IMDB Top 250 as of January 15, 2010

1. 9.1 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) **

2. 9.1 The Godfather (1972) **
3. 9.0 The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. 8.9 Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)
5. 8.9 Pulp Fiction (1994) **
6. 8.8 Schindler's List (1993)
7. 8.8 12 Angry Men (1957)
8. 8.8 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
9. 8.8 The Dark Knight (2008) **
10. 8.8 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980) **
11. 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003) **
12. 8.8 Star Wars (1977) **
13. 8.7 Casablanca (1942)
14. 8.7 Goodfellas (1990) **
15. 8.7 Shichinin no samurai (1954) **
16. 8.7 Cidade de Deus (2002) **
17. 8.7 Fight Club (1999) **
18. 8.7 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
19. 8.7 Rear Window (1954)
20. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001) **
21. 8.7 The Usual Suspects (1995)
22. 8.7 Psycho (1960) **
23. 8.7 C'era una volta il West (1968)
24. 8.6 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) **
25. 8.6 The Matrix (1999) **
26. 8.6 Memento (2000) **
27. 8.6 Se7en (1995) **
28. 8.6 It's a Wonderful Life (1946) **
29. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) **
30. 8.6 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
31. 8.6 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32. 8.6 Citizen Kane (1941)
33. 8.6 North by Northwest (1959)
34. 8.6 Léon (1994)
35. 8.6 Apocalypse Now (1979)
36. 8.5 American Beauty (1999) **
37. 8.5 Avatar (2009) **
38. 8.5 American History X (1998) **
39. 8.5 Forrest Gump (1994) **
40. 8.5 Taxi Driver (1976)
41. 8.5 Vertigo (1958)
42. 8.5 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
43. 8.5 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
44. 8.5 WALL·E (2008)
45. 8.5 Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001) **
46. 8.5 Alien (1979)
47. 8.5 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
48. 8.5 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
49. 8.5 The Shining (1980) **
50. 8.4 Paths of Glory (1957)
51. 8.4 The Departed (2006) **
52. 8.4 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) **
53. 8.4 The Pianist (2002)
54. 8.4 Aliens (1986)
55. 8.4 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) **
56. 8.4 Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
57. 8.4 M (1931)
58. 8.4 Double Indemnity (1944)
59. 8.4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) **
60. 8.4 Chinatown (1974)
61. 8.4 Requiem for a Dream (2000) **
62. 8.4 The Third Man (1949)
63. 8.4 L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. 8.4 Reservoir Dogs (1992) **
65. 8.4 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
66. 8.4 Das Boot (1981)
67. 8.4 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
68. 8.4 El laberinto del fauno (2006) **
69. 8.4 Inglourious Basterds (2009) **
70. 8.4 City Lights (1931)
71. 8.4 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
72. 8.4 Up (2009) **
73. 8.3 Raging Bull (1980)
74. 8.3 The Prestige (2006) **
75. 8.3 Singin' in the Rain (1952)
76. 8.3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
77. 8.3 La vita è bella (1997)
78. 8.3 Back to the Future (1985) **
79. 8.3 Some Like It Hot (1959) **
80. 8.3 Der Untergang (2004)
81. 8.3 Slumdog Millionaire (2008) **
82. 8.3 The Maltese Falcon (1941)
83. 8.3 Modern Times (1936)
84. 8.3 Gran Torino (2008) **
85. 8.3 Amadeus (1984) **
86. 8.3 Rashômon (1950)
87. 8.3 Full Metal Jacket (1987)
88. 8.3 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
89. 8.3 All About Eve (1950)
90. 8.3 Braveheart (1995)
91. 8.3 Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
92. 8.3 The Elephant Man (1980)
93. 8.3 Sin City (2005) **
94. 8.3 Metropolis (1927)
95. 8.3 The Green Mile (1999)
96. 8.3 Rebecca (1940)
97. 8.3 The Great Dictator (1940)
98. 8.3 The Apartment (1960)
99. 8.3 The Sting (1973)
100. 8.3 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
101. 8.3 The Great Escape (1963)
102. 8.3 Gladiator (2000)
103. 8.3 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) **
104. 8.3 District 9 (2009) **
105. 8.3 Batman Begins (2005)
106. 8.3 Ladri di biciclette (1948)
107. 8.3 Jaws (1975)
108. 8.3 Unforgiven (1992)
109. 8.2 Hotel Rwanda (2004) **
110. 8.2 Blade Runner (1982)
111. 8.2 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
112. 8.2 No Country for Old Men (2007) **
113. 8.2 Die Hard (1988) **
114. 8.2 On the Waterfront (1954)
115. 8.2 Touch of Evil (1958)
116. 8.2 Oldboy (2003)
117. 8.2 Det sjunde inseglet (1957)
118. 8.2 Fargo (1996)
119. 8.2 The Wizard of Oz (1939) **
120. 8.2 Mononoke-hime (1997) **
121. 8.2 Strangers on a Train (1951)
122. 8.2 Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
123. 8.2 Heat (1995)
124. 8.2 Donnie Darko (2001) **
125. 8.2 Cool Hand Luke (1967)
126. 8.2 The Wrestler (2008) **
127. 8.2 High Noon (1952)
128. 8.2 There Will Be Blood (2007) **
129. 8.2 Notorious (1946)
130. 8.2 The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
131. 8.2 The Sixth Sense (1999) **
132. 8.2 Annie Hall (1977) **
133. 8.2 The Deer Hunter (1978)
134. 8.2 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) **
135. 8.1 Platoon (1986)
136. 8.1 Snatch. (2000) **
137. 8.1 The General (1926)
138. 8.1 The Big Sleep (1946)
139. 8.1 Ben-Hur (1959)
140. 8.1 Into the Wild (2007) **
141. 8.1 The Big Lebowski (1998) **
142. 8.1 Million Dollar Baby (2004)
143. 8.1 Yojimbo (1961)
144. 8.1 Ran (1985)
145. 8.1 Star Trek (2009) **
146. 8.1 It Happened One Night (1934)
147. 8.1 The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
148. 8.1 Life of Brian (1979)
149. 8.1 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
150. 8.1 The Lion King (1994)
151. 8.1 Finding Nemo (2003)
152. 8.1 Smultronstället (1957)
153. 8.1 Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
154. 8.1 Trainspotting (1996)
155. 8.1 The Graduate (1967) **
156. 8.1 Stand by Me (1986)
157. 8.1 Gone with the Wind (1939)
158. 8.1 Toy Story (1995) **
159. 8.1 The Terminator (1984)
160. 8.1 Groundhog Day (1993)
161. 8.1 Ratatouille (2007)
162. 8.1 Scarface (1983)
163. 8.1 Amores perros (2000)
164. 8.1 The Thing (1982)
165. 8.1 Gandhi (1982)
166. 8.1 8½ (1963)
167. 8.1 Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
168. 8.1 V for Vendetta (2005) **
169. 8.1 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
170. 8.1 The Gold Rush (1925)
171. 8.1 Twelve Monkeys (1995)
172. 8.1 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) **
173. 8.1 Les diaboliques (1955)
174. 8.1 The Night of the Hunter (1955)
175. 8.1 Le salaire de la peur (1953)
176. 8.1 The Princess Bride (1987)
177. 8.1 The Incredibles (2004) **
178. 8.0 Casino (1995)
179. 8.0 Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
180. 8.0 The Killing (1956)
181. 8.0 Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
182. 8.0 Children of Men (2006) **
183. 8.0 The Wild Bunch (1969)
184. 8.0 Hotaru no haka (1988)
185. 8.0 In Bruges (2008) **
186. 8.0 The Exorcist (1973)
187. 8.0 The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
188. 8.0 Le notti di Cabiria (1957)
189. 8.0 The Hustler (1961)
190. 8.0 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
191. 8.0 Harvey (1950)
192. 8.0 The Kid (1921)
193. 8.0 Ed Wood (1994)
194. 8.0 King Kong (1933)
195. 8.0 Good Will Hunting (1997)
196. 8.0 Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) **
197. 8.0 Dial M for Murder (1954)
198. 8.0 Rosemary's Baby (1968)
199. 8.0 Big Fish (2003) **
200. 8.0 Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
201. 8.0 Låt den rätte komma in (2008)
202. 8.0 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) **
203. 8.0 Brief Encounter (1945)
204. 8.0 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) **
205. 8.0 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) **
206. 8.0 Stalag 17 (1953)
207. 8.0 Crash (2004/I) **
208. 8.0 Sleuth (1972)
209. 8.0 Magnolia (1999) **
210. 8.0 The African Queen (1951)
211. 8.0 Duck Soup (1933)
212. 8.0 Rocky (1976)
213. 8.0 Le scaphandre et le papillon (2007) **
214. 8.0 Mystic River (2003)
215. 8.0 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
216. 8.0 Manhattan (1979)
217. 8.0 Rope (1948)
218. 8.0 Network (1976)
219. 8.0 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) **
220. 8.0 Wo hu cang long (2000)
221. 8.0 Little Miss Sunshine (2006) **
222. 8.0 Changeling (2008) **
223. 8.0 La strada (1954)
224. 8.0 Patton (1970)
225. 8.0 The Conversation (1974)
226. 8.0 The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
227. 8.0 (500) Days of Summer (2009) **
228. 8.0 Planet of the Apes (1968)
229. 8.0 The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
230. 7.9 Shaun of the Dead (2004) **
231. 7.9 Glory (1989) **
232. 7.9 La battaglia di Algeri (1966)
233. 7.9 The Philadelphia Story (1940)
234. 7.9 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
235. 7.9 The Lady Vanishes (1938)
236. 7.9 Spartacus (1960)
237. 7.9 Barry Lyndon (1975)
238. 7.9 Mulholland Dr. (2001)
239. 7.9 Monsters, Inc. (2001) **
240. 7.9 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
241. 7.9 Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
242. 7.9 Toy Story 2 (1999) **
243. 7.9 Tonari no Totoro (1988) **
244. 7.9 His Girl Friday (1940)
245. 7.9 Brazil (1985)
246. 7.9 Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
247. 7.9 Casino Royale (2006)
248. 7.9 Mou gaan dou (2002)
249. 7.9 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
250. 7.9 Blood Diamond (2006)

Mission and FAQs

Mission Statement

Have you ever seen that movie Julie and Julia? Yeah, this is kind of like that but instead of just obsessing over 400 works from one genius, I'm focusing on 250 works from hundreds of brilliant actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, set designers, producers etc. I've made it my goal to watch all of IMDB's top 250 films of all time by December 31st, 2010, and I'm going to blog about it. Oh, and my friend Lydia is doing this with me.

FAQs

Why are you doing this?

Well, I might just be a little obsessed with movies. I work at a corporate rental chain, have both Netflix and Blockbuster online accounts, and if they fail me, I have been known to order a DVD copy directly from the independent production company (free plug for Ruthless Films' Wildwood, NJ) I also used to have a movie podcast which has since gone on indefinite hiatus (shameless self promotion for my podcast) But I still have a lot of gaps to fill. Unlike other great movie bloggers, I haven't seen all of the classics you're supposed to. This is my year to catch up.

Are you watching them in order?

Yes and no. My friend Lydia who is helping me with this and I have already unintentionally watched two movies on the list completely out of order. From now on, though, we're going to try and watch them from 250 all the way to number one.

Are you re-watching the movies you have already seen?

Yes. All of them except Avatar (since Lydia and I have both seen it in theaters recently.) I've only actually seen about 70 of them, and will say if I have or not in the reflection post after I've seen it.

Where can I contact you?

Send all queries to kamikazemelon [at] gmail [dot] com

And you can also follow me on Twitter Twatter. (warning: adult language used)