What do you think are the 10 greatest Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Movies of all time?

Question

I'm doing research for a master's degree thesis; I am making a distinction between the Mystery-Suspense Thriller and the Action/Adventure Thriller. I also don't wish to consider horror movies at this time. I'm looking for mysteries, film noir, detective films, etc. Note: For the purposes of my research, I would include Hitchcock in this category, except for Psycho & the Birds, which fall into the horror category. Thanks.

Answer 1

1) The Third Man - Carol Reed - Film Noir, Crime drama, and meditation on innocence, corruption, and loss from Graham Greene. Superb film making and oh that zither music!

2) Rear Window - Alfred Hitchcock - really 1a; I have a personal preference for Reed's film. This is Hitch's masterpiece in that it directly addresses voyeurism and helplessness, two of his recurrent themes, and does so through the language of film in a way no other film has.

3) M - Fritz Lang - The mind of a serial killer seen through the nightmarish landscape of German Expressionism. Still powerful due to Lang's artistry and the brilliance of Peter Lorre.

4) Les Diaboliques - Henri-Georges Clouzot - A woman's husband is killed, then his body disappears. And that's just the beginning. Nothing is as it seems, and you are on the edge of your seat until the last surprise. Superb

5) Out of the Past - Jacques Tourneur - A private eye can escape neither his past nor the Femme Fatale at its center. Fatalism, nihilism, and Mitchum, all in the stunning RKO photography of Nicholas Musuraca.

6) Touch of Evil - Orson Welles - A typical 1950s cop story redeemed by Welles's genius as a director and by his skills as an actor; many think Quinlan is his best performance. Audacious and stunning, Universal didn't know what to do with it so they ruined it and threw it away. It was restored in the late 1990s according to notes left by Welles, and now is appreciated for what it truly is- Welles's last great movie. It is also his funniest; I mean, Charlton Heston......... a Mexican?

7) The Usual Suspects - Bryan Singer - Christopher McQuarrie's screenplay is a Chinese Box of misdirection and surprise. If you stop to think about it, it makes no sense; but given the superb writing, the knowing direction, and the fine performances, who wants to think about it? Best line : "Keaton always said, 'I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him.' Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.."

8) Rashomon - Akira Kurosawa - "What is Truth?" explored through the commission of a crime. Nether a Mystery nor a Thriller in any conventional sense, it still grabs you and does not let go.

9) The Maltese Falcon - John Huston - The great detective movie tjhat launched John Huston's career and made Bogart a major star. A faithful adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's fine hard boiled novel, it is improved by brilliant casting and by Huston's wry sense of humor.

10) Memento - Christopher Nolan - An Amnesia victim trying to solve a crime is a cliche of the Mystery field, but it has never been used in such an original mindbending manner. It is both traditional mystery and post-modern noir, and superb on both counts.

Honorable Mention:
Citizen Kane - Welles - the mystery of a human life, and the greatest American Film.
And Then There Were None - Clair - THE Agatha Christie film
Murder on the Orient Express - Lumet - The OTHER Agatha Christie Film.
The Big Sleep - Hawks
Shadow of a Doubt - Hitchcock
The Manchurian Candidate - Frankenheimer
The Silence of the Lambs - Demme
Night and the City - Dassin - Richard Widmark's best noir performance

Answer 2

1. Rear Window (1954)
2. The Usual Suspects (1995)
3. Citizen Kane (1941)
4. North by Northwest (1959)
5. Memento (2000)
6. Vertigo (1958)
7. The Third Man (1949)
8. Chinatown (1974)
9. Rashômon (1950)
10. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Answer 3

Best movies since 2000: Harold and Kumar go to White-Castle. Weatherman Borat Lord of the Rings trilogy. Gladiator Crash Last King of Scotland Blood Diamond Pan's Labyrinth A History of Violence. Best movies of all-time: Goodfellas Pulp Fiction The Shining .

Answer 4

This is my top ten based on your conditions-

1. Rashomon (1950) by Akira Kurosawa
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=138

2. The Third Man (1949) by Carol Reed
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=64

3. The Serpents Egg (1977)
http://www.bergmanorama.com/films/serpents_egg.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076686/

4. M (1931) by Fritz Lang
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=30
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=30&eid=391§ion=essay

5. The Element of Crime(1984) By Lars Von Trier
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=80

6. Manchurian Candidate (1962) by John Frankenheimer
(remade in 2004 by Jonathan Demme with Denzel Washington)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056218/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368008/

7. The Silence of the lambs(1990) By Jonathan Demme
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=13

8. Sisters (1973) by Brian De Palma
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070698/

9. The Andromeda Strain (1971), by Robert Wise based on the novel by Michael Crichton
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/

10. The Day of the Jackal (1973) by Fred Zinnemann
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069947/

Others worth mentioning-
1. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
2. L.A. Confidential (1997)
3. Se7en (1995)
4. Usual Suspects (1995)
5. Memento(2000)
6. Brian De Palma's-Snake Eyes(1995)
7. Michael Mann's Collateral (2004),
8. Identity (2003) by James Mangold
9. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
10. Syriana (2005)
11. Oldboy (2003)
12. The Osterman Weekend (1983),
13. Mystic River (2003)
14. All the President's Men (1976)

Out of the Hitchcock films-
1. Vertigo (1958)
2. North by Northwest (1959)
3. Strangers on a train(1951),
4. Dial M For Murder (1954),
5. The 39 Steps (1935)
6. Frenzy (1972)).

AFI's 100 years...100 thrills
http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/thrills.aspx

IMDB's list of Thrillers-
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Thriller/average-vote

IMDB's list of Mystery films-
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Mystery/average-vote

IMDB's list of Film Noir-
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Film-Noir/average-vote

Answer 5

1. Russia with Love
2. Vertigo
3. Speed
4. Wait until Dark
5. The night of the Generals
6. Fear over the city
7. Naked prey
8, Dial M for Murder
9. Terminator
10.Odyssa File
VR

Answer 6

Six Sense
Sin City
Secret Window
Terminator-2
Star Wars
Green Mile
i can't think of others