1.
The Tree of Life – Malick |
2. The Master – P.T. Anderson |
3. Roma – Cuaron |
4. Dunkirk – Nolan |
5. La La Land – Chazelle |
6. Birdman – Iñárritu |
7. Inception – Nolan |
8. The Revenant – Iñárritu |
9. Mad Max: Fury Road – G. Miller |
10. The Grand
Budapest Hotel – W. Anderson |
11. The
Social Network – Fincher |
12. The Turin
Horse – Tarr |
13. Ida –
Pawlikowski |
14. Inside
Llewyn Davis – Coen |
15. Black
Swan- Aronofsky |
16. The
Favourite – Lanthimos |
17. Cold War
– Pawlikowski |
18. Moonrise
Kingdom – W. Anderson |
19. Columbus
– Kogonada |
20. Shame –
McQueen |
21. Paterson
– Jarmusch |
22. Melancholia
– von Trier |
23. Uncle
Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives – Weerasethakul |
24. Under the
Skin – Glazer |
25. Gravity –
Cuaron |
26. Blade
Runner 2049 – Villeneuve |
27. Call Me by Your Name – Guadagnino |
28. Moonlight
– Jenkins |
29. Before
Midnight – Linklater |
30. Boyhood –
Linklater |
31. The Great
Beauty – Sorrentino |
32. Sicario –
Villeneuve |
33. Gone Girl
– Fincher |
34. Whiplash
– Chazelle |
35. Mommy –
Dolan |
36. Good Time
– Safdie |
37. Django
Unchained – Tarantino |
38. 12 Years
a Slave – McQueen |
39. Victoria
– Schipper |
40. Widows –
McQueen |
41. The Shape
of Water – del Toro |
42. The Dark
Knight Rises – Nolan |
43. Burning –
Chang-dong Lee |
44. American
Hustle – O. Russell |
45. Drive –
Refn |
46. Submarine
– Ayoade |
47. We Need
To Talk About Kevin – Ramsay |
48. Frances
Ha – Baumbach |
49. Phantom
Thread – P.T. Anderson |
50. Hereditary-
Aster |
51. The
Lobster – Lanthimos |
52. Sunset
Song – Davies |
53. The Ghost
Writer – Polanski |
54. Blue Is
the Warmest Color – Kechiche |
55. The Woman
in the Fifth – Pawlikowski |
56. Blue
Valentine – Cianfrance |
57. Creed –
Coogler |
58. Take
Shelter – J. Nichols |
59. Only God
Forgives – Refn |
60. The
Immigrant – Gray |
61. Somewhere
– S. Coppola |
62. Shutter
Island – Scorsese |
63. The Big
Short – McKay |
64. Two Days,
One Night – Dardenne |
65. Tale of
Tales – Garrone |
66. Black
Panther – Coogler |
67. American
Honey – Arnold |
68. You Were
Never Really Here – Ramsay |
69. Nebraska
– Payne |
70. Everybody
Wants Some!! – Linklater |
71. Carol –
Haynes |
72. The
Beguiled – S. Coppola |
73. Skyfall –
Mendes |
74. Oslo,
August 31st – Trier |
75. Interstellar
– Nolan |
76. Nightcrawler
– Gilroy |
77. True
Detective – Fukunaga |
78. If Beale
Street Could Talk – Jenkins |
79. A
Seperation – Farhadi |
80. Get Out –
Peele |
81. Hell or
High Water – Mackenzie |
82. Silver
Linings Playbook – O. Russell |
83. Spring
Breakers – Korine |
84. Mistress
America – Baumbach |
85. Beasts of
No Nation – Fukunaga |
86. Her –
Jonze |
87. A
Fantastic Woman – Lelio |
88. Holy
Motors – Carax |
89. Arrival –
Villeneuve |
90. The Place
Beyond the Pines – Cianfrance |
91. Amour –
Haneke |
92. Atomic
Blonde – Leitch |
93. Captain Phillips – Greengrass |
94. Tangerine
– Baker |
95. Calvary
– John Michael McDonagh |
96. A Bigger Splash – Guadagnino |
97. BlacKkKlansman
– S. Lee |
98. Manchester
by the Sea – Lonergan |
99. The Neon
Demon – Refn |
100. The Deep Blue Sea – Davies |
Same applies here, great list and I love all of your top 10, and here are mine:
1. The Tree of Life
2. Moonlight
3. Holy Motors
4. Boyhood
5. Her
6. Birdman
7. The Social Network
8. The Master
9. Whiplash
10. 12 Years a Slave
Since this decade is ever evolving, so is my list every time I revisit it so I’m sure by tomorrow or the next day it will be totally different (however my top 4 is pretty solid).
Per usual — good stuff Leo– interesting to me that you have “whiplash” over “la la land” and no Nolan here. The photographic beauty and musical score of “Dunkirk” are highlights, but its the editing, I think, that will go down as one of the great examples of that film technique in film history.
Too much Hollywood in here which is a great disservice to the non mainstream films which people are less likely to hear about or see.
@EHD Thanks for the comment. You’re incorrect here. I put the best films regardless of where they came from or how much the budget or box office was.
the master is a great feat in acting. id put mad max fury road as number one (probably the most entertaining film ever) and roma number too. well shot, and good scenes, but its hard not to think of tree of life as pretentious garbage. its not a story about human life, its about a suburban middle class american family in the 1950s. maybe not oscar bait either, more like its going for the “greatest art made by man” award. great list though
@ Wayne- thanks for the comment again. You always have good notes. I think “Roma” and “Fury Road” are brilliant. I have no problem with your 1-2 if those are your choices. Well done! I think the acting in “The Master” is spectacular as well- but i think it’s a major achievement for PT Anderson. I think it’s much closer to “There Will Be Blood” in quality than most give it credit for. It’s a tougher first watch— more opaque– but once you get to the 3rd time you’ve seen it…. beautiful and haunting…. anyways– It’s interesting you adore “Roma” but have a problem with “Tree of Life” and say “it’s about a suburban middle class family in the 50’s”. That feels very surface-level.I feel like you could say “Roma is about wealthy Mexican family and their maid in in the early 70’s”. Does that sum up “Roma”? Not really. And i think the “greatest art” ambitions is a good thing– and also a trait “Tree of Life” shares with “Roma”.
Sorry let me clarify. Tree of life is not by any means a bad film. The visuals acting is all great. I just have a problem with it calling itself the tree of life when it is about some white American family in the 50s, middle class. I just feel like there was worse going on, and life for Rosa Parks wasnt about not being able to play ball with brad pitt. I jusr find it pretentious but it is a work of art, and yes I do love ambition of directors trying to make the greatest works of art. I feel like whether you like or hate the films of say Lynch (im a fan) they warrant artistic discussion and that goes with Tree Of Life. Also I see how it,is relatable to many and why someone like Ebert would put it in their top 10.
@ Wayne— thanks again for the comment. Interesting. I agree there was worse going on in the world in the 1950’s but I think that type of criticism is a little unfair to “Tree of Life” or/and Terrence Malick. I don’t know for sure how autobiographical it is but Malick grew up in Oklahoma and Texas i think, in the 1950’s, so again i see a lot of parallels with the persona cinema of “Roma”. I’m also not sure about all the meanings and implications of the “Tree of Life” title– i was just blown away by the photography, the editing structure and rhythm. I can’t wait to see it again– hopefully before the end of the year/decade so i can confirm if i still think it’s the best work of the century.
No Inglourious Basterds?
@Sky— “inglourious Basterds” came out in 2009 http://thecinemaarchives.com/2019/03/25/the-best-films-of-the-decade-the-2000s/
Oh Drake. We’re gonna be new pen pals ..
Just starting to look at your other lists. Can’t dive into deep tonight but definitely will. First off, the fact you did a top 500 of all time is beyond impressive. My sister will laugh when I tell her of your site because I have always been a movie list/ ranking guy. You have great taste and are truly informed. I will be here to quibble though and hopefully this weekend I can send a few short list of my own so you can see more where my tastes lye. ( I recently sent my sister my top 50 horror films of all time list as she and I are big fans of the genre). I will say , and I noticed someone else commented on this as well, your choices DO seem to stay within the confines of major Hollywood releases and well known foreign classics. Not a lot of Assault on Precinct 13 ( Carpenter). Brawl in Cell Block 99( w a revelatory Vince Vaughn performance) or The Invitation ( Karyn Kusama). But we will get to that. Thank you for your site. Very impressive work!!
@Kent— thanks again for the comment here and the kind words. I did the top 500 earlier this year and it was a really fun exercise. I love making lists, comparing styles and filmmakers, etc.
I’d love to see your lists as well if you would like to share.
As far as how my choices stay within the confines of major Hollywood releases and foreign classics. I’m open to feedback on any blind spots or films I’m underrating or overrated but I’d ask that you be specific. I’d argue my choices and tastes tend to what is great films and directors. What would you add or take off? Assault on Precinct 13? Are you talking about Carpenter’s 1976 version? I’ve seen it but it’s been ages so fair enough- it deserves another look. I liked both Brawl in Cell Block 99 and The Invitation but I’ve seen the recently. I left them off because I t didn’t find them to warrant a real consideration for the top 10 of their respective years. – not because it was or wasn’t a Hollywood film or an indie or whatever.
Anyways- good chat and thanks again for visiting the comments. keep them coming!
i love fury road, ad astra, joker, roma, logan, some other films that may not be as ambitious like x men days of the future past. but if say the second best film is meyerowitz because mainly the actors (in particular Sandler, Stiller and Hoffman), the script, and the genius narrative. number one film of the decade so far, perhaps the century is an absolute masterpiece super overlooked. Ebert gave it four stars, and it is not unlike tree of life, another masterpiece, for sure. Cloud Atlas is simply one of the best films ever, one of the most ambitious and the magnum opus of the Wachowskis. Tom Hanks Halle Berry and every other actor is phenomenal but it is the narrative of this film that makes it one of my very favorites. i am a big fan of films like this, truman show, vanilla sky by the way.
@M — I love most of these. It’s funny you mention Cloud Atlas. I’ve seen it twice, when it came out, and I’m not on board with you here— but I have a friend who thinks it is a capital “M” Masterpiece whose opinion I respect very much. So you are not alone. I owe all of the Wachowskis’ work another look soon.