The 50 Greatest Films

Iain Stott of The One-Line Review kindly asked me to participate in a poll for The 50 Greatest Films of all times. After giving it some thought, and working on the list for a while, this is what I came up with, together with my introductory note:

This is an arbitrary selection of my fifty favorite movies... As a result of not limiting myself to one film per filmmaker, other great artists such as Harry Smith, Jonas Mekas, King Vidor, Vincente Minnelli, Robert Aldrich, Carl Dreyer, Jacques Rivette, Chris Marker, Bruce Baillie, Ernie Gehr, Christopher Maclaine, Louis Lumière, Buster Keaton, Jean Epstein, Raoul Walsh, Josef von Sternberg, Jack Chambers, etc. were left out. This is more or less where things stand for me as of June 30th 2009:

1. Il messia (1975) - Roberto Rossellini
2. India: Matri Bhumi (1959) - Roberto Rossellini
3. What goes up (2003) - Robert Breer
4. Socrate (1971) - Roberto Rossellini
5. Cartesius (1974) - Roberto Rossellini
6. Viva l'Italia! (1961) - Roberto Rossellini
7. Bang! (1986) - Robert Breer
8. LMNO (1979) - Robert Breer
9. Viaggio in Italia (1954) - Roberto Rossellini
10. Faust (1926) - F.W. Murnau
11. Ugetsu monogatari (1953) - Kenji Mizoguchi
12. Au hasard Balthazar (1966) - Robert Bresson
13. La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (1966) - Roberto Rossellini
14. Intolerance (1916) - D.W. Griffith
15. Sophie's Place (1986) - Larry Jordan
16. The Art of Vision (1965) - Stan Brakhage
17. Swiss Army Knife with Rats and Pigeons (1980) - Robert Breer
18. El Dorado (1966) - Howard Hawks
19. Life of Oharu (1952) - Kenji Mizoguchi
20. L'argent (1983) - Robert Bresson
21. Rio Bravo (1959) - Howard Hawks
22. Donovan's Reef (1963) - John Ford
23. Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou (1977) - Roberto Rossellini
24. Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950) - Roberto Rossellini
25. I... (1995) - Stan Brakhage
26. Visions in Meditation #2: Mesa Verde (1989) - Stan Brakhage
27. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - John Ford
28. Agostino d'Ippona (1972) - Roberto Rossellini
29. The Tarnished Angels (1958) - Douglas Sirk
30. Miss Oyu (1951) - Kenji Mizoguchi
31. Gulls and Buoys (1972) - Robert Breer
32. Three Times (2005) - Hou Hsiao Hsien
33. Mr. Frenhofer and the Minotaur (1949) - Sidney Peterson
34. Chimes at Midnight (1965) - Orson Welles
35. The Petrified Dog (1948) - Sidney Peterson
36. Our Lady of the Sphere (1969) - Larry Jordan
37. 69 (1968) - Robert Breer
38. ...Reel Three (1998) - Stan Brakhage
39. Blow Job (1963) - Andy Warhol
40. In Harm's Way (1965) - Otto Preminger
41. The God of Day Had Gone Down Upon Him (2000) - Stan Brakhage
42. The Lion and the Zebra Make God's Raw Jewels (1999) - Stan Brakhage
43. The Loom (1986) - Stan Brakhage
44. Arnulf Rainer (1960) - Peter Kubelka
45. Millennium Mambo (2001) - Hou Hsiao Hsien
46. Fantômas (1913) - Louis Feuillade
47. The Last Laugh (1924) - F.W. Murnau
48. The Potted Psalm (1946) - Sidney Peterson
49. The Horse Soldiers (1959) - John Ford
50. Zorns Lemma (1970) - Hollis Frampton

There are four lists I find inspiring: Edo Choi, Jack Angstreich, Mike Grost, Dan Sallitt