Wednesday, December 31, 1997

Mr. Showbiz: 100 Best Movies of All Time

Mr. Showbiz:

100 Best Movies of All Time

The Mr. Showbiz site, which Filmsite.org called, “one of the Web’s earliest providers of entertainment and celebrity news and information,” was established in 1995 and ceased in 2001. In 1997, the site published two lists – one ranked the top 100 movies based on critics and the other on readers. Here the two lists have been aggregated to create a single top 100 list. Note: the top 50 movies appeared on both lists.

1. Casablanca (1942)
2. Gone with the Wind (1939)
3. Citizen Kane (1941)
4. The Godfather Part II (1974)
5. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
6. The Godfather (1972)
7. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

11. Pulp Fiction (1994)
12. North by Northwest (1959)
13. Blade Runner (1982)
14. The Graduate (1967)
15. Raging Bull (1980)
16. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
17. Apocalypse Now (1979)
18. Chinatown (1974)
19. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
20. Schindler’s List (1993)

21. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
22. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
23. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
24. Vertigo (1958)
25. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
26. Rear Window (1954)
27. Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
28. Jaws (1975)
29. Taxi Driver (1976)
30. Annie Hall (1977)

31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
33. Manhattan (1979)
34. Goodfellas (1990)
35. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
36. Unforgiven (1992)
37. Some Like It Hot (1959)
38. Blue Velvet (1986)
39. Die Hard (1988)
40. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

41. The Deer Hunter (1978)
42. All About Eve (1950)
43. Psycho (1960)
44. The Terminator (1984)
45. West Side Story (1961)
46. The Piano (1993)
47. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
48. Tootsie (1982)
49. The Quiet Man (1952)
50. Patton (1970)

51. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
52. City Lights (1931)
53. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
54. Braveheart (1995)
55. Forrest Gump (1994)
56. To Have and Have Not (1944)
57. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
58. Independence Day (1996)
59. The Wild Bunch (1969)
60. Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

61. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
62. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)
63. Double Indemnity (1944)
64. The Sound of Music (1965)
65. The Manchurian Candidate (1961)
66. The Searchers (1956)
67. The Usual Suspects (1995)
68. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
69. Ninotchka (1939)
70. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

71. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
72. Fargo (1996)
73. On the Waterfront (1954)
74. Grease (1978)
75. Touch of Evil (1958)
76. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
77. Nashville (1975)
78. Aliens (1986)
79. The Hustler (1961)
80. The Big Sleep (1946)

81. Bonne and Clyde (1967)
82. Dances with Wolves (1990)
83. The Princess Bride (1987)
84. Network (1976)
85. Top Gun (1986)
86. Se7en (1995)
87. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
88. Gunga Din (1939)
89. Field of Dreams (1989)
90. The Rock (1996)

91. Hud (1960)
92. The Third Man (1949)
93. Trainspotting (1996)
94. Modern Times (1936)
95. Jerry Maguire (1996)
96. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
97. Red River (1948)
98. Jurassic Park (1993)
99. Hamlet (1948)
100. Notorious (1946)

Resources:

Originally posted 7/31/2019.
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Video Detective: Top 100 Films of All Time

Video Detective:

Top 100 Films of All Time

From Filmsite.org: “Video Detective, a pocket-sized guide published in 1997 and written by Jim Riffel, suggested both its top 1000 films and 100 films of all-time for its readers, to provide advice on renting videos.” The original list was presented in unranked, alphabetical order. The top 100 films are listed here, ranked by their overall status in Dave’s Movie Database.

1. Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
4. Casablanca (1942)
5. Citizen Kane (1941)
6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
9. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
10. Psycho (1960)

11. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
12. The Godfather Part II (1974)
13. Vertigo (1958)
14. Raging Bull (1980)
15. Apocalypse Now (1979)
16. Taxi Driver (1976)
17. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
18. Some Like It Hot (1959)
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
20. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

21. The Sound of Music (1965)
22. Chinatown (1974)
23. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
24. Rear Window (1954)
25. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
26. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
27. North by Northwest (1959)
28. On the Waterfront (1954)
29. Annie Hall (1977)
30. All About Eve (1950)

31. The Exorcist (1973)
32. Double Indemnity (1944)
33. The Graduate (1967)
34. Ben-Hur (1959)
35. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
36. The Searchers (1956)
37. The Third Man (1949)
38. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
39. 12 Angry Men (1957)
40. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

41. West Side Story (1961)
42. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
43. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
44. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
45. City Lights (1931)
46. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
47. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
48. It Happened One Night (1934)
49. The Sting (1973)
50. Modern Times (1936)

51. The Deer Hunter (1978)
52. Amadeus (1984)
53. My Fair Lady (1964)
54. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
55. Touch of Evil (1958)
56. High Noon (1952)
57. Manhattan (1979)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Patton (1970)
60. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

61. Paths of Glory (1957)
62. The French Connection (1971)
63. An American in Paris (1951)
64. The Wild Bunch (1969)
65. The General (1927)
66. Top Hat (1935)
67. The Manchurian Candidate (1961)
68. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
69. Duck Soup (1933)
70. The African Queen (1951)

71. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
72. Stagecoach (1939)
73. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
74. Frankenstein (1931)
75. M*A*S*H (1970)
76. The Lady Eve (1941)
77. Terms of Endearment (1983)
78. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
79. Laura (1944)
80. The Big Sleep (1946)

81. Gandhi (1982)
82. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
83. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
84. Shane (1953)
85. Harold and Maude (1971)
86. Ordinary People (1980)
87. The King and I (1956)
88. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
89. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
90. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

91. A Room with a View (1985)
92. Wuthering Heights (1939)
93. Five Easy Pieces (1970)
94. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
95. Deliverance (1972)
96. The Caine Mutiny (1954)
97. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
98. East of Eden (1955)
99. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
100. Papillon (1973)

Resources:

Originally posted 8/1/2019; last updated 5/28/2023.
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Friday, December 19, 1997

Titanic, the most expensive film ever made, released

Titanic

Released: December 19, 1997

Studio: Paramount/20th Century Fox/Lightstorm Entertainment

Genre: epic/disaster/romance

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 659.40 Worldwide: 2264.74

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 1344.91 Worldwide: 3485.00

Directing: James Cameron

Screenwriting: James Cameron

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Frances Fisher

Review:

“Writer/director James Cameron’s three-plus hour, epic mega-blockbuster with the most expensive budget of any film up to its time,” FS thanks to “a monumental visual effects undertaking.” AFI07 “Fans (mostly female) returned many dozens of times to enjoy the tale over and over and helped the film become the highest grossing motion picture of all time.” FS

The “fictionalized account of the ‘ship of dreams’” AFI07 centered on the real events of April 15, 1912, when the White Star Line’s R.M.S. Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. The story is told in flashback when Rose, a 102-year-old survivor (Stuart) of that fateful night, reminisces about “an ill-fated, forbidden romance…with lower-class, starving artist Jack Dawson (DiCaprio).” FS Feeling trapped in an engagement arranged by her mother (Fisher), the seventeen-year-old debutante (Winslet) tries to commit suicide but is rescued by Jack. “When the ship hit the iceberg in the frigid North Atlantic and split in two, Jack sacrificed himself and again saved her from sure death.” FS

“Although praised by critics and the viewing public, there was some backlash about its acting (especially DiCaprio’s) and its screenplay – Titanic became the first Best Picture winner to not have a Best Screenplay nomination since The Sound of Music (1965).” FS

Sources:

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists:

Box Office:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 11 – Best Picture, Best Director (Cameron), Best Cinematography (Russell Carpenter), Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score (James Horner), Best Original Song – “My Heart Will Go On,” Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing

Nominations: 14 – including Best Actress (Winslet), Best Supporting Actress (Stuart), Best Makeup

Other Lists/Honors:

First posted 7/29/2019; last updated 5/27/2023.
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Wednesday, December 3, 1997

Los Angeles Daily News: "The Greatest American Movies"

Los Angeles Daily News:

The Greatest American Movies

In response to the American Film Institute announcing its list of 400 films to be voted on for its “100 Years…100 American Movies” list, the Los Angeles Daily News conducted its own poll of its readers, using the same list. The original list resulted in multiple ties and more than 100 titles. Ties have been broken here according to movies’ overall standing in Dave’s Movie Database and the list has been restricted to the first 100 titles.

1. Casablanca (1942)
2. Citizen Kane (1941)
3. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
5. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
6. The Godfather (1972)
7. The African Queen (1951)
8. The Sound of Music (1965)
9. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
10. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

11. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
12. Schindler’s List (1993)
13. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
14. It Happened One Night (1934)
15. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
16. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
17. Patton (1970)
18. Dances with Wolves (1990)
19. King Kong (1933)
20. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

21. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
22. All About Eve (1950)
23. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
24. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
25. Stagecoach (1939)
26. Fantasia (1940)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. Ben-Hur (1959)
29. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
30. Psycho (1960)

31. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
32. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
33. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
34. Oklahoma! (1955)
35. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
36. Forrest Gump (1994)
37. My Fair Lady (1964)
38. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
39. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
40. Some Like It Hot (1959)

41. West Side Story (1961)
42. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
43. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
44. On the Waterfront (1954)
45. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
46. From Here to Eternity (1953)
47. An American in Paris (1951)
48. Laura (1944)
49. The Quiet Man (1952)
50. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

51. North by Northwest (1959)
52. The Graduate (1967)
53. Rocky (1976)
54. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
55. The Ten Commandments (1956)
56. Frankenstein (1931)
57. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Mary Poppins (1964)
60. Braveheart (1995)

61. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
62. M*A*S*H (1970)
63. Lost Horizon (1937)
64. Raging Bull (1980)
65. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
66. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
67. Rebecca (1940)
68. Giant (1956)
69. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
70. Wings (1927)

71. The Jazz Singer (1927)
72. Annie Hall (1977)
73. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
74. 12 Angry Men (1957)
75. The Sting (1973)
76. The French Connection (1971)
77. The Gold Rush (1925)
78. American Graffiti (1973)
79. Tootsie (1982)
80. Rain Man (1988)

81. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
82. The Color Purple (1985)
83. The Longest Day (1962)
84. Apocalypse Now (1979)
85. Chinatown (1974)
86. The Third Man (1949)
87. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
88. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
89. Shane (1953)
90. Funny Girl (1968)

91. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
92. Gunga Din (1939)
93. The Godfather Part II (1974)
94. Vertigo (1958)
95. Taxi Driver (1976)
96. Rear Window (1954)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. The Lion King (1994)
99. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
100. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Resources:

Originally posted 8/27/2019; last updated 5/29/2023.
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Friday, September 19, 1997

L.A. Confidential released

L.A. Confidential

Released: September 19, 1997

Studio: Warner Bros.

Genre: crime drama/mystery/film noir

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 126.2 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: ? Worldwide: 245.46

Directing: Curtis Hanson

Screenwriting: Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito

Review:

Originally the plan was to make James Ellroy’s “heavy-plotted third novel in the Demon Dog’s L.A. Quartet” E18 into a television miniseries, but it never came about. When Curtis Hanson, who’d written and directed several successful films in the ‘90s, read the novel, he was immediately interested in making it into a movie. He said, “I’d always wanted to…deal with the difference between appearance and reality in Los Angeles, the city of manufactured dreams.” MD-53

It became “one of the most acclaimed movies of the 1990s.” MSN Set in Los Angeles in the 1950s, it is “a gritty, violent, thrilling film noirish tale of sex, conspiracy, scandal, double-cross and betrayal, racism and corruption.” FS The film pays homage to other classic noir films such as Chinatown (1974), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and The Big Sleep (1946).

The focus is on three LAPD officers who “use incompatible methods while tackling a multiple murder scene at the all-night diner the Night Owl.” FS Bud Smith (Crowe) is a “brutal, hot-tempered tough cop,” FS Ed Exley (Pearce) is “moralistic, clean-cut, college-educated rookie…[who] does everything ‘by the book,’” FS and “sleazy, sharp-suited” E18 Jack Vincennes (Spacey) is a narcotics officer moonlighting as a technical advisor on a TV cop show. Their superior, Captain Dudley Smith (Cromwell), “seems resigned to the corruption in the city and in his own police force.” FS

In an Oscar-winning performance, Kim Basinger plays a Veronica Lake lookalike who “works for a pornographer (Strathairn) who hires out celebrity look-alike prostitutes.” FS Danny DeVito stars as Sid Hudgens, the editor-in-chief of celebrity tabloid Hush-Hush magazine, to whom Jack provides scandal fodder. FS

Sources:

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 2 – Best Supporting Actress (Basinger), Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominations: 9 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound Mixing

Other Lists/Honors:

First posted 1/6/2020; last updated 6/2/2023.
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