A few months ago, a friend tagged me in one of those ’10 day film challenge’ things on Facebook, where you’re meant to share a picture of your ten favourite films over ten days. They’re fun, but for people like me, a little daunting. I basically love film lists (and book lists, and art lists…), but am petrified of narrowing down my choices to just ten individual works.
So, I didn’t. After being nominated, I spent the next 100 days sharing 100 of my favourite films that, to quote the challenge, “made an impact on you the first time you saw them, that forever remain on your watch list.”
Without further ado, here’s my full list of my 100 picks for a 10 day film challenge, posted on my facebook account, one each day from 3 December 2018 to 12 March 2019, and I must stress are in no particular order.
Films marked with an asterisk (*) are in a language other than English.
I also took the opportunity to check which films were adaptations (a bugbear of mine is people convinced films are never as good as the book etc. – I often disagree, and I think a lot of people would be surprised just how many excellent flicks are based on pre-existing source material). Adaptations are marked with a hash symbol (#)
And yes, there’s a quite a few other films I’d add (Priscilla Queen of the Dessert and Mary Poppins spring to mind) but let’s just leave it for here now, shall we?
1. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
2. E.T. (1982)
3. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) *
4. Spirited Away (2001) animated *
5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
7. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
8. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
9. Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953)
10. Pan’s Labyrinth* (2006)
11. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
12. Groundhog Day (1993)
13. Beetlejuice (1988)
14. The City of Lost Children (1995) *
15. Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) #
16. The Fifth Element (1997)
17. Home Alone (1990)
18. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
19. Ghostbusters (1984)
20. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
21. The Lost Boys (1987)
22. The Wedding Singer (1998)
23. The Host (2006) *
24. L.A. Story (1991)
25. Zoolander (2001)
26. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
27. The Faculty (1998)
28. Existenz (1999)
29. Galaxy Quest (1999)
30. The Exorcist (1973) #
31. The Shining (1980) #
32. The Others (2001)
33. Notting Hill (1999)
34. The Birds (1963) #
35. Die Hard (1988) #
36. Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
37. Jumanji (1995) #
38. Tootsie (1982)
39. The Wizard of Oz (1939) #
40. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
41. Uncle Buck (1989)
42. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
43. Jurassic Park (1993) #
44. The Ice Storm (1997) #
45. The Princess Bride (1987) #
46. Vertigo (1958) #
47. The Conversation (1974)
48. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
49. Alice in Wonderland (1951) animated #
50. Strictly Ballroom (1992) #
51. Coming to America (1988)
52. Falling Down (1993)
53. Elf (2003)
54. Giant (1956) #
55. George of the Jungle (1997) #
56. Spellbound (2002) documentary
57. The Night of the Hunter (1955) #
58. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) documentary
59. The Iron Giant (1999) animated #
60. The Castle (1997)
61. Wings of Desire (1987) *
62. Down with Love (2003)
63. Big (1988)
64. Blade Runner (1982) #
65. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) #
66. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
67. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
68. Splash (1984)
69. The Witches (1990) #
70. The Goonies (1985)
71. Witness (1985)
72. Labyrinth (1986)
73. The Little Shop of Horrors (1986) #
74. Hot Fuzz (2007)
75. About a Boy (2002) #
76. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
77. The Sixth Sense (1999)
78. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
79. The Lobster (2015)
80. Speed (1994)
81. 9 to 5 (1980)
82. Black Sun (2005) documentary
83. Morvern Callar (2002) #
84. The NeverEnding Story (1984) #
85. San Soleil (1983) documentary *
86. The Lady in the Water (2006)
87. Jaws (1975) #
88. Alice in Wonderland (1951) animated
89. Raising Arizona (1987)
90. The Color Purple (1985) #
91. Amadeus (1984) #
92. The Dark Crystal (1982)
93. The Graduate (1967) #
94. The Incredibles (2004) animated
95. Wake in Fright (1971) #
96. The Babadook (2014) #
97. The Mummy (1999) # (re-make)
98. Amelie (2001) *
99. Run Lola Run (1998) *
100. Let the Right One In (2008) * #
Featured image: The utterly brilliant Angela Lansbury with her ‘first broom’ in Disney’s ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’.
wendylikesstories.com 