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Top 5 movies of all time...thread
- Thread starter phas3
- Start date
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The book was an order of magnitude better. So far (as is typical for books->movies) I've yet to see a good version that captures the essence of that book, be it the BBC series or the latest movie.
As someone mentioned about films prior to our birthday, I'll throw out a list of my top 5 movies that were done before I was born. I still stand by my list but these were exceptional films as well.
The Four Feathers. The 1939 version.
High Noon
Sargent York
The Searchers
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Four Feathers. The 1939 version.
High Noon
Sargent York
The Searchers
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Akira gets my vote for best non-CGI animated feature ever, bar none. (Fantasia comes close with its splendid visuals, but I view it as a series of animated music videos rather than a cohesive feature.) Some time ago, I heard that a live-action Akira remake is in the works. If so, I hope they don't f@#$ it up.
The introduction to Up is a wonderful piece of storytelling-- a lifetime of memories using very few words. Careful attention to scenes like that is a big reason why Pixar is atop the CGI animation heap.
An excellent list, and a good idea for another thread??
Or just one featuring B&W classics. (I'll let the Wizard Of Oz in this one.)
Embarassingly not familiar with him at all. Will let you know how I go. Got exams in the way but a nice break afterwards so some quality passive material on the couch is very welcome
Another one that you may like. But this one isn't passive . . . your brain will be in knots!
- Synecdoche, New York
You are truly a strange person
I could watch any Kurosawa, Fassbinder, Bergman, or Woody Allen movie at any time. All classics, all immensely watchable (with the exception of some Woody Allen movies, I suppose). Big fan of the Ghost in the Shell movies too.
FWW Watchmen is a good film, but the graphic novel is so much better.
Also, OP, if you like 500 days etc. you need to see Annie Hall. They're all cut from the cloth of that movie.
Okay, if you insist. A handful of my fave "older" films:
The Big Broadcast (1932): The plot's kinda thin, but it has some classic George & Gracie bits, as well as Kate Smith in her younger, larger, cuter days (hubba hubba).
Plan 9 from Outer Space: So bad it's good; the ultimate in no-budget cinema.
Night Of The Living Dead: This set the benchmark for modern zombie films.
Good choice, It said so much without a word. Most people hated that movie but I thought it was really well done.
Great movie. Most people don't understand why but when you learn about how they made it, you see it in a new light.
Lawrence of Arabia was fantastic. Just a cinematic joy to watch.
Meet Joe Black was cerebral, classy and well, I love Anthony Hopkins acting.
Definitely one of my favorites. Beautiful story.
YES! Great movie!
Gattaca is a favorite sci-fi of mine. Great acting, sets and beautiful cinematography
Fight Club was a great modern film
I love Gladiator (soundtrack is a personal favorite) but I wouldn't put it in my top 5. Some of the scenes weren't crafted carefully enough (I'm fairly picky).
Saving Private Ryan was the WWII movie that made me understand why my grandfathers wouldn't talk about it. I wept at that movie.
That was a great film. Made me cry when I saw it in high school (I don't think I was the only one trying to hide the fact).
My own:
Dances with Wolves - I love huge pano shots that say a million words without saying anything
Cinema Paradiso - Fantastic Italian film with a wonderful soundtrack - about the relationship a boy and older man have (brotherly love type).
The Gospel of John - (narrated by Christopher Plummer, music by Jeff Dann) - great visuals, amazing soundtrack - it'll make you understand why Jesus is so influential.
Shawshank Redemption - Great cinematography, screenplay and acting
Waking Ned Devine - The eulogy is what I want at my funeral, just beautifully said and the movie cracks me up
Wall-E - beautifully cinematography (if you can call it that) and says worlds without talking
That's strange. I thought Battlefield Earth was supposed to be the pinnacle of bad movies (by that, I mean bad bad movies, as in walk out of the theater, angrily demanding a refund bad).
I'd say Wings of Honneamise is better. Graphics so realistic the battle scene near the end could have been live action. Great graphics, fantastic voice acting (haven't heard the Dubbed, but then dubbing from that era makes me want to drive a stake through both ears
) and a topnotch storyline makes Wings one of the greatest anime of all time. Akira had fantastic graphics and voice acting, but the storyline was too compressed. I wish they had fleshed out the story with another hour's worth of movie. I wouldn't mind watching a 3 1/2 hour Akira that made sense.
This I have to think about. The only one I can pull off the top of my head, as far as animated films go, is Fantastic Mr. Fox. One of the most underrated films. Amazing deadpan comedy with great symbolical content.
There Will Be Blood is way up there for me. It had such an alluring quality to it, not to mention Daniel-Day Lewis's unparalleled acting. This man has this underlying factor that is neither overt nor hidden, but reaches you with such emotional power.
There Will Be Blood is way up there for me. It had such an alluring quality to it, not to mention Daniel-Day Lewis's unparalleled acting. This man has this underlying factor that is neither overt nor hidden, but reaches you with such emotional power.
I'm sure there are others that should be on this list, but off the top of my head:
Jaws - My mother took me to see it in the theater. I was 6 years old - and traumatized for years afterward.
The Lord of the RIngs - Yes, I know it's technically three movies, but it's a single story that was shot all at once. I was certain it couldn't do justice to the books, but it actually did just fine in that regard.
The Matrix - Very philosophical and thought-provoking. I haven't seen either of the sequels.
Cars - Many will scoff, but watching the two lead characters reluctantly come to respect each other really touched me.
A Christmas Story - No movie ever made has, or will, be more meaningful to me. I'm beginning to sob just thinking about it as I type.
MORE interesting, I think, is a list of movies people have noted here that I just don't care for at all - but that's another thread.
Jaws - My mother took me to see it in the theater. I was 6 years old - and traumatized for years afterward.
The Lord of the RIngs - Yes, I know it's technically three movies, but it's a single story that was shot all at once. I was certain it couldn't do justice to the books, but it actually did just fine in that regard.
The Matrix - Very philosophical and thought-provoking. I haven't seen either of the sequels.
Cars - Many will scoff, but watching the two lead characters reluctantly come to respect each other really touched me.
A Christmas Story - No movie ever made has, or will, be more meaningful to me. I'm beginning to sob just thinking about it as I type.
MORE interesting, I think, is a list of movies people have noted here that I just don't care for at all - but that's another thread.
haha i forgot how great DownByLaw is.
A small jewel.
in random order
Film Blue
Fight Club
Blade Runner
Mediterraneo
Young Frankenstein
Some good choices already, and the thread is still young.
- Casablanca - every scene a painting, every word a poem, every gesture a volume
- Unforgiven
- Raiders Of The Lost Ark
- Road To Perdition
- The African Queen
(This is tougher than it first appears.)
Casablanca always tops my list too.
1. Casablanca
2. Seven Samurai
3. Spirited Away
4. Ran (Akira Kurosawa's version of King Lear)
5. Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka)
Today it's 2 Kurosawa movies and 2 anime. Tomorrow it might be a Sci-Fi (2001), action (Mad Max), western (Josey Wales) and drama (God Father). But Casablanca will always be #1.
I don't understand all these people voting for Casablanca!? I have never seen it before until today.
What a load of rubbish! The film is nothing special - I don't see how people can pick this as their favourite "all-time" film. Enlighten me people!
I also just watched The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It was OK and seems to stay true to the book (from what I can remember!).
If it doesn't speak to you, that's ok too.
For a B movie, made as a war-time "propaganda" film, it stands the test of repeated viewings.
That is the pinnacle of bad great movies
No way... bad movies...... simply put:
"Sssssss"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070622/
Need I say more.
To be added to the list:
Tampopo - noodle as opposed to spaghetti Western
A Matter of Life and Death - wartime propaganda maybe, but deliciously executed
Wings of Desire - Wim Wenders' finest
North by Northwest - excellent through and through
Pan's Labyrinth - dark and atmospheric tale of Civil War
Tampopo - noodle as opposed to spaghetti Western
A Matter of Life and Death - wartime propaganda maybe, but deliciously executed
Wings of Desire - Wim Wenders' finest
North by Northwest - excellent through and through
Pan's Labyrinth - dark and atmospheric tale of Civil War
Yes, Alfred at his best, but I had a little trouble with Eva Marie Saint as the femme fatale.
But you put me in mind of Mirage (1965), with the always excellent Gregory Peck, and a first-rate supporting cast. A good thriller, without the gore.
Wow. That's ok. I could watch Casablanca every day for the rest of my life...I somehow identify with Rick Blaine. It's not only a classic, but it's a great story of love, sacrifice, loyalty, and honor. It also has some of the greatest lines in cinema history:
Rick: "I never plan that far ahead"
Rick: "That's so long ago I can't remember"
Rick: I'm a drunkard.
Renault: Which makes Rick a citizen of the world.
Renault: I'm shocked...SHOCKED to find that gambling is going on in here!
Courpier: Your winnings sir.
Renault: Oh, thank you very much.
Rick: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.
And that's just scratching the surface...Bogart is top notch in this film and is surpassed only by his performance in the Maltese Falcon.
To each their own though.