Synopsis: A sexy young French gal is lusted after by numerous men in a beautiful coastal town.

Why top 100?: Time magazine review 1956: "There lies Brigitte, stretched out from end to end of the CinemaScope screen, bottoms up and bare as a censor's eyeball. In the hard sun of the Riviera, her round little rear glows like a peach, and the camera lingers on the subject as if waiting for it to ripen..." Vadim's film hardly made a stir in France but created much controversy (as well as an international star out of Bardot) across seas. Though the story is mostly silly melodrama, Bardot in her various stages of undress is so damn sexy you get wrapped up in the little story of an orphaned tart who is driving the towns men crazy. Brigitte Bardot was and still is the numero uno cinema sex symbol, accept no imitations!

Moment you won't soon forget: The hilarious"sexy" Bardot dance sequence and the terrific dialogue at the conclusion. Bardot's elder suitor says of Bardot and her husband (after her husband slaps the shit out of her), "That girl can drive men wild. But Michel's young - and he's shown her he's master. He'll make out alright I think."

49) Blade Runner (1982, Dir. Ridley Scott)

Synopsis: A police detective sets out to destroy powerful androids known as Replicants in a rainy, crowded city of the future.

Why top 100?: Scott's film remains one of the most beautifully detailed sciencefiction films ever made - every time you watch it you catch another amazing detail somewhere in the background. Blade Runner was pretty much shunned by audiences and critics alike before slowly becoming a cult favorite. This dark and depressing film, featuring a low key humorless Harrison Ford, was seen as a let down to those looking for lighter sci-fi fare (audiences were used to his humorous depiction's in Star Wars and Indiana Jones). A stand out supporting cast brings the "Replicants" rage and sadness to life: Daryl Hannah, Sam Jaffe, Sean Young and the great Rutger Hauer are all on the top of their game. Rutger Hauer, as usual, steals the show as a life loving android who brutally murders his way to the truth. The final showdown with Ford and Hauer is as good as it gets.

Moment you won't soon forget: The showdown between Hauer's brutal Replicant and a weary, and quite terrified, Ford. You feel Ford' horror as Hauer plays cat and mouse - at one point ripping Ford's arm through a wall to playfully break his fingers - ouch!

48) The Brood (1979, Dir. David Cronenberg)

Synopsis: A shady doctor at a spooky retreat teaches his patients to deal with their inner anger by causing external sores on their skin. One of his patients, a wife with a young daughter, is able to give birth outside her body to killer, deformed dwarves that attack when she becomes enraged.

Why top 100?: The Brood remains Cronenberg's most repulsive and disturbing film to date, a cold nasty little flick with a real bastard of an ending. There are at least ten real heart dropping shocks in The Brood including one of the all time great horror scenes - two of the tiny "brood" dwarves enter Candy's classroom in broad daylight pretending to be students under their snowsuits before brutally bludgeoning the teacher to death. They are next seen walking down the highway with Candy - seemingly three school children on their way home! The late, great, Oliver Reed is terrific as the crazed doctor and Samantha Eggar as the abused mother gave Cronenberg the first great cast of his career. The hooded, snow suit sporting brood crew are amongst cinemas scariest creatures as they crouch on stairways or hide in cupboards before they spring into savage action. One of the best horror films of the 70's.

Moment you won't soon forget: There are a bunch but the most disturbing scene may possibly be the visit with Jan - a former "rage" patient who has grown this fucking horrific cancerous growth from his neck. Ugh. Oh yeah and don't forget about Eggar ripping and licking the bloody sack and "baby" she gives birth to.

47) Barfly (1987, Dir. Barbet Schroeder)

Synopsis: The writer Charles Bukowki lays down his prose between days of drinking in sleazy bars, fighting with his alcoholic girlfriend and brawling in the back alley with the brawny bar keep.

Why top 100?: Schroeder comes closer than any other director in capturing the feel of Bukowski's writings. Featuring a protagonist without any goals besides drinking and putting his pain down on paper, Barfly is the type of film they rarely make in Hollywood anymore - a character study about an unsavory character. There is no swelling music, no moment of great revelation, just day after day of drinking and surviving in the slums of LA True to Bukowski's writing - what on the surface sounds like depressing as hell material is strangely triumphant as a terrific Mickey Rourke (perhaps a bit to strong and pretty to be playing Bukowski) goes through the motions of a hellish life completely created by himself. When he finally hits it big and lands a good chunk of money, it's down to the local dive to fuck with the bartender and buy drinks for "all my friiieeennndddssss." A mesmerizing film that sucks you in to its odd rhythm. Bukowski's account of the making of Barfly - Hollywood - is essential reading.

Moment you won't soon forget: Rourke as Bukowski fucking with Sly's brother Frank Stallone as the brawny barkeep. "Hey you with the filthy apron, fetch me a draft!"

46) Billy Jack (1971, Dir. T.C. Frank)

Synopsis: A Native American and former Green Beret named Billy Jack protects children at an ethnically diverse school from the towns racist bullies.

Why top 100?: A massive cult hit written, produced and directed by Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack) and his wife Delores Taylor. After the success of his terrific motorcycle gang flick - Born Losers - Laughlin took his Billy Jack character a step further and created this mind boggling, mess of a film. Billy Jack is this Hapkido fighting former Green Beret who also happens to be part Native American. When the racist townfolk start fucking with the Native American children from the "Freedom School" Billy Jack busts some serious ass, taking off his shoes and socks to properly deliver brutal kicks to the neck and head. This is where Billly Jack pisses me off - you are all set in for another nasty revenge flick ala Born Losers but instead have your eyes brutalized by the sight of Howard Hessemen and a bunch of hippies performing songs and skits about "the Man!" I don't even want to mention the therapeutic role playing games and the freaking yoga! Laughlin went mad and began promoting himself AS Billy Jack but the sequel bombed and the third film hasn't seen the light of day. One of the granddads of the midnight movie scene and definitely worth checking out but be prepared.

Moment you won't soon forget: The terrific scene where the town bullies pour flour over the Native American children's heads to make them "white." When Billy Jack arrives he is mighty pissed and whups half of the towns ass. A thrilling scene before it all goes downhill. You may possibly hunt down Howard Hesseman and slap the shit out of him after watching this film.

45) Once Upon a Time in the West (1969, Dir. Sergio Leone)

Synopsis: A nameless gunslinger seeks vengeance on the man who killed his brother.

Why top 100?: The opening sequence of Once Upon a Time in the West is what cinema is all about. No talking heads - no bullshit - the "man" Charles Bronson arrives at a train station where a group of assassins await his arrival. Extreme close ups, the rhythm of drops of water, sweaty creased faces and then the burst of violence as the man guns them down. Throw in a story by legend Dario Argento, a classic score by Ennio Morricone, my man Charles Bronson, Jason Robards and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale and Henry Fonda as one of the great villains in the genre and you have the greatest of all Westerns. Sergio Leone use of Widescreen is unparalleled but let's give just due to the sinister turn by Henry Fonda as Frank. This is one evil fucker - his piercing blue eyes and menacing grin is actually FRIGHTENING! Who would have thunk it? The flashback to what he did to the man as a young child is the stuff revenge flicks are made of. If that scene doesn't get your blood boiling, nothing will.

Moment you won't soon forget: The opening sequence, the flashback to why the man is seeking revenge, Henry Fonda's frightening smile.

44) Mad Max (1979, Dir. George Miller)

Synopsis: In an apocalyptic near future motorcycle gangs cause havoc as the police (called Intercepters) try to pick them off with souped up V-8's.

Why top 100?: When all the CGI bullshit gets you down you can always pop Mad Max in and reminisce about a time when actual stuntmen reigned supreme. George Miller's Mad Max remains one of the great action/revenge flicks of all time with an intense Mel Gibson driving night and day seeking revenge on the gang that killed his wife and child. The camera work and stunts in Mad Max are the stuff of legend - they are so utterly convincing you FEEL the speed of the chases and the brutality of the impacts. That a low budget little film from Australia can so thoroughly out thrill the 200 million dollar plus Joel Silver productions is an embarrassment to Hollywood. Owing much to the AIP biker films of the sixties, Mad Max delivers a slew of terrific colorful villains that you love to hate. What other film has motorcycle gangs chasing down cars with hatchets! Gotta love it!

Moment you won't soon forget: The gang mowing down Max's wife and child, the death of Toecutter who gets pulverized by a truck and the young young couple who both get raped by the motorcycle gang - yikes!

43) Zombie (1979, Dir. Lucio Fulci)

Synopsis: The dead come to life on an island and people get MIGHTY fucked up! What do you want, Nabakov?!?, it's Lucio Fulci bitch!

Why top 100?: Lucio Fulci, may God rest his soul, created a slew of films that could have made the list but there is something so endearing about this insane little nugget. Of course the film rips off Romero but who gives a shit - Fulci's Zombies look like a bunch of Italians dudes with oatmeal slapped on their heads yet are somehow extremely frightening! And the gore - the glorious gore - Fulci always had to take it to the end, and I for one, love him for it. When Olga Karlatos head is being pulled toward the splinter the uninitiated waited for the cut and the inevitable offscreen scream. No my friend, this film happens to be directed by Lucio Fulci, you will not only see the splinter enter the eyeball - thus pulverizing it - you will also see it from different angles. And is there a nastier wound in cinema history than the bite the Conquistador zombie delivers to that unsuspecting tart? It's a gurgling, bubbling fucking mess! A Grindhouse legend which also featured one of the great movie posters - a full head shot of a decrepit zombie and the catch phrase "WE ARE GOING TO EAT YOU!" Gotta love it.

Moment you won't soon forget: The underwater fight between a shark and a zombie who just happened to be strolling along the ocean floor! This is the kind of mad genius that makes the Italian horror films of the 70's and 80's the coolest shit in cinema.

42) Eyes Without a Face (1959, Dir. Georges Franju)

Synopsis: A doctor specializing in skin grafts tries desperately to fix his daughters face which was pulverized in a car accident. To acquire new faces to experiment with, the doctor and his creepy female assistant abduct pretty young girls and remove their faces in his secret lab.

Why top 100?: Director Georges Franju's legendary Eyes Without a Face (AKA The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, Les Yeux Sans Visage, 1959) remains an unshakable movie experience forty plus years after its initial release. This little nightmare of a movie has a way of getting under the skin like few others and the ending will haunt you with its uncanny mixture of horror and melancholy. Banned all over the world on its release it contains one of the most shockingly grotesque scenes in cinema history. When the good doctor takes his scalpel to an anesthetized young gal we see a bit of blood and think "well this was 1959, here comes the cutaway," but when he begins tugging at the loosened face we realized Franju isn't playing games. While this is a graphically brutal scene the real horror comes from the dread that preceded. It's a scene that you'll never shake. The glimmering black and white photography, the white masked Edith Scob floating around in stunning gowns - has a more beautiful horror (Franju referred to it as an "anguish" film - and for good reason) film ever been made?

Moment you won't soon forget: The face peeling and the gorgeous ending featuring the masked Scob, fluttering doves and that completely unnerving score. A special note on Criterion's beautiful DVD transfer that includes Franju's brutal abattoir documentary Blood of the Beasts - trust me you won't forget it!

41) Daughters of Darkness (1971, Dir. Harry Kumel)

Synopsis: Newlyweds check into a deserted hotel where they encounter a woman who may be Elizabeth Bathory and her female lover.

Why top 100?: Surely one of the oddest horror films ever made - Daughters of Darkness plays out like an art film - it is beautifully shot and oddly paced. It is also one of the most sickeningly corrupt films. With all its glittering gowns and gorgeous sets, underneath is a truly disturbing piece. The male character Stefan is a real piece of work - he gets off on beating his new wife, enjoying the sight of a young corpse, shooting the shit about the history of torture and in a sickening, jaw droppingly odd scene, calling his "mother" to tell her he is bringing his new bride home. Oh yeah - his mother happens to be a guy with red lipstick who "can't wait to see our new flower." Gulp! Arthouse fave Delphine Seyrig plays Bathory in perfect Marlene Dietrich style and her female companion Andrea Rau may possibly be the sexiest gal in cult film history (whatever happened to her?!?). A classic lesbian vampire flick that might not even be about vampires! A must see.

Moment you won't soon forget: When Stefan calls his mother - you will NEVER forget that shit. The death of Ilona (Rau). Rau's ridiculously sexy self.

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