Your 5 Favorite Movies
Barry Nelson
ChicagoPosts: 1,508MI6 Agent
Since joining AJB I have been impressed by the film knowledge of many of the members. So I thought it might be interesting to ask folks what their 5 favorite movies of all time are. Here are mine -
Straw Dogs - Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. The movie builds tension throughout and then explodes with violence in the last 20 minutes. Dustin Hoffman gives a great performance as the docile math researcher and Susan George gives one of the great teasing sexual performances ever. First time I saw it in the theater the crowd was cheering Hoffman on to kill them all, which is the reaction I think Peckinpah wanted.
Casablanca - One of the few movies I have seen where I think every scene works. Bogie and Bergman are wonderful together and the dialogue is crisp, emotional and clever. Every character is well casted and well acted. Wonderful movie.
The Big Sleep - Yes another Bogie movie, I love film noir and I think this is the best. Bogie, of course, is great and Lauren Bacall and Martha Vickers as the two daughters of a rich guy are great also. The dialogue is wonderfully written and Howard Hawks keeps the story moving. A very entertaining movie.
Animal House - I wanted to put a comedy movie in my top 5, because I believe comedy doesn't get the respect it deserves. Making audiences laugh is very difficult and nothing made me laugh more than Animal House. I know the humor at times is sophmoric and crude, but it is also clever. What can I tell you, I think it is the funniest movie I ever saw.
American Beauty - Not sure why, but this movie connected with me. The performances were great, the dialogue was very clever and Kevin Spacey's character as the suburban dad, unloved by his wife, not respected by his daughter and working a job he hates, was one of the most interesting and honest characters I have seen on film in a long time.
It wasn't easy coming up with a top five, movies like Some Like it Hot and Patton just missed. I would certainly be interested in seeing other list, as I know we have some great movie fans on this forum.
Straw Dogs - Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. The movie builds tension throughout and then explodes with violence in the last 20 minutes. Dustin Hoffman gives a great performance as the docile math researcher and Susan George gives one of the great teasing sexual performances ever. First time I saw it in the theater the crowd was cheering Hoffman on to kill them all, which is the reaction I think Peckinpah wanted.
Casablanca - One of the few movies I have seen where I think every scene works. Bogie and Bergman are wonderful together and the dialogue is crisp, emotional and clever. Every character is well casted and well acted. Wonderful movie.
The Big Sleep - Yes another Bogie movie, I love film noir and I think this is the best. Bogie, of course, is great and Lauren Bacall and Martha Vickers as the two daughters of a rich guy are great also. The dialogue is wonderfully written and Howard Hawks keeps the story moving. A very entertaining movie.
Animal House - I wanted to put a comedy movie in my top 5, because I believe comedy doesn't get the respect it deserves. Making audiences laugh is very difficult and nothing made me laugh more than Animal House. I know the humor at times is sophmoric and crude, but it is also clever. What can I tell you, I think it is the funniest movie I ever saw.
American Beauty - Not sure why, but this movie connected with me. The performances were great, the dialogue was very clever and Kevin Spacey's character as the suburban dad, unloved by his wife, not respected by his daughter and working a job he hates, was one of the most interesting and honest characters I have seen on film in a long time.
It wasn't easy coming up with a top five, movies like Some Like it Hot and Patton just missed. I would certainly be interested in seeing other list, as I know we have some great movie fans on this forum.
Comments
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Superman: The Movie
The Godfather
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Belive it or not, I have never seen It's a Mad Mad Mad World, I will have to check it out.
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. The Truman Show
4. Mystic River
5. Crash
It's a classic comedy with an amazing cast, tons of great cameos, and too many hilarious scenes to recount. You should defintely watch it; but be warned: it clocks in at around 3 hours.
1)The Godfather
2)The Godfather Part 2
3)Taxi Driver
3)Goodfellas
In no particular order:
1. The Patriot
2. The Usual Suspects
3. Walk the Line
4. Sin City
5. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
-Roger Moore
1) The Godfather - Brilliant in every aspect
2) The Godfather 2 - more brilliance
3) The Sound Of Music ... Cant help myself. I just adore this movie and have done since I was a child. Always makes me feel good
4) Calamity Jane ... Much for the same reasons as above
5) Grease ... What can I say I love a musical
( I also want to give an honourable mention to Shawshank Redemption, The Italian Job, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly ... this could have been a top 50 quite easily)
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. Collateral
4. The Empire Strikes Back
5. Licence to Kill (this one changes constantly, normally a Bond film though)
2. The Godfather
3. Apocalypse Now
4. L.A. Confidential
5. The Silence of the Lambs
1)Casablanca-One of the finest motion pictures ever made,with a terrific cast and one of the greatest and most quotable screenplays of all time.Truly a classic in every sense of the word.
2)Scaramouche-"He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad".One of the best swashbucklers ever made-- with a splendid blend of action,sophistication,comedy and intrigue.Brilliant use of Technicolor.Stewart Granger is at the top of his form and Eleanor Parker was never more gorgeous.
3)Singin' in the Rain-What more can be said about this film that hasn't already been said elsewhere.A wonderful musical comedy but also a look(albeit slightly exaggerated)at the turmoil that took place in 1929 when Hollywood found itself adapting to the medium of sound.A clever recreation of a period long gone by and despite playing it's subject matter for laughs,perhaps the best movie about moviemaking(aside from The Bad and The Beautiful and Two Weeks in Another Town)ever to come from a major motion picture studio.Ageless and always enjoyable.Remember:"Dignity...always dignity."
4)The Big Country-There are many great Westerns but this one holds a special place of honor as far as I'm concerned.It's one of the best--and also one of the more authentic looking-- range war sagas ever made.The cast is uniformly excellent and the screenplay is terrific.Feautures an unforgetable theme by Jerome Moross.It's dynamic and it's expansive--a BIG movie,indeed.This and the magnificent The Magnificent Seven are two of the finest Westerns in motion picture history.
5)King Kong(the 1933 version)--One of the greatest motion pictures of all time.Excellent screenplay,remarkable special effects by Willis O'Brien and played by a perfect cast( Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong can't be topped).This has everything- action,romance,humor,suspense, and it even makes a brief commentary on it's time--plus there's a giant gorilla destroying New York City.The recent Peter Jackson Kong movie is definitely well-made with plenty of impressive CGI on display,but the original King Kong is absolutely outstanding and cannot be equaled.A superb movie.
However, five that I could happily watch over and over:
1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service: quelle surprise. Six words: Diana Rigg is Mrs James Bond. I could watch this film over and over, and always enjoy it; in fact, it's a little bit too good to be a Bond film.
2) Clue: a criminally underrated comedy. Seven comic actors at the top of their game, a witty fast paced script, and dozens of sight gags, farces, slapstick - every kind of humour. And just when you think it can't get any better - "flames. Flames - on the side of my face..."
3) Annie Hall: another classic comedy that throws everything at you and actually makes you think as well as laugh.
4) Showgirls: ah, shoot me. The simple, beautiful tale of an orphaned teenage runaway prostitute who flees to Vegas to fulfill her dream of dancing naked in front of a polystyrene pyramid while simulating sex with an over the hill dancer named Crystal and manages to claw her immaculately manicured way to the top by being a complete cow, insulting everyone, and eating burgers. And showing her nipples. I love this film. Put it on that damn Congress preservation list now!
5) Rear Window: simply the greatest suspense film ever made. A single set, with James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter being amazing. I watch this every once in a while, and every time Lisa goes to Thorwald's apartment, my heart is in my throat. Genius.
@merseytart
2. Lawrence of Arabia. Sir David Lean at the top of his epic form, and O'Toole is inspired. This film is huge---and quite beautiful, IHMO.
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I just love it---"Well, I could stay a bit longer!"
4. The Bridge on the River Kwai. Lean again; Guinness is riveting, and his scenes with Sessue Hayakawa are priceless.
5. The Samurai Trilogy. Hiroshi Inagaki's very cool three-picture arc about larger-than-life 17th century samurai Mushashi Miyamoto, starring Toshiro Mifune.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
At the moment, I would have to say mine are:
1.) Pulp Fiction (as you can no doubt see)
2.) Raiders of the Lost Ark
3.) The Lord of the Rings (I'm NOT about to separate these, it's too confusing)
4.) Donnie Darko
5.) The Empire Strikes Back
But, basically every other film mentioned on here comes right afterward.
Based on that inspiring description, I can't see why they haven't done so already!
1 - The Green Mile. This film really appealed to me. The book was excellent and the film is almost as good. I like just about anything with Tom Hanks in it. It was really touching.
2 - Saving Private Ryan. Tom Hanks again. I tend to go for factual war movies but I make an exception here. The d-day landing was excellently done, but the rest of the film is very good as well. The final confrontation at the bridge is excellent.
3 - The Right Stuff. - I have been interested in space travel for a long time, and I consider The Right Stuff to be the best film on the subject. The early scenes at Edwards Air Force base, with Yeager and the other test pilots are very good. And the astronaut scenes are great as well. It doesn't look very dated really. The scenes of spacecraft and rocket planes etc. still look good today.
4. Battle of Britain - The first war movie I saw and probably still the best. It is really a documentary with actors, but it has all the excitement of a mainstream film. The flying scenes are great. Also it was produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Guy Hamilton. The score by Ron Goodwin is brilliant and really adds to the film.
5. Dark Blue World - Similar to Battle of Britain in some ways, this low key Czech production is a mix of war film and romance. It has good air combat scenes (some of which employ the use of footage from Battle of Britain) as well as a good, and entirely believable love story. Far better than most war films. It is a similar love triangle scenario to Pearl Harbor, but much more convincing. The cinematography is excellent as well. It is very impressive given that the budget is a fraction of what mainstream hollywood films have.
1) The Outlaw Josey Whales
I could've picked any number of Eastwood's output, from the Dollars trilogy to Dirty Harry Callahan, the Don Siegal directed .. etc. This is one I can watch over and over, (and have) One of the best depictions of the post civil war period ever.
2) Aguirre, The Wrath Of God
The first and best of the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski collabarations. Filmed by hand with striking mind searing visuals, it's more then just a film, it's a haunting experience. Francis Ford Coppola most assuredly took a few ideas from this masterpiece when filming his own Apocalypse Now.
3) A Clockwork Orange
Yep, I'm male scum. Kubrick and Malcolm McDowell's futuristic nihilism warped my early teens. And I still want to marry a lighthouse keeper and "keep him/her company"
4) The Robe
Among other things, I'm a sucker for melodramatic costume pieces. This one gets me every time. Ave Caesar.
5) All Quiet On The Western Front
The 1930 black and white original, not the tepid remake. This is a testament to man and the horrors of war.
2) Casino- Robert DeNiro is amazing in this movie, and it is much more captivating than Goodfellas
3) Layer Cake- When I saw this movie I was blown away. The acting is superb and... I just really like it.
4) It's a Wonderful Life- The best feel good movie ever made!
5) Face/Off- Nicolas Cage at his best, with awesome gunplay and a surprisingly cool story!
EDIT- I bumped Twelve Angry men off the list.
IMO arguably the BEST Bond film in the entire franchise; just eclipsing FRWL.
2.Batman Begins
Finally a superhero film worthy of Oscar consideration. It packed a heartfelt script without losing its backbone; staying true to diehard comic fans like myself. I'm counting down the days until production wraps up for the follow-up on this one.
3.Fight Club
This growing cult classic provides us more than adequete male bonding without it getting weird...
4.The Empire Strikes Back
Look...just forget the prequels, forget Return Of The Jedi(damn Ewoks) only give respect to the predecessor; Star Wars. For me as a kid to actually sit in the theatre and experience a film like this is beyond words. Beautifully done from beginning to end. Lucas, IMO reached his creative peak when he released Empire.
5. The Shining
Classic Kubrick horror that has left indelible marks on all who've cast eyes upon it...or should have. I just love the bathroom sequence with the dead woman
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
This is a personal favorite of mine too. What makes this movie great is its phenomenal cast. It's one of the best I've ever seen. There is so much on-screen chemistry that you can't help but enjoy it. Comedy and Mystery are a winning combination with this one. Who would of thought a board game could be adapted into such a great film?
I just can't help it, this one's for Jetset!
-Roger Moore
DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979 version!)
DUCK SOUP
SILENT RUNNING
SATURDAY NIGHT-SUNDAY MORNING
HAROLD & MAUDE
-Predator-I'm a huge Arnold fan and this is one of my all-time favorite action flicks. Arnold kicks butt and I like Carl Weather's performance also. All building up to the lengthy showdown between Dutch and the Predator at the end that is amazing. "Come on! I'm Here! Kill me now! Do it! DO IT NOW!" True Lies could have almost been top five too because of the great teamwork of Arnold and Tom (Arnold)
-Apocalypse Now- Not many people I know realize that this movie is based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" which I had to read in a high school lit class. The novel was based on the African diamond trade, and a rogue trader who has gone mad. After reading it we watched the movie. The way they adapted the story to Vietnam is brilliant, and it's a very unique war movie that doesn't need much action, but rather focuses more on the psychological suspense of their quest for Kurtz and the surrounding war.
-The Shining- My favorite horror movie of all time and my favorite Stephen King novel (I've read quite a bit of them too, but not all). So combine this with Kubrick and a brilliant performance by Jaaaack Niiiicholssson, and it made an amazing leap to the screen IMO. I absolutely love the parts where Jack is starting to lose his sanity, sitting at the bar, ordering drinks from a ghost bartender, amidst a ghost New Year's Eve party, being told that he needs to butcher his family.
-Donnie Darko- Time will tell if this film will hold up as one of my favorites, but it is easily one of the best movies I've seen in a long while. Really makes you think, and in fact there's no one correct way to interpret the happenings in the film as a whole, which I loved. I love the 80's setting and music throughout. In fact, director Richard Kelly says he actually wrote parts of the film around the music, and it turned out amazing IMO. Head over Heels is one of my faves from the eighties and all-time.
-The Burbs- By far my favorite Tom Hanks movie and probably my favorite comedy of all time. Hanks is just ridiculously funny, as are Bruce Dern, Rick Docummen, Cory Feldman, and the Klopek cast of Gibson, Gains, and Theodore. The plot is simple, mysterious, and hilarious. The actors all play funny characters and share great chemistry with each other. Funny also to see Carrie Fisher in decent role outside of SW.
"Hey Ray, a man's home furnace, is that supposed to go up to 3,000 degrees?"
P.S. "Groundhog Day" was real close to making my list as favorite comedy; it was pretty much a toss-up.
A few personal comments (not criticism) about some of the selections.
The first two Godfather movies are great great movies, they didn't make my list because of the bad taste Godfather 3 left in my mouth. I always think of all three movies when I think about the Godfather movies. The first two though, are excellent.
The Outlaw Josey Wales is another great movie that was mentioned. Beautifully photographed, excellent acting with some great small bit players, and excellent dialogue. "Not a hard man to track, he leaves dead men whereever he goes". Western with Clint Eastwood, I am there.
Thanks to Lady Rose for remembering musicals. I like musicals too and I think it is a shame they aren't made more often. The recent Moulin Rouge was a great effort, better than Chicago in my opinion.
As some folks mentioned, picking five is tough and the hardest one to pick is number five. Looking at my list again, I think I might add Rear Window or maybe The Wild Bunch, of course I would have to drop something. Not an easy task.
Afterall, 'Life is a Cabaret,old chum ....'
I loved Moulin Rouge even though I spent the first 10 mins in the cinema thinking 'What the .... ? ' (loved Chicago too, btw )
That's funny, because I swear I was thinking the exact same thing in the first 10 minutes.
I've always had a hard time with musicals, but there is one I really, really love: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with the great Zero Mostel and a very young, pre-Phantom Michael Crawford.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Like Lady Rose, I also liked Grease. Remember those good 'ol "reel to reels"? Well I'd have my piece of junk tape cassete player all ready to record Travolta and Company. Unfortunately, you could also hear the whirring noise those things made in the copy.
Plus Neil Diamond's The Jazz Singer. -{
I really enjoy the new Moulin Rouge. I spent longer than 10 minutes thinking "What the...?" but I still loved the movie.
Oliver is fantastic but my illusions were shattered recently when I discovered that Mark Lester ( Oliver) didn't actually sing a note. His part was sung by a girl !!