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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Hollywood, Hundred



Hollywood has completed one hundred years.....
recently, there was an exhibition of photographs held in Kolkata, commemorating the centenary through an array of rare black and white compositions, with a special emphasis on the stars, and their respective styles, of the golden era of Hollywood.
That reminded me that it was high time to doff my hat to the aura of Hollywood, and I do the same by posting a list of the hundred films from Hollywood, some typically produced by the studios, from a bygone era, and many from the recent past as well, recalling the power and the lure of Hollywood, the magic and romance of the same, some gorgeous ventures backed by the studios, whereas some distributed with the atypical elan that one has come to associate with Hollywood over the years.....
I have to admit the personal bias, and the limitation of personal access, that has gone into the compilation which - for lack of a better term - I'd like to call My Essential Hollywood, recommended viewing for all fellow cine-buffs.....
Starting from Chaplin's 'The Gold Rush' to James Cameron's 'Avatar' (pics on the top, respectively)......


1) The Gold Rush (1925)
2) City Lights (1931)
3) Morning Glory (1933)
4) The 39 Steps (1935)
5) The Informer (1935)
6) Modern Times (1936)
7) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
8) Bringing Up Baby (1938)
9) The Wizard of Oz (1939)
10) Stagecoach (1939)
11) Gone With the Wind (1939)
12) Rebecca (1940)
13) The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
14) The Great Dictator (1940)
15) How Green Was My Valley (1941)
16) Casablanca (1942)
17) My Darling Clementine (1946)
18) The Fallen Idol (1948)
19) All About Eve (1950)
20) High Noon (1952)
21) Singin' in the Rain (1952)
22) The Quiet Man (1952)
23) From Here to Eternity (1953)
24) Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
25) The Seven Year Itch (1955)
26) Paths of Glory (1957)
27) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
28) Vertigo (1958)
29) Ben-Hur (1959)
30) North By Northwest (1959)
31) Psycho (1960)
32) West Side Story (1961)
33) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
34) My Fair Lady (1964)
35) The Sound of Music (1965)
36) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
37) Bonny & Clyde (1967)
38) The Graduate (1967)
39) MASH (1970)
40) The Godfather (1972)
41) Jaws (1975)
42) Taxi Driver (1976)
43) Star Wars (1977)
44) Apocalypse Now (1979)
45) Raging Bull (1980)
46) Blade Runner (1982)
47) E. T. - The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
48) Scarface (1983)
49) Back to the Future (1985)
50) The Color Purple (1985)
51) Platoon (1986)
52) The Color of Money (1986)
53) Hannah and her Sisters (1986)
54) The Untouchables (1987)
55) Wall Street (1987)
56) Die Hard (1988)
57) Frantic (1988)
58) Rain Man (1988)
59) The Accused (1988)
60) Sex Lies and Videotape (1989)
61) Casualties of War (1989)
62) When Harry Met Sally (1989)
63) Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
64) Pretty Woman (1990)
65) Goodfellas (1990)
66) Home Alone (1990)
67) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
68) Thelma and Louise (1991)
69) My Own Private Idaho (1991)
70) Schindler's List (1993)
71) Philadelphia (1993)
72) What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
73) Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
74) Ed Wood (1994)
75) Pulp Fiction (1994)
76) Speed (1994)
77) Forrest Gump (1994)
78) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
79) 12 Monkeys (1995)
80) Dead Man Walking (1995)
81) Jerry Maguire (1996)
82) Titanic (1997)
83) As Good As It Gets (1997)
84) Donnie Brasco (1997)
85) Boys Don't Cry (1999)
86) Fight Club (1999)
87) Girl, Interrupted (1999)
88) Magnolia (1999)
89) Any Given Sunday (1999)
90) Gladiator (2000)
91) Monsters, Inc. (2001)
92) Adaptation (2002)
93) Mystic River (2003)
94) Cold Mountain (2003)
95) Finding Neverland (2004)
96) Million Dollar Baby (2004)
97) Syriana (2005)
98) Ratatouille (2007)
99) Into the Wild (2007)
100) Avatar (2009)

8 comments:

aryan rocks said...

Oh my gosh! This is simply mindblowing! I am lovin' it, dude!
I am hungry for more tidbits on the selection of the films though...... what made you select the ones you have here, is it just their appeal to you, or their global reach, or the path-breaking achievements that they heralded...... and what made you leave out some of the well-known and raved about titles from the more recent past, please do comment.

Anindo Sen said...

Well, though I have seen a whole lot of Hollywood films, since childhood, I have to admit that I have missed out on a few of eternal favorites, like "Citizen Kane", "Roman Holiday", "It's a Wonderful World", "The Big Sleep" and "Some Like It Hot", "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "A Streetcar Named Desire", to name just a few of the sure-fire favorites of cine-buffs.
While selecting the films, I tried to include as many diverse genres as possible. To do so, I did have to chop off from my selection some of my personal favorites which too are cinematic gems or flicks worth-watching, for example "East of Eden", "Cleopatra", "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Love Story", "The Outsiders", "Moulin Rouge", "The Fugitive" and "Mrs Doubtfire", and several others.

Krishh said...

I must thank you profusely, buddy for this superb listing. I am happy to note that I have seen all the films from the Eighties and the Nineties and the ones thereafter, the only except being "Ed Wood" - the Tim Burton film. I am looking forward to catching the early classics most of which I am yet to see..... they are all getting a fresh lease of life thanks to the Blu-Ray DVDs.

aarav said...

A real surprise..... a million dollar post..... am going to refer to it for the future viewings and also for the collectibles on DVD! Thanks a ton, buddy!
Some of the early titles are too obscure to chance upon, I fear; however, the I would love to hear more from you on the titles selected.... a lot more, 'coz you're a storehouse of info on movies.
Ha-ha-ha;-) Keep illuminating me, dude. Keep up the good work.

Imran said...

Loved the listing, though I missed some of my all-time favorite titles like 'Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid', 'Braveheart', 'Jurassic Park' and the Indiana Jones classic - 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.
I liked the fact that you went back as early as possible to include some of the classics from far back.

Anirban Halder said...

Super work! Keep it up.

Unknown said...

Indeed a fascinating listing of memorable Hollywood films. However, I would have liked to see more of those titles on the list which can be best termed a 'rehook', i.e. a film so powerful and appealing that cinema goers flock to the theater for repeat viewings of the same. Many a blockbuster biggie that's known to have kept the box-office coffers full seem to have been deliberately sidelined by you for the odd personal favorite, which might be compelling watch for a delectable viewer like you, but not for the average viewer. Nonetheless, a commendable effort from you. Keep up the good work.

Unknown said...

Kudos!