Why Oh Why

Why would I undertake such a weird task of list compiling, especially in regards to a movie made almost 25 years ago?  Well in honor of the new Star Trek Movie (2009), there are lots of discussions about Star Trek around the interwebs.  One such place is the Tivo Community Forum Happy Hour -  General Chit-Chat.  While browsing there recently I came across several people who made the bold claim that Star Trek III was one of the best movies of all time.  In honor of full disclosure I will say right off the bat that I am a not a fan  of Star Trek, in any existing shape or form past or present.  So I really thought what these people were saying was far off-base.  That being said I felt I was a bit biased.  Sure I do not like Star Trek, but I have actually debated seeing the new film as JJ. Abrahms came into it not a fan either, so I thought it might just be worthwhile.

Why 501 Movies?

To be honest, 501 sounded like a good number.  It is pretty significant, and I figured if I could come up with 501 movies I thought better than Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, there would be little chance I would have to accept anyone’s argument that it is one of the best movies of all time.  Certainly movie tastes are highly subjective.  Heck I am sure there are many movies on my list people will laugh at or outright dismiss.  However, I bet most people will be able to find at least 25-50 movies that they realize are better than Star Trek III, which means it can’t possibly be one of the best movies of all time.  As my list is not complete and I left a lot of movies off that others would certainly put on there as well.

What Criteria Was Used?

I really did try to be intellectually honest.  I compared each movie I considered and only if I felt it was clearly better, in my opinion, did it get added to the list.  A lot of movies I considered did not get added.  I probably considered close to 2000 movies to come up with this list.  Some of the movies not on the list I never saw, and others I thought were outright worse, or close enough to be debatable, and I did not want even debatable movies on the list.  Every single movie on the list I have seen at least one time.  It did cross my mind to “cheat” and throw in some movies I understood were good but I had not actually seen.  I refrained from doing that, and never needed to resort to that.

Was It Difficult?

My position that Star Trek III has no business being considered a top movie of all time was buoyed early on. Without consulting any sort of reference at all I was able to come up with 160 or so movies off the top of my head.  After that I used some good standbys like Netflix, Rotten Tomatoes, Yahoo! Movies, and IMDB.  I took a bunch of paths, but it really was not hard to get to 450 or so.  The last 50 though, things started to become difficult, so while early on I felt I might be able to do 1000, by the end I decided 501 was the perfect number.

Without Further Adieu

I did a cursory check for duplicates, but there may be some more.  I thought of some additional movies that are not on the list after the fact.  If a movie is not on the list it does not mean I think it is worse than Star Trek: The Search for Spock, it may mean I did not see it. Also correct titles and spellings may not be 100% accurate.  More than half the entries were from off my head.  These movies are not ranked in any sort of order, including how they came to me.  So place no judgment on their relative positions in the list,  but that is enough of me, here is the list.

The List

1.Goodfellas
2.Usual Suspects
3.Godfather I
4.Godfather II
5.Shawshank Redemption
6.Citizen Cane
7. SpaceBalls
8. Galaxy Quest
9. Star Wars
10. Empire Strike Back
11. Swimming with Sharks
12. Return of the Jedi
13. Blue Lagoon
14. Half-Baked
15. Billy Madison
16. Happy Gilmour
17. Caddyshack
18. Meatballs
19. Midnight Cowboy
20. Cape Fear
21. The Firm
22. Donnie Brasco
23. Fletch
24. Vacation
25. Christmas Vacation
26. No Country for Old Men
27. There Will Be Blood
28. Mosquito Coast
29. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
30. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dome
31. Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
32. Crocodile Dundee
33. Speed
34. Bad News Bears
35. The Outsiders
36. Top Gun
37. Cocktail
38. Airforce One
39. Burn After Reading
40. Oh Brother Where Art Thou
41. The Big Lewboski
42. Fargo
43. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
44. Knocked Up
45. Midnight Express
46. Midnight Run
47. Animal House
48. Revenge of the Nerds
49. M*A*S*H
50. Patton
51. The Elephant Man
52. Ghandi
53. Out of Africa
54. The Sting
55. The Hustler
56. The Color of Money
57. Ace Ventura Pet Detective
58. March of the Penguins
59. The Lion King
60. The Wizard of Oz
61. Willa Wonka and the Choclate Factory
62. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
63. Dracula
64. Iron Man
65. Reservoir Dogs
66. Pulp Fiction
67. El Mariachi
68. Desperado
69. Hoosiers
70. Field of Dreams
71. The Bridge on the River Kwai
72. Dirty Dozen
73. A Few Good Men
74. Pretty Woman
75. Erin Brockovich
76. Kalifornia
77. Across the Tracks
78. Eight Men Out
79. Miracle
80. Goodwill Hunting
81. Good Morning Vietnam
82. Dead Poet’s Society
83. Platoon
84. Full Metal Jacket
85. Apocalypse Now
86. Wall Street
87. Basic Instinct
88. Misery
89. Carrie
90. Cujo
91. The Shining
92. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
93. Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Pearl
94. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
95. Cool Runnings
96. Summer Rental
97. Nightmare on Elm Street
98. Pet Cemetery
99. To Kill a Mockingbird
100. Rocky
101. First Blood
102. Rocky II
103. Rocky III
104. Rocky IV
105. Spanish Prisoner
106. Glengarry Glenross
107. Crimson Tide
108. American Gangster
109. Man on Fire
110. Training Day
111. American History X
112. Fight Club
113. Se7en
114. Thelma and Louise
115. Airplane!
116. Major League
117. 3:10 to  Yuma
118. Westworld
119. Jurassic Park
120. Unforgiven
121. Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid
122. Gremlins
123. Cannonball run
124. Smokey and the Bandit
125. Urban Cowboy
126. Backdraft
127. Officer and a Gentleman
128. Amadeus
129. Apollo 13
130. Right Stuff
131. Terminator
132. Alien
133. Halloween
134. Total Recall
135. Clueless
136. Election
137. Ferris Buehler’s Day Off
138. Groundhog Day
139. Face/Off
140. The Simpsons Movie
141. Southpark: bigger longer uncut
142. Team America
143. On Golden Pond
144. Prison football movie burt Reynolds
145. Educating Rita
146. My Tutor
147. Mission Impossible
148. Predator
149. Jaws
150. The Abyss
151. The Patriot
152. Slumdog Millionaire
153. Silence of the Lambs
154. Witness
155. The Accused
156. Manhunter
157. Something About Mary
158.Oxford Blues
159. Breakfast Club
160. Taxi Driver
161. Gone with the WInd
162. Crash
163. Bucket List
164. The Departed
165. The Pursuit of Happyness
166. I Am Legend
167. Little Miss Sunshine
168. Happiness
169. Blood Diamond
170. Thank You For Smoking
171. The Family Stone
172. 40 Year Old Virgin
173. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
174. Breach
175. 300
176. Oceans 11
177. Borat
178. Dan in Real Life
179. Dances with Wolves
180. Braveheart
181. National Treasure
182. National Treasure II
183. Talladegha Nights
184. Fracture
185. The Bear
186. Hoop Dreams
187. Flags of Our Fathers
188. Letters from Iwo Jima
189. Sideways
190. Into the Wild
191.  Good Night, and Good Luck
192. Michael Clayton
193. Die Hard
194. Die Harder
195. Die Hard 3: The Wrath of McClain
196. Live Free or Die Hard
197. Batman
198. Batman Begins
199. Batman Returns
200. Firewall
201. Night at the Museum
202. The Bourne Identity
203. Wedding Crashers
204. The Last King of Scotland
205. The Dark Knight
206. Greenstreet Hooligans
207. The Aviator
208. Juno
209. Charlie Wilson’s War
210. Inside Man
211. The Da Vinci Code
212. Memento
213. The Insider
214. Beautiful Mind
215. Gladiator
216. Walk the Line
217. Naked Gun
218. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
219. Three Kings
220. Wall-E
221. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
222. Gung Ho
223. Mr. Mom
224. Mrs. Doubtfire
225. 9 to 5
226. The Graduate
227. Delieverance
228. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
229. Man on Wire
230. Wonderland
231. LA Confidential
232. Boogie Nights
233. The Gods Must Be Crazy
234. Philadelphia
235. Milk
236. Boys Don’t Cry
237. Saw
238. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
239. The Full Monty
240. Snatch
241. Napoleon Dynamite
242. Catch Me If You Can
243. Blood In, Blood Out
244. That Thing You Do!
245. Cadillac Records
246. 12 Angry Men
247. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
248. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
249. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
250. American Beauty
251. Saving Private Ryan
252. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
253. Once Upon a Time in America
254. Mobsters
255. Brubaker
256. Escape from Alcatrez
256. Back to the Future
257. Raiders of the Lost Ark
258. The Green Mile
259. The Sixth Sense
260. Stand By Me
261. Dog Day Afternoon
262. Scarface
263. The Princess Bride
264. Toy Story
265. Casino
266. Weekend at Bernies
267. Network
268. Raging Bull
269. Return to Paradise
270. Of Mice and Men
271. American Graffiti
272. Hollywood Shuffle
273. White Men Can’t Jump
274. In Cold Blood
275. Paper Moon
276. All The President’s Men
277. Road Warrior
278. The French Connection
279. Happy Birthday to Me
280. Dirty Harry
281. Aliens
282. Boys In the Hood
283. The Onion Field
284. Big
285. This is Spinal Tap
286. Heat
287. Less Than Zero
288. Bad Boys (1983)
289. Fast Times at Ridgement High
290. The Game
291. Colors
292. The Falcon and the Snowman
293. Taos
294. Racing with the Moon
295. Perfect Storm
296. Devil’s Advocate
297. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
298. Roadhouse
299. Point Break
300. Clear and Present Danger
301. Patriot Games
302. Lethal Weapon
303. Lethal Weapon 2
304. Lethal Weapon 3
305. Lethal Weapon 4
306. Escape from New York
307. Breakdown
308. Executive Decision
309. Summer School
310. Unlawful Entry
311. Tango & Cash
312. Q & A
313. Tin Cup
314. Bull Durham
315. Eddie Murphy: Delirious
316. Eddie Murphy: Raw
317. Barbarians at the Gate
318. Citizen X
319. Comrades of Summer
320. Amistead
321. Roots
322. The Enemy Within
323. First Time Felon
324. Gia
325. Indictment: The Mcmartin Trial
326. My Bodyguard
327. The Late Shift
328. Live from Baghdad
329. Young Doctors in Love
330. Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story
331. United 93
332. Rated X
333. Hot Shots!
334. Hot Shots! Part Deux
335. Young Guns
336. The Wraith
337. Vantage Point
338. Panic Room
339. The Crying Game
340. Meet the Parents
341. Meet the Fockers
342. Blood Simple
343. Mean Streets
344. Jackie Brown
345. Wag the Dog
346. Cop Land
347. This Boy’s Life
348. Angel Heart
349. Blow
350. Austin Powers
351. The Negotiator
352. A Time to Kill
353. The Ref
354. Dangerous Minds
355. Stripes
356. Bowfinger
357. Ghostbusters
358. Blues Brothers
359. Three Amigos
360. The Jerk
361. Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip
362. Bevery Hills Cop
363. 48 Hours
364. Beverly Hills Cop 2
365. The Nutty Professor
366. Beverly Hills Cop III
367. Another 48 Hours
368. Coming to America
369. The Golden Child
370. Trading Places
371. True Lies
372. Dragnet
373. Grosse Pointe Blank
374. Say Anything
375. Tommy Boy
376. Wayne’s World
377. Sneakers
378. Driving Miss Daisy
379. Twilight Zone: The Movie
380. Doctor Detroit
381. Road to Perdition
382. The Verdict
383. Absence of Malice
384. Serpico
385. Slap Shot
386. Rollerball (1975)
387. Idecent Proposal
388. The Natural
389. Out of Africa
390. The Canidate
391. Beavis and Butthead Do America
392. Office Space
393. Disclosure
394. Ghost
395. The Cooler
396. The Royal Tennenbaums
397. Rushmore
398. Clerks
399. Miami Blues
400. Rush
401.  The Hunt for Red October
402. Talk Radio
403. Beetle Juice
404. Chasing Amy
405. Runaway Jury
406. Pushing Tin
407. The Grfters
408. True Colors
409. Sixteen Candles
410. Lost In Translation
411. State of Play
412. Kingpin
413. What About Bob?
414. Tootsie
415. Up Close & Personal
416. The Fabulous Baker Boys
417.  Mystery, Alaska
418. Bruce Almighty
419. The Sum of All Fears
420. Along Came a Spider
421. Kiss the Girls
422. Lean on Me
423. Seabiscuit
424. Arlington Road
425. Titanic
426. Against All Odds
427. Invincible
428. Brian’s Song
429. The Italin Job
430. Fear
431. Bottle Rocket
432. The Last Seduction
433. Single White Female
434. Bachelor Party
435. Band of Brothers
436. Cast Away
437. Nothing in Common
438. Splash
439. Rocky Horror Picture Show
440. Mazes and Monsters
441. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
442. Old School
443. Home Alone
444. Grease
445. Saturday Night Fever
446. Jerry Maguire
447. Dumb and Dumber
448. Enemy of the State
449. The Blair Witch Project
450. JFK
451. American Pie
452. Risky Business
453. Roger & Me
454. Soapdish
455. Repoman
456. I Love You, Man
457. Papillon
458. Blazing Saddles
459. Young Frankenstein
460. Auto Focus
461. The Gift
462. Warriors
463. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
464. La Bamba
465. The Buddy Holly Story
466. Strange Brew
467. Rounders
468. Studio 54
469. Coyote Ugly
470. Truman Show
471. Wedding Singer
472. Role Models
473. Punchline
474. American Psycho
475. Almost Famous
476. Fridays
477. House Party
478. Traffic
479. Boiler Room
480. Black Hawk Down
481. Thirteen
482. Poolhall Junkies
483. A Fish Called Wanda
484. Superbad
485. Disturbia
486. A Civil Action
487. Broken Arrow
488. All the Right Moves
489. Tropic Thunder
490. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
491. The Birdcage
492. The Quick and the Dead
493. No Way Out
494. Signs
495. The Fugitive
496. Elf
497. Tombstone
498. Forest Gump
499. Rain Man
500. The Untouchables
501. Star Trek?  (2009)

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 7:15 pm and is filed under Y Not?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.