I've said this on many occasions: Black Panther was not the best movie that year, it was not the best Marvel movie, nor was it even the best movie to feature Black Panther: That was Captain America: Civil War. And I really like the character of Black Panther.
Where are the westerns? "The Searchers", "True Grit", "High Noon", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "Unforgiven", to name but a few.
Spaghetti westerns are still highly praised, since they are amoral. I doubt that you'll ever see classic american westerns on Best Movies Ever lists today, especially the ones from Ford and Anthony Mann. Way too problematic for "modern audiences".
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119spag westerns are more like gangster films...almost noir, except the anti hero always prevails. Fistful of Dollars was actually remade as a ganster film...'Last Man Standing'.
I’m disappointed that he put LOTR in A. It deserves no less than S. He put The Godfather trilogy in S but the thing is that trilogy had a lousy third movie, while LOTR was great through all 3 movies
actually, he put the LOTR TRILOGY in A but ONLY the first Godfather film in S. That being said, I am also furious. LOTR sh9uld be S+ while the Godfather is only S.
@@jimcorbett3764 even if it wasn’t the whole godfather trilogy, I still maintain that all 3 LOTR movies are S tear and deserve to be at the top of the list
@@Hard_Boiled_Entertainment But the 2 hour rule is still a good rule to go by. There is no reason a comedy should be over 2 hours; superhero movies would greatly benefit from editing down to under 2 hours. You better have something unique to say and show if your film is around 3 hours. The Godfather and Lawrence are exceptional in scope, theme and narrative. They earn the time.
Moonlight is honestly one of the worst films i've ever seen. The only thing good was the premise: a gay black gangster. Which is an interesting, fresh idea. Unfortunately nothing came out of it. I was shocked when it won the Oscar. Since then I simply ignored the oscars. I mean, to win it all it takes is a PC idea?
@@Sam_T2000 Not particularly 😕. Seven Samurai or High and Low deserve to be mentioned. Klavan is right. This list is too oriented towards modern movies. I mean, Inception? Really?
@@jayjayjigsbys - yeah, _Inception_ might be my least favorite Nolan movie, and I’m not the hugest Nolan fan in general. what I like about _Last Samurai_ is that it’s just a nice little movie (with some cool samurai sword fights)… movies today are either giant superhero or sci-fi spectacles, or pretentious artsy-fartsy tripe, with “nice little movies” thrown in once or twice a year, and those never get much attention.
Yeah, but when your political view is your entire personality, you have to judge movies on their premise alone. Nothing screams not being able to analyze films from an objective (for the most part) when going "Korean movie -> bad", "Black and gay movie -> bad". I agree with basically all placements, but I found the Parasite and Moonlight comments a bit ridiculous.
@@Scottlp2intellectual is a word people use to try to gaslight for dull, boring movie. Pretentious bs. The movie stunk. Innovative filming at the time, but goid grief what a bad script.
I have no interest in Moonlight but I can’t be the only one alive who thinks 2001 a space odyssey is a slog. Maybe I just need to see it with the eyes of someone watching it in 1968 to appreciate the new ground it broke.
suzzannepalace Maybe the problem is with you. I suggest you always keep that in mind. Also, if you analyze the movie, you’ll see what the fuss is about. Whether you like it or not is a different story. For a lot of people it’s too slow and plodding.
I completely understand who doesn't like 2001 (although I do). There's a lot of sacret cow syndrome going on with this one (as with many others in this list). Imo Kubrick's best is by far Dr. Strangelove.
Would just disagree with the LOTR trilogy. Would have S tiered that. It changed modern cinema, and if you think Game Of Thrones would have ever been a thing without it, I would just disagree. It is literally and literary (pun intended) the perfect trilogy. Better than any before it as far as all 3 movies go.
I don’t disagree, but everything you said applies to the original Star Wars trilogy as well. And that one was far more influential, especially in terms of how movies are made now.
@@dankairgadam8841Truly, if it weren't for Industrial Light & Magic, a lot of modern sci-fi/fantasy movies today wouldn't have been possible. Even Peter Jackson admitted the influence of Star Wars when making Lord of the Rings.
That’s the second thing I’m asking about in heaven. It’s statistically impossible that it synchronizes in so many hundreds of places, including sometimes word for word lyrics with actions/dialogue, but my favorite band insists that they didn’t do it on purpose. It has bugged me for over 2 decades now!
Please talk more about OLD great films!!!! 😭😭💪 Sunset boulevard More Welles More Brando More Kazan More John Ford More Kubrick John Wayne Liz Tayler Paul Newman Monty Clift Bette Davis Gene Tierney Henry Fonda Westerns Film Noir Pleeeaaassssseeeee!!! 🙏
Big Sleep (Bogey version) has too many twists to make sense but is excellent nonetheless, as almost every critic said at the time. Out of the Past (1947, R. Mitchum and K. Douglas) is primo noir. Probably better than Big Sleep. Better than Hollywood Blvd.
@@robertjensen2328 I liked the fact that the narration was different. I have a list of literally a thousand and one (from the book called “1001 films ..”) and was just listing it as a springboard rather than singling out that 1 specifically. But was a super cool throwback to old Hollywood nonetheless and with an aging silent film star almost parodying herself, so was super creative & ahead of itself in many ways. Bogey’s stagey and campy “noir” acting just always bugged the CRAP out of me which is why I can’t jump on board calling any of his films as the “GOAT” so that’s just my personal opinion, but Klavan likes what he likes and I appreciate his honesty and not bowing to the film critics. I’d just love to hear him talk more about other great film works of art .. that was my main objective because I love the overall way he assesses literature & films.
Agree with those grades. Adding the others: Phantom Menace C Attack of the Clones C- Revenge of the Sith A- Force Awakens D Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker F
@@carsinruin6102 - it’s not like it’s some terrible movie that needed to be redeemed… it’s a great movie, with many great parts, it just had poor flow and pacing, the Ewoks are controversial, and Han has nothing to do 🤷🏻♂️
y’all know what a perfect movie is? _The Matrix_ is a *perfect* movie. …it’s technically not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. the part about Neo being saved by Trinity’s love for him is a bit silly, but everything building up to that, and Neo’s realization as “the One” was perfect, and there may be some Christ metaphor in there I haven’t identified… even the significantly less-than-perfect sequels aren’t as bad as their reputation 👍
No no no you don’t understand. The love confession is what transforms it from a good movie to a great movie! Because the movie up until that point is all about Truth and how it cannot be killed and that Truth matters and is worth pursuing BUT with the confession scene the movie tells us that Love is what makes Victory possible! That only Love can undo death so Truth can reign again! So many parallels to Christ!
The film is more understandable once you enter into an anti-system/establishment phase like I did, it's like a 3rd eye opening, and it was already a favorite of mine.
@@LynetteTheMadScientist - I think the Christ metaphor works if Trinity is the stand-in for humanity, and she’s accepting Neo as the savior… but it just feels muddied to me.
I'm not a fan of its hollywoodian summer blockbuster style, but indeed Matrix is a perfect, well-rounded, well-structured movie. At least I can't find an actual flaw in it.
Before watching: 1927 Metropolis 1939 The Wizard of Oz 1942 Casablanca 1946 The Best Years of Our Lives 1949 The Third Man 1956 The Searchers 1957 Twelve Angry Men 1959 Ben-Hur 1962 Lawrence of Arabia 1965 Doctor Zhivago 1970 Patton 1972 Fiddler on the Roof 1975 Jaws 1982 Blade Runner 2001+ Lord of the Rings
I'm glad you included Ben Hur. I'm surprised so many leave it out. I was totally taken by it. Much much better than Star Wars and all the stupid superhero movies.
"Not a bad movie" for shawshank... come on, the character dynamics, the reflection of how the world works told in a prison story IN prison. The juxtaposition throughout the film, the hope, the lows, everything is amazing
Klavan also apparently completely missed the spiritual themes/messages in Pulp Fiction. Quite odd for a guy who manages to put them into werewolf stories.
Lord of the Rings is undoubtedly an S tier movie! Klavan messed this one up! Not only is it masterfully made but it depicts aspects of human nature (temptation, power, and sin) better than any other movie
Movies that should be on this list: - One Flew over the cuckoo's Nest - Children of Paradise - Seven Samurai - The Wild Bunch - Raiders of the Lost Arc - Godfather 2 (better than 1 really) - Amadeus - Breaking Away - The Maltese Falcon - The Bridge on the river Kwai
The Wild Bunch is great, I'm an Indiana Jones fan and I don't know how Raiders isn't on this list, Godfather 2 is great, Maltese Falcon and Amadeus are some of my favorites.
LOTR is S tier. The accomplishment of that trilogy is near perfection. Screen play, acting, cinematography, score, effects. It’s a juggernaut of talent and execution.
Yeah I understand why people made this comment on his book tier list now. I feel like his ratings are entirely based on how the film or media lines up with his political beliefs, giving Parasite a C is absurd
Andrew and I have very different taste in movies, but I agree with him on Black Panther being so overrated. I didn't hate it, but I watched it once and pretty much forgot all about it. Never even cared to watch the 2nd movie. I disagree with him on so many things here but come on now, 2001 being D tier is ridiculous. I'm not saying it's my favorite movie but it's A tier. Several of these movies including The Dark Knight are nowhere near being the best movies. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Jaws, The Godfather 2, Paris Texas, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and so many others deserve a spot over most of these movies.
The whole score is incredible, right up to the end. That and North by Northwest are maybe the greatest scores. It's a very weird art form; the music has to do more than be good, it has to fit -- yet it also must be good. Stravinsky would have been a terrible film composer. Bernstein, an incredibly talented musician, wrote a terrible score for On the Waterfront (imo) - intrusive, distracting, obnoxious. I have a short list, with Vertigo, Delarue's Le Mepris (Contempt) for Godard, Ravi Shankar's heartbreaking Apu Trilogy (reminds me of Third Man, it's a soloist commenting on the film as it goes along), John Barry's epic You Only Live Twice, Nino Rota's 8 1/2, and the greatest of them all, John Williams (Empire Strikes Back might be the high point but it could be ET which is really a huge piano concerto; certainly no movie _depends_ more on its score, and also Close Encounters takes it so far that the story itself is _about_ its score -- then there's Raiders and on and on, his list is incredible).
@@mirandac8712 yes!! North by Northwest is one of my favorite movies and the score is so deeply intertwined with the story. The titles by Saul Bass incorporating the United Nations building is such surprising reveal, not to mention the many great Cary Grant lines. It’s a perfect film. Vertigo has so many scenes without any dialogue and yet it never feels like it’s missing due to Bernard Herrmann’s scoring. On my list: Magnificent Seven, Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Virgin Suicides, Rocky, Adventures of Robin Hood, Drive, Blade Runner, and Superman.
@@elnick1000 No. You have to view Maltese Falcon for its time. Bogart is a truly hard man and you see that on screen as well and then he acts with his own character. China Town is a great movie just not on the level of the Maltese.
@@Art-is-craft Can't agree with you. I acutally enjoyed him much more in BIG SLEEP, the scene in the book store is fantaistic with Dorothy Malone. Also that one villain in the film, can't remember the actors name right now, is very scary, he actually does better in that role than did Richard Boone in the inferior if not more faithful remake with Robert Mitchum, for me the best of all Philip Marlowe. Also my favorite film with both Peter Lorre and Sydny Greemstreet is MASK OF DIMITRIOS.
It’s a Wonderful Life. Intellectuals hate sentimental stories with happy endings, and I would say it is because they are perhaps either insufficiently intellectual, or because they have forgotten what most of the modern world has forgotten, the necessity of the ideal, and the way things ought to be as a goal to orient on to try to shape our society towards. It’s a Wonderful Life is more important than Casablanca. The movie has everything: Comedy, drama, suicide, the meaning of life, it is an encyclopedia of the first third of the 20th century in America. It is popular for a reason, and is underrated by the intellectuals, who hate happy, endings, and want everything to be “realistic“.
I would say intellectuals don’t like movies that appeal to sentiment because those movies remind intellectuals that the world and its people don’t need (or particularly want) what they have to offer in order to be true, good, and beautiful. George Bailey turns down being an elitest explicitly because it was the right thing for him to do in order to save society. This is incomprehensible to most people and nearly all intellectuals, who tend to value their minds more than anything and everything else. Add to that that the true heroine of the movie isn’t George at all; it’s Mary, the antithesis of all things elitest and selfish. Great pick!
Agree 100% on old films. One of my favorite old movies is “To Have and Have Not.” You get to watch two of the greatest actors ever actually fall in love on film. And Lauren Becall could be as sexy as any woman and never take off a stitch. The scene where she says to Bogart, “You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow,” was one of the sexiest scenes ever. Every heterosexual man who’s ever been born wished he’d been able to put his lips together and blow for her. They just knew how to make films. Look at the list of movies released in 1939. There has never been a better year for movies and there never will be another like it. Not even close.
Agree with Andrew. This list is WAYYYY too modern for my tastes. I could easily fill my list with all pre-1966 films. While I enjoy later films here and there, the frequency of greatness was higher in earlier decades in my opinion. At least “City Lights” made the list …. And I also agree that “Casablanca” is a much, much better film than “Citizen Kane.” “Casablanca” is indeed my all time favorite.
If you wrap Casablanca up, it is a bit convoluted and bumpy when compared to Citizen Kane, which is smoother, more well-rounded, more focused, regardless of its technical importance. Like Friedkin says, is the most timeless and important tale of all: what would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? However, my #1 will always be Murnau's Sunrise.
By the way, I liked how you pointed out 1966 as the diving line between Golden Era and New Hollywood. Many people consider Bonnie and Clyde (67) or The Graduate (67), but I think it was Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, 1966.
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 Exactly. Agreed! When the Hays Code dissolved, it changed everything… and not necessarily for the better. Movie makers went berserk- like kids in a candy store after that. Crazy that “The Sound of Music” was released just prior to all of this. The late 60s did a lot of damage to our culture, sadly - though certainly those came along with a few necessary changes. (BTW - “Sunrise” IS amazing and very fascinating).
@@ChrisN1344 Well, code or no code, it was inevitable. The cultural turning point reached all sectors; from entertainment industry to Catholic Church. By the way, I strongly suggest the YT channel "MovieWise". He tackles both classic and modern films, but he's not shy about demonstrating the superiority of Goden Age cinema, and why.
My top ten favorite movies in alphabetical order are: Braveheart Bringing Up Baby Dolores Claiborne Forrest Gump Innerspace Magnolia Maltese Falcon Psycho Purple Rose of Cairo Singin in the Rain
Movie making is an artform, and by definition, is entirely subjective! No one person can possibly give a definitive list of the absolute greatest movies of all time. That will always be debatable. For example, he totally lost me by suggesting that 'The Shawshank Redemption' is an over rated film when it sit's at the top of so many peoples lists subjectively. Popular opinion proves it is clearly not over rated. For this guy, it's debatable, which he is completely entitled to, but puts him in no position to declare a definitive list if he is ignorant to public opinion.
Something has to be well liked by a lot of people in order for someone to call it overrated. That's kind of the definition. Saying he can't call it overrated because a lot of people love it is nonsensical.
@@sethmx999no one on the internet likes black panther lol that was on here for trolls. If they wanted him to rank a popular well respected superhero movie it would be like joker, Logan or infinity war
@@steveblundell7766Spielberg put the film in English because if people were reading subtitles the whole time, it would give them an excuse to not look at what’s happening in the film.
Thing is, Drew, you brought up the American Myth element of Godfather. Star Wars is very much a New Myth, of the stars--and like what CS Lewis said about George Macdonald's Phantastes...it may not be particularly great in its writing...but it's the MYTHOLOGY that counts. Kudos for giving Empire a B, though--you're not COMPLETELY lost. ✌️😇
@jpwright87 I get it, and you may notice I ACKNOWLEDGED the writing issues...but he nonetheless is trivializing the mythological aspect of Star Wars. Plus the scripts of Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi are actually pretty solid, in large part thanks to Lawrence Kasden. And Lucas didn't direct those either.
My top 10: 1. Gladiator 2. Titanic 3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4. Lawrence of Arabia 5. Rambo 3 6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 7. Braveheart 8, Schindler's List 9. The Shawshank Redemption 10. Terminator 2 Judgment Day
Star Wars is a funny one. The script is laughably terrible, the characters are ridiculous, the plot is frequently completely stupid - but in terms of inventiveness of what movies can be, it completely revolutionised things (not necessarily for the better), it’s immense fun to watch, and technically it was incredible. Where does that put it? I’m not sure.
I'd agree with 90% you said, but I'm afraid you're wrong about 2001 and Stanely Kubrick, to me his movies are closer to classic literature than you're average movie. So you kinda have to be in the same state of mind for both. I'd recommend checking out, if you haven't Kurosawa, Bergman and Tarkovsky's filmographies. Their movies to me are high art on the level of the greatest novels of all time. edit - forgot about lynch. What;s your opinion on mulholland drive? and Fellini, 8 1/2?
Kubrick makes great movies but is way overrated. He was seen as the start of New Hollywood hence why he gets such hype. He is a good direct with a strong line up of movies. But are any of his movies comparable to the greats though is the thing.
I feel like Tarkovsky, Kurosawa and Bergman are the holy trinity for non-American cinema for new comers, so love the shout-out! Might add Fellini to that.
When I met Spielberg's mom at their restaurant she told me Jaws was her favorite movie that Stephan directed. This was around 2009 at the Milky Way in LA. A lovely and gracious woman.
@@Mr.Goodkat She was elderly for sure. But very much on the ball. I recall her going to tables to check that people were enjoying themselves. I still remember my having a wonderful fish chowder. I'm glad I thought to ask her which of Stephen's films she liked most. The place was decorated with Spielberg movie posters. Nice experience.
Klavan is right, of course, about the the online list's privileging of the modern stuff. They don't call the the Golden Age of Hollywood the Golden Age for nothing. Aside from William Wyler's stuff that I mentioned earlier, here's another film that deserves serious attention: A Place in the Sun (1951, Liz Taylor, Montgomery Clift). Rewatchable many times over.
My top 10 greatest movies of all time: 1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 4. The Intouchables 5. 12 Angry Men 6. The Passion of the Christ 7. The Shawshank Redemption 8. The Godfather 9. Casino Royale 10. Memento
Not one William Wyler film! (Philistines.) WW was the most nominated director: 12 nominations! Nobody will get close to that. Best Wyler film? Dodsworth (1936), Wuthering Heights (1939), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Heiress (1949), Roman Holiday (1953), The Big Country (1958), Ben Hur (1959). Pick any. Check out Mary Astor in Dodsworth. She's a legit babe (unlike in Maltese F).
I love Dodsworth, The Letter, The Heiress and above all The Westerner, which somehow gets neglected in lists of greatest Westerns. Brennan and Cooper are wonderful together. And Mary Astor in Red Dust…❤
I'm not a movie critic lol. But even I never got 2001. Parasite was entertaining but I wouldn't call it evergreen. I loved Vertigo but I liked Rear Window much more.
More I'd like to hear Klavan's thoughts on: Fight Club, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, A Scanner Darkly, Apocalypse Now, Requiem For A Dream, Black Christmas, Kill Bill, The Wolfman
Movies I wish were on the list: A Clockwork Orange One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Enter the Dragon Akira Yojimbo Silence of the Lambs Rocky The Wizard of Oz Midnight Cowboy Blazing Saddles Schindler's List Coraline
A Clockwork Orange, one of my favorite outraging anti-system/establishment movies, the movie that made me love Kubrick, Trainspotting should be here too.
SCHINDLER yes, my top ten films of all time. Wizard of OZ is in my top twenty and I have it as one of the 10 most famous American movies of all time. Here where I disagree. Saw ENTER THE DRAGON in a movie theater after having seen some of LEE'S other films. It is for me a very overated film. I much prefer his FISTS OF FURY, called THE CHINESE CONNECTION in the USA when it came out. Even the one in Italy is much better for me. AKRIA, Saw it on a Sunday in Berkeley in the movie theater. Way overated. Have never understood the appeal of the film. I remember the 49's were playing the Bears at the same time, and feeling I would have had a better time watching that game. It tried to me to be what BLADE RUNNER and MAD MAX II were, called at the time ROAD WARRIOR in USA. But being animated, could not achieve anytihng like it. Have watched it again, and jsut don't care for it.
The Godfather is the greatest American film ever. Period. Casablanca is the very best of Classic Hollywood. Too iconic for words. Exceptional. Shawshank Redemption is so rewatchable and inspirational. I personally haven't seen it in years but still a great film. 12 Angry Men is one of the most skillful films ever made. Takes place in one room, in real time and you are gripped throughout. A classic. Star Wars is enjoyable and holds a special place in my heart but Klavan is right, they ruined Hollywood forevermore. Chinatown is one of the best written films. A top tier detective story. Haven't seen Parasite. Citizen Kane is good. A big ball of fine. It's influence is profound, Orson Welles was a genius and will be studied for centuries(I did a 20+ page paper of the making of the film way back when) but not one I'd revisit anytime soon. The Dark Knight is everything I want an action film to be. I will not elaborate. 2001: A Space Odyssey still keeps me up at night. I've seen it maybe two dozen times(at least 10 times on acid) and refuse to read anybody's personal interpretation because I have a hard time keeping track of my own thoughts about the film. Stanley Kubrick was the Charles Dickens of cinema. Moonlight is well made but OHMYGOD TALK ABOUT OSCAR PANDERING! Oy. Alien is the best haunted house movie ever made. Absolutely spectacular! Charles Chaplin was endlessly entertaining and his films do age well. City Lights is his magnum opus. Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite film ever. The greatest EPIC ever! Full stop. I disagree, Pulp Fiction is great! Not perfect but a classic for a reason. Vertigo is not one of my favorite Hitchcockian flicks but I love the way Klavan describes it; a nightmare of a film with a bizarre plot. The Lord of the Rings is why I love cinema. I saw the trilogy as a kid in theaters as they came out year after year and was truly awestruck every time. I still am. Not the biggest Inception fan but I think that's because I can't take DiCaprio seriously as an actor. Great cast, great concept, Nolan is a genius. Psycho is Hitchcock's best film. Riveting from beginning to end. Black Panther was another copy and paste superhero flick by Marvel. Pass. Goodfellas is the most rewatchable film in history. Love it endlessly. No Country for Old Men is perfect is every conceivable way. One of the best villains ever. I never got the hype with Raging Bull either. The editing and direction of the fight scenes is out of this world but the rest is sluggish nonsense.
No Country for Old Men was the first time ever that I've felt like the villain actually existed, in the real world. I was thinking about him for 2 weeks. An amazing movie. Fargo is also great.
Andrew is wrong about Star Wars and there's nothing wrong with blockbusters, but the problem is that the last 10-15 years has been so top heavy and middle budget movies don't get made like they used too. The blame goes on the decline of physical media and people just don't go the theaters like they did in the past.
I am curious what Andrew's thoughts are on some highly regarded foreign movies like those of Kurosawa, Tarkovsky, Kieslowski, Bergman... Also curious what his thoughts are on Terrence Malick and his films. Because I feel like that stuff may be getting overlooked by him. Also he for sure did Raging Bull dirty...deserves better than that. Also Shawshank
I agree with Casablanca in the S category! 😊 I only watched it for the first time a few years ago. Casablanca deserves its reputation: it truly is one of the greatest films ever made. Yet the film harbors many ironies. It's a romance where the boy doesn’t get the girl and love doesn’t win in the end. It's a film noir where all the main characters possess hearts of gold (e.g. no femme fatales). It's a suspenseful thriller where the climax is about letting go. It's a b&w with deep hues and vivid symbols. It's a maudlin which speaks universal truths. Casablanca’s main theme is about the sacrifice of one’s most ardent love for the higher good. Another theme is that one can’t be neutral but must choose a side, which takes on a real world poignancy considering Casablanca was filmed in the very midst of the Second World War. The themes are good, beautiful, and true, and always true this side of the parousia. As such, Casablanca transcends war and is a film for all time. The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.
It seems like those who have made the list never sees anything except American movies. There are quite a few good French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Swedish movies, and from a range of other countries
Exactly. Lists like these crack me up. I'm not saying every German expressionism movie is a must-see, but there are so many genres and waves. Even among more popular picks, I think juggernaut names such as Tarkovsky, Bergman and Kurosawa are mandatory mentions.
"The Maltese Falcon" was better than "Casablanca" . "Casablanca" is a chick flick. But a good one. "Blade Runner" is better than any of the Star Wars films. "North by Northwest" and "Psycho" were Hitchcock's best, each better than "Vertigo" which was okay, but not in the same ballpark or league of those two. "Casino" and "The Departed" both by Scorsese belong on this list. Near the top. "The Searchers" by the great John Ford deserves to be at the very tippy top of this list. As the best Western ever made, also the best film ever made.
Agree with everything but the Searchers. I'm a Shane and Magnificent Seven man myself! The Searchers was my father's second favorite, after True Grit! He loved the Duke!
@@misterschubert3242 Your Pop's right, "True Grit" is a great one indeed. Also "Red River" and "El Dorado". So are "Shane", "The Mag Seven", "Nevada "Smith" and "Tombstone".
@@hiramnoone Burle Ives gave one of the greatest dramatic performances of all time in that movie. Probably Charleton Heston's best performance as well. It's sad how much that movie is over looked.
thank you, Andrew! Finally, someone said it: yes, Dark Knight is the best superhero movie and the best version of Batman thanks to Nolan& Bale, totally agree but even more so, I agree that Inception is a painfully overrated movie! And for me, you were still too generous, rating it B. Should be C or D. It has plot holes of the size of Dakota, it doesn't make sense no matter how much Nolan's fans and Di Caprio's fans deny it, and even Di Caprio is on record saying he still, to this day, doesn't know what it was about lol xD. Inception is one of the weakest Nolan movies and the fact that it has a better rating on IMDB than the masterpiece that is Prestige (the last time I checked) is once again showing how braindead audience is, and mostly, Di Caprio fans. The big reason why Inception is overrated is Di Caprio who always gets insane media PR, despite being absolutely overrated as an actor in the past, I'd say, 12 years or so. The truth is that Di Caprio's best performances came out in the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, first decade of the 2000s, but after 2010 - it went dramatically downhill, yes, including Wolf of Wall Street, for anyone who actually has a taste in movies and acting. Di Caprio should have won the Oscar for Revolutionary Road, not for ANY other movie, period. But during the last decade or so, Di Caprio has been so, so overrated and it's annoying!
I feel like the illogic of the plot adds to it in a way though. Because the whole point is to be surreal and dreamlike. The fact that a big studio forked over the money for an almost arthouse type movie about planting an idea deep into someone’s subconscious… I mean that alone is notable. Plus it has an undeniably eerie atmosphere
how does it not make sense💀 its your skill issue that you couldn't understand the film lol and who cares if leo doesn't fully understand it? hes not the director it makes so much sense and then some more if you pay attention to what you're watching
@@aka_15 I don’t think they mean that they can’t follow the plot, they mean that in real world logic it doesn’t make much sense to have dreams within dreams etc.
Absolutely. My all time favorite movie. It gets better every time I see it. S-Tier without a doubt. I’d rank it alongside ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ as one of the greatest epics with a deeply personal story. So many truly great films not on this list, but the only other one I’ll mention is ‘The Princess Bride’.
I would love to have seen Lawerence of Arabia on the big screen for the first time. I always loved when Anthony Perkins is sitting in the interrogation cell, and he thinks that he won’t even hurt a fly.
I'll accept every judgment but Pulp Fiction - just as a cultural phenomenon alone, the way it changed a genre, Pulp Fiction deserves an "S" Edit - and the Coen brothers are geniuses, obviously, but No Country for Old Men has a hard edit leading into its third act that makes absolutely no sense (leaving the hotel). Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Fargo, Oh Brother Where Art Thou are all better films 😏
At the time of its release, _Pulp Fiction_ was no doubt a game-changing phenomenon. But it's been spoofed, parodied, and imitated so much in the last three decades that it really doesn't hold up like it once did.
@@LynetteTheMadScientist who said edifying? It broke ground with its narrative structure, meanwhile made or redefined many actors careers. Plus, it was entertaining as hell.
The good the bad and the ugly Mad max fury road Apocalypse Now Leon the profesional Good will hunting Catch me if you can City of God Seven Samurai Scarface
Apocalypse Now, A Clockwork Orange; The Birds; The Godfather Part 2; Rear Window; Taxi Driver. Substitute the modern films with those. And Switch "The Empire Strikes Back" with "Star Wars". Agreed with Andrew on "Raging Bull". Disagreed with 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Both Star Wars (A New Hope) and The Empire Strikes Back deserved to be here, and I would include Return of the Jedi but that's just my favorite. I love the ones you mention: Godfather 2, Apocalypse Now, Rear Window (I love Hitchcock), A Clockwork Orange and Taxi Driver. Good list.
@@jesustovar2549 Thanks. Return of the Jedi is great at times (the scenes with the Emperor, Vader and Luke). I'm into westerns that's why I like A new Hope so much.
I agree that they haven't seen enough older movies. There is not one Kurosawa film on this list. I would have put many ahead of some of the junk here. High and Low is one that I never get tired of. How about something from Fritz Lang, Metropolis or M are ones that people should at least have heard of.
I love 2001, but I don’t begrudge Klavan for giving it a D. Rocky is my all-time favorite movie and I don’t apologize for a second to anyone for saying so. It’s brilliant and it’s just as good today as it was almost 59 years ago
2001 I saw in San Francisco in 1968. I did not really enjoy it, but when I left the theater, I realized that it was a film experience I would not forget.
I would put "Chinatown" on the S list. Brilliant screenplay by Robert Towne with ingenious plot construction, superb characterization and memorable dialogue. Immaculate 1930's period detail and excellent performances all around -- and yes, the lush romantic score by Jerry Goldsmith is one of the greatest ever. A movie that really delves deep into the dark and seedy history of Los Angeles in a way that no movie before or since ever has. The revelation about the identity of the girl and the shock ending would have been impossible under the old production code of the classic Hollywood studio era. I disagree with Klavan that "The Maltese Falcon" is a better movie.
If we are talking blockbusters, Jaws is probably the best ever overall, Jurassic Park blows Black Panther away, Back to the Future is great, I think Superman 1 or 2 deserve some love and Raiders is pretty much a perfect adventure film with one of the greatest characters of all time.
@@manuam98 fawning over Parasite is an affectation. There’s nothing wrong with the film but be serious. Back to the Future is studied in every screenwriting program as the perfect script. It is not the most serious pretentious french film ever made but for what it is, it is absolute perfection.
@@Fantasyremix I like Back to the Future and it's definitely one of the most accessible and fun family movies, but I wouldn't personally rate it higher than Parasite. I see where you're coming from though. That said, who, what and where did you read the screenwriting and script are perfect?
Ill explain S tier. Tier lists originate or at least were popularized by fighting games. In a certain fighting game there was a character so unbelievably unfair that they were practically impossible to beat. Because of that they needed a tier above A to stand for characters that were so powerful that they need to be banned from tournament play. Nowadays it's overused and incorrectly used. It stands for supreme as well, so anyone putting more than 1 thing in S tier usually makes no sense. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Also could be the best score of all time. To set a Madison Avenue Borges super-modern Hamlet homage to a fandango is a stroke of genius, and it's beautiful, too. I think it's even better than Psycho
Too bad I've never seen any non-english speaking movies in Klavan's lists. No Bergman, no Dreyer, no Rosselini, no Kurosawa, no Lang, no Truffaut, no Fellini, no Ozu. I'd like to see his take on those movies that came from places and people with a (slightly) different cultural background.
I think it's a hard task for people who make their political view their entire personality, especially when rating movies. This is no shot at Klavan, I'm just saying that a more unpartial approach works better for film analysis. I'm still thankful for this content though!
Where the hell was ‘Mississippi Burning’?!?!?! Also, you disrespected Shawshank Redemption and Empire Strikes Back. I’ll be spelling Klavan with e’s for the next while.
oef .. that shawshank ..... if i was a lefty i would unfollow you ;) ... luckily i am not a crazy lefty ...so i just frown and dismiss youre taste and sanity ;) mostly agree with youre options/scores ... .but the DW should also do this with KNOWLES and Brett ...to see other generations view, because youre list really shows youre age ;)
Psycho wasn’t a movie about violence. Even though it had violence in it. But it was a fascinating movie. It was very well done, and it didn’t glorify the violence.
I think most mob movies are bad movies. Most people watch them to see how cruel humans can be to one another for the sake of money, fear of the justice system, selfishness, and some sense of pride.
@@mountbrocken The Godfather for instance shows how the world really works, and how democacry is a fairytale told to keep regular, law abiding citizens under control. The smart know their way around it, and work to build a better system for their own people, their own kind. Goodfellas however is even more bleak, showing that, no matter what, the system always wins.
I would have considered "Casino" a masterpiece were it not for the tiresome overfamiliarity of De Niro and Pesci in their roles (Harvey Keitel would have been a much better choice to play Ace Rothstein). The tedious, overwrought, harshly lit cinematography by Robert Richardson (which effectively made most of Oliver Stone's movies well nigh unwatchable in my opinion) also gave me a headache. I think I would have liked "GoodFellas" better with William L. Petersen as Henry Hill rather than Ray Liotta (whose ugly camera mug and nasal New Jersey accent always drove me nuts), and I would have prefered an old school thug like Albert Finney as Jimmy the Gent rather than De Niro. I also think that De Palma's "The Untouchables" would have been better with Mickey Rourke (the original choice) as Eliot Ness and Chazz Palminteri as Al Capone. Since his 1970's heyday, I've not been much of a Bob De Niro fan.
Guys, movies are ALWAYS subjektive. Even if the vast majority likes a movie, doesn't mean everyone does. If he is saying that LotR is in the A Tier for him, then that's that. It's always a personal ranking. The only way to make it not personal, is to strictly compile the numbers from Imdb and Rotten tomatoes, and tank the movies according to their respective numbers. Then you can scientifically give them and rating from F to S. But the majority of the movies channel do personal lists. I would also disagree on LotR, because I belive it belongs in the S-Tier as well. It just doesn't for him.
I totally agree about The Shawshank Redemption. A good movie, but nowhere near the top 50 great films. Likewise with any of the Star Wars films. I'm pretty suspicious of anything labeled "great" anyway, since that is so subjective a term, kind of like "best". What you said about the list lacking "old" movies is sadly true.
Klavan's correct - Black Panther was boring, terrible CGI, not great dialog, bad fight scene, Chadwick Boseman's acting was only saving grace.
I've said this on many occasions: Black Panther was not the best movie that year, it was not the best Marvel movie, nor was it even the best movie to feature Black Panther:
That was Captain America: Civil War.
And I really like the character of Black Panther.
Michael B. Jordan's acting was on it too, but, yes, not even a top three Marvel movie.
Only a DEI hire would call it a good movie...much less great. This is affirmative action
@@misterschubert3242exactly! The Black Panther was the best in Civil War. That's where the character work for him really shines.
Agreed. HOWEVER, Klavan rated Moonlight higher than 2001 Space Odyssey....
So you know....
He was wrong there.
We asked for it, and we got it. Next for Klavan’s lists should be, best:
-TV shows
-Paintings/Sculptures
-Comedians
-And of course, documentaries.
Where are the westerns? "The Searchers", "True Grit", "High Noon", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "Unforgiven", to name but a few.
Good point.
Old Henry is a newer western and one of the best
Spaghetti westerns are still highly praised, since they are amoral. I doubt that you'll ever see classic american westerns on Best Movies Ever lists today, especially the ones from Ford and Anthony Mann. Way too problematic for "modern audiences".
@@keithhayes844no, no, not even close. NO. It's Ok.
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119spag westerns are more like gangster films...almost noir, except the anti hero always prevails. Fistful of Dollars was actually remade as a ganster film...'Last Man Standing'.
Shane an underrated western. Of course the father of all westerns Stagecoach is also worth adding to the list.
I’m disappointed that he put LOTR in A. It deserves no less than S. He put The Godfather trilogy in S but the thing is that trilogy had a lousy third movie, while LOTR was great through all 3 movies
actually, he put the LOTR TRILOGY in A but ONLY the first Godfather film in S. That being said, I am also furious. LOTR sh9uld be S+ while the Godfather is only S.
He didn't actually rate the Godfather trilogy, just the first one.
@@jimcorbett3764 even if it wasn’t the whole godfather trilogy, I still maintain that all 3 LOTR movies are S tear and deserve to be at the top of the list
@@samdiego1965 OK.
Ah no
You CAN’T say Star Wars is unimaginative it’s genuinely so creative
The script is jejune. Go into another room when it is playing, and just listen to the script. It's embarassing.
@@robertjensen2328 lmao "bro just go to the next room and ignore the fucking picture itself". Thats an embarrassing comment.
@@ACDCRocks780 Look up the word jejune. It's like ACDC. Kid stuff.
I love Star Wars but it's basically Dune+Kurosawa+Burroughs
@@philipsheppard4815 So is everything... Everything is derivative. All the greats he listed are derivative of something.
Klavan: There oughta be a LAW that movies NEVER be more than 2 hours!
Also Klavan: The (3 hour) Godfather is one of the greatest movies ever made!
The Godfather clocks in at about 5 minutes short of 3 hours.
Lawrence of Arabia is 3 hrs 42 min.
@@Shah-of-the-Shinebox I know. So is this a "Well TECHNICALLY it's not EXACTLY 3 hours..."? 😜
@chanceotter8121 Yep! And how long is Gone With The Wind? Drew loves that one, too!
@@Hard_Boiled_Entertainment But the 2 hour rule is still a good rule to go by. There is no reason a comedy should be over 2 hours; superhero movies would greatly benefit from editing down to under 2 hours. You better have something unique to say and show if your film is around 3 hours. The Godfather and Lawrence are exceptional in scope, theme and narrative. They earn the time.
Moonlight being on this list but not Gone with the Wind is a crime against humanity.
Black Panther was on the list....lol, who are they trying to kid?
Moonlight is honestly one of the worst films i've ever seen. The only thing good was the premise: a gay black gangster. Which is an interesting, fresh idea. Unfortunately nothing came out of it. I was shocked when it won the Oscar. Since then I simply ignored the oscars. I mean, to win it all it takes is a PC idea?
Gone With The Wind wasn't that good.
@@leetimberman8860 Which is why it won 8 Academy Awards? Give me a break.
@@tayloradams5780 an academy award doesn't always mean that it's a good movie sooo...
No Kurosawa on the list. That's crazy.
do you like _The Last Samurai_ ?
I f*dgin’ love that movie 🤙
@@Sam_T2000 Not particularly 😕. Seven Samurai or High and Low deserve to be mentioned. Klavan is right. This list is too oriented towards modern movies. I mean, Inception? Really?
@@jayjayjigsbys - yeah, _Inception_ might be my least favorite Nolan movie, and I’m not the hugest Nolan fan in general.
what I like about _Last Samurai_ is that it’s just a nice little movie (with some cool samurai sword fights)… movies today are either giant superhero or sci-fi spectacles, or pretentious artsy-fartsy tripe, with “nice little movies” thrown in once or twice a year, and those never get much attention.
Moonlight and Black Panther....lol
@@jayjayjigsbys not just that but there's only one non-American film in the whole list.
The good the bad and the ugly
Get serious.
Meh
Amazing but I'd rate Once Upon a Time in the West higher, and OUATI America higher than The Godfather or Goodfellas
I always thought a few dollars was better. The ending show down maybe the best scene in film.
@@Video81501 bad taste
Excuse me? _Snakes on a Plane?!_ Hello?
I know! I was also offput that Troll 2 wasn't on either!
@@lukesalazar9283 The rare example of a sequel outperforming the original.
Parasite at a C is just a horrible take. Thats one of the most unique movies of this century so far with a fantastic storyline
Yeah, but when your political view is your entire personality, you have to judge movies on their premise alone. Nothing screams not being able to analyze films from an objective (for the most part) when going "Korean movie -> bad", "Black and gay movie -> bad".
I agree with basically all placements, but I found the Parasite and Moonlight comments a bit ridiculous.
Would LOVE to see more Klavan tier lists. Thanks for the video!
Ditto
Let the record reflect, Andrew ranked Moonlight above 2001: a Space Odyssey 😬
Very funny. Made me laugh out loud.
2001 like Solaris, is “intellectual” SF and you know if you like them.
@@Scottlp2 - Clooney, or Tarkovsky?
@@Scottlp2intellectual is a word people use to try to gaslight for dull, boring movie. Pretentious bs. The movie stunk. Innovative filming at the time, but goid grief what a bad script.
I have no interest in Moonlight but I can’t be the only one alive who thinks 2001 a space odyssey is a slog. Maybe I just need to see it with the eyes of someone watching it in 1968 to appreciate the new ground it broke.
2001 in D is absolutely ridiculous.
I watched it and wondered why it's such a big deal. I watched it again to see what I missed, and I still couldn't figure it out.
Agreed, I cannot take him seriously after that.
suzzannepalace Maybe the problem is with you. I suggest you always keep that in mind. Also, if you analyze the movie, you’ll see what the fuss is about. Whether you like it or not is a different story. For a lot of people it’s too slow and plodding.
Eh - it isn't an "F." So "D" is fine.
I completely understand who doesn't like 2001 (although I do). There's a lot of sacret cow syndrome going on with this one (as with many others in this list). Imo Kubrick's best is by far Dr. Strangelove.
12 angry men is not dated you absolutely crazy
It's easily one of the most timeless movies actually. That's what's neat about it.
Would just disagree with the LOTR trilogy. Would have S tiered that.
It changed modern cinema, and if you think Game Of Thrones would have ever been a thing without it, I would just disagree. It is literally and literary (pun intended) the perfect trilogy. Better than any before it as far as all 3 movies go.
Changed modern cinema? Modern cinema sucks...so that should be a strike.
@@denroy3 that's assuming it would be better if the LOTR didn't change things. It would be vastly worse.for reference see 80s and 90s movies, 🤣
Lotr is in my top three best movies ever.
I don’t disagree, but everything you said applies to the original Star Wars trilogy as well. And that one was far more influential, especially in terms of how movies are made now.
@@dankairgadam8841Truly, if it weren't for Industrial Light & Magic, a lot of modern sci-fi/fantasy movies today wouldn't have been possible. Even Peter Jackson admitted the influence of Star Wars when making Lord of the Rings.
Can’t believe you said Shawshank was overrated!
It is
'Shawshank' is an accessible cinematic classic. It is a great introduction and "gateway" to much better cinema classics.
Keep doing this culture stuff with Klavan! Just dedicate him to be the DW's cultural guy. His movie and book takes are always fresh and insightful.
Brett Cooper & Ben might be better. he didn't like Star Wars or 2001. 2 polar opposites.
@@tnndll4294 Brett couldn't even sit through LOTR without being on the phone half the time.
The third man was indeed great!
My favourite of all time!
It's free on RUclips.
@@jesustovar2549 thanks!
Yes thanks Andrew for bring it up. I have it as my second greatest film of all time. Just behind INCEPTION and ahead of CITIZEN KANE.
You're asking me for the best? No doubt it's The Wizard of Oz synched up with Dark Side of the Moon.
Put down the pipe
@@denroy3lol
That’s the second thing I’m asking about in heaven. It’s statistically impossible that it synchronizes in so many hundreds of places, including sometimes word for word lyrics with actions/dialogue, but my favorite band insists that they didn’t do it on purpose.
It has bugged me for over 2 decades now!
Please talk more about OLD great films!!!! 😭😭💪
Sunset boulevard
More Welles
More Brando
More Kazan
More John Ford
More Kubrick
John Wayne
Liz Tayler
Paul Newman
Monty Clift
Bette Davis
Gene Tierney
Henry Fonda
Westerns
Film Noir
Pleeeaaassssseeeee!!! 🙏
Problem with Sunset Blvd: William Holden narrates it as a dead man. Makes no sense to me.
Big Sleep (Bogey version) has too many twists to make sense but is excellent nonetheless, as almost every critic said at the time. Out of the Past (1947, R. Mitchum and K. Douglas) is primo noir. Probably better than Big Sleep. Better than Hollywood Blvd.
@@robertjensen2328 I liked the fact that the narration was different. I have a list of literally a thousand and one (from the book called “1001 films ..”) and was just listing it as a springboard rather than singling out that 1 specifically. But was a super cool throwback to old Hollywood nonetheless and with an aging silent film star almost parodying herself, so was super creative & ahead of itself in many ways.
Bogey’s stagey and campy “noir” acting just always bugged the CRAP out of me which is why I can’t jump on board calling any of his films as the “GOAT” so that’s just my personal opinion, but Klavan likes what he likes and I appreciate his honesty and not bowing to the film critics.
I’d just love to hear him talk more about other great film works of art .. that was my main objective because I love the overall way he assesses literature & films.
Yeah I need more of this, Klavan sounds like the actual guy for this.
Proof that some old people will hate on new stuff just because it’s new💀
No, it shows that people dismiss the old without visiting it.
No. It just means they're not good.
A New Hope A
Empire Strikes Back is S
Return of the Jedi B
the worst thing about _Jedi_ is Luke’s hair.
The space battle in Jedi redeems the entire movie.
Agree with those grades. Adding the others:
Phantom Menace C
Attack of the Clones C-
Revenge of the Sith A-
Force Awakens D
Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker F
@@carsinruin6102 - it’s not like it’s some terrible movie that needed to be redeemed… it’s a great movie, with many great parts, it just had poor flow and pacing, the Ewoks are controversial, and Han has nothing to do 🤷🏻♂️
Return of the Jedi was the best of the three.
y’all know what a perfect movie is? _The Matrix_ is a *perfect* movie.
…it’s technically not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. the part about Neo being saved by Trinity’s love for him is a bit silly, but everything building up to that, and Neo’s realization as “the One” was perfect, and there may be some Christ metaphor in there I haven’t identified… even the significantly less-than-perfect sequels aren’t as bad as their reputation 👍
No no no you don’t understand. The love confession is what transforms it from a good movie to a great movie! Because the movie up until that point is all about Truth and how it cannot be killed and that Truth matters and is worth pursuing BUT with the confession scene the movie tells us that Love is what makes Victory possible! That only Love can undo death so Truth can reign again! So many parallels to Christ!
The film is more understandable once you enter into an anti-system/establishment phase like I did, it's like a 3rd eye opening, and it was already a favorite of mine.
@@LynetteTheMadScientist - I think the Christ metaphor works if Trinity is the stand-in for humanity, and she’s accepting Neo as the savior… but it just feels muddied to me.
I'm not a fan of its hollywoodian summer blockbuster style, but indeed Matrix is a perfect, well-rounded, well-structured movie. At least I can't find an actual flaw in it.
Yawn
I now need a Klavan reading and viewing list with HIS top musts.
He has that
@@josephvadalamusicI thought I heard that talked about before. Need a link.
I think All about Eve should be on the list. One of the best acting in history.
Before watching:
1927 Metropolis
1939 The Wizard of Oz
1942 Casablanca
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives
1949 The Third Man
1956 The Searchers
1957 Twelve Angry Men
1959 Ben-Hur
1962 Lawrence of Arabia
1965 Doctor Zhivago
1970 Patton
1972 Fiddler on the Roof
1975 Jaws
1982 Blade Runner
2001+ Lord of the Rings
I'm glad you included Ben Hur. I'm surprised so many leave it out. I was totally taken by it. Much much better than Star Wars and all the stupid superhero movies.
"Not a bad movie" for shawshank... come on, the character dynamics, the reflection of how the world works told in a prison story IN prison. The juxtaposition throughout the film, the hope, the lows, everything is amazing
Klavan also apparently completely missed the spiritual themes/messages in Pulp Fiction. Quite odd for a guy who manages to put them into werewolf stories.
Lord of the Rings is undoubtedly an S tier movie! Klavan messed this one up! Not only is it masterfully made but it depicts aspects of human nature (temptation, power, and sin) better than any other movie
Movies that should be on this list:
- One Flew over the cuckoo's Nest
- Children of Paradise
- Seven Samurai
- The Wild Bunch
- Raiders of the Lost Arc
- Godfather 2 (better than 1 really)
- Amadeus
- Breaking Away
- The Maltese Falcon
- The Bridge on the river Kwai
The Wild Bunch is great, I'm an Indiana Jones fan and I don't know how Raiders isn't on this list, Godfather 2 is great, Maltese Falcon and Amadeus are some of my favorites.
Btw, Bridge Over River Kwai it's one of my Great Uncle's favorites.
I'm with you on The Godfather 2 and I think Jaws is the greatest American blockbuster movie of all time.
No Godfather 2 sucked because it didn't have the old fat guy that talks funny
whiplash???
LOTR is S tier. The accomplishment of that trilogy is near perfection. Screen play, acting, cinematography, score, effects. It’s a juggernaut of talent and execution.
Wrong
@@jordansmith5712
It definitely is in the S class of movies.
Bro called Shawshank overrated 💀💀. Please stick to politics
Is he political ?first time seeing this guy?bro trashed Inception can't believe it
@@AshikurRahmanRifat yeah he’s extremely political. He works for a major republican news outlet
Yeah I understand why people made this comment on his book tier list now. I feel like his ratings are entirely based on how the film or media lines up with his political beliefs, giving Parasite a C is absurd
It is overrated lol
Andrew and I have very different taste in movies, but I agree with him on Black Panther being so overrated. I didn't hate it, but I watched it once and pretty much forgot all about it. Never even cared to watch the 2nd movie. I disagree with him on so many things here but come on now, 2001 being D tier is ridiculous. I'm not saying it's my favorite movie but it's A tier. Several of these movies including The Dark Knight are nowhere near being the best movies. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Jaws, The Godfather 2, Paris Texas, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and so many others deserve a spot over most of these movies.
The Third Man is S+ for the Zither opening alone. The rest of the movie is amazing.
The whole score is incredible, right up to the end. That and North by Northwest are maybe the greatest scores. It's a very weird art form; the music has to do more than be good, it has to fit -- yet it also must be good. Stravinsky would have been a terrible film composer. Bernstein, an incredibly talented musician, wrote a terrible score for On the Waterfront (imo) - intrusive, distracting, obnoxious.
I have a short list, with Vertigo, Delarue's Le Mepris (Contempt) for Godard, Ravi Shankar's heartbreaking Apu Trilogy (reminds me of Third Man, it's a soloist commenting on the film as it goes along), John Barry's epic You Only Live Twice, Nino Rota's 8 1/2, and the greatest of them all, John Williams (Empire Strikes Back might be the high point but it could be ET which is really a huge piano concerto; certainly no movie _depends_ more on its score, and also Close Encounters takes it so far that the story itself is _about_ its score -- then there's Raiders and on and on, his list is incredible).
@@mirandac8712 yes!! North by Northwest is one of my favorite movies and the score is so deeply intertwined with the story. The titles by Saul Bass incorporating the United Nations building is such surprising reveal, not to mention the many great Cary Grant lines. It’s a perfect film.
Vertigo has so many scenes without any dialogue and yet it never feels like it’s missing due to Bernard Herrmann’s scoring.
On my list: Magnificent Seven, Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Virgin Suicides, Rocky, Adventures of Robin Hood, Drive, Blade Runner, and Superman.
I was gonna complain about Chinatown and 2OO1 not being in S tier, but when he exclaimed his love for The Third Man all was forgiven.
Might have lost some points because Polanski is a pedo. Not fair to the movie, but it can be hard to separate the art from its creators.
What got me was that he said MALTESE FALCON was better than CHINATOWN. MALTESE FALCON for me is one of the most overated films ever.
@@elnick1000
No. You have to view Maltese Falcon for its time. Bogart is a truly hard man and you see that on screen as well and then he acts with his own character. China Town is a great movie just not on the level of the Maltese.
@@Art-is-craft Can't agree with you. I acutally enjoyed him much more in BIG SLEEP, the scene in the book store is fantaistic with Dorothy Malone. Also that one villain in the film, can't remember the actors name right now, is very scary, he actually does better in that role than did Richard Boone in the inferior if not more faithful remake with Robert Mitchum, for me the best of all Philip Marlowe. Also my favorite film with both Peter Lorre and Sydny Greemstreet is MASK OF DIMITRIOS.
It’s a Wonderful Life.
Intellectuals hate sentimental stories with happy endings, and I would say it is because they are perhaps either insufficiently intellectual, or because they have forgotten what most of the modern world has forgotten, the necessity of the ideal, and the way things ought to be as a goal to orient on to try to shape our society towards. It’s a Wonderful Life is more important than Casablanca. The movie has everything: Comedy, drama, suicide, the meaning of life, it is an encyclopedia of the first third of the 20th century in America. It is popular for a reason, and is underrated by the intellectuals, who hate happy, endings, and want everything to be “realistic“.
I would say intellectuals don’t like movies that appeal to sentiment because those movies remind intellectuals that the world and its people don’t need (or particularly want) what they have to offer in order to be true, good, and beautiful.
George Bailey turns down being an elitest explicitly because it was the right thing for him to do in order to save society. This is incomprehensible to most people and nearly all intellectuals, who tend to value their minds more than anything and everything else. Add to that that the true heroine of the movie isn’t George at all; it’s Mary, the antithesis of all things elitest and selfish.
Great pick!
Well said. Great film.
I’m baffled by Klavan’s take on Shawshank. What’s not to get? It’s also a beautiful Christian allegory.
Never really thought it like that. What makes it a Christian allegory
What makes it good is Morgan Freeman's soothing narration. Not that special a movie.
@@crystallogic2543
It is an excellent movie just not at the top though.
Agree 100% on old films. One of my favorite old movies is “To Have and Have Not.” You get to watch two of the greatest actors ever actually fall in love on film. And Lauren Becall could be as sexy as any woman and never take off a stitch. The scene where she says to Bogart, “You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow,” was one of the sexiest scenes ever. Every heterosexual man who’s ever been born wished he’d been able to put his lips together and blow for her.
They just knew how to make films. Look at the list of movies released in 1939. There has never been a better year for movies and there never will be another like it. Not even close.
Lauren Bacall was NEVER considered one of the greatest actresses. She did some good work though.
Ok bozo go take your medicine
Watch the full list 15:34
Agree with Andrew. This list is WAYYYY too modern for my tastes. I could easily fill my list with all pre-1966 films. While I enjoy later films here and there, the frequency of greatness was higher in earlier decades in my opinion. At least “City Lights” made the list …. And I also agree that “Casablanca” is a much, much better film than “Citizen Kane.” “Casablanca” is indeed my all time favorite.
If you wrap Casablanca up, it is a bit convoluted and bumpy when compared to Citizen Kane, which is smoother, more well-rounded, more focused, regardless of its technical importance. Like Friedkin says, is the most timeless and important tale of all: what would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? However, my #1 will always be Murnau's Sunrise.
By the way, I liked how you pointed out 1966 as the diving line between Golden Era and New Hollywood. Many people consider Bonnie and Clyde (67) or The Graduate (67), but I think it was Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, 1966.
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 Exactly. Agreed! When the Hays Code dissolved, it changed everything… and not necessarily for the better. Movie makers went berserk- like kids in a candy store after that. Crazy that “The Sound of Music” was released just prior to all of this. The late 60s did a lot of damage to our culture, sadly - though certainly those came along with a few necessary changes. (BTW - “Sunrise” IS amazing and very fascinating).
@@ChrisN1344 Well, code or no code, it was inevitable. The cultural turning point reached all sectors; from entertainment industry to Catholic Church.
By the way, I strongly suggest the YT channel "MovieWise". He tackles both classic and modern films, but he's not shy about demonstrating the superiority of Goden Age cinema, and why.
The vast majority of the list was before 1980 how was it too modern? there was only 2 movies after 2010 😂
My top ten favorite movies in alphabetical order are:
Braveheart
Bringing Up Baby
Dolores Claiborne
Forrest Gump
Innerspace
Magnolia
Maltese Falcon
Psycho
Purple Rose of Cairo
Singin in the Rain
Forrest Gump? Got to be kidding.
Movie making is an artform, and by definition, is entirely subjective! No one person can possibly give a definitive list of the absolute greatest movies of all time. That will always be debatable. For example, he totally lost me by suggesting that 'The Shawshank Redemption' is an over rated film when it sit's at the top of so many peoples lists subjectively. Popular opinion proves it is clearly not over rated. For this guy, it's debatable, which he is completely entitled to, but puts him in no position to declare a definitive list if he is ignorant to public opinion.
Something has to be well liked by a lot of people in order for someone to call it overrated. That's kind of the definition. Saying he can't call it overrated because a lot of people love it is nonsensical.
I can't believe that Schindler's List didn't make the cut. Moonlight and Black Panther over Schindler's List? Really?
That speaks a lot about the state of the internet nowadays
He's trashed Schindler's list in the past.
@@sethmx999no one on the internet likes black panther lol that was on here for trolls. If they wanted him to rank a popular well respected superhero movie it would be like joker, Logan or infinity war
@@steveblundell7766Spielberg put the film in English because if people were reading subtitles the whole time, it would give them an excuse to not look at what’s happening in the film.
SWCHINDLERS LIST is in my top ten of all time.
Thing is, Drew, you brought up the American Myth element of Godfather. Star Wars is very much a New Myth, of the stars--and like what CS Lewis said about George Macdonald's Phantastes...it may not be particularly great in its writing...but it's the MYTHOLOGY that counts. Kudos for giving Empire a B, though--you're not COMPLETELY lost. ✌️😇
Drew is an artist. I get his perspective. And he's not wrong on it being meh script and meh acting. I mean he's comparing it to the Godfather, ffs
@jpwright87 I get it, and you may notice I ACKNOWLEDGED the writing issues...but he nonetheless is trivializing the mythological aspect of Star Wars. Plus the scripts of Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi are actually pretty solid, in large part thanks to Lawrence Kasden. And Lucas didn't direct those either.
Star Wars is not its own myth. It is the hero's journey based on 50s Flash Gordon serials. Standard fare.
@@greygorygaming It takes from a lot of things. Doesn't change anything.
@@Hard_Boiled_Entertainment It's entertainment for children, which is fine, but comes off as juvenile and wacky at times.
My top 10:
1. Gladiator
2. Titanic
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Rambo 3
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
7. Braveheart
8, Schindler's List
9. The Shawshank Redemption
10. Terminator 2 Judgment Day
My best ever movie is Joe Versus the Volcano. Equal to the great Bogart movies but with a mystical spin.
Thanks for reminding me of this! It was my favorite movie for a decade or two. Such a hidden gem.
Star Wars is a funny one. The script is laughably terrible, the characters are ridiculous, the plot is frequently completely stupid - but in terms of inventiveness of what movies can be, it completely revolutionised things (not necessarily for the better), it’s immense fun to watch, and technically it was incredible.
Where does that put it? I’m not sure.
I'd agree with 90% you said, but I'm afraid you're wrong about 2001 and Stanely Kubrick, to me his movies are closer to classic literature than you're average movie. So you kinda have to be in the same state of mind for both. I'd recommend checking out, if you haven't Kurosawa, Bergman and Tarkovsky's filmographies. Their movies to me are high art on the level of the greatest novels of all time.
edit - forgot about lynch. What;s your opinion on mulholland drive? and Fellini, 8 1/2?
Kubrick movies are closer to classical painging or music (look at Barry Lyndon) than your average movie, his films are more european than american.
Great to see Bergman and Tarkovsky mentioned!
Kubrick makes great movies but is way overrated. He was seen as the start of New Hollywood hence why he gets such hype. He is a good direct with a strong line up of movies. But are any of his movies comparable to the greats though is the thing.
I feel like Tarkovsky, Kurosawa and Bergman are the holy trinity for non-American cinema for new comers, so love the shout-out! Might add Fellini to that.
I think Forest Gump is best movie ever made. No joke.
Jaws belongs on this list. S tier
When I met Spielberg's mom at their restaurant she told me Jaws was her favorite movie that Stephan directed. This was around 2009 at the Milky Way in LA. A lovely and gracious woman.
@@deanfeldman2505 She must have been very very old.
@@Mr.Goodkat She was elderly for sure. But very much on the ball. I recall her going to tables to check that people were enjoying themselves. I still remember my having a wonderful fish chowder. I'm glad I thought to ask her which of Stephen's films she liked most. The place was decorated with Spielberg movie posters. Nice experience.
@@deanfeldman2505 Sounds really cool, I didn't even know such a place existed.
Jaws is iconic but not a truly great movie.
Klavan is right, of course, about the the online list's privileging of the modern stuff. They don't call the the Golden Age of Hollywood the Golden Age for nothing.
Aside from William Wyler's stuff that I mentioned earlier, here's another film that deserves serious attention: A Place in the Sun (1951, Liz Taylor, Montgomery Clift). Rewatchable many times over.
How can you skip over Back to the Future trilogy? Yeah I know. No sex, what the most clever plot ever produced.
You don't need sex to have a good story, that's why I love it.
Yeah the first one is in the Top 5 movies of all time.
My top 10 greatest movies of all time:
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
4. The Intouchables
5. 12 Angry Men
6. The Passion of the Christ
7. The Shawshank Redemption
8. The Godfather
9. Casino Royale
10. Memento
Terrible list
Not one William Wyler film! (Philistines.) WW was the most nominated director: 12 nominations! Nobody will get close to that.
Best Wyler film? Dodsworth (1936), Wuthering Heights (1939), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Heiress (1949), Roman Holiday (1953), The Big Country (1958), Ben Hur (1959). Pick any.
Check out Mary Astor in Dodsworth. She's a legit babe (unlike in Maltese F).
I love Dodsworth, The Letter, The Heiress and above all The Westerner, which somehow gets neglected in lists of greatest Westerns. Brennan and Cooper are wonderful together.
And Mary Astor in Red Dust…❤
@@chanceotter8121 Appreciate the tips for The Westerner and Red Dust.
@@robertjensen2328
The list is not actually Klavans. The video is rating movies that are on a major internet movie list. He was too harsh on 2001.
Nah Parasite C, Space Odyssey D and Vertigo S tier is wild
I'm not a movie critic lol. But even I never got 2001. Parasite was entertaining but I wouldn't call it evergreen. I loved Vertigo but I liked Rear Window much more.
There Will Be Blood, Brave Heart, SlumDog Millionaire
Casablanca wasn't directed by itself, Curtiz blocked that movie perfectly.
More I'd like to hear Klavan's thoughts on:
Fight Club, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, A Scanner Darkly, Apocalypse Now, Requiem For A Dream, Black Christmas, Kill Bill, The Wolfman
He already said before that tge only really decent Tarantino is 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.
@@denroy3he put pulp fiction in B
Movies I wish were on the list:
A Clockwork Orange
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Enter the Dragon
Akira
Yojimbo
Silence of the Lambs
Rocky
The Wizard of Oz
Midnight Cowboy
Blazing Saddles
Schindler's List
Coraline
A Clockwork Orange, one of my favorite outraging anti-system/establishment movies, the movie that made me love Kubrick, Trainspotting should be here too.
SCHINDLER yes, my top ten films of all time. Wizard of OZ is in my top twenty and I have it as one of the 10 most famous American movies of all time. Here where I disagree. Saw ENTER THE DRAGON in a movie theater after having seen some of LEE'S other films. It is for me a very overated film. I much prefer his FISTS OF FURY, called THE CHINESE CONNECTION in the USA when it came out. Even the one in Italy is much better for me. AKRIA, Saw it on a Sunday in Berkeley in the movie theater. Way overated. Have never understood the appeal of the film. I remember the 49's were playing the Bears at the same time, and feeling I would have had a better time watching that game. It tried to me to be what BLADE RUNNER and MAD MAX II were, called at the time ROAD WARRIOR in USA. But being animated, could not achieve anytihng like it. Have watched it again, and jsut don't care for it.
Only Silence of the Lambs would be on that list.
The Godfather is the greatest American film ever. Period.
Casablanca is the very best of Classic Hollywood. Too iconic for words. Exceptional.
Shawshank Redemption is so rewatchable and inspirational. I personally haven't seen it in years but still a great film.
12 Angry Men is one of the most skillful films ever made. Takes place in one room, in real time and you are gripped throughout. A classic.
Star Wars is enjoyable and holds a special place in my heart but Klavan is right, they ruined Hollywood forevermore.
Chinatown is one of the best written films. A top tier detective story.
Haven't seen Parasite.
Citizen Kane is good. A big ball of fine. It's influence is profound, Orson Welles was a genius and will be studied for centuries(I did a 20+ page paper of the making of the film way back when) but not one I'd revisit anytime soon.
The Dark Knight is everything I want an action film to be. I will not elaborate.
2001: A Space Odyssey still keeps me up at night. I've seen it maybe two dozen times(at least 10 times on acid) and refuse to read anybody's personal interpretation because I have a hard time keeping track of my own thoughts about the film. Stanley Kubrick was the Charles Dickens of cinema.
Moonlight is well made but OHMYGOD TALK ABOUT OSCAR PANDERING! Oy.
Alien is the best haunted house movie ever made. Absolutely spectacular!
Charles Chaplin was endlessly entertaining and his films do age well. City Lights is his magnum opus.
Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite film ever. The greatest EPIC ever! Full stop.
I disagree, Pulp Fiction is great! Not perfect but a classic for a reason.
Vertigo is not one of my favorite Hitchcockian flicks but I love the way Klavan describes it; a nightmare of a film with a bizarre plot.
The Lord of the Rings is why I love cinema. I saw the trilogy as a kid in theaters as they came out year after year and was truly awestruck every time. I still am.
Not the biggest Inception fan but I think that's because I can't take DiCaprio seriously as an actor. Great cast, great concept, Nolan is a genius.
Psycho is Hitchcock's best film. Riveting from beginning to end.
Black Panther was another copy and paste superhero flick by Marvel. Pass.
Goodfellas is the most rewatchable film in history. Love it endlessly.
No Country for Old Men is perfect is every conceivable way. One of the best villains ever.
I never got the hype with Raging Bull either. The editing and direction of the fight scenes is out of this world but the rest is sluggish nonsense.
No Country for Old Men was the first time ever that I've felt like the villain actually existed, in the real world. I was thinking about him for 2 weeks. An amazing movie. Fargo is also great.
I agree with all of these exept Raging Bull, I really liked it the first time I watched it.
Andrew is wrong about Star Wars and there's nothing wrong with blockbusters, but the problem is that the last 10-15 years has been so top heavy and middle budget movies don't get made like they used too. The blame goes on the decline of physical media and people just don't go the theaters like they did in the past.
I am curious what Andrew's thoughts are on some highly regarded foreign movies like those of Kurosawa, Tarkovsky, Kieslowski, Bergman... Also curious what his thoughts are on Terrence Malick and his films. Because I feel like that stuff may be getting overlooked by him. Also he for sure did Raging Bull dirty...deserves better than that. Also Shawshank
I agree with Casablanca in the S category! 😊 I only watched it for the first time a few years ago. Casablanca deserves its reputation: it truly is one of the greatest films ever made.
Yet the film harbors many ironies. It's a romance where the boy doesn’t get the girl and love doesn’t win in the end. It's a film noir where all the main characters possess hearts of gold (e.g. no femme fatales). It's a suspenseful thriller where the climax is about letting go. It's a b&w with deep hues and vivid symbols. It's a maudlin which speaks universal truths.
Casablanca’s main theme is about the sacrifice of one’s most ardent love for the higher good. Another theme is that one can’t be neutral but must choose a side, which takes on a real world poignancy considering Casablanca was filmed in the very midst of the Second World War. The themes are good, beautiful, and true, and always true this side of the parousia. As such, Casablanca transcends war and is a film for all time. The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.
my favorite films are _Citizen Kane_ and _Boondock Saints._
Willem Defoe deserved an Oscar for Boondock.
Lol
You will learn to be more professional Luke!!
@@hiramnooneWillem Dafoe definitely deserves an Oscar.
Andrew Klavan: There’s too much modern on this list
Also Andrew: 2001: A Space Odyssey is D Tier
What character flaw do people have that makes them not understand why Shawshank is so great?
It's kind of cheesy and heavy handed at times. Definitely feels like a movie that could only be made in the early 90s.
@@judahhooper2619 But cheese and heavy handed could mean anything. You would have to point to specifics.
The character flaw is having watched movies that were made before 1980.
It seems like those who have made the list never sees anything except American movies.
There are quite a few good French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Swedish movies, and from a range of other countries
Exactly. Lists like these crack me up. I'm not saying every German expressionism movie is a must-see, but there are so many genres and waves.
Even among more popular picks, I think juggernaut names such as Tarkovsky, Bergman and Kurosawa are mandatory mentions.
Shawshank is S tier
They put the wrong Star Wars movie up there. It should have been Revenge of the Sith.
Revenge of the Sith is a modern masterpiece
"The Maltese Falcon" was better than "Casablanca" . "Casablanca" is a chick flick. But a good one.
"Blade Runner" is better than any of the Star Wars films. "North by Northwest" and "Psycho" were Hitchcock's best, each better than "Vertigo" which was okay, but not in the same ballpark or league of those two. "Casino" and "The Departed" both by Scorsese belong on this list. Near the top.
"The Searchers" by the great John Ford deserves to be at the very tippy top of this list. As the best Western ever made, also the best film ever made.
Agree with everything but the Searchers.
I'm a Shane and Magnificent Seven man myself!
The Searchers was my father's second favorite, after True Grit! He loved the Duke!
@@misterschubert3242 Your Pop's right, "True Grit" is a great one indeed. Also "Red River" and "El Dorado". So are "Shane", "The Mag Seven", "Nevada "Smith" and "Tombstone".
Shane and The Big Country were better Westerns.
@@Video81501 No, but "The Big Country" is a fave of mine too. Great opening with that terrific music. Chuck Connors's best performance.
@@hiramnoone Burle Ives gave one of the greatest dramatic performances of all time in that movie. Probably Charleton Heston's best performance as well. It's sad how much that movie is over looked.
1.Dirty Harry.
2.Death Wish
3.A Fistful Of Dollars
4.They Live
5. High Plains Drifter. (I love Clint Eastwood alright?)
I'm going to guess, IQ about 65?
thank you, Andrew! Finally, someone said it: yes, Dark Knight is the best superhero movie and the best version of Batman thanks to Nolan& Bale, totally agree but even more so, I agree that Inception is a painfully overrated movie! And for me, you were still too generous, rating it B. Should be C or D. It has plot holes of the size of Dakota, it doesn't make sense no matter how much Nolan's fans and Di Caprio's fans deny it, and even Di Caprio is on record saying he still, to this day, doesn't know what it was about lol xD. Inception is one of the weakest Nolan movies and the fact that it has a better rating on IMDB than the masterpiece that is Prestige (the last time I checked) is once again showing how braindead audience is, and mostly, Di Caprio fans. The big reason why Inception is overrated is Di Caprio who always gets insane media PR, despite being absolutely overrated as an actor in the past, I'd say, 12 years or so. The truth is that Di Caprio's best performances came out in the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, first decade of the 2000s, but after 2010 - it went dramatically downhill, yes, including Wolf of Wall Street, for anyone who actually has a taste in movies and acting. Di Caprio should have won the Oscar for Revolutionary Road, not for ANY other movie, period. But during the last decade or so, Di Caprio has been so, so overrated and it's annoying!
I feel like the illogic of the plot adds to it in a way though. Because the whole point is to be surreal and dreamlike. The fact that a big studio forked over the money for an almost arthouse type movie about planting an idea deep into someone’s subconscious… I mean that alone is notable. Plus it has an undeniably eerie atmosphere
how does it not make sense💀
its your skill issue that you couldn't understand the film lol and who cares if leo doesn't fully understand it? hes not the director
it makes so much sense and then some more if you pay attention to what you're watching
@@aka_15 I don’t think they mean that they can’t follow the plot, they mean that in real world logic it doesn’t make much sense to have dreams within dreams etc.
I am a bit surprised that we did not see Avengers: Infinity war, 1917 and Nosferatu on the list.
But I guess the internet is to blame for that
Ben Hur... To be taken seriously this list had to include Ben Hur.
Absolutely. My all time favorite movie. It gets better every time I see it. S-Tier without a doubt. I’d rank it alongside ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ as one of the greatest epics with a deeply personal story. So many truly great films not on this list, but the only other one I’ll mention is ‘The Princess Bride’.
🗑️
I would love to have seen Lawerence of Arabia on the big screen for the first time.
I always loved when Anthony Perkins is sitting in the interrogation cell, and he thinks that he won’t even hurt a fly.
I'll accept every judgment but Pulp Fiction - just as a cultural phenomenon alone, the way it changed a genre, Pulp Fiction deserves an "S"
Edit - and the Coen brothers are geniuses, obviously, but No Country for Old Men has a hard edit leading into its third act that makes absolutely no sense (leaving the hotel). Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Fargo, Oh Brother Where Art Thou are all better films 😏
lol what about Pulp Fiction is edifying?
At the time of its release, _Pulp Fiction_ was no doubt a game-changing phenomenon. But it's been spoofed, parodied, and imitated so much in the last three decades that it really doesn't hold up like it once did.
@@LynetteTheMadScientist who said edifying? It broke ground with its narrative structure, meanwhile made or redefined many actors careers. Plus, it was entertaining as hell.
@@Guigley spoofed but not bettered imo
@@jjeKKell Lol if its not edifying its not Art at all, just self-indulgent garbage
The good the bad and the ugly
Mad max fury road
Apocalypse Now
Leon the profesional
Good will hunting
Catch me if you can
City of God
Seven Samurai
Scarface
How u can say Shawshank is over rated is criminal!
Apocalypse Now, A Clockwork Orange; The Birds; The Godfather Part 2; Rear Window; Taxi Driver. Substitute the modern films with those. And Switch "The Empire Strikes Back" with "Star Wars". Agreed with Andrew on "Raging Bull". Disagreed with 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Both Star Wars (A New Hope) and The Empire Strikes Back deserved to be here, and I would include Return of the Jedi but that's just my favorite. I love the ones you mention: Godfather 2, Apocalypse Now, Rear Window (I love Hitchcock), A Clockwork Orange and Taxi Driver. Good list.
@@jesustovar2549 Thanks. Return of the Jedi is great at times (the scenes with the Emperor, Vader and Luke). I'm into westerns that's why I like A new Hope so much.
I agree that they haven't seen enough older movies. There is not one Kurosawa film on this list. I would have put many ahead of some of the junk here. High and Low is one that I never get tired of.
How about something from Fritz Lang, Metropolis or M are ones that people should at least have heard of.
I've watched a few...won't watch them again. Wouldn't consider them in my top ten.
Seriously lacking so many great movies before 1980.
I would say there’s not enough modern movies in this list.
I love 2001, but I don’t begrudge Klavan for giving it a D.
Rocky is my all-time favorite movie and I don’t apologize for a second to anyone for saying so. It’s brilliant and it’s just as good today as it was almost 59 years ago
2001 I saw in San Francisco in 1968. I did not really enjoy it, but when I left the theater, I realized that it was a film experience I would not forget.
@@elnick1000
It has to be seen on 70mm to really be appreciated
@@Art-is-craft that is the way I did see it I believe. But a few years ago I did watch it on BLUERAY, and it still for me held up.
@@elnick1000
Blu-ray would not really give the true large screen experience of 70mm. Still a great home experience.
Imo vertigo is the greatest film ever made...Andrew knows his stuff.
I would put "Chinatown" on the S list. Brilliant screenplay by Robert Towne with ingenious plot construction, superb characterization and memorable dialogue. Immaculate 1930's period detail and excellent performances all around -- and yes, the lush romantic score by Jerry Goldsmith is one of the greatest ever.
A movie that really delves deep into the dark and seedy history of Los Angeles in a way that no movie before or since ever has. The revelation about the identity of the girl and the shock ending would have been impossible under the old production code of the classic Hollywood studio era. I disagree with Klavan that "The Maltese Falcon" is a better movie.
Thank God I'm not alone. Echo your thoughts 100% the same.
Among modern movies, Inception and Black Panther (to say nothing of Moonlight and Parasite) don't hold a candle to Back to the Future.
I love Inception and Back to the Future, I don't even know what Black Panther is doing here or in any list for that matter.
If we are talking blockbusters, Jaws is probably the best ever overall, Jurassic Park blows Black Panther away, Back to the Future is great, I think Superman 1 or 2 deserve some love and Raiders is pretty much a perfect adventure film with one of the greatest characters of all time.
You must be either a kid or racist to say Back to the Future is a better film than Parasite.
@@manuam98 fawning over Parasite is an affectation. There’s nothing wrong with the film but be serious. Back to the Future is studied in every screenwriting program as the perfect script. It is not the most serious pretentious french film ever made but for what it is, it is absolute perfection.
@@Fantasyremix I like Back to the Future and it's definitely one of the most accessible and fun family movies, but I wouldn't personally rate it higher than Parasite. I see where you're coming from though. That said, who, what and where did you read the screenwriting and script are perfect?
Ill explain S tier. Tier lists originate or at least were popularized by fighting games. In a certain fighting game there was a character so unbelievably unfair that they were practically impossible to beat. Because of that they needed a tier above A to stand for characters that were so powerful that they need to be banned from tournament play. Nowadays it's overused and incorrectly used. It stands for supreme as well, so anyone putting more than 1 thing in S tier usually makes no sense. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Putting Batman above shaw shank redemption should be a crime
Agreed, he is showing his age lol
Why, I'm just curious
@@donavonwatkins6920 - because I’m not wearing hockey pads!
He didn't, he put 'The Dark Knight' above. And...it's ok by me.
@@hondoshaver7651how is that showing his age?
Hitchcock’s North by Northwest is very underrated.
Also could be the best score of all time. To set a Madison Avenue Borges super-modern Hamlet homage to a fandango is a stroke of genius, and it's beautiful, too. I think it's even better than Psycho
LOTR is the best movie trilogy of all time, hands down. You simply cannot point to a better movie
Dollars Trilogy is better.
@@EddieHenderson92good one😂
@@jarrettchristensen_music Don't fear the truth.
@@EddieHenderson92 westerns are mediocre
Doesn’t even get into a top 5
"City Lights" is now on my list, as well as "The Third Man." I've seen the others. After reading the blurb, I also need to watch "The Great Dictator."
The Great Dictator is wonderful. I'm pretty sure you can find it on RUclips for free as well.
No war movies? No killer shark movies? This list is lacking.
I would enjoy a movie where humans go to war against the sharks and put an end to that menace once and for all. we could it _”Kill All Sharks.”_
Lawrence was a war movie.... But this wasn't his list.
@@dennisshaper4744 you're right about Lawrence. Actually, I've always considered Casablanca to be a war movie too, now that you mention it.
Dr Strangelove :)
I know. Like where is Sharknado
Too bad I've never seen any non-english speaking movies in Klavan's lists. No Bergman, no Dreyer, no Rosselini, no Kurosawa, no Lang, no Truffaut, no Fellini, no Ozu. I'd like to see his take on those movies that came from places and people with a (slightly) different cultural background.
I think it's a hard task for people who make their political view their entire personality, especially when rating movies. This is no shot at Klavan, I'm just saying that a more unpartial approach works better for film analysis. I'm still thankful for this content though!
Where the hell was ‘Mississippi Burning’?!?!?!
Also, you disrespected Shawshank Redemption and Empire Strikes Back. I’ll be spelling Klavan with e’s for the next while.
I love that you mentioned The Third Man. One of my absolute favorite movies.
oef .. that shawshank .....
if i was a lefty i would unfollow you ;) ...
luckily i am not a crazy lefty ...so i just frown and dismiss youre taste and sanity ;)
mostly agree with youre options/scores ... .but the DW should also do this with KNOWLES and Brett ...to see other generations view, because youre list really shows youre age ;)
But they don't have any taste
Except that he’s right about Shawshank. It’s a good film, but I don’t understand why people think so highly of it.
This is exactly why art is amazing it's subjective.
Should've used Letterboxd ratings as the source
There is no bigger brainrot than Letterboxd.
Psycho wasn’t a movie about violence. Even though it had violence in it. But it was a fascinating movie. It was very well done, and it didn’t glorify the violence.
I prefer Casino to Good Fellas.
I don't know which is best, but Casino is definitely more rewatchable.
I think most mob movies are bad movies. Most people watch them to see how cruel humans can be to one another for the sake of money, fear of the justice system, selfishness, and some sense of pride.
@@mountbrocken The Godfather for instance shows how the world really works, and how democacry is a fairytale told to keep regular, law abiding citizens under control. The smart know their way around it, and work to build a better system for their own people, their own kind. Goodfellas however is even more bleak, showing that, no matter what, the system always wins.
I would have considered "Casino" a masterpiece were it not for the tiresome overfamiliarity of De Niro and Pesci in their roles (Harvey Keitel would have been a much better choice to play Ace Rothstein). The tedious, overwrought, harshly lit cinematography by Robert Richardson (which effectively made most of Oliver Stone's movies well nigh unwatchable in my opinion) also gave me a headache.
I think I would have liked "GoodFellas" better with William L. Petersen as Henry Hill rather than Ray Liotta (whose ugly camera mug and nasal New Jersey accent always drove me nuts), and I would have prefered an old school thug like Albert Finney as Jimmy the Gent rather than De Niro. I also think that De Palma's "The Untouchables" would have been better with Mickey Rourke (the original choice) as Eliot Ness and Chazz Palminteri as Al Capone. Since his 1970's heyday, I've not been much of a Bob De Niro fan.
@@mountbrockenThat is a ridiculous statement
Guys, movies are ALWAYS subjektive.
Even if the vast majority likes a movie, doesn't mean everyone does.
If he is saying that LotR is in the A Tier for him, then that's that. It's always a personal ranking.
The only way to make it not personal, is to strictly compile the numbers from Imdb and Rotten tomatoes, and tank the movies according to their respective numbers. Then you can scientifically give them and rating from F to S.
But the majority of the movies channel do personal lists.
I would also disagree on LotR, because I belive it belongs in the S-Tier as well. It just doesn't for him.
Where are the Sergio Leone movies??
Exactly, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Once Upon Time in the West are perfect movies.
@@EddieHenderson92 That is exactly right
Good movies but they are nowhere near best of all time. The list is not Klavans own list but are an internet list that he is ranking.
@@Art-is-craft only good the bad the ugly and once upon a time in america are masterpieces
@@novistador9844
Great movie just not masterpieces.
I totally agree about The Shawshank Redemption. A good movie, but nowhere near the top 50 great films. Likewise with any of the Star Wars films. I'm pretty suspicious of anything labeled "great" anyway, since that is so subjective a term, kind of like "best". What you said about the list lacking "old" movies is sadly true.
Shawshank's on the nose ... not bad, but not a top movie compared to older, better flicks