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Times’ 100 Greatest Films of the Decade

Posted by Sasha Stone On November - 8 - 2009

The list is alive! From the Times Online, UK.  This is a very Brit-centric list — it’s therefore laughable, really, but hey – we take what we can get this time of year.

Here are the only two of this year’s Oscar contenders to make the list:

In the Loop – 81
The Hurt Locker – 72

More interesting placements after the cut.

Crash – 98.
There Will Be Blood – 63
Milk – 53
Little Miss Sunshine – 48
The Dark Knight – 43
Lost in Translation – 39
Mulholland Drive – 38
Gladiator – 32
Diving Bell – 28
Sideways – 27
28 Days Later – 24
Far From Heaven – 23
Good Night and Good Luck – 21
United 93 – 19
Brokeback Mountain – 17
Eternal Sunshine – 16
Downfall – 15
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – 14
This is England – 13
The Lives of Others – 12
Borat – 11 (And list becomes completely ridiculous)
Hunger – 10
The Queen – 9
Casino Royale – 8
The Last King of Scotland – 7
Slumdog Millionaire – 6
Team America: World Police – 5
Grizzly Man – 4
No Country for Old Men – 3
The Bourne Supremacy -2 (like Paul Greengrass much?)
Hidden – 1

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    42 Responses for "Times’ 100 Greatest Films of the Decade"

    1. B-rian November 8th, 2009 at 12:32 pm 1

      bahahahahah
      thank you for this.

    2. allen November 8th, 2009 at 12:33 pm 2

      interesting list, can’t argue with CACHE at #1

    3. Toshiba November 8th, 2009 at 12:52 pm 3

      They picked a “Lost Highway” homage for #1 film of the decade (even though “Cache” is truly great)? Thank goodness this decade is just about over.

      I also refuse to believe that “Gladiator” is a greater film than “Mulholland Drive”….which should be higher on the list.

    4. Joschi November 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm 4

      wow… Haneke’s recognition in the past weeks is amazing!

    5. Joschi November 8th, 2009 at 12:57 pm 5

      i hope the Academy join’s the Boat of “Haneke Love” :)

    6. Dan November 8th, 2009 at 1:32 pm 6

      Uh, this isn’t a bad list, certainly it isn’t “laughable”, probably better than many other lists, though it only recognizes the most popular non English language film, and Whale Rider and a host of great films are missing (Werckmeister Harmonies, e.g.) aren’t represented.

    7. Beau November 8th, 2009 at 1:33 pm 7

      Team America: #5?

      SERIOUSLY?

      And where is ‘Fellowship’?

    8. Craig November 8th, 2009 at 1:53 pm 8

      Return of the King all the way down at 50 killed it for me, especially since it was the only LotR film on the list. You have to combine those all for something like this anyway, because it really is one film.

      But yeah, I’d agree. Laughable list.

    9. Ryan Adams November 8th, 2009 at 1:55 pm 9

      Nice collection of titles, but whoever dropped all the index cards and gave them to the printer in random order should get their ass canned.

    10. Nick K. (and a talking fox) November 8th, 2009 at 2:04 pm 10

      The fact that Team America is even on this list, not to mention ahead of some amazing films, instantly casts this list as irrelevant in my opinion. I mean, come on Britain, are you trying to piss us off?

    11. Roy November 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm 11

      Everybody applauded Tarantino for being offbeat and “individual” for his list of the best films since 1992, which included Team America, but when the Brits do it, suddenly it’s laughable :P

      Just sayin’, not a fan of the movie myself…

    12. Kate Sgulp November 8th, 2009 at 2:28 pm 12

      Where is?
      - Moulin Rouge!
      - Amelie
      - Before Sunset
      - Wall- E
      - Kill Bill
      - Distric 9

    13. bambi November 8th, 2009 at 3:54 pm 13

      I expected them to suck up to LOTR and was pleasently surprised to see highly overrated ROTK at #50 (neither most satisfying of LOTR movies thanks to some embarrassing performances and bad editting nor its $1.1 bio worldwide is record-breaking…hello, Titanic) but very unpleasently surprised and absolutely pissed to see 21st century`s greatest masterpiece FOTR nowhere on the list. FOTR is the best movie of the decade with TDK at close second. I don`t care what Time says but that`s the way it is.

    14. Michael November 8th, 2009 at 4:27 pm 14

      A great #1.

    15. Scott November 8th, 2009 at 4:31 pm 15

      Gotta love the Milk Review:

      “Released, ironically, just as California passed the anti-gay-marriage bill Section 8.”

      Um, I think he meant to say “proposition”.

    16. Scott November 8th, 2009 at 4:38 pm 16

      Oh, and where the hell is American Beauty?

      I’m used to lists not including it, but this list had so many poor choices that… well, I think I just answered my own question.

    17. KarimAmir November 8th, 2009 at 4:54 pm 17

      I love seeing Team America so high on the list. Borat should have been higher. :)

    18. Jon November 8th, 2009 at 5:10 pm 18

      American Beauty was 1999.

      But as someone mentioned, where is “Kill Bill”? Also did I miss it or is “The Departed” not listed?

    19. Awsome November 8th, 2009 at 5:44 pm 19

      The Departed?
      The Pianist?
      Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?
      Tsotsi?

      And why is The Last King of Scotland in the Top 10?

    20. Manuel November 8th, 2009 at 6:14 pm 20

      The Departed is an awful remake. Slumdog Millionaire is such a bad movie!!

      But what about:
      Oldboy?
      Dogville?
      Infernal Affairs?
      2046?
      The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford?
      Heaven?
      Im not There?
      The Hours?
      Notes on a Scandal?
      Zodiac?
      Eastern Promises?
      A History of Violence?

    21. julius YEUNG November 8th, 2009 at 6:41 pm 21

      HIDDEN was a brilliant film but it doesn’t deserve the #1.

    22. julius November 8th, 2009 at 6:43 pm 22

      Infernal Affairs was great but it was too short.

      also, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was a great film

      its like saying Godfather sucks. well, not as good but still its a great movie

    23. Ken November 8th, 2009 at 6:57 pm 23

      This isn’t that bad of a list, it’s just not what you’d expect and my list would be a lot different.

    24. Nick K. (and a talking fox) November 8th, 2009 at 6:58 pm 24

      Dogville was pretentious shit as far as I’m concerned. I have no problems with it not being present.

    25. Dan November 8th, 2009 at 8:45 pm 25

      I agree that the lack of Fellowship of the Ring in the top 10 is glaring. And some of that list is just plain silly.

      And Bambi, for the last time, the editing of Return of the King is masterful. From the half-way mark until the last 20 minutes, it’s some of the best editing I’ve ever seen. I don’t think the editing of at the end warrants the label “bad editing” for the entire film.

    26. David Lindsey November 8th, 2009 at 8:18 pm 26

      Ok…so American Beauty is a 1999 film, right? Then, why is Being John Malkovich on the list. Released the same year….er….right?

    27. AdamA November 8th, 2009 at 8:27 pm 27

      There Will Be Blood in the 60s? That’s all I need to know.

    28. Ryan Adams November 8th, 2009 at 8:40 pm 28

      “Released, ironically, just as California passed the anti-gay-marriage bill Section 8.”
      Um, I think he meant to say “proposition”.

      Let’s be thankful he didn’t say “the anti-gay marriage 8th Commandment”

    29. Noah R. November 8th, 2009 at 8:45 pm 29

      Any list that recognizes the brilliance that is This is England is okay in my book. Also love the shout-outs to Irreversible and Chopper. Guess what, guys? It’s a subjective list. Not all of your favorites are going to make the cut. I applaud this list for having unusual and unexpected choices like Team America. How is this list laughable? It’s not like Guy Ritchie is all over the place. Shane Meadows, Paul Greengrass and Danny Boyle are all terrific British filmmakers.

    30. joseph~~ November 9th, 2009 at 3:27 am 30

      Can’t wait to be overwhelmed with end of the decade lists in the coming months! So much fun.
      For now, I guess we have to settle with the few early birds out there. I found this 50 best movies of the decade list from Paste Magazine. Don’t know what their reputation is like, but you can check it out here:

      http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/11/50-best-movies-of-the-decade-2000-2009.html

      Their top 10:
      10. The Royal Tenenbaums
      09. No Country for Old Men
      08. The Son
      07. Lost in Translation
      06. Beau Travail
      05. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
      04. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
      03. Almost Famous
      02. Amelie
      01. City of God

      Interestingly, In the Loop (#21) and Up (#14) are the only films from ‘09 to make the list.

      Personally, I like the mentions for the Squid and the Whale (#50 though) and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (#19), though I’m pretty sure we’ll see both on more lists in the future.

    31. Manuel November 9th, 2009 at 3:42 am 31

      http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/11/50-best-movies-of-the-decade-2000-2009.html

      Almost Famous, Lost in Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mine are the most overrated movies in this decade along with Gangs of New York, Chicago, A Beautiful Mind and The Departed.

      I really like the inclusion of Dogville, Elephant, Cache and A History of Violence. But I do miss Talk to her, In the mood for love, Under the sand, Das Leben der Anderen, Der Untergang, Let the right one in and Lilja 4-ever

    32. Chamboosy November 9th, 2009 at 5:54 am 32

      I’m just happy to see Lantana on there. Definitely a better film than Chopper (great film, but looking back a little too comical), but if only Times Online had seen Samson & Delilah first (or even Noise) then they’d have surely put that on the list.

      Really nice to see Irreversible on there though. Absolutely great film which I still struggle to recommend to people but the ending of it is one of the most heartbreaking endings I’ve ever seen.

      I really love the inclusion of Etre et Avoir though – definitely one of my wife and I’s favourite films (gotta love Jojo).

      Definitely do disagree with their complete top ten. Grizzly Man? No Country For Old Men? Team America? Bourne Ultimatum/Supremacy? It feels like they forgot that there’s ten years in a decade, not five.

      Also, Manuel, Let The Right One In is on the list at #18 which is a nice inclusion.

      Also, what the hell is Minority Report doing on there with no Munich? Ayooooomeeeah.

      Another thing that strikes me as interesting is how extreme this list is – Battle Royale, Me, You And Everyone We Know, Irreversible, The Piano Teacher, City Of God… And they do like their average comedy too – Anchorman, Team America, Knocked Up…

    33. Ana Pinheiro November 9th, 2009 at 6:40 am 33

      casino royale in 8th!? i mean, i know the movie is more than ok, but 8th best of the decade? i prefer the top 50 of paste mag!

    34. Ross November 9th, 2009 at 6:41 am 34

      I can’t understand the love for Slumdog Millionaire. When it premiered last year, I was okay with people rooting for the underdog, but now…. it’s among the top 10 films???? It’s way higher than stuff like Talk to Her, There Will Be Blood, Lost In Translation, Brokeback Mountain, The Lives of Others!!! Come on! This is getting ridiculous.

    35. bambi November 9th, 2009 at 7:28 am 35

      #25 “And Bambi, for the last time, the editing of Return of the King is masterful. From the half-way mark until the last 20 minutes, it’s some of the best editing I’ve ever seen. I don’t think the editing of at the end warrants the label “bad editing” for the entire film.”

      Dan, different strokes for different folks. I thought the movie really dragged after the corronation and it may be due to the fact that I seriously disliked Astin and Wood performances (the former being beyond irritating with his Oscar jack-off and the latter just plain dull with only one facial/eyes expression – scared). I`m absolutely not surprised that neither has a career after the trilogy, although I liked Wood in Sin City (he`s watchable when one doesn`t see his eyes and doesn`t hear his Perez Hilton-like voice). I also thought that editting during the big battle was shitty because of intercutting that was not timed well. Finally, they built up Christopher Lee as a major villain in two movies only to give no pay off in the third? Sorry, that was just bad and it isn`t like they didn`t have filler material that could`ve been cut off easily. The whole “love triangle” or whatever that boring shit was couldn`ve been flushed down the toilet since Viggo had ZERO chemistry with the women while both women had nothing interesting to do and their acting was total crapfest. No wonder Liv Tyler is mostly doing Givenchy ads after LOTR and the old one that tried to channel The Bride, lololol, totally disppeared into oblivion.

    36. Dominik November 9th, 2009 at 7:42 am 36

      “Hidden”? An ok movie.

      I haven´t made a list by myself, but “Pan´s Labyrinth”, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “In the Mood for Love” all deserve to be called “best of the decade”.

    37. chrisw November 9th, 2009 at 8:24 am 37

      Terrible list.

    38. XanderLJ November 9th, 2009 at 9:26 am 38

      Boy, Manuel, you have some seeeeriously shitty taste in movies! “Almost Famous”, “Eternal Sunshine”, and “The Departed” are three of the best films of the decade, ALL masterpieces, and Paste was ON THE MONEY to include them!

      And “Dogville” is one of the most sickeningly pretentious and pathetically unconvincing pieces of self-congratulatory shit ever cluelessly splattered on celluloid! It is EASILY not just the most overrated this decade (granted, it’s quite divisive, but the mere fact it has a strong group of support makes it ridiculously overrated), but the #1 decade worst film period…with a BULLET!

      You’re right about “Talk To Her”, but hey, we all know what they say about a broken clock.

    39. ElementaryJeeves November 9th, 2009 at 9:34 am 39

      Reading down the list i was getting ecxited seeing so many top notch movies. Stumbled a bit as i hit the sour notes starting at 11. Borat, Casino Royale, Team America and Bourne Supremacy among the top 11 movies of the Decade? I say let’s just read the list skipping these thrown in by the bad bad gremlin that lives in the times basement.

    40. Manuel November 9th, 2009 at 10:50 am 40

      Ross: I so agree with you on Slumdog Millionaire. Its a fine movie but common one of the best this decade? That`s comedy right there

      XanderLJ: Im one of those Infernal Affairs fanboys and watching The Departed made me sick and angry. The remake that won several Oscars is all wrong from A to Z. To me its like people telling me that Renee Zellweger is a much more versatile actress than Cate Blanchett.

      Almoust Famous get kudos for music and Billy Crudup.

      ESOTSM is a boring movie with brilliant acting from Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.

      I do respect your opinion on Dogville. Its not my fault that you cannot appreciate very good movies ;)

    41. Craig November 9th, 2009 at 11:11 am 41

      Bambi, ROTK drags in it’s third act and TDK doesn’t? What? TDK had the worst second half of any highly acclaimed movie I’ve ever seen, bar none. Too bad, since the first half is near perfect, but then everything goes out the window.

    42. Alison Flynn November 9th, 2009 at 1:36 pm 42

      Crash? Really?

      On the other hand there are some really great choices on there, like 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days.


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    • Contender Tracker

      Best Picture
      Up in the Air
      Nine
      The Hurt Locker
      An Education
      Precious: Based on the Novel
      Push by Sapphire

      A Serious Man
      Inglourious Basterds
      Up

      Julie & Julia
      Star Trek
      District 9
      Bright Star
      Where the Wild Things Are
      A Single Man

      Best Actor
      Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
      Colin Firth, A Single Man
      George Clooney, Up in the Air
      Matt Damon, The Informant!
      Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
      Viggo Mortensen, The Road
      Ben Foster, The Messenger
      Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
      Michael Sheen, The Damned United

      Best Actress
      Gabby Sidibe, Precious
      Carey Mulligan, An Education
      Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
      Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
      Helen Mirren, The Last Station
      Michelle Monaghan, Trucker

      Best Supporting Actor
      Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
      Alfred Molina, An Education
      Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
      Peter Sarsgaard, An Education
      Robert Duvall, Crazy Heart
      Peter Capaldi, In the Loop
      Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
      Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
      Brian Geraghty, The Hurt Locker

      Best Supporting Actress
      Mo'Nique,Precious
      Anna Kendrick,Up in the Air
      Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
      Julianne Moore, A Single Man
      Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
      Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
      Samantha Morton, The Messenger
      Emma Thompson, An Education
      Cara Seymour, An Education

      Best Director
      Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
      Lee Daniels, Precious
      Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
      Lone Scherfig, An Education
      Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
      Neill Blomkamp, District 9
      Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
      Tom Ford, A Single Man
      Jane Campion, Bright Star

      Best Original Screenplay
      Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
      Jane Campion, Bright Star
      Quentin Tarantino,Inglourious Basterds
      Michael Haneke,White Ribbon
      Bob Peterson, Pete Docter,Up
      Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer

      Best Adapted Screenplay
      Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
      Nick Hornby, An Education
      Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars, Where the Wild Things Are
      Peter Morgan, The Damned United
      Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
      Scott Burns, The Informant!
      Tom Ford, A Single Man

      Best Editing

      Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker
      Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds
      Dana E. Glauberman,, Up in the Air
      Joel and Ethan Coen,, A Serious Man

      Best Cinematography
      Greig Fraser,Bright Star
      Robert Richardson,Inglourious Basterds
      Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
      Christian Berger, White Ribbon
      Bruno Delbonnel,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker

      Best Art Direction

      Where the Wild Things Are
      Julie & Julia
      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Bright Star
      Inglourious Basterds
      White Ribbon
      District 9
      A Serious Man

      Best Sound Mixing

      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      District 9
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
      The Hurt Locker
      Star Trek

      Best Sound Editing

      District 9
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
      Star Trek
      Up

      Best Costume Design
      Janet Patterson, Bright Star
      Jany Temime,Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
      Anna B. Sheppard,Inglourious Basterds
      Mary Zophre, A Serious Man
      Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
      Consolata Boyle,Cheri

      Best Original Score
      Carter Burwell, Karen O,Where the Wild Things Are
      Carter Burwell,A Serious Man
      Michael Giacchino,Up
      Alexandre Desplat, Cheri
      Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies

      Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)

      Letters from Father Jacob, Finland
      White Wedding, South Africa
      A Prophet, France
      Dawson, Isla 10, Chile
      Nobody to Watch Over Me, Japan
      Prince of Tears, Hong Kong
      No puedo vivir sin ti, Taiwan
      Kelin, Kazakhstan
      Mother, Korea
      The White Ribbon, Germany
      Silent Army, The Netherlands


      Best Documentary Feature

      The Beaches of Agnes
      Burma VJ
      The Cove
      Every Little Step
      Facing Ali
      Food, Inc.
      Garbage Dreams
      Living in Emergency
      The Most Dangerous Man in America
      Mugabe and the White African
      Sergio
      Soundtrack for a Revolution
      Under Our Skin
      Valentino
      Which Way Home


      Best Animated Feature
      Up
      The Princess and the Frog
      Coraline
      The Fantastic Mr. Fox
      A Christmas Carol
      Mary and Max
      Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
      Ponyo


      Best Visual Effects
      Star Trek
      District 9
      A Christmas Carol
      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Transformers


      Best Makeup

      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      District 9

      Best Song

      Best Live Action Short

      Best Animated Short

      Best Documentary Short

      China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
      The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
      The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
      Lt. Watada
      Music by Prudence
      Rabbit a la Berlin
      Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
      Woman Rebel

    • Ampas Breakdown

      Actors-1,222
      Producers-462
      Executives-436
      Sound-411
      Writers-388
      Art Directors-373
      Directors-375
      Public Relations-370
      Members at Large-254
      Shorts/Feature Ani-335
      Visual Effects-272
      Music-233
      Editors-227
      Cinematographers-197
      Documentary-145
      Makeup-115
      Total Voting Members -approx 6,000
    • Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due

      Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed

      Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

      Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

      Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed

      Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon

      Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

      Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

      Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation