Murder Slim Review: The Best Ballsy Films Of All Time

All the writers were limited to their favourite films in the outsider, crime and literary adaptation genres.
A few cerebral horrors crept in, because they feature "outsider" lead characters.
Everyone could also only pick a maximum of two films by the same director.
You almost won't go wrong with any of the films from any list (just ignore Titanic). Click on the links for a review of the movie.

Steve Hussy
The author of Academic, Narcoleptic, Alcoholic and Womanoholic.

"I try to watch one new movie a day and taught Film Studies for 20 years.
All of my favourites are about isolated characters... and I've got a thing for black comedy."

1. The Third Man (C. Reed) 2. Once Upon A Time In America (S. Leone) 3. Drive (N.W. Refn) 4. Taxi Driver (M. Scorsese) 5. Night of the Hunter (C. Laughton) 6. The Exorcist (W. Friedkin) 7. The Vanishing (G. Sluzier) 8. Repo Man (A. Cox) 9. Barfly (B. Schroeder) 10. Psycho (A. Hitchcock)

11. The Seventh Seal (I. Bergman) 12. Touch of Evil (O. Welles) 13. Rolling Thunder (J. Flynn) 14. Blast of Silence (A. Baron) 15. They Live (J. Carpenter) 16. Mad Max: Fury Road (G. Miller) 17. The Quiet Earth (G. Murphy) 18. In A Lonely Place (N. Ray) 19. The Conversation (F.F. Coppola) 20. Ghost Dog (J. Jarmusch)

David Noone
The author of Saint of the City.

There are the clear influences of German Expressionism and Gothic Horror in David Noone's picks.
Much like 'Saint of the City,' there's a heady dash of film noir too...

1. Double Indemnity (B. Wilder) 2. The Boston Strangler (R. Fleisher) 3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (R. Weine) 4. Sunset Boulevard (B. Wilder) 5. Shadow of the Vampire (E. Elias Merhige) 6. Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau) 7. The Tenant (R. Polanski) 8. Hour of the Wolf (I. Bergman) 9. Videodrome (D. Cronenberg) 10. Lost Highway (D. Lynch)

11. While The City Sleeps (F. Lang) 12. Ed Wood (T. Burton) 13. The Big Heat (F. Lang) 14. Angel Heart (A. Parker) 15. Repulsion (R. Polanski) 16. Secret Behind The Door (F. Lang) 17. The Night Porter (Lilian Cavani) 18. Spider (D. Cronenberg) 19. Wisconsin Death Trip (James Marsh) 20. Pi (D. Aronofsky)

Ally North
The author of Schizophrenic.

"I once was a Film Studies' student, and that passion has continued; albeit tempered by painting shit.
I have a filthy sense of humour and I truly appreciate 'badass' films, especially tomboy stuff."

1.Anomalisa (C. Kaufman) 2. Once Were Warriors (L. Tamahori) 3. South Park: The Movie (T. Parker & M. Stone) 4. Howl's Moving Castle (H. Miyazaki) 5. Hypernormalisation (Adam Curtis) 6. The Passion of Joan of Arc (C.T. Dreyer) 7. Sane Man (B. Hicks) 8. The Babadook (J. Grey) 9. Barfly (B. Schroeder) 10. The Toxic Avenger (L. Kaufman)

11. The Fly (D. Cronenberg) 12. Spring Breakers (H. Korine) 13. The Neon Demon (N.W. Refn) 14. Ghosts of the Civil Dead (J. Hillcoat) 15. Dawn of the Dead (G. Romero) 16. Idiocracy (M. Judge) 17. World's Greatest Dad (B. Goldthwait) 18. Leon (L. Besson) 19. Blow Out (B. De Palma) 20. Night of the Comet (T.Eberhardt)

Richard Watts
The artist of numerous Murder Slim Press covers and art.

"Most of the main characters share a non-conformist yet completely rational ethos.
Many fight against a dumbass system and many of them prove their point... even if it means sacrificing their lives."

1. Contact (R. Zemeckis) 2. Powder (V. Salva) 3. Watchmen (Z. Snyder) 4. Glengarry Glen Ross (J. Foley) 5. Snatch (G. Ritchie) 6. The Machinist (B. Anderson) 7. Drive (N.W. Refn) 8. Payback (B. Helgeland) 9. Hot Fuzz (E. Wright) 10. Mothman Prophecies (M. Pellington)

11. Robot And Frank (J. Scheier) 12. Rain Man (B. Levinson) 13. The Shawshank Redemption (F. Darabont) 14. Ong Bak (P. Pinkaew) 15. Fight Club (D. Fincher) 16. Zodiac (D. Fincher) 17. Training Day (A. Fuqua) 18. Office Space (M. Judge) 19. Gladiator (R. Herrington) 20. The Blair Witch Project (Myrick, Sanchez)

Jeffrey P. Frye
The author of The Bank Robber's Blog.

Who woulda thunk it... Jeff Frye's picks focus mostly on crime movies. Or, as he would call it, research!
There are also some sappy and goofy movies, and some great - and strong - female characters.

1. The Inside Man (S. Lee) 2. Eyes Wide Shut (S. Kubrick) 3. The Godfather (F.F. Coppola) 4. The Godfather Pt. 2 (F.F. Coppola) 5. Pulp Fiction (Q. Tarantino) 6. Columbiana (O. Megaton) 7. Ocean's 11 (S. Soderburgh) 8. Carlito's Way (B. De Palma) 9. Goodfellas (M. Scorsese) 10. Once Upon A Time In America (S. Leone)

11. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (M. Stuart) 12. Reservoir Dogs (Q. Tarantino) 13. Apocalypse Now (F.F. Coppola) 14. The Wizard of Oz (V. Fleming) 15. Good Will Hunting (G. Van Sant) 16. Point of Impact (B. Misiorowski) 17. The Lords of Discipline (F. Roddam) 18. Gone With The Wind (V. Fleming) 19. Casablanca (M. Curtiz) 20. Titanic (J. Cameron)

Mike Russell
The co-editor of Murder Slim Press's Film Reviews.

A huge focus on counter-culture 1970s' films mark Russell's favourite films list.
It's easily arguable that the 70s' is the best era of film-making, so check out some movies to find out...

1. Emperor of the North (R. Aldrich) 2. Hard Times (W. Hill) 3. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (M. Forman) 4. Monte Walsh (W. Fraker) 5. Fat City (J. Huston) 6. Mr. Love (J. Battersby) 7. Blue Velvet (D. Lynch) 8. Midnight Cowboy (J. Schlesinger) 9. Taxi Driver (M. Scorsese) 10. Withnail and I (B. Robinson)

11. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (M. Scorsese) 12. Harry and Tonto (P. Mazurski) 13. The Wild Bunch (S. Peckinpah) 14. The Narrow Margin (R. Fleischer) 15. Cool Hand Luke (S. Rosenberg) 16. Down By Law (J. Jarmusch) 17. Rogue Male (C. Donner) 18. Escape From Fort Bravo (J. Sturges) 19. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (D. Seigel) 20. Badlands (T. Malick)

Another 150 Must-Sees Not Mentioned Before

Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine Paul Thomas Anderson - Hard Eight - There Will Be Blood - Boogie Nights John D. Avildsen - Joe (1970) - Save The Tiger Jacques Becker - Le Trou Ingmar Bergman - From The Life Of Marionettes Luc Besson - The Big Blue Robert Bresson - A Man Escaped Craig Brewer - Dolemite Is My Name Richard Brooks - In Cold Blood Marcel Carne - Le Jour Se Leve - Le Quai Des Brumes John Carpenter - The Thing (1981) - The Fog (1980) - Escape From New York - Halloween (1978) John Cassevetes - A Woman Under The Influence Joen and Ethan Coen - The Big Lebowski - The Man Who Wasn't There - Inside Llewyn Davis Larry Cohen - Black Caesar - God Told Me To Brian De Palma - Blow Out Henri-Georges Clouzot - The Wages of Fear - Quai Des Orfevres David Cronenberg - The Fly (1986) - The Brood Alfonso Cuaron - Children of Men Frank Darabont - The Mist Jules Dassin - Brute Force - Rififi - The Naked City - Uptight Fred Dekker - Night of the Creeps Guillermo Del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth Brian De Palma - Scarface (1980) Edward Dmytryk - Farewell, My Lovely (1944) David Fincher - Seven Georges Franju - Eyes Without A Face Samuel Fuller - Shock Corridor - The Big Red One Stuart Gordon - Edmond - King of the Ants David Gordon Green - Joe (2013) Edmund Goulding - Nightmare Alley Ulu Grosbard and Dustin Hoffman - Straight Time James William Guerco - Electra Glide In Blue James Gunn - Super Bent Hamer - Factotum Robert Harmon - The Hitcher (1986) Werner Herzog - Encounters at the End of the World - Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Monte Hellman - Two-Lane Blacktop Frank Henenlotter - Brain Damage Douglas Hickox - Sitting Target John Hillcoat - The Road Arthur Hiller - The Hospital Alfred Hitchcock - Rear Window - North by Northwest - The 39 Steps (1935) - Strangers On A Train John Huston - The Maltese Falcon - The Treasure of Sierra Madre - Wise Blood - Under The Volcano Kon Ichikawa - Fires on the Plain - The Burmese Harp Jim Jarmusch - Dead Man - Night On Earth Bong Joon Ho - Parasite

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Takeshi "Beat" Kitano - Sonatine - Hana-Bi Ted Kotcheff - First Blood - Wake In Fright Akira Kurosawa - Rashomon - Yojimbo - Ikuru John Landis - An American Werewolf In London Fritz Lang - M - The Big Heat Sergio Leone - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Once Upon A Time In The West Sidney Lumet - Dog Day Afternoon - 12 Angry Men - The Verdict - The Offence David Lynch - The Elephant Man - Wild At Heart David Mamet - Homicide Peter Medak - The Changeling (1980) Jean-Pierre Melville - Army of Shadows - Le Silence De La Mer - Le Doulos Jim Mickle - Stake Land - Cold In July John Milius - Dillinger George Miller - Mad Max 2: Road Warrior F.W. Murnau - Sunrise Sam Peckinpah - Cross Of Iron - Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia Arthur Penn - Night Moves Todd Phillips - Joker Roman Polanski - Rosemary's Baby Bill Plympton - I Married A Strange Person - Idiots And Angels Nicolas Winding Refn - Only God Forgives - Pusher - Pusher 2: With Blood On My Hands - Pusher 3: I'm The Angel Of Death - Bronson - Fear X Godfrey Reggio - Powaqqatsi - Koyaanisqatsi Michael Richie - Prime Cut George A. Romero - Night of the Living Dead (1968) - Dawn of The Dead (1978) - Day of the Dead (1985) Benny & Josh Safdie - Uncut Gems Richard C. Sarafian - Vanishing Point Joseph Sargent - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Paul Schrader - Blue Collar - The Hardcore Life (a.k.a. Hardcore) - Auto Focus Martin Scorsese - Mean Streets - Raging Bull - Casino Richard Shepard - The Matador Kaneto Shindo - Onibaba Damián Szifron - Wild Tales Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained - Jackie Brown - Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Kill Bill Vol. 2 Francois Truffaut - The 400 Blows Douglas Trumbull - Silent Running Paul Verhoeven - Robocop - Total Recall Thomas Vinterberg - The Hunt Peter Watkins - Punishment Park - Privilege Wim Wenders - Paris, Texas Billy Wilder - The Lost Weekend - The Apartment - Ace In The Hole Michael Winner - The Mechanic Peter Yates - The Friends of Eddie Coyle Terry Zwigoff - Crumb - Louie Bluie - Bad Santa