1. "Pride of the Yankees"(1942)
You don't have to be a NY baseball buff to love the first great sports movie. Gary Cooper is at his best as #4 Lou Gerhig, and yes, that's Babe Ruth shaking his hand. Theresa Wright(that's a name you should know) was a good match as Mrs. Gerhig.
2. "Winchester '73"(1950)
Jimmy Stewart's first collaboration with director Anthony Mann(they would work together a total of eight times) was a pleasantly old-fashioned Western with enough modernity to be accessible to today's viewers. Turn off those Netflix shows and get acquainted.
3. "In a Lonely Place"(1950)
Humphrey Bogart's brooding screenwriter is a nice reminder of why cool college kids were so obsessed with him in the 1950s. Director Nicolas Ray brought out the darker side of this mid-20th Century dynamo.
4. "Ace in the Hole"(1951)
The immortal Kirk Douglas is an opportunistic NYC newsman more interested in prolonging a sensationalistic story than rescuing a New Mexico man trapped in a cave in this prescient drama from writer-director Billy Wilder("Sunset Boulevard", "The Apartment").
5. "Don't Bother to Knock"(1952)
Marilyn Monroe's undervalued acting skills are on full display in this economical 76-minute thriller that stood out amidst the splashy studio comedies that were about to make her the biggest female star in the world. DO bother to knock, if you're a Monroe fan that hasn't met her disturbed Manhattan babysitter. Richard Widmark costars.
6. "River of No Return"(1954)
This delectable Western adventure didn't make MM's DVD boxed set, but it IS making this list. Director Otto Preminger may not have loved working with his high-maintenance star, but her riverside romance with Robert Mitchum is worthy of a revisit.
7. "The Killing"(1956)
Stanley Kubrick's first good movie set the tone for the fabled filmmaker's historic run that lasted until the end of the century. No movie heist goes according to plan, as Sterling Hayden and his racetrack robbers learn the hard way. Great ending.
8. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"(1958)
Paul Newman and Liz Taylor, both on the verge of mega-stardom, smolder in this tantalizing Tennessee Williams adaptation, even though the Hays Code limited the play's homosexual undertones. Burl "Big Daddy" Ives arguably stole the show as Paul's pop.
9. "The Nun's Story"(1959)
There's more to Audrey Hepburn than big sunglasses and a little black dress. This conflicted nun is among her best work, in Fred Zinnemann's bold Best Picture nominee. She questioned her faith. You should too.
10. "The Misfits"(1961)
This is turning into a love letter to Marilyn. Her final film was a fitting farewell for two screen legends(Clark Gable died two days after it wrapped). John Huston's melancholy tale of a second-chance May/December romance keeps getting positive re-appraisals from keen-eyed film historians(the initial response was dispiritingly muted).
11. "Splendor in the Grass"(1961)
Star-maker Elia Kazan gave Warren Beatty his first significant role in this tortured 1920s-set romance. Natalie Wood is wonderful as the winsome teen that can't tame this rich bad boy. Many women would know the feeling.
12. "El Cid"(1961)
Let's hear it for the NRA's former figurehead Charlton Heston as the 11th Century Spanish folk hero. My grandfather told me about this one way before I had an interest in "old movies". Director Anthony Mann was in full command of this sprawling production, that solidified the career of the lovely Sophia Loren.
13. "Long Day's Journey Into Night"(1962)
Katharine Hepburn acts up a storm in Sidney Lumet's stagy but strong tale of the tortured Tyrone family, made famous by celebrated playwright Eugene O'Neil. The four-time Best Actress winner will teach you what it means to emote, while her screen sons Jason Robards and Dean Stockwell don't look out of place in her orbit.
14. "Zulu"(1964)
Perhaps the best war film that you've never even heard of, a 30 year old Michael Caine entered our lives as a member of the British Army in the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift. That alone warrants a recommendation.
15. "Panic in Needle Park"(1971)
A year before "The Godfather" rewired cinema, a grungy NYC livewire named Al Pacino showed some serious promise in this edgy urban drama(his second film). This is one lowly heroin addict you DO want to hang out with.
16. "Papillon"(1973)
Forget the 2018 remake. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are the only escaped convicts in 1930s France that you need to concern yourself with. Director Franklin J. Schaffner("Patton", "Planet of the Apes") scored a hat trick with this hit true story.
17. "Don't Look Now"(1973)
This eerie thriller dropped two months before 'the scariest movie ever made'("The Exorcist"), but has since been unearthed as a similarly superior shocker. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie gave us the best movie sex scene circa 1973, while mourning the drowning death of their daughter. Watch out for that dwarf.
18. "Barry Lyndon"(1975)
Stanley Kubrick's least celebrated work is still miles better than what most directors could manage on their best day. If you've got three hours to spare in 18th Century Ireland, you can't help but marvel at his total control over every aspect of this elegant and expansive epic.
19. "The Driver"(1978)
Speaking of Ryan O'Neal, his career peaked as a enigmatic getaway car driver in Walter Hill's lean crime thriller that I'll take over "Baby Driver" or ANY "F&F" movie. When people allude to the '70s being really f'n cool, this is what they're talking about.
20. "An Unmarried Woman"(1978)
Jill Clayburgh should have had a bigger career after her affecting turn as a middle-aged mom grappling with an unexpected divorce. The dating game was never easy, and Paul Mazursky's moving drama is as relatable as it's ever been.
21. "Escape from Alcatraz"(1979)
Clint Eastwood clinched the title of top star of the 1970s, in this cool fact-based thriller about a daring escape from America's most notorious prison, his fifth and final collaboration with "Dirty Harry" director Don Siegel.
22. "Going in Style"(1979)
"Beverly Hills Cop" director Martin Brest impressed in his film debut, a gentle comedy about geriatric bank robbers- the super-talented trio of George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasburg. Remade(regrettably) in 2017.
23. "The Entity"(1982)
Barbara Hershey is being raped by an invisible unknown force. Or is she just crazy? This hidden horror gem(which is based on a true story) got buried under all those interminable slasher flicks during the Reagan years.
24. "Blood Simple"(1984)
The Coen brothers couldn't be denied big-screen careers, after their atmospheric indie debut about murder and betrayal in rural Texas. Future two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand surely benefitted from the association, and gets flavorful support here from M Emmet Walsh, Dan Hedaya and John Getz.
25. "Dead of Winter"(1987)
Character actress extraordinaire Mary Steenburgen should have seen more starring roles. Arthur Penn's obscure chiller has the Oscar-winning beauty held captive by creepy old dues(Jan Rubes, Roddy McDowell) in a raging snowstorm, and is ripe for rediscovery.
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| Melanie worked in 1988. |
Melanie Griffith joined the A-list(temporarily) alongside Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver in Mike Nichols' winning workplace comedy that now feels more timely than it did back when Joan Cusack's hair was acceptable.
27. "Crimes and Misdemeanors"(1989)
Woody Allen's second-best '80s effort(behind "Hannah and Her Sisters") is another melancholy reminder that the pursuit of love, at any cost, is the only real cure to the emptiness of existence(even though it rarely works out).
28. "Bad Influence"(1990)
Rob Lowe's loathsome L.A. hunk invades the life of James Spader's spineless yuppie, and brings late-late-blooming director Curtis Hanson to the dance. Watch it after work and thank me later.
29. "Dick Tracy"(1990)
Although the box office was healthy, nobody seems to remember or care about Warren Beatty's colorful live-action comic strip in the 21st Century. That's unfortunate, because this vibrant adventure received seven Oscar nominations(it won three), and features Al Pacino's bombastic Big Boy Caprice and Madonna in peak pop star form. Where's that sequel, Warren?
30. "Hamlet"(1990)
A game Mel Gibson swung for the fences in the most accessible, and frankly fun, film version of Shakespeare's titanic tragedy. Director Franco Zeffirelli matched his work in 1968's "Romeo and Juliet", thanks to a hearty cast that includes Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Bates and Paul Scofield.
31. "Not Without My Daughter"(1991)
This gripping drama got snuffed out by the PC police over it's alleged Islamophobia, despite featuring the great Sally Field at it's center as an American woman held against her will in Iran by her abusive husband(Alfred Molina). I'm no Rebuplican, but this really happened.
32. "A Perfect Murder"(1998)
Michael Douglas, in full malicious mode, plots to kill his unfaithful trophy wife(a prime Gwyneth Paltrow) in this diverting Andrew Davis thriller, the kind that Hollywood forgot how to make in the new millennium. A loose remake of Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder", it also benefits from the presence of a pre-"LOTR" Viggo Mortensen.
33. "Election"(1999)
Reese Witherspoon raced ahead of all those other would-be late-'90s starlets as goody-two-shoes Tracy Flick, the girl you avoided in high school, in Alexander Payne's sharp satire. We absolutely need more comedies like this.
34. "Magnolia"(1999)
Paul Thomas Anderson lived up to all his post-"Boogie Nights" hype, in this exceptional ensemble set in the San Fernando Valley. Tom Cruise(back when he was a bold actor) steals the show as a flamboyant sex guru, in a cast that includes Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly and Jason Robards.
35. "Thirteen"(2003)
Catherine Hardwicke's indie breakthrough(she'd later helm "Twilight") is an unflinching look at female adolescence. Holly Hunter just can't keep her rebellious daughter(Evan Rachel Wood) away from sex, drugs, petty crime and the corrupting influence of her new "best friend"(Nikki Reed). This should be required viewing for all guardians of preteen girls.
36. "Bug"(2006)
Ashley Judd(she'd still be in movies if anyone had seen this) and Michael Shannon are an increasingly paranoid pair in William Friedkin's freaky indie thriller, easily his most worthwhile output in over two decades. Turn the lights out and enjoy.
37. "In Bruges"(2008)
Writer-director Martin McDonagh makes a good first impression in this witty, offbeat dramady about odd-couple hit men in Belgium. Colin Ferrell and Brendan Gleeson bounce right off each other, when they aren't running away from their villainous boss Ralph Fiennes(he makes every movie fine).
38. "You Don't Know Jack"(2010)
Al Pacino is still one of our premier acting talents, as evidenced by this absorbing account of 'Dr. Death' Jack Kevorkian, the controversial champion of assisted suicide that made constant headlines in the 1990s. HBO Films are more than good enough to be in theaters.
39. "The Call"(2013)
I dare you not to enjoy this pleasingly old-school thriller with the WWE Films label. The ever-beautiful Halle Berry's 911 operator is the only hope of survival for a kidnapped teenage girl(Abigail Breslin). Your mom/wife/girlfriend will be on the edge of her seat.
40. "August: Osage County"(2013)
Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, two of the greatest actresses of all time, are a dysfunctional mother-daughter in Oklahoma in one of the best Lifetime movies of the 2010s. It's always nice seeing skilled women over the age of 45, with material they can really sink their teeth into.
