Travis McClain

The editors of American History have published a standalone special, The 100 Greatest Spy Movies. I've put the list in spoiler quotes to streamline the reading of this thread. There are a handful of TV miniseries included, and one cop-out (see #16), and while rankings are debatable I think it's a pretty solid list.



Incidentally, the magazine itself is basically comprised of little more than complete story summaries. I was greatly disappointed by not only the inclusion of ending spoilers, but the absence of any insightful commentary about why a given film was included or ranked where it was.

Ash Ketchum

That's one of the most ridiculous lists I've ever seen. Apparently any film that has a spy in it for one second qualifies as a spy film, even submarine thrillers like ICE STATION ZEBRA and HELL AND HIGH WATER, WWII commando films like GUNS OF NAVARONE, a conspiracy thriller like PARALLAX VIEW and even romantic dramas like CASABLANCA and a romantic comedy like NINOTCHKA (a 1939 film listed erroneously as 1979). It's all over the place! Why have genre distinctions at all if you can mix and match at will so easily?

And it's got GOLDFINGER at #4 and one of the best Bond films, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, at #39?! And DR. NO, THUNDERBALL and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE are not even on the list?! What, are you kidding me? GOLDFINGER is, IMNSHO, the weakest of the Connery Bonds. And this after years of watching and re-watching them.

And don't get me started on DUPLICITY!

Groucho

I stopped reading when I saw that From Russia With Love wasn't in the Top 10.

Travis McClain

To be fair, the Ninotchka year is my mistake; I double-checked the magazine and they have it right. Yes, the list is fairly liberal about what counts as a spy movie but then, in their defense, spies have always worn a lot of hats, from glorified detectives to commando operatives. I also agree that they completely botched the Bond movies; for my money, From Russia with Love remains the best of the entire canon. Although, I will disagree with you about Goldfinger, which I will gladly take over the rest of the Connery-era Bonds.

gmanca

I'm glad of what's included, although Ronin should definitely be on the list and the rankings are a bit bad.

Mabuse

In what way is the Third Man a spy film?

I take issue with Northy by Northwest and The 39 Steps being on the list. These are suspense thrillers. Hitch's famous "MacGuffin" in these films is that spies are "up to something" but no spying or actual espionage takes place. Just because the macguffin is some intangible "secret" that spies are smuggling out of the country doesn't mean it's a spy film.

FiveO

I really enjoyed Black Book...glad to see it made the list.

marty888

Not much fun on that list ....except for the Bond films and Our Man Flint. We need a little GOTCHA! or IF LOOKS COULD KILL.

Charlie Goose

No XXX? FAIL!

I would like to have seen True Lies in there somewhere.

albert_m

Perhaps if Diamonds are Forever did not exist. I think that Goldfinger solid, classic Bond, though prefer Russia, Thunderball, and also Twice even more.

Shannon Nutt

No "Spy Hard", no sale!

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Travis McClain

I remember seeing Spy Hard with my brother and a friend the same night we saw Mission: Impossible (whatever night it opened). We timed it so we could eat something between showings. By the end of the night, we'd decided that even though Spy Hard was just another spoof with Leslie Nielsen, at least we didn't need a flowchart to understand who did what and so we preferred the parody to the real thing.

Cellar Door

The Tailor of Panama should definitely be on the list.

Travis McClain

That was my second thought, right after, "From Russia with Love is only #39?!"

Robert

Syriana is not a spy movie.

Blu Man

Get Smart

Mabuse

I still don't understand how The Third Man their number one pick is a spy movie. This list has a lot of great films on it, but as a list IT SUCKS.

RocShemp

Dr. No is 17 on the list. Although I'd rathaer have From Russia With Love placed far above it, no way are the admittedly entertaining Bourne films better than either.

UAIOE

I like "Goldfinger", but there is no way it is a better spy movie than FRWL.

I know this a stupid list that has no actual merit, but still, FRWL at #39???

Travis McClain

I've looked into it a bit more and discovered that the rankings were determined via a tournament of polls on the website for American History. I haven't looked into the results or comments, but I can tell you this: We need a magazine special for all the hard work Woody did last year on various tourneys. And our magazine would include comments about the selections and not just overlong summaries that spoil the endings!

Ranger

Very surprised Breach and Traitor were included. Maybe will check them out.

Munich didn't feel like a spy movie. It was all assassinations, they didn't even really interact with their targets, aside from just killing them.

No Way Out should have been ranked and quite highly. I don't get the love for North by Northwest, thought it was boring, but maybe will give it another viewing.

Red Dog

No Way Out is not on this list?!

Hokeyboy

I'm not even close to facetious when I'm saying Spies Like Us should be on that list. An obvious comedy, even an absolute farce at times, it had much more spycraft, infiltration, and espionage than The Third Man or North By Northwest.

And the Bourne films blow. There, I said it.

Fist of Doom

If by "blow" you mean "kick all kinds of ass," then, yes, I agree.

I also agree that The Third Man, great film though it is, ain't a spy movie.

Tarantino

The Bourne movies are fantastic, and definitely deserve to be on this list.