Dave LaVeck

1. Citizen Kane (1941) .. Orson Welles
   Best Everything and holds up after all these years
   
   
2. Vertigo (1958) .. Alfred Hitchcock
   A perfect film about what love can do to someone, my favorite
   
   
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974) .. Francis Ford Coppola
   A masterpiece about the loss of a man's soul
   
   
4. The Godfather (1972) .. Francis Ford Coppola
   Old World order vs. New World order
   
   
5. Raging Bull (1980) .. Martin Scorsese
   A boxer finds life much more difficult outside of the ring
   
   
6. Rear Window (1954) .. Alfred Hitchcock
   Paranoia spun out of control
   
   
7. La Règle du Jeu (1939) .. Jean Renoir
   High society and all its trappings
   
   
8. Les Enfants du Paradis (1945) .. Marcel Carné
   A tragic love triangle
   
   
9. Tokyo Story (1953) .. Yasujiro Ozu
   A rich deep study of family
   
   
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) .. Stanley Kubrick
    Transcending film about life. Most beautiful music ever on film. Sci-Fi Opera.
    
    
11. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) .. David Lean
    Modern King of the Desert
    
    
12. Battleship Potemkin (1925) .. Sergei M. Eisenstein
    A film that delivers its powerful message through imagery and editing
    
    
13. Psycho (1960) .. Alfred Hitchcock
    Greatest reveal in film history
    
    
14. Seven Samurai (1954) .. Akira Kurosawa
    action film du jour about honor
    
    
15. 8½ (1963) .. Federico Fellini
    The best film about filmmaking from a director's point of view
    
    
16. Persona (1966) .. Ingmar Bergman
    Preeminent Bergman film about losing one's self
    
    
17. La Dolce Vita (1960) .. Federico Fellini
    The good life or so it appears
    
    
18. L'Avventura (1960) .. Michelangelo Antonioni
    A tale of loss and how life always goes on without you
    
    
19. Last Year in Marienbad (1961) .. Alain Resnais
    A work of art where time stands still in each frame
    
    
20. La Grande Illusion (1937) .. Jean Renoir
    War is the same no matter what side you are on
    
    
21. Touch of Evil (1958) .. Orson Welles
    The opening shot is a thing of beauty, maybe the best opening in film
    
    
22. Sunset Boulevard (1950) .. Billy Wilder
    I saw this at the Eastman Theater which was the perfect backdrop to see this film about not being able to let go of one's past and much more
    
    
23. All About Eve (1950) .. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    This is a satirical Hollywood story about stardom set in the Broadway Theater
    
    
24. Casablanca (1942) .. Michael Curtiz
    A true love story showing the sacrifices that are made in times of war
    
    
25. The Searchers (1956) .. John Ford
    Best Western ever made with gorgeous shots depicting a dark journey of revenge
    
    
26. The Wizard of Oz (1939) .. Victor Fleming
    A true spectacle of colors and scenes following the road "Over the Rainbow" to find true happiness
    
    
27. L'Atalante (1934) .. Jean Vigo
    A beautiful story about love and loss
    
    
28. Dekalog (1989) .. Krzysztof Kieslowski
    A unique depiction of the 10 Commandments seen in modern society and their moral consequences
    
    
29. M (1931) .. Fritz Lang
    Classic tale of the worst kind of criminal, one who preys on children and how society deals with him
    
    
30. Modern Times (1936) .. Charles Chaplin
    The Tramp as his finest rebelling against all things modern in a silent film, brilliant
    
    
31. Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) .. Stanley Kubrick
    Political Satire at its best. One of the greatest performances of All-Time by Peter Sellers.
    
    
32. Fanny and Alexander (1982) .. Ingmar Bergman
    Modern Masterpiece on family
    
    
33. Taxi Driver (1976) .. Martin Scorsese
    One lonely man's nightmare becomes a reality in the urban decay of New York City
    
    
34. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) .. Irvin Kershner
    A space opera depicting the battle between good and evil and the fact that they are closer than you think
    
    
35. Pulp Fiction (1994) .. Quentin Tarantino
    Put its own stamp on film language with a tale of intertwined lives intersecting in disastrous consequences
    
    
36. Goodfellas (1990) .. Martin Scorsese
    Modern mob film about the downward spiral of life in the fast lane
    
    
37. City Lights (1931) .. Charles Chaplin
    A simple and beautiful tale of the lengths people will go for love
    
    
38. Double Indemnity (1944) .. Billy Wilder
    Film Noir at its finest complete with elements of greed, murder and lust
    
    
39. The Big Sleep (1946) .. Howard Hawks
    No one really quite understands what everything means but that is what makes it so great, it is a mystery wrapped in itself
    
    
40. My Darling Clementine (1946) .. John Ford
    My Favorite Western & the best depiction of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
    
    
41. Star Wars (1977) .. George Lucas
    The original space western/samurai film that made us all believe in the Force of Good winning over the Force of Evil
    
    
42. Hoop Dreams (1994) .. Steve James
    The premiere documentary about the pursuit of one's hopes and dreams seen through the lives of two young basketball players
    
    
43. Andrei Rublev (1966) .. Andrei Tarkovsky
    A Russian history lesson seen through the eyes and art of a great painter
    
    
44. The Third Man (1949) .. Carol Reed
    A friend's mysertious death leads a writer into the black market to search for clues
    
    
45. Apocalypse Now (1979) .. Francis Ford Coppola
    War depicted as a nightmare of power and struggle and the loss of one's soul
    
    
46. Some Like It Hot (1959) .. Billy Wilder
    A madcap adventure of two musicians on the run from the mob that has greatest ending line in film history
    
    
47. Blade Runner (1982) .. Ridley Scott
    A modern noir picture on the essence of being human and the value of life
    
    
48. The Apartment (1960) .. Billy Wilder
    A unique climb up the corporate ladder causes the owner of the Apartment to make a choice between love or money
    
    
49. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) .. David Lean
    Classic war movie about honor and delusion
    
    
50. Short Cuts (1993) .. Robert Altman
    Lives intersecting in Los Angeles with unexpected and shocking consequences