175 Jackie Brown (1997 / Quentin Tarantino)
Still Tarantino’s best movie, in my opinion, possibly because of the source material being an Elmore Leonard novel. A complex tale that satisfies over multiple viewings and that has a great central performance by Pam Grier, Robert De Niro on rare good form at this stage of his career, and good support all round, including from Michael Keaton and Bridget Fonda.
174 Spanish Prisoner (1997 / David Mamet)
Curiously overlooked and underrated. This is twisting tale of con and counter con that only Mamet can deliver this well. Steve Martin gives a career best performance in the lead.
173 Gregory’s Girl (1981 / Bill Forsyth)
It is impossible to describe Forsyth’s sweet and enduring comedy without using the word charming. John Gordon Sinclair, who should really be a bigger comedy star, is great as the gawky teen hopelessly in love with a classmate. It is also good to see Clare Grogan in a supporting role.
172 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946 / Frank Capra)
Now considered the ultimate Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten until the 1970s when, having fallen into the public domain, it started be played virtually on a loop by TV stations in America. Even the hardest hearted person will be moved to shed a tear during the closing moments.
171 Sullivan’s Travels (1941 / Preston Sturges)
Sturges was on of the masters of farcical and screwball comedies in the 1930s and 1940s, though he is not as well known now as Frank Capra or Howard Hawks. This remains one of the best films ever about film making, and it is consistently funny.
170 Michael Clayton (2007/ Tony Gilroy)
Though featuring excellent performances by George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, the greatest praise goes to Gilroy for producing one of the very best scripts of the decade. A complex tale of political fixing and chicanery.
169 Bullit (1968 / Peter Yates)
Featuring arguably the best car chase committed to screen – only The French Connection runs it close in my book – it is easy to forget that this is a cracking crime thriller. Steve McQueen was never cooler.
168 The Sting (1973 / George Roy Hill)
A massive hit on release, it is, nevertheless a bit surprising that it won both best picture and director at the Oscars. However, it is a hugely enjoyable conman caper, set in 1930s Chicago, with real star power in the shape of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The supporting cast – including Robert Shaw and Charles Durning – excel, and the period detail is spot on.
167 From Russia with Love (1963 / Terence Young)
The second outing for James Bond is many peoples favourite, including Sean Connery’s. It is, in many ways, more of a typical 1960s spy movie than a Bond film, lacking some of the gadgetry and humour. It also features one of the best villains in the series – Rosa Klebb.
166 Le Jour se Leve (1939 / Marcel Carné)
Yet another classic movie from the last year of the 1930s, from one of the most underrated directors of all time who will feature much higher in this list. Jean Gabin stars as a murderer holed up in an apartment, reflecting on the events that led him to commit the crime. Stylish and atmospheric.
165 Eight Men Out (1988 / John Sayles)
My favourite baseball movie. The true story of the Chicago White Sox throwing the 1919 World Series is brought to life by one of the most underrated directors around.
164 The Conversation (1974 / Francis Ford Coppola)
Overshadowed by the two Godfather films made by Coppola before and after this, The Conversation features, possibly, Gene Hackman’s best ever performance. He plays a surveillance expert who believes that a couple he is watching will be murdered. 1970s paranoia at its best.
163 Day of the Jackal (1973 / Fred Zinnemann)
An extraordinarily tense film despite the fact that most viewers will know the outcome. A cool Edward Fox stars as an assassin on a mission to kill Charles de Gaulle. Don’t even think about watching the loose remake starring Bruce Willis instead.
162 Get Carter (1971 / Mike Hodges)
A crime thriller set mostly in Northern England, full of quotable lines and featuring one of Michael Caine’s most iconic performances. Another film needlessly remade 30 years later with Sylvester Stallone in the lead role, and with disastrous results.
161 Bananas (1971 / Woody Allen)
The highlight of Woody Allen’s early, funny period. He stars as a lovelorn guy who inadvertently gets caught up in a revolution in a Latin American country. Hilariously daft and very inventive.
160 If…. (1968 / Lindsay Anderson)
A subversive and still shocking tale of violence at a boy’s school. It was very controversial in its day and a surprising commercial, as well as critical success. It features the debuts of both Malcolm McDowell and Simon Ward.
159 A Summer’s Tale (1996 / Eric Rohmer)
The best of Rohmer’s 4 season films about a young man struggling to decide which of his potential girlfriends he wants to be with.This may be a slight story but uniformly good performances, and a deceptively perceptive script by Rohmer elevate it to something special.
158 Airport (1970 / George Seaton)
My weakness for 1970s disaster films continues! Although not reaching the heights of the superb Arthur Hailey novel it is based on, this granddaddy of aeroplane-in-peril movies is great old fashioned entertainment.
157 Grand Hotel (1932 / Edmund Goulding)
The best picture winner at 1933’s Oscars may creak a little these days, but the star studded cast – headed by the incomparable Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford means this still shines as an example of an old fashioned Hollywood movie. The interlocking stories of guests at a Berlin hotel between the wars still engrosses more than 80 years later.
156 Brighton Rock (1947 / John Boulting)
The late British actor / director Richard Attenbrough’s finest performance came early in his long career. He menacingly portrays the hoodlum Pinkie Brown in the best portrayal of the seaside city I have seen. Another film that was remade in recent years, with inferior results.
155 The Fool (1990 / Christine Edzard)
A forgotten film from a great, overlooked, director. A satire on financiers in Victorian England which probably is even more relevant now than when it was released 24 years ago. Derek Jacobi heads the cast of familiar British faces.
154 Where Eagles Dare (1968 / Brian G. Hutton)
Alistair McLean’s novels mostly transferred well to the big screen, and this is the ultimate World War 2 action movie. Pure hokum, but it moves a at a breakneck speed, especially in the last 45 minutes. A key film in Clint Eastwood’s rise to super stardom.
153 Battle of Algiers (1966 / Gillo Pontecorvo)
An ultra realistic depiction of Algeria’s fight for independence from France. The conflict between the West and Muslim leaders should resonate with people today, and the torture scenes still have the power to shock.
152 A Day at the Races (1937 / Sam Wood)
Still at their 1930’s peak, A Day at the Races is full of classic Marx Brothers routines and one liners (“Either he’s dead or my watch has stopped”) and also without too many unnecessary musical interludes.
151 The Public Enemy (1931 / William A. Wellman)
The template for all gangster movies. A typical story of a young hoodlum’s rise to power is elevated by some shocking violence, a career establishing performance from James Cagney, and a supporting turn from Jean Harlow – a key film in her tragically short career.
