# Time Magazine's 100 Best Movies (HAH!!!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030 "2005-05-23T01:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/1 "2005-05-23T01:59:56Z")
Time Magazine has released [a list of the 100 Best Movies](http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/the_complete_list.html), as compiled by Time movie critics Richard Schickel and Richard Corliss. Admittedly, these kind of lists are very subjective, but IMHO, there are some glaring omissions from this one. For instance, perhaps the single best movie ever made, _To Kill a Mockingbird_ is not included, but _A Hard Day’s Night_ is? What other glaring omissions or unwarranted inclusions do you see? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/2 "2005-05-23T02:07:14Z")
**The Awful Truth** is hardly at the level of something like **Bringing Up Baby** , though **A Hard Day’s Night** most certainly belongs on the list. **The Lady Eve** is a tolerable choice, but for Preston Sturges, I’d prefer **Miracle of Morgan’s Creek** or **The Plam Beach Story** , both superior. I also see that **A Christmas Story** and **Miracle of 34th Street** are conspicuously missing. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/3 "2005-05-23T02:07:40Z")
**The Singing Detective** (1986 version)? That’s utterly brilliant, but it’s a six-episode miniseries, not a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/4 "2005-05-23T02:08:04Z")
Well, if everyone’s entitled to their opinion, I guess you’ll just have to accept that whoever slapped that list together is entitled to his, too. _Drunken Master II_…?! ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/5 "2005-05-23T02:10:33Z")
I disagree with the omission of _Strange Brew_ from the list. Surely, there can’t be more than 90, 95 movies better than this? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/6 "2005-05-23T02:12:01Z")
There’s no **Rashomon** or **Seven Samurai** on that list. But they did choose **Ikuru** as their Kurosawa entry. As far as these things go, this isn’t the worst list - it looks like they put some thought into it, rather than polling the office ala the AFI lists. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/7 "2005-05-23T02:19:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > There’s no **Rashomon** or **Seven Samurai** on that list. But they did choose **Ikuru** as their Kurosawa entry. And **Yojimbo**. Almodóvar gets **Talk to Her** instead of **All About My Mother**? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/8 "2005-05-23T02:51:46Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Well, if everyone’s entitled to their opinion, I guess you’ll just have to accept that whoever slapped that list together is entitled to his, too. > > _Drunken Master II_…?! As a devoted fan of the great physical comedians, I’m pleasantly surprised to see _Drunken Master II_ get some recognition; Jackie Chan in that film gives one of the most graceful, amazing physical comedy performances in cinema. Same for _The Man With A Camera_ (which I’d always heard translated as “Man With a Movie Camera”), a jaw-droppingly brilliant film that I’d never even heard of until someone gave my wife a copy about a year ago: it’s groundbreaking, elegant, and profound, but doesn’t seem to get the kind of recognition it deserves (or maybe it does and I’ve just never heard it). And I think _Sherlock, Jr._ is a better choice for Buster Keaton than _The General_ which is his standard entry on such lists. From my cinematic perspective, it seems to be a pretty well thought-out list. It’s got some great choices that you don’t usually see making such lists (I wholeheartedly second the inclusion of _City of God_, even though it’s only three years old), and it leaves out some of the standard warhorses that seem to be famous mainly for being famous. I don’t agree with all of the choices–personally, I wouldn’t have put LOTR any closer to this list than _Jurassic Park_–but at least they don’t seem to have autpoiloted the standard entries like _Rear Window_ and _Sunset Boulevard_. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/9 "2005-05-23T04:29:35Z")
I have to agree that it is nice to see a list where some thought seemed to go into it rather than the popular Top 100 films. Some interesting choices resulted. After all, the purpose is to get people talking… not to ‘nail’ the choices. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2005, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/10 "2005-05-23T08:16:51Z")
_The Third Man_ isn’t on the list, but _The Fly_ is. I realize any such list is subjective, but why should I be interested in the opinions of people who think _The Fly_ is one of the 100 best movies ever made, but _The Third Man_ isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/11 "2005-05-23T09:42:59Z")
Huh. _Gone with the Wind_ isn’t on the list - deservedly so, IMO, but still an interesting (and generally unprecidented) decision ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/12 "2005-05-23T15:54:20Z")
Well, I’m fairly impressed. Who’s in? Herzog, Ray (Nick & Satyajit), Godard, Fassbinder, Kubrick, Wong, Donen, Polanski, Renoir, Welles, Chaplin, Truffaut, Vidor, Kiezlowski, Bunuel, Ulmer, Fellini, Kurosawa, Siegel, Cronenberg, Hawks, Sturges, Lean, Vertov, Minnelli, Lang, Resnais, Bresson, Lubitsch, Hitchcock, Kazan, Tourneur, Bergman, Scorsese, Ford, Keaton, Murnau, Almodovar, Ozu, Mizoguchi, Angelopolous, Walsh & Wenders. All extraordinary directors that deserve placement. Nit-picking which of their films exactly is losing the forest from the trees–at least they’re represented, deservedly. There are some choices obviously included because of the star (Barbara Stanwyck, Jackie Chan, Fred & Ginger, W.C. Fields), and a good mix of deserved classics and overlooked cult followings. Probably the most questionable 5 are _Farewell My Concubine_ (something by Zhang Yimou or Edward Yang would’ve been more deserving), _Finding Nemo_ (if you have to pick Pixar, nothing beats the first _Toy Story_), _Leolo_ (Huh? Tons better coming-of-age stories. Loach’s _Kes_ for one), _Goodfellas_ (3 Scorseses but none by Rossellini or Dreyer? Uh-uh), and _Yojimbo_ (second-tier Kurosawa, especially with 2 Leones already on the list). All-in-all, pretty impressive, though not having Harold Lloyd, the Marx Bros, Eric Rohmer, or the Maysles Bros still hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/13 "2005-05-23T16:00:01Z")
> [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > _The Third Man_ isn’t on the list, but _The Fly_ is. > > I realize any such list is subjective, but why should I be interested in the opinions of people who think _The Fly_ is one of the 100 best movies ever made, but _The Third Man_ isn’t? I don’t know what they were thinking with **The Fly**. If a genre film is what they’re after, how about **Alien**? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/14 "2005-05-23T16:00:45Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Who’s in? Herzog, Ray (Nick & Satyajit), Godard, Fassbinder, Kubrick, Wong, Donen, Polanski, Renoir, Welles, Chaplin, Truffaut, Vidor, Kiezlowski, Bunuel, Ulmer, Fellini, Kurosawa, Siegel, Cronenberg, Hawks, Sturges, Lean, Vertov, Minnelli, Lang, Resnais, Bresson, Lubitsch, Hitchcock, Kazan, Tourneur, Bergman, Scorsese, Ford, Keaton, Murnau, Almodovar, Ozu, Mizoguchi, Angelopolous, Walsh & Wenders. And Gilliam. I’ve never seen _Brazil_ on one of these lists before. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/15 "2005-05-23T16:25:07Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Huh. _Gone with the Wind_ isn’t on the list - deservedly so, IMO, but still an interesting (and generally unprecidented) decision After lists like this are published, I like to imagine the editors and panelists in a conference room surfing the web for threads like this and saying " :smack: Damn! I knew we forgot something!" ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/16 "2005-05-23T16:31:13Z")
I’m really glad they aren’t ranked, I’ve always hated that. At a certain point you get to a certain level where it’s ridiculous to distinguish between movies, not to mention pointless. I would have liked to see Fargo on the list, maybe Bridge on the River Kwai and Apocalypse Now as well. I’m glad Spielberg made the list. It’s an unpopular opinion between my friends but what can I say… ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/17 "2005-05-23T16:45:16Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > I don’t know what they were thinking with **The Fly**. If a genre film is what they’re after, how about **Alien**? Even better would have been **Jaws**. And **Monty Python and the Holy Grail** was one of the funniest movies ever made. That should count for something. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/18 "2005-05-23T21:08:57Z")
Interesting that they counted “Lord of the Rings” as one film, not three. And I so agree with whoever said they were glad about no ranking of films. In a list this long that would have been ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/19 "2005-05-23T21:20:17Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > **The Singing Detective** (1986 version)? That’s utterly brilliant, but it’s a six-episode miniseries, not a movie. Actually, the same applies to _Berlin Alexanderplatz_ and Kieslowski’s _The Decalogue_, as [their entry for the latter](http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,decalogue,00.html) acknowledges. Not a bad list in my estimation, but where is _Touch of Evil_ for starters? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030/20 "2005-05-23T21:38:03Z")
> [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > _The Third Man_ isn’t on the list, but _The Fly_ is. > > I realize any such list is subjective, but why should I be interested in the opinions of people who think _The Fly_ is one of the 100 best movies ever made, but _The Third Man_ isn’t? I saw one of them on CNN. He said the Fly was put on for the basic themes is elicits, the transformation is akin to people knowing they will die, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazines-100-best-movies-hah/305030.md?page=2)