Which is your absolute favorite movie of all time and why?

The title of the topic says it all.

 

Amistad--I'm a sucker for triumph of the human spirit and it is one of the most inspiring stories. And of course, John Williams does the music.

 

I always used to say Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough, without flinching. Apart from being an extraordinarily well-made film, it turned me on to a philosophy which has permeated my entire life.

However, philosophy aside, I'm now not so sure. I've seen so many brilliant films recently that I just can't say with any certainty anymore.

 

I really can't say an absolute favorite, but I can give a few:

Black Hawk Down
Saving Private Ryan
ROTS
The Shawshank Redemption
Raiders of the Lost Ark
ESB

There's a few.

 

Kingdom of Heaven. Its just to me a good movie it has everything. Action,emotion,romance, and good characters.

I actually did not like the first time I saw it but second time around. I loved it.



Emporer Gerner Dark Lord of the Sith

 

On The Waterfront

And I'd try to tell you why this movie is so great, but I'm not sure there are words that can describe it. You just have to see it for yourself.

 

Back to the Future. I can watch it over and over again without ever being board. It has everything. Humor, brains, great acting, and sci-fi.

 

To me, although I love Back to the Future, I've noticed lately how shallow of a film it is. The ending is so tied in with '80s materialism it pisses me off. Instead of finding newfound respect and acceptance for who his parents are, they've changed to successful, good-looking people with a nice, well-furnished house, a ridiculously nice car, and successful offspring.

As for my favorite movies, besides the Raiders trilogy and the Star Wars saga, here's my top ten (Keep in mind that I am basing this off rewatching ability and the entertainment factor; not on which is necessarily the "best"):

1. Spider-Man 2 -- Pure entertaining, unpretensious fun--a rarity these days. I love the action, and I love the villain. But most of all, I love the chemistry between the two leads Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. They define a certain past experience of mine, and it's very relatable. The movie also has a great sense of humor as seen in the "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" scene. I also think Raimi's slightly riskier decision to make a sequel that he referred to as "smaller than the original" was brilliant. It was BRILLIANT to make a more introspective sequel. Essentially, he made a coming-of-age story. I love it. LOVE it. It should have been a Best Picture nominee, and I was happy to see Roger Ebert pushing for it. In my opinion it's the absolute best of 2004.

2. Jerry Maguire -- This movie made ma Cameron Crowe fan. The writing is very smart and funny, and it's a movie that after watching it I feel uplifted. It's so profoundly optimistic. It has such a huge heart yet it manages to avoid being sappy. Again, I relate a lot to the main character and the situations he finds himself in. I also think it's Tom Cruise's best performance. Or at least one of them. He was great in Last Samurai also.

3. Signs -- Such a fun popcorn movie. It's among my best theater experiences. I admire it's Hitchcockian structure--little plot, lots of characterizations and reliance on situation. I also think it's one of Mel Gibson's best performances. I love the unerlying plot of man's crisis faith being intertwined with a B-movie alien invasion. It's fun and deep at the same time, and although the ending is often disputed, I find it to be M. Night Shyamalan's best ending. I find it very touching, and I was initially blown away by all the little character nuances being tied up in a single plot movement. The movie makes you pay attention, yet it doesn't try our patience. I remember how electric the theater audience was. Everyone was really feeling it. It's what I imagined Jaws to be like when it was first released. People were screaming one minute and laughing the next, and I found myself leaning closer and closer in my chair. I can't help but smile when I think of it.

4. Rear Window -- Hitchcock's best in my opinion. It's his most entertaining, and it's amazing how he was able to create such suspense yet keep us confined to a single room. I've read a lot of interviews with Hitch on the film, and it's surprisingly dark how the film turns it audiences into voyeurs. It's a damn shame we don't have more films like this. It's a lot of fun as well. The humor is clear throughout, and I'm sometimes surprised by how fond of comedy Hitchcock was.

5. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial -- Also Spielberg's best. A main factor for my love this movie is nostalgia. This takes me back to my childhood not only because it's a movie I enjoyed watching, but everything in it reaks of what being a kid in suburbia is like. I'm reminded the fights with my siblings, particularly my little sister. I'm reminded of imaginary friends (yeah, I was a nerd too). riding bikes all day in the Summer, etc. I rarely cry at movies, yet this one gets me going like a baby by the end. One of Spielberg's perfect movies.

6. Unbreakable -- As a growing lover of comic books, thi

 

El Cid - with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren.


A great movie based on a good story with excellent performances.


zs.

 

Star Wars (1977) Dir. George Lucas

This is my absolute favorite movie of all time! It also happens to be the best and most important movie ever made in the last fifty years. It really is the best example of what movies are all about. It's the kind of movie that can be watched hundreds of times and still be even better by each viewing.

Other favorites of mine: ROTJ, ESB, ROTS, AOTC, TPM, Indiana Jones trilogy, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, American Grafitti, Jurassic Park, Alien, Donnie Darko, Mullholland Drive etc.

 

"Carlitos Way"

Reason? - 2 words..."Al"..."Pacino".

 

I hate having to chose an absolute favorite movie of all time because there are so many movies I have yet to see. When I come to the end of my life I`ll tell ya

 

Se7en.

It's like Fight Club, which is also in my top ten, but is just so much more accessible. Good characters, good plot, great direction... It doesn't get much better than Se7en.

 

I can't claim any absolute favorites, too pre-occupied discovering the next masterpiece.

But if I were to offer a home entertainment based on themes--

Film Noir/Classic:

Out of the Past
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Casablanca

Film Noir II:

The Killers
The Killing
Night And The City

Film Noir III:

Scarlet Street
Nightmare Alley
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Film Noir IV:

Force of Evil
Chinatown
Sweet Smell of Success

Film Noir/Classic:

Kiss of Death
Psycho
Cape Fear

War:

The Longest Day
They Were Expendable
Twelve O'Clock High

Western:

Once Upon A Time In The West
The Wild Bunch
The Searchers

Contemporary Comedy:

Fast Times At Ridgemont High
This is Spinal Tap
The 40 year old Virgin

 

You consider Psycho to be film noir? I always think of stuff like The Maltese Falcon, On the Waterfront, Sunset Boulevard, etc. Interesting.

I take it you're not too fond of post modern movies?

 

If I had to pick an absolute favorite, I?d say Blade Runner. That film hits all the notes perfectly for me, from the atmospheric tension of the plot progression, the thematic concerns of defining humanity in the unlikeliest of terms, and the sci-fi/noir visual design that remains superior to anything that?s come after in the CGI era. This film transcends its genre label, presenting an overall story and a set of characters that?s best described by one word: real.

 

I had always liked Charlton Heston, but it was absolutely this movie that helped me understand why Sophia Loren had the huge star status she does.

You are right-Amazing performances.

My favorite now has to be Schindler's List

 

No, that's why it's listed under the header of Film Noir"/Classic". Just felt the films in each catagory would work splendidly together for a great home entertainment evening spent.

I love both classic and modern cinema but these films are masterpieces and deeply influential. My lists weren't complete by any means just wanted to draw attention to them.

 

Wow, never ask a film aficionado what their favorite film is... it's just.too.hard.to.pick.one. I think picking a favorite for each genre or type of film is much more representative of my actual taste, which isn't very impressive but I couldn't care less! Anyways, the film that I have ranked at the top of my list of favorites is Moulin Rouge! because that is the only movie that I consider to be perfect. The only 10/10 I've bestowed upon a film. However, this is a more complete list of my most beloved movies:
1. Moulin Rouge!
2. American Beauty
3. When Harry Met Sally
4. Gangs of New York
5. The Hours
6. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Kramer vs. Kramer
9. Cold Mountain
10. Lost in Translation
11. Titanic
12. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
13. Life as a House
14. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
15. Pulp Fiction
16. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
17. Manhattan
8. Adaptation.
19. Finding Neverland
20. Dick

Other Good Ones:
21 Grams
Annie Hall
Best in Show
Big Lebowski
Brokeback Mountain
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Chicago
Chocolat
Christmas Vacation
Cider House Rules
Citizen Kane
Closer
Elf
Hotel Rwanda
I Heart Huckabees
The Ice Storm
The Insider
Jackie Brown
L.A. Story
The Man with Two Brains
Reality Bites
Road to Perdition
Saved!
Seabiscuit
Sophie's Choice
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Terms of Endearment
This is Spinal Tap
The Weather Man

 

"Aliens" or "The Untouchables".

It depends on the day.

"Aliens" is the original Sci-Fi action movie.

"The Untouchables" is just.....great.

 

'Serenity' or 'The Shawshank Redemption'. Honeslt cannot choose between 'em as they both blew me away but for different reasons.
I always kinda knew that Serenity would be good, but I was amazed at just how good it was. It was a nice 'conclusion' to the Firefly story and was an all-round great film.
The Shawshank Redemption was a surprise. I had no idea what it was about when I saw it and I was just stunned. It's one of those films that's a human story kinda film and I loved it. A nice change from "Wham bam" action.

 

Western II:

High Noon
Red River
Ride The High Country

Western III:

The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
Tombstone

Western IV:

Stagecoach
Rio Bravo
Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid

 

Run, Lola, Run. It lets me know that I'm not alone on the frantic train.

There are other movies that rank way up there for me, and sometimes one will take the number one spot from Lola, but she stays there most of the time.

 

Equilibrium.

Seriously

 

Amistad is a good movie... I've liked it a lot over the years, and I just viewed it again a week ago, and that only cemented why it's one of my favorites.
Sure, it's Hollywood-ish, and it puts white characters at the forefront, BUT (and this is a big but) it more like Glory, in that we get to know the Cinque character outside of the lens of the white characters... I think if it weren't Spielberg directing, and your typical white Hollywood director handled it, we would only see Cinque through the white character's eyes, and he'd never act independent of them, and would only be there as someTHING to make the white characters feel better about themselves... thankfully, Amistad doesn't do that....
I heard many criticisms of the movie, and I have a couple things I'd rather have done differently, but otherwise, it's solid.