Entertainment Weekly has released its list of the top modern movie classics (movies released in the last 25 years) at EW.com. Almost all of the movies are household names and a good number of them probably wouldn't make it into the top 25 list of most movie critics. However, what's fascinating about this list is that it represents the likely general public's list of top movies. I imagine if one had to preserve 100 movies for posterity either in a time vault or shot it off into space for some alien race to discover that this movie list unlike that of movie critics would be the list that I'd want to have preserved or sent to some alien culture as representing my generation of movies and our existence as humans on this planet.

Interesting opinion tabuno. I read the EW list, and, surprisingly, they got some things right. Pulp Fiction is an excellent choice for best movie of the past twenty-five years, but there were some pretty poor choices too (Rushmore and Fargo don't make the top ten and The Big Lebowski doesn't even make the list?!?!). I did like the fact Hannah and Her Sisters made the list (That's my personal choice for best late-period Woody Allen movie.), but Titanic at number three is unbelievable. I wish Steel Magnolia had made the list, but Boogie Nights is a pretty good P.T. Anderson. However, Children of Men, my favorite movie from 2005 and number one for the decade made the list. But still. Forgetting The Big Lebowski!

Meh.. that list is garbage the Bourne Supremacy above Fight Club.. Fight Club at 32 nonetheless. American Beauty and the Royal Tenenbaums don't even make the list. I was glad to see they did put the Lives of Others on there and a few other films. But its just not much of a list I can respect that puts clueless at 42 and the Departed at 76.. And also where's the Diving Bell and the Butterfly..

quote:

Liberalkid Know-It-All
Posted 25 June 2008 04:26 PM

Meh.. that list is garbage the Bourne Supremacy above Fight Club.. Fight Club at 32 nonetheless. American Beauty and the Royal Tenenbaums don't even make the list. I was glad to see they did put the Lives of Others on there and a few other films. But its just not much of a list I can respect that puts clueless at 42 and the Departed at 76.. And also where's the Diving Bell and the Butterfly..

Eventually I expected to get this kind of response. I've been waiting for it. While I also don't agree with all of the movies on this list, I still hang onto the belief that it is representative of the recent, contemporary cinema, mostly American whether or not the artistic quality is taken into consider. What this list does reflect is the American films of the past 25 years and is a good representation of them. It includes the various recognized genres (some of them not ever considered serious cinema) as well as the popular movies, ones that seemed to have connected with the public. If another alien race were to have a good understanding of America cinema this might be it. If on the other hand, a film critics' list would be skewed towards some sub-population of America cinema and distorting what America films truly are.

If this is a reflection of American films what are Lives of Others,Y tu mamá también, the Piano and Breaking the Waves doing on the list?

Y tu mama tambien did make the list, albeit in the lower half.