A Filmmaker's Guide to the 10 Greatest Films of All Time

There are a few lists that claim to have the greatest films of all time present on them. But on this list I really just want to go through what I think are the greatest films. Now, I will be looking at a list of criteria for what makes the film 'the greatest film' of all time and some of you may find it shocking, some of you may not like my list and some of you may think it's either in the wrong order or that some films just shouldn't be there altogether. If you think this then please don't go and write a blog about it - I think it's very important to have various other views out there. Don't you get tired of reading the list of the same ten films over and over again, it's like one website just copied and pasted it on to their own page. Now, what I think are the best films of all time have to tick all the following boxes:

Criteria

1. It must to add something to the genre it is portraying

Whether it be an epic drama or a comedy, a horror or a romantic movie, it's got to add something new to the genre that probably either wasn't there before or hasn't been explored as much.

2. It must have a great control of filmmaking technique

This one is on the director's head. The film must showcase a good amount of filmmaking skill. Either through its use of filmmaking techniques already established or through its establishment of new filmmaking techniques.

3. It must have great acting skill involved

Acting skill is very important for the entertainment quality of a film and when stripped down to its raw points - a film is a medium of entertainment. Without a great acting lead, the film will fail to be successful and stay successful.

4. It must have constant atmosphere

Atmosphere is very important when you're making a movie. You need to establish it right from the beginning and continue it throughout by using various themes, symbols, music scores, filmmaking styles to keep the audience interested in the way in which the movie portrays the 'mood' of the scenes. Whether it be light-hearted or dark and dismal, the film must keep this constant, building and reducing where necessary. The control of this is paramount to the movie's ability to remain in the head of the audience, long after the initial viewing.

5. It must have a interesting storyline

Storyline is of extreme importance and whether it be an original screenplay or adapted from a novel/poem/play etc. the movie must retain a story that is both continuous and has great writing technique. The writing technique we see in a film comes from dialogue between characters, optional narration and the way in which the character interacts with their surroundings. The way in which the movie has been written is very important for audience understanding and if the audience do not understand it, then the film has failed to do its job. Even the most complex movies by Nolan and Kubrick have understanding at their core. It is essential.

The Ten Greatest Films of All Time: 10-1

With that all said and done and with the criteria for the films clearly laid out before you, let us go through what I believe are the ten greatest films of all time (you may be pleasantly surprised). Remember, this is just my humble opinion based on criteria I have created that takes the raw makings of a film into account. I would also like to add that this is not a list of my personal favourite movies of all time, I will do a list on that shortly. Just because I have studied film to a MA level doesn't make me better than you - your own list is just as valid and I look forward to hearing what you think. My list is mostly based off what it adds to film as a movie and not how good it is at portraying something that was already there to begin with. Some lists have other criteria, as long as you establish what that criteria is, then your list is just as valid as this one:

10. The Dark Knight (2008)

"The Dark Knight" (2008) is a film you may think is slightly misplaced on this list but let me explain how it fits into the criteria set out by the five points I made earlier. First of all, as a hyper-realistic version of a comic book adaptation, this film adds a lot to its genre, allowing the comic book movie to come into the real world. I think this one did it slightly better than Batman Begins (2005), even though I prefer the first one as opinion. Christopher Nolan is known for his filmmaking technique and incredible amounts of control. In this film we see that happen with various slow-motion shots such as the lorry flipping over. It presents something that isn't overdone, but isn't not used at all in correct situation.

The amazing work of the late Heath Ledger presents acting skill that goes above and beyond the regular work of an actor in a comic book movie role. The rumours though of the allegation that it was the portrayal of the Joker that ultimately killed the Australian actor are, I believe, exaggerated. The constant gritty atmosphere that we first experience in Batman Begins (2005) is continued not only through this film, but through The Dark Knight Rises (2012) as well. It is very, very constant, heightened at the climatic point of the second movie of the trilogy.

The storyline is incredibly interesting with the hyper-realism taking the form of a man creating chaos who could actually, in all prospects, exist in our own reality. This is essential in the understanding of the movie. It is not psychotic, rather it is simply overtly criminal. It is an amazing portrayal of character that creates, heightens and holds together, the intensities of the story.

9. Citizen Kane (1941)

You may believe that Citizen Kane (1941) is a little low on the list, but I can really explain here (if you read further you may understand). The way in which Citizen Kane (1941) added to the genre of the epic drama is intense in all ways. First of all, it adds its incredible style in which it begins with the ending of the film and goes back to tell us the story. Orson Welles was a brilliant director and so, we have this film which is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made at the height of his career. If you've watched Citizen Kane (1941) you will notice the various filmmaking techniques such as the photograph becoming a scene, the intense close-ups of the snow-globe, the news montages, the incredible amount of control. All of these add up to Citizen Kane (1941) becoming one of the greatest films ever made.

The acting work of Orson Welles also adds intense amounts of drama to the film. Nothing is now what we used to call, 'vaudevillian' - we now have proper, intense almost methodical acting styles developing and the movie Citizen Kane (1941) teaches us that Orson Welles was one of the actors helping to develop that style.

The storyline, some may say, is based on a real person (and some say that is the same person that Mr. Pulitzer from 'the Newsies' is based on but I am not sure). However it is based or written, the film has an incredible control of dialogue. The dialogue is normally very regular and you can hear it as regular speech, making you believe the characters are real people even more than you initially would. This is essential to the film's maintenance of its success. This type of dialogue in regularity was never really attempted before.

8. Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Dr. Strangelove (1964) added so much to the genre of political satire that we simply do not have the time to talk about all of them here. Dr. Strangelove (1964), in my own opinion is the best film by Kubrick because it presents his true control of style and form. In this film, there are multiple storylines going on at once, there is a war happening in the background and initially you will think that everything is everywhere and that is the entire point. The chaos of war is one of the many things that Kubrick draws on to present this black comedy satire to us.

The filmmaking skill goes above and beyond in the ways of recurring shots in particular stories to let the audience adapt to that storyline as they go. For example: in the 'war room' we get various wide shots that encompass various board members, the filmmaking style is rigid, serious and not very playful. Whereas, in the aircraft, the filmmaking style is the exact opposite; it is playful and fast with various close-ups and extreme close-ups to show the tightness of space. Again this is a part of the satire. Whilst the rich people are in the aired 'war room' sitting down and discussing things over tea, the soldiers are locked in a tiny aircraft standing atop missiles and are possibly going to die.

Of course, this film wouldn't really be anything without the incredible acting of Peter Sellers. His acting really makes this political satire funny and adds a lot to the atmosphere that Kubrick, I believe, is trying to create. This black comedy in which you really want to laugh at the prospect but the subject matter is fairly dark and you can't bring yourself to do it. But then, someone says something stupid like "you can't fight here, this is the war room!" And you just burst out laughing. That also happens to be my favourite line out of any Kubrick movie ever. I do believe it is the greatest satirical film ever made.

7. Modern Times (1936)

Everyone knows that in his lifetime, Sir Charlie Chaplin amassed a great amount of films - he also changed the face of comedic film forever by giving us a character that we could follow and themes that we could relate to. A form of satire, "Modern Times" (1936) is a brilliant example at how films can both present completely hysterical situations and still fall within the space of realism. With this possibly being one of the first cases for satirical comedy, Sir Charlie Chaplin creates a masterpiece set in working class relative scenes of the famous factory, a jail cell and more.

The acting is brilliant as Sir Charlie Chaplin presents our realistic scenery and then adds this acting style that is completely out of place to the situation and thus, he creates comedic satire. The various methods that he uses include creating scenes that are, in all aspects, hysterical and considerably funny. This includes one of the most famous scenes in all of cinematic history - the factory scene. A satire on the conditions of working class people in factories, Chaplin appears to get sucked into the machine and begins fixing it as he goes. A comedic scene, a clever satire, a lack of dialogue and a base meaning to the scene creates the essence of cinematic brilliance.

At the core of Modern Times (1936) we also have a story. The story of a character that some are very familiar with - The Tramp. This character is probably one of the first great cases for auter cinema that we ever see in cinematic history. The creation, style and depiction of the character's role in society has a massive impact on the characters around him, placing this working class man at the centre of a story and making fun of the rather dark working conditions. The way in which we gather information is scene by scene and though this is simplistic, it works for the satirical nature of the storyline. The film makes fun of its own audience and they do not even realise it. In Chaplin's day, at the time of this film, it would be the middle class that watched movies in the theatre mostly. Chaplin is basically taking the piss out of all of them and he proves that they are far too stupid to realise it. One of my heroes, this is possibly Chaplin's greatest creation next to "City Lights" (1931).

6. The Godfather Part 2 (1974)

The second film in the Godfather saga, this is considered to be a masterpiece of cinema. With a run time of nearly four hours, it adds quite a lot to the epic drama category. The things it adds include: the continuation of a saga based around a family, something that had yet to be explored in film. It also added the category of epic crime drama to film, having explored it also in Part 1 of the series. The filmmaking styles of "The Godfather Saga" are all relatively similar bar parts of the first movie, but Part 2 takes it above and beyond what we expect initially.

In Part 2 (1974) there is a great deal of dialogue that is centred around various business deals, crimes and familial connections. Understanding these can be sometimes difficult but the way in which we would understand them keeps us invested in the story. It is something that Coppola does so well in the film that you won't even notice it happening. He keeps you paying close attention because you're just waiting for a brother to turn on a brother, or someone to pull a gun out on their enemy. It is because of the connections that are being established in the film - you know who liked and dislikes who and who owes somebody something.

The acting is considered to be some of the greatest styles to ever hit the screen with Al Pacino in the lead role as Michael Corleone - the protagonist of the situation. One of the scenes that always stood out to me, even though some may consider it to be a small, filler scene - is the scene of Carmela's funeral. At Carmela's funeral, you can really see these connections that keep us invested in the storyline, especially when Michael appears to forgive Fredo for what he has done in the past. Appearances and reality are a part of the biggest theme in the movie - human value. With this, we see people appear to forgive people, people state they aren't going to forgive people and with this, we gain access as to who may kill who and why. It is a massive part of this incredible story that has near-perfect writing skill added to it.

5. Vertigo (1958)

Alfred Hitchcock is known to be the master of suspense with films like "Psycho" (1960) taking hold of audiences and basically creating mass-produced horror movies. In this film though, we see Alfred Hitchcock not only take suspense to the next level but also practice his great technique of crafting a very clever storyline in which clues are hidden throughout the movie, but you won't realise it until far later on.

Vertigo (1958) was the first film in cinema history to use what is normally referred to now as the "Vertigo Effect" or the "Vertigo Style". This is when your camera dolly creates zoom in movement, giving you the POV of vertigo - creating that essential POV is important in conveying this to someone who does not actually experience vertigo but can get a look in during the film. The filmmaking style therefore, was practically revolutionary as the 'vertigo effect' has been copied by the likes of Kubrick, Nolan and even James Wan in various films.

In its genre, Vertigo serves as possibly one of the first commercial attempts at the psycho-drama that there ever was. With a twisted storyline hidden in various clues throughout the film - it is resonant as being the influence for films such as "Memento" by Nolan, basically the whole career of psychodrama director Brian De Palma, and even the films of Charlie Kaufman. Psychodrama is a difficult thing to do properly and I believe the way in which Hitchcock presents it to us, through the storyline that we become so invested in we can't see through it, is one of the best attempts we have from the time period. The acting is incredible with Kim Novak and James Stewart carrying the film to perfection as they play opposite each other. Kim Novak is so very convincing that you wouldn't question anything if you didn't already know what happens in the film.

The way in which the film retains its writing style is also rather remarkable. It gives us different pieces of information at different times, never anything that is too important but - if you're smart enough to see it - you can actually work out the ending to the film from the first few scenes. The only problem is that it is hidden very, very well and most people wouldn't guess at all.

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Don't worry, you read it correctly - I did put Pulp Fiction (1994) on this list. Why? Well it changed the scene of the 90s movie forever and it really did change the way we look at and analyse a movie. With a great amount of symbolism and many interlocking themes that basically tell us exactly what the movie is about, Tarantino creates what many would call his masterpiece of American Crime Drama (though I personally would call the masterpiece Jackie Brown). The thing that is superbly special about this film is the way in which it conveys its story. The story is told through many different sections, each having a sort of butterfly effect on the last and the next. The storyline also displays incredible amounts of control to the point that there are basically no faults with it and all the pop culture references are rife with damnation throughout.

The dialogue is also very important with most of the film dedicated to casual conversation in which you think it means nothing, but in reality there is a lot to be learnt from these tiny, as you would say 'filler' scenes. Tarantino does this on purpose to not reveal the true intention of this movie because he knows through these filler scenes, you think you're getting a break from violence, jazz and creating meaning. But in reality, you're just receiving what is another dimension to an already out of order storyline.

With the fact that "Pulp Fiction" (1994) gives us an incredibly complex storyline complete with fleshed out themes, symbols and concepts, it also displays some very satirical acting styles thanks to Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta and finally, not only is the writing amazingly symbolic but it really does rely on how much attention you're really paying to the film.

3. Batman (1989)

Batman (1989), sometimes known as Batman'89 is a film that basically changed the face of comic book cinema forever. From the directorship of Tim Burton to the incredible acting of Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton, this film proves to be the revival of what was beginning to become a dead genre.

In the film, we see a range of filmmaking techniques, such as the crane shot. We see the camera crane downwards upon Gotham in order for the audience to view every major aspect of the Joker's Parade. What we also have is an incredible amount of crane up shots that tend to be used to display facial expression. This is made to imitate a comic book - the pictures are a bit wonky and all over the place, everything is colourful and a lot of fun bar Gotham itself. The darkness of the atmosphere relies heavily on what the audience think of Gotham city and so, there is a great amount of hones placed on how dreary the city is. The fact that the Joker is completely out of place is part of the storyline itself. It is staying true to its genre of hero vs. villain in which both hero and villain in some way, do not fit into the city's own standards of living and style.

The writing, in comparison to the realism of Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, is more comic book than realistic. It is made to be a dark, comic book atmosphere showing hints of subversion through its major characters. This requires a good amount of writing in two ways - either it can be ultra-realistic or it can be very comic book. Obviously, Burton chose the latter.

2. The Godfather Part 1 (1972)

The Godfather Part 1 (1972) is one of those films that you have to watch more than once in order to understand. There is a great deal of meaning hidden throughout each and every scene of the epic and what it does for the American Epic Drama is fantastic - it brings crime and villainy into it - this almost Hamlet-esque storyline that we have viewed in other films as well. The way in which the Godfather Part 1 (1972) establishes this American Crime Drama is through its use of connection. Much like the Godfather Part 2 does, The Godfather Part 1 must first establish who is connected to who and who likes and dislikes who. There is a good amount of reason to believe that these various establishments of connection are important to the storyline as in various places, people are killed in the reason of betrayal - which stands as the most important theme of the film.

The acting talents of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, James Caan and Talia Shire bless this film with the nature of the Italian-American Epic. There is not only a great amount of talent, but because of the writing style, we get to see each and every aspect of their personal and business lives - every single one of them interconnected with the other. The most important theme before betrayal being family, both of which are connected to each other through the way in which brothers seem to turn against each other whilst their father is still alive.

The Godfather Part 1 (1972) has a great amount of influence on the film market since and has born epics out of it in the style of Hamlet by Shakespeare and Macbeth as well. It is a very Shakespearean situation, but it is also a film for the new age of great film. It has given us the epic.

More Mentions:

Films that just fell out of the list's line-up:

- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

- Taxi Driver (1976)

- Apocalypse Now (1979)

- Chinatown (1974)

- Gone With the Wind (1939)

- Schindler's List (1993)

- Lincoln (2012)

Number One

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Okay, so you probably think that this one shouldn't be first but maybe should be in the top ten. I totally don't agree with you - it should be first and here's why. The first thing this does is adds something to the genre of the American Epic by focusing on a topic that is so subversive but yet so incredibly important to the gain and maintenance of money in American History - oil. A topic that nobody likes to talk about because it is so involved with violence and villainy. Again, something incredibly Shakespearean. It brings the American Epic into the 21st Century by presenting it to an entirely new audience - it has the skill of control in its atmosphere to do exactly that. The atmosphere of this film is that of something incredibly early-20th Century gritty. It is such a beautiful movie, I cannot even describe the feeling you get when you watch it. Beginning in the late-19th Century, there is a great deal of time covered in the film in which the money, through oil is amassed. It is a subject that most Americans from oil lineage don't like to discuss and so, would make them very uncomfortable. I love it purely because of that.

The acting talent of Daniel Day-Lewis is almost frightening at times in this film. The level of intensity is just unbelievable and proves that he is possibly the greatest actor to ever live. Take that and put it into a movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson - who is known simply for his amazing ability to control atmosphere and present his extreme filmmaking techniques through long, beautiful yet gritty shots - and you get what is possibly one of the greatest films ever made - "There Will Be Blood" (2007).

The amount of control given to this film is incredible. What we have is a story placed within a particular time period and doused in Shakespearean antagonism. It is a beautiful epic with an intense level of gritty yet violent images, portraying its lustre and money with incredible ability, style and technique.