John Charet’s Favorite Films (1-100) (2023 Edition)

by John Charet

-Introduction-

Last year around this time on my blog, I posted a list of my top 10 favorite films of all-time in response to Sight & Sound magazine’s 10-year annual poll of the greatest films ever made according to the votes of participating critics and filmmakers. Readers can view my list again by clicking here. This year, I wanted to expand it to 100 for those who are interested. Also, my answer is yes to anybody wondering If the number of my favorite films of all-time possibly exceeds that of a zillion. As one can see below, I have decided to start with number 100 and going down from there (i.e. 99, 98 and so forth). Before I go any further, I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards numbers 1, 8, 18, 24, 25 and 99 on here. So I am politely asking all of you to not bash them. Now, without further ado, here are my top 100 favorite films of all-time. Enjoy 🙂

-My Top 100 Favorite Films of All-Time (#100-01)-

100.) Hatari! (1962) (Dir: Howard Hawks)
99.) Mulholland Drive (2001) (Dir: David Lynch)
98.) The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939) (Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi)
97.) A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (Dir: John Cassavetes)
96.) Germany Year Zero (1948) (Dir: Roberto Rossellini)
95.) L’Argent (1983) (Dir: Robert Bresson)
94.) The General (1926) (Dir: Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton)
93.) Some Came Running (1958) (Dir: Vincente Minnelli)
92.) Napoleon (1927) (Dir: Abel Gance)
91.) The Earrings of Madame de… (1953) (Dir: Max Ophuls)
90.) Anatahan (1953) (Dir: Josef von Sternberg)
89.) I Was Born, But… (1932) (Dir: Yasujiro Ozu)
88.) Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) (Dir: Jacques Rivette)
87.) Platform (2000) (Dir: Jia Zhangke)
86.) The Lady Eve (1941) (Dir: Preston Sturges)
85.) Johnny Guitar (1954) (Dir: Nicholas Ray)
84.) Barry Lyndon (1975) (Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
83.) Happy Hour (2015) (Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
82.) Lonesome (1928) (Dir: Paul Fejos)
81.) Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) (Dir: Leo McCarey)
80.) The Great Dictator (1940) (Dir: Charlie Chaplin)
79.) F for Fake (1973) (Dir: Orson Welles)
78.) Earth (1930) (Dir: Alexander Dovzhenko)
77.) The Crowd (1928) (Dir: King Vidor)
76.) Trouble in Paradise (1932) (Dir: Ernst Lubitsch)
75.) The Night of the Hunter (1955) (Dir: Charles Laughton)
74.) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) (Dir: Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
73.) Boyhood (2014) (Dir: Richard Linklater)
72.) Persona (1966) (Dir: Ingmar Bergman)
71.) The Decalogue (1988) (Dir: Krzysztof Kieslowski)
(Polish Television)
(Miniseries)
71a. A Short Film About Killing (1988) (Dir: Krzysztof Kieslowski)
71b. A Short Film About Love (1988) (Dir: Krzysztof Kieslowski)
70.) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
69.) Certified Copy (2010) (Dir: Abbas Kiarostami)
68.) The Devil Is a Woman (1935) (Dir: Josef von Sternberg)
67.) Late Spring (1949) (Dir: Yasujiro Ozu)
66.) Leave Her to Heaven (1945) (Dir: John M. Stahl)
65.) Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) (Dir: Albert Lewin)
64.) La Region Centrale (1971) (Dir: Michael Snow)
63.) Dead Man (1995) (Dir: Jim Jarmusch)
62.) Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) (Dir: Robert Bresson)
61.) Out 1 (1971) (Dir: Jacques Rivette)
60.) Modern Times (1936) (Dir: Charlie Chaplin)
59.) Day of Wrath (1943) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
58.) To Sleep with Anger (1990) (Dir: Charles Burnett)
57.) The Irishman (2019) (Dir: Martin Scorsese)
56.) Duck Amuck (1953) (Dir: Charles M. Jones)
(Animation)
(Short)
55.) Viridiana (1961) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
54.) Wanda (1970) (Dir: Barbara Loden)
53.) Vagabond (1985) (Dir: Agnes Varda)
52.) Man with a Movie Camera (1929) (Dir: Dziga Vertov)
51.) Sansho the Bailiff (1954) (Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi)
50.) Nashville (1975) (Dir: Robert Altman)
49.) Brief Encounter (1945) (Dir: David Lean)
48.) Track of the Cat (1954) (Dir: William A. Wellman)
47.) Daughters of the Dust (1991) (Dir: Julie Dash)
46.) The Docks of New York (1928) (Dir: Josef von Sternberg)
45.) Ivan (1932) (Dir: Alexander Dovzhenko)
44.) Spring in a Small Town (1948) (Dir: Fei Mu)
43.) L’Eclisse (1962) (Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni)
42.) A Brighter Summer Day (1991) (Dir: Edward Yang)
41.) Holy Motors (2012) (Dir: Leos Carax)
40.) Scarface (1932) (Dir: Howard Hawks)
39.) When It Rains (1995) (Dir: Charles Burnett)
(Short)
38.) Mysteries of Lisbon (2010) (Dir: Raul Ruiz)
37.) Stars in My Crown (1950) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
36.) The Red Shoes (1948) (Dir: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
35.) Tokyo Story (1953) (Dir: Yasujiro Ozu)
34.) Last Year at Marienbad (1961) (Dir: Alain Resnais)
33.) Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) (Dir: Chantal Akerman)
32.) Intolerance (1916) (Dir: D.W. Griffith)
31.) Ivan the Terrible Parts I and II (1944/1958) (Dir: Sergei Eisenstein)
30.) Monsieur Verdoux (1947) (Dir: Charlie Chaplin)
29.) Foolish Wives (1922) (Dir: Erich von Stroheim)
28.) M (1931) (Dir: Fritz Lang)
27.) Ordet (1955) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
26.) Les Vampires (1915-16) (Dir: Louis Feuillade)
(Serial)
25.) Marnie (1964) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
24.) Inland Empire (2006) (Dir: David Lynch)
23.) Goodbye to Language (2014) (Dir: Jean-Luc Godard)
22.) Love Streams (1984) (Dir: John Cassavetes)
21.) The World (2004) (Dir: Jia Zhangke)
20.) The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) (Dir: Abbas Kiarostami)
19.) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) (Dir: Steven Spielberg)
18.) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) (Dir: Howard Hawks)
17.) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) (Dir: William Wyler)
16.) Love Me Tonight (1932) (Dir: Rouben Mamoulian)
15.) Gertrud (1964) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
14.) Sunrise (1927) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
13.) The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) (Dir: Jacques Demy)
12.) Tih Minh (1918) (Dir: Louis Feuillade)
(Serial)
11.) Playtime (1967) (Dir: Jacques Tati)
10.) Satantango (1994) (Dir: Bela Tarr)
09.) Three Times (2005) (Dir: Hou Hsiao-hsien)
08.) Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) (Dir: David Lynch)
(Cable/Television)
07.) The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (Dir: Orson Welles)
06.) Spione (1928) (Dir: Fritz Lang)
05.) Histoire(s) du Cinema (1988-1998) (Dir: Jean-Luc Godard)
04.) City Lights (1931) (Dir: Charlie Chaplin)
03.) Journey to Italy (1954) (Dir: Roberto Rossellini)
02.) Greed (1924) (Dir: Erich von Stroheim)
01.) Vertigo (1958) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)

Before I conclude this blog entry, I have one question to ask my dear readers below:

What are your top 100 favorite films of all-time? Please note that If this is too hard to answer, I will happily excuse you all from answering the question 🙂

34 thoughts on “John Charet’s Favorite Films (1-100) (2023 Edition)”

  1. John, I would never have time to list 100 favourites, but I am pleased to see some included in your list. (A Short Film About Killing, A Short Film About Love, Intolerance, Napoleon, as examples.)
    We will never agree about your top pick, Vertigo, which I think is very overrated, and my own top ten is very different to yours. Here it is.

    Top Ten Films


    Best wishes, Pete.

  2. Glad to hear that you loved my list Pete 🙂 Speaking of Abel Gance’s Napoleon, I read that the most recent restoration was British film historian Kevin Brownlow’s 2016 restoration. As for my thoughts on Ridley Scott’s recent version, all I will tell you is that the less said about it, the better. Stanley Kubrick tried to get an epic about Napoleon off the ground shortly after 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Seems that Abel Gance’s 1927 Silent masterpiece is the best film so far on Napoleon Bonaparte. Though at the same time, it can be viewed as a metaphor for exceeding the then boundaries of what cinema was capable of. Anyway, I did read your list and replied on it back in 2018 and I thought that yours was interesting as well. Fascinating to see Blade Runner as your number one favorite film of all-time. That is a great film and even If Ridley Scott never makes another great film, he can at least be proud that he has three great ones and two very good ones under his belt. Your number two choice Come and See is another masterpiece.

    P.S. I know this is old Pete, but did you hear that British film critic Derek Malcolm passed away this year as did actor Sr. Michael Gambon? Have you or are you planning on watching The Singing Detective again in wake of that?

  3. ll but 16 of these are excellent candidates for a top 100 list. and my indifference and/or dislike of those 13 is strictly a personal matter with me. all in all, one of the very best lists i have seen regaring favorite films. as it would be impossible for me to make such a list, i shall work instead on a list of my favorite 100 directors. although i am by no means a belever in the auteurist theory, it is a very practical means of cataloging.

  4. i cut it down as much as i could, but still exceeded 100
    Aldrich, Robert
    Almodovar, Pedro
    Altman, Robert
    Antonioni
    Bellochio
    Bergman, Ingmar
    Bertolucci, Bernardo
    Boetticher, Budd
    Borzage, Frank
    Bresson, Robert
    Bunuel.Luis
    Capra, Frank
    Cassavetes. John
    Chaplin, Charles
    Corman, Roger
    Daves, Delmar
    DeMille Cecil
    Dreyer, Carl
    Eastwood, Clint
    Fassbinder
    Fellini, Frederico
    Fleisher, Richard
    Ford, John
    Fuller, Sam
    Godard, Jean-Luc
    Greaves, William
    Greenaway, Peter
    Guest, Val
    Hathaway, Henry
    Hawks, Howard
    Haynes, Todd
    Hellman, Monte
    Herzog, Werner
    Hitchcock, Alfred
    Hopper, Dennis
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
    Huston, John
    Jansco
    Jarman, Derek
    Jodorowski
    Karlson, Phil
    Kazan, Elia
    Kim. Ki duk
    Kinoshita, Keisuki
    Kobayashi
    Kramer, Stanley
    Kubrick, Stanley
    Kurosawa, Akira
    Lang, Fritz
    Lee, Spike
    Leone, Sergio
    Leroy, Mervyn
    Lewis, Joseph H
    Loach, Ken
    Losey, Joseph
    Lubitsch
    Lumet, Sidney
    Lupino, Ida
    Mann, Anthony
    Mann, Daniel
    Martino, Sergio
    McCarey, Leo
    Melville
    Metzger, Radley
    Meyer, Russ
    Milligan, Andy
    Minnelli, Vincente
    Milestone, Lewis
    Miyazaki
    Mizoguchi
    Morrissey, Paul
    Mulligan, Robert
    Murnau
    Naruse
    Nichols, Jeff
    Nichols, Mike
    Oshima
    Ozu
    Pasolini
    Peckinpah
    Penn, Arthur
    Petri, Elio
    Polanski, roman
    Quine, Richard
    Rafelson, Bob
    Ray, Nick
    Renoir, Jean
    Resnais
    Richardson, tony
    Ritt, Martin
    Robson, Mark
    Roeg
    Rohmer
    Rollin, Jean
    Rossellini, Roberto
    Rossen, Robert
    Rudolph, Alan
    Russell, Ken
    Schlesinger
    Scorsese, Martin
    Siegel, Donald
    Siodmak, robert
    Sirk, Douglas
    Sorrento, Paolo
    Sokurov
    Strick, Joseph
    Syberberg
    Tarkovsky
    Taroug, Norman
    Tashlin, Frank
    Thompson, J Lee
    To, Johnnie
    Tourneur, Jacques
    Tourneur, Maurice
    Truffaut
    Vadim, Roger
    Van Peebles
    Varda, Agnes
    Veerhoeven, Paul
    Vidor, King
    Vigo, Jean
    Visconti, Luchino
    Wajda
    Walsh Raoul
    Warhol, Andy
    Wenders, Wim
    Wellman, William
    Wilder, Billy
    Winner, Michael
    Wise, Robert
    Wiseman
    Wong, Kar wei
    Woo, John
    Wyler, William
    Young, Terence
    Zinneman, Fred
    Zuwalski

  6. That is a fantastic list of directors/filmmakers Bill 🙂 I am actually working on a list of my favorite directors here and there and you can expect the number to exceed 100 with me as well 🙂 I also see that you included a father and son on here – Maurice and Jacques Tourneur 🙂 Amazed that you did not include Orson Welles though. I wish that I could have included a Kurosawa film on my first 100 favorite films, but you will most likely see it on my 101-200 list 🙂

    Btw, have you ever seen any of the various cuts of Abel Gance 1927 silent masterwork Napoleon? The reason I ask is because Ridley Scott came out with a bio-pic on Napoleon Bonaparte recently, which had cinephiles lamenting that Stanley Kubrick never realized his Napoleon Bonaparte epic. Thoughts 🙂

  7. Kubrick gave us Barry Lyndon.That is as close to a film about Napoleon as I would want him to get. I dont know anything about Ridley Scott’s bio pic or alternate cuts of Gance’s film. Regarding Welles, I dont like him as a film director, although I love his work with the Mercury Players, wherever he takes them. His hollywood movies are as good as they are because of the massive talent that went into them from other directions. On his own, he couldnt even shoot a decent scene. Ive been reassessing Borzage’s silent work, and think it stands with the best of Murnau and Ford (Fords silent work only. His later films are in a class of their own)

  9. John, I re-watched The Singing Detective when it was shown on BBC 4 as a tribute to Gambon. There were also re-runs of his very good interpretation of ‘Maigret’.
    As for the new film about Napoleon, I will watch it one day, but I am in no rush.
    Best wishes, Pete.

  10. Impressive list John, including some of my own favourites and many films I haven’t seen. I’m pleased that Hatari! made the cut.

  11. I could keep this conversation going Pete 🙂 Speaking of which, did you know that The Singing Detective is often tied with 1985’s Edge of Darkness as two of the greatest British miniseries of the 1980’s. Not only that, but both of them feature the gorgeous Joanne Whalley 🙂

  12. Thank you for the kind words Paul S 🙂 Speaking of Howard Hawks, another film of his that you love so much made the list 🙂 I will give you a hint (even though you read the whole thing), it is on the number 18 spot 🙂

  13. I had Edge of Darkness on VHS, a great drama. As well as The Singing Detective, we also had Pennies From Heaven starring Bob Hoskins, and Lipstick On Your Collar starring Ewan McGregor, both great Dennis Potter serials featuring miming to old songs.

  17. Great list! I’m always happy to see appreciation for some good old French cinema (even two films by Robert Bresson, wow. And finally some love for “last year in Marienbad”, such a good movie.
    I try to write down a short list – by no means 100 movies:

    Ingmar Bergman – The Seventh Seal
    Gabriel Axel – Babette’s Feast
    Luchino Visconti – The Leopard
    Francois Truffaut – Fahrenheit 451
    Michael Curtiz – Casablanca
    Sergio Leone – Once upon a time in the West
    Blake Edwards – The Party
    Carol Reed – The Third Man
    Peter Weir – Master and Commander
    Charlie Chaplin – Modern Times

  18. Thank you for the kind words sugarplumghoul 🙂 French cinema has given us some really great directors – Renoir, Bresson, Godard and Resnais among many others. I even included one directed by Jacques Demy 🙂 As with all lists, I really wish I could have put out more titles by other great directors as well, but you may see that when I compose the 101-200 list one of these days 🙂 Your list is great as well 🙂 One can not go wrong choosing either City Lights or Modern Times as one of Chaplin’s great 30’s Tramp entries 🙂 What can one say about The Leopard? Masterpiece is one of many words 🙂 Also, who can forget the 45-minute (I believe) ballroom sequence 🙂 Great stuff 🙂

  19. June, I am so sorry that it has taken me six days to respond to you. Your reply accidently entered my spam folder. I hate it when that happens. But thankfully, I retrieved it 🙂 I can see that you love Brigadoon and Bridge on the River Kwai 🙂 Speaking of Brigadoon, who can forget the matte painting like background of the film? What are some of your favorite films June? 🙂

  20. I love reading your list. For me it’s like reading a different language! lol
    We’ve discussed before your extensive knowledge compared to my paltry knowledge of movies. I did see a few, like AI: Artificial Intelligence. When I first saw that movie, I didn’t like the ending. It seemed tacked on and wandering. But as years went by, it grew on me and is extremely poignant to the point of making me tear up when I’m feeling vulnerable during a viewing, haha…

  21. Why thank you for the kind words Stacy 🙂 As for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, believe it or not, the film actually began as a Stanley Kubrick film. Word has it that the more Kubrick thought about his vision for the film, the more he realized that it fit Steven Spielberg’s sensibilities more than his own. That is one story, but ironically enough, all the warm and fuzzy elements actually belong to Kubrick whereas the darker elements belong to Spielberg. Here is a link to Spielberg talking about it below

  22. Guess what John. For once, I knew a movie fact already! Hubby told me about the Stanley-Spielberg connection years ago. And interesting link. And interesting that they were on the same page about the ending, but people got mad at Spielberg thinking he “ruined” it. Much better to have a feeling of “continuance,” I think, instead of just purgatory under a body of water for who knows how long. That would be too sad.

  23. Very interesting that your husband knew that Stacy 🙂 In addition, one could even say that A.I. (and others have explicitly and implicitly stated it) is Kubrick doing Spielberg and Spielberg doing Kubrick. 🙂

    I remember A.I. Artificial Intelligence came out in 2001 (two years after Kubrick’s death) and another great film of that year made it on this list and that was at the 99 spot 🙂 Also, whenever I listen to I’ve Told Every Little Star (click the link below), I think of that film 🙂

  24. No worries John, it happens! That matte background was really something. I love so much of the 40s and 50s noir that I couldn’t even start. Thanks for your list, it’s a great dig into what I may not have seen along the way 🙂

  26. Wow, that’s an oldie but a goodie. Thanks, John! I know what you mean. There’s a couple of different songs that make me think of specific movies. It’s kinda like how smell can instantly take us back in time: it’s such a strong connection. I think music is like that too. 🙂

  27. Just for fun, I compiled this possible near 100 favorites in three categories
    th first the ones I have in common with you
    The second my alternate picks fom |directors you have included
    The third…some of the directors i feel yyou have overlooked.

    98.) The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939) (Dir: Kenji MIzoguchi)
    97.) A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (Dir: John Cassavetes)
    81.) Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) (Dir: Leo McCarey)
    72.) Persona (1966) (Dir: Ingmar Bergman)
    70.) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
    67.) Late Spring (1949) (Dir: Yasujiro Ozu)
    60.) Modern Times (1936) (Dir: Charlie Chaplin)
    59.) Day of Wrath (1943) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
    55.) Viridiana (1961) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
    51.) Sansho the Bailiff (1954) (Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi)
    50.) Nashville (1975) (Dir: Robert Altman)
    36.) The Red Shoes (1948) (Dir: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
    35.) Tokyo Story (1953) (Dir: Yasujiro Ozu)
    34.) Last Year at Marienbad (1961) (Dir: Alain Resnais)
    27.) Ordet (1955) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
    15.) Gertrud (1964) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
    14.) Sunrise (1927) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
    04.) City Lights (1931) (Dir: Charlie Chaplin)

    The Birds
    Rio Bravo
    Sauve Qui Peut (la vie)
    A woman Under the Influence
    The Big Heat
    Limelight
    Killer of sheep
    L’ Aventurra
    Red Desert
    Heroes for Sale
    Mean Streets
    Raging bull
    Cries and Whispers
    Wild Strawberries
    Lancelot du Lac
    Four Nights of a Dreamer
    Mouchette
    Performance
    The Cameraman
    Open city
    Europe 51
    Home from the Hill

    Pat Garrett and billy the Kid
    Cross of Iron
    The Wild Bunch
    Commanche Station
    Bullfighter and the Lady
    Trash
    I A Man
    Grapes of Wrath
    Fort Apache
    The Searchers
    Hangmans House
    The Last Sunset
    Hud
    Dr, Strangelove
    Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
    Suspiria
    Mask of Satan
    200 Motels
    West Side Story
    Apocalypse Now
    Alices Restuarant
    Midnight cowboy
    The Holy Mountain
    Once Upon a time in America
    Fistful of Dynamite
    the conformist
    Last Tango in Paris
    1900
    Daughters wives and a Mother
    Yearning
    Tropic of Cancer
    Phenix city Story
    Brothers Rico
    The Incredible shrinking Man
    Invasion of the body snatchers
    Charlie Varrick

  28. Very impressive Bill 🙂 Finally back I know 🙂 So sorry about the hiatus 🙂 I love a lot of your choices as well 🙂 I too wish I could have included works by Ford, Hawks and Peckinpah among others 🙂 I am so glad to see a Phil Karlson film on your list 🙂 Though Walking Tall is the film that Karlson is mostly remembered for, I happen to feel (and I still love that film) that the 1950’s was his most interesting decade 🙂

  29. it was walking tall that brough me to phil karlson, and i soon discoverd that it was essentially a remake of phenix city Story, which i consider a better film because it get acrioss the evil in the town without the explicit trashiness of walking tall.

  30. Great list as always, varied and some interesting choices. I’ve fallen out of the habit of checking everyone’s blogs – too busy with my own and life in general. But great to see your passion for Cinema still being spread!

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