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Jaws: Sharks Gone Wild

Let's carry on with the next film on the list, shall we?  Jaws was released in 1975, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss.  It won three Oscars and had the singular ability to make a generation of children terrified of their swimming pools.  Jaws receives a rank of 75 on the "TSP, DT?" list.


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True Heart Susie: Makeup Is Evil

So our next film is something a little different -- the silent romance from 1919 called True Heart Susie.  Directed by DW Griffith and starring the lovely Lillian Gish and Robert Harron, True Heart Susie is the ultimate story of unrequited love, albeit one with a happy ending.  "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" places it at a respectable 916, and it is one of only seven pre-1920s films to make the list.


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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Lobotomies for Fun and Profit

So we're up to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the first movie of the 2000s to be reviewed so far!  This quirky and original film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet came out in 2004, and won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.  "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" puts it at 515 on their list.


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The Graduate: Why You Shouldn't Date Your Cougar's Daughter

Hello!  We're on to The Graduate, a 1967 film by Mike Nichols that earned Best Actor Oscar Nominations for its three leads (Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katharine Ross) and a Best Director Oscar.  It also gave a voice to whiny, privileged college graduates everywhere (and I include myself among their number).  "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" ranks The Graduate at #194.

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Pulp Fiction: Hit Men -- They're Just Like Us!

And onward to our next review -- Pulp Fiction, the 1994 film that made Tarantino a buzzword for mildly pretentious film students everywhere.  It won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, relaunched John Travolta's flagging film career, and got itself a place at 123 on the "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" list.  This is a special review for me, because it's the first film I'm reviewing that I hadn't seen prior to starting the 1000 Movie Journey.


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Frankenstein: National Theatre Live (a NYC review)

OK, I know I'm supposed to be watching Pulp Fiction and writing reviews and whatnot, but last night I got a chance to go see Frankenstein, the hit National Theatre play from London, and I want to write about that.  So there!

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Some Like It Hot: Or, Tony Curtis Is So Cool He Can Woo Marilyn Monroe While Wearing a Dress

Thanks for tuning in for my latest review, this time we’re watching the fun cross dressing romp Some Like It Hot!  This 1959 film stars Jack Lemmon (yay!), Tony Curtis (yum), and Marilyn Monroe (where’s that bourbon?).  “They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?” puts it in at #23, making this the first movie reviewed that cracks the Top 25.  Well, actually it’s the first movie reviewed that cracks the Top 300…clearly I was watching all the crappy cinematic classics before.

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Toy Story: Cause Nothing's Less Creepy Than Toys That Are Secretly Alive

Onward to Toy Story, a lovely little film that put Pixar on the map in terms of animation back in 1995.  It stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, received three Oscar nominations in 1996, and is the first of the films I’m reviewing that I was actually alive for!  “They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?” lists it at 421.



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Oedipal Complexes are Funny: A Cautionary Tale of Back to the Future

Before I start the review, I just want to send out my condolences to the friends and family of Elizabeth Taylor, who died earlier today at the age of 79.  The two-time Oscar winner was one of the last great cinematic icons from the 1950s and 60s, and she will be greatly missed.


Our next review is the 1985 film Back to the Future, starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd.  It won one Oscar in 1986 for Best Sound Effects Editing, spawned two sequels, and comes in at 364 on the TSPDT list.  It’s a popular movie, but is it actually any good?


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The Power of Song in The Sound of Music

So we’re going to start off with the 1965 film The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.  This Rodgers and Hammerstein musical won 5 Oscars in 1966, including Best Director and Best Picture.  On the TSPDT list, it comes in at a respectable 402.


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Audrey on a Mission Starts Her 1000 Movie Journey

Hello all (or as is more accurate, the few who happened to have stumbled upon this blog while no doubt looking for something else)!


This is me: I'm a casting assistant by day, movie addict by night.  I graduated from college with a degree in film (or as my boyfriend called it, one of those fake majors) nearly a year ago.

This is my hare-brained scheme: I'm going to watch EVERY SINGLE ONE of the films listed by "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" as the top 1000 films of all time.  Even the shitty, pretentious art house cinema.

Here's what TSPDT has to say for itself: 

This is, as you know by now, a consensus listing of the most critically-acclaimed films of all-time, based on as many lists as we have been able to collate over the years. It is as definitive a consensus list as you will probably find. Thanks to you, it is also a very well supported listing of films that we enjoy compiling each year, and - in the main - does represent truckloads of the best that cinema has to offer.


The January 2011 list of the 1,000 Greatest Films has primarily been compiled by using 2,138 individual critics' and filmmakers' personal lists/ballots of their favourite/best films.  

As per previous versions we have also factored in (although to a much lesser degree than the aforementioned individual ballots) over 1,300 magazine polls, film institute polls, individual polls from 'esteemed' critics or filmmakers and many other polls of interest."

That's good enough for me.  Check them out yourselves!


Here's how it will work: For every film on the list, I'll write a review and post it here.  I'm not going to watch and review in any particular order, because some of these films are a mite difficult to track down, and it will take me more time than I have left in my life to try and watch them in list order.  I will, however, post each film's position on the list when I review it (as of the January 2011 listing).

It's not going to be easy.  I fully expect to sweat blood and cry tears of frustration as I wade through some films that I personally don't think should be in the same zip code as the Top 1000.  But I'm equally sure that I'll find some wonderful gems that, for whatever reason, have been woefully underappreciated.

I'm excited to get started!  I hope you'll stick with me as I undergo this film journey that only the most ambitious (and, let's face it, mildly unstable) film buffs will attempt.  Enjoy!

The first film to be reviewed is: The Sound of Music

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The 1000 Movie Journey Archive

So as my list of film reviews grows, I'm noticing a need to have an archive page with links to all my reviews.  Seems like a good idea.  As I post new reviews, I'll add them to this list until (god-willing) we have 1000 entries!


The Introduction


The Top 1000 List

16. Casablanca

23. Some Like It Hot

35. The 400 Blows

43. It's A Wonderful Life

45. Persona

59. The Apartment

73. Jaws

84. Sansho the Bailiff

104. Duck Soup

113. The Shining

116. Pulp Fiction

125. A Matter of Life and Death

126. Broken Blossoms

132. Sherlock Jr

140. Sullivan's Travels

148. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

155. La Jetee

165. Un Chien Andalou

176. Night of the Living Dead

178. The Graduate

182. The Gospel According to St Matthew

206. The Shop Around the Corner

213. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

226. The Spirit of the Beehive

238. Imitation of Life

254. Wings of Desire

260. The Terminator

266. Shane

274. West Side Story

285. Halloween

292. Network

309. The Thief of Bagdad

311. Top Hat

322. The Piano

324. Strike

327. Meshes of the Afternoon

334. The Hustler

336. Wavelength

340. This is Spinal Tap

370. The Manchurian Candidate

372. Back to the Future

384. The Navigator

400. Listen to Britain

402. The Sound of Music

405. Toy Story

407. Pinocchio

410. Suspiria

428. Spirited Away

434. Scorpio Rising

437. Faust

438. American Graffiti

461. My Life as a Dog

475. 12 Angry Men

480. Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon)

506. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

518. Get Carter

519. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

521. The Day the Earth Stood Still

543. Alphaville

546. The Killer

552. Boogie Nights

589. Young Mr. Lincoln

613. Gregory's Girl

625. Holiday

635. The Elephant Man

642. Rushmore

663. The Thin Blue Line

678. The Princess Bride

680.  The Ghost and Mrs Muir

715. The Woman in the Window

732. AI: Artificial Intelligence

739. Broadway Danny Rose

747. Gunga Din

784. The Docks of New York

821. L'Arrivee d'un train a la Ciotat

832.  The Purple Rose of Cairo

835. Sugar Cane Alley

844. Duel

870. The Big Parade

884. The Nutty Professor

893. Flaming Creatures

894. Une Femme est une Femme

905. The Heiress

937. Plein Soleil

953. True Heart Susie

974. Rose Hobart

977. Heaven Can Wait

982. Scarlet Street

987. The Black Cat

994. KanaƂ


The Ex-1000:

The Dark Knight


Milestones:

Happy 50th Review!

The 2012 List Update


Oscars 2012:

Moneyball

The Help

The Descendants

The Artist

The Tree of Life

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore

Midnight in Paris

My Oscar Picks

The Oscars: A Live Blog



Miscellaneous: When Audrey on a Mission Goes on a Tangent

Frankenstein (National Theatre Live)

Frankenstein: Part Two

Conrad Veidt?!

Remember, Remember: The Birth of Time Travel

Green Lantern: The Definition of Meh

Top 30 Movies of My Childhood

The Muppets: 8 Year Old Me Just Punched the Air

Beastly: Beauty and the Whiny Entitled Guy

Captain America: War Propaganda At Its Least Subtle

Death of a Salesman: When You're Worth More Dead Than Alive

Top 20 Disney Songs

If Harry Potter Was an 80s Teen Flick

Disney's Top Eight Worst Messages

The Hunger Games: When I Was a Kid, We Killed Each Other Face to Face, Not on X-Box Live

The Toxic Avenger

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