I plan to watch the whole IMDB top 250, which of these movies which have left have you seen and think are worst/best?

Kdosda Hegen

Standard Member
Joined
May 13, 2020
Messages
12
Reaction score
17
Points
32
Age
23
Location
Lithuania
Hello, so I noticed I've watched almost the whole IMDB top 250 list and there are only less than 30 movies left for me to watch. Here's everything's that's left:

66. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

82. Capernaum (2018)

83. High and Low (1963)

116. Incendies (2010)

118. The Apartment (1960)

119. Double Indemnity (1944)

120. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

129. Rashomon (1950)

137. All About Eve (1950)

149. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

155. My Father and My Son (2005)

180. The Third Man (1949)

183. Wild Tales (2014)

184. Tokyo Story (1953)

202. The Bandit (1996)

205. Barry Lyndon (1975)

210. Network (1976)

215. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

220. The Handmaiden (2016)

222. The Wages of Fear (1953)

224. The 400 Blows (1959)

237. Rififi (1955)

240. In the Mood for Love (2000)

241. Paris, Texas (1984)

249. 7 Kogustaki Mucize (2019)



So I want to start with the worst ones and leave the best for the end. I could of course watch from rating from least good to the very best, but we all know that rating doesn't really reflect the quality of the film.

Personally, from what I've already watched I hated all Charlie Chaplin and Peter Jackson films. Disliked most/all Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, David Fincher, Marvel, George Lucas, Ingmar Bergman, Wes Anderson films.

Loved most/all Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, Akira Kurosawa, James Cameron, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, M. Night Shyamalan, Giuseppe Tornatore, Terrence Malick, Clint Eastwood, Coen Brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson films.

So, if you've seen any of these films which did you found the worst and recommend to watch first and which of them did you found the best and recommend to save for the end?
 
Last edited:
If you're a Kurosawa fan, there's an argument that Rashomon is his best work so save that for one of your last watches.

Despite liking Kubrick's other work, I would suggest putting Barry Lyndon near the top of your list. Not because it's bad - it very definitely isn't - but it's very different to what you might call a typical Kubrick movie and it's one of his more marmite films.

From what you've enjoyed more so far, I'd definitely put Tokyo Story and In the Mood For Love later in your queue.

From what you've enjoyed less, it also looks like All About Eve and The Apartment might be more outside your wheelhouse so I guess prioritise them.

Hope that gives you a starting point, anyway!
 
Upvote 0
Hard to pick from that list, they're all great films in one way or another [1].

I expect the 'bottom ones' will be more down to personal taste. Although you might want to tick off the newer films from the last decade like The Handmaiden, Wild Tales, Incendies and Capernaum first — good as they all are I'm not sure any of them are up there with the classics.

But I'd stick these three near the top, in terms of films I'd happily recommend to anyone as 'great films to watch' (although not necessarily 'the best' if that makes sense).
  • Double Indemnity (1944)
  • The Wages of Fear (1953)
  • The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Also as Tom says if you're a Kurosawa fan then Rashomon should be up there too as it's one of his best. Ditto In The Mood for Love and Tokyo Story if you like 'slow burn' Asian cinema.

[1] I've never seen [249. 7 Kogustaki Mucize (2019)], [155. My Father and My Son (2005)] or [The Bandit (1996)] but I expect there might be some IMDB vote stuffing going on there as I have never even heard of them and they all have a low number of critical reviews. Whereas everything else on the list is a film canon classic or a newer film that has garnered widespread acclaim.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
A few of those are superb:

Rashomon
The Handmaiden
Incendies

I also really liked:
Cool Hand Lake
Rififi

I've seen a couple of the others (to kill a mockingbird, the third man) but barely recall them, and don't think I've seen the rest.
 
Upvote 0
A few of those are superb:

Rashomon
The Handmaiden
Incendies

I also really liked:
Cool Hand Lake
Rififi

I've seen a couple of the others (to kill a mockingbird, the third man) but barely recall them, and don't think I've seen the rest.
Can barely recall The Third Man?! Looks like you have some homework of your own!
 
Upvote 0
My top 5 of what's left
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Paris,Texas
Tokyo Story
High and Low
Wages of Fear

Least liked
The Bandit the only I DNF
Barry Lyndon

The rest are all fantastic and in most cases should really be higher placed, not seen 155 or 249.
 
Upvote 0
I expect the 'bottom ones' will be more down to personal taste. Although you might want to tick off the newer films from the last decade like The Handmaiden, Wild Tales, Incendies and Capernaum first — good as they all are I'm not sure any of them are up there with the classics.
That's very subjectional and debatable, personally, quite a few films of 2010s on the list are some of the best films I've ever seen and even beat most of the classics. Like Green Book (2018) or 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Ditto In The Mood for Love and Tokyo Story if you like 'slow burn' Asian cinema.
That's a very tough question actually. Slow movies are so 50/50 for me. Out of slow asians films I loved Parasite (2019), Ran (1985), Burning (2018), and most importantly Memories of Murder (2003) which is one of the best films I've ever seen.
On the other hand, I hated I Saw the Devil (2010), A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), Oldboy (2003) (as controversial as it may sound I loved the 2013 American remake).
[1] I've never seen [249. 7 Kogustaki Mucize (2019)], [155. My Father and My Son (2005)] or [The Bandit (1996)] but I expect there might be some IMDB vote stuffing going on there as I have never even heard of them and they all have a low number of critical reviews. Whereas everything else on the list is a film canon classic or a newer film that has garnered widespread acclaim.
I know what you're talking about, but I tend not to judge a book by it's cover, cause sometimes (definitely not always) these unknown films are some true hidden gems. Before IMDB's list I haven't ever heard of movies like The Hunt (2012), Tangerines (2013) or PK (2014), but I watched them blindly and personally I say these are some true masterpieces.



Anyway, I've read all the comments and come to the conclusion that I'll definitely start with:
All About Eve (1950)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Apartment (1960)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
The Third Man (1949)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

And leave movies for the very end like:
High and Low (1963)
Rashomon (1950)
The Handmaiden (2016)
Rififi (1955)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Incendies (2010)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Paris, Texas (1984)
The 400 Blows (1959)

To finish this little project it may take me about 2 months.

The only one I have no idea about is 249. 7 Kogustaki Mucize (2019), it is a remake of a movie I'm very eager to watch, but this remake is on the list and the original Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013)
is not, so not sure which one shall I watch. Honestly, I hope that remake will fall out of the list soon and won't come back.



Anyways, thank you guys for all the comments, very insightful and very helpful indeed.
 
Upvote 0
That's very subjectional and debatable, personally, quite a few films of 2010s on the list are some of the best films I've ever seen and even beat most of the classics. Like Green Book (2018) or 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Oh I certainly wasn't saying all old movies were necessarily better than new movies. There's always room for new movies to become classics / part of the film canon and I can think of several films from the last decade or so that I would class as modern masterpieces.

Just that out of those on your long list, those four newer films from the 2010s (I listed) weren't (in my personal opinion) up there with the best elsewhere on that long list — and I've seen a couple of those newer films more than once, so it's not that I didn't like them.

We've all got different tastes, but for what it's worth I've seen everything on your long list (bar the three Turkish ones I have mentioned at the end of my post), many of them multiple times. I'm certainly not just a lover of the classics / old films, but those tend to be the ones I have gone back to most to re-watch over the years.

* although I thought Green Book was a ridiculous bit of saccharine Oscar bait so maybe we have different tastes ;-)

I know what you're talking about, but I tend not to judge a book by it's cover, cause sometimes (definitely not always) these unknown films are some true hidden gems. Before IMDB's list I haven't ever heard of movies like The Hunt (2012), Tangerines (2013) or PK (2014), but I watched them blindly and personally I say these are some true masterpieces.

Absolutely, I previously worked in film and spent many years watching films back to back at festival like Cannes, Berlin and TIFF. Blindly walking into films without any prior knowledge of them at all. In fact I saw three of those 2010 movies I mentioned (The Handmaiden, Capernaum and Wild Tales) at their very first screenings in Cannes, before a single review had been written about them.

There was just something a bit suspect about the lack of critical reviews for those three Turkish films I listed ie. ~6 reviews all in Turkish vs 100+ reviews from all over the world for the others. So I wondered if their ratings had been artificial pushed up by bots or a social media campaign.

Anyway, I've read all the comments and come to the conclusion that I'll definitely start with:
To finish this little project it may take me about 2 months.

Sounds like a great project / way to spend lockdown and a great way to sample a wide range of cinema too. Impressed at the dedication!

I'd second systemsdead's suggestion of the TSPDT list (or their 21st Century list) next if you want another list to work though after you finish the IMDB one.

And that seems like a good order to work through them, hope you have fun watching them.

Be interesting to hear back at the end what your favourites were.

The only one I have no idea about is 249. 7 Kogustaki Mucize (2019), it is a remake of a movie I'm very eager to watch, but this remake is on the list and the original Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013)
is not, so not sure which one shall I watch. Honestly, I hope that remake will fall out of the list soon and won't come back.

I looked that up, it seems it popped up on Netflix during lockdown and got a sudden spike in popularity due to Netflix's algorithm recommending it and social media buzz. As you say I expect it will fall out of the top 250 before too long.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Absolutely, I previously worked in film and spent many years watching films back to back at festival like Cannes, Berlin and TIFF. Blindly walking into films without any prior knowledge of them at all. In fact I saw three of those 2010 movies I mentioned (The Handmaiden, Capernaum and Wild Tales) at their very first screenings in Cannes, before a single review had been written about them.
You sound like you have a lot of experience with film and probably watched a lot of them in your lifetime. I admire that a lot. If you don't mind, I want to ask what are your favourite films of all time?

I'd second systemsdead's suggestion of the TSPDT list (or their 21st Century list) next if you want another list to work though after you finish the IMDB one.
Finishing IMDB's list is kind of a personal matter in a way. I found my passion for movies thanks to IMDB so it's like a must for me to watch that whole list. I do have a 300+ movies watchlist myself and as one smart movie buff once said:
"The more you watch, the more great movies you realise are out there and the 'never-ending watchlist syndrome' becomes a real thing. But I take that as a positive knowing that this isn't some tick-box exercise and that watching movies is a life-long journey."
I may take a look on TSPDT or Letterboxd top 250 one day, but that may happen in a distant future.
Be interesting to hear back at the end what your favourites were.
I'll definitely make a long thread explaining in detail my experiences with the list.
 
Upvote 0
My Top 5 of your remainders....

Double Indemnity
The Handmaiden
Witness For The Prosecution
Tokyo Story
Paris, Texas.

I haven't seen Capernaum, My Father & My Son or your last one.

Good luck!
 
Upvote 0
I have now seen Capernaum (excellent).

Has the OP seen any of his remaining films?
 
Upvote 0

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom