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GOSE’S FILM LISTS. As a movie lover I am always looking for films that I might have missed that I would probably love. My lists, of films that I have seen, predicts that if you like one movie in that list, you may very well like all the movies in that list. P.S. These are all films "I" liked a lot. I do not include films that fit a category that I did not like a lot. The hope is that the lists where our tastes happen to intersect may be helpful...

Categories used below, alphabetically: Action, Addiction, Adventure, African-Amercan, Allen (Woody), Animals, Animated, Apocalyptic, Artists, Australian, Business, Characters, Childhood, Classics, Comedies, Cops & Robbers, Costner, Damaged by Hype, De Vito, Disappointments, Documentary, Duvall, Eastwood, Entertainment Industry, Family, Fanciful, Food, Ford (Harrison), Foreign, Gibson (Mel), Gilliam (Terry), High School Seniors, Historical, Hitchcock, Hoffman, Jesus, Lee (Spike), Leigh (Mike), Li (Gong), Liberal Politics, Long Movies, Martin (Steve), Musicals, Nicholson, Odd, Old Age, Overlooked, Pluralism, Political Paranoia, Psychology, Quirky, Racial, Religious, Romantic, Sayles (John), Scary, School, Schwarzeneger, Science Fiction, Sequels, Shakespeare, Special, Sports, Star Trek, Surprises, Tear Jerkers, Television Movies, Theme, Third World Politics, Violence, War, Westerns, Williams (Robin), Woman’s Point of View, Worst All Time

 

Action: 1. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2. Star Wars, 3. Return of the Jedi, 4. Goldfinger, 5. The Spy Who Loved Me, 6. Back to the Future, 7. Total Recall

 Addiction: (Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling): 1. Days of Wine and Roses, 2. Clean and Sober, 3. Drug Store Cowboy, 4. Sid and Nancy, 5. Less than Zero, 6. The Gambler, 7. Trainspotting, 8. When a Man Loves a Woman

 Adult (but worthwhile): 1. A Clockwork Orange, 2. Paris Texas, 3. Mona Lisa

Adult Fairy Tales: 1. King of Hearts, 2. 1000 Clowns, 3. Harold and Maude, 4. Morgan, 5. Harvey, 6. It’s a Wonderful Life, 7. War of the Roses, 8. Forest Gump

African-American: 1. BoyzNTheHood, 2. Do the Right Thing, 3. Five Heartbeats, 4. To Sleep with Anger, 5. A Raisin in the Sun

Allen, Woody: 1. Annie Hall, 2. Sleeper, 3. Play it Again Sam, 4. Love and Death, 5. Purple Rose of Cairo. Second tier: 6. Bananas, 7. Bullets Over Broadway, 8. Zelig

Animals: 1. Harry and Tonto, 2. Old Yeller, 3. The Yearling, 4. Black Stallion, 5. Never Cry Wolf

Animated: 1. Toy Story, 2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 3. Wallace and Gromit (all)

Apocalyptic Futures: 1. The Road Warrior series, 2. Rollerball, 3. Dr. Strangelove, 4. Bladerunner (also director’s cut), 5. Robocop, 6. The Terminator, 7. A Boy and His Dog, 8. Escape from New York, 9. Twelve Monkeys, 10. The Alien series

Artists: 1. Amadeus, 2. Basquiat

Australian: 1. Smash Palace, 2. Malcolm, 3. Rikki and Pete, 4. The Coca Cola Kid, 5. The year My Voice Cracked, 6. Flirting, 7. Fringe Dwellers, 8. Gallipoli, 9. Breaker Morant, 10. The Lighthorsemen, 11. The Man From Snowy River, 12. Mountains of the Moon, 13. Strictly Ballroom, 14. Muriel’s Wedding

Beyond Reality: 1. The Navigator, 2. Flatliners, 3. Jacob’s Ladder, 4. Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Business Themes: 1. The Efficiency Expert, 2. Wall Street, 3. Other People’s Money, 4. Tucker, 5. Roger and Me, 6. Rosalie Goes Shopping

Car Chases: 1. Against All Odds, 2. Bullitt, 3. To Live and Die in L.A., 4. Vanishing Point

Characters (in not so great movies): 1. Blues Brothers, 2. Night Shift, 3. The Jerk, 4. Silver Streak, 5. Heaven Can Wait, 6. Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Childhood: 1. The Never Ending Story, 2. Return to Oz, 3. Empire of the Sun, 4. The Black Stallion, 5. Old Yeller, 6. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 7. Sounder, 8. Journey of Natty Gann, 9. Lucas, 10. Young Sherlock, 11. Stand By Me, 12. Searching for Bobby Fisher, 13. King of the Hill

Classics: 1. The African Queen, 2. For Whom the Bell Tolls, 3. High Noon, 4. Friendly Persuasion, 5. Giant, 6. Gone with the Wind, 7. Casablanca, 8. The Quiet Man, 9. To Kill a Mockingbird, 10. The Treasure of Sierra Nevada, 11. The Reivers, 12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 13. Romeo and Juliet (Zefrelli), 14. Passage to India, 15. Room with a View, 16. The Dead, 17. Howard’s End, 18. Henry V (Olivier), 19. Hamlet (Olivier)

Classics (my list): 1. The King of Hearts, 2. Midnight Cowboy, 3. To Kill a Mockingbird, 4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 5. The Godfather, 6. A Man for All Seasons, 7. Annie Hall, 8. The African Queen, 9. Tender Mercies, 10. It’s a Wonderful Life, 11. Schindler’s List

Comedies: 1. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, World, 2. A Shot in the Dark, 3. Start the Revolution without Me, 4. The Three Musketeers, 5. The Jerk, 6. The Blues Brothers

Comedies (small): 1. Lost in America, 2. Clockwise, 3. Zelig, 4. Mother

Comedy, classic: 1. MASH, 2. American Graffitti, 3. The Graduate, 4. Tootsie, 5. Annie Hall, 6. Parenthood, 7. The Grand Canyon

Cops and Robbers: 1. The New Centurions, 2. Serpico, 3. The Thomas Crown Affair, 4. In the Heat of the Night, 5. Bonnie and Clyde, 6. Witness, 7. The Big Easy, 8. Sharkey’s Machine, 9. Fargo

Costner: 1. Silverado, 2. No Way Out, 3. Untouchables, 4. Field of Dreams, 5. Dances with Wolves.

 

Costume Drama: 1. Howard’s End, 2. A Room With a View, 3. Age of Innocence, 4. Remains of the Day, 5. Dangerous Liaisons, 6. Restoration

Damaged (most damaged by over publicity or hype): 1. E.T., 2. Rocky, 3. Jaws, 4. Saturday Night Fever, 5. The Right Stuff, 6. Ishtar, 7. Billy Jack

DeVito: 1. Ruthless People, 2. War of the Roses, 3. Tin Men, 4. Twins, 5. Romancing the Stone

Disappointments (as in Biggest Disappointments): 1. The Great Gatsby, 2. Chinatown, 3. Cheyenne Autumn, 4. Close Encounters, 5. Wind and the Lion, 6. The Lone Ranger, 7. The Color of Money, 8. Jaws, 9. Batman

Documentaries: 1. Hoop Dreams, 2. 35 Up, 3. Hearts of Darkness, 4. Roger and Me, 5. Jupiter’s Wife

Duvall: 1. The Godfather, 2. The Great Santini, 3. MASH, 4. Tender Mercies, 5. Apocalypse Now. (Special Mention: "Tomorrow")

Eastwood: 1. Dirty Harry, 2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 3. The Eiger Sanction, 4. The Beguiled, 5. Bronco Billy, 6. The Unforgiven (Special mention: A Fist Full of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, Play Misty for Me)

Entertainment Industry: 1. The Player, 2. Network, 3. Broadcast News, 4. Nashville, 5. The Paper

Family: 1. Old Yeller, 2. Friendly Persuasion, 3. The Reivers, 4. Christmas Story, 5. The Great Santini

Fanciful: 1. Ghostbusters, 2. Heaven Can Wait, 3. Peggy Sue Got Married, 4. Back to the Future, 5. Indiana Jones, 6. Laddyhawk, 7. Princess Bride

Favorites (personal favorites): 1. King of Hearts, 2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 3. Tender Mercies, 4. Cool Hand Luke, 5. Harold and Maude, 6. Map of the Human Heart

Food: 1. Babette’s Feast, 2. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, 3. The Big Night, 4. Tampopo, 5. Like Water for Chocolate

Ford, Harrison: 1. Witness, 2. Mosquito Coast, 3. Regarding Henry, 4. Bladerunner, 5. Sabrina

Foreign: 1. Ballad of a Soldier, 2. Swept Away, 3. Les Comperes, 4. King of Hearts, 5. The White Rose, 6. El Norte, 7. Friends, 8. Z, 9. Manon of the Spring, 10. Jean de Florette, 11. Stormy Monday, 12. Hear My Song, 13. Queen of Hearts, 14. My Diary (Caro Diaro), 15. My Father’s Glory, 16. My Mother’s Castle, 17. The New Land, 18. The Emigrants, 19. Small Change, 20. Kolya, 21. My Life as a Dog, 22. Cinema Paradiso (also see director’s cut for a very different second version!), 23. Il Postino, 24. The Gods Must Be Crazy, 25. The Blue Kite, 26. The Day the Sun Turned Cold

Gibson: 1. Mad Max, 2. Roadwarrior, 3. Beyond Thunderdome, 4. Year of Living Dangerously, 5. Lethal Weapon

Gilliam, Terry: 1. Brazil, 2. Time Bandits, 3. Adventures of Baron Munchausen, 4. Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, 5. Twelve Monkeys

High School: 1. Tex, 2. The Outsiders, 3. The Last Starfighter, 4. The Karate Kid, 5. Gregory’s Girl, 6. Flirting

High School Seniors: 1. The Great Santini, 2. American Graffitti, 3. Say Anything, 4. Risky Business, 5. Breakfast Club

High School, Post: 1. Diner, 2. The Flamingo Kid, 3. Breaking Away, 4. The Sure Thing, 5. The Freshman, 6. Paper Chase

Historical: 1. Gandhi, 2. Lawrence of Arabia, 3. Becket, 4. A Man for All Seasons, 5. Patton, 6. Reds, 7. All the President’s Men, 8. Nicholas and Alexandra, 9. Malcolm X, 10. Michael Collins

Hitchcock: 1. North by Northwest, 2. Psycho, 3. Vertigo, 4. Rear Window, 5. Notorious

Hoffman: 1. Tootsie, 2. Straight Time, 3. Staw Dogs, 4. Papillon, 5. Kramer vs. Kramer, 6. Midnight Cowboy, 7. The Graduate, 8. Little Big Man, 9. Rain Man

Jesus: 1. The Parable, 2. Jesus Christ Superstar, 3. Godspell, 4. Jesus of Nazareth, 5. Jesus of Montreal

Lee, Spike: 1. Do the Right Thing, 2. Jungle Fever, 3. Malcolm X

Leigh, Mike: 1. Secrets and Lies, 2. Life is Sweet

Li, Gong: 1. To Live, 2. Farewell My Concubine, 3. Story of Qiu Ju, 4. Ju Dou, 5. Raise the Red Lantern

Liberal Politics: 1. Roger and Me, 2. Blue Collar, 3. Shampoo, 4. Sayles films, 5. Lee films

Long Movies (but worth it): 1. Reds, 2. The Last Emperor, 3. The Right Stuff, 4. Lawrence of Arabia, 5. Platoon, 6. Papillon, 7. Emperor of the Sun, 8. Dr. Zhivago, 9. Little Big Man, 10. Giant, 11. Dances with Wolves, 12. Patton, 13. Schindler’s List, 14. Hamlet (Branagh)

Martin: 1. The Jerk, 2. All of Me, 3. Roseanne, 4. Parenthood

Musicals: 1. Evita, 2. Phantom of the Paradise, 3. Blues Brothers, 4. Jesus Christ Superstar, 5. Lady Sings the Blues, 6. Amadeus, 7. The Buddy Holly Story, 8. The Singing Detective, 9. The Commitments, 10. La Bamba

Nicholson: 1. Five Easy Pieces, 2. Two Jakes, 3. The Last Detail, 4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 5. Prizzi’s Honor, 6. China Town

Odd (in kindred pairs): 1. Twister, 2. Heathers

3. After Hours, 4. F/X

5. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, 6. Pee Wee’s Playhouse

7. Choose Me, 8. Trouble in Mind

9. Orlando, 10. Rosencranz and Guildenstern

11. Something Wild, 12. Miami Blues

13. Fargo, 14. One False Move

15. Dogfight, 16. Housekeeping

16. Jacob’s Ladder, 17. Flatliners

Old Age: 1. On Golden Pond, 2. Harry and Tonto, 3. Cocoon, 4. Trip to Bountiful

Overlooked (as in Most Overlooked and underappreciated): 1. Cannery Row, 2. Scarecrow, 3. The Man Who Would Be King, 4. Blue Collar, 5. Skin Game, 6. Say Anything, 7. Empire of the Sun, 8. The Landlord

Pluralism: 1. Joy Luck Club, 2. Pow Wow Highway, 3. Come See the Paradise, 4. El Norte, 5. Hollywood Shuffle

Political Paranoia: 1. Three Days of the Condor, 2. Manchurian Candidate, 3. No Way Out, 4. Parallax View, 5. All the President’s Men

Psychology: 1. Birdy, 2. Sophie’s Choice, 3. Ordinary People, 4. Mosquito Coast, 5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Python: 1. The Meaning of Life, 2. The Life of Brian, 3. The Holy Grail, 4. Jabberwocky, 5. Time Bandits, 6. A Fish Called Wanda

Quirky: 1. Pope of Geenwich Village, 2. Repo Man, 3. Buckaroo Bonzai, 4. Tremors

Racial Issue: 1. In the Heat of the Night, 2. El Norte, 3. Glory, 4. The Dry White Season, 5. Do the Right Thing, 6. Hollywood Shuffle, 7. Raisin in the Sun, 8. Nothing But a Man, 9. White Man’s Burden

Race is Not an Issue: 1. The Mighty Quinn, 2. Lethal Weapon I, 3. Leathal Weapon II, 4. The Blues Brothers, 5. (Perhaps surprisingly, most Clint Eastwood movies)

Religious: 1. Tender Mercies, 2. To Sleep With Anger, 3. Five Heartbeats, 4. China Cry

Romantic (especially Romantic Comedies): 1. Urban Cowboy, 2. An Officer and a Gentleman, 3. The Fabulous Baker Boys, 4. Moonstruck, 5. The Graduate, 6. My Best Friend’s Wedding

Sayles, John: 1. Lone Star, 2. City of Hope, 3. Eight Men Out, 4. Matewan, 5. Passion Fish

Scary: 1. The Shining, 2. Dead Calm, 3. Possession of Joel Delaney, 4. Alien

School: 1. Stand and Deliver, 2. Paper Chase, 3. Why Shoot the Teacher, 4. Conrack, 5. My Bodyguard, 6. Dead Poet’s Society, 7. To Sir With Love, 8. Mr. Holland’s Opus, 9. Dangerous Minds

Schwarzeneger: 1. Terminator I & II, 2. Total Recall, 3. Predator, 4. Running Man, 5. Last American Hero

Science Fiction: 1. 2001, 2. Alien, 3. Aliens, 4. Terminator, 5. Total Recall

Sequels: 1. Godfather II, 2. The Four Musketeers, 3. Star Trek III, 4. The Sting, 5. Return of the Jedi Knights, 6. Lethal Weapon II, 7. Road Warrior, 8. Beyond Thunderdome

Shakespeare: 1. Romeo and Juliet (Zefrelli), 2. Romeo and Juliet (DiCaprio), 3. Much Ado About Nothing (Denzel Washington), 4. Hamlet (Olivier), 5. Hamlet (Gibson), 6. Hamlet (Branagh), 7. Henry V (Olivier), 8. Henry V (Branagh), 9. Richard III (1996)

Special: 1. Shine, 2. Gaby, 3. Elephant Man, 4. Mask, 5. My Left Foot, 6. Children of a Lesser God, 7. Rain Man, 8. Dominick and Eugene, 9. Of Mice and Men, 10. Slingblade, 11. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

Sports: 1. Slapshot, 2. The Longest Yard, 3. Field of Dreams, 4. Hockey: The Deadliest Season, 5. Breaking Away, 6. Rollerball, 7. Rocky, 8. Chariots of Fire, 9. The Jackie Robinson Story, 10. Eight Men Out, 11. Hoop Dreams

Star Trek: (all)

Surprise: 1. The Crying Game, 2. No Way Out, 3. The Usual Suspects

Tear Jerkers: 1. Brian’s Song, 2. Kramer vs. Kramer, 3. Field of Dreams

Television Movies: 1. Duel, 2. Tribes, 3. A Storm in Summer, 4. Hockey: The Deadliest Season, 5. Kolchak (series), 6. Brian’s Song

Theme (significant theme): 1. It’s a Wonderful Life, 2. Love and Death, 3. Tender Mercies, 4. Star Wars, 5. Man for All Seasons, 6. Five Heartbeats, 7. To Sleep with Anger, 8. Schindler’s List

Third World Politics: 1. Year of Living Dangerously, 2. Killing Fields, 3. Salvador, 4. Missing, 5. Romero, 6. Under Fire, 7. Cry Freedom, 8. A World Apart, 9. A Dry White Season, 10. The Kitchen Toto, 11. Mr. Johnson, 12. Chocolat, 13. Mapantsula, 14. Cry Freedom

Violence (as a theme): 1. The Wild Bunch, 2. A Clockwork Orange, 3. Strawdogs, 4. Bonnie and Clyde, 5. One False Move, 6. Seven

War: 1. The Great Escape, 2. Where Eagles Dare, 3. The Dirty Dozen, 4. MASH, 5. To Hell and Back, 6. Platoon, 7. Apocalypse Now, 8. Glory

Westerns: 1. The Wild Bunch, 2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 3. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 4. True Grit, 5. Cat Ballou, 6. The Magnificent Seven, 7. Silverado

Williams: 1. Good Morning Viet Name, 2. Dead Poet’s Society, 3. Moscow on the Hudson, 4. Fisher King, 5. Mrs. Doubtfire

Woman’s Point of View: 1. Heartland, 2. Bagdad Cafe, 3. Mystic Pizza, 4. Room with a View, 5. My Brilliant Career, 6. House Keeping, 7. Thelma and Louise, 8. Man in the Moon, 9. Desperately Seeking Susan, 10. The Making of an American Quilt, 11. The Joy Luck Club, 12. Orlando

Worst, All Time: Valentino

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