What are your top 10 films?
I searched extensively for a thread like this, and couldn't find one. So here goes. My top 10 films, and a mini-review for each one.
My top 10 films:
#1. Amadeus.
I doubt that this masterwork will be topped in my lifetime. An extraordinary play turned into an extraordinary film by one of the greatest living film makers. In this film, very much like in Mozart's music, nothing feels out of place or wrong. Sequences driven by godly music and academy award winning acting drive the compelling story forward with incredible power and perfection. Amadeus rightfully swept the 1985 Academy Awards.
#2. Downfall.
Showing in uncompromising realism and detail the last few days of Hitler's life, Downfall is an exceptional masterpiece. The film draws the viewer in through it's somber desolation. Silent moments and almost overbearingly realistic scenes make the viewer feel as if they are in Hitler's bunker in the last days of the war. I am left feeling like the world came to an end when the masterful coda of this elegy finally draws to a close.
#3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
This film is hard to review. It's absolutely brilliant in the way it achieves epic levels without any battle scenes, special effects, or anything technically extravagant. It's funny in places, heart breaking in others, and overall is a multi-layered masterwork completely on par with Forman's later masterpiece "Amadeus." The way it ensnares and entrances the viewer is almost unexplainable. A true masterpiece.
#4. Schindler's List.
In my opinion, Schindler's List and Downfall are the two greatest World War II films ever made. Watching one after the other, they don't seem to match as a series of any sort, but that's exactly the point. One side of the situation (the jews, the concentration camps, the ghettos) was entirely different than the other side (Hitler's private life, the lives of all his close friends). That's what's so great about putting those two films together. And of course, Schindler's List is a brilliant piece of film making. I've counted at least seven "cinematic sequences" in the film, on par with the most gripping musically driven sequences from Amadeus.
#5. The Fellowship of the Ring.
No other team could have brought The Lord of the Rings to the screen the way Peter Jackson and his team did. Absolute perfection in all areas of film making for this one. The music and the cinematography in particular are what make this film so spectacular. A true masterpiece. Almost a modern Amadeus in the fantasy genre.
#6. Babel.
Babel cuts abruptly between Japan, Morocco, and Mexico, covering four different stories, and succeeding on every level in spite of the fact that the four stories aren't even happening at the same time. In Iñárritu's previous films, his technique of jumping around between stories was a little disorienting, and sometimes distractingly abrupt, but in Babel it's as smooth as a river, and even when he cuts abruptly from a japanese club to a moroccan desert, the viewer doesn't feel confused. He melds these four tragic stories together seamlessly, and the result is a brilliant kaleidoscopic film that grips the viewer merely by the brilliance in which it moves.
#7. Life is Beautiful.
I'd call Roberto Benigni the "modern day Chaplin" if he had made more than one masterpiece. The Tiger and the Snow was good, but nothing in comparison to his eternal gem "Life is Beautiful." He did something that nobody else succeeded to do. He brought to the screen a completely fictional fairy tale, full of ridiculously unrealistic events and impossible scenarios, that still operates on a brilliant level. The messages of love, connection, and the pure genius in which Benigni plays out the film, transcend the need for a realistic story. And the music is absolutely beautiful.
#8. City Lights.
Charlie Chaplin has the ability to walk on the very thin line between comedy and tragedy without falling off. City Lights is hilarious and tragic at the same time. The physical comedy is masterfully executed, and the result of Chaplin's ability to meld that with a deep storyline, creates one of the greatest films ever made. Pure genius.
#9. Modern Times.
Another Chaplin masterwork. Basically the same things I said about City Lights apply here. It's an absolutely whole and perfected masterpiece that incorporates almost every human emotion in it's delicate folds. How Chaplin achieved that balance between comedy and tragedy is beyond me. It's absolutely amazing.
#10. The Circus.
Yet another Chaplin film. The Circus, while it does have deep moments, and overall a very serious storyline, presents itself primarily as a comedy. And it's one of the best comedies i've ever seen. The stunts and the physical comedy in this film are brilliant. Just brilliant.
My top 10 films:
#1. Amadeus.
I doubt that this masterwork will be topped in my lifetime. An extraordinary play turned into an extraordinary film by one of the greatest living film makers. In this film, very much like in Mozart's music, nothing feels out of place or wrong. Sequences driven by godly music and academy award winning acting drive the compelling story forward with incredible power and perfection. Amadeus rightfully swept the 1985 Academy Awards.
#2. Downfall.
Showing in uncompromising realism and detail the last few days of Hitler's life, Downfall is an exceptional masterpiece. The film draws the viewer in through it's somber desolation. Silent moments and almost overbearingly realistic scenes make the viewer feel as if they are in Hitler's bunker in the last days of the war. I am left feeling like the world came to an end when the masterful coda of this elegy finally draws to a close.
#3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
This film is hard to review. It's absolutely brilliant in the way it achieves epic levels without any battle scenes, special effects, or anything technically extravagant. It's funny in places, heart breaking in others, and overall is a multi-layered masterwork completely on par with Forman's later masterpiece "Amadeus." The way it ensnares and entrances the viewer is almost unexplainable. A true masterpiece.
#4. Schindler's List.
In my opinion, Schindler's List and Downfall are the two greatest World War II films ever made. Watching one after the other, they don't seem to match as a series of any sort, but that's exactly the point. One side of the situation (the jews, the concentration camps, the ghettos) was entirely different than the other side (Hitler's private life, the lives of all his close friends). That's what's so great about putting those two films together. And of course, Schindler's List is a brilliant piece of film making. I've counted at least seven "cinematic sequences" in the film, on par with the most gripping musically driven sequences from Amadeus.
#5. The Fellowship of the Ring.
No other team could have brought The Lord of the Rings to the screen the way Peter Jackson and his team did. Absolute perfection in all areas of film making for this one. The music and the cinematography in particular are what make this film so spectacular. A true masterpiece. Almost a modern Amadeus in the fantasy genre.
#6. Babel.
Babel cuts abruptly between Japan, Morocco, and Mexico, covering four different stories, and succeeding on every level in spite of the fact that the four stories aren't even happening at the same time. In Iñárritu's previous films, his technique of jumping around between stories was a little disorienting, and sometimes distractingly abrupt, but in Babel it's as smooth as a river, and even when he cuts abruptly from a japanese club to a moroccan desert, the viewer doesn't feel confused. He melds these four tragic stories together seamlessly, and the result is a brilliant kaleidoscopic film that grips the viewer merely by the brilliance in which it moves.
#7. Life is Beautiful.
I'd call Roberto Benigni the "modern day Chaplin" if he had made more than one masterpiece. The Tiger and the Snow was good, but nothing in comparison to his eternal gem "Life is Beautiful." He did something that nobody else succeeded to do. He brought to the screen a completely fictional fairy tale, full of ridiculously unrealistic events and impossible scenarios, that still operates on a brilliant level. The messages of love, connection, and the pure genius in which Benigni plays out the film, transcend the need for a realistic story. And the music is absolutely beautiful.
#8. City Lights.
Charlie Chaplin has the ability to walk on the very thin line between comedy and tragedy without falling off. City Lights is hilarious and tragic at the same time. The physical comedy is masterfully executed, and the result of Chaplin's ability to meld that with a deep storyline, creates one of the greatest films ever made. Pure genius.
#9. Modern Times.
Another Chaplin masterwork. Basically the same things I said about City Lights apply here. It's an absolutely whole and perfected masterpiece that incorporates almost every human emotion in it's delicate folds. How Chaplin achieved that balance between comedy and tragedy is beyond me. It's absolutely amazing.
#10. The Circus.
Yet another Chaplin film. The Circus, while it does have deep moments, and overall a very serious storyline, presents itself primarily as a comedy. And it's one of the best comedies i've ever seen. The stunts and the physical comedy in this film are brilliant. Just brilliant.
Comments
The only one from your list I'd include in mine would be Cukoo's Nest.
I'd definitely include "Airplane" and "The Blues Brother's"
More recently, I really liked "Master and Commander" (based on Patrick O'Briens books... definitely read them if you liked that movie!) and "The Last Samurai".
Going back to an old TV mini-series... "Shogun" was very good... does that count as a "film"?
hmm.... 4 more....
"Star Wars" (episode 4, the original)
"Top Gun"
"Riding Giants" (Surf documentary)
"Tora!, Tora!, Tora!"
OK, so there's 10 ... further thought might bump a couple off my top-10 list, but they'd at least be very close behind
ben hur
godfather
2001 space odyssey
Here are a few all-time favorites, in no particular order (and this is by no means a complete list):
-Blade Runner
-Star Wars (don't give me any of that "Episode __" nonsense)
-Lust, Caution
-Contact
-Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
-Oldboy
-Beetlejuice
-The French Connection
-The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
-The Big Lebowski
-Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-Dumb & Dumber
-Kingpin
-The Hidden Fortress
-All James Bond movies with Sean Connery
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Shaun of the Dead
-All Pixar movies (but not "Cars")
-Aliens
-High and Low
I don't think it's fair to put films in a top 10 list because our tastes change over time as we age, acquire more life experiences, gain new points of view...
Here are a few all-time favorites, in no particular order (and this is by no means a complete list):
-Blade Runner
-Star Wars (don't give me any of that "Episode __" nonsense)
-Lust, Caution
-Contact
-Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
-Oldboy
-Beetlejuice
-The French Connection
-The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
-The Big Lebowski
-Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-Dumb & Dumber
-Kingpin
-The Hidden Fortress
-All James Bond movies with Sean Connery
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Shaun of the Dead
-All Pixar movies (but not "Cars")
-Aliens
-High and Low
Was Lust, Caution really good? I've been wanting to see it, but something about it just gave me the impression that it might be mediocre.
Was Lust, Caution really good? I've been wanting to see it, but something about it just gave me the impression that it might be mediocre.
It hit a very delicate balance, and I never felt anything was unrealistic in its presentation. It was actually very sad.
I don't think it's fair to put films in a top 10 list because our tastes change over time as we age, acquire more life experiences, gain new points of view...
Here are a few all-time favorites, in no particular order (and this is by no means a complete list):
-Blade Runner
-Star Wars (don't give me any of that "Episode __" nonsense)
-Lust, Caution
-Contact
-Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
-Oldboy
-Beetlejuice
-The French Connection
-The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
-The Big Lebowski
-Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-Dumb & Dumber
-Kingpin
-The Hidden Fortress
-All James Bond movies with Sean Connery
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Shaun of the Dead
-All Pixar movies (but not "Cars")
-Aliens
-High and Low
Come one Spammie...
Contact???
Come one Spammie...
Contact???
Yeah, why? Doesn't have to be everyone's favorite, and it has some spots that drag and don't make a lot of sense... but it's still one of my 'guilty pleasures'.
1. Lord of the Rings
2. Aliens- Yes..I consider this the quintessential alien/action flick
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. The Matrix
5. North by Northwest
6. Schindlers List
7. Life is Beautiful
8. City of God
9. Gladiator/Braveheart- toss up
10 Empire Strikes Back- Darth pwns beotches.
Fuji NPH
Fuji NPS
Fuji NPZ
Repeat the above 2.5 more times.
Fuji Velvia 50
Fuji NPH
Fuji NPS
Fuji NPZ
Repeat the above 2.5 more times.
Heheh... "movies", not "film"...
In no particular order.
1. Lord of the Rings
2. Aliens- Yes..I consider this the quintessential alien/action flick
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. The Matrix
5. North by Northwest
6. Schindlers List
7. Life is Beautiful
8. City of God
9. Gladiator/Braveheart- toss up
10 Empire Strikes Back- Darth pwns beotches.
Another good list. Hitchcock was a genius...
-Big Trouble in Little China
-The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
-The gods must be crazy
-The gods must be crazy ii
-Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
-I'm gonna get you sucka
-StarTrek IV
-Spiderman II
-The Grudge
Fascinating comedies, all.
Brazil (seen this one so many times, way ahead of its time.. Terry Gilliam rocks!)
Contact (my favorite sci-fi movie... RIP Carl Sagan)
Mon Oncle (anything by Tati is a must see)
Titanic (I'm sure most of have us have seen it, love it or hate it.. i loved it)
The Life of Brian (for me, the best Monty Python movie)
A Night on Earth (contains one of the most hilarious scenes *ever*!
The Party (Peter Sellers... total genius)
2001 A Space odyssey (wonderful, my other favorite sci fi movie)
Shawshank Redemption (super plot twist!)
V for Vendetta (Where are you, "V"..??????)
Room with a View (something about this movie gets me every time)
Milagro Beanfield War (there's hope after all)
Schindler's List ('nuff said)
Hulot's Holiday (more Tati)
and so many more worthy of mention I could type all night; I'm sure I've omitted many of my favorites.
I'd have to start off the "So Bad They're Good" list with:
-Battle Royale
-For Your Height Only
-Freaked
-Grindhouse: Death Proof
-The City of Violence
-Norbit
-Quest For Fire
-Underworld Evolution
-Girl Boss Guerilla
-Hanzo the Razor series
-Prime Cut
-Uzumaki
-Top Secret
-The entire Planet of the Apes movie series
Shawshank Redemption
The 5th Element
Alfie (Remake)
The Beach
Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind
2001: A Space Odyssey
Mad Max
Augustin, King of Kung Fu
Closer
An Affair to Remember
Star Wars
The Fellowship of the Ring
Saved!
The Breakfast Club
Spartacus
The Wizard of Oz
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The Wedding Banquet
My Girl
Fight Club
Trainspotting
The Graduate
Good Will Hunting
Time Bandits
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
The Sixth Sense
Parenthood
White (Trois Couleurs Series)
Moulin Rouge
The Pink Panther
Breakfast at Tiffany's
No particular order:
Shawshank Redemption
The 5th Element
Alfie (Remake)
The Beach
Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind
2001: A Space Odyssey
Mad Max
Augustin, King of Kung Fu
Closer
An Affair to Remember
Star Wars
The Fellowship of the Ring
Saved!
The Breakfast Club
Spartacus
The Wizard of Oz
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The Wedding Banquet
My Girl
Fight Club
Trainspotting
The Graduate
Good Will Hunting
Time Bandits
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
The Sixth Sense
Parenthood
White (Trois Couleurs Series)
Moulin Rouge
The Pink Panther
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Got some good ones in there... a few I forgot about too.
Beaches
Brian's Song
Steel Magnolias
Old Yeller
My Girl
Philadelphia
Terms of Endearment
Ghost
The Green Mile
The Matrix
King Kong Peter Jackson remake minus Jack Black
Toy Story
American Beauty
Batman Begins
Requiem for a Dream
Forest Gump
American Gangster
Saving Private Ryan
Psycho (the original one)
Not necessarily all my favorite and tastes do change. I would have probably put movies like Short Circuit, the original Superman, Smokey and the Bandit etc in there years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL7uGwb7iBs&feature=user
So... touching.
Come one Spammie...
Contact???
Not one of my personal all time favorites, but it's not terrible, at least they attempted to follow the book. Everyone's opinions differ, they gave a Best Picture Oscar to the (IMHO) boring train wreck called The English Patient after all!
IRT Topic:
Wow, 10 best movie lists are tough to make, for all the reasons mentioned above.
Some just off the top of my head here, more than 10 and no particular order or genre:
Alien/Aliens (back in the VHS days, I recopied them into one long movie
2001
Life is Beautiful
Grave of the Fireflies (yes it's anime, but right up there with Life is Beautiful or Schindler's List in my book! Saddest movie We've ever seen.)
Saving Private Ryan
Forest Gump
LOTR series
E.T.
Jaws
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles
Dr. Strangelove
The African Queen
Bringing up Baby (the original madcap comedy)
Tremors (best of the B monster movies!)
Anything by Pixar
Spirited Away
Princess Monoke
The Matrix