99 down, 1 to go
Film buff watches the century's best 100 movies in four months

By Jess Decina


Like many college students his age, sophomore Oliver Joszt enjoys watching movies.

But “enjoys” might not be the word for Joszt, who, over a four-month period, watched 99 movies from the American Film Institute’s “100 Years, 100 Movies” list. And all it took was a subscription to Netflix.

“I was interested [in] what constitutes a ‘great’ movie,” Joszt said. “Also, I [wanted] a better understanding of what educated people in the film community think a great movie is.”

As an English major with a concentration in cinema studies, Joszt has made his passion for film an integral part of his everyday life. Classes alone have him watching several hours worth of movies on an average day.

“It’s more studying than actually watching movies,” he said. “I watch movies in my spare time, but I rarely get spare time.”

But cinema studies wasn’t always Joszt’s calling. Not long after arriving at Rider, he decided to switch his major. That’s when he met his adviser, Dr. Cynthia Lucia of the English Department, who told him more about the film aspect of the major.

“I met him when he was a freshman and he came to my office expressing interest in the cinema studies concentration,” Lucia said. “I was immediately pleased to know that he was in the program because he really expressed such a genuine interest and a wide knowledge about cinema.”

Currently, Lucia has Joszt in her Language of Film Analysis course, which studies films from three different perspectives: film appreciation, film history and film theory.

“He seems to have a limitless curiosity,” she said. “He just embraces what he’s interested in, in this case film, and he really just wants to learn about it as much as he can,” she said. “I was incredibly impressed with the time and the effort and everything involved, but at the same time I wasn’t surprised.”

From watching all of these films, Joszt has picked up an appreciation for a few classics along the way. The best two films from the list, he said, include “a tie between Rebel Without A Cause and Some Like It Hot.” But he still looks at some films with a critical eye.

“I question why Midnight Cowboy and The Graduate are on the list,” he said.

And the 100th film, by the way, is Wuthering Heights, which Joszt couldn’t find anywhere. There is hope, however; the University’s Moore Library recently purchased the collection. Watching the 100th film is only steps away for Joszt. Regardless, 99 movies is still a huge accomplishment, and for now, Joszt’s curiosity has been satisfied.

“I wanted to see for myself all of these supposed ‘great’ movies and judge for myself,” he said.