Friday, December 22, 2017

USA Today: 50 Best Movies of All Time

Originally posted 8/3/2019.

In 2017, USA Today published its list of the top 50 movies of all time. In the article, they explained that they “created an index based on each film’s Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and Internet Movie Database average user rating. To be considered, each film needed to have at least 5,000 Rotten Tomatoes user ratings, 10 approved tomatometer critic reviews, and 10,000 IMDb user ratings. We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating. Movies released in 2017 were excluded.”

Here are the results:

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Godfather Part II (1974)
3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
5. Schindler’s List (1993)
6. The Dark Knight (2008)
7. 12 Angry Men (1957)
8. Goodfellas (1990)
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
10. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

11. Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
13. Casablanca (1942)
14. City Lights (1931)
15. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
17. Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era Una Volta Il West) (1968)
18. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
19. Citizen Kane (1941)
20. Toy Story 3 (2010)

21. Modern Times (1936)
22. Rear Window (1954)
23. Psycho (1960)
24. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
25. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
26. All About Eve (1950)
27. Apocalypse Now (1979)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Paths of Glory (1957)
30. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

31. North by Northwest (1959)
32. The Great Dictator (1940)
33. Alien (1979)
34. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
35. Chinatown (1974)
36. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
37. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
38. Inception (2010)
39. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
40. On the Waterfront (1954)

41. Vertigo (1958)
42. Taxi Driver (1976)
43. Double Indemnity (1944)
44. Some Like It Hot (1959)
45. Whiplash (2014)
46. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
47. Wall-E (2008)
48. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
49. Aliens (1986)
50. Raging Bull (1980)

Resources:

USA Today (12/22/2017). “Let the Debate Begin: 50 Best Movies of All Time”

The Graduate released 50 years ago today

The Graduate

Released: December 22, 1967

Studio: AVCO Embassy

Genre: comedy/romance

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 104.40 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 839.59 Worldwide: 1434.30

Directing: Mike Nichols

Screenwriting: Calder Willingham, Buck Henry

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross

Review:

The Graduate is an “acclaimed, satirical coming-of-age romantic drama/comedy” ^FS of “sixties youth.” ^RS It is based on the novel by Charles Webb. Buck Henry, who appears in the film as a hotel clerk, co-wrote the screenplay. The film established Mike Nichols as a major director, thanks to a Best Director Oscar win. “The influential and popular film…became an emotional touchstone for an entire generation.” ^FS

In his first major role, Dustin Hoffman is Benjamin Braddock, a recent, “shy, naive college graduate confronting the real world.” ^FS As he says, “The rules don’t make any sense to me…They’re being made up by all the wrong people.” ^TV Confused and vulnerable, he “is uncertain about his future, reacting with passive rebellion” ^FS as he “spends his summer trying to find out what to do next.” ^A98

The wife of his father’s business partner, Mrs. Robinson (Bancroft), seduces him, but he ends up falling for her engaged daughter Elaine (Ross). “The gap of ages is hilariously and poignantly evoked in the soulless affair between Ben and…Mrs. Robinson, the embodiment of middle-aged resignation.” ^TV “His rescue of the daughter from her wedding is a classic scene.” ^VD “If only he had followed the advice of his father’s friend, and gone into ‘Plastics.’” ^A07

“The Simon and Garfunkel score is as much a character in the movie” ^A98 as the actors; their “songs spoke to a whole new generation of filmgoers.” ^A07

Sources:

^A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies”
^A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition”
^FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films”
^RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years”
^TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video”
^VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Box Office:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 1 – Best Director

Nominations: 7 – Best Picture, Best Actor (Hoffman), Best Actress (Bancroft), Best Supporting Actress (Ross), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography

Other Lists/Honors:

Critics’ Picks:

First posted 9/3/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.