The circle is now complete.

You might have heard about a Best of the Blogosphere poll that’s going around. It’s kind of a response to the most recent AFI 100 Best Films. As I was compiling my nominees, a thought occurred to me (or recurred, really) about how all the great movies are connected somehow. Like George Clooney is in Steven Soderberg films and Coen Brothers films. And the Coens used Barry Sonnenfeld as a DP before he started directing. And Barry Sonnenfeld directed an Elmore Leonard adaptation, as did Soderberg. And on like that.

So here are 100 of my favorite movies, starting with my favorite, The Right Stuff, arranged such that each film has something in common with those that precede and follow it. A director, a star, a writer, a featured player, a composer. Of course, 100 connects back to number one. In some cases, the connection is pretty remote or fuzzy, though they're mostly all legit. Some of the them are downright inspired, if I say so myself. I tried not to have the connection be the same for more than two movies in a row. Yes, there are some glaring omissions, as well as some filler. Or what I like to call “mortar.” I’d much rather have gotten Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on the list than Test Pilot, for example. But Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy weren’t around when John Hughes started making movies. I can honestly say that there are no two “mortar” movies in a row. And these are all movies that I genuinely enjoy watching again and again.

Anyway, take a look and see if you can guess the connections. I’ve posted the leftovers at the end. If you can figure out how to work them in, I’m all ears.

The Middlebrow 100, Zen Edition:

1. The Right Stuff
2. Aliens
3. Working Girl
4. Three Kings
5. Out of Sight
6. Defending Your Life
7. Men In Black
8. Full Metal Jacket
9. Dr. Strangelove
10. Blazing Saddles
11. Young Frankenstein
12. Tootsie
13. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
14. Star Wars
15. The Bridge on the River Kwai
16. The Great Escape
17. Once Upon a Time in the West
18. The Lady Eve
19. Sullivan’s Travels
20. Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
21. Raising Arizona
22. Moonstruck
23. In the Heat of the Night
24. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
25. The Lion in Winter
26. The Silence of the Lambs
27. Manhunter
28. The Last of the Mohicans (Mann)
29. A Room with a View
30. Raiders of the Lost Ark
31. Lord of the Rings
32. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
33. Collateral
34. Risky Business
35. Jerry Maguire
36. High Fidelity
37. Bull Durham
38. The Shawshank Redemption
39. Stand By Me
40. This is Spinal Tap
41. A Few Good Men
42. The Princess Bride
43. The Incredibles
44. Jurassic Park
45. Get Shorty
46. Blowout
47. The Untouchables
48. Goldfinger
49. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
50. Casino Royale (2007)
51. Shakespeare in Love
52. The Royal Tennenbaums
53. Groundhog Day
54. Lost in Translation
55. The Godfather
56. To Kill a Mockingbird
57. The Godfather, Part II
58. Goodfellas
59. Jackie Brown
60. The Fifth Element
61. Pulp Fiction
62. So I Married an Axe Murderer
63. Glengarry Glen Ross
64. Mr. Roberts
65. My Man Godfrey
66. The Thin Man
67. Test Pilot
68. It’s a Wonderful Life
69. It Happened One Night
70. Run Silent, Run Deep
71. The Day the Earth Stood Still
72. Hud
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
74. The Graduate
75. Jaws
76. Marathon Man
77. Rebecca
78. The Jungle Book (1967)
79. Night Shift
80. Cars
81. Cool Hand Luke
82. The Hudsucker Proxy
83. His Girl Friday
84. The Awful Truth
85. Notorious
86. Casablanca
87. The Usual Suspects
88. L.A. Confidential
89. Eight Men Out
90. Lone Star
91. The Bourne Identity
92. Ocean’s 11 (Soderberg)
93. The Limey
94. Boogie Nights
95. Fargo
96. Miller’s Crossing
97. Monsters Inc.
98. The Empire Strikes Back
99. Blade Runner
100. Alien
     

The Island of Misfit Films:

1. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
2. Clueless
3. Blast from the Past
4. Annie Hall

5. Breaker Morant
6. Black Robe

7. Sideways
8. Election
9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
10. Amadeus

11. A Fish Called Wanda
12. Monty Python’s Life of Brian
13. Time Bandits

14. Toy Story

15. Laura