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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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      “I caught The Hurt Locker again last night. What a great film. Kathryn Bigelow is probably the most deserving of the nominees. I think if Cameron does pull off the upset, I don’t think sexism will be the problem. I think box office receipts and a concern with AMPAS trying to be “relevant” with the general public will be the actual result. Which brings me to this issue:

      I do not understand why some critics out there think that the Academy should pick films that are more mainstream? I heard a commentator the other day saying that the 2008 (No Country for Old Men) ceremony was one of the most boring telecasts in the Academy’s history. Yes, it had their lowest ratings ever. But even if this makes me come off as snobbish, that explanation is a bunch of horseshit. 2007 was a great year in movies, and if LCD (lowest common denominator) critics and audiences don’t like it, tough.

      Since I consider myself a film buff, it doesn’t bother me when the Academy pick films that general audiences may have a problem with. Let us be honest, your average film goer usually does not have the greatest taste in the world. And “difficult” films are usually more profound and original.

      On a side note, I finally got around to seeing Julie & Julia this morning. Meryl Streep SHOULD NOT win the Oscar this year. That performance was ok, but not her greatest. Her performance in Doubt was a lot better. Mulligan and Sidibe should be the two actresses vying for the award, but that certainly is not the case. Honestly, I think I will be disappointed if Streep or Bullock win this year. Neither performance was that spectacular, in relation to the competition.”
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      Art Directors Guild Nominees*
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      American Cinematographers Society*
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      BAFTA Nominations*


      Best Picture
      The Hurt Locker*+++**+++******
      Avatar*+********
      Inglourious Basterds***+****
      Up in the Air+*+*******
      Precious******
      District 9*****
      A Serious Man*****
      An Education*****
      Up****
      The Blind Side

      Best Actor
      Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart++++*
      George Clooney, Up in the Air+*++***
      Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker**+*
      Colin Firth, A Single Man****
      Morgan Freeman, Invictus+***

      Best Actress
      Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side+++
      Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia++++**
      Carey Mulligan, An Education+****
      Gabby Sidibe, Precious****
      Helen Mirren, The Last Station**

      Best Supporting Actor
      Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds+++++++*
      Woody Harrelson,The Messenger+***
      Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones****
      Matt Damon, Invictus***
      Christopher Plummer, The Last Station*

      Best Supporting Actress
      Mo'Nique, Precious+*+++++*
      Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air+****
      Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air****
      Penelope Cruz, Nine**
      Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart

      Best Director
      Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker++++*++*
      Jim Cameron, Avatar*+**
      Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds****
      Jason Reitman, Up in the Air***
      Lee Daniels, Precious**

      Best Original Screenplay
      Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds+*
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man+*+*
      Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker***
      Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Up*
      Oren Moverman, The Messenger

      Best Adapted Screenplay
      Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air+++++*
      Armando Iannucci, In the Loop+
      Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious**
      Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell, District 9**
      Nick Hornby, An Education*

      Best Editing

      Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron, Avatar+**
      Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker***
      Julian Clarke, District 9**
      Joe Klotz, Precious
      Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds**

      Best Cinematography
      Mauro Fiore, Avatar+**
      Christian Berger, White Ribbon+++*
      Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker***
      Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds***
      Bruno Delbonnel, Harry Potter

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      Avatar+**
      Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus*
      Nine*
      Sherlock Holmes
      The Young Victoria

      Best Sound Mixing

      Avatar+**
      The Hurt Locker***
      Star Trek* **
      Inglourious Basterds
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen*

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      Avatar
      The Hurt Locker
      Up
      Star Trek
      Inglourious Basterds

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      Janet Patterson, Bright Star**
      Colleen Atwood, Nine*
      Monique Prudhomme, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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      Michael Giacchino, Up+*
      Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, The Hurt Locker!
      James Horner, Avatar*
      Alexandre Desplat, The Fantastic Mr. Fox
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      A Prophet, France+*
      The White Ribbon, Germany**
      El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina
      Ajami, Israel
      The Milk of Sorrow, Pru


      Best Documentary Feature

      The Cove++**+
      Food, Inc.**
      The Beaches of Agnes++*
      Burma VJ*
      The Most Dangerous Man in America
      Which Way Home


      Best Animated Feature
      Up+++**
      The Fantastic Mr. Fox+*+***
      Coraline****
      The Princess and the Frog***
      The Secret of Kells

      Best Visual Effects

      Avatar+*
      District 9* *
      Star Trek**

      Best Makeup

      The Young Victoria**
      Star Trek*

      Il Divo*


      Best Song
      The Weary Kind – T Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham, Crazy Heart ++
      Down in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog
      Almost There – Randy Newman, The Princess And The Frog***
      Loin de Paname, Paris 36

      Best Live Action Short
      The Door
      Instead of Abracadabra
      Kavi
      Miracle Fish
      The New Tenants


      Best Animated Short
      French Roast
      Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
      The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
      Logorama
      A Matter of Loaf and Death


      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
      Music by Prudence
      Rabbit a la Berlin