Your Favorite Films of All Time

[fohat.digs]

Recent action/adventure films have raised the bar so high that older films almost inevitably pale in comparison, as I learn when I try to get my teenage kids to watch the great films made when I was their age. Seriously, considering - Lord of the Rings - Harry Potter - Avengers - Transformers - I will stop but the list is hardly started - then the older stuff can really seem boring.

And the animation in the last couple of decades is beyond breathtaking. For personal favorites I will name Shrek, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo but that hardly scratches the surface.

Even marginally older films like Jurassic Park and Terminator 1&2 make yet slightly older works like Blade Runner seem primitive.

I particularly like weird comedy/drama/satire such as The Fisher King and Spinal Tap, but that is just me.

Going back to the 1950s/60s/70s European avant-garde, that was my great awakening. La Strada, Last Tango in Paris, it just doesn't get better than that.

And I do like more marginal off-the-wall films, such as Satyricon and El Topo from back in the day (Jodorowsky's Dune would have been the ****), and Pi, The Believer, etc, from more recent times.

[hwood34]

2001: A space odyssey
God Bless America

[User Was Banned]

Recent action/adventure films have raised the bar so high that older films almost inevitably pale in comparison, as I learn when I try to get my teenage kids to watch the great films made when I was their age. Seriously, considering - Lord of the Rings - Harry Potter - Avengers - Transformers - I will stop but the list is hardly started - then the older stuff can really seem boring.

That's why you get them to watch non action/adventure films that don't rely on modern special effects, so they can appreciate other aspects like storytelling, acting, character development, film score, editing, and cinematography.

[hashbaz]

Off the top of my head, in no particular order, "serious" favorites mixed in with childhood nostalgic favorites:

Jurassic Park
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Dr Strangelove
Raising Arizona
Gladiator
Master and Commander
Return of the Jedi
Finding Nemo
Toy Story
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (Costner)
Robin Hood (Disney animated version)

Feeling pretty shallow looking at this list. 

[fohat.digs]

Master and Commander

Thanks! I always forget that great one.

[HoffmanMyster]

OK, top 3 favorite animated films, in order:

1. Spirited Away
2. Aladdin
3. The Triplets of Belleville

honorable mentions go to The Incredibles, My Neighbor Totoro, Mary and Max, and Up

Triplets of Belleville is a really interesting film.  I appreciate it a lot for its artistic style, and the story is good too.  It's just interesting.  Not sure why or how, but it is.

[Eszett]

How can someone come up with something crazy like this thematizing things like transvestism and fetishism in 1975, a time of prudery? One of my all-time top ten movies.

[do_Og@n]

I'm kind of bias with my films because I love zombies.....A LOT!!!

I would have to start with the entire Evil Dead series. Including Army of Darkness!

Zombieland
Undead "...time is short. So you gotta ask yourself: Are you a fighter, Fish Queen, or are you zombie food?" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339840/
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

There are more but that's good enough for now.

hell yeah dude! have you ever checked out Lucio Fulci's ZombI? one of my favs, low budget zombie flick with crazy well done gore.

Also my all time favorites i could watch over and over...
1. American Beauty - Kevin Spacey is my personal hero in that movie
2. Toxic Avenger - Troma NJ trash
3. Freddy Vs Jason - Its so bad its good

Well I know what I'm doing tonight. Thanks for the suggestion!

[tp4tissue]

All time favorite.. this is not even possible..

I have at least 150 movies that I'd rank together as #1....

[HoffmanMyster]

Share some of your most beloved movies here! I'd like to get a grasp of the kind of films people like on here.



I'm a huge Film buff and and a wannabe film critic 

From what I can't think of off the top of my head is as follows:

The Evil Dead 1- 1981

Evil Dead 2- 1987

The Shining- 1980

A Clockwork Orange- 1971

Fargo- 1999

Citizen Kane- 1941

There Will Be Blood- 2007

Psycho- 1960

Pulp Fiction- 1994

The Matrix- 1999


And probably a lot more that I forgot, or haven't seen quite a long time.  I'll update my list as I think of some of my other favorites.



I watch so many films though, It's really a huge part of my life. I can get so passionate talking to someone about film it's insane. If only I could afford to go to the theater more often though, Or that I had an awesome theater around me like the Alamo Drafthouse or something similar.

I have to ask why you didn't list Evil Dead 3.    I love that one just as much as the others, if not for different reasons.

[tp4tissue]

Share some of your most beloved movies here! I'd like to get a grasp of the kind of films people like on here.



I'm a huge Film buff and and a wannabe film critic 

From what I can't think of off the top of my head is as follows:

The Evil Dead 1- 1981

Evil Dead 2- 1987

The Shining- 1980

A Clockwork Orange- 1971

Fargo- 1999

Citizen Kane- 1941

There Will Be Blood- 2007

Psycho- 1960

Pulp Fiction- 1994

The Matrix- 1999


And probably a lot more that I forgot, or haven't seen quite a long time.  I'll update my list as I think of some of my other favorites.



I watch so many films though, It's really a huge part of my life. I can get so passionate talking to someone about film it's insane. If only I could afford to go to the theater more often though, Or that I had an awesome theater around me like the Alamo Drafthouse or something similar.

I have to ask why you didn't list Evil Dead 3.    I love that one just as much as the others, if not for different reasons.

I only liked army of darkness..   Didn't like 1 and 2... please don't beat me up

[HoffmanMyster]

Share some of your most beloved movies here! I'd like to get a grasp of the kind of films people like on here.



I'm a huge Film buff and and a wannabe film critic 

From what I can't think of off the top of my head is as follows:

The Evil Dead 1- 1981

Evil Dead 2- 1987

The Shining- 1980

A Clockwork Orange- 1971

Fargo- 1999

Citizen Kane- 1941

There Will Be Blood- 2007

Psycho- 1960

Pulp Fiction- 1994

The Matrix- 1999


And probably a lot more that I forgot, or haven't seen quite a long time.  I'll update my list as I think of some of my other favorites.



I watch so many films though, It's really a huge part of my life. I can get so passionate talking to someone about film it's insane. If only I could afford to go to the theater more often though, Or that I had an awesome theater around me like the Alamo Drafthouse or something similar.

I have to ask why you didn't list Evil Dead 3.    I love that one just as much as the others, if not for different reasons.

I only liked army of darkness..   Didn't like 1 and 2... please don't beat me up

Show Image

I would never beat someone up for that opinion.  All three are such drastically different films (1 being legit horror, 2 being a crossover between horror and comedy, and 3 being straight up comedy  :D  ) that I wouldn't expect everyone to like all three.  I just like all three because I'm into all those types of movies.

Now, I suppose that if you told me you were a horror junkie I might have to think twice about not beating you up...   :))

[Melvang]

Probablyy favorite movie of all time would be Act of Valor.

[jdcarpe]

Hmmm, a list...okay, top 20!


Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

WarGames (1983)

Electric Dreams (1984)

Footloose (1984)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Top Gun (1986)

Quicksilver (1986)

The Princess Bride (1987)

They Live (1988)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

With Honors (1994)

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Friday (1995)

Office Space (1999)

Up (2009)

[korrelate]

The Meaning of Life

The Matrix (just the first one)

Life of Brian

Mutiny on the Bounty (Marlon Brando)

Julius Caesar (Marlon Brando)

The Matador (Brosnan)

Movies about Philip K **** novels: Blade Runner, Minority Report, Adjustment Bureau

Not Really a movie but "The Power of Art" by Simon Schama.

Saving Silverman

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Empire Strikes Back

Ghostbusters

Diggstown

Fight Club

Rocky

The Castle

Pulp Fiction

The Royal Tenenbaums


Note about the Matrix: just before Neo follows the white rabbit he reaches into a book to grab an optical to sell to some dude. The title of that book (check it) is "Simulation and Simulacra" by Jean baudrillard. Majorly mindbending sh$t but this where the writers/directors were introduced to such ideas as "the desert of the real" and malleability of reality. super interesting but very very dense and totally depressing: which is funny because the book is so counter-subvervise.

note about Brando: Even though Julius Caesar is B&W it's a total classic because of Brando. You will never see Marc Antony performed better. Ever. In your whole life. Ditto for Fletcher Christian.

Rocky: did you know Stallone wrote that? He sure did.

if you thought Monty Python was just silly give it another look: all the english guys were Oxford-Educated types. Graham   Chapman was a medical doctor. Smart dudes who read a ton. Among other things, LOB satirizes the Great Schism, the genesis and probability of miracles, etc. I could start a greatcollege just by deconstructing LOB and especially TMOL.

[hashbaz]

The Princess Bride
The Shawshank Redemption
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

How could I have forgotten these! 

[Matt3o]

oh also, the blues brothers

[agodinhost]

1. Gattaca
2. Blade Runner
3. Akira

[vivalarevolución]

Recent action/adventure films have raised the bar so high that older films almost inevitably pale in comparison, as I learn when I try to get my teenage kids to watch the great films made when I was their age. Seriously, considering - Lord of the Rings - Harry Potter - Avengers - Transformers - I will stop but the list is hardly started - then the older stuff can really seem boring.

That's why you get them to watch non action/adventure films that don't rely on modern special effects, so they can appreciate other aspects like storytelling, acting, character development, film score, editing, and cinematography.

I have to agree with User Was Banned here.  I really like the older sci-fi films that did not have all the CGI, and they had to be more creative with props, costumes, and all the aspects User Was Banned mentioned.  Movies like Star Wars, Terminator 1, Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, etc.

These days, all they have to do is put a few geeks in front of a computer, make some explosions, skimp on creating an actual thought-provoking story, and BOOM! you got a blockbuster.

[exitfire401]

My favorite movie of all time: Gladiator

I really do enjoy most genre of film though, so for everything else, it's pretty close.

[Lurch]

Ace Ventura will always be one of my favorites, ever.

[Zamis]

I would have to say the LEGO Movie is currently my favorite.

[TheSoulhunter]

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

[Matt3o]

Robin hood

[hashbaz]

Oo-de-lally

[Flyersfan1]

I really love all of John Hughes's movies, but If I had to pick one that makes me laugh like i'm seeing it for the first time.

[Daspartic]

No love for Apocalypse Now?  That movie was so epic.

[User Was Banned]

Recent action/adventure films have raised the bar so high that older films almost inevitably pale in comparison, as I learn when I try to get my teenage kids to watch the great films made when I was their age. Seriously, considering - Lord of the Rings - Harry Potter - Avengers - Transformers - I will stop but the list is hardly started - then the older stuff can really seem boring.

That's why you get them to watch non action/adventure films that don't rely on modern special effects, so they can appreciate other aspects like storytelling, acting, character development, film score, editing, and cinematography.

I have to agree with User Was Banned here.  I really like the older sci-fi films that did not have all the CGI, and they had to be more creative with props, costumes, and all the aspects User Was Banned mentioned.  Movies like Star Wars, Terminator 1, Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, etc.

These days, all they have to do is put a few geeks in front of a computer, make some explosions, skimp on creating an actual thought-provoking story, and BOOM! you got a blockbuster.

But man, when they combine both of those things and do it well, gold. For example, Dark Knight.

[noisyturtle]

I dunno, I sort of feel like CG still isn't quite there yet. I actually much prefer seeing real props, costumes, and sets rather than everything being on green screen. Like Avengers looked fake to me, if uncanny valley could be applied to inanimate objects, New York City was the entire valley in that movie. On the other hand when you get stuff like LotR and almost anything by Guillermo Del Toro, I think it looks a thousand times better.

Just look at this behind the scenes from Hellboy 2, and then compare it to the eyesore that was Transformers or episode I II and III of Star Wars, both of which are like 75% greenscreen.

[User Was Banned]

Green screen =/= CGI

A lot of times, there is no way around CGI. I mean obviously The Avengers looked fake, it is fake; it's based on comics. 

[TheSoulhunter]

I dunno, I sort of feel like CG still isn't quite there yet. I actually much prefer seeing real props, costumes, and sets rather than everything being on green screen. Like Avengers looked fake to me, if uncanny valley could be applied to inanimate objects, New York City was the entire valley in that movie. On the other hand when you get stuff like LotR and almost anything by Guillermo Del Toro, I think it looks a thousand times better.

Just look at this behind the scenes from Hellboy 2, and then compare it to the eyesore that was Transformers or episode I II and III of Star Wars, both of which are like 75% greenscreen.

Ditto!
Imo they should use CGI only if there is no other way, practical effect FTW.
Look at T2... They only used CGI for some scenes of the T1000, but they blew up a real office building for the Cyberdyne raid scene.
In T3 the endoskeletons were CGI instead of animatronics, the nuke scene was CGI instead of minature, and most explosions were CGI instead of real, and it shows.

[Air tree]

Share some of your most beloved movies here! I'd like to get a grasp of the kind of films people like on here.



I'm a huge Film buff and and a wannabe film critic 

From what I can't think of off the top of my head is as follows:

The Evil Dead 1- 1981

Evil Dead 2- 1987

The Shining- 1980

A Clockwork Orange- 1971

Fargo- 1999

Citizen Kane- 1941

There Will Be Blood- 2007

Psycho- 1960

Pulp Fiction- 1994

The Matrix- 1999


And probably a lot more that I forgot, or haven't seen quite a long time.  I'll update my list as I think of some of my other favorites.



I watch so many films though, It's really a huge part of my life. I can get so passionate talking to someone about film it's insane. If only I could afford to go to the theater more often though, Or that I had an awesome theater around me like the Alamo Drafthouse or something similar.

I have to ask why you didn't list Evil Dead 3.    I love that one just as much as the others, if not for different reasons.

Mainly because I forgot to list it.

In any case the third film didn't feel anything like the first two and that's good and bad at the same time. It is still beloved by me in any case. I can't get enough of Ash 

[Air tree]

I have just looked up the thread entirely and my list is going to be huge at the rate you guys keep reminding me of movies that I love. Oh woe is me.

[noisyturtle]

I have just looked up the thread entirely and my list is going to be huge at the rate you guys keep reminding me of movies that I love. Oh woe is me.

Got to be pragmatic about it bro. Narrow it down and let your least favorite children starve.

[Malphas]

I dunno, I sort of feel like CG still isn't quite there yet. I actually much prefer seeing real props, costumes, and sets rather than everything being on green screen. Like Avengers looked fake to me, if uncanny valley could be applied to inanimate objects, New York City was the entire valley in that movie. On the other hand when you get stuff like LotR and almost anything by Guillermo Del Toro, I think it looks a thousand times better.

Just look at this behind the scenes from Hellboy 2, and then compare it to the eyesore that was Transformers or episode I II and III of Star Wars, both of which are like 75% greenscreen.

CGI is atrocious and lazy. It's pitiful when movies from 30 years ago like Gremlins, that used physical effects looks 100 times better than a CGI-dependent movie today.



In my opinion CGI should be used sparingly for non-offensive things like adding depth to scenes, like shrapnel, particle effects, concealing wire work, or non-realistic stylistic stuff like Sin City. Creating CGI dinosaurs or aliens or whatever and your movie is about as convincing to look at as Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

[HoffmanMyster]

Green screen =/= CGI

Wait, what?  What is green screen if not CGI?  I'm pretty sure that's the whole point of it.

Edit: depends how you define CGI I suppose.  Cause green screen can be really low-tech.  But I still consider it a computer-aided technique.

[snoopy]

Back To The Future I - III

[Matt3o]

Can we also say the worst movies? Titanic and Avatar are at the top of the bottom.

[HoffmanMyster]

Can we also say the worst movies? Titanic and Avatar are at the top of the bottom.

Not a fan of Cameron, eh?   )   I also dislike Avatar, but I saw Titanic when I was young enough that it's got a nostalgic effect now, so I don't hate it.

And on that note, maybe you'll enjoy Tentacolino (In Search of the Titanic), followup to the hit film La leggenda del Titanic (The Legend of the Titanic); complete with talking dog, Atlanteans, dog-faced octopus, rapping sharks, and gay pogo fish, it's sure to appeal to audiences of all demographics.

Seriously though, it's an entertaining movie (they both are).   )

[Malphas]

James Cameron stopped making good films after the 80's.

[Matt3o]

naah I like Cameron, but the last movie I enjoy watching of him is True Lies

[iri]

James Cameron stopped making good films after the 80's.

terminator 2 was good.

[Malphas]

I know everyone apart from me thinks that, but it was borderline, in my opinion. Edward Furlong was irritating, the humour was pretty cheesy, I didn't find the T-1000 to be as intimidating an antagonist as the T-800 was in the first movie, and the CGI was terrible and broke the suspense of disbelief for me.

[StylinGreymon]

I think my favorite movie to date has to be O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Every scene, every line.

Glorious.

[Air tree]

Can we also say the worst movies? Titanic and Avatar are at the top of the bottom.

List away. 

[noisyturtle]

The Room
Sharknado
Birdemic
Battlefield Earth
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls

[User Was Banned]

CGI is atrocious and lazy. It's pitiful when movies from 30 years ago like Gremlins, that used physical effects looks 100 times better than a CGI-dependent movie today.

Show Image

Show Image

In my opinion CGI should be used sparingly for non-offensive things like adding depth to scenes, like shrapnel, particle effects, concealing wire work, or non-realistic stylistic stuff like Sin City. Creating CGI dinosaurs or aliens or whatever and your movie is about as convincing to look at as Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Did you really just use Paul as an example of modern CGI...?

[Malphas]

CGI is atrocious and lazy. It's pitiful when movies from 30 years ago like Gremlins, that used physical effects looks 100 times better than a CGI-dependent movie today.

Show Image

Show Image

In my opinion CGI should be used sparingly for non-offensive things like adding depth to scenes, like shrapnel, particle effects, concealing wire work, or non-realistic stylistic stuff like Sin City. Creating CGI dinosaurs or aliens or whatever and your movie is about as convincing to look at as Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Did you really just use Paul as an example of modern CGI...?

Well considering it is an example of modern CGI, yes. There are dozens of movies with similarly terrible effects, you can't just pretend they don't exist. Swap it out for Golem or whatever if you want, it's still just as bad.

[User Was Banned]

CGI is atrocious and lazy. It's pitiful when movies from 30 years ago like Gremlins, that used physical effects looks 100 times better than a CGI-dependent movie today.

Show Image

Show Image

In my opinion CGI should be used sparingly for non-offensive things like adding depth to scenes, like shrapnel, particle effects, concealing wire work, or non-realistic stylistic stuff like Sin City. Creating CGI dinosaurs or aliens or whatever and your movie is about as convincing to look at as Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Did you really just use Paul as an example of modern CGI...?

Well considering it is an example of modern CGI, yes. There are dozens of movies with similarly terrible effects, you can't just pretend they don't exist. Swap it out for Golem or whatever if you want, it's still just as bad.

Right, but you're pulling an example from the bottom of the barrel. That's like saying the English Premier League sucks because you watched Cardiff play Fulham.

You mentioned Gollum. I think his most recent incarnation in The Hobbit was very well done:

Also, the subtle uses of CGI. For example, in The Walking Dead:

and

[noisyturtle]

CGI is atrocious and lazy. It's pitiful when movies from 30 years ago like Gremlins, that used physical effects looks 100 times better than a CGI-dependent movie today.

Show Image

Show Image

In my opinion CGI should be used sparingly for non-offensive things like adding depth to scenes, like shrapnel, particle effects, concealing wire work, or non-realistic stylistic stuff like Sin City. Creating CGI dinosaurs or aliens or whatever and your movie is about as convincing to look at as Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Did you really just use Paul as an example of modern CGI...?

Well considering it is an example of modern CGI, yes. There are dozens of movies with similarly terrible effects, you can't just pretend they don't exist. Swap it out for Golem or whatever if you want, it's still just as bad.

Right, but you're pulling an example from the bottom of the barrel. That's like saying the English Premier League sucks because you watched Cardiff play Fulham.

You mentioned Gollum. I think his most recent incarnation in The Hobbit was very well done:

Also, the subtle uses of CGI. For example, in The Walking Dead:

and

I think the CG in Prometheus was really well done, even though people like to hate on the film.