Makiko Itoh : Not a nameless cat.

I'm really amazed at the number of people who have found their way to my translation of director Satoshi Kon's last words. He really had fans all over the world. I'm happy that I was able to help you read what he had to say.

One last post about him from me. (This is normally just my personal site, where I post about random things occasionally, not a fan site.) I know that many fans are truly upset that he will be no longer able to bring his unique movies to this world. Besides that last blog post, something else he also posted on his blog on August 18th was a list of the 100 movies that were "chosen by the Yume Miru Kikai team" - although he adds the following disclaimer. (Michiyo Suzuki is the animation director of Yume Miru Kikai I believe.)

...the movies were" chosen primary by Satoshi Kon's judgement, with the advice of Michiyo Suzuki.

It's not a "Top 100" list, but strictly based on the ones that come up in our (the film staff's) daily conversation. There are some strange ones mixed in there too.

It's kind of hard to put things like this out in public (laugh).

Well, just think of this as "my (our) taste".

Incidentally, the order and the groupings are just for the sake of convenience.

The original lists are divided into two posts: the first 50, and the 2nd 50. You can read the most of the titles I think, but he always gives the Japanese title and the original title so you may not be able to comprehend all of them. So here's the whole list with the original language titles, followed by the English title if applicable. I've kept Mr. Kon's order and groupings, even though he says they're just for convenience. If you were inspired by his vision and want to see what his influences might have been, this list is probably a good place to start. (Interesting to note that there's not a single animated movie on the list.)

Update: He also posted another list here, on August 23rd, the "movies that didn't make the list". He says that he has "old geezer tastes". That list follows the 100 list.

The first 50

• The Long Gray Line, 1954, John Ford
• It's A Wonderful Life, 1946, Frank Capra
• Some Like It Hot, 1958, Billy Wilder
• Sabrina, 1954, Billy Wilder
• Sunset Boulevard, 1950, Billy Wilder
• Stalag 17, 1953, Billy Wilder
• Roman Holiday, 1953, William Wyler
• Lawrence of Arabia, 1962, David Lean
• The Birds, 1963, Alfred Hitchcock
• Rear Window, 1954, Alfred Hitchcock

• Psycho, 1960, Alfred Hitchcock
• 12 Angry Men, 1957, Sidney Lumet
• A Clockwork Orange, 1971, Stanley Kubrick
• The Shining, 1980, Stanley Kubrick
• 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968, Stanley Kubrick
• Сталкер (Stalker), 1979, Andrei Tarkovsky
• Солярис (Solaris), 1972, Andrei Tarkovsky
• Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, 1977, Steven Spielberg
• Jaws, 1975, Steven Spielberg
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977, George Lucas

• Apocalypse Now, 1979, Francis Ford Coppola
• The Godfather, 1972, Francis Ford Coppola
• The Godfather Part II, 1974, Francis Ford Coppola
• One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, 1975, Milos Forman
• Amadeus, 1984, Milos Forman
• Gone With The Wind, 1939, Victor Fleming
• The Great Escape, 1963, John Sturges
• The Enemy Below, 1957, Dick Powell
• Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages Of Fear), 1953, Henri-Georges Clouzot
• Plein Soleil (Purple Noon (alt. title Lust For Evil)), 1960, René Clément

• Midnight Cowboy, 1969, John Schlesinger
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969, George Roy Hill
• Bonnie and Clyde, 1967, Arthur Penn
• Little Big Man, 1971, Arthur Penn
• Straw Dogs, 1971, Sam Peckinpah
• Dirty Harry, 1971, Don Siegel
• The Day of the Jackal, 1973, Fred Zinnemann
• The French Connection, 1971, William Friedkin
• The Exorcist, 1973, William Friedkin
• Taxi Driver, 1976, Martin Scorcese

• Slaughterhouse Five, 1972, George Roy Hill
• The World According To Garp, 1982, George Roy Hill
• Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum), 1979, Volker Schlöndorff
• Mitt liv som hund (My Life As a Dog), 1985, Lasse Hallström
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape, 1993, Lasse Hallström
• American Beauty, 1999, Sam Mendes
• Paper Moon, 1973, Peter Bogdanovich
• The Deer Hunter, 1978, Michael Cimino
• The Player, 1992, Robert Altman
• Short Cuts, 1993, Robert Altman

The second 50

• Days of Heaven, 1978, Terence Malick
• Melody, 1971, Waris Hussein
• El espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive), 1973, Víctor Erice
• All That Jazz, 1979, Bob Fosse
• Gloria, 1980, John Cassavettes
• Birdy, 1984, Alan Parker
• Witness, 1985, Peter Weir
• Blue Velvet, 1986, David Lynch
• Midnight Run, 1988, Martin Brest
• Die Hard, 1988, John McTiernan

• Reservoir Dogs, 1992, Quentin Tarantino
• Pulp Fiction, 1994, Quentin Tarantino
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 1999, Guy Ritchie
• The Shawshank Redemption, 1994, Frank Darabont
• Se7en, 1995, David Fincher
• Alien, 1979, Ridley Scott
• Aliens, 1986, James Cameron
• Blade Runner, 1985, Ridley Scott
• Brazil, 1985, Terry Gilliam
• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1981, George Miller

• The Terminator, 1984, James Cameron
• La cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children), 1995, Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• Batman Returns, 1992, Tim Burton
• The Dark Knight, 2008, Christopher Nolan
• A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984, Wes Craven
• Billy Elliot, 2000, Stephen Daldry
• Brassed Off, 1997, Mark Herman
• The Full Monty, 1996, Peter Cattaneo
• Sliding Doors, 19998, Peter Howitt
• Little Miss Sunshine, 2006, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

• Heaven Can Wait, 1978, Warren Beatty and Buck Henry
• The Boy Who Could Fly, 1985, Nick Castle
• Heart and Souls, 1993, Ron Underwood

• 七人の侍 (The Seven Samurai), 1954, Akira Kurosawa
• 赤ひげ (Red Beard), 1965, Akira Kurosawa
• 羅生門 (Rashomon), 1950, Akira Kurosawa
• 天国と地獄 (High and Low (alt. title Heaven and Hell)), 1963, Akira Kurosawa
• 用心棒 (Yojimbo), 1961, Akira Kurosawa
• 東京物語 (Tokyo Story) 1953, Yasujiro Ozu
• 切腹 (Harakiri), 1962, Masaki Kobayashi

• 上意討ち　拝領妻始末 (Samurai Rebellion), 1967, Masaki Kobayashi
• ゴジラ (Godzilla), 1954, Ishiro Honda
• 独立愚連隊西へ (No English release - reads Dokuritsu gurentai nishi e), 1960, Kihachi Okamoto
• 血と砂 (No English release - reads "Chi to suna" (Blood and Sand)), 1965, Kihachi Okamoto
• 豚と軍艦 (The Flesh Is Hot (alt. title Hogs and Warships)), 1961, Shohei Imamura
• 股旅 (The Wanderers), 1973, Kon Ichikawa
• 砂の器 (The Castle of Sand), 1974, Yoshitaro Nomura
• 太陽を盗んだ男 (The Man Who Stole the Sun), 1979, Kazuhiko Hasegawa
• 転校生 (I Are You, You Am Me (alt. title Exchange Students), 1982, Nobuhiko Obayashi
• 家族ゲーム (The Family Game), 1983, Yoshimitsu Morita

The 'didn't make the top 100' list

• 酔いどれ天使 (Drunken Angel),1948、Akira Kurosawa
• 野良犬 (Stray Dog), 1949, Akira Kurosawa
• 生きる (Ikiru) 1952, Akira Kurosawa
• 蜘蛛巣城 (Throne of Blood), 1957, Akira Kurosawa
• 隠し砦の三悪人 (The Hidden Fortress), 1958, Akira Kurosawa
• 椿三十朗 (Sanjuro), 1962, Akira Kurosawa
• 晩春 (Late Spring), 1949, Yasujiro Ozu
• 麦秋 (Early Summer), 1951, Yasujiro Ozu
• お早う (Yasujiro Ozu's Good Morning (alt. title: Good Morning)), 1959, Yasujiro Ozu
• カルメン故郷に帰る (no English release: reads "karumen kokyou ni kaeru" which means "Carmen Goes Home"), 1951, Keisuke Kinoshita

• にっぽん昆虫記 (The Insect Woman), 1962, Shohei Imamura
• 赤い殺意 (Murderous Instincts), 1964, Shohei Imamura
• 幕末太陽傳 (The Sun Legend of the End Of The Tokugawa Era), 1957, Yuzo Kawashima
• 人情紙風船 (Ballad of the Paper Balloon), 1937, Sadao Yamanaka
• My Darling Clementine, 1946, John Ford
• Fort Apache, 1948, John Ford
• She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, 1950, John Ford
• Rio Grande, 1950, John Ford
• The Quiet Man, 1952, John Ford
• Witness for the Prosecution, 1957, Billy Wilder

• The Apartment, 1960, Billy Wilder
• Irma La Douce, 1963, Billy Wilder
• North by Northwest, 1959, Alfred Hitchcock
• Vertigo, 1958, Alfred Hitchcock
• The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956, Alfred Hitchcock
• Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1962, Stanley Kubrick
• Barry Lyndon, 1975, Stanley Kubrick
• Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in Milan), 1952, Vittorio De Sica
• Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, 1969, George Roy Hill

• The Sting, 1973, George Roy Hill

  
  
  

• Duel, 1971, Steven Spielberg

• Empire of the Sun, 1987, Steven Spielberg
• The Third Man, 1949, Carol Reed
• Mars Attacks! 1996, Tim Burton
• Edward Scissorhands, 1990, Tim Burton
• The Dead Zone, 1983, David Cronenberg
• The Duellists, 1977, Ridley Scott
• The Cider House Rules, 1999, Lasse Hallström
• The Shipping News, 2001, Lasse Hallström
• The Hotel New Hampshire, 1984, Tony Richardson

• Delicatessen, 1991, Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• The Hidden, 1988, Jack Sholder
• Tremors, 1990, Ron Underwood
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, 1989, Terry Gilliam
• Shakespeare in Love, 1998, John Madden
• Black Sunday, 1977, John Frankenheimer
• Fitzcarraldo, 1982, Werner Herzog
• Murphy's War, 1971, Peter Yates
• Bullitt, 1968, Peter Yates
• Easy Rider, 1969, Dennis Hopper

• Buffalo '66, 1998, Vincent Gallo
• Il mio nome è Nessuno (My Name is Nobody), 1975, Tonino Valerii
• La Strada, 1954, Frederico Fellini
• Scarecrow, 1973, Jerry Schatzberg
• Harry and Tonto, 1974, Paul Mazursky
• The Poseidon Adventure, 1972, Ronald Neame
• Last Action Hero, 1993, John McTiernan
• Attack!, 1956, Robert Aldrich
• Forrest Gump, 1994, Robert Zemekis
• The Commitments, 1991, Alan Parker

• Robocop, 1987, Paul Verhoeven
• Le Roi de Coeur (King of Hearts), 1966, Philippe de Broca
• L'Homme de Rio (That Man from Rio), 1966, Philippe de Broca
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, 1990, Tom Stoppard
• La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful), 1998, Roberto Benigni
• The Thing, 1982, John Carpenter
• The Butterfly Effect, 2004, Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber
• Judge Roy Bean, 1972, John Huston
• Mulholland Drive, 2001, David Lynch
• The Straight Story, 1999, David Lynch

• Doctor Zhivago, 1965, David Lean
• Ryan's Daughter, 1970, David Lean
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 1991, James Cameron
• Million Dollar BAby, 2004, Clint Eastwood
• Gran Torino, 2008, Clint Eastwood
• Kekexili (Mountain Patrol), Chuan Lu
• Groundhog Day, 1993, Harold Ramis
• Papillon, 1973, Franklin J Shafner
• Dog Day Afternoon, 1975, Sidney Lumet