists, there is no end. Vanity, vanity all is vantity. (or something like that) To assertain if you are crazy I’ll need more info. WHY? Why did you make the movie list? Do you simply desire to have a well rounded knowledge base of the ‘great’ films? Are you want to be a film historian? Do you feel the need, the need for speed? Do you feel that you are missing out if you havn’t seen all these films. Do you feel unworthy of discussing movies because you haven’t seen all the films? Why did you make the list? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/28 "2004-03-04T21:27:25Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > To assertain if you are crazy I’ll need more info. > > WHY? > > Why did you make the movie list? Do you simply desire to have a well rounded knowledge base of the ‘great’ films? Are you want to be a film historian? Do you feel the need, the need for speed? Do you feel that you are missing out if you havn’t seen all these films. Do you feel unworthy of discussing movies because you haven’t seen all the films? Why did you make the list? Why? Because I have way too much free time on my hands, primarily. I have no film-related ambitions… I just enjoy movies. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/29 "2004-03-04T22:13:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I may have to add these. Still, with Battleship Potemkin I discovered something important : while I can deal with a horror or comedy silent film, silent dramas really pain me. They’re just… sort of tedious to watch. > > I notice that I’ve left off Metropolis from the 20’s, now. It was difficult for me as well … as was The Passion of Joan of Arc, which was on my secondary list. BLASPHEMER!!! BURN HIM!!! CUT HIM INTO LITTLE… Sorry. Ahem. Do not _ever_ speak that way in reference to _La Passion De Jeanne d’Arc_ or silent dramas in general again, lest ye know the true definition of _pain_! Oh, and 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/30 "2004-03-04T22:31:50Z")
Just FYI, _La Passion De Jeanne d’Arc_ is the best motion picture ever committed to celluloid. Here are some links I think you might find interesting. I wouldn’t bump them, but check them out: [What Makes John Ford A Great Director?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=240150) [Lifetime Top Ten Lists](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=229653) [The Crowd](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=236887) [Intolerance](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=238031) [La Passion De Jeanne d’Arc](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=234669) I’d be interested in your top ten absolute favorite movies list, please post your favorites. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/31 "2004-03-05T13:50:45Z")
Oh, my. Didn’t mean to upset anyone with the \*Passion of Joan of Arc \* comment. 😉 When I think about what I said a little more… it’s not even all silent dramas. _Birth of a Nation_ kept me perfectly entertained. I think my problem with _Passion_ was two-fold. Firstly, it is, in essence, a tight courtroom drama… but I need dialogue… actual spoken dialogue… in a courtroom drama. Secondly… the lead actress seemed to have two modes : weepy, and stoned. As for an all-time top ten list… it seriously depends on what day you ask me. I’ve cemented \*Raiders of the Lost Ark \* as the foremost star in my movie firmament, but everything else gets shuffled around, usually in accordance with the ones I’ve most recently seen. _Mr. Smith Goes to Washington_, It _Happened One Night_, and _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ might all appear in my top ten at times. \*Army of Darkness \* is a favorite of mine in the comedy genre, as are _Airplane!_ and _Blazing Saddles_. I’m a \*Star Wars \* fan, and a \*Star Trek \* fan. I rather enjoy the \*Back to the Future \* films, and I think \*Who Framed Roger Rabbit \* is a classic too. I’m even a fan of _Hudson Hawk_. Then again, to pull it back in the direction of older films, I absolutely love _Yojimbo_ and _Sanjuro_. I will try and see if I can distill the lists in my brain into a cohesive top-ten … but be warned, it may well include rollicking action-adventure ‘popcorn’ fare like _Pirates of the Carribbean_. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/32 "2004-03-08T14:16:58Z")
So, at work, on a Monday morning, and my Top Ten list runs something like this: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Adventures of Robin Hood, True Lies, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Chinatown, Airplane!, Army of Darkness, Arsenic and Old Lace. Hopefully I can get the 60’s list posted this evening… ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/33 "2004-03-08T22:07:20Z")
Apartment, The The Guns of Navarone Hustler, The West Side Story Yojimbo Cape Fear Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? A Shot in the Dark Doctor Zhivago Sound of Music, The Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Bonnie and Clyde Cool Hand Luke Graduate, The Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Bullitt Lion in Winter, The Night of the Living Dead The Odd Couple Easy Rider Midnight Cowboy Wild Bunch, The Dr. Strangelove The Producers It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World Take the Money and Run Cat Ballou The Nutty Professor Lawrence of Arabia Psycho 2001 : A Space Odyssey To Kill a Mockingbird Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Manchurian Candidate My Fair Lady The Birds Rosemary’s Baby The Great Escape Wait Until Dark Planet of the Apes Spartacus The Dirty Dozen Goldfinger The Magnificent Seven The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Once Upon a Time in the West Charade A Man For All Seasons 8 1/2 In the Heat of the Night ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/34 "2004-03-21T04:30:32Z")
I present, after much delay, the swingin’ 70’s movie list. MASH Dirty Harry Deliverance Harold and Maude The Heartbreak Kid The Poseidon Adventure Sleeper Sting, The Conversation, The Dog Day Afternoon Man Who Would Be King, The Shampoo All the President’s Men Carrie Marathon Man Network The Omen Annie Hall Deer Hunter, The Halloween Being There The China Syndrome The Jerk Jaws The Exorcist Alien The French Connection The Godfather The Godfather, Part II Chinatown A Clockwork Orange Taxi Driver Star Wars Close Encounters of the Third Kind Rocky One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Apocalypse Now Patton American Graffiti Blazing Saddles Young Frankenstein Manhattan Animal House Bananas What’s Up, Doc? Silver Streak The Life of Brian Monty Python and the Holy Grail ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/35 "2004-03-21T18:25:13Z")
It sounds like you occasionally have a hard time finding some of the classic movies you’re looking for. I recommend [Movies Unlimited](http://www.moviesunlimited.com). My dad lives near their Broomall, PA location so we normally rent the rare movies we want to watch, but we’ve ordered some amazingly obscure stuff through their catalog as well. They’re also really cheap. Probably the largest downside would be that many of the titles are only available on VHS, not DVD. Without them, I may not have ever seen all of the Thin Man movies when I was eight, for instance, or worked my way through virtually every Marx Brothers movie when I was ten. ---
**Author:** ![Xander\_Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ce73a5/32.png) [@Xander\_Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xander_Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/36 "2004-03-21T23:08:51Z")
I have a two door closet and since I was in the 6th grade (wow… that was 5 years ago! I am getting old! lol) I have been writing on the doors. One side is a list of cool band names (everytime someone yells “That would be a great band name!”) and the other side is a list of movies. I have at least 500. It would take me forever to copy the list, so I will leave it at that lol ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/37 "2004-03-22T13:17:51Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > It sounds like you occasionally have a hard time finding some of the classic movies you’re looking for. I recommend [Movies Unlimited](http://www.moviesunlimited.com). My dad lives near their Broomall, PA location so we normally rent the rare movies we want to watch, but we’ve ordered some amazingly obscure stuff through their catalog as well. They’re also really cheap. Probably the largest downside would be that many of the titles are only available on VHS, not DVD. > > Without them, I may not have ever seen all of the Thin Man movies when I was eight, for instance, or worked my way through virtually every Marx Brothers movie when I was ten. I have had some trouble, now and then. I find Amazon usually has a copy available for purchase for most of the titles, but not always. Thanks for the link! ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/38 "2004-04-12T14:38:45Z")
I’ve just finished off the 60’s in my movie-watching odyssey. Easy Rider? Bah. Long meandering piece of nothing. It’s like fifteen friggin music videos strung together with a couple of murders thrown in for spice. Midnight Cowboy? Much different movie than I had expected… quite good! I’ll have to work on my Ratso Rizzo impression. I will endeavor to reconstruct my 80’s list this evening, time permitting. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/39 "2004-04-12T21:49:58Z")
For the two people still reading this thread. I’m sorry, I should’ve gotten this done a lot sooner. 9 to 5 (1980) Airplane! (1980) Caddyshack (1980) Elephant Man, The (1980) Empire Strikes Back, The (1980) Private Benjamin (1980) Raging Bull (1980) Shining, The (1980) Arthur (1981) Body Heat (1981) Das Boot (1981) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Blade Runner (1982) Diner (1982) E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Gandhi (1982) Poltergeist (1982) Tootsie (1982) Victor/Victoria (1982) A Christmas Story (1983) Return of the Jedi (1983) Right Stuff, The (1983) Amadeus (1984) Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Blood Simple (1984) Ghostbusters (1984) Killing Fields, The (1984) Once Upon a Time in America (1984) The Terminator (1984) This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Back to the Future (1985) Brazil (1985) Lost in America (1985) Ran (1985) Aliens (1986) Blue Velvet (1986) The Fly (1986) Jean de Florette (1986) Platoon (1986) Stand by Me (1986) Broadcast News (1987) Fatal Attraction (1987) Full Metal Jacket (1987) Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) Moonstruck (1987) Princess Bride, The (1987) Raising Arizona (1987) Untouchables, The (1987) Wings of Desire (1987) Beetlejuice (1988) Big (1988) Bull Durham (1988) Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988) [Cinema Paradiso] Die Hard (1988) A Fish Called Wanda (1988) Rain Man (1988) Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Glory (1989) Henry V (1989) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Die xue shuang xiong (1989) [The Killer] When Harry Met Sally (1989) ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218/40 "2004-04-12T21:53:08Z")
Also so I don’t keep bumping my own thread endlessly as I struggle to reassemble the list. Dances With Wolves (1990) Goodfellas (1990) Miller’s Crossing (1990) Beauty and the Beast, The (1991) City Slickers (1991) JFK (1991) Raise the Red Lantern (1991) Silence of the Lambs (1991) Terminator 2 (1991) Thelma & Louise (1991) Hard Boiled (1992) Player, The (1992) Reservoir Dogs (1992) Unforgiven (1992) Fugitive, The (1993) Groundhog Day (1993) Jurassic Park (1993) Mrs. DoubtFire (1993) Remains of the Day, The (1993) Schindler’s List (1993) Clerks (1994) Ed Wood (1994) Forrest Gump (1994) Leon (1994) [The Professional] Pulp Fiction (1994) Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) Speed (1994) Trois Couleurs : Rouge (1994) Braveheart (1995) Heat (1995) Se7en (1995) Toy Story (1995) Twelve Monkeys (1995) Usual Suspects, The (1995) Fargo (1996) Sling Blade (1996) Trainspotting (1996) Good Will Hunting (1997) L.A. Confidential (1997) Vita è bella, La (1997) [Life is Beautiful] Princess Mononoke (1997) Sweet Hereafter, The (1997) Titanic (1997) American History X (1998) Big Lebowski, The (1998) Central do Brasil (1998) [Central Station] Festen (1998) F\*\*\*ing Åmål (1998) [Show Me Love] Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) Run Lola Run (1998) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Shakespeare in Love (1998) There’s Something About Mary (1998) Truman Show, The (1998) Todo sobre mi madre (1999) [All About My Mother] American Beauty (1999) Being John Malkovich (1999) Fight Club (1999) Green Mile, The (1999) Insider, The (1999) Iron Giant, The (1999) Magnolia (1999) Matrix, The (1999) October Sky (1999) Sixth Sense, The (1999) Straight Story, The (1999) Toy Story 2 (1999) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsessive-compulsive-at-the-movies/232218.md?page=3)