Greatest film ever made?

[elperromagico]

Post your choice. Explain why, if you want.

I'll stay out of it. :D

[Tektonik]

1. TITANIC!

Nah, my favorite film has to be A Clockwork Orange

[NYCGirl]

2. The usual suspect from 1941

[Tektonik]

5. Never saw the movie

But hearing Citizen Kane always makes me grin because of the Kids in the Hall skit. It's Citizen Kane! :stabs:

[DerekG]

45. IMHO, "Citizen Kane" was dethroned 33 years ago

Yes, "Citizen Kane" is a masterpiece but, to employ an oft-quoted phrase by Pauline Kael, it is a "shallow masterpiece"; "The Godfather," on the other hand, is damn near transcendental. You wanna talk tragedy...Charles Kane has nothing on Michael Corleone.

[fishwax]

63. I've got to agree on the Godfather

on any given day I might pick a different personal favorite, but Godfather I and II are both pretty hard to argue with ...

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

76. i like the godfather, but it drags when michael goes to sicily

still can't top kane

[AngryAmish]

3. Roadhouse

[Zuni]

36. Right on! Crazed rednecks rock!

[AngryAmish]

75. And tons of boobies!

Plus John Doe is in the movie (from X), Terry Funk (from the double cross ranch) and there are monster trucks. What else is there to film?

[Bok_Tukalo]

4. "Network"

<poe>

[4_Legs_Good]

6. Amadeus

It was a perfect film, all around. F. Murray Abraham gives the best performance ever recorded on celluloid (with Denzel Washington his toughest contender in Malcolm X).

Set design, audio, music/score, acting, writing, costumes, historical interest, plot.

Everything was perfect.

One interesting side note is that watching the Director's Cut is very odd. The thing is that the theatrical release was perfect as it was, the editing was tight. When you watch the Director's cut, it's great to see the extra footage, but I think the theatrical release, because it had time constraints put on it is actually the superior film, and I almost always prefer a director's cut.

Anyway, Best film EVER



david

[bertha katzenengel]

23. Maybe . . . maybe.

No doubt it was one of the best five films.

[barb162]

41. that is a great film; I cn hear THAT laugh now

[4_Legs_Good]

48. That laugh at the end of the film

was the best line of a movie ever. Just so perfect, just so insanely perfect.

Anyway, yeah, I hear that laugh a lot.

F. Murray Abraham's little speech while the ending of Don Giovanni is going on simply cannot be beat. It's impossible.

"And then the madness began on me. The madness of a man splitting in two"...

Oh except maybe later when he's talking to the priest...

"First I must get the death mass. Then I must achieve his death. Don't you see? The Funeral! All Vienna sitting there; his coffin - Mozart's little coffin. And then, in that silence - Music! A divine music bursts out over the wall. A great Mass of Death! Requiem mass for Wolfgang Mozart composed by his devoted friend, Antonio Salieri. Such sublimity. Such depth. Salieri has been touched by God at last!

And God forced to listen. Powerless, powerless to stop it. I for once in the end laughing at Him!"



Makes me shiver just recalling it.

david

[barb162]

62. many scenes in that movie were great. One of my personal

favorites is when Mozart's wife visits Salieri with Mozart's music and he sees there are no mistakes, no rewrites...all perfect as written the first time. And the music is playing for us and in Salieri's head as he is flipping throught the music sheets. And she's eating the chocolate clueless. And he is going quietly ballistic.
Also toward the beginning when Mozart is playing for the Emperor and he rewrites (off the top of his head) the end of Salieri's little ditty in front of Salieri and the others in the room. And Salieri wants to kill Mozart.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

69. A great film all around.

It was filmed in Prague. Since I've seen it, that's one place I would love to visit.
Beautifully lighted and filmed.
The original source for this story was, not the play, but a short story by the great 19th c. Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.

[4_Legs_Good]

70. Really? I didn't know that!

I'd love to read it. The play I thought was very good when I read it. Unfortunately I idiotically didn't go to see it when it was showing in Los Angeles. Doh!

Hopefully I'll get another chance someday.

david

[BlackVelvetElvis]

73. "Mozart and Salieri"

That's the name of Pushkin's piece.
I would love to see a really good production of the play too.

[Cooley Hurd]

7. The Godfather (I and II)...

Leave the gun... take the cannolis.:thumbsup:

[Kikosexy2]

8. Although...

the obvious is "Citizen Kane" amongst cinefiles--I would have to go with my personal favorites: Lawrence of Arabia--the desert, the musical score, the cinematography and the acting--Peter O'Toole is grand!! and then there's of course The Godfather Pts. 1 & 2 and Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and The Exorcist (horror at its grandest!).

[Kathy in Cambridge]

9. Either "North by Northwest" or "Casablanca" or "The Godfather"

depending on my mood.

I just saw North by Northwest this weekend. I was amazed at he perfect blending of suspense, humor, great camera work, and acting. It is truly a marvelous movie.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

10. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCOO'S NEST

AND JUST TO SHOW YOU MY HEARTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE ... I'LL FIGHT ANY MAN WHO SAYS OTHERWISE. THE CHIEF HAS SPOKEN.

[nytemare]

37. Dang, and the Chief didn't speak much at all!

That is certainly one of my favorites. I have enjoyed most of Nicholson's roles, and this was one of his best!

[Dancing_Dave]

72. Yeah, that one was Great allright!

As was Ken Kesey's novel that inspired it, Jack Nietsche's score, Jack Nicholson's performance..

[Magrittes Pipe]

11. Blue Velvet

[Kikosexy2]

17. Yes, ..

loved it also but I'll go with Pink Flamingos--Divine is simply well...divine!

[Itchinjim]

26. Mommy!

n/t

[Ryano42]

12. Real Genius

Got me through electronics school...at least the quotes from it anyhoo! :P

[LynzM]

68. Love that movie!

I actually just watched it again this weekend, for the zillionth time or so :D It should be mandatory for anyone who ever went to school for engineering!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

13. I'm old and I've seen them all, LOL!

Casablanca, hands down.

[Wat_Tyler]

14. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Obviously.

[lumpy]

15. The Grapes of Wrath

The Wizard of OZ is high on the list. One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest, yes.

[Rainbowreflect]

16. Same Time Next Year with Alan Alda.

One of those movies that makes you laugh until you hurt & then 5 minuets later you are sobbing.

[YankeyMCC]

18. Casablanca

But that is only if you twist my arm to pick one. Because depending on my mood I might pick "The Great Escape"

Or maybe "Monty Python's Holy Grail"

And I'm a little tempted to include the Peter Jackson's LotR movies but they probably need some more time to prove that out.

[SaveElmer]

19. Patton

Greatest film biography ever made in my opinion...and George C. Scott gives the greatest performance ever.

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. Top Gun! OMG!! Tom Cruise rocks! Only a Billy Joel soundtrack could have

made it more perfect.

[billyskank]

28. Naaah. Chris De Burgh.

:puke:

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. Or Bon Jovi!

[MrSandman]

47. Can't be perfect...

http://www.moviemistakes.com/film1312

[Rabrrrrrr]

21. Citizen Kane, the only real choice

There are some amazing close ones, like Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, 2001, Touch of Evil

[Carla in Ca]

35. Bingo....that IS the one

n/t

[nuxvomica]

71. Yup

It's #1!

[Goathead]

22. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

Captain Waaaaaaaaaw-ker!
Tomorrow-morrow-land!
j/k

[bif]

24. Waterworld

Just kidding

[Tikki]

25. Taxi Driver......

De Niro is SO NOT my type, but he was absolute perfection in this great movie.

[bleedingheart]

27. The Ten Commandments...

:evilgrin:

oops...I thought you wanted the "Greatest Story Ever Told"...hee hee

<>

[The White Tree]

30. On the Waterfront

Everything a movie should be.

and The Return of the King is my personal fave.

Also Kurasawa's Rashoman

[SuperWonk]

31. RE:

I don't know how you can beat the Godfather.

[GOPBasher]

32. Any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

They're numbers 1,2 and 3 in my opinion, and I can't decide the order.

[4_Legs_Good]

38. I'm going to be ill

:puke:

Naw, I know some people really loved them. Hell when I was 17 my all time favorite movie - THE BEST MOVIE EVER was "Willow". I collected everything having to do with the movie.



Oh how embarassing it is now.

david

[DerekG]

40. How can you compare "Willow" to the LOTR trilogy?

It's a bit early to place Jackson's adaptations alongside "The Godfather" and "Vertigo," but the critical and audience reception to this fantasy epic was comparable to, say, "Gone With the Wind" or "Jaws."

[4_Legs_Good]

43. Not quite up there with that masterpiece, Titanic, though

or the astonishing piece "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace"

I'm not *really* comparing it to Willow per se, though that Willow story is absolutely true. My friends even cut down a Willow street sign and gave it to me and I LOVED it. Disgusting really.

Ticket sales, however, do not a great movie make. I know everyone disagrees with me but I'm a big Tolkien fan and IMO Jackson destroyed just about every key point of the books, including the most important - the language.

Plus, and I know this gets me crucified every time I say it...

Bakshi's Lord of the Rings Part I was sheer and utter genius and has been unfairly maligned (IMO) for 25 years. Feh on all that, I say! Maybe I'm just bitter.



That said, I even prefered the Rankin Bass RotK to Jackson's flick. That's pretty damned sad.

I'm only one warped opinion, though! Maybe I'll come around someday, though. I don't like Willow anymore, so there's hope!

david

[elperromagico]

33. Kick.

[MissMillie]

34. Gili

Uh.... just kidding, of course


Let's see. I like The Maltese Falcon, I like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and African Queen. I like Unforgiven. I like Dr. Strangelove.

[sir_captain]

39. Chaplin's City Lights

No contest. Purest form of artistry ever put on celluloid.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

77. i can never decide which chaplin film i like best

it's a tie between city lights, gold rush, modern times, and the great dictator

[sir_captain]

81. What a great problem to have!

Though your username seems to indicate a certain bias. ;-)

Of those four for me, I'd go City Lights #1, Modern Times #2, Gold Rush #3, and Great Dictator #4. It's still fantastic, but loses a little something with the transition to sound. By far my favorite scene is the one where Chaplin shaves the guy in time to the waltz on the radio. Just brilliant.

[Longgrain]

42. Dr. Zhivago...addmitedly not the greatest film ever made

But a personal favorite, that I think is vastly underrated...

[Bok_Tukalo]

49. Not even David Lean's best but a great film

<poe>

[Longgrain]

50. I'm guessing Lawrence of Arabia hold that honor...

followed by Bridge on the River Kwai (one of my dad's favorite movies BTW) but I keep going back to Doctor Zhivago... Too many similarities to my own life I gueese...

[Bok_Tukalo]

52. Bridge on the River Kwai is my favorite of his

Zhivago parallels your life? That sucks. One tragedy after another with only small pieces of happiness grabbed through hard work and soon abandoned in favor of restlessness (and paying a price for that wanderlust).

[Longgrain]

55. Unfortunately, yes RE: Doctor Zhivago...

Tho I didn't wander as much...

[knitter4democracy]

44. Shawshank Redemption

I am still in awe of that one. I mean, I love the classics, but that one rocks!

[MrSandman]

46. Casablanca...

Could there be any other?

[solinvictus]

51. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"

The funniest movie ever made.

[bikebloke]

53. Dude, Where's My Car?

...ha ha just kidding.

Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia
The Grapes of Wrath

The greatest popcorn film (for me) - The Great Escape

[B Calm]

54. What About BOB

[Neoma]

56. Rocky Horror Picture Show

B-)

[byronius]

57. Kevin Costner's The Postman.

I believe in the Restored United States of America.

[Rabrrrrrr]

66. Kevin Costner is truly the successor to Orson Welles!

Goes beyond him, even.

[H2O Man]

58. A Hard Day's Night.

People should be happy.

[peacefreak]

59. Cabin Boy.

:evilgrin:

[Bzzzz]

60. You guys don't have a clue...

It's 'Blazing Saddles'!!!!:P

[On the Road]

61. It's a Wonderful Life

Despite it's corniness and odd structure, it works in a unique way and seems to grow with time and repeated viewings.

Casablanca would be my other candidate.

Frankly, I have never understood the furor over Citizen Kane. I don't think it lives up to its reputation.

[pres2032]

64. Shawshank Redemption

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

65. Easy

Godfather Part II

[Rabrrrrrr]

67. Oh, and I totally forgot John Carpenter's The Thing

My God, what a piece of work that is. I know many won't take it seriously because it's a "horror" movie, but, oh man, it is so much more than that.

It's on my top ten list of all time greatest movies.

[Dancing_Dave]

74. Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail!

O.K., you don't have to take this piece of Film Criticism seriously...but that one sure did bring a light into the otherwise rather dark Highschool Experience of myself and many friends...to this very day, I never know when some random line from it such as "It's only a Fleshwound" will come back to haunt me. The Witchcraft trial is very memorable as well, and I've seen things happen in American courtrooms that didn't make anymore sense! :)

[MrScorpio]

78. Dune

Go David Lynch!

[THUNDER HANDS]

79. Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring

prove to me there was a better fantasy/adventure movie ever made.

[chenGOD]

80. Tough to choose....

Either 'The Seven Samurai' by Kurosawa or 'Andrei Rublev' by Tarkovsky.

[Beetwasher]

82. "Ernest Goes To Camp" or Anything With Paulie Shore

:silly:

[Roland99]

83. I always list these as my Top 3

Casablanca
Jaws
The Shawshank Redemption



Casablanca for the timelessness of it, the classic tale of romance set in a world of good vs. evil.

Jaws for the on-screen chemistry and dialog between the three actors.

The Shawshank Redemption for the ultimate story of hope winning out over desperation.