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Simón Cherpitel
700 Favorite Films
Current top 70 fave films in bold.
List updated: July 2010.
1928
La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
1932
Vampyr
1934
The Thin Man
1939
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
La Regle du Jeu
1941
Citizen Kane
How Green Was My Valley
The Maltese Falcon
1942
Casablanca
Cat People
The Magnificent Ambersons
This Gun for Hire
1943
I Walked with a Zombie
Journey Into Fear
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Seventh Victim
Shadow of a Doubt
1944
The Curse of the Cat People
Double Indemnity
Laura
Murder, My Sweet
To Have and Have Not
1945
Spellbound
1946
La Belle et la Bête
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Big Sleep
The Blue Dahlia
Duel in the Sun
It's a Wonderful Life
A Matter of Life & Death
My Darling Clementine
The Spiral Staircase
The Stranger
1947
Black Narcissus
Boomerang!
Dark Passage
Lady in the Lake
Odd Man Out
Out of the Past
Pursued
Ride the Pink Horse
1948
Key Largo
The Lady from Shanghai
Letter from an Unknown Woman
The Naked City
Portrait of Jennie
Red River
Rope
3 Godfathers
To the Ends of the Earth
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1949
Colorado Territory
Stray Dog
The Third Man
1950
The Asphalt Jungle
Broken Arrow
Les Enfants Terribles
The Furies
The Gunfighter
Harvey
Rashomon
Stars in My Crown
Sunset Boulevard
Winchester '73
1951
Ace in the Hole
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Miracolo a Milano
No Highway in the Sky
1952
High Noon
Ikiru
Othello
The Sniper
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Thief
Viva Zapata
1953
Beat the Devil
The Big Heat
Hondo
I Confess
Inferno
It Came from Outer Space
The Moon Is Blue
The Naked Spur
Pickup on South Street
Roman Holiday
Shane
Stalag 17
War of the Worlds
1954
The Barefoot Contessa
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Garden of Evil
Gojira (Godzilla)
Johnny Guitar
On the Waterfront
The Purple Plain
Rear Window
Sabrina
Silver Lode
Them!
Track of the Cat
Vera Cruz
The Wild One
1955
Artists & Models
Baby Doll
Bad Day at Black Rock
The Big Combo
Blood Alley
Bob le flambeur
The Desperate Hours
Five Against the House
House of Bamboo
Kiss Me Deadly
The Ladykillers
Land of the Pharoahs
The Left Hand of God
The Man from Laramie
Man with the Gun
Mr. Arkadin / Confidential Report
The Night of the Hunter
Nuit et brouillard (Night and Fog)
Ordet (The Word)
Rebel Without a Cause
The Rose Tattoo
Run for Cover
This Island Earth
Tarantula
To Catch a Thief
The Trouble with Harry
The Violent Men
Violent Saturday
1956
Attack!
Bandido
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Bhowani Junction
The Bottom of the Bottle
The Court Jester
The Fastest Gun Alive
Giant
The Harder They Fall
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Killer Is Loose
A Kiss Before Dying
The Last Hunt
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Never Was
Moby Dick
The Mountain
The Proud Ones
Ransom!
Run for the Sun
The Searchers
The Search for Bridey Murphy
Seven Men from Now
Slightly Scarlet
The Ten Commandments
23 Paces to Baker Street
Written on the Wind
1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Decision at Sundown
Desk Set
The Enemy Below
Forty Guns
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Island in the Sun
Love in the Afternoon
Men in War
Night of the Demon
Night Passage
No Down Payment
The Pride and the Passion
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Ride Back
The Spirit of St. Louis
The Sun Also Rises
Sweet Smell of Success
The Tall T
The Three Faces of Eve
3:10 to Yuma
Throne of Blood
Time Limit
The Tin Star
12 Angry Men
Wild Strawberries
The Wings of Eagles
Witness for the Prosecution
1958
The Badlanders
The Big Country
Bonjour Tristesse
The Bravados
Buchanan Rides Alone
The Fly
Gideon of Scotland Yard
Horror of Dracula
The Hunters
The Left Handed Gun
The Lineup
The Long, Hot Summer
The Magician (Ansiktet)
Man of the West
Mon oncle
Party Girl
Run Silent, Run Deep
Saddle the Wind
Terror in a Texas Town
Touch of Evil
Vertigo
The Vikings
1959
Anatomy of a Murder
Ben-Hur
Day of the Outlaw
The Devil's Disciple
The Fugitive Kind
The Hanging Tree
Last Train from Gun Hill
Les Liaisons dangereuses
North by Northwest
Odds Against Tomorrow
On the Beach
Pillow Talk
Les Quatre cents coups
Ride Lonesome
Rio Bravo
Some Like It Hot
Suddenly Last Summer
Warlock
Westbound
The Wonderful Country
World, Flesh & the Devil
Les Yeux sans visage
The Young Philadelphians
1960
The Apartment
Á bout de souffle (Breathless)
Comanche Station
La Dolce Vita
Elmer Gantry
House of Usher
Inherit the Wind
L'avventura
The Magnificent Seven
Peeping Tom
Plein soleil (Purple Noon)
Psycho
Tirez sur le pianiste
Tunes of Glory
The Unforgiven
Village of the Damned
1961
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
The Guns of Navarone
The Hustler
Judgment at Nuremberg
Jules et Jim
Last Year at Marienbad
Lover Come Back
The Misfits
The Naked Edge
One-Eyed Jacks
Two Rode Together
Yojimbo
The Young Savages
1962
Advise & Consent
An Autumn Afternoon
Cape Fear
Carnival of Souls
Dr. No
Experiment in Terror
Hatari
Lawrence of Arabia
Lolita
Lonely Are the Brave
The Manchurian Candidate
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Ride the High Country
Sanjuro
The Spiral Road
To Kill a Mockingbird
War Hunt
1963
The Birds
Charade
8 1/2
From Russia with Love
Il Gattopardo (The Leopard)
The Haunting
High & Low (Heaven & Hell)
The List of Adrian Messenger
1964
Blood & Black Lace
Fate Is the Hunter
A Fistful of Dollars
Goldfinger
Gospel According St. Matthew
Marnie
My Fair Lady
The Night of the Iguana
Seven Days in May
The Train
1965
Alphaville
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Chimes at Midnight
Doctor Zhivago
The Flight of the Phoenix
For a Few Dollars More
Incubus
The Ipcress File
Major Dundee
Mirage
Morituri
Pierrot le fou
The Sound of Music
The 10th Victim
Thunderball
1966
The Appaloosa
Blow-Up
The Deadly Affair
Duel at Diablo
Fahrenheit 451
Funeral in Berlin
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Harper
The Naked Prey
The Professionals
The Sword of Doom
Torn Curtain
1967
Belle de jour
Billion Dollar Brain
A Countess from Hong Kong
Don't Look Back
El Dorado
The Graduate
Hombre
Hour of the Gun
Point Blank
Le Samouraï
You Only Live Twice
1968
The Bride Wore Black
Bullitt
Faces
Hang 'Em High
Monterey Pop
The Thomas Crown Affair
Where Eagles Dare
Wild in the Streets
1969
L'Armé des ombres
Easy Rider
Mackenna's Gold
Medium Cool
Mississippi Mermaid
Once Upon a Time in the West
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Topaz
True Grit
The Wild Bunch
1970
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Le Cercle rouge
Kelly's Heroes
1971
Brother John
Diamonds Are Forever
Dirty Harry
Fools' Parade
The French Connection
Get Carter
The Hired Hand
Klute
Lawman
Play Misty for Me
Red Sun
Straw Dogs
Vanishing Point
1972
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Un Flic
Frenzy
The Getaway
The Godfather
Junior Bonner
Last Tango in Paris
The Night Stalker
Ulzana's Raid
1973
Breezy
Charley Varrick
Don't Look Now
High Plains Drifter
Live & Let Die
The Long Goodbye
The Mackintosh Man
Magnum Force
My Name Is Nobody
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Serpico
Soylent Green
1974
Bring Me Head of Alfredo Garcia
Chinatown
The Man with the Golden Gun
Phase IV
The Towering Inferno
1975
Bite the Bullet
Brannigan
The Drowning Pool
Farewell, My Lovely
L'Histoire d'Adele H.
Jaws
The Killer Elite
Nashville
Night Moves
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Three Days of the Condor
The Wind and the Lion
The Yakuza
1976
The Enforcer
Family Plot
The Missouri Breaks
Network
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Shootist
Taxi Driver
1977
Close Encounters of 3rd Kind
Cross of Iron
The Duellists
The Gauntlet
The Last Wave
Opening Night
La Soufrière the Volcano
The Spy Who Loved Me
Star Wars
The White Buffalo
1978
Days of Heaven
Eyes of Laura Mars
Heaven Can Wait
The Last Waltz
Superman: the Movie
Watership Down
1979
Alien
All That Jazz
Apocalypse Now
Being There
The Black Stallion
Manhattan
Moonraker
Murder by Decree
Nosferatu Phantom Der Nacht
1980
The Big Red One
Bronco Billy
The Fog
Hopscotch
Resurrection
The Stunt Man
Superman II
Somewhere in Time
1981
The Amateur
Chariots of Fire
Diva
Excalibur
For Your Eyes Only
Outland
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Road Warrior
S.O.B.
Wolfen
1982
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
Blade Runner
The Border
Burden of Dreams
Conan the Barbarian
E.T.
Fitzcarraldo
Honkytonk Man
The Man from Snowy River
Missing
My Favorite Year
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Tron
Victor Victoria
Wrong Is Right
The Year of Living Dangerously
1983
Confidentially Yours
The Hunger
The Keep
Koyaanisqatsi
Never Say Never Again
Octopussy
The Osterman Weekend
The Right Stuff
Sudden Impact
Uncommon Valor
Videodrome
1984
Ghostbusters
Greystoke: Legend of Tarzan
Indiana Jones & Temple of Doom
Once Upon a Time in America
Sixteen Candles
Starman
The Terminator
Tightrope
Under the Volcano
1985
Ladyhawke
Pale Rider
A View to a Kill
1986
Blue Velvet
Highlander
Last Days of Frank & Jesse James
Manhunter
Ruthless People
1987
The Believers
Cobra Verde
Lethal Weapon
The Living Daylights
1988
The Dead Pool
Die Hard
The Naked Gun
Powaqqatsi
Tequila Sunrise
Without a Clue
1989
Black Rainbow
Black Rain
Field of Dreams
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
January Man
License to Kill
Old Gringo
1990
Arachnophobia
Dances with Wolves
La Femme Nikita
Flatliners
The Freshman
Ghost
Joe Versus the Volcano
Miller's Crossing
The Rookie
Total Recall
The Two Jakes
White Hunter, Black Heart
1991
Dead Again
Hearts of Darkness
La double vie de Véronique
JFK
A Kiss Before Dying
L.A. Story
Terminator 2
Thelma & Louise
1992
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Last of the Mohicans
Lessons of Darkness
Thunderheart
Unforgiven
1993
Falling Down
Fearless
Groundhog Day
In the Line of Fire
Jurassic Park
Last Action Hero
A Perfect World
Rising Sun
Shadowlands
Tombstone
Zero Tolerance
1994
Blown Away
Body Shot
Dellamorte Dellamore
Forrest Gump
Immortal Beloved
Lèon the Professional
Timecop
3 colors: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge
True Lies
Wolf
1995
Beyond Rangoon
Casino
Dead Man
Don Juan DeMarco
Ghost in the Shell (Kôkaku Kidôtai)
Love Letter
Martin Scorsese: American Movies
The Quick and the Dead
Zero Tolerance
1996
Fargo
Fly Away Home
The Frighteners
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Lone Star
Muholland Falls
My Fellow Americans
When We Were Kings
1997
Absolute Power
Cop Land
Grosse Pointe Blank
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Lost Highway
Princess Mononoke
Ulee's Gold
Volcano
1998
Dark City
John Carpenter's Vampires
Ronin
Run, Lola, Run
The Truman Show
Twilight
What Dreams May Come
Wild Things
1999
Bicentennial Man
Entrapment
Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
The Limey
Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski
The Messenger Joan of Arc
The Mummy
Payback
Purgatory
Ravenous
Sleepy Hollow
Stigmata
A Texas Funeral
The Third Miracle
Titus
True Crime
2000
Gladiator
Les Rivières pourpres
Shadow of the Vampire
The 6th Day
South of Heaven, West of Hell
Space Cowboys
2001
Backflash
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Invincible
Memento
Mulholland Dr
The Mummy Returns
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Score
The Waking Life
Wasabi
2002
Blood Work
Far from Heaven
Hero (Ying xiong)
The Kid Stays in the Picture
Pavement
S1m0ne
Searching for Debra Winger
Solaris
Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)
We Were Soldiers
X-Files: Release
2003
& Starring Pancho Villa Himself
The Fog of War
Hulk
The Hunted
In the Cut
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Lost in Translation
Masked & Anonymous
Mystic River
Northfork
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Open Range
Runaway Jury
Something's Gotta Give
2004
Bad Education
Collateral
Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind
Hellboy
Hotel Rwanda
The Incredibles
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Million Dollar Baby
Passion of the Christ
Rivières pourpres II
Sky Captain World of Tomorrow
The Stepford Wives
Suspect Zero
A Very Long Engagement
The White Diamond
2005
Batman Begins
Capote
Crash
Don't Come Knocking
L'Empire des loups
Good Night, & Good Luck
Grizzly Man
A History of Violence
The Island
Kingdom of Heaven
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
The New World
No Way Home: Bob Dylan
The Proposition
3 Burials of Melauiades Estrada
V for Vendetta
2006
The Black Dahlia
Flags of Our Fathers
The Illusionist
Infamous
Letters from Iwo Jima
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Rescue Dawn
Seraphim Falls
Volver
2007
Charlie Wilson's War
Eastern Promises
Encounters at the End of the World
I'm Not There
Inland Empire
In the Valley of Elah
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Shooter
2008
Body of Lies
Changling
The Dark Knight
Gran Torino
Hellboy II
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man
2009
Bad Lieutenant - Port New Orleans
Broken Embraces
The Hurt Locker
Invictus
Star Trek
State of Play
Up in the Air
2010 (maybe)
Iron Man 2
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About My Top 700 Films
I see nearly everything at some time, & see again anything that seems worthwhile years later.
I also have nearly all my personal faves on DVD, with ones not yet commercially available courtesy of classic movies dvd, & only keep films I enjoy seeing repeatedly. Each viewing, I discover if my enjoyment continues, & if not, I send it to my daughter Aliana, who now has 800 movies in her DVD collection, about 25% duplicating mine.
My fave films are from many genres, often cross-genre, sometimes with multiple dimensions, sometimes just fun. Everything changes. Some of my current top choices (the ones in bold above) will be changed. Great visuals, good directing, strong, quirky, surreal or unusual stories, actors I like (very few today), music that moves me - all combine in varying degrees to make me like a certain movie.
Criticism is always subjective, and my taste is eclectic. I'm not a fan of silent films, but have seen most of the so-called greats at least a couple of times. Only Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc do I enjoy repeatedly, and it's wonderful that a reasonably good print survived. During the 1930s, cinematography is often static, the sound hollow and music scoring mediocre. For me, it was not until the 1940s that films reached a modern technical level, with excellent prints available today. As a photographer, I'm very disposed toward good visual quality.
I have a huge liking for Westerns (15% of my collection), for Bogart, for Clint Eastwood, for Hitchcock, for Truffaut, Sean Connery, James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, John Wayne, Sam Peckinpah, Werner Herzog, & for films with a spiritual content which my inner self recognises as real, whether obvious (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) or subtle (Star Wars, Chariots of Fire, E.T., Blade Runner).
I have a problem with most comedies: After seeing a couple of times, I know the jokes, and they're no longer funny. Ones I keep have strong characters or stories, like: Love in the Afternoon, The Apartment, L.A. Story, Groundhog Day & My Favorite Year.
The same with musicals, of which I keep few. More than good songs, their stories & actors have to be continually engaging or touching. The Court Jester holds up because of Danny Kaye's superb comedy, the script & jokes. All That Jazz takes musicals into a new dimension, thanks to Bob Fosse, who artistically rendered his own death.
A major test of a movie's endurance is its ability to re-involve me, no matter how many previous viewings. This is the key to my personal, subjective critical faculty.
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