The mildly observant of you out there will notice it has been about a year and a half since the last time I did this. There's two reasons for this and I'll let you decide how much each one applies. Reason 1: I'd done the list after the summer season and at the beginning of the fall which was causing too much skewing of the placements (see The Avengers in 2012 and Drive in 2011). By the time April rolls around, few good new movies have come out and the Oscar movies have been out long enough to level out some. Reason 2: I got busy and lazy at the year mark and put it off. I like to think it was more the former than the latter but who am I kidding?
Let's see how things break down.
Highest Additions
In addition to Like Stars on Earth, 3 Idiots (#125), Rang De Basanti (#143), Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (#202), and Swades (#219) all found a spot on the list. India has found IMDB. In total, 17 of the 33 movies new to the list are foreign. I could argue that this has to do with the improvement of world cinema, but I'm pretty sure it's that the .com users are becoming more savvy to IMDB.
Then there's the movies most likely to fall off. Obviously, older movies that joined the list are on better footing than the newer ones since there's less "flavor of the month" appeal. Despite the popularity of the The Lord of the Rings movies, I am surprised that The Desolation of Smaug showed up here. I don't know anyone who went nuts for this movie and doubt it has staying power. Notice how the first Hobbit movie isn't there anymore. From the last Oscars, 4 of the Best Picture nominees made the list look primed to fall. After the critical and award praise dies out, they should take a fall. I think Her is almost certain to drop. Don't let me forget The Lego Movie, the one 2014 movie. That's falling, probably off the list by this time next year. #179 isn't too high to be protected like The Avengers was when I did this last list.
Greatest Risers
Remember how I said the movie was getting more favorable to foreign movie? Here you go. I'm rather shocked to see The Intouchables make a 38 spot jump. I know I predicted it would fall off big last time. I was very wrong. Japanese cinema made some big strides as well. Miyazaki movie Howl's Movies Castle and My Neighbor Totoro both made big 38 spot jumps as well as a 26 spot jump for Princess Mononoke. All, Isao Takahata's Graves for Fireflies moved up 28. I have no idea what caused In the Name of the Father and A Beautiful Mind to jump so big.
Largest Falls
Black Swan continues to fall big. This is the second list in a row that it has fallen. I imagine it'll be gone by the next one of these. The Avengers also took that predictable nosedive. I was a little surprised that The Dark Knight Rises only fell 21. It means Christopher Nolan is still a force to be reckoned with here. I fully expect Interstellar to be top 50 in a year. I'm not sure what to make of the other drops. I can't think of any good reason for any of them to fall.
Biggest Drops
Moonrise Kingdom's fall shouldn't be a surprise when you consider that, for all the love Wes Anderson gets, he had only the one movie on the list last year and now none. The Artist came off that Oscar high and the list seems to determine it is more gimmick than classic. The other big falls from the list are just that ugly recency bias rearing it's ugly head.
Direct Comparisons
Not a ton of change hear. Of course, 18 months of new movies has led to a small spike to the post 2010 list. Nothing alarming about that. The average age of the movies in the list shifted but not by much. In 2012, the average movie was 32.4 years old. Currently, it is 31.3. As I said, not a big leap. It is the youngest of the three times I've done this however, so make of that what you will.
Directors
A lot of the same names in the list of directors with multiple entries. Hitchcock and Kubrick are still the top two although they are now tied. The Wolf of Wall Street moves Scoresese into first by himself. Then, Leone, Terantino, and Wilder have moved into the 5 way tie for 4th.
On a larger level, Directors with 3+ movies on the list has gone down again from 41.2% to 40.8% although Directors with 2+ movies has taken a slight uptick from 60.4% to 61.2%. In other words, not much has changed. People still like to revisit directors and it looks like the people who are the best at this keep producing the best final products.
What I've Seen
I'm slowly working through the list still. Seen 10 of the top 10, 41 of the top 50, and 138 of the 250. That's not a gain of more than a couple since last time. Granted, the list is a bit of a moving target, so that makes it a little tough. I'll admit, my Club 50 project is definitely my focus over seeing movies that are necessarily good. I'm setting the minimum goal of 150 when I revisit the list.
In Conclusion
I like this move to March/April for the list. Laziness motivated it a lot but it really is a better time to do it. There aren't as many new movies on the list that are likely to fall off and any that did have settles and aren't all that high anymore. The biggest new development on the list has to be the spread of world cinema. Since I like that this is a cumulative list, I'm glad that it has more of worldly feel. I'm sad I didn't have the time to do a full breakdown of the countries the movies all come from.
Well, I hope to see you again about this in a year.
Top 250 as of 3/29/14
| 1 | The Shawshank Redemption (1994) |
| 2 | The Godfather (1972) |
| 3 | The Godfather: Part II (1974) |
| 4 | The Dark Knight (2008) |
| 5 | Pulp Fiction (1994) |
| 6 | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) |
| 7 | Schindler's List (1993) |
| 8 | 12 Angry Men (1957) |
| 9 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) |
| 10 | Fight Club (1999) |
| 11 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |
| 12 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) |
| 13 | Inception (2010) |
| 14 | Forrest Gump (1994) |
| 15 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) |
| 16 | Goodfellas (1990) |
| 17 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) |
| 18 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) |
| 19 | The Matrix (1999) |
| 20 | Seven Samurai (1954) |
| 21 | City of God (2002) |
| 22 | Se7en (1995) |
| 23 | The Usual Suspects (1995) |
| 24 | The Silence of the Lambs (1991) |
| 25 | Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) |
| 26 | It's a Wonderful Life (1946) |
| 27 | Léon: The Professional (1994) |
| 28 | Casablanca (1942) |
| 29 | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) |
| 30 | Life Is Beautiful (1997) |
| 31 | Rear Window (1954) |
| 32 | Psycho (1960) |
| 33 | American History X (1998) |
| 34 | City Lights (1931) |
| 35 | Saving Private Ryan (1998) |
| 36 | Spirited Away (2001) |
| 37 | The Intouchables (2011) |
| 38 | Memento (2000) |
| 39 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) |
| 40 | Modern Times (1936) |
| 41 | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 42 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) |
| 43 | Apocalypse Now (1979) |
| 44 | The Pianist (2002) |
| 45 | The Green Mile (1999) |
| 46 | The Departed (2006) |
| 47 | Gladiator (2000) |
| 48 | Back to the Future (1985) |
| 49 | The Dark Knight Rises (2012) |
| 50 | Alien (1979) |
| 51 | Django Unchained (2012) |
| 52 | The Lives of Others (2006) |
| 53 | The Prestige (2006) |
| 54 | The Great Dictator (1940) |
| 55 | The Shining (1980) |
| 56 | Cinema Paradiso (1988) |
| 57 | Paths of Glory (1957) |
| 58 | American Beauty (1999) |
| 59 | WALL·E (2008) |
| 60 | North by Northwest (1959) |
| 61 | The Lion King (1994) |
| 62 | Amélie (2001) |
| 63 | Citizen Kane (1941) |
| 64 | Aliens (1986) |
| 65 | Toy Story 3 (2010) |
| 66 | Vertigo (1958) |
| 67 | M (1931) |
| 68 | Das Boot (1981) |
| 69 | Taxi Driver (1976) |
| 70 | A Clockwork Orange (1971) |
| 71 | Double Indemnity (1944) |
| 72 | Oldboy (2003) |
| 73 | To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) |
| 74 | Princess Mononoke (1997) |
| 75 | Reservoir Dogs (1992) |
| 76 | Requiem for a Dream (2000) |
| 77 | Once Upon a Time in America (1984) |
| 78 | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) |
| 79 | Braveheart (1995) |
| 80 | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) |
| 81 | Grave of the Fireflies (1988) |
| 82 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) |
| 83 | Witness for the Prosecution (1957) |
| 84 | Full Metal Jacket (1987) |
| 85 | Singin' in the Rain (1952) |
| 86 | The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) |
| 87 | The Sting (1973) |
| 88 | Bicycle Thieves (1948) |
| 89 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) |
| 90 | Amadeus (1984) |
| 91 | All About Eve (1950) |
| 92 | Rashomon (1950) |
| 93 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) |
| 94 | Snatch. (2000) |
| 95 | L.A. Confidential (1997) |
| 96 | The Apartment (1960) |
| 97 | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 98 | The Third Man (1949) |
| 99 | For a Few Dollars More (1965) |
| 100 | A Separation (2011) |
| 101 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) |
| 102 | Inglourious Basterds (2009) |
| 103 | Batman Begins (2005) |
| 104 | Yojimbo (1961) |
| 105 | The Kid (1921) |
| 106 | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) |
| 107 | Unforgiven (1992) |
| 108 | Raging Bull (1980) |
| 109 | Metropolis (1927) |
| 110 | Chinatown (1974) |
| 111 | Toy Story (1995) |
| 112 | Scarface (1983) |
| 113 | Up (2009) |
| 114 | Die Hard (1988) |
| 115 | Downfall (2004) |
| 116 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) |
| 117 | The Great Escape (1963) |
| 118 | Pan's Labyrinth (2006) |
| 119 | On the Waterfront (1954) |
| 120 | Like Stars on Earth (2007) |
| 121 | The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) |
| 122 | Heat (1995) |
| 123 | The Hunt (2012) |
| 124 | The Seventh Seal (1957) |
| 125 | 3 Idiots (2009) |
| 126 | Wild Strawberries (1957) |
| 127 | 12 Years a Slave (2013) |
| 128 | The Elephant Man (1980) |
| 129 | The General (1926) |
| 130 | Ran (1985) |
| 131 | Ikiru (1952) |
| 132 | The Gold Rush (1925) |
| 133 | Blade Runner (1982) |
| 134 | My Neighbor Totoro (1988) |
| 135 | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) |
| 136 | Gran Torino (2008) |
| 137 | Rebecca (1940) |
| 138 | Good Will Hunting (1997) |
| 139 | The Big Lebowski (1998) |
| 140 | The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) |
| 141 | It Happened One Night (1934) |
| 142 | Rush (2013) |
| 143 | Rang De Basanti (2006) |
| 144 | Her (2013) |
| 145 | Warrior (2011) |
| 146 | Casino (1995) |
| 147 | Cool Hand Luke (1967) |
| 148 | V for Vendetta (2005) |
| 149 | The Deer Hunter (1978) |
| 150 | The Maltese Falcon (1941) |
| 151 | Fargo (1996) |
| 152 | Gone with the Wind (1939) |
| 153 | Trainspotting (1996) |
| 154 | Into the Wild (2007) |
| 155 | Howl's Moving Castle (2004) |
| 156 | How to Train Your Dragon (2010) |
| 157 | Hotel Rwanda (2004) |
| 158 | The Sixth Sense (1999) |
| 159 | Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) |
| 160 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) |
| 161 | The Thing (1982) |
| 162 | Annie Hall (1977) |
| 163 | Dial M for Murder (1954) |
| 164 | Platoon (1986) |
| 165 | A Beautiful Mind (2001) |
| 166 | Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) |
| 167 | Sin City (2005) |
| 168 | No Country for Old Men (2007) |
| 169 | Touch of Evil (1958) |
| 170 | Mary and Max (2009) |
| 171 | Diabolique (1955) |
| 172 | Finding Nemo (2003) |
| 173 | Life of Brian (1979) |
| 174 | Network (1976) |
| 175 | The Princess Bride (1987) |
| 176 | Amores Perros (2000) |
| 177 | The Wizard of Oz (1939) |
| 178 | The Avengers (2012) |
| 179 | The Lego Movie (2014) |
| 180 | Stand by Me (1986) |
| 181 | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) |
| 182 | Ben-Hur (1959) |
| 183 | The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) |
| 184 | Incendies (2010) |
| 185 | There Will Be Blood (2007) |
| 186 | The 400 Blows (1959) |
| 187 | Million Dollar Baby (2004) |
| 188 | Gravity (2013) |
| 189 | Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) |
| 190 | 8½ (1963) |
| 191 | Donnie Darko (2001) |
| 192 | Strangers on a Train (1951) |
| 193 | The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) |
| 194 | In the Name of the Father (1993) |
| 195 | High Noon (1952) |
| 196 | Gandhi (1982) |
| 197 | Persona (1966) |
| 198 | Notorious (1946) |
| 199 | The King's Speech (2010) |
| 200 | Infernal Affairs (2002) |
| 201 | Jaws (1975) |
| 202 | Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) |
| 203 | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) |
| 204 | Twelve Monkeys (1995) |
| 205 | Fanny and Alexander (1982) |
| 206 | La Strada (1954) |
| 207 | The Terminator (1984) |
| 208 | The Night of the Hunter (1955) |
| 209 | Ip Man (2008) |
| 210 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) |
| 211 | Stalker (1979) |
| 212 | The Big Sleep (1946) |
| 213 | Groundhog Day (1993) |
| 214 | Dog Day Afternoon (1975) |
| 215 | The Battle of Algiers (1966) |
| 216 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) |
| 217 | Rocky (1976) |
| 218 | La Haine (1995) |
| 219 | Swades (2004) |
| 220 | Barry Lyndon (1975) |
| 221 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) |
| 222 | Before Sunrise (1995) |
| 223 | Shutter Island (2010) |
| 224 | The Graduate (1967) |
| 225 | The Celebration (1998) |
| 226 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) |
| 227 | The Hustler (1961) |
| 228 | A Christmas Story (1983) |
| 229 | Monsters, Inc. (2001) |
| 230 | Castle in the Sky (1986) |
| 231 | Underground (1995) |
| 232 | Roman Holiday (1953) |
| 233 | Memories of Murder (2003) |
| 234 | Stalag 17 (1953) |
| 235 | In the Mood for Love (2000) |
| 236 | The Help (2011) |
| 237 | A Fistful of Dollars (1964) |
| 238 | Slumdog Millionaire (2008) |
| 239 | The Killing (1956) |
| 240 | Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010) |
| 241 | Black Swan (2010) |
| 242 | Rope (1948) |
| 243 | The Truman Show (1998) |
| 244 | Three Colors: Red (1994) |
| 245 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) |
| 246 | La Dolce Vita (1960) |
| 247 | Beauty and the Beast (1991) |
| 248 | Star Trek (2009) |
| 249 | Prisoners (2013) |
| 250 | Jurassic Park (1993) |
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