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Empire: The 301 Greatest Movies of All Time


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http://www.empireonline.com/301/

Top Ten:

1. "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back"

2. "The Godfather"

3. "The Dark Knight"

4. "The Shawshank Redemption"

5. "Pulp Fiction"

6. "Star Wars: A New Hope"

7. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"

8. "Jaws"

9. "Raiders Of The Lost Ark"

10. "Inception"

Some of these movies were indeed excellent, but this definitely isn't my Top 10 (for me The Shawshank Redemption is ranked #1) with most of these not even in my Top 10...but hey.

-b.

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Nothing like a completely subjective list to instigate debate amongst people, but I must say there were quite a few good titles in there...

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Really, this list only represents the readership of Empire, nothing more or less. Just thought it was interesting enough to share here considering how many Science Fiction/Fantasy/Action titles were in the top 10.

-b.

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I can personally agree with a lot of that list, including the order, but I can definitely say I wouldn't put The Dark Knight anywhere near that high up. I don't see how it's anymore ridiculous than any other list based off a single opinion, grow up guys, nobody likes a snob.

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Since I'm not quoting every entry I'll greentext it.

>New Hope/Empire Strikes Back

Return of The Jedi and the prequels were better movies, more nostalgia goggles.

>Godfather

Just part 1 or are parts 2 and 3 taken in? Either way that is fail.

>The Dark Knight/Jaws/Inception

No prob

>Shawshank

That movie was borderline unwatchable and the police were inept, hell no

>Pulp Fiction

Never saw it, but any movie with cliffhanger nonsense shouldn't be on a list like this

>Fellowship

That was the weakest of the three movies by FAR

>Raiders

Dumb ending combined with lackluster special effects when the sequels got better with every installment? Yeah, nostalgia goggles.

Alright lets see what other errors this list has.

>11-19

Alien 3 was the best of the bunch and Return of The King and GF part 2 should trump their predacessors, JP and Avengers are fine, BttF is not bad but part 2 was better. Blade Runner doesn't deserve to be THAT high.

>20-28

Already addressed Alien, the Matrix trilogy should be considered as all three work together, 2001 has nothing beyond looking pretty, Gladiator is fine, Casablanca and SL are too mediocre for mentions, and T2 was the worst of the four, at least put T1 or Salvation here for frick sake. Never seen the others.

>29-37

Aside from CK and Gravity I have seen nothing here and the former was just okay, nothing particularly good.

>38-48

Finally one of the classic westerns, the best no less, 2 Towers is too low, Skyfall isn't the best of Bond, but this is understandable, while Taxi Driver/OFOTCN was good it wasn't great, IaWL is understandable, and I wouldn't mind Die Hard if they didn't ignore the four sequels, like the Matrix movies they all work together. Rest I haven't seen.

>49-59

Memento is understandable, TS sucked, SS was meh and not Kurosawa's best (Ikiru would have been a much better choice), The Shining isn't a bad choice, and Pan's Labyrinth should be on here. Never saw the rest.

>60-70

SotL was boring so this is more nostalgia goggles, more Disney animated kiss ups, ET was mediocre, The Thing is a good fit, and GB2 was better. Never saw the others.

>71-81

That awful Tarintino remake of the 70s war movie? What fail. SPR was trash and TDKR should be higher. Never saw the others.

>82-92

Star Trek 3, 4, and 5 were better than 2, more nostalgia goggles on a mediocre movie. There are also many other Ghibli movies better than SA which was good but not great. Never saw the others.

>93-102

Crystal Skull wwas better than Last Crusade and Rocky 3 was the best of the bunch. Fargo, while great, should not be this high up. Never saw the others.

>103-112

Army of Darkness was leagues over the mediocre ED 1 and 2. Honestly? Disney pandering, Avatar was mediocre, Good to see Predator although the sequels were much better, T1 should be up much higher, and Truman Show was good but not great. Never saw the others.

>113-123

Wizard of Oz makes sense even if it is just nostalgia goggles, Ferris Buller and Superman should be here, RotJ as mentioned should be up much higher, and I never saw the others.

>124-134

Disney pandering, Halloween should be higher up, TKaMB was great although not this high up, and Robocop 2 should be on here too with both being higher up. Never saw the others.

>135-145

Dawn gets this high up and not Day or Land? What fail. Close Encounters and Exorcist were mediocre (for the latter the prequel would have made more sense) and BB should be on here. Never saw the others.

>146-157

Disney pandering and up kissing, Watchman is understandable....... And never saw the rest. I haven't seen TS3 though (good thing I lucked out and saw Predators that weekend haha!)

>158-168

Hobbit part 2 should be higher up, SotD was bad, and for Casino Royale thoughts see the one on Skyfall. Never saw the others although Frozen is likely more Disney up kissing.

>169-177

BCandTSK makes sense and it was great, just not this high up, same with Dr. Strangelove although it was good not great, and never saw the rest.

>178-187

City Lights and Pirates should be on here (although with Pirates you need the sequels too), 5th Element is understandable, Top Gun is good but not great, Winter Soldier should be higher up, Sin City makes sense, and Temple of Doom being here before Crystal Skull is utter fail. Never saw the others.

>188-196

Out of all the werewolf movies they could have chosen they went with a mediocre one? Sound of Music makes sense and never saw the others.

>197-206

Tim Burton's version should be on here instead of the original mediocre one and there are better Ghibli movies than Mononoke. Never saw the others.

>207-215

CHL makes sense and I have not seen anything else here.

>216-226

DWW makes sense, Episode 3 (and 1 and 2) should be much higher up, again not the best of Bond, and more Disney up kissing. Never saw the others.

>227-236

Akira should be higher up and more Disney pandering. Never saw the others.

>237-247

Graduate was good but not great, Iron Man 1 and 3 should not be here before Thor, Hulk, Punisher, Blade, and about a dozen other comic book movies, The Crow makes sense. Never saw the others.

>248-258

South Park should be much higher up, TF 1 gets on when the much better sequels don't? Fail. Scream's sequels were better, but the first is better than none. Metropolis and District 9 should be on here. HA should be further down. Never saw the others.

>259-268

Hobbit should be lower, never seen anything else on here.

>269-279

Disney pandering with nostalgia goggles again, Scott Pilgrim was mediocre, and Blue Velvet was good but not great. Never saw the others.

>280-290

Batman, Man of Steel, and 300 should be higher up, Prometheus should not be on here, and I never saw the others.

>291-301

Bicycle Thieves should be higher, NoES is here but not the sequels? 4 and 6 were easily the best, what fail. BttF part 2 and King Kong should not be this low. Conan should not be here. Never saw the others.

So basically the readers of Empire need to go out and see other movies aside from the "known" and "oscar bait". The fact that only one Universal Horror classic made it on here is disturbing.

Edited by DuelGundam2099
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I can personally agree with a lot of that list, including the order, but I can definitely say I wouldn't put The Dark Knight anywhere near that high up. I don't see how it's anymore ridiculous than any other list based off a single opinion, grow up guys, nobody likes a snob.

Just a couple of things, this list was based off of a few opinions since it was a poll, voted on readers of Empire. And honestly, who was being a snob before your fairly pretentious post?

-b.

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http://www.empireonline.com/301/

Top Ten:

1. "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back"

2. "The Godfather"

3. "The Dark Knight"

4. "The Shawshank Redemption"

5. "Pulp Fiction"

6. "Star Wars: A New Hope"

7. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"

8. "Jaws"

9. "Raiders Of The Lost Ark"

10. "Inception"

Some of these movies were indeed excellent, but this definitely isn't my Top 10 (for me The Shawshank Redemption is ranked #1) with most of these not even in my Top 10...but hey.

-b.

Yeah... any Top Ten that doesn't have La Dolce Vita can't be on my radar. (Unless it's a list of AMERICAN movies, at which point Animal House should be the top.)

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I'm not a reader of Empire Magazine, but it's certainly a list after my own heart. I've seen 283 of the 301 films on the list, LOL! :)

It's a great read, but mostly it's just an affirmation. Preaching to the converted as they say. The list is dominated by genre films. It's like the list of films for 30-40-something film geeks and genre nerds, heavily influenced by sci-fi, fantasy, anime, video game and books of the 1980s, 1990's and early 2000's popular culture. Very "generational" favoritism here.

Still, it's closest to a list of the best films that will ever agree with me. That's quite an accomplishment :)

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So, what's your Top Three?

I don't think he's commenting on anybodies list, only the huge arguments bound to come from all of this. In twelve posts we've already got almost two started, and amazingly nobody has begun one with DuelGundam yet/

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I don't think he's commenting on anybodies list, only the huge arguments bound to come from all of this. In twelve posts we've already got almost two started, and amazingly nobody has begun one with DuelGundam yet/

Oh, I think most people have him on "ignore." :p

The guy that started this thread must have been incredibly naive.

-b.

Yeah, what a jerk... :lol:

EDIT: But seriously, if you haven't seen it, y'all should watch La Dolce Vita (preferably on a big screen).

Edited by Gubaba
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Yet!

My Top Three list consists of:

The Lego Movie Part 1 (A new Brick)

The Lego Movie Part 2 (The Octan strikes back)

The Lego Movie Part 3 (Return of the Master Builder)

The good thing is it is all combined in a compilation movie simply called: The Lego Movie

Each has a special place in my heart so you can arrange them to your liking. :wub:

In all honesty my taste in movies switch so I can't give you a definitive list but I'm sure if such a list exists it would contain some of the movies listed in the above list. Nerds love lists!

Pass the popcorn! I'm bored!

Edited by Scyla
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Oh, I think most people have him on "ignore." :p

Yeah, what a jerk... :lol:

EDIT: But seriously, if you haven't seen it, y'all should watch La Dolce Vita (preferably on a big screen).

:p

Yeah, that is one good thing about "best of" lists, it gives you the opportunity, if you're looking and open-minded to discover new movies/music/whatever.

-b.

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The guy that started this thread must have been incredibly naive.

-b.

Have no worries, some of us got something out of your post. But I think you may have to remember that this is a discussion board; we should all accept how very little discussion occurs. We're not here to discuss, make friends, or share, we're here to scream our opinions, tell others they are wrong and perhaps play games because, you know...politics :)

I find it interesting that I had to get to the #34 on the list before finding a movie that I DON'T OWN in my own collection. I was also surprised by how few comic book super hero films are in the list. Only 2 in the top 20 and more don't appear until #75 and after. I suppose we are still too early in the golden age run of super hero movies to start including many of them even in genre lists, but I suppose this generational list will be worth re-visiting in about 15-20 years :)

Edited by Mr March
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Have no worries, some of us got something out of your post. But I think you may have to remember that this is a discussion board; we should all accept how very little discussion occurs. We're not here to discuss, make friends, or share, we're here to scream our opinions, tell others they are wrong and perhaps play games because, you know...politics :)

I find it interesting that I had to get to the #34 on the list before finding a movie that I DON'T OWN in my own collection. I was also surprised by how few comic book super hero films are in the list. Only 2 in the top 20 and more don't appear until #75 and after. I suppose we are still too early in the golden age run of super hero movies to start including many of them even in genre lists, but I suppose this generational list will be worth re-visiting in about 15-20 years :)

Yeah, just poking a little fun at myself and others but you absolutely bring up a good point regarding the nature of discussion boards. Such is life on the internet.

I think it'd be more interesting for all of us to name our top movie and describe the circumstances under which we first saw it.

That would make for an interesting read and hopefully discussion, but I'm not gonna start that thread. :p

-b.

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