My 50 Favorite Films, 2012 Edition

Earlier this week, I mentioned I spent last weekend sorting out my favorite films, circa 2016.

Well, yes. And love ya, Dame Julie, but that film didn’t make the 2012 list.

Part of the fun of doing this biennial sort is to compare my current favorites to years past and see what has changed.

For that reason, I’m sharing both the previous sorts I did using my current sorting method of pairwise comparison.

As with any highly subjective list, it is naturally well-reasoned and eminently defensible.

Hush, you. Here are the ground rules:

1. These must be feature films (narrative or documentary). Short films aren’t included.
2. Film series or franchises do not count as one entry. Each must fend for itself.
3. TV movies can be included (though I don’t think any are in the top 50)
4. TV mini-series are not included.
5. Regular TV series are right out.
6. These are my favorite films, not a “best of.” If anyone else entirely agrees with my list, one of the two of us is an evil doppelganger/replicant/host.
7. There is no rule # 7.

So, without further ado, counting down from 50:

50) The Godfather
49) Citizen Kane
48) Children of Men
47) The Thing (from another world)
46) The Straight Story
45) Little Big Man
44) Unforgiven
43) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
42) The Avengers
41) A Few Good Men
40) Amadeus
39) When Harry Met Sally
38) Alien
37) The Bourne Identity
36) Gunga Din
35) Alexander Nevsky
34) Never Cry Wolf
33) The Dark Crystal
32) 2010
31) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
30) The Court Jester
29) Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World
28) Midnight Run
27) Airplane!
26) Gattaca
25) The Wizard of Oz
24) Ghostbusters
23) Like Water for Chocolate
22) Field of Dreams
21) The Princess Bride
20) Stalag 17
19) Heat
18) North by Northwest
17) The Lives of Others
16) The Namesake
15) Rob Roy
14) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
13) Ben-Hur
12) Black Hawk Down
11) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
10) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
9) Raiders of the Lost Ark
8) Das Boot
7) Amelie
6) The Shawshank Redemption
5) Star Wars
4) The Empire Strikes Back
3) Ran
2) Casablanca
1) Singin’ in the Rain

Basic Stats (note: genres overlap, based on IMDb genres)

• Total films in sorting: 255
• Total Comedies: 8
• Total Dramas: 30
• Total Action-Adventure Films: 14
• Total Sci-Fi/Fantasy Films: 19
• Total Westerns: 2
• Total War Movies: 11 (I’d be shocked, Shocked, if people thought Casablanca doesn’t count)
• Total Musicals: 3
• Total Animated Films: 0
• Total films with Liam Neeson: 1
• The film at the bottom of the list (#255): Jabberwocky
• The film at #51 which at least one reader will insist should rank higher: The Matrix

If you’re like me, you’re wondering why there aren’t more films with Liam Neeson in this list.  Then again, he has been in some stinkers that aren’t going to ever make the cut.

Also of interest: no animated films. Well, that will change in 2016…

I’ll list the 2014 edition on Monday and the 2016 edition on Tuesday. Have a great weekend. Perhaps go watch that new space movie.