What are the 10 best Pennsylvania movies?

The question occurred to me again the other day when news hit that Greg Mottola, Carnegie Mellon University alumnus, is likely headed to Kennywood to film his next picture.

Mottola's comedy "Superbad'' opened No. 1 at the box office last week, so he's no slouch. His proposed homage to love beneath the roller coaster, "Adventureland,'' may not be eligible for my list even it's filmed here, however, because the story evidently isn't tied in any way to Pennsylvania.

That's what kept "The Silence of the Lambs,'' filmed in Pittsburgh but set elsewhere, from my Top 10. I know that has to be killing Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and the rest of that cast.

"The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," filmed here last fall, inspired my list. I was driving home from a weekend in Elk County, my wife and daughters asleep in the car, not long after that movie's lead actress, Sienna Miller, kicked up a highly calculated fuss by dissing the city during filming and then apologizing for it.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl met with the spoiled rich Brit, giving the movie some pub and allowing the mayor to say "cheese'' with yet another celebrity. That was enough inspiration to get me thinking about the best Pennsylvania movies as I drove down Route 28.

Anyway, here are my Top Five Movies Set in Pennsylvania, in alphabetical order: "The Deer Hunter,'' "Groundhog Day,'' "The Philadelphia Story,'' "Rocky'' and "Witness."

Those are the ones I'd watch were I given a stack of DVDs and a fridge filled with Penn Pilsner, Primanti Bros., scrapple and cheesesteaks. This cinematic quintet reaches from Western Pennsylvania through Amish country to Philadelphia, and offers comedy, drama and romance. Obviously, this group can't compete with the best in New York, California or even Illinois, but I expect it could beat most other states'.

When I checked my choices against American Film Institute rankings of the best American movies, I found "Philadelphia Story'' ranked 44th, "Deer Hunter'' 53rd and "Rocky'' 57th. Strictly among comedies, the Philly flick is 15th and "Groundhog Day'' 34th.

So I'd expect these four movies would wind up in most Pennsylvanians' Top 10. I'd bet "Witness'' would be there too, because there was so much to like in that 1985 romantic shoot-'em-up that played on cultures worlds apart yet just down the Turnpike from one another.

Where to go from there? This is where it gets tough. "Flashdance"? Nope, she'll have to take her passion and make it happen someplace else. "Night of the Living Dead"? Call me insensitive, but body-munching zombies never did much for me.

I'd be very surprised if my next five match anyone else's next five, but part of the reason I'm doing this column is 1) to give readers an easy chance to call someone else an idiot, something I always find comforting on a Sunday afternoon, and 2) to see what readers come up with after they kick this idea around the kitchens, barrooms, diners and dorms of Western Pennsylvania:

"Philadelphia'' (1993): Tom Hanks won the Oscar for his performance, Bruce Springsteen for his song, and Denzel Washington showed us why an Oscar would be in his near future.

"The Molly Maguires'' (1970): Irish coal miners blow things up in 1876 Pennsylvania. Sean Connery and Richard Harris have a terrific brawl. That's entertainment.

"Trading Places" (1983): Poor guy gets rich; rich guy gets poor. It may fall short as a statement on race and class, but Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd beating a pair of Philadelphia bluebloods out of a fortune remains very funny.

"The Bread, My Sweet'' (2001): It's likely I wouldn't have liked this romantic fairy tale so much were it not set in the Strip District, or if I hadn't seen it with my wife, but this movie knows food and knows family. Scott Baio stars. Who knew Chachi had this in him?

"All The Right Moves'' (1983): Filmed in Johnstown, it's a pretty good primer on a mill town's passion for high school football and '80s high school girls' belief in big hair.

See me tomorrow and I might have a different list. I mean, "Wonder Boys'' got Pittsburgh mostly right. "Striking Distance'' wasn't a good movie, but the city looked great. "Lady Beware'' was worse, but Diane Lane looked like Diane Lane. And I was there when John Landis, directing that vampires-in-the-mob epic "Innocent Blood,'' had a lovely stunt vampire jump from the gargoyle at Calvary United Methodist Church on Beech Avenue. She fell almost as far as Mr. Landis has since "Trading Places.''

Maybe I need a Bottom 10, too.