I would argue that we should attempt to have a well-rounded list that represents decades and genres. That doesn't mean that we have equal representation, just that we don't have any obvious holes.

So, for example, I argue that Unforgiven is essential, as it is the only Western eligible for the list at all.

I would also encourage folks to (for the most part) shy away from very recent movies (last 5-10 years), as these films really haven't stood the test of time yet. This includes the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Here's a breakdown of the existing and eligibile films by decade. A > denotes a film already on the list. I have indicated some of my personal "essentials" with a + after the film date--nothing official, just my opinions.

Please note that I am using registered titles at IMDB for this list. I would strongly encourage this practice throughout the formulation of this list (and elsewhere on the board).

I did my best to identify the films from the list, but without dates and/or directors, the names as they are are not precise. Several of which I was unsure are not on the list below.

1910s
Intolerance (1916)

1920s
> The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Metropolis (1927) +
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
The Ten Commandments (1923)

1930s
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Freaks (1932)
M (1931) +

1940s
> It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Close-Up (1948)
The Bicycle Thief (1948) +
Open City (1945)
Day of Wrath (1943)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
How Green Was My Valley (1941) +

1950s
> Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
> Ordet (1955)
> The Seventh Seal (1957)
Ben-Hur (1959) +
Molokai (1959)
Nazarin (1958)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
The Ten Commandments (1956) +
A Man Escaped (1956)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Pather Panchali (1955)
On the Waterfront (1954) +
The Robe (1953)
Tokyo Story (1953) +
Living (1952)
Umberto D. (1952)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) +
Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950)
Rashômon (1950) +

1960s
> The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
> 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
> Andrei Rublev (1969)
My Night at Maud's (1969)
Faces (1968)
Bedazzled (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Balthazar (1966)
A Man for All Seasons (1966) +
Becket (1964) +
Winter Light (1963)
The Silence (1963)
Whistle Down the Wind (1961)
La Dolce vita (1960)

1970s
> Le Fils (1973)
> Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979) +
Hardcore (1979)
Life of Brian (1979) +
Perceval le Gallois (1979)
Stalker (1979)
L'Albero degli zoccoli (1978)
Days of Heaven (1978)
Gates of Heaven (1978)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Star Wars (1977) +
Dersu Uzala (1975)
The Hiding Place (1975)
The Mirror (1975)
Godspell (1973)
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Fratello sole, sorella luna (1972)
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

1980s
> Tender Mercies (1983)
> The Mission (1986)
> Dekalog (1987)
> Babette's Feast (1987)
> Wings of Desire (1987)
> The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
> Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
> Jésus de Montréal (1989)
Do the Right Thing (1989) +
Field of Dreams (1989)
Henry V (1989) + (I thought Olivier's was better)
Romero (1989)
A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) +
Jean de Florette (1986)
Manon of the Spring (1986) +
Offret - Sacrificatio (1986)
Summer (1986)
Agnes of God (1985)
The Color Purple (1985) +
The Trip to Bountiful (1985) +
Witness (1985)
Amadeus (1984)
Places in the Heart (1984)
L'Argent (1983)
Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
Nostalghia (1983)
Blade Runner (1982) +
Gandhi (1982)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
Chariots of Fire (1981) +
My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Time Bandits (1981)
The Elephant Man (1980) +
Son of Man (1980)

1990s
> Groundhog Day (1993)
> Schindler's List (1993)
> Three Colors: Blue (1993)
> Dead Man Walking (1995)
> Breaking the Waves (1996)
> Ponette (1996)
> Secrets & Lies (1996)
> The Apostle (1997)
> The Big Kahuna (1999)
> Dogma (1999)
> Magnolia (1999)
> The Straight Story (1999)
American Beauty (1999) +
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Fight Club (1999)
Not of This World (1999)
The Green Mile (1999) +
The Insider (1999)
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Matrix (1999) +
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Third Miracle (1999)
American History X (1998)
Baraka (1998)
The Book of Life (1998)
The Last Days of Disco (1998)
Pi (1998)
Pleasantville (1998)
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
The Truman Show (1998) +
The Dreamlife of Angels (1998)
After Life (1998)
Amistad (1997)
Contact (1997)
Henry Fool (1997)
The Ice Storm (1997) +
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Ulee's Gold (1997) +
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
The Funeral (1996)
Sling Blade (1996) +
The Spitfire Grill (1996)
The Addiction (1995) +
Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)
Les Misérables (1995)
Amateur (1994)
Barcelona (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994) +
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Three Colors: Red (1994)
Three Colors: White (1994)
Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
Fearless (1993)
Faraway, So Close! (1993) +
Shadowlands (1993) (BBC version is better)
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Malcolm X (1992) +
A River Runs Through It (1992) +
Unforgiven (1992) +
Black Robe (1991)
A Brief History of Time (1991)
The Fisher King (1991) +
Grand Canyon (1991)
The Rapture (1991)

2000s
> Waking Life (2001)
> The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) +
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Dogville (2003)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran (2003)
X2 (2003)
28 Days Later... (2002)
About Schmidt (2002)
Changing Lanes (2002)
Heaven (2002)
In This World (2002)
Last Laugh (2002)
The Man Without a Past (2002)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Signs (2002) +
Stevie (2002)
Thérèse: The Story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (2002)
A Walk to Remember (2002)
The Believer (2001)
Hell House (2001)
The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003)
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
To End All Wars (2001)
Wit (2001)
Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys (2000)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Gladiator (2000)
Italian for Beginners (2000)
Memento (2000) +
Milky Way (2000)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) +
Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
Unbreakable (2000)
Yi yi: A One and a Two... (2000)
You Can Count on Me (2000)

So, please take this timeline and genre considerations into consideration when selecting films for the final list.

I also notice some more glaring omissions (e.g. The Double Life of Veronique, Network)

Hey, I elevate the signifigance of older films way more than the next guy, but for this list, I am not sure that age matters. Either a film has spiritual value or it hasn't. Lasting aesthetic value is one thing, but God touching the hearts and lives of characters, or characters behaving in a spiritual manner towards each other exists on the screen or it doesn't. Personally, I think some of the modern films are better than the older ones for this particular list.

I second Alan's emphasis of Unforgiven. Excellent film.

Cool to see the breakdown. I concur with Rich that we're not obliged to be representative of anything in particular, except (really) this board's tastes / preferences / recommendations, within the list's given parameter of "spiritually significant" films.

Nevertheless, people can organize their own voting however they wish, and I definitely think that the more varied the list is, the more interesting.

QUOTE

Nevertheless, people can organize their own voting however they wish, and I definitely think that the more varied the list is, the more interesting.

Absolutely. I'd like to see variety. I shuddered at the list of automatics when I saw it. it was overpopulated by the usual suspects. I would be delighted to see the final 68 all over the map.

: I'd like to see variety. I shuddered at the list of automatics when I saw
: it. it was overpopulated by the usual suspects.

As every cumulative top ten/twenty/thirty list necessarily is: Consensus picks unavoidably rise to the top.

I cannot believe all but one voter went for The Apostle and Dekalog. Good job voters.

Dale

Ron wrote:
: Cool to see the breakdown. I concur with Rich that we're not obliged to
: be representative of anything in particular, except (really) this board's
: tastes / preferences / recommendations, within the list's given parameter
: of "spiritually significant" films.

Be that as it may, I would have to invoke C.S. Lewis's recommendation that we alternate between new books and old books -- or, in this case, between new films and old films -- and I would have to say that such a list should encourage people to alternate in such a way.

: Be that as it may, I would have to invoke
: C.S. Lewis's recommendation that we alternate between new books
: and old books -- or, in this case, between new films and old films -- and
: I would have to say that such a list should encourage people to alternate
: in such a way.

If so, this needed to be discussed earlier in the Top 100 process rather than now, given the famine of pre-1950 films on the finalist list. I do hope, however, that The Hundred isn't as '90s-heavy as the finalist list suggests.

(On the subject: Close-Up is referring to the 1990 Kiarostami film, not a 1948 film. And Le Fils is the Dardenne brothers' 2003 film, not a film from the '70s.)

Dale

Some of the ones I'm liable to include from past decades (Through the 50s):

On the Waterfront

[quote]Some of the ones I'm liable to include from past decades (Through the 50s):

Say more about THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL? I don't know the movie: I would have assumed it was just an end-of-the-world sci fi flick. Looks like there's more going on than Bug Eyed Monsters?...

QUOTE

Say more about THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL?  I don't know the movie: I would have assumed it was just an end-of-the-world sci fi flick.  Looks like there's more going on than Bug Eyed Monsters?...

Here's the link to IMDB (8.1!). Check out the user comments. Directed by the great Robert Wise (Run Silent Run Deep (1958), West Side Story (1961), The Sound of Music (1965), and other greats).

I consider TDTESS to be a great classic of science-fiction film literature, certainly not a "grade B" bug-eyed monster flick. I think my first avatar on the board was Gort.

Ron wrote:
: Say more about THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL? I don't know the
: movie: I would have assumed it was just an end-of-the-world sci fi flick.

It is one of the most misunderstood films of its era -- misunderstood even by its fans, even by the people who made it. It is widely regarded as a big pro-peace movie, when in fact it is an anti-emotion movie -- the world will be saved by science! science and militaristic robots!

To quote what I posted elsewhere:

Finally got around to watching The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) on DVD with the audio commentary. The commentary is actually a conversation or interview of sorts between director Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyer, which is rather apt; not only have both of these men directed Star Trek films (Wise directed ST:TMP, Meyer directed ST2:TWOK and ST6:TUC and co-wrote ST4:TVH), but The Day the Earth Stood Still is widely regarded as a classic argument for peace in the atomic age, while one of Meyer's better-known works is the 1983 nuclear-war TV-movie The Day After.

I must confess I have never been entirely sold on the notion that The Day the Earth Stood Still is the uplifting, pro-peace film that many of its makers and supporters say it is, and I must confess that this is partly because I first saw the film several years ago *after* reading Mark Jancovich's Rational Fear: American horror in the 1950s. Jancovich devotes one chapter of his book to overturning the idea that The Day the Earth Stood Still is anti-military while The Thing from Another World, another sci-fi classic from 1951 (later re-made in the '80s as The Thing), is pro-military; in that chapter, Jancovich shows how The Day the Earth Stood Still actually embraces a cold, rigid, unemotional, scientific outlook while The Thing from Another World shows how human warmth and interaction is possible even within an institutional framework such as the military. The problem, as depicted in The Day the Earth Stood Still, is not the military per se, but the fact that the humans who work within the military are too jittery and emotional -- the soldier who fires on Klaatu at the beginning does so out of nervous fear. Klaatu himself is quite happy to promote the use of atomic power for non-military purposes *and* to promote the use of military force itself to compel the Earth to give up its weapons of mass destruction. At one point, Klaatu even threatens to level New York City just to get the planet's attention. One cannot help but see Klaatu as part terrorist, part pre-emptive strategist -- a combination of Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush -- and I suspect director Robert Wise, who says in the commentary that he has always been anti-militarism, would not approve of that comparison.

Interestingly, Meyer actually presses Wise on this point, about 17 or 18 minutes into the commentary. He asks Wise if he has seen Colossus: The Forbin Project, an early-'70s movie in which computers take over the world and force humans to give up war ... and to give up many other freedoms as well. Wise replies that Klaatu has no other way to deal with us.

Also interesting is the brief discussion of the film's Christ-symbolism, about 15 minutes into the film and then again at about 83 minutes. Incredibly, Wise says he was completely unaware of the film's biblical elements (Klaatu mingles with other humans under the name "Carpenter", he is betrayed and killed and resurrected, etc.) until some time after the film was finished and reviewers began mentioning this; Meyer speculates that the screenwriter, at least, must have known what he was up to. I wonder, though, if even the writer would have been aware of these themes -- it is said that Melissa Matheson, the writer of E.T., did not realize the allegorical significance of her script until it was in production.

Anyway, it's still an interesting film, and the DVD includes a MovieTone newsreel from the 1950s which really puts the movie in context -- it starts with Japan and the U.S. (and many other nations) signing a treaty against Communist aggression, it shows footage of a flood disturbing a military encampment in Korea ... and then, in the light-and-fluffy entertainment section of the reel, we see a couple of beauty pageants and The Day the Earth Stood Still winning a sci-fi prize of some sort.

: Looks like there's more going on than Bug Eyed Monsters?...

No monsters at all, bug-eyed or otherwise, that I can recall. Robots, on the other hand ...