#66 The Great Dictator (1940)

This apparently is Charlie Chaplin's first full fledged talking picture. He resisted the idea of moving this direction because of his success in silent films. This movie is a ridiculously overt satirization of Hitler. The humor is just a bit too slapstick for me, and the parts that aren't slapstick weren't all that humorous. I will probably never be much of a Charlie Chaplin fan, but I will say one thing that is completely interesting. This movie was made prior to WWII, and released during the war. I was able to see an opinion of Hitler before Hitler was really known for all his terrible things. So from a historical perspective, this was very interesting. It is also so crazy to me that this movie was banned through much of Europe. This movie that I just watched was deemed worthy to be banned. Crazy. England was going to ban it, but they changed their mind when it came out because they were at war by this time. The ending speech was incredible when you know that this was being watched by millions during WWII. It really has more impact on you. If you want a funny movie, I don't know how much you will like this unless you like the slapstick silent movie style. If you want to look inside the mind of a filmmaker during one of the most important of history, this would be a good one.
Here is a link to the full movie on YouTube.

This is the abbreviated version. Watch this link for the full speech. It is worth your time. It's good.

"I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another.... Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate.... We think too much and feel too little... The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people.... You don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural.... Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power. Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people.... Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!" -Chaplin

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The first 25 ranked by me

I decided to rank the 25 movies I have watched so far. There is no real criteria, but I do praise originality, storyline, and general eliciting of emotion. I also realize, as I have stated in my blog posts, that I probably cannot fully appreciate the older movies because they were meant for a certain era or all other movies built off of these movies and they no longer feel original when I watch them as opposed to when they were originally released. I try to take that into account when I am ranking movies, but it is inevitable that my biases leak through. Notice that the first three movies are from the 90s. Also, these ranks are not just based off of my initial thoughts but how I feel about them as I look back. A Clockwork Orange would probably be ranked much lower if it was the last movie I watched, but since I watched it, I just keep thinking about it. It is infectious. Some movies might also drop the longer I do this.

I would love to hear your criticisms of the list!

1	#22 Se7en (1995)	Deserves this spot
2	#23 Silence of the Lambs (1991)	Excellent story
3	#55 American Beauty (1999)	Unique and a great story
4	#65 A Clockwork Orange (1971)	The more I think about it, the more I like it
5	#57 Double Indemnity (1944)	How have I not heard of this movie before?
6	#70 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)	Way better than I thought it was going to be
7	#63 The Green Mile (1999)	Loses a spot or two because of how sad it is
8	#114 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)	It’s a better movie than you think
9	#6 12 Angry Men (1957)	Excellent exploration of biases and the legal system
10	#131 The Big Lebowski (1998)	I think this one gets better with age
11	#26 The Usual Suspects (1995)	Not as good as Josh claims it is
12	#42 North by Northwest (1959)	Just a good movie
13	#48 The Pianist (2002)	An unknown gem
14	#115 Up (2009)	Watch it
15	#158 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)	I am sure the book is way better
16	#164 Life of Brian (1979)	Funny but no Holy Grail
17	#40 Alien (1979)	Solid movie
18	#47 The Shining (1980)	Suspense!
19	#191 A Beautiful Mind (2001)	Better than average but not great
20	#13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)	Too slow and too little story for my taste
21	#39 City Lights (1931)	It’s hard for me to appreciate silent films
22	#38 Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying About the Bomb (1964)	I’m a couple decades too young for this movie.
23	#221 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)	I really hate the ending
24	#94 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)	Too slow and too artsy for me
25	#58 Aliens (1986)	At least Space Odyssey was original

#39 City Lights (1931)

This is definitely a movie I would never watch without doing this list. I think this is the first Charlie Chaplin movie I have ever watched, and I am pretty sure it is also the first silent film. The movie was better than I thought it was going to be, and it was a nice story and I actually laughed a few times, but I just feel I am too far removed from this film's time period. It is just hard to get into a silent movie. I know Charlie laid the foundation for future works, but after watching all the future works, it is hard to appreciate it. This is like going back to one of those original bulky cell phones instead of a current smartphone. Sure it was great when it came out, and sure we wouldn't be where we were without it, but it still doesn't mean I want to use it. This is not to say it does not deserve #39 because I understand its historical significance, but it is just hard to get in to.

Chaplin: "Be careful how you're driving."

Drunk Millionaire: "Am I driving?"

Have you seen this movie? What did you think?

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#57 Double Indemnity (1944)

This movie was an absolute treat to watch! There is no way I would ever watch this movie if it hadn't been for this list, and it is movies like this that make me happy that I am doing this list. Sure it has the overacting (maybe everyone talked like that in the 40s) that all old movies have, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. This movie has a great plot, pace, and suspense! There are twists, turns, and really short ties! Also, there are lots of great quotes but I will just share one.

"Well, I get darn sick of tryin' to pick up after a gang of fast-talking salesmen dumb enough to sell life insurance to a guy who sleeps in the same bed with four rattlesnakes." -Keyes

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#47 The Shining (1980)

This is the third and final Stephen King movie on the top 250. #63 The Green Mile and #1 The Shawshank Redemption were incredible movies. I guess when 35 movies are based off of your novels, a couple of them have to strike gold. Anyways, I always thought Stephen King only wrote suspense novels like The Shining until I started working on this list. Anyways, The Shining is a mind-bending suspenseful movie. I think this movie must have been completely original when it came out, but it doesn't completely feel that way today. This is probably because I played Silent Hill, which clearly built off of what this movie did. Or maybe this is because I saw the ending to this movie a long time ago so there is no way I could get too emotionally involved. The movie is still good, and if you are in the mood for suspense, pick this up. Jack Nicholson is great at being a crazy person!

"Here's Johnny." -Jack

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#158 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

I will admit my ignorance of all things literature, but I can at least say, because of +Leslie Roskovich, that I have read one of John Steinbeck's novels: Of Mice and Men. That is not to be confused with the amazing Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. He is known for telling the story of the poor and forgotten. The Grapes of Wrath follow around a poor family from Oklahoma during the Great Depression. This story is apparently a timeless classic, but I don't know if they story itself is timeless or what the story is attempting to get across. When I watched this, this movie felt dated. I know that seems obvious because it is so old, but it was something different. This movie seems to assume that you lived through the Great Depression (which seems to be an ok assumption for a movie in 1940). There were many things going on in the movie that I was confused about. One that stuck out was police searching the vehicles when they crossed state lines. Was that something that occurred often or just during the depression? Anyways, I think this movie is excellent for understanding the Great Depression. The story is uninteresting. It doesn't have much of a coherent story and there is no central point to the movie (unless you consider general wondering a central point which is a fair argument), but that doesn't mean it is a bad movie. Normally the police are the good buys, but to poor, the police were the conniving people and the federal government were the benevolent. It explores what people with no options had to do to survive. It explores company collusion, worker's rights, and even hints at communism; that is the beauty of this movie because the themes and ideas of this movie explores the classic struggle of the poor.

"Seems like the government's got more interest in a dead man than a live one." -Joad

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#22 Se7en (1995)

People always tell me this is a great movie. I know it best from being the movie the kids in Butterfly Effect go to and throw popcorn at people. This movie may be my favorite so far. I will just give you the basics. It is about a serial killer who is killing people that are guilty of the seven deadly sins. I thought I knew how everything was going to play out, and I even was getting bored because of it. This movie got me though, and I will never forget it. This is the third movie I watched with Kevin Spacey, and he really showed some versatility. If you haven't seen this movie, you really should watch it. It is twisted and dark, but such a good story. Sometimes you will have a great story, and then the filmmaker will ruin it. They got this one right.

"Ernest Hemingway once wrote, 'The world
 is a fine place and worth fighting for.' I agree with the second part." -Sommerset

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