The 50 Greatest Films of All Time

So I was in the doctor's office waiting room on Thursday and stumbled across an advertisement for Ketel One in a back issue of Entertainment Weekly. Since I had been waiting for about 40 minutes to see the doctor I decided to give the ad a second look. Instead of this add only promoting its alcohol it gave a list of the 50 best films of all time. The list looked rather conclusive, but it left me thinking is there any way to really tell the 50 best films of all time without watching every bit of narrative film created through film's history? Is it right to say that this list includes the 50 best pieces of work ever, or the 50 best films created by the studio machine of Hollywood of all time?

Some can argue that movies such as ‘Star Wars’ are a breaking of the mold since technically those films are independently made. However, the franchise is so imbedded in the Hollywood system that it is automatically associated with mainstream Hollywood. Also, films such as 'The Wizard of Oz' was critically torn to shreds and considered a failure upon first release. And what about those wonderful films from outside of the boarders of the good old U S of A that aren't represented on the list? What about 'La Dolce Vita'? Yes, 'Battleship Potempkin' is on the list, but it is only one of 50 films. Two of the three films to ever win the big four at the Academy Awards are on here, being 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' and 'The Silence of the Lambs'. What about the original film to claim those four awards though? Can you even name it? Here is a hint, it was directed by Frank Capra. And it was made more than a decade before the film It's a Wonderful Life, which made the top 50 list.

Does it matter that Steven Spielberg directed 4 of these films and had creative input on many others? How about George Lucas? He has two of the films that he directed, but on Academy Award? Martin Scorsese has some films on that list, but not 'The Departed'. For some reason I remember 'The Departed' winning him is first Best Director Academy Award and winning Best Picture. Would that constituted it being a "better" film than ‘Goodfellas’, which coincidently made the list? Speaking of legendary directors, where are the films by Jean - Luc Godard? He broke the classical filmmaking mold is a legendary way, and his masterpiece 'Breathless' didn't even make the list. Whatever the situation may be here is the list and you can decide for yourself...........

2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
American Graffiti
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now
Battleship Potempkin
Ben-Hur
The Bridge on The River Kwai
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Casablanca
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
Dances with Wolves
The Deer Hunter
Doctor Zhivago
Dr. Strangelove
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Easy Rider
The French Connection
Giant
The Godfather: Part II
Gone with the Wind
Goodfellas
The Graduate
High Noon
It's a Wonderful Life
Jaws
Lawrence of Arabia
Midnight Cowboy
My Fair Lady
On the Waterfront
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Platoon
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rocky
Schindler's List
The Searchers
The Silence of the Lambs
Singin' in the Rain
Some Like It Hot
Star Wars
The Sound of Music
Taxi Driver
To Kill a Mockingbird
Vertigo
West Side Story
The Wizard of Oz

Now that the list is out there, what do you think? Is there anything missing on it? Or does it sum up the greatest films of all time perfectly? I guess everyone has their own opinion of what constitutes a "great film." I am glad to see that 'Citizen Kane' made the list though, since it is only one of the most viewed films in modern day film schools. Let me know if anything was left off this list, and what should be removed to make room for something that was missed!