Every time I talk about top 10 lists, I always start with the disclaimer that I know how pointless they are.
And then I ask myself: OK, if they are so pointless, why do I have so much fun reading them and doing them and sharing them?
No good answer, In fact, making lists is far from the only pointless thing I do.
Today, I am adding some new films and slightly changing the order. It is not a 10 best list. It is a list of my ten favorites. A list of 10 best films would be beyond nervy given how many films have a legitimate claim to inclusion.
But it seems perfectly fair to make a list of ten favorites since they are, in fact, only my favorites.
My favorites have stayed the same for over a year. But for the last few months I have been mulling over “No Country for Old Men” and “The Lives of Others.” (Now I can really hear you saying: This guy need a life! Who has time to mull anything over?)
Seriously, I want to make some changes to my list. But according to ground rules that some friends of mine and I set up many years ago in a UCLA dorm room, I have to remove one film for each one I add. I posted my last 10 favorite about a year ago. Here is my new one along with a list of contenders.
Comments welcome. Lists welcome. Ridicule welcome.
My Ten Favorite Films as of November 15, 2009
1. Dekalog
2. Godfather 1/Godfather 2
3. Salesman
4. The Lives of Others
5. Amarcord
6. Goodfellas
7 No Country for Old Men
8 Fargo
9. Rear Window
10 Night and Fog
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Other Contenders (not in order)
Midnight Cowboy
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Au Revoir les Enfants
Shop on Main Street (1965)
It’s a Wonderful Life
Jeux interdits
Come and See
Smile
Atlantic City
Three Kings
Das Boot
The General
Paris, Texas
Shoah
Invaders from Mars
Strangers on a Train
The Graduate
The French Connection
Double Indemnity
Les Enfants du Paradis
Les Diaboliques
Psycho
Le Salaire de la peur
Sunset Boulevard
The Exiles
The Last Laugh
Hotel Terminus
Happiness
The Third Man
M
The Marriage of Maria Braun
MEDIA AND MAYHEM 