Below are the Top 50 Films as Rated by Male Users from IMDb. I would guess that these would be found in most DVD Talker's collections. Although I don't think of my collection as being particularly populist, I own 34 of the 50 (!) on DVD. Guess I'm not as much of a rebel as I thought I was ...


1. (9.1) The Godfather (1972) 72,671
2. (8.9) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 85,518
3. (8.9) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 63,270
4. (8.9) The Godfather: Part II (1974) 43,256
5. (8.8) The Seven Samurai (1954) 19,426
6. (8.7) Casablanca (1942) 35,316
7. (8.7) Pulp Fiction (1994) 74,746
8. (8.7) Schindler's List (1993) 53,859
9. (8.7) Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) 73,850
10. (8.7) Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 57,705
11. (8.7) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 39,683
12. (8.7) Citizen Kane (1941) 34,477
13. (8.7) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 92,442
14. (8.6) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 37,313
15. (8.6) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 67,758
16. (8.6) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 18,954
17. (8.6) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 52,989
18. (8.6) The Usual Suspects (1995) 59,085
19. (8.6) Rear Window (1954) 22,483
20. (8.6) City of God (2002) 16,651
21. (8.6) 12 Angry Men (1957) 16,775
22. (8.6) Memento (2000) 54,686
23. (8.5) Psycho (1960) 29,415
24. (8.5) Goodfellas (1990) 40,392
25. (8.5) North by Northwest (1959) 20,115
26. (8.5) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 50,947
27. (8.5) It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 21,597
28. (8.5) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 18,240
29. (8.5) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 10,523
30. (8.5) American Beauty (1999) 62,386
31. (8.5) Apocalypse Now (1979) 38,100
32. (8.5) Amélie (2001) 34,363
33. (8.5) The Matrix (1999) 85,163
34. (8.4) Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8,674
35. (8.4) Fight Club (1999) 66,481
36. (8.4) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 27,096
37. (8.4) Vertigo (1958) 19,068
38. (8.4) Taxi Driver (1976) 28,847
39. (8.4) Se7en (1995) 50,672
40. (8.3) Paths of Glory (1957) 8,791
41. (8.3) The Third Man (1949) 10,518
42. (8.3) Spirited Away (2001) 14,571
43. (8.3) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 15,583
44. (8.3) Boot, Das (1981) 17,320
45. (8.3) Chinatown (1974) 15,568
46. (8.3) Saving Private Ryan (1998) 59,835
47. (8.3) Alien (1979) 36,880
48. (8.3) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 33,855
49. (8.3) The Pianist (2002) 18,575
50. (8.3) Requiem for a Dream (2000) 28,541

16 for me. I have about 600 DVDs in my collection.

Browsing through my collection, there are the most common DVDs I have found to be included in other people's lists (or maybe just the ones I happen to be familiar with):

Adventures of Indiana Jones, The - The Complete DVD Movie Collection
American History X
Donnie Darko or Donnie Darko - The Director's Cut (I just happen to own both )
Pulp Fiction - Collector's Edition
Reservoir Dogs - Ten Years Special Edition

Sheesh. I honestly don't know. I wouldn't consider all of those essentials necessarily. I can't really think of anything too common. I'm suffering from a brainfart.

I own 18 of those. I would like to own more, but just haven't purchased them yet.

by the way, on the bottom of the link are the lowest rated. apparently there was a movie called "Santa with Muscles" starring Hulk Hogan as An evil millionaire who gets amnesia and then belives that he is Santa Claus.

That sounds like the best movie idea, ever! too bad it's only on vhs.

Let's see, out of that, I've got:

2. (8.9) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 85,518
7. (8.7) Pulp Fiction (1994) 74,746
33. (8.5) The Matrix (1999) 85,163

Wow, a lot less than I thought going into it. Although there are ones on that list I would like to have and may get eventually.

I also have 18. Most of the ones I don't own are either older films or really new films that maybe shouldn't be on there yet; Eternal sunshine, pianist.

i've got 36. nice to see "Amélie" among the machismo!

yeah, I was surprised that was in there, too.

I've got 22 of them. I have no tarentino or matrix movies. with those it'd be near 30, I suppose

I have 35 of those plus two on VHS that I haven't gotten around to upgrading yet.

EDIT:
I have 25 from the top rated by women list.

Actually, the initial release of Donnie Darko was pretty expensive when it was first released, but it soon went down in price. Same with David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. -- that disc was originally about 30 bucks but now you can buy it for under $10. Both of these movies are probably too weird for the average Joe.

I think it would be only fair to include the female tops, not sure why just male was listed...IMDb (Female)

1. 8.9 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 13,108
2. 8.7 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 14,320
3. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 15,287
4. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 19,808
5. 8.6 Schindler's List (1993) 10,869
6. 8.5 Amélie (2001) 8,027
7. 8.4 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 11,364
8. 8.4 The Usual Suspects (1995) 9,813
9. 8.4 Finding Nemo (2003) 5,814
10. 8.4 Casablanca (1942) 7,764
11. 8.4 The Godfather (1972) 9,912
12. 8.3 The Princess Bride (1987) 8,951
13. 8.3 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 7,174
14. 8.3 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 10,542
15. 8.3 Gone with the Wind (1939) 5,472
16. 8.3 Rear Window (1954) 5,076
17. 8.3 Singin' in the Rain (1952) 3,471
18. 8.2 The Wizard of Oz (1939) 5,821
19. 8.2 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 6,368
20. 8.2 Life is Beautiful (1997) 4,687
21. 8.2 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 5,135
22. 8.2 Memento (2000) 9,369
23. 8.2 Citizen Kane (1941) 5,800
24. 8.2 The Matrix (1999) 14,096
25. 8.2 Star Wars (1977) 11,532
26. 8.2 Finding Neverland (2004) 3,005
27. 8.2 Some Like It Hot (1959) 4,245
28. 8.1 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 9,297
29. 8.1 The Sixth Sense (1999) 12,485
30. 8.1 The Pianist (2002) 4,009
31. 8.1 American History X (1998) 5,835
32. 8.1 It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 6,195
33. 8.1 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 6,136
34. 8.1 Amadeus (1984) 4,229
35. 8.1 Psycho (1960) 6,380
36. 8.1 American Beauty (1999) 13,194
37. 8.1 Shrek (2001) 8,218
38. 8.1 All About Eve (1950) 2,275
39. 8.1 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 2,837
40. 8.1 Big Fish (2003) 4,096
41. 8.1 North by Northwest (1959) 3,899
42. 8.1 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 8,953
43. 8.1 Beauty and the Beast (1991) 4,461
44. 8.1 12 Angry Men (1957) 3,208
45. 8.1 The Sting (1973) 2,045
46. 8.1 The Philadelphia Story (1940) 1,833
47. 8.1 Fight Club (1999) 11,647
48. 8.0 The Sound of Music (1965) 3,926
49. 8.0 Moulin Rouge! (2001) 9,767
50. 8.0 The Godfather: Part II

Wow! I have exactly the same as Male list...36!

By the way, I own 28 of those DVDs on the "Top 50 Films as Rated by Male Users" list, and I'm a girl. :P

Edit: Only 25 on the "Top 50 Films as Rated by Female Users" list. Please don't tell me this means I need a sex change.

And yeah, I bought the initial release of Donnie Darko the week it came out and paid $20ish for it. But it turned out to be worth it since it ended up being one of my top two favorite films.

Out of that list, I have:

1. 9.1 The Godfather (1972) 72,671
3. 8.9 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 63,270
4. 8.9 The Godfather: Part II (1974) 43,256
5. 8.8 Shichinin no samurai (1954) 19,426
6. 8.7 Casablanca (1942) 35,316
7. 8.7 Pulp Fiction (1994) 74,746
9. 8.7 Star Wars (1977) 73,850
10. 8.7 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 57,705
12. 8.7 Citizen Kane (1941) 34,477
13. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 92,442
15. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 67,758
16. 8.6 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) 18,954
17. 8.6 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 52,989
19. 8.6 Rear Window (1954) 22,483
22. 8.6 Memento (2000) 54,686
23. 8.5 Psycho (1960) 29,415
24. 8.5 Goodfellas (1990) 40,392
25. 8.5 North by Northwest (1959) 20,115
26. 8.5 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 50,947
29. 8.5 C'era una volta il West (1968) 10,523
32. 8.5 Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) 34,363
33. 8.5 The Matrix (1999) 85,163
35. 8.4 Fight Club (1999) 66,481
36. 8.4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 27,096
37. 8.4 Vertigo (1958) 19,068
42. 8.3 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) 14,571
45. 8.3 Chinatown (1974) 15,568
46. 8.3 Saving Private Ryan (1998) 59,835
47. 8.3 Alien (1979) 36,880
50. 8.3 Requiem for a Dream (2000) 28,541

For a total of 30.

No Scarface... Amelie is a surprising choice.

I have 38 out of those 50, I have a collection of about 930

I'm mostly missing the Hitchcock titles which I plan on eventually picking up.

Here's what I have:
1. (9.1) The Godfather (1972) 72,671
2. (8.9) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 85,518
3. (8.9) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 63,270
4. (8.9) The Godfather: Part II (1974) 43,256
5. (8.8) The Seven Samurai (1954) 19,426
6. (8.7) Casablanca (1942) 35,316
7. (8.7) Pulp Fiction (1994) 74,746
8. (8.7) Schindler's List (1993) 53,859
9. (8.7) Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) 73,850
10. (8.7) Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 57,705
11. (8.7) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 39,683
12. (8.7) Citizen Kane (1941) 34,477
13. (8.7) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 92,442
15. (8.6) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 67,758
16. (8.6) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 18,954
17. (8.6) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 52,989
18. (8.6) The Usual Suspects (1995) 59,085
20. (8.6) City of God (2002) 16,651
21. (8.6) 12 Angry Men (1957) 16,775
22. (8.6) Memento (2000) 54,686
24. (8.5) Goodfellas (1990) 40,392
26. (8.5) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 50,947
28. (8.5) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 18,240
29. (8.5) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 10,523
30. (8.5) American Beauty (1999) 62,386
32. (8.5) Amélie (2001) 34,363
33. (8.5) The Matrix (1999) 85,163
35. (8.4) Fight Club (1999) 66,481
36. (8.4) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 27,096
39. (8.4) Se7en (1995) 50,672
42. (8.3) Spirited Away (2001) 14,571
44. (8.3) Boot, Das (1981) 17,320
45. (8.3) Chinatown (1974) 15,568
46. (8.3) Saving Private Ryan (1998) 59,835
47. (8.3) Alien (1979) 36,880
48. (8.3) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 33,855
49. (8.3) The Pianist (2002) 18,575
50. (8.3) Requiem for a Dream (2000) 28,541

The ones I don't have:

5. (8.8) The Seven Samurai (1954) 19,426
40. (8.3) Paths of Glory (1957) 8,791
EDIT: I purchased The Third Man from Columbia House.

I take it you're not a big Criterion collector then?

Let's see, from the women's list I have:

2. 8.7 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 14,320
9. 8.4 Finding Nemo (2003) 5,814
24. 8.2 The Matrix (1999) 14,096
37. 8.1 Shrek (2001) 8,218

So the difference from the men's list is adding Finding Nemo and Shrek, and taking off Pulp Fiction. Eh, I can accept that.

You and I can just trade places . . .

Me: Male
# of Male Top 50 DVD's: 31
# of Female Top 50 DVD's: 37

I don't think there's such a thing as a big Criterion collector considering the number of titles. I still want The Third man, maybe The Seven Samurai and I don't think Paths of Glory is a Criterion.

Alright, a swap it is. ;p

Seriously, though. I don't find those lists all that accurate because I know I own a ton of girlie films.

you're right, Paths of Glory isn't a Criterion. A lot of peeps here collect Criterions (or try to). All I meant was one who does, usually has the better known titles. As it is, I collect Criterions and I don't have The Seven Samurai. Anyway, it's impressive that you have all but three from the list.

I hope I didn't come across harsh, I collect Criterions as they go out of print, unless I must have (My Own Private Idaho). I think they do great work for classic and contemporary films.

Yeah, it's all good. You didn't come off that way.