Anne Thompson tips us off to Entertainment Weekly's latest list of 100 new "classic" films. Numbers 100-76 are posted here, in a slide show. I'm not sure when the remainder of the list will be revealed.

I haven't seen 3 of the films on the list. I have my doubts about those films; otherwise I would've seen them by now, no? Of those I have seen, none seem like obvious ringers -- titles that never should have made this list -- but I'm most doubtful about Moonstruck.

Most Pleasant Surprise: Evil Dead 2.

I feel like Entertainment Weekly gets a bad wrap sometimes (and sometimes it's justified), but more often than not I'm a fan for the stuff they triumph: amidst the celeb spreads each week, there are usually passionate endorsements of great shows (Firefly, and EW consistently praised the Wire), great albums and great movies. It seems to be run by a bunch of film/music/book geeks that have to add fluff to sell the magazine.

That said, some GREAT and unexpected movies on the list. I'm still thumbing through it, but it's great to see In the Mood for Love and Glory.

Christian wrote:
: I haven't seen 3 of the films on the list.

I haven't seen four: In the Mood for Love, Menace II Society, Evil Dead 2 and Sid and Nancy. And some of the ones I HAVE seen, I have not seen in more than half a lifetime (e.g. Moonstruck, which came out 21 years ago, when I was 16 or 17).

I saw The Evil Dead 2 entirely on fast-forward, as recommended by a friend, (he insisted it was the same movie). Does that count?

FWIW... HOOP DREAMS at 26. Yay, Hoop Dreams!!

Oh, I see. They've posted another two installments.

75-51. (Donnie Brasco?? Nice to see #56, which ought to climb higher over the years)

50-26.

Now to go click through those selections...

EDIT: Nick's got the list covered in the post below, but here's 25-1. (I never did "get" Crumb.)

I think there's a cliche that's starting to become more prevalent...

For every Top List for which "This is Spinal Tap" is qualified, it must always be represented by #11.

You may now continue with your formal programming...

Nick (bummed that Run Lola Run, Babe, and Magnolia failed to make the list)

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Seeing Saving Private Ryan #6 made me look for Shakespeare in Love on the Top 100 list. Surely it's on there. It's a better movie ... REMEMBER? Remember how SPR was good only for 20 minutes, had a shmaltzy ending, and couldn't compete with the witty script and we're-all-in-love-with-her Gwyneth Paltrow?

Remember Harrison Ford opening that envelope and reading those words: "And the Oscar goes to ... Shakespeare in Love"?

I'm sure it's on the list. Has to be. It's so much better a film than SPR. And everyone loves Gwyneth Paltrow. And we all wince at Spielberg's excesses.

It's on the list. Has to be.

Umm...I own 62 of those films.

Jim Emerson:

The bizarre choices on the list for me (in addition to several of the ones cited in the third paragraph above) include "Moulin Rouge" (#10), "Pretty Woman" (#37), "Gladiator" (#43), "Rain Man" (#45), "Dirty Dancing" (#65), "All About My Mother" (#69), "Thelma & Louise" (#72)... but I detect my own gender bias in the selection. Some of these were hits, some of them won Oscars, some had star-making performances (Julia Roberts, Patrick Swayze, Brad Pitt)... but, even if you liked 'em at the time, do you feel like watching them anymore? Obviously I don't, but I'd like to hear what you think.

#37 made me angry -- spitting mad, hostile -- when I saw a sneak preview of it, then increasingly withdrawn and sullen as I watched the glowing reviews roll in. I thought the film invited us to delight in immorality, and I've not softened all that much on the film over the years. I saw it on cable a couple of years ago and was surprised that I didn't feel the urge to turn it off. Maybe I'll "enjoy" the film someday.

I've never understood #69 or anything else by Almodovar, but I respect many of his fans enough to hold my tongue. I no longer put up a fight when someone writes of how deeply moving they find these dramas about cross-dressers/tranvestites, etc. I DID like much of Talk to Me, however. So if I had to pick one for this list, that'd be it.

I don't understand how Emerson could question #72. I haven't watched it in several years, but it had a hold on me at the time of its release, and for several years afterward. It may seem a bit dated now -- I'm not sure -- but I have no doubt about its placement here, except to wonder why it's not higher up on the list.