Every movie year of the 1990s, ranked

If you’ve seen any legitimate percentage of posts on this blog, you will be aware that I love ranking stuff. I also love movies from the 90s. I also love the concept of the best movie years. It’s a miracle I didn’t hit on this sooner. Anyway, since it’s been 20 years and everyone’s reminiscing about it, the question of “is 1999 the greatest movie year ever?” has been asked a lot. The question I ask back is- is it even the greatest movie year of the decade? Maybe. Read to find out.

10- 1991

Essential films: The Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Cape Fear, Beauty and the Beast, The Fisher King, Point Break, Boyz n the Hood, Barton Fink, Thelma and Louise, JFK, My Own Private Idaho, Bugsy, The Doors, Naked Lunch, Jungle Fever

The Silence of the Lambs is the big one here. After that, it kinda peters out. There’s a reason it became just the third film to sweep the big 5 oscar categories. Besides that, there’s Judgement Day, wildly considered to be one of the greatest sequels and action movies of all time. Barton Fink is one of the Coens’ most under appreciated works. Cape Fear is one of the all time greatest remakes and features an elite De Niro role. Oliver Stone had a big year with JFK and The Doors. There’s stuff from Spike Lee, David Cronenberg, the late John Singleton, Kathryn Bigelow, and Gus van Sant. That’s about it, which is still pretty strong considering how easily it’s the worst year on this list

Best Film: The Silence of the Lambs. How many films can spawn a legendary line that isn’t even in the movie, not even as a misquote?

9- 1992

Essential films: Unforgiven, Reservoir Dogs, Malcolm X, A Few Good Men, A League of Their Own, Glengarry Glen Ross, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Scent of a Woman, Basic Instinct, Aladdin, Batman Returns, Wayne’s World, The Crying Game, The Player, My Cousin Vinny, Candyman, Howard’s End, Chaplin, Alien 3.

Despite being one of the weakest of the 90s, some great stuff came out of 1992. Lauded films by Spike Lee, Robert Altman, and Francis Ford Coppola (well at least it’s lauded in relation to most of his other stuff) were released. The best picture winner was Eastwood’s Unforgiven, which has been held up as one of his greatest works. A pair of famous quotes (“Coffee is for closers” and “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH”) and Danny Devito’s Penguin round out the reasons that this is still a great year. But the major thing here is the beginning of the career of one Quentin Tarantino. He broke onto the scene with Reservoir Dogs, an era-defining work and still one of his best films. Another career, that of the great David Fincher, began as well with Alien 3, albeit less auspiciously. You’ll see more of him on this list, though.

Best film: Reservoir Dogs, even leaving the influence of it out of it.

8- 1996

Essential films: Fargo, Scream, Independence Day, The English Patient, The People vs Larry Flynt, From Dusk Till Dawn, Mission: Impossible, Jerry Maguire, Trainspotting, Space Jam, Sling Blade, The Birdcage, Mars Attacks, Happy Gilmore, Romeo + Juliet, Swingers, The Rock, Bottle Rocket, Hard Eight, The Cable Guy, Black Sheep

1996 is notable because there’s a lot that’s entered popular culture due to sheer ridiculousness: see Burton’s Mars Attacks, Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler vehicles The Cable Guy and Happy Gilmore, and of course, Space Jam. This is a great year, not because of the great films, but because of the interesting ones. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet is one of the weirder Shakespeare adaptations out there, and it also helped launch the career of Leonardo DiCaprio, The Rock is Michael Bay before the Michael Bay-ness of it all got to his head, The Birdcage is a Mike Nichols comedy about a gay couple, played by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, From Dusk Till Dawn stars George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino, The People vs Larry Flynt is a movie by Milos Forman starring Woody Harrelson as a porn producer. The Mission: Impossible franchise started here, which is worth something, and Trainspotting launched the careers of Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor. Cuba Gooding Jr won an oscar for Jerry Maguire. This year also saw the debuts of not one, but two legendary auteurs with the last name of Anderson. Paul Thomas’ Hard Eight and Wes’ Bottle Rocket are similarly shoved towards the bottom of their respective outputs today, but they mark the arrival of tremendous talent. The true greatness of this year lies in The Coen Brothers’ dark masterpiece Fargo and Wes Craven’s seminal (for better or for worse) Scream. Both movies are unique and original in tone (well, Scream was until they made 3 sequels and a million unofficial remakes) and carry this year.

Best Film: It’s Fargo, but the temptation to go with Scream just because is hard to resist.

7- 1993

Essential films: Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, The Piano, The Fugitive, True Romance, Demolition Man, Mrs. Doubtfire, Groundhog Day, Dazed and Confused, Philadelphia, A Bronx Tale, Carlito’s Way, The Age of Innocence, Short Cuts, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Coneheads, Super Mario Bros.

The inclusion of legendary classics Coneheads and Super Mario Bros help 1993, but despite these enduring masterworks, the year belongs to Stephen Spielberg. The man made his greatest, most soul-crushing work and one of his most exhilirating, dinosaur-oriented classics in the same year. That’s incredible. He deservedly took home Best Picture and Best Director for Schindler’s List, miraculously beating out Coneheads auteur Steve Barron (I had to look that one up). This year also features the likes of Robert De Niro’s directorial debut A Bronx Tale, Altman Resurgence staple Short Cuts, Jane Campion’s acclaimed historical drama The Piano, and Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, which is notable for being one of the only Linklater films set over a rational period of time. True Romance is fascinating: written by Quentin Tarantino, directed by Tony Scott, and starring the likes of Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper (who’s also Bowser in Super Mario Bros.), Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson, Christopher Walken, and James Gandolfini. Scorsese and Daniel Day Lewis teamed up to adapt Edith Wharton. Leonardo DiCaprio earned his first critical attention for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Groundhog Day is one of the funniest movies ever and it’s one of three contenders for the best Bill Murray performance (Caddyshack and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). I left a lot out of that write up, but at least I got to make my jokes about the Super Mario Bros movie.

Best Film: Super Ma- Schindler’s List. I meant Schindler’s List.

6- 1998

Essential Films: Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, The Big Lebowski, American History X, The Truman Show, Rushmore, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Antz, A Bug’s Life, Armageddon, Deep Impact, Shakespeare in Love, Blade, Out of Sight, There’s Something About Mary, Pi

1998 is a year of doubles. Two famous war films in Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. Two movies about space rocks coming to destroy earth with Armageddon and Deep Impact. Two talking ant movies in A Bug’s Life and Antz. That’s a strange list. Darren Aronofsky also debuted with Pi and Edward Norton established himself as a force to be reckoned with in American History X. Steven Soderbergh made one of his most renowned films in Out of Sight. Rushmore is the first true Wes Anderson film and still one of his best. It also gave us the line “OR they?”, which is a gift to mankind. The Truman Show features one of the most prominent Jim Carrey Dramatic Roles and also Ed Harris. The guy who directed There’s Something About Mary also did the most recent best picture winner, so blech. Now here are, in rough order, the top 10 quotes from The Big Lebowski, with no explanation.

10- What do you mean I brought it bowling, dude? I didn’t rent it shoes. I’m not buying it a f**ing beer. He’s not taking your f**ing turn, dude.

9- Is this your homework, Larry?

8- Nice marmot.

7- Obviously, you’re not a golfer.

6- Eight year olds, dude.

5- Mr Treehorn treats objects like women, man.

4- Careful man, there’s a beverage here.

3- You want a toe? I can get you a toe.

2- It’s a league game, Smokey.

1- He fixes the cable?

Best Film: Lebowski. If you’d say Saving Private Ryan, which is truly a great film, then that’s just like, your opinion, man. Sorry.

5- 1990

Essential films: Goodfellas, Miller’s Crossing, King of New York, Misery, The Godfather part III, Ghost, Dances With Wolves, Edward Scissorhands, Tremors, Jacob’s Ladder, Total Recall, Home Alone, Pretty Woman, Wild at Heart

Before I get to the fact that this is indisputably the greatest year in gangster movie history, let’s go over the other stuff. Misery is a great adaptation of an incredible book that features some of the best casting (and acting) of all time. Edward Scissorhands is one of the Burton-est Burton movies, which is a good thing. Wild at Heart won David Lynch the Palme d’Or. And now on to the gangster movies. Goodfellas is maybe the best movie in the history of the genre, in addition to being perfect in every single possible way and the best movie in the history of the world (I like this movie). King of New York is a wonderfully bats**t piece of absolute art that I also love and will totally write more about. For now I’ll leave it at this- it treats Christopher Walken as a leading man, which is rare but awesome, it’s the most stylized damn thing in the universe, which is also awesome, and I spent the entire day after I first saw it wondering if it was actually that good or if I was just tired. I decided that it is, in fact, that good. Miller’s Crossing is the third major gangster movie, which is the Coens’ only foray into the genre. It’s brilliant, complex, and it contains a scene of Albert Finney gunning people down from a burning building while Danny Boy plays. A perfect film. The final major gangster movie is, of course, The Godfather III, which is significant in that it is a Godfather movie. The renaissance of such a fantastic genre is what carries 1990 to its position, but it’s kept here by the rest of the year.

Best Film:

4- 1997

Essential films: Titanic, L.A. Confidential, Good Will Hunting, Boogie Nights, Happy Together, Jackie Brown, Face/Off, Con Air, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Lost Highway, Amistad, Gattaca, Scream 2, Grosse Pointe Blank, As Good as it Gets, Batman and Robin, Starship Troopers, Men in Black

Titanic won every Oscar known to man and made 6 trillion dollars. Whatever. On to the good stuff. L.A. Confidential is history’s greatest police movie (I will absolutely fight anyone on this). Boogie Nights is history’s greatest porn movie (by which I mean movie about porn. I also don’t foresee having to fight anyone on this one). Happy Together is one of Wong Kar-Wai’s darkest films, and also one of his most haunting and excellent (if you don’t know that name, learn it- he’s gonna come up a lot in the upcoming paragraphs). Jackie Brown is admittedly minor Tarantino, but it’s still an excellent film. Lost Highway is admittedly minor Lynch, but it also contains these two scenes so all is forgiven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdIlLn52Oak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDilD3wAxt8

Austin Powers is one of the funniest movies ever made. Scream 2 is the only valid horror sequel. Con Air and Face/Off harken back to an era when action movies had intriguing premises. Batman and Robin gave us Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze.

Best film: Boogie Nights. It’s Anderson’s best work, and as much as I love L.A. Confidential, I love Boogie Nights slightly more.

3- 1995

Essential films: Seven, Heat, The Usual Suspects, Braveheart, Toy Story, Apollo 13, Clueless, 12 Monkeys, Casino, Billy Madison, Leaving Las Vegas, Jumanji, Tommy Boy, Before Sunrise, Fallen Angels, Sense and Sensibility

Or, The Year That The Academy Shafted The Actual Best Movies And Opted For An Insane Best Picture Slate That Included Freaking Babe. That was the original title, but they thought it was too long and so they changed it to 1995. For real, Seven, The Usual Suspects, and Heat were all famously shut out of the category, so they had to give it to Mel Gibson. Toy Story would’ve been a better choice, by a lot. 1995 also contained 12 Monkeys, a Terry Gilliam movie based on a famous experimental short film composed of still images. Casino is the one bad Scorsese movie, but the muffin scene is funny so there’s that. Linklater kicked off his legendary Before trilogy with Before Sunrise. Wong Kar-Wai made Fallen Angels, which is essentially a sequel/continuation of Chungking Express that also happens to be awesome. Tommy Boy is so good. Seven is Fincher’s first real movie, and contains one of the best endings ever. The Usual Suspects is weird to talk about now, given director Bryan Singer and star Kevin Spacey, but it really is a great movie. Billy Madison is the best Adam Sandler comedy.

Best film: Seven. Pitt’s performance in the finale might be the best acting of his career.

2- 1994

Essential films: Pulp Fiction, Chungking Express, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption, Leon: The Professional, The Lion King, Clerks, Forrest Gump, Natural Born Killers, Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, Ed Wood, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

This is a lot of people’s pick for the greatest movie year ever, and that’s not at all a crazy statement- it’s certainly up there. The sheer quality of the stuff towards the top solidifies it in the top 5 or so. It does kinda peter out after the first few, but it maintains quality enough to get to this point. Pulp Fiction and Chungking express are singular, inimitable masterworks from some of the greatest auteurs of all time. The Shawshank Redemption owns. Quiz Show also owns. Leon contains the best Gary Oldman performance. Forrest Gump… is here. The Lion King is one of the greatest Disney movies (and arguably the second greatest Shakespeare adaptation, after Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood). This was also the year Jim Carrey made it big, with the trifecta of Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Best Film: Pulp Fiction. But man, it’s tempting to go with Chungking.

1- 1999

Essential films: Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, Beau Travail, The Matrix, American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, All About My Mother, The Blair Witch Project, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Office Space, Magnolia, Bringing Out the Dead, The Green Mile, The Short Story, The Insider, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

Yeah, this is the winner. The Matrix changed Sci-Fi forever, The Sixth Sense launched the career of M Night Shyamalan (which only Haley Joel Osment can see now OOOOOOH BURN), Office Space is hilarious, and Being John Malkovich is a glorious piece of gonzo awesomeness that is one of my favorite movies ever. Spectacular work in foreign films as well- the legendary Claire Denis delivered Beau Travail, her masterpiece, and Pedro Almodovar was in top form with All About My Mother, one of his warmest, sweetest films and a straight up classic. Acclaimed films from directors such as Mann, PTA, Scorsese, and Lynch. The first Star Wars prequel came out. The Blair Witch Project is bad but it started a trend of a zillion other bad movies (found footage horror is a cancer) and made a ton of money because it lied to market it so I guess it’s Culturally Significant.

The two key films to understanding 1999 are American Beauty, the year’s best picture winner about how everyone sucks but everyone is also good at heart and so they all go to heaven, and Fight Club, David Fincher’s cult classic about a society gone to hell. I’ve written at length on my feelings on American Beauty and its falsehoods, misconceptions, and general crappiness, and I probably will again. The thing that gets me about these two films is society’s conception of them. Fight Club is seen by many as something endorsing the kind of actions seen in the film (both by people who want to see it that way and by people who are disgusted by it). American Beauty seems like it’s making fun of its subjects, until it becomes clear that it’s actually supporting them (why does this movie have to suck so much it makes me sad). The movie that is actually a satire gets no credit for it and the one that’s depressingly not is considered as such. And that’s the one that took best picture. Weird year. But an important one.

Best Film: There’s so much here and a lot to be said for and against it all. So let’s call it South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.

The 25 greatest shots in cinematic history

I should begin this list with a disclaimer: it isn’t really meant to be taken seriously. At some point the ranking becomes pointless, as some shots aren’t deceptively better than others, or it’s too hard to choose. This was a fool’s errand, and I don’t necessarily stand by my ranking. Except number one, that one is absolutely and indisputably correct.

There are a lot of factors at play here- how well they fit in with their individual films is a big one, as is visual stunning-ness (I think that’s a thing). However, because of the former, I didn’t feel as though I should incorporate shots from films I haven’t seen. So before the list begins, a quick look at a few absolutely stunning shots from films I haven’t seen yet:

Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villenueve, 2017

And now for the list (and again, this is a largely arbitrary ranking):

25- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson’s magnum opus possesses his trademark visual perfectionism in intense and overpowering excess. The use of color in the film is one of its more notable qualities, and this is on display in the above shot.

24- L.A. Confidential (1997, Curtis Hanson)

Curtis Hanson’s brilliant look at corruption in the 1950s LAPD, adapted from the James Ellroy novel of the same name, isn’t known for its visuals- the film is one of the all time greats (and very high up on my list of all-time favorites) due to the masterful character study at its center. And the culmination of the arc of one said character, Guy Pearce’s Ed Exley, takes place immediately preceding this shot. The moment that it’s associated with doesn’t entirely get this shot on the list- it’s pretty fantastic visually, too.

23- There Will be Blood (2007, Paul Thomas Anderson)

There Will be Blood is a dark movie (massive understatement). In this shot, the idyllic blue sky is violently interrupted by a manifestation of Daniel Plainview’s thirst for oil- an explosion of darkness, flame, and smoke that disrupts its peaceful surroundings. It’s hard to think of a better metaphor for There Will be Blood’s central conflict.

22- Kill Bill vol. 1 (2003, Quentin Tarantino)

I just want it to be known that the House of Blue Leaves scene at the climax of Kill Bill’s first half is an awesome, perfect scene in which stuff like this happens every so often and also hundreds of people lose limbs and lives in swordfights. Nuts.

21- Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch)

I couldn’t explain the significance of the central metaphor of Blue Velvet in a paragraph that’s supposed to be this short, so suffice it to say that if you haven’t seen this film, this image isn’t as haunting to you. If you have, you know why it’s up this high. If you haven’t, you probably shouldn’t watch it unless you can handle some upsetting stuff.

20- Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)

Reservoir Dogs’ opening credits sequence is pure style- the slo-mo, the music, the close-ups. The first shot of said sequence is iconic, and it lands on this list as both a perfect intro to the film and to Tarantino’s career.

19- Seven (1995, David Fincher)

By now you know the finale of Seven- even if you haven’t seen it, you probably know what happens after this. But if you have seen it, it holds more weight- it’s the first shot that isn’t drenched in the perennial rain, smog, and despair of the unnamed city in which the majority of the film takes place. This is a reprieve from that, although it’s soon revealed that just as much sinister stuff can happen in brightness as in darkness.

18- Sunset Boulevard (1950, Billy Wilder)

Man, the guts it takes to open your film with narration from the main character’s dead body floating in a swimming pool. Sunset Boulevard was directed by legendary auteur and Super Gutsy Filmmaking Guy™ Billy Wilder, who completely redefined the American cinema for decades. Shots like this go a long way towards explaining why.

17- A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)

By FAR the most represented filmmaker on this list is Stanley Kubrick, and his A Clockwork Orange (based on an equally astounding book by Anthony Burgess) is one of four films to be represented twice (one of those was also directed by Kubrick). A Clockwork Orange’s opening scene ranks among the greatest ever- the slow pan back accompanied by Malcolm McDowell’s menacing narration and the chilling synth score form something legendary, indelible, and terrifying.

16- Moonlight (2016, Barry Jenkins)

This list’s most recent film, and a deserving one- Moonlight is, in my opinion, the greatest film of the 21st century, and one of the greatest of all time. Jenkins, between this and last year’s If Beale Street Could Talk (robbed of a best picture nod), has cemented himself as maybe the best filmmaker in the world, mainly due to his gift at creating brilliant and beautiful imagery, much like one of his greatest influences…

15- Fallen Angels (1995, Wong Kar-Wai)

…Wong Kar-Wai, who rules. There’s no way to differentiate between any given artistically brilliant frame in Wong’s masterpiece, In the Mood For Love, so I opted for this shot from the ending scene of Fallen Angels, a movie drenched head-to-toe in the auteur’s legendary and intense style, yet in possession of the same inner longing as ITMFL. I almost prefer Fallen Angels (well, it’s obviously not better, but I almost like it better), if only because of that final scene, which is one of the all time greats. The collaboration between Kar-Wai and longtime DP Christopher Doyle has rarely been better. The neon green of the tunnel that has been seen many times before in the film finally reaches its conclusion, its final purpose, before the camera pans upwards to reveal a glimpse of sunlight, a first in a movie completely bathed in neon and darkness.

14- Vertigo (1958, Alfred Hitchcock)

There isn’t much more to be said about Vertigo, the king of the most recent Sight and Sound poll. There is no misplaced step, no frame unnecessary. The scene where Madeline jumps into the water is incredible, because it displays this shot, illustrating the beauty of San Fransisco and the surrounding scenery before immediately depicting an attempted suicide. Alfred Hitchcock, ladies and gentlemen.

13- Apocalypse Now (1979, Francis Ford Coppola)

Apocalypse Now’s vibrant, surreal, and dangerous atmosphere is its most important quality, as the film’s crux is the slow descent of everything in its universe into madness, into hell on earth. The visuals of Coppola and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro go a long way towards turning the film into what it as become, as it has two spots on this list.

12- Fight Club (1999, David Fincher)

David Fincher’s dark visual style is incredibly effective in films such as Seven and The Social Network, but it’s at its apex in Fight Club. The best shot in the film is the last, as the film’s themes- of inner conflict and lunatics causing destruction- come full circle in the last scene. The narrator and Marla Singer look out on the mayhem that’s been caused, The Pixies’ Where is My Mind plays, “You met me at a very strange time in my life”, it all comes together to form one of the all time great endings. I’m just now realizing I shouldn’t have said any of that.

11- The Shining (1980, Stanley Kubrick

Out of all of the brilliant shots in The Shining (in the snow, “HEEEEEEEEERE’S JOHNNY!), this is the greatest and most haunting one. Kubrick deploys his trademark one point perspective and fames this scene in an unforgettable way. It’ll stay with you forever, and ever, and ever (sorry).

10- The Third Man (1949, Carol Reed)

Honorable mention to the final shot, but my love of the final scene will have to wait for another time. The one that makes the cut is this one, at the conclusion of the climactic chase in the sewers. Reed’s legendary noir puts Joseph Cotten’s Holly Martins through hell, but at the end of it all, there is a way out. There’s a light at the end of the darkness.

Ok I couldn’t help it here’s the last scene.

9- The Seventh Seal (1957, Ingmar Bergman)

Ingmar! This shot has ingrained itself into popular culture more than any other from Bergman’s legendary career (thanks Bill & Ted, I guess), and come on- it’s a guy playing chess with death. That’s awesome. This shot rules, this scene rules, this film rules.

8- Apocalypse Now (1979, Francis Ford Coppola)

The vast majority of Apocalypse Now’s imagery can be described best as haunting. The film portrays Vietnam as a hell unlike anything else, and it all comes down to that one symbol- the helicopters. They are the lasting legacy. Out of all of its most parodied moments, the helicopters rank near, if not at, the top.

7- Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

One of Vertigo’s defining aspects is the revolutionary and hypnotic use of color. The use of green in this scene, when Judy “becomes” Madeline, is downright trance-inducing. It’s the kind of visual artistry that causes the viewer to experience a bit of the titular condition. On a side note, Hitchcock is one of the greatest directors ever in terms of visuals, and it’s a pity he didn’t make more appearances on this list (this is it).

6- 2001: A space odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)

Well, here it is: the most visually stunning film of all time. This list could’ve pretty much been “Top 25 shots from 2001” (I held myself to 2). Kubrick’s supreme artistry has never been better, as he creates a masterpiece by stringing together awe-inspiring and astounding images. More on 2001 to come, but I’d like to take this opportunity to push my propaganda that HAL has one of the greatest deaths in movie history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DX142NtqOE

I mean COME ON.

5- A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)

Seriously, a fifth of the entries on this list are from Kubrick films, and one of the four from before the list. That’s insane. This Clockwork Orange shot is one of the best from his illustrious career. It frames Alex and his droogs in the background, their shadows occupying the foreground. It’s ominous, brilliant, and it does so much to communicate the themes of the film, which (hot take time) is Kubrick’s best. Don’t hold me to that, I could change my mind in favor of 2001 or even The Shining tomorrow.

4- Mulholland Dr. (2001, David Lynch)

I couldn’t tell you what Mulholland Dr is actually about, but it seems pretty clear that one of the themes is, in some extremely twisted way, being lost in the nightmare that is Los Angeles. This shot puts the figure at its center in at the very bottom, allowing her to occupy an extremely little amount of space. What fills the rest? Towering palm trees, telephone poles, and eerie light. Mulholland Dr is an astounding, dumbfounding, totally nonsensical, brilliant, perplexing film that makes no sense and compels an insane amount of thought (I saw it five months ago and still dedicate a lot of time to trying to crack it). This shot communicates both the alluring beauty and sinister atmosphere of the film, which is why I love it so much.

3- Ikiru (1952, Akira Kurosawa)

Ikiru, Kurosawa’s best film (fight me), culminates in heartbreaking fashion. The protagonist, resigned, spends his final night basking in the result of the only thing that he did in his life- his government work. He enjoys the park he helped make possible, and this act is the most fun he’s ever really had. It snows, and he gets one final moment of beauty in his life. If you needed confirmation as to how great this scene is, it gets homaged in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. For real, watch this movie, even if you’ve never seen a foreign film in your life. It’s so great.

2- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)

I’ve said all I can about 2001 and about Kubrick. This is one of the film’s most legendary shots, and with good reason. Kubrick’s one point perspective returns, and the sci-fi brilliance of the film shines through in this iconic, fantastic shot. It probably would be number one on the lists of most people dedicated enough to make one. But it has to settle for number two here, taking a backseat to…

1- The Exorcist (1973, William Friedkin)

C H I L L S. The Exorcist spends most of its runtime building to a conclusion in which nothing good can happen. It reaches that conclusion with this- the arrival of Father Merrin. This is the last thing that happens before the exorcism, and everything about it works. The silhouette of the priest, the streetlight, the mist coming from the house. Perfection.

That’s it. Again, I take no responsibility for the rankings except number one, which I completely stand by. Feel free to disagree, and if you take one thing from this, let it be that Stanley Kubrick was a god.