Patrick Stoner welcomes your questions about movies and the people who make them. Send your questions to pstoner@whyy.org. Here's the current question and answer:
Q: What are your Top Ten Films of All Time?
A: What types?
I can't compare a serious dramatic film with a horror movie, or a musical with film noir. For example, which is a better film: GONE WITH THE WIND or THE PHILADELPHIA STORY? Both came out in 1939, and both were nominated for an Oscar. GONE WITH THE WIND won, but serious films almost always beat out comedies for Academy Awards. So, does that mean that a list of the ten best films shouldn't include comedies -- only dramas?
I think the only fair way to rank movies (if the process or ranking isn't unfair by its very nature) is within their genre. So, I'll give you my favorites in several different types of films:
Comedies
1. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
2. THE PRODUCERS
3. TOOTSIE
4. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
5. SOME LIKE IT HOT
6. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
7. ANNIE HALL
8. MANHATTAN
9. A FISH CALLED WANDA
10. AIRPLANE!
Horror1. PSYCHO
2. THE THING
3. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
4. THE EXORCIST
5. ROSEMARY'S BABY
6. JAWS
7. FRANKENSTEIN
8. DRACULA
9. THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
10. FREAKS
Musicals1. THE WIZARD OF OZ
2. CABARET
3. SINGING IN THE RAIN
4. OKLAHOMA
5. SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
6. THE SOUND OF MUSIC
7. A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM
8. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
9. THE MUSIC MAN
10. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
Science Fiction1. ALIENS
2. ALIEN
3. BLADE RUNNER
4. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
5. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
6. TIME BANDITS
7. E.T.
8. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
9. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
10. STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
Drama1. GONE WITH THE WIND
2. CITIZEN KANE
3. CINEMA PARADISO
4. SCHINDLER'S LIST
5. THE GODFATHER, PARTS ONE AND TWO
6. RAGING BULL
7. RAIN MAN
8. GOODFELLAS
9. DANCES WITH WOLVES
10. MY DINNER WITH ANDRE
Suspense1-10 The Hitchcock Canon
Before you say it, let me be the first to note that this is an American-oriented list. There are few films from other countries here. I make no apologies for this, because these are MY favorite movies, and I was raised in and I am a product of the American culture. Therefore, those films that resonate the most with me tend to be American -- at least in the first ten of each group. If I were to do a top 100, then the list would include a number of foreign titles.Finally, these are my choices at the moment, but the film culture is alive and well, so I reserve the right to displace any of the above titles with either new films that have just opened or older ones that I have discovered. For now, however, these are my favorites.
Past questions and answers.
