These are lists of our personal favorite films. They are not lists of what we think are the greatest 100 films ever made, although many of these films would be on those lists.

These are the movies that made us film fans, that shaped who we are, helped define our philosophies and values, made indelible impressions on us and we've seen multiple times and never tire of watching.

We should have known we were destined for each other since Mary and I both saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" at least a half dozen times almost five years before we met.

Jerry's Picks

Mary's Picks

My list is arranged in descending order, starting with my favorite films. I've tended toward films you might not have heard of or seen rather than concentrating on Oscar winners or bid-budget, lavish Hollywood productions, although I've picked some of those and didn't eliminate any films because they were honored, glossy or financially successful. My taste runs toward the independent, offbeat and the darkside, when life is on the downbeat and out of balance. These films contain my all-time favorite scenes -- patriots singing the French national anthem in "Casablanca," the bone transforming into a space ship in "2001," the opening bank robbery in "The Wild Bunch," the helicopter assault in "Apocalypse Now," inside the Krel machinery on the "Forbidden Planet" and Gloria Swanson descending the stairs in "Sunset Boulevard." A few directors stand out on my list, particularly John Sayles, Martin Scorsese in the 1980s and Stanley Kubrick in the 1960s and 1970s. I'm more inclined to view films by certain directors than specific actors. The vision is the thing. I don't pick a recent film until a few years and several viewings have passed so I can tell if it stays with me enough to rank among my favorites. The most recent films in this limbo include "Mystic River," "Smoke Signals," "A Simple Plan," "You Can Count on Me," "Memento," and "The Thin Red Line." Some films now on the list might drop off later if I re-see them and they fail to stand the test of time or if I see better films. Any that were once on my top 100 but get pushed out because of newer pictures are on my list of the next 100, a growing list. Casablanca Citizen Kane 2001: A Space Odyssey The Wild Bunch The Lord of the Rings (trilogy) Chinatown The Godfather Rashomon Bladerunner Lawrence of Arabia Patton Apocalypse Now Redux The Godfather II Day for Night American Beauty The Maltese Falcon Road Warrior Cinema Paradiso Jean de Florette High Noon Ju Dou The Last Emperor A River Runs Through It The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Sunset Boulevard The Last Picture Show The Deer Hunter Dersu Uzala The Year of Living Dangerously Diner City of Hope Z Pulp Fiction Brazil Lonestar One False Move Blood Simple Breaker Morant The Usual Suspects Dances with Wolves The Right Stuff Body Heat Easy Rider Lady and the Tramp Who'll Stop the Rain Dr. Strangelove The Day the Earth Stood Still High Plains Drifter Seven Samurai Mean Streets Terminator Midnight Cowboy Annie Hall A Touch of Evil (Restored) 12 Monkeys Shakespeare in Love Cool Hand Luke The Graduate Big Planet of the Apes Taxi Driver Bedazzled (Original) Reservoir Dogs Terminator II: Judgment Day The Freshman All That Jazz The Best Years of Our Lives Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Manon of the Spring Aguirre: The Wrath of God Woman in the Dunes Swept Away House of Games Night Moves The Conversation A Clockwork Orange Seven Beauties Treaure of the Sierra Madre The Sixth Sense The Third Man Network Shoeshine Close Encounters of the Third Kind Tootsie Silence of the Lambs And Now My Love Yankee Doodle Dandy Pan's Labyrinth Forbidden Planet The Mystery of Kasper Hauser Raging Bull Reversal of Fortune All About Eve Unbreakable Dirty Harry Time After Time Unforgiven Stop Making Sense Psycho (Hitchcock) Harlan County Second 100 Ben-Hur Wuthering Heights Forrest Gump All Quiet on the Western Front From Here to Eternity The Sweet Hereafter Yellow Submarine The Day After Trinity Brother From Another Planet After Midnight The Big Sleep Les Miserables (1995) Signs Poltergeist

I had a hard time limiting my list to 100 films. (I even cheated by including some double features.) But each one is a film I’ve seen many times or never forgotten. I didn’t try to rank them, but if I had to pick my top film it would probably be "To Kill a Mockingbird," a film I saw as a child and grew to appreciate even more as an adult. Like Scout, I was a tomboy with a pageboy haircut and a brother two years older. Many of the values I carry today I took from that film. My list reflects my life. There are films about animals ("The Incredible Journey"), broken families ("Long Day’s Journey Into Night"), and romance ("Annie Hall"). I fell in love with Robert Preston in "The Music Man" and Tony and Maria in "West Side Story." I felt grown up when, as a teenager, I saw "The Pawnbroker" and "A 1000 Clowns" on my own. There are lots of science fiction and horror films, which inspired a few nightmares but an even greater affection. There are films that reflect my philosophy, which ranges from the "fatalism" existentialism of "Greed," Eric von Stroheim’s silent adaptation of Frank Norris’ "McTeague" to the humanism of Jean Renoir’s great anti-war film, "Grand Illusion" which features von Stroheim. It reflects my affinity for the American West ("The Searchers") and literature ("Lonely are the Brave"). There are movies that inspired me to look at and write critically about films as art, especially "2001: A Space Odyssey," for which I received an A+ on a high school English paper. The list reflects my favorite directors (Wilder, Huston, Spielberg and Lumet) and actors (Bogart, Nolte, Hackman), and foreign films that introduced me to new worlds as well as new ideas. There are great films ("The Third Man") and not-so-great films that are just plain fun ("The Great Race"). For better or worse, this is the list of my 100 favorite films: 2001: A Space Odyssey 8 ½ Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival) African Queen, The Alexander Nevsky / Ivan the Terrible All About Eve All the President's Men All the Way Home American Beauty American Graffiti Anatomy of a Murder Annie Hall Bambi / Lady and the Tramp Best Years of Our Lives, The Bicycle Thief, The / Umberto Birdman of Alcatraz, The Birds, The Blackboard Jungle Bladerunner Body Heat Brazil / 12 Monkeys Casablanca Chinatown Cinema Paradiso Citizen Kane City of Hope / Lone Star Close Encounters of the Third Kind Conversation, The Dances With Wolves Darby O'Gill and the Little People Day the Earth Stood Still, The Dead Again / Dark City Don't Look Now Dr. Strangelove Elephant Man, The Every Man for Himself and God Against All (The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser) Exorcist, The Field of Dreams Forbidden Planet General, The / Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton) Godfather Trilogy, The Goldfinger Grand Illusion Great Escape, The / The Sand Pebbles Greed Hand in Hand Haunting, The High Noon Incredible Journey, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The It's a Wonderful Life Ju Dou Kramer vs. Kramer L.A Confidential/Usual Suspects, The Last Emperor, The Last Wave, The / Walkabout Lawrence of Arabia Lonely are the Brave Long Day's Journey Into Night Lord of the Rings, The (trilogy) Mad Max Trilogy Maltese Falcon, The Man of a Thousand Faces Mean Streets / Taxi Driver Metropolis / M Music Man, The Night Moves On the Waterfront One False Move Pawnbroker, The Philadelphia Story, The Pleasanville Quiet Man, The Raging Bull Raiders of the Lost Ark Rebel Without a Cause Right Stuff, The River Runs Through It, A Searchers, The Seven Samurai, The / The Magnificent Seven Seventh Seal, The Shane Singin' in the Rain Sixth Sense, The/Signs/ Unbreakable Some Like it Hot / The Great Race Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Sunset Boulevard The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! Third Man, The Thousand Clowns, A To Kill a Mockingbird Toy Story / Toy Story 2 Touch of Evil Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Twelve O'Clock High / Captain Newman, M.D. Unforgiven West Side Story Who'll Stop the Rain Witness Z Second 100 Born Free / The Lion Bridge on the River Kwai, The Brother From Another Planet, The China Syndrome, The Cool Hand Luke / I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang Excalibur Harvey Rebecca / Wuthering Heights Reversal of Fortune Time Machine, The