Watching great movies is not a job, it's not something you have to do, for many of us it's a discovered pleasure. An addictive one that gets you looking for more, joining Netflix and even searching out film festivals.

But hold on, what are the greatest movies and who decides?

There is a very cool website here:
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/index.htm

They have devoted themselves to creating a list of the top 1000 movies ever made. The poll consists of over 2000 critics and people in the film industry from across the whole world. You can search their list by director, year and country. You can even just find the shorter or longer movies.

No list is definitive, but unlike the IMDB top 250 it does have some merit. What we can assure you is that all these films are outstanding. You will have personal favorites, but hopefully, you'll appreciate them all. How often can you find a list of 100 or even 1000 movies that are all pretty much guaranteed good?

So how does it work on ReelViews?

We have created a complete list of the top 100 and each film is clickable to the relevant thread of discussion. You can see the list here:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=1271

if you see or have seen one of the movies we'd all love you to join in the discussion. There are no wrong or right opinions on movies. For example 2001 which sits in the top 10 is not as loved as you may expect!

Where should I start?

Calvero kindly ranked the entire top 100 into three groups. Easy to watch, intermediate and difficult. There's no question that a four hour silent movie is a tougher slog than, say Hitchcock. Starting with a series of "difficult" films could be discouraging.

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=1482

A journey?
Several of us have started journeys where we are working our way through the entire list. You'll see those posts. James for example is working his way through the entire history of Best Pictures at the Oscars.

Are all the films available?
That depends. if you have access to Netflix it will be a great help and save you alot of money.
There are a few films that have not been released on video in the US. these can be tracked down on YouTube. Probably the hardest film to get see will be Greed which is in 20+ 12 minute sections on YouTube. Otherwise, most are easily available.

If you're new to this section, we hope you enjoy it. If you're not, welcome back!

James is busy doing his thing. Classic movies are certainly enjoyable, but may be beyond the "current events" which are the meat and potatoes of his Reelviews.

Classics are new to me. Just a couple of months ago, I was subtitle, BW, foreign, and older film-phobic. I'd have preferred to watch reruns of "Deal or no Deal" (i.e. guess what's in the #$%ing box) than any of the movies I've seen in the last several weeks. So far, I'm really enjoying them and I've found that posting about them helps memorialize them a bit more solidly than only a viewing with no writing.

I'll try to keep up here-on-out with my viewing and writing. I hope to view (and draft write-ups for) 4-5 movies a week and post 3 of those (brief) writeups on those movies. -I intentionally underpost my full viewing volume so I can take a week off every now and then as life comes up. Then I can then toss a couple from the archives. (Hey, "Nosferato" ain't getting any fresher or staler!)

I started posting these at a friend's media website under the same monicker of "Awf Hand". There, my 'shtick' if you want to call it that, is "100 words on..." (insert movie title) which allows a quick synopsis, and a thrown bone or two about what I may have liked or disliked. -I frequently spill over 100 words, but I try to stay close barring strong feelings for/against the movie. I don't have as much time to write, nor am I a fast keyboarder. 100 words encourages economy.

There are many lists of the best 100 films. "Time" magazine (Richard Corliss) has one, "Yahoo" has "100 Movies to See Before You Die", and "They Shoot Pictures Don't They" has lists up to 100 and even 1000 titles long.

It is my assumption that I may post on a movie considered "Great" by at least one of the above lists... Let me know if there is a designated "master" list, but I don't believe there is.

Rob,

You should change that first post back to the proper introduction! It's the one hang-over from last year's storm.

Done!