I have been hooked on movies for as long as I can remember. So how does one become addicted to movies? In my case I will blame my grandmother and my father. My grandmother was the first bad influence on me. She would take me to nearly every Disney release. As a pre-teen I was under the impression that Gus (the football kicking mule movie) and The Apple Dumpling Gang movies were the pinnacle of movie making.
My Disney bubble started to burst in the mid 1970s. All my friends stopped talking about the latest Disney re-release. Instead movies like Jaws, Rocky and Saturday Night Fever were the talk of my school. Talking animals got replaced by naked women swimming in the ocean, bloody boxing matches, and sex dancing. I only heard about the new movies as my parents would not take me to these new blockbusters as I was not old enough to understand them. My parents did allow me to see some of the blockbusters in the late 1970s. Star Wars, Grease and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were now my new classics.
On June 12th 1981 my young eyes were really opened. On that Friday morning, my father told me we were going to see a movie that was opening that I had never heard of before. My father could tell that I was not really interested. So he tried to get me excited about the movie. He said “I know you have not heard of this movie, but the guy that made Star Wars and the guy that made Close Encounters got together and made this movie, it is supposed to be pretty good.” So we got ready and headed to an early afternoon showing of this movie. When Raiders of the Lost Ark ended, I was convinced I had just seen the greatest movie ever made. I went back that night to watch the movie a second time with some of my friends. Watching it the second time I really paid attention to the opening credits. Starring Harrison Ford (hey that’s Han Solo), story by George Lucas, and directed by Steven Spielberg. I went to bed that night thinking, there is lots to learn about movies.
Shortly after Raiders of the Lost Ark opened, I started keeping a notebook of every movie I watched. I would rank the movies on a 0 to 4 scale, just like Roger Ebert did with his reviews. At the end of each year I would count the movies that I watched during the year. My peak movie watching years were 1986 (201 movies), 1987 (210 movies) and 1988 (275 movies). At the end of 1988, I felt I was a movie expert and needed to have my very own Top 50 of all-time. So I went through my notebook and found my 50 highest rated movies. I then listed them out on a piece of paper and put them in front of my movie notebook. By 1991 the notebook went into storage as I got married and started having children and watching movies became much more difficult to do. The notebook has come out of storage since I started writing movie hubs on HubPages. Recently I was checking out my 1988 Top 50 Movies of All-Time….and the first question I came up with was….what drugs was I taking when I came up with the movies for this list? So here you go…a Top 50 Film list from a very confused young man 26 years ago.
My 1988 Top 50 Movies Of All-Time
1. All The President’s Men (1976)…we are off to a good start as this Robert Redford/Dustin Hoffman film is indeed a classic movie. This story of Washington Post reporters breaking the Watergate case is a thrilling movie even if we know how it ends.
2. Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)…ouch what was I thinking? This movie is about a little league baseball player who refuses to play baseball until all nuclear arms are dismantled. I rewatched it a few years ago and could not believe how bad it was….although I did like Gregory Peck as the President.
3. American Flyers (1985)….a bike racing movie starring Kevin Costner….in the movie two brothers are in a bicycle race….throw in a deadly disease and Rae Dawn Chong and you get a decent movie but certainly not a Top 50 movie of all time.
4. The Breakfast Club (1985)….I was a senior in high school when this movie came out….a classic from 1985….now 35 years old The Breakfast Club is still a movie that people talk about on a regular basis. Still has a special place in my heart.
5. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)…this is one of the greatest westerns ever made….Paul Newman and Robert Redford made a great screen team….I have seen this movie probably close to 100 times…yet I can not seem to bring myself to watch it since Newman passed away.
6. Back to the Future (1985)….one of the biggest blockbuster of all-time…this movie can still entertain the younger generation….as my teenagers also enjoy this movie.
7. Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)…Steven Spielberg’s first movie dealing with aliens from outer space. Richard Dreyfuss is outstanding as the family man who gives up everything to find out the truth. There is an excellent Blu-Ray version out there..highly recommend it.
8. Color of Money (1986)….ok another one that would not make my Top 200 now….but at the time I thought it was a classic…Paul Newman won an Oscar® for the movie…plus you get a Martin Scorsese directed movie.
9. Cool Hand Luke (1967)….Paul Newman in another classic movie….no explanation required for this movie….although do I admit I missed all the Jesus imagery for years and years.
10. Die Hard (1988)….considered the best action film of all-time…..when it first came out the story was so new and exciting…now 32 years later it has been copied so many times…people are forgetting where it came from originally.
11. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)…this comedy starring Steve Martin and Sir Micheal Caine is one of my favorite comedies….a great story and Caine and Martin make a great team….although I will admit I had it ranked too high in 1988.
12. E.T. The Extra Terrestial (1982)…another blockbuster movie from Steven Spielberg…it is a great movie…but not one I watch on a regular basis…..would not make my current Top 50 list.
13. Excalibur (1981)….one of the best movies about the King Arthur legend….you have to watch this movie on Blu-Ray…..all the DVDs of this movie are horrible quality…I still think this is a great movie but now think the final third of the movie seems to drag….but the first 2/3 of the movie are still great.
14. Fail Safe (1964)….I know everybody thinks Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove is the best “humans will blow the world up movie” but I like this one more….this movie has very little humor… but the scenes with Henry Fonda as the President are awesome.
15. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)…the movie that made Clint Eastwood a star….I think it is still a good movie…but my opinion of this movie has fallen over the years…a solid but not great movie. It has been replaced with Clint’s third spaghetti western…The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
16. 48 Hours (1982)….I must have watched this movie at least 50 times when I was high school…the movie had action and comedy…another good movie that would not make my new Top 50 list.
17. From the Hip (1987)…..ok I admit I was a huge Judd Nelson fan back then….I saw this movie at the theater a few times and the audience reaction was awesome….some of the biggest laughs I have ever heard in a theater.
18. The Getaway (1972)….this is the great Steve McQueen/Ali McGraw version and not the Alec Baldwin/Kim Basinger version…..McQueen is awesome as master criminal dealing with guilt issues about how he got out of jail……a good but not great movie.
19. Ghostbusters (1984)….another blockbuster from the 1980s….hard to believe that it was over 35 years ago that this blockbuster made it to theaters. Still a quality movie and currently one of my 5 year olds favorite movies.
20. The Great Escape (1963)….another movie that would make it on my new list of greatest films ever…..I love this movie…..what a cast….what great scenes…..and based on a true story….everything you want in a movie.
21. High Plains Drifter (1973)….in case you can not tell….I was and am a huge fan of Clint Eastwood….when John Wayne saw this movie he was amazed how different western heroes had become….a solid but not great western.
22. House of Games (1987)….the first time I saw this twisting and turning movie I was blown away…so it earned a spot on the list back in 1988…..after a second viewing many years later I did not even like the movie. The power of David Mamet.
23. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)….one of the few classic movies to make the list….but I thought and still do think this is one of the best movies ever made…..James Stewart in one of his better roles….and look…. it is almost time to watch the movie again.
24. Loophole (1980)….a bank robbery movie starring Albert Finney and Martin Sheen…this small budget film from England never even got released in the United States….but it is a solid little movie…but not worthy of a spot on an All-Time best list.
25. The Maltese Falcon (1941)…. the only movie from the 1940 decade to make the list….this was and still is a great movie…Humphrey Bogart creates a great screen character…the supporting cast of Sydney Greenstreet, Mary Astor and Peter Lorre gets better every year.
26. Mister Roberts (1955)….truly a great movie….what a cast….James Cagney, Henry Fonda, William Powell and Jack Lemmon….and directed by the great John Ford…..Lemmon won a much deserved Oscar® for playing Ensign Pulver.
27. Nothing In Common (1986)…..the first great dramatic performance from Tom Hanks…before this movie Hanks was only known as a comedic actor….this movie opened the door to more serious roles in the near future….Jackie Gleason is excellent ….a good movie that is no longer the pinnacle of Tom Hanks’ career.
28. No Way Out (1987)…..wow I really am not a huge fan of Kevin Costner…and yet here is his second movie on the list…..a great story with a twist ending….a very entertaining movie with strong help from Sean Young, Gene Hackman and Will Patton.
29. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)…the movie that made Richard Gere a superstar, got Debra Winger noticed and won Louis Gossett Jr. an Oscar®. Great soundtrack does not hide the fact that this movie has not aged very well.
30. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) ….one of the few films to win the big 5 Oscars®…..Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay….Jack Nicholson is very memorable in the lead role…one of the best movies ever made.
31. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)….my one movie from the entire 1930s to make the list…..and considering I was watching tons of Cary Grant movies during this time frame…it is surprising this is his only movie in the Top 50….now it still makes my Top Ten for Cary Grant but it would not break my Top 100 of greatest films ever.
32. Platoon (1985)…this is a great movie….I saw this in a packed theater….and it was a very intense movie…..I had thoughts of joining the military….this movie convinced me that was not the path I should take. Won Oscar® for Best Picture.
33. Porky’s (1981)…I know what you are thinking…”Porky’s are you crazy?”…I have seen hundreds of movies at the theater….and I have never ever heard laughter as loud as I heard for Porky’s…..the theater seemed to shake……that makes a lasting impression on a young man…Porky’s still has a special place in my heart…but would not make a new list of Top Movies.
34. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)…one of Woody Allen’s better comedies…in this one a character walks off a movie screen into real life….lots of subtle comedy….Michael Keaton was supposed to play the lead role…but Woody fired him and replaced him with Jeff Daniels.
35. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)….the movie that turned me into a movie junkie…..and still a great movie.
36. Rear Window (1954)….one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films and the only Hitchcock movie on the list….one of my favorites back in 1988 and still one of my favorites in 2011. Although I think my next list of great movies will also include North by Northwest.
37. Ruthless People (1986)…another movie that benefited from the fact that I had just recently seen the movie…..a solid comedy that was a big hit back in the 1980s….I watched it again a few years ago….and for some reason it does not seem as funny now.
38. Sleuth (1972)….this was and is a great movie to watch….Sir Michael Caine and Sir Laurence Olivier go head to head ….lots of twists and turns…and two great performances by two great actors….just please avoid the remake which also stars Caine.
39. Star Wars (1977)….the original and best Star Wars movie ever made…and now we can see the movie on Blu-Ray….my 5 year old watched Star Wars with me a couple weeks ago and it sucked her in as well. ..the sign of a great movie.
40. The Sting (1973)…the second teaming of Paul Newman and Robert Redford….this one won the Oscar® for Best Picture…too bad Newman and Redford could never find a third movie to make together.
41. Sixteen Candles (1984)….the second John Hughes movie to make the list…this one stars Molly Ringwald…remember when she was a huge star? one of the first movies for John and Joan Cusack. I would probably have to do a Top 1000 movies before I would choose this movie again.
42. Silverado (1985)….wow Kevin Costner’s third movie to make the list…maybe I am a Kevin Costner fan….this is a very good western with lots of great supporting roles for many great actors…another movie that would not make the new list.
43. The Terminator (1984) ….one of the greatest science fiction movies ever…..a story so good that almost 30 years later it is still producing television series and more sequels….Arnold was great as The Terminator….but I really liked Micheal Biehn as Kyle Reese.
44. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)….one of the greatest endings….Steve McQueen gets his third movie on the list….Faye Dunaway is stunning in the movie…..the remake with Pierce Brosnan is good but the original is better.
45. Tin Men (1987)….Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito star in this great comedy about dualing aluminum side salesmen….a wonderful movie that I love but probably not worthy of a Top 50 spot.
46. Wall Street (1987)…the movie that gave us “Greed is good”…as well as an Oscar® win for Michael Douglas….and you have to give the Sheens credit too….as Charlie and Martin do a great job playing father and son….I know not much of stretch for them.
47. Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)…a drama about a painter that gets into a horrible car accident….paralyzed for life he no longer wants to live…sounds like a fun movie….Richard Dreyfuss is excellent as the painter.
48. Willow (1988)….I was such a big fan of Ron Howard that I was willing to overlook some of the weaker parts of the movie…as time has gone by my opinion of Willow has gone from a great movie to a fun but almost average movie.
49. The World According To Garp (1982)…one of Robin Williams early films….based on a novel by John Irving ….Williams plays T.S. Garp in a very unusual movie….the downer of an ending has lowered it’s greatness factor.
50. The Year of the Dragon (1985)….Mickey Rourke stars as a police captain stuck in the middle of a Chinese mafia war….Rourke is outstanding in his role…I actually have only seen this movie one time.
Looking at my list I can see that I did not have the ability to really consider older movies. 32 of the 50 I picked where from the 1980’s…and the1980s were not even over yet. 8 came from the 1970s, 5 came from the 1960s, meaning only 5 movies came before 1959. Two were from the the 1950s and the 1940s…while the entire decade of the 1930s only got one movie. Since my first Top 50 list is now 23 years old…. I now feel motivated to do an updated list. So you can look forward to hopefully a better Top 50 Films of All-Time list in the not so distant future.
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Even if this list was now compiled more than 27 years old Cogerson, it still has some great stuff contained within it. Nothing wrong with your movie preferences back then!
I can certainly understand the impact that ‘Raiders’ made on you. And glad to see ‘Star Wars’, ‘The Terminator’, ‘Die Hard’ and the Paul Newman / Robert Redford collaborations on the list. And particularly ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ -a sometimes overlooked comedy, and a brilliant pairing between Michael Caine and Steve Martin. Glad also to see that even back then you were appreciating the quality of older films like ‘Rear Window’, and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.
But I notice there’s no place for ‘Chariots of Fire’ – the film which beat ‘Raiders’ to the Oscar?? 🙂
Hope you are well, Cogerson and best wishes. I have just found your new site and will have to check it out. Your contributions to HubPages were always welcomed and enthusiatically read. Alun
Thanks Alun. Raiders will always have a special place for me….not just the movie…but how it opened my eyes to the world of movies. Star Wars, The Terminator, The Sting, Butch and Sundance and Die Hard seemed like classics then….and years late classic status has rightly been put on them.
Hitchcock is the master for sure…and even a punk kid back then could see it….funny line about Chariots of Fire….I wonder how many movies I would have to list before I got to Chariots….probably about 25,000. Glad you found my new site. Really appreciate the visit and the comment.
I was born in 1987, and even I have fond memories of at least half of these movies 🙂
Hey cfin…..glad to hear that….even the ones I know are not so good now….still have pleasant memories for me too.
….The Toy Story avatar caught my eye – one of my favorite movies – and it made me cry – a young guy at work was making fun of me for saying that (he’s young enough to be my son) and I said when you get older (ironic context for essentially is what is a children’s movie) you will understand why ……
but yes I have been called ‘da man’ here at the Hub – but I think when it comes to the movies you are ‘da man’ – your movie pages are always so well researched and what comes through the most is your ‘labor of love’ and enthusiasm – GOD BLESS COGERSON!!!!
lake erie time 5:04am
Hey epigramman…I am glad my new avatar caught your eye. I think the end of Toy Story 3 has more than a few people getting teary eyed at the end….I think only older wiser people get the meaning of time passing and how those times will only come back in our memories….I think there is enough room for more that one “da man” here on hub pages…thanks for the compliment.
I so enjoy your movie pagess and this one was a very cool idea. for some reason, I find that Rear Window is the perfect movie. When I watch it, I notice that every single shot would make a perfect still picture. The limited set, only in that one room, and the way the suspense is built, the way that the viewer changes how we feel about the Grace Kelly character, the sillyness that moves into real fear…I could go on and on.
Hey Dolores…thanks for checking out this list from 1988….the good thing is I thought Rear Window was a classic back in the 1980s….and I still think it is a classic in the 2010s. I agree with all of your points about Rear Window…one of Hitchcock’s greatest movies.
i am not a good critic of movies. i like movies with a good plot that entertain me. the 50’s and the 60’s were the best movie years. maybe that’s because i was young and unemcumbered and had time to go the movies. i liked walt disney movies the best. i will agree with you that in the 70’s they went down in quality. i think after walt died in 65 they lost their imagination.
i also remember movies like “ryan’s express” “to kill a mockingbird” the 1st “ocean’s 11” all the doris day movies ( icouldn’t watch them for a long time after i found out rock hudson was gay) i can watch them now so i guess you will be able to watch butch cassidy at some point.
your 5 year old is not ready for the great escape.
see you friday.
Hey mimic….thanks for stopping by and checking out this hub from my past…I think it would be real interesting to see a list of your top movies…especially if it was something you wrote back in the 1950s or 1960s.
I agree Disney has not been the same since Walt passed away. I like all the movies you mention from the 1960s…as for Doris Day movies….it is hard to buy Rock as the swinging ladies man from those movies….although my mom still buys he in those roles. As for Butch Cassidy…I figure one day I will be flipping through the tv channels and I will stumble across that classic movie…and that will break my mini boycott…lol. As for Samantha…I think she is ready for Cary Grant’s Father Goose….it will be her first movie from the 1960s….although she has discovered The Wizard of Oz. Thanks for the comments….see you in a few days.