Master List #17: The 101 Best Films of the 1940s

Though the 101 movies mentioned here are some of the best ever made, the 1940s still stands as my least favorite decade for movies. The texture of cinema in that era feels boxed in to me--as if only a few directors made an attempt to get away from the confines of studio-approved packaging. Those who did break out--like Welles, Sturges, and Capra, for instance--paid the price for their

MASTER LIST #16: The 101 Best Films of the 1950s

Of course, a staggering array of masterworks hail from the 1950s--so much so that putting them in order of preference was like splitting an already split hair. One can really see that this was another monumental era for cinema, with Kurosawa, Bergman, Donen, Hitchcock, Huston, Ford, Kubrick, Welles, Fellini, Nicholas Ray, Anthony Mann, Max Ophuls, and Billy Wilder, among others, delivering many

MASTER LIST #15: The 101 Best Films of the 1960s

Whoa! Easily the most challenging decade for films since the silent era, in my opinion. So many of the following 1960s films cited are not for everyone (popular filmmaking, spearheaded by the Americans, on the other hand, was at its lowest ebb, with dunderheaded musicals, epics, and comedies taking the forefront at the box office). Very nearly half of the entries on the list hail from the

MASTER LIST #14: The 101 Best Films of the 1980s

Having followed the stellar 1970s, and heavily steeped with former movie star Ronald Reagan's culture-changing presidential agenda (at least in its latter half), the 1980s may seem at first glance as a nadir for cinema (especially since the decade itself was, in my opinion, the beginning of the end for serious movies). But I find nothing worthy of burial in this list. All titles cited that

MASTER LIST #13: The 101 Best Films of the 1970s

In response to the current poll being held at the magnificent Wonders in the Dark, I decided to commit to posterity my 101 favorite films from the 1970s. I came of age in the 1970s, so I saw about 65% of these titles in first-run theaters (it was an unbelievable time to be a budding film lover). So, in order, based on (1) influence, (2) personal affection, and (3) overall quality, here's my