RESULTS: Top 25 Spy/Espionage Films

[imsounoriginal]

First of all, thanks to all the participants!

ajburke
AKORIS
Al_The_Strange
chaopolis
CZAR
Darth Marcus
dommie
esteban2
fgomike
Gerby
The Great Owl
Hoke Moseley
Hucksta G
imsounoriginal
Jasonic
LucaNinja7
qb2333
rodneyfaile
SSGT_BOND
Talleyrand
Zoop

The original thread with all the votes, as well as an explanation of how votes were scored, can be found here.

Your #1 choice will get 20 points, #2 will get 19 points, and so on down with #20-#25 getting 1 point each.

Before we start with the Top 25 -- here are the ten Honorable Mentions -- along with each film’s number of votes received, highest vote(s) received, and total number of points.

HM 10. Charade (1963)



Romance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Who can she trust?

Total votes: 5 | Highest rank: #4 (x1) | Total points: 43

HM 8. (tie)

Thunderball (1965)



James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.

Total votes: 5 | Highest rank: #2 (x1) | Total points: 46

and

The American (2010)



An assassin hides out in Italy for one last assignment.

Total votes: 7 | Highest rank: 7 (x2) | Total points: 46

HM 7. The Good Shepherd (2006)



The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.

Total votes: 5 | Highest rank: #1 (x1) | Total points: 47

HM 6. Bridge of Spies (2015)



During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

Total votes: 9 | Highest rank: #8 (x1) | Total points: 50

HM 5. Goldeneye (1995)



James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent formerly believed to be dead.

Total votes: 10 | Highest ranking: #7 (x1) | Total points: 52

HM 4. Mission: Impossible (1996)



An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Total votes: 10 | Highest ranking: #7 (x2) | Total points: 59

HM 3. The Hunt for Red October (1990)



In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain in their newest sub violates orders and heads for the USA. Is he trying to defect or to start a war?

Total votes: 8 | Highest ranking: #2 (x1) | Total points: 62

HM 1. (tie)

Army of Shadows



An account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.

Total votes: 4 | Highest ranking: #4 (x2) | Total points: 63

and

Body of Lies



A CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.

Total votes: 5 | Highest ranking: #3 (x1) | Total points: 63

Also, here's some trivia about the Top 25 and HMs, just as a teaser for what's to come...

- Only six films, or 24%, of the Top 25 — and only two, or 20%, of the Honorable Mentions — are Bond films.
- The entire Bourne trilogy made the Top 25.
- Prolific spy author John le Carre only has one film adaptation in the Top 25.
- The Top 25 spans films released from 1946 through 2015; the most-represented year is 2012, with three films on the list.
- Three films in the Top 25 were Academy Award nominees for Best Picture; another film in the Top 25 won the award, but finished lower than the other three.
- Only one film in the Top 25, and one Honorable Mention, are primarily in languages other than English.
- The film that finished in first place did not receive a single #1 vote on anyone’s list, nor did it receive the highest number of votes out of films in the Top 25.
- The lowest number of votes any film in the Top 25 received was 6; the highest was 17.
- Eleven films in the Top 25 received at least one #1 vote.
- Three films received a #1 vote but did not make the Top 25 or Honorable Mention; one Honorable Mention film received a #1 vote.
- Two films received the most #1 votes of any film: three each. Both placed in the Top 10.

[esteban²]

That's fast. Looking forward !

[Saccharin]

Oh man I didn't know you had this I also had something to add. Little to late.
You only show 10 not 25 what's up with that.

[imsounoriginal]

These are just ten Honorable Mentions that didn't make the cut for the Top 25. The actual Top 25 will begin tomorrow, five each day from Tuesday-Saturday. Then I'll publish a full list with all the movies that people listed.

[Hardkore]

This is definitely a fav genre of mine. I had meant to do a list but forgot. Looking forward to the results to see what I may have not seen yet that I will need to check out. So far there are already some in the honorable mentions listed above (Charade, Army of Shadows).

[imsounoriginal]

TOP 25: #25-#21

#25. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)



When Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.

Total votes: 8 | Highest ranking: #5 (x2) | Total points: 66

#24. Argo (2012)



Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.

Total votes: 8 | Highest ranking: #3 (x1) | Total points: 70

#23. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)



Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless CIA official and his agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.

Total votes: 6 | Highest ranking: #1 (x1) | Total points: 71

#22. The Lives of Others (“Das Leben der Anderen”) (2006)



In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

Total votes: 6 | Highest ranking: #1 (x1) | Total points: 72

#21. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)



British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.

Total votes: 6 | Highest ranking: #2 (x1) | Total points: 73

[Rodney-2187]

I love The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. It just looks so great.

[ajburke]

Thanks for breaking out some results analysis. Looking forward to more results!

PS - I love Charade by the way. I think I left that off my list. Must have forgotten about it.

[Darth Marcus]

Damn, 9 of mine listed already, two in my Top 10.

[imsounoriginal]

TOP 25: #20-#16

#19. TIE

#19. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)



A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program, just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.


Total votes: 8 | Highest ranking: #2 (x1) | Total points: 74

and

#19. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)



Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate - an International rogue organization as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF.


Total votes: 10 | Highest ranking: #8 (x1) | Total points: 74

#18. Notorious (1946)



A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazi friends in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?


Total votes: 7 | Highest ranking: #1 (x1) | Total points: 80

#17. Inglourious Basterds (2009)



In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.


Total votes: 7 | Highest ranking: #1 (x1) | Total points: 81

#16. Three Days of the Condor (1975)



A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.


Total votes: 9 | Highest ranking: #2 (x2) | Total points: 84

[Rodney-2187]

Three Days of the Condor is an absolutely great movie. It was my #2.

[imsounoriginal]

Haven't seen it in a while, need to rewatch it. It's one of my father's favorite movies though, so I've managed to see it a few times over the years haha

[NeMo_ET]

These are all great lists (crime movies, spy movies, disturbing movies, etc.). I think they should all be consolidated and pinned to the top! Great reference guide for someone looking to build their collection or find something new.

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by NeMo_ET

These are all great lists (crime movies, spy movies, disturbing movies, etc.). I think they should all be consolidated and pinned to the top! Great reference guide for someone looking to build their collection or find something new.

That's a great idea.

[imsounoriginal]

Isn't there a master thread for these Top 25 lists? Or was that just for list ideas?

[ajburke]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Isn't there a master thread for these Top 25 lists? Or was that just for list ideas?

I'm pretty sure it's just a "new ideas" thread. Assuming we're thinking of the same one. Though they do tend to keep a running list of what is active and upcoming.

[imsounoriginal]

Yeah I think that thread serves both purposes lol. But a dedicated "Here are all the lists" thread, which consolidates all the links and results and such, would be a good idea.

[Rodney-2187]

We could make lists of our favorite lists.

[imsounoriginal]

Let's wait til there's 25 of them haha

[imsounoriginal]

TOP 25: #15-11

#15. The Bourne Identity (2002)



A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and regain his memory.

Total votes: 14 | Highest ranking: #8 (x1) | Total points: 87

#14. The Conversation (1974)



A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple he is spying on will be murdered.

Total votes: 6 | Highest ranking: #2 (x1) | Total points: 88

#13. Goldfinger (1964)



Investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.

Total votes: 9 | Highest ranking: #1 (x2) | Total points: 89

#12. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)



IJames Bond woos a mob boss's daughter and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps that involves beautiful women from around the world.

Total votes: 7 | Highest ranking: #1 (x1) | Total points: 92

#11. Dr. No (1962)



A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.

Total votes: 9 | Highest ranking: #1 (x1) | Total points: 95