moonspinner55

Redlands, CA USA
IMDB Comments Index

1. The Chalk Garden (1964) .. Ronald Neame
   Pure elegance on film.
   
   
2. Rosemary's Baby (1968) .. Roman Polanski
   More subtle than it gets credited for, more chilling too.
   
   
3. The Apartment (1960) .. Billy Wilder
   Never dates, just as lovely then as now.
   
   
4. Paper Moon (1973) .. Peter Bogdanovich
   Combination atmosphere, writing, directing, and acting: exhilarating.
   
   
5. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) .. Martin Scorsese
   Completely and utterly embraceable.
   
   
6. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) .. Blake Edwards
   Letter-perfect romantic comedy, a staple in Audrey Hepburn's career.
   
   
7. Such Good Friends (1971) .. Otto Preminger
   One of the wittiest, bitchiest medical satires ever made.
   
   
8. Pookie (1969) .. Alan J. Pakula
   It affects people on the deepest of levels.
   
   
9. Tootsie (1982) .. Sydney Pollack
   Sustained genius.
   
   
10. Cabaret (1972) .. Bob Fosse
    It excited people then, it excites people now.
    
    
11. Coming Home (1978) .. Hal Ashby
    Very American, but very human
    
    
12. The Late Show (1977) .. Robert Benton
    Film-noir via the distinctive 1970s; Lily Tomlin and Art Carney are Oscar-worthy.
    
    
13. The Way We Were (1973) .. Sydney Pollack
    One of the all-time great tear-jerkers...and nobody dies!
    
    
14. The Last of Sheila (1973) .. Herbert Ross
    A mesmerizing game of Hollywood charades.
    
    
15. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) .. John Patrick Shanley
    Tom Hanks has yet to top this one for sheer pleasure.
    
    
16. Charade (1963) .. Stanley Donen
    Cary Grant with his best movie partner, Audrey Hepburn at her most glorious.
17. Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) .. Otto Preminger
    One of a kind.
    
    
18. What's Up, Doc? (1972) .. Peter Bogdanovich
    Easily one of the brightest, best-cast comedies ever made.
    
    
19. Roman Holiday (1953) .. William Wyler
    Breezy and effortless pleasure
    
    
20. Arthur (1981) .. Steve Gordon
    It sparkles like mad.
    
    
21. Vertigo (1958) .. Alfred Hitchcock
    Narcotizing, hypnotizing, satisfying
    
    
22. American Graffiti (1973) .. George Lucas
    So vivid, it made people believe they actually lived it.
    
    
23. The Graduate (1967) .. Mike Nichols
    It still provokes impassioned responses from all sides.
    
    
24. The Wizard of Oz (1939) .. Victor Fleming
    It holds grown-ups and kids spellbound.
    
    
25. Lost Horizon (1973) .. Charles Jarrott
    Neglected musical has only improved with time.
    
    
26. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976) .. Nicolas Gessner
    An early triumph for Jodie Foster.
    
    
27. Fathom (1967) .. Leslie H. Martinson
    High-flying adventure making grand, non-showy entertainment
    
    
28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) .. Mike Nichols
    Demanding and exhausting, but never stultifying or lax.
    
    
29. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) .. Mel Stuart
    The best children's film ever; Wilder at his peak.
    
    
30. The Boys in the Band (1970) .. William Friedkin
    Prickly, needling, and beautifully visceral.
    
    
31. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) .. Vincente Minnelli
    Sumptuous musical.
    
    
32. Some Like It Hot (1959) .. Billy Wilder
    A triumph of great writing and acting over a gimmicky idea.
    
    
33. Terms of Endearment (1983) .. James L. Brooks
    The family theme works well in the eccentric context.
    
    
34. Orpheus (1950) .. Jean Cocteau
    It excites all the senses.
    
    
35. Midnight Cowboy (1969) .. John Schlesinger
    It works on every level.
    
    
36. Susan Slade (1961) .. Delmer Daves
    The wooziest of romantic pleasures.
    
    
37. The Parent Trap (1961) .. David Swift
    Sensational children's film, they don't get much better.
    
    
38. Valley of the Dolls (1967) .. Mark Robson
    Wild card camp-fest; pure enjoyment.
    
    
39. The Exorcist (1973) .. William Friedkin
    Even with its mechanical shocks, it shrewdly grips the viewer in a primal way.
    
    
40. Me, Natalie (1969) .. Fred Coe
    People don't know it...but when they finally see it, they love it.
    
    
41. Pillow Talk (1959) .. Michael Gordon
    So plush and comfortable, you sink right into it like a good novel.
    
    
42. Alice in Wonderland (1951) .. Clyde Geronimi & Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske
    Disney working wonders with an unfilmmable book; their best score too.
    
    
43. La Belle et la Bête (1946) .. Jean Cocteau
    Magic made on film, never easy.
    
    
44. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) .. Sydney Pollack
    Tough but straightforward, never hesitant.
    
    
45. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) .. Leo McCarey
    Combination religious uplift and human compassion nearly unbeatable.
    
    
46. The Conversation (1974) .. Francis Ford Coppola
    Gene Hackman's triumph.
    
    
47. The Sentinel (1977) .. Michael Winner
    Near-best of the '70s occult horrors--this one where the church is the villain.
    
    
48. Ordinary People (1980) .. Robert Redford
    It surprises with its depth.
    
    
49. Two for the Seesaw (1962) .. Robert Wise
    Insecure romance; complicated and frustrating, but true.
    
    
50. The Night of the Iguana (1964) .. John Huston
    Top performances in the best of the Tennessee Williams adaptations.

Runners-Up: Lenny, Anatomy of a Murder, They All Laughed, Klute, All That Jazz, Calamity Jane, Slither (1973), Bambi, Sabrina (1954), Sleeping Beauty, Only When I Laugh, Melvin & Howard, Capote, The Great Race, Going Home, Night of the Hunter, Cactus Flower, That Darn Cat, Whistle Down the Wind, Network, Splendor in the Grass, The Sugarland Express