As has become an annual tradition to celebrate thhe coming of 2010, the Chlotrudis Societyfor Independent Film has compiled its list of the top 50 sequels of al ltime and the top 50 remakes of all time. Members weighed in with their individual picks of the 25 best sequels and the 25 best remakes, then the lists were merged to create this list, which turned out to be pretty controversial! Not surprisingly for a group like Chlotrudis, the top films in each category (BEFORE SUNSET and FAR FROM HEAVEN respectively) were independent films; something remakes and sequels generally are no!

One film appeared on both lists; the difficult to categorize 2009 release, STAR TREK. Was it a reboot? Was it the next movie in a series? Members had differing takes, but it earned enough points to make it on both lists. Not surprisingly, three other Star Trek movies made it to the Top Sequels list. STAR TREK FIRST CONTACT suprisingly ranked the highest at #10. Surprisingly because it was the first of the Star Trek films to feature the Next Generation cast rather than the original cast. The next highest Star Trek film to appear was STAR TREK IV: The Voyage Home, popping in at #22. Coincidentally, the two highest Star Trek films were each directed by cast members, the former by Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander Will Ryker in the Next Generation, and the latter by Leonard Nimoy who we all know played Mr. Spock. STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN came in at #47.

Several filmmakers appear more than once on each list. For the top sequels, it was Michael Apted and his documentary series who showed up most often. His films 49 UP (#18), 42: FORTY TWO UP (#35), 28 UP (#41) and 21 (#46) all showed made strong showings. Sam Raimi made the top sequels list three times, first with ARMY OF DARKNESS at #25, then its predecessor EVIL DEAD 2 at #45, itself a sequel to EVIL DEAD. Raimi finished up the list with SPIDER-MAN 2 at #50. Other multiple-appearing directors include James Cameron and Christopher Nolan who each appeared twice. On the top remakes list no director appeared more than twice, and that honor was shared by four flimmakers: Martin Scorsese, Akira Kurosawa, Frank Oz, and George Cukor.

We hope you enjoy our list of the Top 50 Sequels and Top 50 Remakes of all time!

Top 50 Sequels
01 Before Sunset Richard Linklater 2004
02 2046 Wong Kar Wai 2004
03 The Empire Strikes Back Irvin Kershner 1980
04 The Barbarian Invasions Denys Arcand 2003
05 The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan 2009
06 The Wayward Cloud Tsai Ming-liang 2005
07 Terminator 2: Judgment Day James Cameron 1991
08 Silence of the Lambs Jonathan Demme 1991
09 Superman II Richard Lester 1980
10 Star Trek First Contact Jonathan Frakes 1996
11 The Godfather: Part II Francis Ford Coppola 1974
12 Aliens James Cameron 1986
13 X2 Bryan Singer 2003
14 Saraband Ingmar Bergman 2003
15 Bride of Frankenstein James Whale 1935
16 Russiasn Dolls Cédric Klapisch 2005
17 After the Thin Man W. S. Van Dyke 1936
18 49 Up Michael Apted 2005
19 Red Krzysztof Kieslowski 1994
20 Infernal Affairs II Lau Wai-keung; Alan Mak 2003
21 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Peter Jackson 2003
22 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Leonard Nimoy 1986
23 Toy Story 2 John Lasseter; Ash Brannon; Lee Unkrich 1999
24 Return to Oz Walter Murch 1985
25 Army of Darkness Sam Raimi 1992
26 Chasing Amy Kevin Smith 1997
27 The Human Condition III (A Soldier’s Prayer) Masaki Kobayashi 1961
28 Batman Begins Christopher Nolan 2005
29 The Bourne Supremacy Paul Greengrass 2004
30 The Exorcist III: Legion William Peter Blatty 1990
31 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Jay Roach 1999
32 28 Weeks Later Juan Carlos Fresnadillo 2007
33 Babe: Pig in the City George Miller 1998
34 Star Trek j. J. Abrams 2009
35 42: Forty Two Up Michael Apted 1998
36 The Road Warrior George Miller 1981
37 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Quentin Tarantino 2004
38 Swordsman II Ching Siu-Tung; Stanley Tong 1992
39 Batman Returns Tim Burton 1992
40 Back to the Future Part II Robert Zemeckis 1989
41 28 Up Michael Apted 1985
42 Fay Grim Hal Hartley 2006
43 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Sergio Leone 1966
44 Shock Treatment Jim Sharman 1981
45 Evil Dead II Sam Raimi 1987
46 21 Michael Apted 1977
47 Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Nicholas Meyer 1982
48 Infernal Affairs 3 Lau Wai-keung; Alan Mak 2003
49 Godzilla vs. Mothra Ishirô Honda 1964
50 Spider-Man 2 Sam Raimi 2004
Top 50 Remakes
01 Far From Heaven Todd Haynes 2002
02 Some Like it Hot Billy Wilder 1959
03 The Fly David Cronenberg 1986
04 Happiness of the Katakuris Takashi Miike 2001
05 The Departed Martin Scorsese 2006
06 Imitation of Life Douglas Sirk 1959
07 The Quiet American Phillip Noyce 2002
08 Zatôichi Takeshi Kitano 2003
09 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Philip Kaufman 1978
10 The Man Who Knew Too Much Alfred Hitchcock 1954
11 The Beat That My Heart Skipped Jacques Audiard 2005
12 Nosferatu the Vampyre Werner Herzog 1979
13 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tim Burton 2005
14 Victor Victoria Blake Edwards 1982
15 The Magnificent Seven John Sturges 1960
16 Cape Fear Martin Scorsese 1991
17 12 Monkeys Terry Gilliam 1995
18 Throne of Blood Akira Kurosawa 1957
19 John Carpenter’s The Thing John Carpenter 1982
20 Dawn of the Dead Zack Snyder 2004
21 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Frank Oz 1988
22 A Star is Born George Cukor 1954
23 The Talented Mr. Ripley Anthony Minghella 1999
24 The Winslow Boy David Mamet 1999
25 His Girl Friday Howard Hawks 1940
26 King Kong Peter Jackson 2005
27 3:10 to Yuma James Mangold 2007
28 Chloe Atom Egoyan 2009
29 Floating Weeds Yasujiro Ozu 1959
30 Ocean’s Eleven Steven Soderbergh 2001
31 The End of the Affair Neil Jordan 1999
32 My Fair Lady George Cukor 1964
33 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1974
34 Ran Akira Kurosawa 1985
35 Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz 1986
36 The Thomas Crown Affair John McTiernan 1999
37 Star Trek J. J. Abrams 2009
38 Valmont Milos Forman 1989
39 The Manchurian Candidate Jonathan Demme 2004
40 Washington Square Agnieszka Holland 1997
41 The Maltese Falcon John Huston 1941
42 Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical Andy Fickman 2005
43 The Last House on the Left Dennis Iliadis 2009
44 A Fistful of Dollars Sergio Leone 1964
45 The Mummy Stephen Sommers 1999
46 An Ideal Husband Oliver Parker 1999
47 Emma Douglas McGrath 1996
48 Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Masayuki; Kazuya Tsurumaki 2009
49 The Birdcage Mike Nichols 1996
50 Hairspray Adam Shankman 2007