As I’ve said many times now, I work as a substitute teacher. But I’m only called in to work an average of 3 to 6 days a month. This leaves me A LOT of free time. I also recently got a DVR, which allows me to tape TCM (the best channel in the world) while I’m sleeping. So now it doesn’t matter when a film is being shown, if I want to watch it odds are I’ll watch it. Which brings me to my whopping new-to-me count for January. 111. Triple digits in one month. I’m pretty sure I’ve had some years where I didn’t even watch that many films in twelve months. I just really love film, okay? And I would love to watch every movie ever made. Well, maybe not every movie, but lots anyhow. After the cut I’ll post the entire list, as well as point out a few new favorites and do a breakdown by decade (spoiler alert: it’s mostly pre-70s films).

1. A Day At The Races
2. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
3. Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot The Piano Player)
4. In & Out
5. Manhattan
6. Shadows and Fog
7. Johnny Belinda
8. Stage Fright (1950)
9. Crimes and Misdemeanors
10. Interiors
11. Bananas
12. What’s Up, Tiger Lily?
13. 127 Hours
14. Pennies From Heaven (1981)
15. Broadway Danny Rose
16. The Producers (1968)
17. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
18. The Fugitive (1993)
19. Somebody Up There Likes Me
20. Calendar Girls
21. Another Woman
22. Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)
23. Whatever Works
24. Room At The Top
25. Play It Again, Sam
26. Alice
27. Love and Death
28. The Good Earth (1937)
29. Of Human Bondage (1934)
30. Dramatic School
31. Letter From An Unknown Woman
32. Only Two Can Play
33. The Millionairess
34. Brief Encounter (1945)
35. The Bobo
36. After The Fox
37. The Hustler
38. The Cameraman
39. It’s A Wonderful World (1939)
40. You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
41. TRON: Legacy
42. Missing
43. I Want To Live!
44. I’m No Angel
45. Deconstructing Harry
46. The King’s Speech
47. Still of the Night
48. Friendly Persuasion (1956)
49. Blue Valentine
50. Sylvia Scarlett
51. The Toast of New York
52. Gunga Din
53. Only Angels Have Wings
54. Night and Day (1946)
55. High Sierra
56. Love Affair (1939)
57. Go West (1925)
58. Love Affair (1932)
59. This Sporting Life
60. The Fountainhead (1949)
61. It’s A Great Feeling
62. The Subject Was Roses
63. Murder By Death
64. No Other Woman (1933)
65. Humoresque (1946)
66. City Streets
67. Little Caesar
68. The Mayor of Hell
69. The Bad Seed (1956)
70. Le Mans
71. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
72. The Sea Hawk (1940)
73. The Uninvited (1944)
74. September Affair
75. Knute Rockne All American
76. Broken Blossoms (1919)
77. Page Miss Glory
78. Black Narcissus
79. Lost Horizon (1937)
80. Tide of Empire
81. Baby Face (1933)
82. Bordertown (1935)
83. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
84. The Member of the Wedding
85. Reflections In A Golden Eye
86. Topper
87. Sleuth (1972)
88. Lucky Jordan
89. The Snows of Kilimanjaro
90. The Color of Money
91. Since You Went Away
92. Chain Lightning (1950)
93. Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (aka Man in a Cocked Hat)
94. Ninotchka
95. The Petrified Forest
96. To Be or Not to Be
97. The Merry Widow (1934)
98. The Happy Years
99. Night of the Lepus
100. Ministry of Fear
101. Vampire’s Kiss
102. Little Big Man
103. Bad Day At Black Rock
104. A Foreign Affair
105. Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora’s Box)
106. Die 3-Groschen-Oper (The Threepenny Opera)
107. A Modern Hero
108. Life At The Top
109. The Dirty Dozen
110. The Wild Bunch
111. Lust For Life

1910s: 1
1920s: 4
1930s: 24
1940s: 20
1950s: 13
1960s: 17
1970s: 11
1980s: 8
1990s: 5
2000s: 4
2010s: 4

So after all this viewing what have I got to say? There are just so many great films that have been made (and are being made!) it’s kind of overwhelming sometimes. For every film I watch that I love, I discover five more that I just have to watch. This has resulted in many an hour of anxiety over my inability to watch films 24/7 (though, I seem to have come damn close, eh?) I have, however, managed to pick five favorites. These are films that I not only love, but think just about everyone would love. I’m going to post them in the order that I watched them.

Play It Again, Sam, 1972 (dir. Herbert Ross)

As you may have noticed, I’ve been trying to watch all of the films on Woody Allen’s directorial filmography. This has slowed a bit, as I’ve now seen all of his films that are available on Instant Netflix. While watching his films I also watched this Herbert Ross film that, while not directed by Allen, was written by him (adapted from a stage play he wrote and performed on Broadway), as well as partners him with Diane Keaton. This movie is great for classic film fans (especially Casablanca fans), as well as people who really love Woody Allen’s neurotic film persona (it’s maybe the most neurotic performance of all).

Brief Encounter, 1945 (dir. David Lean)

I’ve heard this called the British Casablanca, and while I might not agree with that 100% I will say this is a top-notch romance. And a helplessly impossible one at that. It boasts stand-out performances from its leads, Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson (who was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award). As far as I know both this film and Play It Again, Sam are still available on Instant Netflix, so I highly recommend you watch them if you haven’t yet.

The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942 (dir. Orson Welles)

Like I said in my Oscar Vault Monday post this week, this film is not available on DVD. This is a major bummer. Such a fabulous film and so largely forgotten. As it turns out, though, TCM is showing the film on April 28th, so be sure to set up your DVR to record it because I promise you, you won’t want to miss it.

Sleuth, 1972 (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

Another film that’s not on DVD. Actually, it is on DVD, it’s just out of print and apparently everyone who has a copy refuses to sell it for less than $50. If you’re crafty, you can find this film through other means. Or you can suggest to TCM that they add it to their schedule. This was two-time Oscar-winning director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s last film, and boy what a film it is. The entire cast of the film consists of (Lord) Laurence Olivier and (Sir) Michael Caine going head-to-head in a game of cat-and-mouse. Soooo many hyphens. Anyway, it is the most fun I have ever seen Olivier and some of the most intensity I’ve ever seen out of Caine. Wonderful film.

The Petrified Forest, 1936 (dir. Archie Mayo)

This is the film that launched Humphrey Bogart from bit player to A-lister and continued Bette Davis’ reign as the queen of the silver screen, but what I love the most about it is Leslie Howard. I’ve been a fan of Howard’s for many years now, but somehow never managed to see this film (I think it was in my Netflix queue for about 4 years). Well, I finally got around to seeing it and it was everything I wanted it to be and more. It’s a great thriller, yes, but it’s also a romance, a little bit of a western, has elements of feminism and is even quite humorous throughout. I think of all of these films, this is the one I am most definitely buying on DVD once I scrape a little money together.

So that brings us today, the first day of another month: February. I’ve already watched four films and have plans for one more before the night is over. I blame TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar, which started today. I’ll check back in with my count for February next month. Here’s to all us cinephiles! I’ll keep watching and you keep watching, okay?