Ten is the Loneliest Number

I just watched the movie “The Imitation Game” and gave it my personal rating of 10 stars out of 10. I’m really stingy with 10-star ratings, so I wondered how many films I have given that elusive rating.

I’ve been tracking all the films I’ve seen since November 1994 (when I met the man who would become my spouse). In that period, I’ve seen 2552 movies. Out of those, I’ve given only 39 movies a rating of 10 stars (that’s .015%). 

The oldest film is from 1927; the most recent is from 2014. There are some from other countries (England has four; Germany has two), some are animated, and many are in black and white -- with a couple silent films thrown in. Many of the films are from the old Hollywood movie-studio system, but some are from outside the studio system. (“Citizen Kane” is absent from this list because, even though I have seen the film many times, I have not seen in since I started tracking my films. I’ll have to address that.)

Here is the list (in alphabetical order):

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)                   

All About Eve (1950)                                  

All the President's Men (1976)                     

Argo (2012)                                             

Bambi (1942)                                           

Capote (2005)                                          

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)             

Double Indemnity (1944)                            

Drive (2011)                                            

The English Patient (1996)                          

Fa yeung nin wa (In the Mood for Love, from Hong Kong) (2000)        

Fail Safe (1964)                                       

The Imitation Game (England) (2014)           

Inception (2010)                                       

Iris (England) (2001)                                 

Jaws (1975)                                             

L.A. Confidential (1997)                             

The Last Emperor (1987)                           

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)                         

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others, from Germany) (2006)   

Man with the Movie Camera (Soviet Union) (1929)   

Mildred Pierce (1945)                                 

Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke, from Japan) (1997)         

Network (1976)                                        

Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker (Festival of the Nations, from Germany) (1938)      

Ordinary People (1980)                              

Original Cast Album - Company (the making of the cast album) (1970) 

Le Peuple Migrateur (Winged Migration, from France) (2001)     

Rebecca (1940)                                        

Singin' in the Rain (1952)                           

Sunset Boulevard (1950)                            

Temple Grandin (2010)                              

Toy Story (1995)                                      

Vera Drake (England) (2004)                      

Wallace and Gromit Curse of the WereRabbit (England) (2005)

Wall-E (2008)                                           

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)          

Wings (1927)                                           

Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, from Taiwan) (2000)