Top 100 Films of the Decade

So here it is. After much deliberation, and lots of revisiting the films which stood out, I have not only whittled down the thousands of films I saw over the past ten years (easier than I thought), but I have ordered them based on my opinion of their quality, importance and impact on me (harder than expected). No doubt you will disagree with my list, either the exclusion of certain films or the order. This is not meant to be definitive, as many other lists claim to be, but merely my take on the decade. I hope you enjoy it.

100. Almost Famous (2000)
Directed by Cameron Crowe
99. Bad Education (2004)
Directed by Pedro Almodovar
98. Munich (2005)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
97. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
Directed by Seth Gordon
96. Hero (2002)
Directed by Zhang Yimou
95. Mean Girls (2004)
Directed by Mark Waters
94. The Mist (2007)
Directed by Frank Darabont
93. This is England (2006)
Directed by Shane Meadows
92. Ten (2002)
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
91. The Class (2008)
Directed by Laurent Cantet
90. Sexy Beast (2000)
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
89. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Directed by David Guggenheim
88. Chopper (2000)
Directed by Andrew Dominik
87. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
86. Time of the Wolf (2003)
Directed by Michael Haneke
85. Italian For Beginners (2000)
Directed by Lone Scherfig
84. Synecdoche, New York (2009)
Directed by Charlie Kaufman
83. Che (2008)
Directed by Steven Sodeburgh
82. Solaris (2002)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
81. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
80. Volver (2006)
Directed by Pedro Almodovar
79. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
78. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
77. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
76. Bamako (2006)
Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako
75. The Dark Knight (2008)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
74. Sideways (2004)
Directed by Alexander Payne
73. Talk To Her (2002)
Directed by Pedro Almodovar
72. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
71. CousCous (2007)
Directed by Abdel Kechiche
70. Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
69. In The Loop (2009)
Directed by Armando Ianucci
68. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Directed by Michel Gondry
67. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Directed by Sam Raimi
66. Before Sunset (2004)
Directed by Richard Linklater
65. Zatoichi (2003)
Directed by Takeshi Kitano
64. Nightwatch (2004)
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
63. American Psycho (2000)
Directed by Mary Harron
62. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Directed by Larry Charles
61. Belleville Rendez-vous (2003)
Directed by Sylvain Chomet
60. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Directed by Adam McKay
59. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
58. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Directed by Edgar Wright
57. Dean Man's Shoes (2004)
Directed by Shane Meadows
56. A Serious Man (2009)
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
55. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
54. Lost in Translation (2003)
Directed by Sophia Coppola
53. The Descent (2005)
Directed by Neil Marhsall
52. Control (2007)
Directed by Anton Corbijn
51. Gomorrah (2008)
Directed by Matteo Garrone
50. Spellbound (2002)
Directed by Jeffery Bitz
49. Traffic (2000)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
48. Team America: World Police (2004)
Directed by Trey Parker
47. The Incredibles (2004)
Directed by Brad Bird
46. The Proposition (2005)
Directed by John Hillcoat
45. Audition (2001)
Directed by Takeshi Miike
44. Hunger (2008)
Directed by Steve McQueen
43. Amelie (2001)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
42. Far From Heaven (2002)
Directed by Todd Haynes
41. Amores Perros (2000)
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
40. Ratatouille (2007)
Directed by Brad Bird
39. Infernal Affairs (2002)
Directed by Andrew Lau & Alan Mak
38. Memento (2000)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
37. You, The Living (2007)
Directed by Roy Andersson
36. Etre et avoir (2002)
Directed by Nicolas Philibert
35. United 93 (2006)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
34. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Directed by Andrew Dominik
33. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2007)
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones
32. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Directed by Lars von Trier
31. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Directed by Andrew Jarecki
30. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)
Directed by Errol Morris
29. City of God (2002)
Directed by Fernando Meirelles
28. O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
27. A History of Violence (2005)
Directed by David Cronenberg
26. WALL - E (2008)
Directed by Andrew Stanton
25. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
Directed by Cristian Mungiu
24. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Directed by Ang Lee
23. Donnie Darko (2001)
Directed by Richard Kelly
22. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
21. Together (2000)
Directed by Lukas Moodysson
20. Let The Right One In (2009)
Directed by Thomas Alfredson
19. Oldboy (2003)
Directed by Park Chan Wook
18. Dogville (2003)
Directed by Lars von Trier
17. There Will Be Blood (2007)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
16. The Hurt Locker (2009)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
15. Grizzly Man (2005)
Directed by Werner Herzog
14. Downfall (2004)
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
13. In The Mood For Love (2000)
Directed by Wong Kar Wai
12. Gosford Park (2001)
Directed by Robert Altman
11. INLAND EMPIRE (2006)
Directed by David Lynch

10. Zodiac (2007)
Directed by David Fincher













9. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Directed by Ang Lee















8. Hidden (2005)
Directed by Michael Haneke












7. The New World (2005)
Directed by Terence Malick














6. Mulholland Drive (2001)
Directed by David Lynch














5. The White Ribbon (2009)
Directed by Michael Haneke















4. No Country For Old Men (2007)
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen













3. The Lives of Others (2006)
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck














2. Spirited Away (2001)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki












1. The Lord of the Rings (2001 - 2003)
Directed by Peter Jackson



First things first, The Lord of the Rings may have been released theatrically in three parts, but to count each film individually is to overlook the actual story, the achievement and manner in which Jackson and his crew went about shooting the trilogy, and also Tolkien's original vision. The Lord of the Rings is one story, broken into three parts simply because of how big the story is. To separate it would undermine Jacksons achievement.
The Lord of the Rings is quite simply one of, if not the finest achievement in cinematic history. To take one of the great works of modern fiction, and translate it so effectively, and so comprehensively to the big screen is one thing, but to completely realise this world, make it feel inhabited, and find a cast of actors who can handle the dialogue without it feeling confusing or convoluted is something else.
The technological advancements Jackson achieved are also magnificent, from the Mumakil, to Gollum, the CGI to the model work, everything and everyone on The Lord of the Rings were on the top of their game, and the film stands as one of those rare instances where all the elements came together perfectly. The Lord of the Rings is not only the best film of the decade but one of the finest works of cinema ever.





In closing....





So in many ways the Noughties has been a dissapointment. A lot of great filmmakers have begun a slow decent whilst potential greats have failed to step up to fill the void left by the old masters. The death of masters Bergman and Antonioni was greeted with statements about the death of cinema. Certainly no filmmaker today as achieved the global reputation of these two, but cinema has been worse, and as these 100 films, and all the great films which I failed to see, have demostrated that amongst the mediocrity exists genuine films to cherish, and although Hollywood seems to be moving more and more into franchises and remakes, there are still hard working filmmakers looking to push the boundaries and definitions of the art form, and that is a reason to be optimistic into the next decade.





Over the past ten years I have aged from 16 to 26, and have developed my appreciation and understanding cinema. These films represent what I consider they pinnacle of achievement over the past decade. I look forward to looking back in ten years time to see if these films are still has powerful, vibrant, relevant and engrossing as they are now.