Greatest Movies of All-Time?

A tentative list, plus film tunes from The Beatles, Glen Hansard, Billie Holiday, Beethoven and more....

Some of my friends over on Facebook in recent days have tried to break pandemic boredom by choosing their 100 Greatest Movies of All-Time, and launched several terrific (overall) lists. Of course, I disagreed with many of the selections. I usually don't like to join in these things (ditto for best songs or musical artists), as many deteriorate into mere "favorites" as opposed to some kind of aesthetic judgement on "greatest."

Still, I am offering below, for your approval or confusion or condemnation, a quick list of 45 or so “greatest” with caveats that 1) I've ruled out any from the past ten years (too soon) 2) my taste tends to be more serious/political than the norm and 3) this was done spur of the moment so it’s far from definitive.

Note further that even in my yearly Ten Bests, I make distinctions between the very entertaining (I like Bull Durham and Groundhog Day as much as anyone but not as cinematic art) and what I consider elevated artistry and writing. Also note: some classic films I have not seen in so long I have lost the ability to peg them as "great" or "greatest." Missing, for example, are Rules of the Game, Serpico and so much in-between (Truffaut, Bergman, Fellini etc.)

First, a few eclectic songs from movies…and PLEASE in comments add your own picks or disagree with mine. Also, subscribe, it’s still free…

Glen Hansard, from Once.

Jerry Lee Lewis from High School Confidential.

Beethoven’s Ninth, A Clockwork Orange.

“As Time Goes By,” from Casablanca.

The Beatles, from Help!

Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, New Orleans.

The Byrds doing Carole King’s “Wasn’t Born to Follow” in Easy Rider.

And Now the Envelope….

Here’s my tentative list, in no particular order. By the time you read this I will want to add and subtract (how could I pick THAT), but here goes….

Paths of Glory

Ikiru

The Third Man

Night of the Hunter

Battle of Algiers

Schindler's List

The Godfather

Dr. Strangelove

The Lives of Others

All the President's Men

Army of Shadows (Melville)

Ran

Bloody Sunday (Greengrass)

Chinatown

On The Waterfront

Streetcar Named Desire

A Separation (Farhadi)

Dog Day Afternoon

Napoleon (Gance)

Casablanca

The Life of Oharu

Grapes of Wrath

Hud

Treasure of Sierra Madre

The Quiet American (Michael Caine version)

From Here to Eternity

Seven Samurai

Julius Caesar (Brando, Gielgud etc.)

Burn

Badlands

Citizen Kane

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Human Condition

Taxi Driver

Battleship Potemkin

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Vengeance is Mine (Imamura)

North By Northwest

The Rules of the Game

Stray Dog

The Killing Fields

Waltz With Bashir

Don’t Look Back

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

The General

Silence of the Lambs

Wag the Dog

Not on the list, but recognizing just a few comedies here: The Life of Brian, Modern Times, Spinal Tap, Groundhog Day, Philadelphia Story, Duck Soup, The Producers, Women on the Verge, In the Loop, Bob Roberts, A Fish Called Wanda, etc.