BRADLEY’S HUNDRED
These are my 100 more or less favorite movies, although as noted in this explanatory post, many filmmakers (e.g., John Frankenheimer and the creators of the classic Hammer, Toho, and Universal genre films) are underrepresented–if at all–because their works canceled one another out.
Note: All titles now linked to their respective reviews, so just click and enjoy!
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Black Sunday (1960)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Casino Royale (1967)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Dune (1984)
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
The Fog (1980)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Mysterious Island (1961)
The Night Stalker (1972)
On the Beach (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Rear Window (1954)
The Shining (1980)
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
The Thing (1951)
You’re going to get a lot of these, but…
Whaaaaaaaaaa?
None of the Whale Frankensteins? Day the Earth Stood Still, but no War of the Worlds? Star Wars, but no Empire? The Sting, but no Butch & Sundance (let alone Slaughterhouse 5)? Etc.
Good list, Bradley. Some shtuff to watch if I’m ever snowbound at your house. Now give me fifty.
Thanks—I am indeed anticipating several such messages. All those you mention, excepting Slaughterhouse (which I saw only once, years ago, and don’t remember that well), made the short list but were narrowly edged out, for reasons I explained. Maybe my review of Mallory’s book will help atone for the absence of Universal Horrors!
I’m pleased to report that I’ve seen (to the best of my knowledge) 78 of Bradley’s 100. looks like I need to call out sick from work for a few days next week and catch up . . .
Wow, even I haven’t seen that many! Oh, wait… Maybe I should give some sort of prize, or at least a BOF shout-out, to the person who has seen the most out of the 100. Alexandra still has some catching up to do, too, but she’s coming along nicely.
Great list, Matthew. I have to mention something I found especially illuminating. There were three films towards the bottom (in succession) that would certainly make my list, one of which many might be too embarrassed to admit to. Those three were “Unforgiven”, “Up In Smoke” and “Vertigo”. Checking to IMDB, I found there are several different films that go by the title, “Up In Smoke”, and I was rather wondering which one you meant. I immediately assumed you were referring to the 1978 film, which I consider (though vulgar and crude) one of the most outrageously funny movies ever. If you were alluding to one of the others, well, then please pardon my confusion. 🙂
Most definitely the 1978 Cheech & Chong comedy, easily their best film, and even enjoyed by my wife and daughter, who would no more toke up than skydive without a parachute.
It’s interesting (to me, anyway) how reading a list like this makes you think of so many OTHER movies, that you instantly start to weigh in your mind: would I put it on my own list or not?
What about “Cutthroat Island”? “Unfaithful”? “Galaxy Quest”? “The Shipping News”? “American Beauty”? “Moonstruck”? “Down Periscope”? “The Longest Day”? “The Replacements”? “Run Lola Run”? “Head in the Clouds”? “Fight Club”?
…I could do this all day — but I won’t. Guess I’ll just have to start my own list…
Hey, Steve, thanks for weighing in! You cite a number of films I also admire, even if they didn’t make it onto the list, and a couple that I actually own, one of them (Cutthroat Island) thanks to you. I can set your mind at rest on one title, however: The Longest Day is on my list, and would be even if it were a far shorter one than it is now…
Fantastic list of films, Mathew. So many of these would be on mine, if I dared to try to come up with something so daunting. Awesome.
Thanks so much, Michael. Daunting it was indeed; I started with a “short” list that was about twice as long, and by the end I was practically bleeding every time I deleted a film. Such is life. If you didn’t already know it, I also reviewed them, ten at a time, in a series of posts entitled “Bradley’s Hundred #1-10,” etc.
Great list, Matthew. I have to mention something I found especially illuminating. There were three films towards the bottom (in succession) that would certainly make my list, one of which many might be too embarrassed to admit to. Those three were “Unforgiven”, “Up In Smoke” and “Vertigo”. Checking to IMDB, I found there are several different films that go by the title, “Up In Smoke”, and I was rather wondering which one you meant. I immediately assumed you were referring to the 1978 film, which I consider (though vulgar and crude) one of the most outrageously funny movies ever. If you were alluding to one of the others, well, then please pardon my confusion.
+1
Thanks so much for the nice feedback. Absolutely referring to the 1978 Cheech and Chong movie. My late father, who was otherwise pretty much of a straight arrow, had a surprising fondness for their stoner humor (inspired, as I recall, by one of my older brothers playing their album Big Bambu), and took me to see many of their films, of which that one remains the best in my opinion. Likewise, my wife and daughter, who–to the best of my knowledge–would no more toke up than hurl themselves off the Brooklyn Bridge, find that film hilarious, and it is quoted endlessly in our household. My wife even took me to see Cheech and Chong at Mohegan Sun some months ago, which was a real treat.
Hi! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your blog posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects? Thanks a lot!
Many thanks. If you dip into the “Blogroll” on the right-hand side of the site, you should find many like-minded blogs and other sites. Enjoy!