“So, what’s your, like, favorite movie of all time?”

This entry was posted on February 22, 2012, in Lists, Movies & Film and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 425 Comments

Guys. I hate this question.

How am I supposed to answer something so broad, so ambiguous? There are so many wonderful movies out there that make my heart soar/sing/pitter-patter/explode/something. But I know this question will inevitably come up every time I say, “Oh yeah, I’m a big ‘film’ person.” Even, “Oh yeah, I like movies.” (Who doesn’t?) Someone will ask you this question. And if they don’t, they’re probably about to ask the other version: “So, like, what do you think is the best movie of all time?”

And who am I kidding – you’re wondering the same thing right now! You want to know my movie choices so you can belittle and judge them too! Well I aim to please, so I’m providing 10 of my favorite flicks in no particular order. But, to make it Annoying Film Person-y, I’m telling you why, and then I’m telling you why really.

1. Breathless (1960)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“This is one of my favorites overall, but it’s definitely my favorite foreign film. It’s THE French New Wave film. Godard’s whole body of work is genius, but this one’s special to me. The characters are kind of terrible people, but it works and it’s great. Belmondo and Seberg are hot. Black-and-white is where it’s at. Jump cuts are cool.”

So, Basically:

“French films are cool, y’all.”

2. Roman Holiday (1953)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress, and I say that unironically. Oh, you don’t believe me? Audrey was so vulnerable in her portrayals; she was grace and elegance personified; I love the way Audrey’s voice gets super bass low when she’s trying to be serious (http://youtu.be/_7Ky03UL0h0, 2:33); this movie is a beautiful love story without the sugary, perfect ending – I mean, how rare is THAT-” and on and on and on.

So, Basically:

“I really like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” more, but this seems less shallow.”

3. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“Where do I start? The Alec Baldwin narration? The splendiferous cast and kooky characters? My dreams of recreating a Margot Tenenbaum costume if I can just find the correct shade of brown fur coat? The shave-your-beard-attempted-suicide-by-Elliott-Smith-music scene? How about the music overall? Gene Hackman, that old curmudgeon?!”

So, Basically:

“Guys. You have to include a Wes Anderson film. It’s required.”

4. The Breakfast Club (1985)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“A: Love me some John Hughes. B: I can’t imagine growing up without this movie. I’ve seen it 333 times. Sure, it’s got its cliches and cornball moments. But the essence is timeless, and it’s genuinely funny and – dare I say – touching.”

So, Basically:

“This movie would be nothing without Judd Nelson’s nostrils. And flannel.”

5. Dazed and Confused (1993)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“Guys. I truly, truly wish I had been around for the ’60s and ’70s. I love the fashion and the styles in this movie – guys with shaggy hair, girls using pliers to zip up their flared jeans. The music is flippin’ awesome too – Aerosmith, Foghat, Frampton. It captures a specific time, yes, but it captures adolescence and high school pretty perfectly too (much like BC). This movie has some of the most quotable quotes of my life. Watch it for Matthew McConaughey’s lines alone. AND it’s set in Texas. Win.”

So, Basically:

“All right all right all right.” -drawl

6. The Princess Bride (1987)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“Only the most grand, fantastic love story ever! I’m a sucker for fairy tales, but this one has such wit, really. It’s a simple story in the end, but it’s full of such adventure and unforgettable characters – Westley + Buttercup, Inigo, Fezzik, Miracle Max, the clergyman (‘Mawwiage is what bwings us togeffer today!’). The dialogue sparkles; this is another movie that I love to quote. It’s ageless.”

So, Basically:

“It’s because I’m a girl, y’all.”

7. The New World (2005)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“Yes, that’s right, I chose probably the least-beloved of Terrence Malick’s films. SO WHAT. It’s my fave. The cinematography is, as always, breathtaking, and the score is lovely – at times soaring or serene. The dialogue is sparse, with the customary whispering narration. It’s a love story, albeit an awkward one for modern-day viewing and full of historical inaccuracies I’m sure. I am completely willing to overlook it all. I shed some for serious tears when Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher) asks John Smith (Colin Farrell) if he ever ‘found his Indies’ and he replies, ‘I may have sailed past them.’ Cryfest.”

So, Basically:

“It’s because I’m a girl, y’all.”

8. The Graduate (1967)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“………..”

So, Basically:

“I shouldn’t have to explain the brilliance of this to you.”

9. Into the Wild (2007)

Why?

What I Say to People:

“Guys. So sad. But, totally made me want to drop everything and trek into the Great Outdoors. Or at least a solid road trip. Emile Hirsch is an actor I really admire, and, underused in my opinion! The way this film is shot makes me drool, top notch soundtrack from Eddie Vedder, Sean Penn directs the mess out of it, but I think the strongest piece is the supporting cast of characters and the actors/actresses portraying them – Hal Holbrook especially, makin’ me tear up and all.”

So, Basically:

“I’m a sucker for some nature shots and a true story that’s super depressing.”

10. Cry-Baby (1990) / Labyrinth (1986)

Why?

What I Say Aloud:

I had to include these solely because they were my favorite movies when I was 6 years old. I made my mom rent them for me, VHS-style, like every other weekend. They are terrible. And by terrible, I mean awesome!

So, Basically:

“OMG JOHNNY DEPP! OMG DAVID BOWIE!”

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425 thoughts on ““So, what’s your, like, favorite movie of all time?””

  5. I would have to agree with numbers 4 through 6, but I would want to add Braveheart to the list as well.

    Why?

    Because it was the first time that a film allowed prop blood spatters on the camera lens to remain in the film. Revolutionary, I tell you… 😉

    Fantastic list and post! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! 🙂

    Reply

  7. Really, really love The Royal Tenenbaums, but for Wes Anderson flicks, my fav will always be Rushmore.

    I’ve loved so many films, but I think my all time love-till-I-die is The Big Lebowski. Nothing will ever be as hilarious and awesome as this film. Runners up: A Fish Called Wanda, Annie Hall, Amelie, Boyz in the Hood, Requiem for a Dream…

    Man…you are right. To ask someone what their favorite movie is an exercise in pure sadism. It’s impossible to answer!

    Fab post!

    Reply

      • it’s not just a western. it’s a family drama. john wayne has issues he can’t get past. all he does and he’s not appreciated. sad. and i always cry like a baby at th end.

        Reply

  9. Truly a horrible question. Great to see Tenanbaum’s in there, that’s probably my favourite WA film.
    On my list I’d have Taxi Driver, Godfather 1&2, Raging Bull, The Conversation, Betty Blue, Singing in the Rain, Eyes without a Face, The 400 Blows, The Passenger, L’aventura, some Indiana Jones, some Back to the Future, Star Wars, ET, etc., etc…

    Well done on being freshly pressed!
    🙂

    Reply

  11. I’m so with you on ‘Dazed & Confused.’ I saw that in the theater with some buddies, thinking it was gonna be a dumb stoner comedy. I thought it was a profoundly moving coming of age story. Typically I have the opposite reaction in the theater.

    Reply

  12. Indeed a broad question, but you’ve created a pretty powerful list. I’d have to say The Graduate would be in my top 5…I even wrote a college essay about the film for a ’60s themed English class. And that college English class influenced me to pursue my future as a writer, so I’d say that film really changed my life!

    Reply

  15. Very nice! Fave quote: “I really like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” more, but this seems less shallow.”

    And I’m also an annoying film person, one who USED to live in Denton, TX. Home base now in Portland, OR — but it is still one of my main goals in life to spread the use of the word “y’all” wherever I go. It’s gonna happen. 🙂

    Reply

  20. You’ve obviously picked up the best from a great Era. How about from the last decade? You know -Home Alone, Harry Potter, Transformers, Silence of the lambs, You’ve Got Mail, Pirates of the Caribbean, – and all that. Would love to see your take on them- if you’re a fan. Otherwise kudos on the Top 10 List

    Reply

  21. Ohhhh, yeahhh…Roman Holiday. I love the way that Gregory Peck and Eddie Albert are sending Audrey Hepburn hidden messages during the final scene. Among my favorites, I would have to include “Toy Soldiers” (I like movies of ingenuity where good guys, using only their wits, defeat bad guys), “Sliding Doors” (innovative plot line), “The Librarian” movie series (Noah Wyle being adorably geeky), “Citizen X” (love the scene where they catch the bad guy at long last — makes you want to cheer), “Love Actually” (Colin Firth! Colin Firth!) and “Beastly”.

    Reply

  23. I hate that question, too. I mean, I love love love Amadeus but I also adore Uncle Buck with almost equal fervency. I think that’s allowed. Picking favorite movies is not like picking a spouse; you get to choose more than one.

    Reply

  24. I majored in film, so I get this question a lot, too, and I must say I love your choices and the “so, basically”‘s. Many of these are on my own top lists, and I’m so glad you included “The Princess Bride,” which is my all-time favorite, to which I’m usually met with either “I haven’t seen it” (What!?) or a smirk. Thank you for agreeing on the awesomeness.

    Reply

  25. I don’t really watch movies. I’m kind of an unless-I-know-this-is-going-to-wow-me-type-of-film-I-won’t-waste-my-time-watching-it type of person. That being said, I COMPLETELY and WHOLE-HEARTEDLY agree that The Princess Bride is one of the greatest movies ever made. It has something for everyone! While I was in college one of my guy friends was bashing the movie “You like The Princess Bride? What are you like 7?” until I forced him to watch it with me. He loved it so much he went out and bought it! (And then gave me a copy, too). I find myself quoting it whenever the opportunity arises, which, strangely enough, is actually quite often.

    Reply

  27. Great list, have added the ones I haven’t seen to my continually growing pile of things to do/see/read.

    Replace The Princess Bride with Fight Club cus I gots an ‘outie’ instead of an ‘innie’. Not talking about my belly button.

    Reply

  29. I haven’t seen all of the movies on your list, but I can’t argue against the ones that I have seen.

    However, I will always make the argument that any list of top movies that doesn’t include The Shawshank Redemption is a flawed list.

    Reply

  30. Beloved, The Color Purple, Crime and Punishment, The Sound of Music, Gone with the Wind……The Autobiography of Malcolm X(Denzel Washington should have won an award for his performance), The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, The Wizard of Oz, The Learning Tree, director, Gordan Parks, The Body Guard with an undeniably excellent performance by the incomparable late Whitney Houston….

    Reply

    • Just caught Safe House with Denzel Washington!!!!!Phew!!!! I was one of three folk in the matinee, so I could exclaim, and gasp, and hold my ears, and schriek,, and say, “Work Denzel!” without being told to be quiet. Cool action flick!!!

      Reply

  31. Quite a few of my favorite movies were also on your list. I’m also a fan of Donnie Darko and some of the older classics like The Sound of Music and Gone with the Wind.

    Reply

  34. “2001 a space odyssey” without a doubt. Then “The good, the bad, the ugly”, “Dead Man”, “Mullholland drive”, “Melancholia”, “Pulp fiction”, “Persona”, “Do the right thing”, “the Seven Samurai”, “Let the good one in”, just to name the first ten that come into my mind.

    Reply

  35. No one should have to pick just one favorite anything. Life is too complicated for that.
    The one movie I adore above all others on a regular basis for the past 15+ years is Raising Arizona. I love every frame, every line of dialogue and every strand of Nick Cage’s hair in that movie.

    Reply

  37. Although I don’t see myself as a film die-hard, anytime I mention I took film classes in high school/college, I get the ubiquitous “So what do you this Rosebud /really/ means?”

    Reply

    • I have a hunch that for Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, it’s because she regards them as better books than movies. Pirates is good, but easily topped being that two of the main actors (Keira and Orlando) have a tendency to overdo it in their performances.

      All in all, the films you mentioned are lots of fun!

      Reply

  42. Love the list, but I’d replace Tennanbaums with LA Confidential. A super twisty movie that kept the intrigue and surprises of the book, which is hard to do (and do well). And I’m a total film nerd. I’ll have to come back for more 🙂

    Reply

  43. Way to put me on a spot. :p

    If I had to label just one movie as my all time favorite, it would have to be Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I first saw the movie a few years ago, and my parents first saw it when they were first dating.

    I instantly fell in love with it. It mixes comedy and deep emotions together. I also love it because it has a lot of travelling in it, something I like seeing in movies.

    Steve Martin and John Candy did a marvelous job acting, and I found that they played off each other very well.

    Reply

  44. Agreed! I find that 75% of the time I’m asked what my favorite movie is simply so the asker can then explain to me why I’m an idiot for choosing whatever it is I tell them. Movies (and television) are such personal things for me (because I’m a freak) that I’ve been known to defend my “loves” to the point of tears. As trivial as movies seem to some people for others it’s a lifestyle. For instance, my entire wedding ceremony included references to Princess Bride, Some Kind of Wonderful, Roseanne, Bill & Ted, Away We Go, Role Models and Star Trek.

    Anyhoo…what I’m trying to say is, great blog, fellow moviephile! You answered a question that usually elicits stock answers of whatever movie one thinks they’re supposed to have on their list with the balls of someone who takes these things personally, which proves you really do love movies…not just talking about movies.

    🙂

    Reply

  45. too many favorites, how can you choose? I guess Sunset Boulevard,To Kill a Mockingbird, Moonstruck, All About Eve and um Star is Born (Garland version) are some I adore and can’t NOT look at if I’m channel surfing 🙂

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  46. Let’s see… The Langley Punks (a bunch of 80’s DC-area indies), Mike Jittlov, Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Trouble With Harry (Hitchcock does comedy), Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Singin’ In The Rain, The Band Wagon, An American in Paris, Force Five (a cheap chop-socky team pic that has my favorite line – after the shuriken master runs out of them, he rips open a box in the enemy lair, and presto! – Black and Decker circular saw blades. After the requisite carnage, he says, in his Aussie accent, “Thank God for Black and Decker!”), Captain America: The First Avenger, Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, The Outlaw Josey Wales (“Dyin’ ain’t much of a livin’, boy.”), Hooper: The Greatest Stuntman Alive!, The Player.
    There’s more, but they don’t come to mind just now.

    Reply

  51. Great list, and I’m totally with you on The New World. I’m not always in the mood for such slow movies, but when I am, it sweeps me away 🙂
    And, there’s just one question for me that’s more annoying than the favourite movie question – it’s the favourite music question. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to express my love for it in a few coherent sentences.

    Reply

  52. I agree that “best film” is a pointless question. You can’t get an objective answer like that out of an opinion. You can rant all day about the technical mastery of “2001,” but it still won’t be my favorite film–or even my favorite Kubrick film.

    But do what you did here and answer, “I can’t narrow it down to one, but here’s a list.” Or do it by genre. I wish more award shows were like the Golden Globes by giving separate awards for dramas and comedies/musicals.

    And my favorite “Schindler’s List,” just because it had the greatest impact on my worldview. It made me realize that history actually happened, and that textbooks aren’t as fictional as novels. I’ve been meaning to write a post about “Schindler’s List” for about a year now…

    Reply

  53. I love most of your choices, but Choosing favorites is hard unless you break them into categories. I think I have to say my all time favorite watch it again for the heck of it movies are a toss up between ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Escape from New York’. The best Drama is probably ‘Schindler’s List’

    Your comment on Audrey Hepburn are spot on…noone can quite match her style or class; she is as you said “elegance personified”. And she will always be Elegant.

    Reply

  54. Pingback: Movies by the Numbers… | idontrollonshabbas

  55. I agree to every movie here. Your list is perfection! The only ones I would add would be The English Patient, Amelie (because I’m a girl, ya’ll) and Big Lebowski (but we all know that depends if you’re into the whole brevity thing).

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  56. What a cool post. I’d like to try it. What we love in films tells so much about who we are. For instance, because of your wordless description of the The Graduate, I already dig you.

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  57. I saw Cry Baby at Alamo Drafthouse recently (I’m in San Antonio) – it’s so fabulous in big screen when you’ve been watching it on your tv for most of your life!

    Also, Labyrinth… I’ve seen it a few times. And by “a few times,” I mean ONE THOUSAND TIMES and also I was Jareth the Goblin King for Halloween a few years ago.

    Yep – I’m a grown-up.

    Reply

  59. I’m surprised Breakfast at Tiffany’s isn’t on your list.

    I’m less surprised to’ve only seen one of the films on your list, and that wouldn’t’ve come close to making my top! 😉

    Reply

  63. Great picks! Terrence Malick is my favorite filmmaker, so naturally I love “The New World.” “The Graduate” is also one of the finest movies ever made, and of the whole “hang-out” genre, “Dazed and Confused” is probably the funniest and most poignant.

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  64. Sorry any on your list:

    Many, among them (no especial order):
    “Public Enemy” (Gonggongui Jeog)
    “Oldboy”
    “Chaser” also known as “The Chaser”
    “Overheard”
    “Memories of Murder”
    “12” (Not to be confused with “Twelve”)

    Reply

  67. Good list for newer films. I’m older, so I’d suggest checking out: Vertigo (the best Hitchcock, with that Bernard Herrmann theme), What’s Up Doc (madcap comedy), Noises Off (madcap comedy two, which is a favorite of anyone who’s been on stage), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (my personal John Ford favorite, mostly because of what it says about the West), The Mission (One of the best films on the meaning of faith), and Cinema Paradiso (either version; one of the best films about films).

    Reply

  68. I’ll have to seriously think about this one and get back!! I love the movies and it’s so hard to choose. But I did enjoy yours. Thanks.

    Reply

  70. Nice post. I particularly like the lack of explanation for ‘The Graduate’. And ‘Labyrinth’ is definitely high on my list. It really is an impossible question to answer. I usually go back to ‘Being John Malkovich’ as my favourite, but things change.

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  75. Tokyo Story; The Third Man; Fires on the Plain; M; The Searchers; Modern Times; The Manchurian Candidate; Night of the Demon; The Damned (’63); 2001: A Space Odyssey; I Vitelloni

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  77. I hate this question too! The movie theater I work at requires us to chose our favorite movie to appear on our name tags and it drives me crazy. How can I be expected to chose just one? Great list, enjoyed the post!

    Reply

  78. Hmmm I would like to add Emir Kusturica’s ‘Underground’, as the ultimate metaphor for middle europe, wolfgang Peterson’s ‘Das Boot’ as being so brilliantly anti war, and Singing in the Rain for being the only musical that has ever made sense. The Third Man because it is a circle, the best kind of storytelling. Everythign by Richard Linklater, especially before sunrise and before sunset. Letter from an Unknown Woman because it beats the crap out of any other weepies. And the entire canon of Werner Herzog including people impersonating him. So many films, too little time..

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  79. Oh my wow, I have a hard time with this question too…and if you are anywhere at all near the area of dating or socially hanging out, this question is the go-to, right behind “What’s your favorite band/music?”

    You have some awesome ones on this list…I’m partial to a bunch here. I’d have to include “Spinal Tap,” because it really makes me think on a deeper level. Ok, it doesn’t. It’s just awesomeness though. And “Princess Bride”…what can I say about this film? Possibly my ALL TIME favorite, and if I ever have kids, they can watch it over and over and I won’t have an issue with it! 🙂

    Great article, I wish I had found you earlier!

    Dug

    HOME

    Reply

  81. Definitely Dazed and Confused! And, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Those are about even as far as winners. I also love Dirty Dancing LOL! I’m 25, that one is to be expected. Christmas Vacation, Rocky Horror Picture Show..

    Reply

  82. Raiders of the Lost Ark – I worked in a video store in high school and played it relentlessly. AND I can still watch it 🙂 So I guess by default as it’s the film I watch the most, it’s my favourite.

    Completely with you on Princess Bride – I wore out my DVD %-)

    Other favs – Howl’s Moving Castle, The Unbelievable Truth, Diva and The Fall.

    Thanks for asking!

    Reply

  83. It’s not often you come across a person that likes Royal Tenenbaums. I loved the movie too because it was just so out there yet every single one of the characters was likable. A great one! And The Princess Bride, I still remember the very first time I ever saw it.

    Reply

  84. I too hate those questions about favorite movies (or songs, etc.) because it’s too broad and too hard to compare and fit them all in to one defining category. I know some people can do it. I like your list – some of those movies would be on a list of my favorites too. Would it be totally awful if I said that one of my favorite movies is M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs? I get a TON of grief for that – but I think it’s one of the movies he got right. Oh well…

    Reply

    • Thank god I’m not the only person on the planet who has Signs as one of their most favorite movies. Excellent movie, very underrated. Watched it too many times lol I get grief too 😉 but nobodies taking my foil helmet away.

      Reply

  85. Love Dazed and Confused, “I get older, they stay the same age”. You should check out Slacker, also written and directed by Richard Linklater.

    Unfortunately, I cannot pick a favourite movie of all time. But a film I return to a lot is Wild Zero. But usually if I plan on getting drunk.

    Reply

  88. I have yet to see a Wes Anderson film that I didn’t completely enjoy, The Royal Tanenbaums is great. Wallace Shawn and Mandy Patinkin are not to be missed in the Princess Bride. Breakfast Club has a perfect cast. The Labyrinth has the best puppets ever, though the Dark Crystal had some amazing puppetry too. It’s an interesting list. I can think of so many others (Coen brothers, The Third Man, Monty Python and Holy Grail) there are so many reasons to like a movie.

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  89. Great list and well argued. Including The Princess Bride is automatic Kudos in my book and I’m Old! .

    I will not put mine here, who cares, but if you get the chance check out Eagle vs Shark for quirky offbeat humour with half of the Flight of the Conchords in the central role. You will not regret it. Lovely.

    Gav

    Reply

  90. 1. Black Narcissus
    2. The Searchers
    3. A Man Escaped
    4. E.T.
    5. Meet Me in St. Louis
    6. Zodiac
    7. The Passion of Joan of Arc
    8. The Shop Around the Corner
    9. Days of Heaven
    10. The Wild Child

    Reply

  93. I agree with your choices of great movies and with the comments but disagree that one movie can’t be picked over all others. Watch me do it right now. “Mary Poppins”. For me it is that easy. I have been practicing this answer for a long time and I believe it. Could it change? I used to think so but that was a lot of excellent movies ago. As to Audrey. Bang on. Terrific post.

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  96. Into the Wild is honestly the greatest cinematic creation of ALL TIME. It changed my life. (Not trying to be dramatic or anything….) I also adore the Labyrinth and would add to the list: Shawshank Redemption, Dead Poets Society, the Aviator and Pan’s Labyrinth.

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  97. Great list, there’s some fantastic movies in there. I’d have to say my favourite movie of all time is ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ I first saw it as a teenager. I’d recorded it on TV as I watched and immediately rewound it when it finished and watched it again. I stayed up until the wee small hours that morning and have never done it with a film since. My faith in humanity was restored and the rest of my life has been better since having seen it. I love ‘The Life Aquatic…’too but it’s not in the same league as ‘Cuckoo’. Great post, thanks, really enjoyed reading this!

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  101. Good choices – I haven’t seen some of them, though, so I can’t agree with all of them. I love visiting other blogs to get ideas for movies to watch.

    Some of my favorites are Rushmore, Some Like It Hot, Shawshank Redemption, and Rear Window. I do like some more recent films, but these are the ones that standout to me that I can watch over and over and over.

    http://genevieveknits.wordpress.com/

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  102. I love how personal this list is. You don’t seem concerned about what you should put on the list, but only those films which really mean something to you.

    While I can’t say I have more than an academic appreciation for “Breathless”, I’m glad it had that effect on you. I will never forget the three movies which changed the way I thought about cinema:

    The first was “A Night at the Opera”. My uncle showed it to me, and from that point on my reference point for comedy has been the Marx Bros. More than that, though, I think I could sense that they were doing something bold in the film, something anarchic and boundary pushing.

    The other two I saw close together in high school, “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Third Man”. These were the two films that made me step back and realize, “Whoa, films can be beautiful”. Lawrence is obvious, with its sweeping camera work and stark setting, but “The Third Man” has stuck with me even more (it is, in fact, my favorite film). The spareness of post-war Vienna, the inimitable use of the Dutch angle, and the absolutely devastating final shot – all genius! Not to mention the best use of contrapunctal music in any film, ever.

    Sorry, this got a bit rambly. All to say: loved the post!

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  103. Good Will Hunting and Shawshank Redemption are the standouts for me, and judging by the ratings on imbd.com I’m not alone.

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  105. I’m going to throw out a few more of my favorites just because I like the topic so much 🙂

    Young Frankenstein, Blake Edwards’ The Great Race, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and Some Like It Hot make the cut.

    Because I like to laugh.

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  106. I have to say that I love this list. My only disagreement is with the comment made about The New World. While anything created by Hollywood will always have its flaws the hole purpose of the movie was to capture a more historically accurate portrayal of John Smith, Pocahontas and the Jamestown settle (in comparison to lets say, the Disney version). With that being said, the production staff called in several native american actors to portray the Algonquian Natives of the colonial era, all of which learned the Algonquian dialect spoken by the people of that time. They were very care as natives themselves to portray their predecessors in an accurate and respectful manner even though many of them came from different native cultures (one actor struggle with the decision to shave half of his hair off in the Algonquian manner because in his ancestral culture an individuals hair is considered sacred and only meant to be cut during a time of mourning)!. Additionally they portrayed Pocahontas as a playful young girl who would eventually marry John Rolfe in her mid teens rather than a buxom twenty something who fell in love with john smith. Speaking of John Smith, the film goes to show that he was more of man on the outs rather than a dashing blonde haired, blue eyed hero. All in all they did a pretty good job….

    Now what was I saying again? Oh YEAH! I love this list!

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  107. I JUST discovered The Breakfast Club…and I watched it six times in three days! I’m a lover of musicals and I’d have to add Singin’ In the Rain, Victor Victoria (the original live Broadway recording), and Anchor’s Aweigh based solely on the dance routine shared by Gene Kelly and the mouse from Tom and Jerry!

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  108. I’d put Harold and Maude and All of Me on there (as mentioned above). But I’m not an annoying film person, I’m just an annoying dorky know-it-all. I guess I should put The New World up higher on my to see list. And I adore Roman Holiday, maybe even more than Breakfast at Tiffany’s – except BaT has Moon River in it.

    Loved this post. Congrats on Freshly Pressed!

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  109. Favs? Like asking me to pick a favorite song or a favorite student (I’m a teacher and well, um, on second thought, that one might not be so hard….)
    A few that come to mind (my formative years were spent watching a lot of John Hughes movies….)

    1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
    2. 16 Candles
    3. Say Anything
    4. Love, Actually
    5. About a Boy
    6. Notting Hill
    7. Billy Elliot
    8. Saturday Night Fever
    9. Dirty Dancing
    10. To be determined………………………

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  112. Love watching Dazed and Confused, basically because it kept coming on t.v. repeatedly in the early 00s. I don’t choose favorites by any parameters, but by how often I can watch the whole thing on t.v. with commercials. Thus, Weekend at Bernies is also up there.

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  113. Son of Rambow, Jump Tomorrow, original Willy Wonka, totally agree with the Royal Tenenbaums. Pecker and An Education.

    One of my fondest movie memories is watching Sling Blade, all we did was read the write up in the paper and went to go see it, way before all the hype and we saw it in a tiny, old basement theatre, beside a honky tonk bar in Raleigh, NC. Walked out of that movie floored. This was before honky tonks were cool too, there was no such thing as Alt Country then. And it was a first date kind of deal, he tried to kiss me goodnight and I turned my head. Fork in the road, didn’t return his advances, I wonder what would have happened? Just like Sliding Doors.

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  116. I love movies so picking 10 is just as impossible as picking one. I love the Breakfast club, Dazed and Confused, and the Labyrinth. Here are a few more I enjoy…

    Gone with the wind (powerful characters dealing with life changing changes)
    The charge at feather river
    The War of the Roses
    TOMBSTONE (Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot & Val kilmer were hot)
    Guess Who
    Underworld (vampires vs. werewolves, love all of the movies)
    The Lion King/Beauty & the Beast
    The Wizard of OZ
    Transylvania 6-500 (awesomely funny movie)
    Planes, trains & automobiles (John Candy & Steve Martin, need I say more)
    Friday the 13th (the earlier movies)
    The Bear (1986, great movie, still makes me cry)

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  119. I agree with Underworld, above, and wrote a review of it on my blog. Most of your top 10 list I have not even seen, but I want to see some of them, now of course!
    My list:

    1) The Shawshank Redemption. Why? Morgan Freeman and Tim Robins?! Amazing acting, and I love a happy ending. I have watched this one many times.
    2) The Color Purple. Again, the actors and actresses in this are amazing ,and the theme of ultimate redemption always resonates with me.
    3) Patch Adams. Same reasons, and I love Robin Williams’ work during those years.
    ( I also loved Hook, and Jumanji!)
    4) African Queen. An oldie, and a goodie!
    5) The Green Mile.
    6) The Devil’s Advocate. It just freaks me out.
    7) The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock
    8) The Breakfast Club
    9) Titanic. Because of the love story and the amazing visuals that only James Cameron can pull off!
    10) Moulin Rouge! My husband’s favorite, and because he sang to me while it was playing.

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  121. This is a great topic for conversation and I wish I could answer it. There are just too many to choose from. The movie I have watched more that any other would be The Ten Commandments and Wizard of Oz tied. I love Groundhog Day, The Princess Bride, Alien, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, any movie with Cary Grant in it, Let The Right One In, and I could go on. Sorry, I just can’t pick one.

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  122. Oh can I play too, my top ten:

    10). Shawshank Redemption – because I didn’t just leave the cinema, I wanted to break out of it.

    09). The Rock – Sean Connery comes back from the Cold.

    08). The Castle – An under-dog sticking it to big corporation, and a heap of awesome jingoisms.

    07). Forrest Gump – Because life’s like a box of chocolets.

    06). Galipolli – Mel Gibson before super stardom, and a great anti-war movie.

    05). Thin Red Line – Like the book King Rat, war is more about the battle within than the enemy. Been there done that.

    04). Chopper – Eric Banner at his best.

    03). Glory – Now that’s what Merica is all about.

    02). Scar Face: “In my life I only have two things, my word, and my balls, and I break ’em for no one”. Nuff said.

    01). There is no number one. They’re all awesome.

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    • Oh yeah! Good to see a vote for The Castle. This movie gets quoted all the time at our house, especially when we are driving to Bonnie Doon. How’s the serenity?….

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  124. Requiem For a Dream was brilliant, but I felt like I needed a shower after watching it. Another one along that line is Ken Park. My favorite film is Ben Hur, loved Singing in the Rain, Wizard of Oz, Father Goose, would probably add Sex and Lucia and Slumdog Millionaire to my top ten.

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  128. The Shawshank Redemption.

    No other film has entrenched me more so than this (seemingly) quiet, little film. The performances are magnificent (especially Morgan Freeman), the direction and cinematography are absolutely top notch and beautifully composed, the score is sad and uplifting all at the same time and the story… what a powerful message! Hope. It’s a good thing, and like all good things… it never dies.

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  129. Pingback: 20 melhores filmes de 2011 – Titulos estao em Ingles « Josivaldo's Blog

  130. Our favorite films really just reflect on who we are- my favorite is Waking Ned Devine- I love the characters, the “irishness” of the film, and the dialogue. The plot is fun, but the characters and dialogue rule. I am an author, but also a playwright, and for me this movie speaks to the playwright in me.

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  131. you have good taste if you picked breathless, but i would take godard’s communistic commercial, weekend, as a funkier alternative.

    your choice of films always will change, but some will remain the same. i still think the breakfast club is one of the best films of the 80s. i hated the graduate from the time i saw it, too pretentious, like bonnie and clyde better out of that period.

    what happened no fellini or bunuel in texas?

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  133. i love Leonardo Di Caprio movies.. theyr r awesome!!! e.g catch me if u can, the departed, titanic, aviator, blood diamond… i mean the list is awesome n filled with a great line of movies behind.

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  135. Great list regarding an impossible question.
    Favorite movie of all time? That depends on the time. There are too many great movies to say any one movie takes the cake, at any one time.
    North by Northwest
    Repo Man
    Cry Freedom
    The Milagro Beanfield War
    Fletch
    The Usual Suspects
    The list goes on, and on, and on…

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  137. I agree with most of these, the rest I’ve yet to see! One of my “I’m a girl y’all” favorites is Sweet Home Alabama. I could watch it a million times and Jake never gets boring.

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  138. I will watch Breathless and The New World as soon as I can. You have to see Blade Runner, the directors cut, if you haven’t already. You would love The fox and The Girl. Awesome post.

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  140. The fact that you were able to get to the point where you could actually pen down a list is commendable. My mind starts shooting in ten different directions the moment I think about it. And then I get really dizzy. Its an impossible task.
    One of the recent movies I watched and liked was Rabbit hole. Pretty depressing but it worked for me.

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  141. Frankly I’m shocked that High School Musical didn’t make your list. On a more serious note I haven’t actually seen any of the movies on your list. I suppose my age might have something to do with it but nevertheless I am intrigued and look forward to watching one or two of them. Of course if they bore me to tears I’ll have no option but to blame you completely. No pressure 🙂

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  143. You have some great movies on this list! Audrey Hepburn is sublime. . .”Roman Holiday” is one of her best films. Love “The Graduate!” And “Cry-Baby,” it is terrible, but oh so good. It’s one of those guilty-pleasure-I-can-watch-it-multiple-times kind of film. Fun post!

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  145. I’d personally ought to talk to anyone here. That is not really something When i usually do! I enjoy examining any content which will acquire individuals to feel. Additionally, many thanks with regard to letting everyone to be able to remark!

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  146. The Princess Bride is probably one of the best, if not the best, fantasy/fairy tale film of all time! Nothing can really come close to it.

    A giant, 6 fingered villain, giant rat, Billy Crystal, not to mention swoon worthy Cary Elwes at his best. What more could you ask for?

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  147. HI! I love reading stuff like that. I don’t pretend to be a great cinéphile, but I love remembering movies that left an imprint. It’s what they’re meant for, I guess, though there are some other viewpoints. I’m french and I wanted to say thanks for placing Godard (on top of the list!).

    I also want to say that I have never seen ONE Godard movie. It’s not a choice, it just happens to be that way. “A bout de souffle” (“Breathless”) is one of the most cited movies and maybe it’s the reason why I more or less unconsciously refuse to watch it. You know, the “Titanic syndrome” (and I’m a Terminator 1 fan).

    As I was reading through your post, I realized there was only one European movie (I could be wrong, I didn’t really check every movie’s data sheet) in your favourites list that is to say the french one. I mean the rest seems to be all American. Not intending to blame you for that because it’s your culture and also because it’s…mine. See what I’m heading to? I’ve just read a magazine article dealing with the nature of French cinema and its problems. Going from the all-award-winning “The artist” and its actor Jean Dujardin to the trouble of independent or smaller films to get the money necessary to get made, it made me think again about something nobody questions: the American hegemony. It has, in the way I see it, two main aspects that contradict each other: the US brought and still brings a lot of awesome movies, thanks to the large number of releases each year and the great variety of authors and styles. I grew up to “Blade runner”, “The Godfather”, “War games”, “D.A.R.Y.L.”, “Brazil”, “Dirty Harry”, “Indiana Jones”, “The Goonies”, “Explorers”, “Deliverance”, “Batman”, “The untouchables”, etc etc.

    I also used to watch terrific french movies that I won’t even try to list, but quite as much as for my musical culture, the US remains the foundation, the starting point of many things. It’s something great but it also annoys me a bit. I don’t know much about what’s going on in India, though it’s the world’s largest producer of films. The market and its laws!

    Anyway, thanks again for your list.

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  150. Stumbled upon your blog – fascinating! I, too, love Roman Holiday, The Breakfast Club, and The Princess Bride. I’m in awe that you were not only able to list your favorites but explain why. Brava! You’re making me think hard about my own list!

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  151. Great list here! I agree with some as well. The Breakfast Club is such an important film to so many people. Dazed & Confused, AMAZING!!! & Yes what a soundtrack 🙂

    I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, but for foreign films, Life is Beautiful is an amazing film. I noticed, no Dirty Dancing, another that would definitely be on my list. It is tough though, with so many great films. The Scarlett Letter, Braveheart, Schindler’s List, John Q, I could go on forever!

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  156. So, I’m not gonna lie to you. I started reading your blog, then got sidetracked by your name and city of Denton, TX because I’m from Gainesville, tiny town 30 min north….but I’m in China now! Small world!

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  159. Afterlife (Japanese)
    2001
    Dr. Zhivago
    The Devil wears Prada (any ambitious female journo can relate)
    Harold and Maude
    The Mission
    anything by Werner Herzog, esp. Aguirre, Wrath of God and (???) Lina Wertmuller

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  160. I grew up watching Labyrith as well, but I am significantly younger than most people who say this and I seem to be the only person from my age group that grew up with it.. all my peers just do not know what they are missing out on

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  163. It’s great that you made this list. It’s a great one too. If anyone had asked me right now what my favorite movie of all time was, I’d probably draw a blank because I couldn’t choose just one 🙂 love this post!

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  168. Such a tough question. My list fluctuates, but here at the ones that usually come to mind first:

    Rocky
    Jaws
    Vision Quest
    Breakfast Club
    Casablanca
    Key Largo
    First Blood
    Point Break
    The Professional
    Man on Fire
    Christmas Vacation
    Young Guns
    Tombstone
    Dazed and Confused

    too many, I give up.

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  171. Great post and I rank The Princess Bride and The Breakfast Club as two of my favorites. I would have to add in Star Wars(original trilogy,) because I’m a guy and Where the Heart is which in my opinion is on of the best “chick flicks” ever.

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    • Everybody who wants to sound like they’re a little more pretentious and actually knows about Audrey Hepburn’s filmography will lie and say their favorite Hepburn film isn’t Breakfast at Tiffany’s – I know I do.

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  175. So you pretty much just listed every one of my favorite movies ever. Especially The Breakfast Club. Which I can recite almost every line from top to bottom. Especially Judd Nelson’s. Have I mentioned that this movie is also probably responsible for my poor taste in men?

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    • Also my list is

      Fight Club
      Elizabethtown
      Breakfast at Tiffany’s
      The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
      The Breakfast Club
      The Wizard of Oz
      Dirty Dancing
      The Departed
      The Boondock Saints
      Dawn of the Dead

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  176. One of the first movies my boyfriend made me watch we when got together was “Cry Baby,” because it was one of is favorite films growing up and he knew I like musicals. I believe we got as far as the lightning-strike scene before I begged him to shut it off. And yet, I cannot argue with OMG JOHNNY DEPP!

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  180. Lovely post. My favs are Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Royal Tennenbauns, When Harry Met Sally, Snatched (yes I know, but I can watch it 10 times and never tire of it, plus I’m a Brit), All the Oceans 11 movies and Serendipity. And yes you’re right, it really is a hard question. The list could go on and on.

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  182. As far as Wes Anderson movies go, I liked “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” much more than “The Royal Tenenbaums”.

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  183. You have most of my favorites as well. Dazed and Confused!!!! Lines from that movies come out of my mouth all the time in normal conversation. Just brilliant! I would add Casablanca (I know, cliche, but still my alltime favorite) and also Apocalypse Now. I’m not a girl, ya’ll. 🙂

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  184. That is an ambiguous question! Of those listed, I’ve only seen “The Breakfast Club” and “The Graduate”. My favorite movies of all time would comprise a list of hundreds of titles. But one that comes to mind, at the moment, is “Open Your Eyes” (Abre Los Ojos). This 1997 Spanish film is riveting!

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  185. I asked my buddy Bobby what his favorite movie was. He thought about it for 20 seconds before telling me it’s The Dark Knight. I asked him why, because I couldn’t figure out why this guy who is pretty smart and has good taste and appreciates meaning would choose a Batman movie as his absolute favorite.

    He said that it’s his favorite movie because no matter what, if he sees that it’s playing on TV, regardless of what point in the movie it’s at, he’s going to watch it.

    I can’t argue with that point. The AnnoyingFilmPerson in me wants to say that my favorite film is The Royal Tenenbaums, but I definitely can’t just pop that movie into the DVD player any old time. I need to be in a specific mood and mindset.

    The movie lover in me might say that my favorite movie is The Dark Knight, also. Because Batman rules.

    TL;DR:

    I’m into this list except for Princess Bride.

    I hope you follow up with a post about movies that everyone loves but you can’t stand!

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  186. great list 🙂 some inspirational films in there 🙂 definitely think that the lion king and toy story should be up there, along with apollo 13 and independence day 🙂
    also casablanca 🙂

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  187. So, there are two movies on your list that I’ve never seen! I can’t believe it. I’m going to watch them and I look forward to more of your annoying film person-y-ness. alright alright alright… L.O.V.E. it.

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  188. I like to use this annoying question to scope out people when I’m meeting them for the first time, because I find that a lot of people have ‘token’ favorite movies they’ve chosen that they hope will make them look smart, or funny, or secretly soft-hearted. For example, mine is Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’. It’s a much better conversation filler than, for example, ‘so how about that weather?” 🙂
    (By the way, great list!)

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  190. I came on WordPress to set myself up with a blog but I got side-tracked by yours! I really enjoyed reading your list of favourite movies and your unpretentious, unapologetic and refreshingly honest reasoning behind your choices.

    So then I made a deal with myself to come up with my own list without giving it too much through or analysising it too much (a brave feat for me as I analyse everything!) And here are the movies that immediately came to mind.

    Why do I like them? I just do. Some of them I feel like I grew up with, some remind me of great times in my life and all of them tell tales of life in sunnier, scenic and more lively/happy/mysterious places than where I happen to be when I watch them. That’s my one criteria for watching a movie: that it takes me to a better place. There’s enough tension, fear and suffering in the world already – if I want to subject myself to that, I watch the news.

    Anyway, here is but a handful of my favourites:

    Dirty Dancing
    Lost in Translation
    Almost Famous
    Lost Boys
    Jaws
    Stand By Me
    Breakfast Club
    Thelma and Louise
    Point Break
    Vicky Cristina Barcelona
    Cocktail
    Goodfellas
    Notting Hill
    Heat
    Cruel Intentions
    Indecent Proposal
    Pretty Woman
    American Beauty
    Closer
    St Elmo’s Fire
    Shirley Valentine
    A Few Good Men

    Phew! I know I have left out lots of other important movies and I will start beating msyelf up about it the minute I hit ‘post comment’ so I better quit whilst i’m ahead. Deep breath …

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  191. The Breakfast Club – genius. The Graduate – I always forget how much I love this movie. The Princess Bride – I know guys who say this is their favorite movie. Into The Wild – just saw it for the first time. Interesting, but that guy was so arrogant it drove me crazy. Great list!

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  192. Great list, I like a lot of these too. I used to be way into Audrey too. Then I realized that both Breakfast and Funny Face were actually about taking a great quirky girl and forcing her back into the female stereotype. But this post isn’t really about that. I love that you added fun movies too. I love Labyrinth also mostly due to David Bowie ;^)
    And even though you’re a film person, you should check out the Princess Bride book. One of the best parts of the movie for me was that it did a great job converting the story from the book.

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  193. Thanks for asking this question. If asked in public I would never have been so honest, Naturally I would boastfully try to show how much I know, and steer toward the more acceptable, sophisticated ones… But your question caught me totally off guard and for once, I chose to be honest to myself, These are the movies that changed little pieces of my behavior. These are movies that live in me today, that are background to every thought; part of who I am….

    My nominees would be….

    Lord of the Rings; Trilogy
    Inception
    Casablanca
    It’s A Wonderful Life
    Three Days of A Condor
    Anne Hall
    My Best Friend’s Wedding
    The Dark Knight
    Titanic
    The Christmas Carol (1951)

    And the winner is……………………………………
    Trilogy: Lord of the Rings.

    Thank you for blogging this and giving me some “reliving and remembering” joy… 🙂

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  196. I also hate this questions. Why can’t somebody just love movies in general? To watch a movie for the sake of great entertainment is a gift. A gift you seem to have. I would watch every movie that ever existed if I had that kind of time. I try not to base my movie watching decisions on others reviews. I watch for the experience of the story. Plain and simple.

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  198. I’m a sentimental sap so my favorite movie of all time is It’s a Wonderful Life. You can’t do much better than Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. I watch this one every year and it always makes me cry. “No man is a failure if he has friends.”

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  202. I agree with 4,5,6,8, and the Labyrinth half of #10…HOWEVER you left out so many greats like The Sound of Music, The Big Lebowski, Snatch and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off!
    Then again I guess it all comes down to personal choice…10 is a hard number to pick when you have such a huge number to narrow down from!
    Is this what makes you “annoying”?

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  207. I have so many favorites and being a fickle person, I may like a movie one day and dislike it the next. But one of my top favorites is The Dark Knight, because everything about it is amazing; the cast, the score, the action scenes and of course Heath Ledger’s brilliant Joker performance.

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  208. I have so many favorites and being a fickle person, I may like a movie one day and dislike it the next. But one of my top favorites is The Dark Knight, because everything about it is amazing; the cast, the score, the action scenes and of course Heath Ledger’s brilliant Joker performance.

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  212. That’s a hard one- sorta like asking a mother “who’s you favorite child?.

    We’ll be seeing “Roman Holiday” next month in a theater. That’s near the top of the list.

    I agree on “Royal Tenenbaums” and “Princess Bride” and “The Graduate”. I haven’t seen the others.

    I’d add “Edward Scissorhands”. Why? Johnny Depp. Winona Ryder. Engaging story.

    My others are French: “King of Hearts”, with Alan Bates and the incredibly beautiful Geneviève Bujold. A story that asks us to ask “what is sanity?’.

    And “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, with the incredibly beautiful Catherine Deneuve. This one is really an opera: every word of dialog is sung (to a brilliant score by Michel Legrand. The sets are in brilliant color. It’s a “three-hanky” movie.

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  213. Kudos for the Labyrinth mention.

    Random fact: Halloween 2010 I had not one, but TWO of my friends show up to my party as Jareth the Goblin King…and yes I have the pictures to prove it.

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  215. I was gonna ask a similar question for my first ever blog. I love thinking about my favorite movies, music and books. And knowing other peoples favorites is just as fun for me.

    1a. Casino
    1b. Natural Born Killers
    1c. Kill Bill
    1d. Good Fellas
    1e. Feild of Dreams
    1f. Remember the Titans
    1g. Dogma
    1h. L.A. Confidential.

    There are so many great movies.

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  216. A little known movie called Driving Lessons. I love cars and it has an ancient Citroen wagon. It stars Rupert Grint and Shirley Valentine’s Julie Walters. She does swear a bit but it’s thoroughly charming. I can’t recommend it enough. My favourite movie of all time is Life of Brian, Monty Python. Enough said.

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  217. Great perspective to a timeless question. My “favorites” change with the seasons, and of course as new films come along. I’ve only seen five from your list, of which I only enjoyed Breakfast Club and The Princess Bride (a chick flick a dude can love). The even more difficult question for me is ~ What’s your FAVORITE song or album? Cheers!!

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  218. lol I love everything about this post! p.s. Cry Baby is perfection and David Bowie singing “Dance magic dance!” in leggings is mesmerizing yet completely inappropriate for children. lol

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  219. I can never chose a fave movie, song, food or anything so broad and, well, broad. But a movie that popped into mind immediately was “The Breakfast Club” and there it is on your list. 🙂

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  220. You really think Godard’s whole body of work is great? I love his early stuff – it’s worth cherishing. “Band of Outsiders” is my favorite Godard. But after “Weekend,” it gets pretty rough. Truffaut went super mainstream and Godard went too far the other way (film essays? um, no thanks). Anyways, good to see The New Wave represented on your list. : )

    Congrats on getting Freshly Pressed!

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  222. How can anyone who is a huge film fan have ONE favorite film? I have a top 10 list, the movies I would take to a desert island (if it had electricity, a TV and a DVD player) and ones that I can watch over and over and over and over again without getting bored. Though The Princess Bride is not on my list, it’s a family favorite. (My brother was going to try to get his priest to say the Marrwaige line at his wedding, but he chickened out.) Love Harold and Maude like so many others say.
    Most of my favs are from my childhood:
    Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (original)
    Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
    Jaws
    Annie Hall
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (I’m a Trek fan)
    The Planet of the Apes (original)
    FIddler on the Roof
    Monty Python and the Holy Grail
    My Fair Lady
    Young Frankenstein

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  223. Thank you for sharing excellent informations. Your website is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this web site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles.

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  224. That’s like asking me to pick my favorite song. Not happening! There are too many good ones to choose from!

    From your list, I’ve only seen portions of Royal Tenenbaums. I know, I need to get on my movie-watching

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  225. Wow, I’d forgotten how much I love some of these films! Have you seen Jean Cocteau’s “La Belle et la Bête”? Hands down my favorite ever–though “Breathless” is a great pick as well.

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    • “Chaplin’s “The Kid” (1921) and “City Lights” (1931). And “Metropolis” (1927)

      Now you’re talkin’!

      (Have you seen the restored :Metropolis? Music by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, a lot of missing film recovered.

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    • “I’m finding it tough choosing 100 movies let alone narrowing it down to 10!”

      A few people have echoed that sentiment. Maybe we should go the other way and make it “The Top Thousand Movies”.

      Besides, how can you compare a comedy (I can’t remember the last real comedy) with a drama? Is “Casablanca” better than “Sound of Music”?

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  228. Your list should be titled “Your Favorite Drama/Love Movie of all-time.” These are good movies near the bottom of a top 100 list. You would really like 50/50, it seems like your type of movie. I really liked it even though I don’t usually care for sad drama movies. Check it out if you haven’t already.

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  229. So many great movies! The Royal Tenenbaums is my absolute favorite and it’s so hard for me to explain why. And you nailed it!

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  231. “Zombieland” and “Shawn of the Dead”. The two greatest zombie movies? Or the two greatest movies ever?

    Probably not, but I loved these two. Where else can you laugh and be grossed out at the same time.

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  232. Loved your picks…EVERYTHING Audrey is amazing. I may be prejudice because she graces practically every room in my house, but she is the embodiment of class and sophistication in the most simple of ways. Breakfast Club. Duh. Dazed and Confused!! “That’s what I love about high school girls, I get older, they stay the same age.” classsic.

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    • I don’t get the fascination with this anti-hero. Maybe I read too many comic books growing up, or wasn’t born in the right decade, but Breakfast at Tiffany’s frustrated the crap out of me.

      Them ending up together was heart-breaking!

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    • What a combo!!! But I;m with you on those two.

      However. I really don’t like to see a movie again – at least not for a few years. I skipped seeing “Wizard of Oz” late last year, because I saw it the year before. I think I could see a laugh-out-loud comedy (when they used to make real comedies) a few times in a row.

      I’ve heard (but haven’t verified) that teenagers (probably the biggest demographic) will see a movie over and over (like the Twighlight series or the Hunger Games). They’ll go to a theater (the Acme 52-screen Gigaplex), find out what’s starting next, and go to that one. Whatever it is. As long as it’s got lots of car chases and Things Blowing Up Real Good and the occasional psychopathic killer and maybe a werewolf or two.

      That’s gotta drive producers crazy.

      Reply

  237. As a purely romcom/drama list, it’s perfect. But among your ‘favourite movies of all time’ The Matrix deserves a a place, surely! Greatest action super-plot series of the last decade. And Psycho, Vertigo (Hitchcock basically).

    Reply

  238. I could never pick one favourite movie, sometimes I love a not-so-good movie, despite its flaws, just for that one scene that totally gets me. I do have a few I have watched a million times and never tire of, so perhaps that is what makes a great movie for me. The first ones that come to mind are;
    The Dish
    Pulp Fiction
    Lost in Translation
    Now you have started me thinking I could just keep going!

    Reply

  241. Good list there, but whenever I am asked what my favorite movie is, I declare, from the gut, without hesitation: 1983’s Rumble Fish, by Francis Coppola, starting Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke. Screw art film (though this was shot in artsy black and white, with a few key bits in color), classics and such, and I do love the art films and even studied cinema (see my blog), but this is easily a personal favorite. It features Police drummer Stewart Copeland’s first and best soundtrack, odd exaggerated camera angles, luscious monochromatic B&W images, Diane Lane looking at her finest and most enigmatic. All the performances are expressive and slightly odd (Dennis Hopper, Chris Penn and Nic Cage are also in it). When it appeared in Miami a few years ago as part of a retrospective on Coppola on 35mm I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

    Reply

  243. For me,your favourite movie should be the easiest thing in the world to identify. It’s the movie you watch when you’re sick. When you’re lonely. The movie that doesn’t ever get old and you can watch it any time.

    So my favourite movies are…in this order – drumroll please –

    5. Shaun of the Dead
    4. Jurassic Park
    3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
    2. Scott Pilgrim v. The World
    1. JAWS

    I don’t really care about mainstream or cool, or whatever. Steven Spielberg is still my favourite director. Yes, it’s mainstream and fairy tale-ish, and gobbledy goop. But I can watch those movies any time. And I commit that Jaws is the greatest movie ever made. And I could argue it, but you’ll probably watch it again and agree.

    Reply

  246. When people ask me this question I normally send them a slightly confused/thoughtful look and say “I don’t know… I’ve not watched them all yet.”

    Love this post and totally agree with you on The Graduate.

    Reply

  250. How DID John Hughes capture the teenage heart so well in the 1980s? As for Roman Holiday, before we saw it we were skeptical that Gregory Peck could be a romantic lead (was Cary Grant not available?), but it worked out pretty well though, huh?

    I was thinking the other day that a favorite might be a movie I’ll watch several times since I rarely see one more than once. If so, here are some of my favorites:

    –Shawshank Redemption – just a near perfect film for us. Maybe the final scene is a bit too convenient but it pretty much summarizes the title.
    –Groundhog Day – one of the funniest “what-if” movies we’ve ever seen and Bill’s final release of ego is done without being pedantic.
    –Die Hard – if ever there was a guilty pleasure … and Alan Rickman is soooo good at being bad.
    –The Philadelphia Story – Jimmy Stewart is so convincing as a funny drunk we wonder if he dipped into the sauce right before the scene for some inspiration.
    –Princess Mononoke – Mayazaki has one of the weirdest minds in cinema…and we love it!

    Reply

  252. I loved “Pleasantville, “Roxanne,” nearly anything Woody Allen, and just saw “The Artist,” which I have to add to my list. I have not seen many of the films on your list, but will check them out.

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  253. “Rome, by all means Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”

    Roman Holiday still makes me cry as she passes him in the lineup of reporters and simply says, “So happy Mr. Bradley.” It’s deep.

    Reaching the last of the front-row journalists, Ann turns and walks slowly up the steps. The press gathering applauds her warmly as she reaches the top, her back to them. Slowly, she turns to face them, smiling broadly to the the gathering as she
    looks over them. Inevitably, her eyes fall to Joe. He smiles back, then her expression grows sorrowful. She manages another slight smile then turns away from them, and walks slowly and gracefully towards the exit. The officials step aside for her to pass and then file after her through the door. As she leaves, Joe watches her solemnly, the press turning to leave also. Before turning to go himself, Irving looks to Joe, but seeing his gaze unmoved walks away with the rest of them. The press, bustling and chattering behind him leave Joe alone, standing at the rope,
    looking at the empty spot where the Princess was last. Finally, Joe turns slowly to leave as the crowd disappears out of the entrance to the building. Alone but for the guards lining the room he walks slowly to the exit; hands in pockets, leaving the
    stage behind him; the huge room silent except for his slow footsteps. Stopping near the entrance, he pauses for a moment to look down the long hall back at the empty stage. Then, he turns and walks away.

    Reply

    • You nailed it. I saw it a long time ago, and will be seeing it next month on the big screen at a series on film history. The presenter showed that scene and told us what to watch for.

      And the funny part, where Joe’s assistant [?] presents her with some photos taken earlier.

      She’s one of the true greats (that skinny Belgian girl), like Bergman and Garbo.

      Reply

    • “… William Goldman’s book The Princess Bride is one of the funniest I’ve ever read… he wrote the screenplay for the film as well.”

      Wait! Hold on! I thought some guy named Morgenstern wrote it.

      Reply

  259. Love the list. Love the sarcasm. Great post. My “top ten” in no particular order would include: Cry Baby, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, Sabrina, The Lost Weekend, Year of Living Dangerously, Full Metal Jacket, My Fair Lady, The Year of Wine and Roses, Clockwork Orange, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. There, now they can judge us both. 🙂

    Reply

  260. Out of the ten movies you listed I have only seen one, The Graduate. I loved it and remember only one line. Benjamin is at his graduation party with all of his parent’s friends and the family. An associate of his father leans toward him and says “Plastics.”
    I eventually took the guys advice and spent forty years engineering plastics. Benjamin, on the other hand, began by having a torrid affair with his girlfriend’s mother.

    Reply

  261. I’m guy and I love The Princess Bride. I’m not sure why. Perhaps because it’s kinda sweet the way Fezzig and Indigo like each other so much. Such friendships are rare for adults I think (and maybe only happens in fiction).

    Now, as a guy, I have to mention one of my favourite movies: (predictable for a fella) The Big Lebowski. Perhaps it’s for the same reason I love The Princess Bride. The Dude, Walter and Donny are great friends who can say anything to each other -even insulting things – and remain friends. And Townes van Zandt’s version of Dead Flowers (at the closing credits?) is perfect.

    Reply

  262. Call me a nerd, but what about sci-fi movies? Star Wars (pick any of the 6), Star Trek (the new one), Pirates of the Caribbean (The first and fourth). All of that said, just because you mentioned the Princess Bride you get a thumbs up. 🙂 Rock on

    Reply

  264. Mine at the moment have to be:

    Oldboy
    Kill Bill Vols 1 & 2
    Shawshank Redemption
    Black Swan
    Akira

    In all honesty though, this question for me is one of the hardest in the world, as each film will hold something unique that you cannot really say is better than something else which will be entirely different anyway. 🙂

    Reply

  265. I love The Royal Tenenbaums and The Princess Bride. Those are some great films though they didn’t make my favorites list. I’ve actually got a list of my top 5 favorites on my blog. But you know, I was always disapointed that AFI’s list of the Top 100 Movie Quotes didn’t include anything from The Princess Bride. SO MANY great lines and you can’t beat:
    “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die.”

    Ah! Now I have to go watch it.

    Reply

  266. I liked the list and loved seeing “Into the Wild” on it! I also don’t like being asked what my favorite movie is and give a different response every time – not because I think less of other movies that I’ve said are my favorite, just because it’s so reflective of mood and what’s going on and there are just so many good movies. I recently decided though that (at least for the moment) “It’s A Wonderful Life” is the best movie

    Reply

  267. Apocalypse Now (1979) directed by Francis Ford Coppola. With a cast including Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper and many many more… My favorite movie.

    Reply

  268. My favorite of all time even though i was born in 1973 and have seen a lot of movies, is the Lord of the Rings series. If i had to pick one from the series it would be the return of the king. I like that one in particular because of how it mirrors the return of Jesus as victorious King and how beautifully it portrays the long-suffering church finally joined to the King in glory at the end of the age. i love the whole series in general because of the visual beauty of nature and good versus evil. though the good are few in number and weak they triumph in the end.

    Reply

  272. Great taste you have! I was surprised to see The New World on here. I love it but everyone I know seems to hate it. haha

    Reply

  274. I’m never good at these desert island list choices. You had some good ones and they are always personal. My favorite that you put up was Dazed and Confused. I was in college when it was released. A group of us went out for drinks, enjoyed some good smoke on the way to the theater, a cool art house type place that used to be a church mission and then a morgue!
    The theater was packed with college kids and it was a party atmosphere. When Slow Ride started playing, it just kept getting better. An instant classic. I keep gettin’ older but that movie is still great!

    Reply

  275. Not sure that this is the order, but these are 10 favorites…

    Lawrence of Arabia
    Jaws
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Casablanca
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    The Matrix
    The Return of the King
    The Godfather
    Midnight in Paris
    Bridge on the River Kwai

    Reply

  278. Excellent list, thought really tough to come up with all-time favourites. Each decade has its own. It’s slightly easier for me to come up with favourite film directors, whose work I admire. All of them had made little mis-steps here and there, or taken a tumble, depending on your point of view. But I would say these are among creme de la creme, though not a complete list:

    FrancoisTruffaut, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrei Tarkovsky, Stephen Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, the Cohen Brothers, Katherine Bigelow, Jane Campion, Mira Nair (who deserves to be here for Monsoon Wedding alone), Bernardo Bertolucci, Claude Chabrol, Edgar Reitz (for Heimat), Kurosawa…

    I could go on, but this will do for now, I hop.

    Reply

  279. I think I’ve only seen two of the films on your list, Princess Bride and Labyrinth. Undisputed classics. I wouldn’t know where to start with mine, although Waynes World, In Bruges and Reservoir Dogs would be definites.Oh, hang on that’s quite a good start really!! Nice blog 🙂

    Reply

  286. I actually have a Top 50 “movie industry” list. These 50+ items represent a broad cross-section of talented actors, screen writers and directors I love and/or admire tremendously.

    I share some of the same selections you have here, but I go much deeper into the directors I love…

    Click Here for my list: http://cdeminski.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/top-50-movies-directors-actors-list/

    Please feel free to comment on my page with your thoughts too. Congrats on your Fresh Pressed by the way!

    Thanks,
    Carol

    Reply

  288. “We’re No Angels” Humphrey Bogart….especially the “snake” scene when they’re discussing what to do regarding the snake and the fact that it’s in the bedroom with someone.

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  289. Having spent the weekend watching watching Bollywood movies I’m now breaking my movies down by country! Much to the annoyance of my wife I’ve been singing the praises of Katrina Kaif lol!

    If you’ve not yet watched one and want to then I seriously recommend the following movie (http://coolyourjetsiv.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/senorita/) Shot in Spain with glorious cinematography, its a great story of three friends and the adventures that follow – it has everything.

    BTW – the Princess Bride is my all time favourite movie, its beautiful!

    Reply

    • We have a theater near us that shows Bollywood movies. We saw one last year – can;t remember the name (well, it was in Hindi) – but it was really good. The thing it takes some getting used to is that every now and again, in the middle of the story, they break out into a musical number.

      Currently, they’re showing Jodi Breakers, Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya, and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. All starring actors I’ve never seen.

      Do you have any particular recommendations?

      PS: Really good photos from Hyde Park! You’ve caught almost everybody at exactly the right moment.

      Reply

      • If you can, try and buy the movies online and switch the subtitles on but you’re right about breaking into song at every opportunity though this is changing (only ever so slightly) and theres fewer songs, apparenetly!

        I’ve not really watched enough to recommend too many but this weeekend my wife and I watched: 3 Idiots, Zingdagi na Milegi Dobara – which was amazing, Don and Don II.

        I’ve also watched Singh is King, My Name is Khan and whilst not ‘Bollywood’ Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire was very good and stars some of the Bollywoods leading actors.

        Do let me know if you go ahead and watch any of the above and what you think…

        Thanks for your comments re Hyde Park photos – its a great place to go soak up the atmosphere, I thoroughly recommend it.

        Reply

        • Cool Your Jets: Thanks for the info. As we’re on opposite sides of the Pond, the movies we get may differ from those you do. But still, the theater near us shows Indian movies all the time; we drop in now and again.

          Reply

  290. I have only seen Dazed and Confused, Princess’ Bride, and Labyrinth, but they are amongst my favorite movies of all time. I feel obligated to watch the rest on your list now. Thanks

    Reply

  291. Ouh Very interesting post, I agree with what you said about The Graduate and Breathless,

    Mine would be:
    -American Beauty
    -When Harry Met Sally
    -Breakfast at Tifanny’s
    -Atonement
    -All About Eve
    -Raging Bull
    -The Departed
    & Silence of the Lambs,

    even thought I have a lot more, these are my top

    Reply

  292. The Graduate is wonderful. One of my favourite films of all time it’s wonderfully funny and the ending has that feeling of doom and realisation while remaining hopeful. Wonderful stuff. I also love The Breakfast Club (and tried many times to do Claire’s lipstick trick) though i’d love to throw The House of the Flying Daggers in the mix too if I may? I don’t know if you’ve seen it, it’s a typical Chinese film with epic and saga qualities, hyperbole scattered around like confetti and some beautiful cinematography and kick ass martial arts, all set against the back ground of a love story and anti government feeling.

    Reply

    • I saw House of the Flying Daggers – it’s a really remarkable film. You may have noticed – each section (Act 1, Scene, 1, &c) has its own color – I remember red, white, green – can’t recall the other. There’s amazing choreography (if we can call guys with swords leaping through the air hacking and slashing “choreography” . . . OK, we can, especially when it’s like that).

      It’s one of those movies you should see. on the big screen. Maybe even 50″ plasma…..

      Reply

      • Absolutely, and the scene with echoes first in the dance hall and then in the forest. The scene that stayed with me was the warriors climbing down the bamboo headfirst really fast. Amazing.

        Reply

  293. I have to agree with you….far too many movies to choose from that it’s almost impossible to choose just one that could be considered the BEST movie of all times. The Princess Bride and Monty Python and the Holy Grail…those are a few goofy classics (in my opinion of course). Of course, I enjoyed Molly Ringwald classics too….Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and sixteen candles….those were the movies I watched when I was younger with my fellow gal pals. Now days I am more into watching horror flicks and seeing whether I can find something that will scare me out of my socks! So far, no luck (and I’ve seen plenty of horror and gore).

    Reply

  295. Love the list! Makes me want to rent the Royal Tenenbaums again.
    Would add What’s Eating Gilbert Grape… my favourite movie of all time with an adorable Johnny Depp and AMAZING performance by Leonardo DiCaprio… and The Accidental Tourist. Both had lines of dialogue and images that I will never forget, and in my mind that’s a testament of a great film… stickiness.
    Thanks for sharing your faves.

    Reply

  296. Would you think less of me if I told you that my favourite movie is Must Love Dogs? Don’t judge. But if I’m talking to someone who I’m trying to impress, I say something clever-sounding like Dr Zhivago. Coincidentally, a clip of Dr Zhivago is shown in Must Love Dogs, so I’m not really lying.

    Great post and congratulations on being FP!

    Reply

  297. Reblogged this on jintao21 and commented:
    I love “The graduate”. Although it’s a kind of “assignment movie” in film course last semester, it impressed me a lots and made me introspect myself – Did I drown in any pool???

    Reply

  298. I have to say, The Royal Tenenbaums and the Breakfast club are in my top five, you seem like you have good taste, so I will give the others a shot 🙂

    Reply

  300. I’ve seen 3 of your top 10 and will check out the rest. People are saying, “Harold & Maude,” but I prefer “Benny & Joon.” Even my wife, who is not a movie person, enjoyed that one (she does liker her some Johnny Depp though and this was classic Depp).

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  301. Just the thought of choosing one movie makes me break out into a cold sweat. I have my list and each one for a different reason. Lately, I have been back into “The Big Chill” again. It was on encore and I couldn’t get enough. I have it on VHS and watched it so much that I began to burn out and didn’t get it on DVD. I actually gave it to someone for Christmas this year……and the cycle continues.

    Reply

  306. I love The Princess Bride! And I totally agree with your motto – a movie is an experience, and sometimes it’s not even necessarily what would qualify as a blockbuster or award-winning movie – if it moves you, it’s a great movie! I watch my favourites over and over again too – they’re like trusted old friends who are always there for you. Happy watching!

    Reply

  308. What a fabulous post. Instead of my top ten (which would seem so shallow compared to yours) I’ll just list my favorite from each genre and my top 1.

    Top 1) Princess Bride. For everything you wrote, and so much more. Life is pain.

    Thriller) A Bad Day at Black Rock. I do NOT normally like older movies. The horrible acting by the extras drives me nuts, N V T S, nuts! This film has no extras, and everything is right, even Spencer Tracy judo chopping some Mermaid Man butt.

    Sci Fi) How do I justify picking anything but Empire? Maybe because Lucas ruined everything with Jar Jar. Probably The Last Starfighter for it’s absolutely perfect blend of camp and wish fulfillment.

    Western) Really liked both Unforgiven and the new Rooster Cogburn pic, but Duke’s ghost will rise up and punch me if I don’t say Rio Lobo.

    Rom Com) Return to Me, it wasn’t TOO formulaic, James Belushi was brilliant, and Caroll O’Connor reminds me of my dad. The poker scenes were my favorite (funny) and the grieving was perfect.

    Mystery) No, not Murder by Death. Dead Again. Love that movie.

    Fantasy) First Conan movie. Nothing compares except maybe the Dragonslayer or Ladyhawke. LoTR is overrated. Just because something invents a genre doesn’t mean it’s evergreen.

    French Film) Amelie. I love that one, but then, who doesn’t.

    War Movie) Full Metal Jacket. It’s like two awesome movies in one. First, as a Marine I LOVE the first half. R Lee Ermey brought Parris Island to life. Kubrick brought the futility of war into focus. Most movi either condemn war or celebrate it; this one celebrates the warrior without celebrating war, even if that was not Kubrick’s intent.

    That and pretty much most of Mel Brooks’s catalog. That’s also my favorite.

    Reply

    • It is very quotable.
      And the DVD is quite totable.

      I enjoyed the trilogy, but largely for the action, the effects and some great performances.

      As stories go, it was predictable and overwrought. Tolkien only wrote it as a vehicle to display the elven language. He was into linguistics, and only felt a language would be complete if it could grow within a culture over time.

      I think the reason I am predisposed to dislike it so much is because it gets treated like a holy text. To complain about it in any way is akin to telling an Evangelist that you find the Begats tedious.

      Reply

  310. Wow, this is the first [Fill in the blank] 10 list where I’ve only seen one movie – I feel like we’ve been living on different planets! I love Breakfast Club (although I suspect for somewhat different reasons). The rest I suppose I’ll have to check out now. I hope they’re on Netflix, ‘cuz I’m getting funny about spending extra money on DVD rentals now that streaming movies is possible…

    Reply

    • iamthemichelle : “anything with malkovich …”

      Have you seen Ripley’s Game (2002)?

      He plays a psychopathic killer, from the books be Patricia Highsmith.

      He’s good at playing “bad guys” – but “Being J. M.” was a fascinating look at who he probably is.

      Reply

  318. I really enjoyed your post, and to answer the question is tough but everyone has a film or two they really, really like. It is true there are SO many good films out there. I’m only young so have heard of a couple on your list but actually seen none of them.
    I’m more of a musical type girl and some of my fave films are as followed…
    Beaches – touching and shows the strength of true friendship
    Phantom of the opera – Is it only me who feels for the phantom?
    Sweeney Todd – Johnny Depp need i say more?
    I love all the Rocky films too. It’s definitely hard to pin point 1 fave film tho. :0)

    Reply

  319. Crybaby!!! Yay I found someone else who loves that awesomely ridiculous movie! Seriously, all Johnny Depp fans need to watch that movie. Thanks for sharing your favorite films!

    I saw Breathless for the first time a few years ago, and I tell people to watch it whenever I have a chance to, ha.

    -Sincerely, another annoying film buff.

    Reply

  323. So what is (or are) the right question(s) then? I’m a movie lover and when I find someone who love (not just like, because like could mean, watching movie only to get relax after days of labouring, only to go out for a date, only to spend free time, etc. etc.) watching movie, it feels (for me) like a pen pal rendezvous, or extra terrestrial replied human message, or simply meeting someone who I (could) like. Now I don’t wanna be rude (or even sadistic) but when I find people like them (or me), I would like to know more about them. In this case about their passion in movies. Hence, if I can’t ask their favourite movies? What should I ask? What did they watched recently? Their favourite actors, actresses, directors? What?

    Reply

  327. I’m more of a “clasic” kind of guy. “Gone with The Wind”, “Stella Dallas” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” just to name a few. But reading your list just now has given me some more movies to check out. Movies I would never have even thought of. So thank you very much for your list.

    Reply

  328. I would add Empire Records to that list, but it’s pretty much spot on. I can often be found singing “You Remind Me of The Babe” from Labyrinth for no other reason than I grew up with the movie and it makes me happy. Great post!

    Reply

  329. You’re the first person I’ve ever seen besides me with Dazed & Confused in their top 10 of all time. For me, it’s tied for number 1 with Almost Famous. I was that same age and at that same place in my life the first time i saw it. Even 15 years later i can still watch it over and over again. Total classic.

    Reply

  334. I loved “The New World”. Such a great movie, although many people I talk with have no idea what I’m talking about.

    Also, “Finding Neverland” is one of my favourites. It combines two things I love: writing and magic.

    Reply

  335. I love Into the Wild as well… Great film… and yeah… surprisingly sad story… The effect on the audience is strong primarily because of the fact that it was also based from a true life account. 😀

    Great list of movie faves. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  336. The only one on your list that I even watched was “Breakfast Club.” My favorites are probably all science fiction or horror films, of which the most recent one I watched was “Star Trek,” the one from 2006 or so.

    Reply

  338. I loved this because it is sooooo true. I hate being asked what my favorite movie is. At least narrow it down to a genre for me, sheesh! I always say that if there was a gun to my head I would choose Singin’ in the Rain, but I highly doubt there is a gun-toting cinephile out there making people name their favorite films. Ahhh, if only, amirite?

    Great post! Congrats on FP!

    Reply

  340. The Champ (1979)
    Director: Franco Zeffirelli
    Stars: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden

    Billy Flynn, an ex box champion, is now horse trainer in Hialeah. He makes just enough money to raise his little boy T.J. over which he got custody after his wife Annie left him seven years ago. T.J. worships The Champ who is now working on his come-back in order to give his boy a better future. But suddenly Annie shows up again …

    I was 7-8 years old when I watched this film, the first film that I cried…
    Perhaps it is not a good film but for me it is the best 🙂

    Reply

  344. Amazing blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring writers?

    I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option?
    There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any recommendations? Cheers!

    Reply

  346. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was curious what all is required to get setup? I’m assuming having a
    blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web smart so I’m not 100% positive.
    Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks

    Reply

  348. The Princess Bride is a classic that should be seen by everyone.
    Inconceivable is one of my favorite words to use.
    I also have other favorite words and since I wanted to better know myself and others, I joined favoritewords.com – take a look, you might like that site.

    Reply

  349. I really enjoyed this post. The question is so broad, and honestly my favorite movie has been subject to change with my passing emotions. Thanks for addressing the elephant in the room.

    Reply

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