Prologue (Long winded banter)
I read somewhere you can tell what a person is like by the films they watch so I want to share some of my favorite films.
I would say that I have a clear favorite film and the rest basically fall in the same “tier”. Which leads me to a tangent. I have observed that when people debate who is the best rapper, basketball player, singer or anything etc. they tend to draw a line in the sand between two individuals (or things) when in fact both of those people could very well be on the same plane. I feel we should throw out the ranking system and instead replace it with a tier system when we argue who is the best at something. Instead of saying Biggie is the best rapper for example one could say Biggie and Tupac both belong in the same tier. Makes for a cleaner debate and makes much more sense unless their is a clear cut winner. I might like “Fruity Pebbles” over “Honey Nut Cheerios” where someone else could prefer the crunchier cheerio over the quick sogginess of those flakey “Flinstones” but we could at least agree that they both belong in the same vicinity. Jim Brown and Walter Payton are both great running backs. Maybe you like one better because you are from Chicago and I am from Cleveland. You get my point. So I advocate that we put splitting hairs aside and adopt the tier system. Without further adieu here are my favorite films by tiers which should be considered a better list then AFI’s top 100. Or maybe this list and AFI’s belong in the same tier.
– Douglas Menefee
Favorite Films by Tiers (This list is not complete)
Tier 1
Citizen Kane
Just kidding Back to the Future is the clear cut number one best movie of all time. There is no debate. I don’t care about rosebuds and Citizen Kanes. Although I like Cane’s Chicken.
Back to the Future is the best movie of all time. Hands down.
Tier 2 (No particular order)
Se7en
Shawshank Redemption
Die Hard
A Bronx Tale
Heat
Groundhog Day
Goodfellas
Godfather II
Devil’s Advocate
Zodiac
Saving Private Ryan
Prisoners
The Social Network
Boiler Room
Munich
Catch me if you Can
Cast Away
Good Will Hunting
Schinder’s List
Boogie Nights
Malcolm X
The Goonies
Do the Right Thing
Raising Arizona
Pulp Fiction
Gladiator
O Brother Where art thou
The Wolf of Wall Street
Not sure what tier these belong in but still favorites
Half Baked
Money Talks
Coming to America
Trading Places
Point Break