100 FAVORITE FILMS(and a few additions)
Bloomed from a discussion started on the way to his 1/1999 nuptials with the demented, but well-meaning members of his wedding party, this list has been discussed, argued and playfully enjoyed over many cups of coffee and mugs of beer from New York to Los Angeles with a series of obsessives and shut-ins. It appears together for the first time for jamescampion.com with commentary from the author. This includes only English speaking films or documentaries, and just like the 100 Favorite Albums List jc reserves the right to edit at anytime due to not only new films, but difficult decisions.
1. The Graduate – 1968
“I want to be…different.”
A flawless work of art. Buck Henry’s screenplay is a masterpiece of generational apathy leaping into the sexual abyss, while also being damn funny. Director, Mike Nichols, a prolific writer and satirist himself, uses the camera as a window into the psyches of three perfectly cast actors; Dustin Hoffman, Ann Bancroft and Katherine Ross, set to the haunting songs of Paul Simon, and tied together with a memorable quilt of visual montages puncturing at the heart of alienation.
2. Oliver – 1968
“Consider yourself one of us.”
The first film I ever saw, and saw it often. The songs are fantastic and the choreography is mesmerizing, while also being a very worthy adaptation of Charles Dickens’s moving novel. A tale dominated by rogues and villains played aptly vicious and ironically lovable by Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger, Ron Moody as the venerable Fagin and Oliver Reed as the brooding and murderous Bill Sykes.
3. Annie Hall – 1977“Most of us need the eggs.”
If there is a better artistic example of the American male/female relationship in the latter half of the 20th century, you’d have quite a story. The best, most compact soup-to-nuts production by the genius of Woody Allen rolled into a film. If it wouldn’t be totally maudlin I’d put twenty of his films in here, but everyone needs a turn. Diane Keaton is as good as it gets here.
4. The Sting – 1973 
“But my money’s in there!”
Until “Hannah And Her Sisters” and then years later, “Shakespeare In Love”, the finest of movie scripts. Its plot is flawless, while perfectly capturing the period of desperation and survival that was The Great Depression. Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s best work and a world-class soundtrack. I give my father full credit for not only taking me to see this against my prepubescent will, but for figuring out the dense setup before the sting.
5. The Godfather/Godfather II – 1972/1974
“I believe in America.”
If you were to put two films in a timecapsule for purposes of explaining the American dream’s foul underbelly, and the endearingly dark subculture of family life in the growth of the American century, then you’ve come to the right place. There is far too little time and adjectives to describe their beauty, but suffice to say Francis Ford Coppolla’s two-part anxiety-ridden opus coupled with his faith in the brilliant performances of the entire cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Robert Deniro et al, is a thing to behold.
6. Jaws – 1975
“We need a bigger boat.”
Steven Speilberg has made better films, but none with the concise storytelling and humorous impact of this one. The plot is airtight, if not wonderfully predictable, with its battle between man and nature, but the visual delights buoyed by the film’s fantastic John William’s score and the Hitchcockian subterfuge of the looming villainous shark, make this a perennial thriller. Robert Shaw’s Quint is legendary stuff.
7. The Wizard Of Oz – 1939
“There’s no place like home.”
After 60+ years this still stands as the most satisfying fantasy in film history. Musically, it has few peers, and visually it not only dwarfed its time, but still influences generations of set designers and special effects gurus. Frank L. Baum’s novel is still the standard barer for satirical depth, but the film has merit in its splendid morality play, not to mention sporting the finest song ever written, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. Terrific performances and legendary moments, it cannot be left off anyone’s top ten list without denial or serious explanation.
8. Field Of Dreams – 1989
“Hey dad…wanna have a catch?”
Personally, this may be the finest film I ever saw in the theater. It touched me on so many levels it’s hard to say I’ve fully recovered. It is a magnificent story about the faith of oneself to achieve reconciliation and forgiveness in a world bent on keeping those concepts at bay. Simultaneously, it is a fun romp of commentary and fantasy with chilling moments of recognition for anyone who has missed oneself for even a minute. “Hey dad, you wanna have a catch?” is the best line in the history of American cinema.
9. Hannah And Her Sisters – 1986
“I cannot fathom my own heart.”
Probably Woody Allen’s best humor/drama effort, it is a plot/dialogue masterpiece infused with metaphor and literal imagery for ten more films. Michael Kane is ridiculously good in his roll as a middle-aged, sheepish lovelorn, stammering through an illicit affair on his doting wife (Mia Farrow). Her sisters, played ably neurotic by Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest run the gamut of Allen’s best female character flaws and strengths, while being author/director’s most accomplished of work on the celebration of life.
10. A Clockwork Orange – 1970
“I was cured all right.”
One of the few films, if not the only one, that expands, even improves on a significant novel. Eerily crafted in the best Stanely Kubrick style, this futuristic study of violence inside the fragile human spirit, and the way emotions are swept under the societal rug by the cold hand of progress, has never failed to cull the word “disturbing” from a single person I turn onto it. The use of liberally adapted Beethoven music into an eerie score makes this a timeless classic of contemporary satire.
11. American Beauty – 1999
12. Sideways -2004
13. E.T. – 1982
14. JFK – 1991
15. Manhattan – 1979
16. Network – 1976 
17. Forrest Gump – 1994
18. Magnolia – 1999
19. Planet Of The Apes – 1968
20. Gangs of New York – 2002
21. Monty Python And The Holy Grail – 1979
22. Broadcast News – 1987
23.Shakespeare In Love – 1998
24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 2004
25. Do The Right Thing – 1989
26. Goodfellas – 1990
27. Saving Private Ryan – 1998
28. Raging Bull – 1980
29. Night Shift – 1982
30. Schindler’s List – 1993
31. The Great Escape – 1963 
32. Malcolm X – 1992
33. Being John Malkovich – 1999
34. Crimes And Misdermeaners – 1989
35. Elephant – 2003
36. Kelly’s Heroes – 1970
37. Immortal Beloved – 1994
38. Apocalypse Now – 1979
39. Pulp Fiction – 1994
40. The Hours – 2002
41. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest – 1975
42. Barton Fink – 1992
43. Napoleon Dynamite – 2004
44. Modern Romance – 1982
45. Midnight Cowboy – 1969
46. Star Wars – 1977
47. Lost In America – 1985
48. Taxi Driver – 1976
49. Dummy – 2003
50. Natural Born Killers – 1994
51. The Royal Tenenbaums – 2001
52. Sweet And Lowdown – 1999
53. Love Actually – 2003
54. Rain Man – 1988
55. Raising Arizona – 1987
56. 2001 A Space Odyssey – 1968
57. Reservoir Dogs – 1992
58. Boogie Nights – 1997
59. The Virgin Suicides – 1999
60. Leaving Las Vegas – 1995
61. Broken Flowers – 2005
62. The Purple Rose of Cairo – 1985
63. The Big Lebowski – 1998
64. World’s Greatest Dad – 2009
65. Dandelion -2005
66. A Very Long Engagement – 2004
67. My Life Without Me -2003
68. Husbands and Wives – 1992
69. Miracle – 2004
70. Sling Blade – 1996
71. Talk Radio – 1988
72. My Own Private Idaho – 1991
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – 1969
74. Around the Bend – 2004
75. Criminal – 2004
76. What the #$*! Do We Know!? – 2004
77. Hoosiers – 1986
78. Party Girl – 1995
79. In The Bedroom – 2001
80. Garden State – 2004
81. Straw Dogs – 1971
82. Persopolis – 2007
83. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three – 1974
84. O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000
85. Brick – 2005
86. Dopamine – 2003
87. Bully – 2001
88. Fargo – 1996
89. Defending Your Life – 1991
90. Grand Canyon – 1991
91. Pieces of April – 2003
92. Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas – 1998
93. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio – 2005
94. American Splendor – 2003
95. Searching For Bobby Fischer – 1993
96. The Station Agent – 2003
97. Rocket Science – 2007
98. Frida – 2002
99. Spiderman – 2002
100. The Dead Girl – 2006
101. Breaking Upwards – 2010
102. HappyThankYouMorePlease – 2010
103. An Education – 2009
104. Two Lovers – 2008
105. Elegy – 2008
106. In Bruges – 2008
107. The Trotsky – 2010
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