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WI_DEM

(33,497 posts)
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 10:33 AM Aug 2012

Sight and Sound has had its say what are your choices for Greatest film??

I am not going to put them in a numerical order but here are a few I consider among the greatest, imo:

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) D: Orson Welles. contains a great and powerful performance by Agnes Moorehead:



Double Indemnity (1944) D: Billy Wilder. The greatest film noir of all.



Sunrise: Song of Two Humans (1927) D: FW Murnau. A simply glorious film.



Bringing Up Baby (1938) D: Howard Hawks. The greatest screwball comedy ever made.



Strangers on a Train (1951) D: Alfred Hitchcock--in my opinion the best of all Hitchcock films.



Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) D: Vincente Minnelli--the greatest Hollywood musical with songs which back up the story beautifully.



Duck Soup (1933) D: Leo McCarey--the Marx's at their best in a terrific anti-war
comedy.



Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) D: Stanley Kubrick--a tour de force by Peter Sellers and a brilliant cast.



Sunset Boulevard (1950) D: Billy Wilder--the best send up of Hollywood ever filmed.



The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) D: John Ford--smashes western myths to pieces.



The Music Box (1932) D: James Parrot (supervised by Stan Laurel)--my favorite comedy team in their funniest film.








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Sight and Sound has had its say what are your choices for Greatest film?? (Original Post) WI_DEM Aug 2012 OP
Some Like it Hot blm Aug 2012 #1
the sting. unblock Aug 2012 #2
those are all really great choices BOG PERSON Aug 2012 #3
This message was self-deleted by its author BOG PERSON Aug 2012 #8
I'm shocked, shocked! brush Aug 2012 #28
haven't seen CASABLANCA BOG PERSON Aug 2012 #36
Must see brush Aug 2012 #68
Howard Hawks is great, but as much as cthulu2016 Aug 2012 #32
i haven't seen RED RIVER BOG PERSON Aug 2012 #45
Mutiny on the Bounty... with cattle cthulu2016 Aug 2012 #48
You've actually seen the 1934 trilogy of Les Miserables starring the immortal Harry Baur!!!!! aint_no_life_nowhere Aug 2012 #64
Just looking at my DVDs now. valerief Aug 2012 #4
I just glanced through my favorite DVDs, too... Buns_of_Fire Aug 2012 #11
Hey, hey, hey, WE decide best. WE do. Plan Nine *is* a classic! nt valerief Aug 2012 #14
Thank you. I feel somewhat vindicated. Buns_of_Fire Aug 2012 #19
Merde d'Or!!! Bwahahahaha!!! Satire and irony is under-appreciated in a country valerief Aug 2012 #20
How about Eating Raoul, Killer Clowns from Outer Space and Faster Pussy Cat Kill Kill! Ganja Ninja Aug 2012 #40
The only one I really like from that list is Faster Pussycat Kill Kill. It was much better valerief Aug 2012 #67
I don't know about "greatest" but my top picks would include The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Puregonzo1188 Aug 2012 #5
Weekend was great! Doc_Technical Aug 2012 #26
Anything to bump Citizen Kane from the top. OilemFirchen Aug 2012 #6
I agree with Citizen Kane... WCGreen Aug 2012 #53
"To Kill a Mockingbird" HopeHoops Aug 2012 #7
+1 sinkingfeeling Aug 2012 #12
+1 pepperbear Aug 2012 #51
I would put two higher on the list. Graybeard Aug 2012 #9
"To Kill A Mockingbird" - not just great film making, but a great story, masterfully written. kestrel91316 Aug 2012 #10
My list would include that one, and "Network," and "Forbidden Planet" - best sci-fi EVER!!! calimary Aug 2012 #55
M, American Beauty, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Forrest Gump, Schindler's List, Zorra Aug 2012 #13
Can't argue with any of these, especially valerief Aug 2012 #15
Outlier, but won the Palm D'Or at Cannes: "Paris, Texas" directed by Wim Wenders - n/t coalition_unwilling Aug 2012 #16
A couple great silents are Broken Blossoms and Pandora's Box. valerief Aug 2012 #17
"It's a Wonderful Life" "Forrest Gump" "O'Brother Where Art Thou" "Avatar" "Back to the Future" Uncle Joe Aug 2012 #18
My favorites, not necessarily the "best" hifiguy Aug 2012 #21
+1 for The Tree Of Life. Graybeard Aug 2012 #27
and STROSZEK BOG PERSON Aug 2012 #41
If it's just socially conscious American films we're talking about... TKAM ananda Aug 2012 #22
Airplane! Major Nikon Aug 2012 #23
Great movies one and all. raouldukelives Aug 2012 #24
Love your list, WI_DEM longship Aug 2012 #25
Z is a movie you hardly ever hear mentioned PatSeg Aug 2012 #39
Why are they always such ancient movies? I mean, let's be honest-- Marr Aug 2012 #29
There is good reason for canonical works to be time-tested cthulu2016 Aug 2012 #43
S&S critics really messed up. Vertigo is not even *Hitchcock's* best film. cthulu2016 Aug 2012 #30
My all time fave is "The 25th Hour" (the original one with Anthony Quinn) SoCalDem Aug 2012 #31
n/s JustAnotherGen Aug 2012 #33
I toyed with putting "Tiffany's" on my list hifiguy Aug 2012 #42
Oh hell! JustAnotherGen Aug 2012 #46
my list: jorno67 Aug 2012 #34
12 monkeys. Repo Man. Good Will Hunting. Full Metal Jacket. Grosse Pointe Blank. lumberjack_jeff Aug 2012 #35
I don't know that there is a "Greatest Film Ever" Ganja Ninja Aug 2012 #37
Your list is good. 6000eliot Aug 2012 #38
Psycho, The Godfather II, Fargo, 1984 (John Hurt version), and maybe the new True Grit 1-Old-Man Aug 2012 #44
To Sir With Love, Milagro Beanfield Wars, The Pearl Whisp Aug 2012 #47
The Milagro Beanfield wars! I haven't seen that in years but I loved it! Maraya1969 Aug 2012 #60
I like underdog stories Whisp Aug 2012 #62
Repentance Ship of Fools Aug 2012 #49
The best you can do is "best by genre" mathematic Aug 2012 #50
I agree with all of these but would add To Kill A Mockingbird.... WCGreen Aug 2012 #52
All About Eve-best dialog EVER catbyte Aug 2012 #54
Dr. Zhivago grilled onions Aug 2012 #56
That is at the top of my list as well -- it is simply incredible in every way and has withstood Samantha Aug 2012 #70
Apparently, only the only good films were made more than 50 years ago...nt SidDithers Aug 2012 #57
Killdozer (1974) snooper2 Aug 2012 #58
The Godfather not in the top 10? SomethingFishy Aug 2012 #59
Where is "Chariots of Fire"? It is one of the best all around films I have ever seen. CTyankee Aug 2012 #61
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, or just Return Of The King Motown_Johnny Aug 2012 #63
Very difficult, Here are my choices intaglio Aug 2012 #65
Why all ancient stuff? taught_me_patience Aug 2012 #66
I was just reading Ebert's essay on that very subject Nevernose Aug 2012 #69

unblock

(51,974 posts)
2. the sting.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 10:49 AM
Aug 2012

had it all. intricate but not overly complicated plot, brilliant acting, great wardrobe & sets, wonderful score.

BOG PERSON

(2,916 posts)
3. those are all really great choices
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 10:57 AM
Aug 2012

i don't know enough (or much of anything, really) about the technical angle of film-making to determine what the objectively greatest movie is, but i have my recurring favorites. i never know how much i love them until i see them again. here are my current favorites, w/ out any explanation.

THE APARTMENT (1960)

ALIEN 3 (1992)

THE FLOWERS OF ST FRANCIS (1950)

BLUE VELVET (1986)

LES MISERABLES (1934)

THE SCARLET EMPRESS (1934)

THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928)

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944)

THE BIG SLEEP (1946)

IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER (1937)

COME AND SEE (1985)

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)

LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN (1989)

SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959)

IVAN THE TERRIBLE : PART II (??)

Response to BOG PERSON (Reply #3)

brush

(53,469 posts)
68. Must see
Fri Aug 3, 2012, 11:37 PM
Aug 2012

Pls watch it the next time you run across it as you channel surf. You owe it to yourself. Or rent it even.

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
32. Howard Hawks is great, but as much as
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:47 PM
Aug 2012

I like the two Bogie/Bacall movies but RED RIVER is a better film.

Night of the Hunter is fascinating film, visually, which is a thing I've noticed about films directed by actors. They are often more self-consciously artistic.

BOG PERSON

(2,916 posts)
45. i haven't seen RED RIVER
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:26 PM
Aug 2012

as i have an unjustified aversion to john wayne movies. this is also why the only john ford movies i've seen were the ones w/ henry fonda.

NotH is flat-out beautiful to look at .

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
48. Mutiny on the Bounty... with cattle
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:36 PM
Aug 2012

It is perhaps John Wayne's one real villain role. Contains the famous over-the-top gay symbolism scene of Montgomery Cliff and another good looking young man playing with each other's guns... makes it into most documentaries about gay subtext in Hollywood.

Wonderful film.

Contains the amusing (and realistic) complaints of the cattle drivers that they can't wait to get into town because they are sick of eating steak all the time.

(Dinner is whichever cow keels over dead)

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
64. You've actually seen the 1934 trilogy of Les Miserables starring the immortal Harry Baur!!!!!
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 04:03 PM
Aug 2012

Bravo. You're the only English speaking person I've known who's seen those three films and sat through that 4.5 hours of cinematic greatness. Seldom mentioned in America, Baur was a major world star before the war and was murdered by the Gestapo. Harry Baur is one of the greatest actors in history and Rod Steiger's greatest influence. Speaking of Steiger, I think Sidney Lumet's The Pawnbroker where Steiger put on a masterful performance deserves mention. I love your list, especially The Big Sleep and Night Of The Hunter. Renoir's masterpiece La Grande Illusion and Kurosawa's masterpiece Ikiru are ones I would put in my own top ten. I like the English film The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner. And I think the modern masterpiece and what I consider Spielberg's only great film (one that never fails to bring me to tears) is Schindler's List and belongs on a top list.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
4. Just looking at my DVDs now.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 11:00 AM
Aug 2012

Another great Hollywood send-up is S.O.B.


A great screwball but heartwarming comedy is Harvey.


Another is Auntie Mame.


I love Hitchcock, and my favorite homage to him is High Anxiety.


My two favorite Joan Crawford movies are Torch Song and A Woman's Face, both for two totally different reasons.
Torch Song for laughs (it's so absurd):

A Woman's Face for suspense (great filmmaking!):


And there's the under-appreciated comedy The Big Bus about the world's first nuclear-powered bus.


Heck, and there are a gazillion more for which I DON'T have DVDs.

I'm too old to care about messages in movies. I just want entertainment from them.

Buns_of_Fire

(17,119 posts)
11. I just glanced through my favorite DVDs, too...
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 11:43 AM
Aug 2012

But I doubt that Reefer Madness, Plan Nine from Outer Space, Frankenstein vs. the Space Monster, Death Race 2000, or Assault of the Killer Bimbos are going to make it on to any "best of" lists anytime soon.

Buns_of_Fire

(17,119 posts)
19. Thank you. I feel somewhat vindicated.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:39 PM
Aug 2012

As much as I can appreciate the use of light and shadow in the halls of Xanadu or marvel at Atlanta burning to the ground while Tara is being evacuated, I still emphasize with knocking down the cardboard tombstones in the cemetary or rescuing all the bikini-clad maidens from those perverts from space ("maximum energy," indeed).

They really need to introduce a "Merde d'Or" award at Cannes.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
20. Merde d'Or!!! Bwahahahaha!!! Satire and irony is under-appreciated in a country
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:46 PM
Aug 2012

that values Forrest Gump (I'm all for love and care for mentally challenged people, but, damn, Forrest Gump is NOT a role model.) and doesn't value Sextette (an 80-something sex kitten married to a future James Bond! Come on!).

Ganja Ninja

(15,953 posts)
40. How about Eating Raoul, Killer Clowns from Outer Space and Faster Pussy Cat Kill Kill!
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:03 PM
Aug 2012

And what about The Little Shop of Horrors, the original and the musical?

valerief

(53,235 posts)
67. The only one I really like from that list is Faster Pussycat Kill Kill. It was much better
Fri Aug 3, 2012, 12:52 AM
Aug 2012

than I expected.

Puregonzo1188

(1,948 posts)
5. I don't know about "greatest" but my top picks would include The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie,
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 11:05 AM
Aug 2012

Blue Velvet, (Goddard's) Weekend, If..., The Machinist, and the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. l

OilemFirchen

(7,143 posts)
6. Anything to bump Citizen Kane from the top.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 11:08 AM
Aug 2012

A great film for study, but a tedious storyline based solely on personal animus.

I'd add Sullivan's Travels and Mean Streets to the list.

Graybeard

(6,996 posts)
9. I would put two higher on the list.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 11:27 AM
Aug 2012

I would have put these two in the top five:

Fellini's 8 1/2 and David Lynch's Mulholland Dr.

I would add to the list: The Gold Rush, The Wizard Of Oz,

Lawrence Of Arabia, The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp.


calimary

(80,693 posts)
55. My list would include that one, and "Network," and "Forbidden Planet" - best sci-fi EVER!!!
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 03:26 PM
Aug 2012

"Network" because it was so freakin' prescient. Paddy Chayefsky was absolutely psychic about what TV "news" would eventually become.

Zorra

(27,670 posts)
13. M, American Beauty, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Forrest Gump, Schindler's List,
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 11:45 AM
Aug 2012

The Grapes of Wrath, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Rules of the Game, and The Shawshank Redemption.

My top ten.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
15. Can't argue with any of these, especially
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:01 PM
Aug 2012

Sunrise, Bringing Up Baby, Double Indemnity, and Sunset Boulevard.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
17. A couple great silents are Broken Blossoms and Pandora's Box.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:07 PM
Aug 2012

And one of my favorite musicals is Footlight Parade. The Shanghai Lil number and Honeymoon Hotel number are fantastic!

Uncle Joe

(58,112 posts)
18. "It's a Wonderful Life" "Forrest Gump" "O'Brother Where Art Thou" "Avatar" "Back to the Future"
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:34 PM
Aug 2012

"The Sting" "To Kill A Mockingbird" "The Godfather" "Master and Commander" and "MASH"

That's probably my top ten but this is also fluid and I may think of some others later.

Thanks for the thread, WI_DEM.

 

hifiguy

(33,688 posts)
21. My favorites, not necessarily the "best"
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:54 PM
Aug 2012

in the order they came to my mind right now:

Mulholland Drive - David Lynch
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick
Duck Soup - Leo McCarey
Apocalypse Now (director's cut) - Francis Coppola
Yojimbo - Akira Kurosawa
The Kaspar Hauser Story or Every Man For Himself and God Against All - Werner Herzog
Big Business (Laurel & Hardy silent) - James W. Horne (supervised by Leo McCarey)
The Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Peter Jackson
Full Metal Jacket - Stanley Kubrick

Honorable mentions:
The Godfather Trilogy - Francis Coppola
La Strada - Federico Fellini
ETA: Taxi Driver, Kelly's Heroes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Graybeard

(6,996 posts)
27. +1 for The Tree Of Life.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:29 PM
Aug 2012

I'm glad Malik's Tree Of Life was mentioned in this thread.

The Werner Herzog film I would add is Fitzcarraldo.

ananda

(28,782 posts)
22. If it's just socially conscious American films we're talking about... TKAM
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 12:58 PM
Aug 2012

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Grapes of Wrath is good too.

Both in black and white, btw, which
is interesting.

Oh, and Inherit the Wind, loved that one.

Also, just about anything with Paul Newman!
I used to have his t-shirt poster tacked on
the ceiling above my upper bunkbed in college.
Whew... not all that socially conscious, but
who cares.

raouldukelives

(5,178 posts)
24. Great movies one and all.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:12 PM
Aug 2012

Some of my favorites in no particular order.

Barry Lyndon
Playtime
Dead Man
Mr. Deeds goes to Town
The Searchers
Big Lebowski
The Bear
Unforgiven
Blazing Saddles
Arsenic & Old Lace
UHF
The Fugitive Kind



longship

(40,416 posts)
25. Love your list, WI_DEM
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:19 PM
Aug 2012
Dr. Strangelove is near the top for me, too.

My favorite loony comedy is My Man Godfrey, William Powell, Carole Lombard, and a flawless supporting cast and script.

I agree with your Magnificent Ambersons choice, too. Wonderful flick from Orson Welles' stable of actors.

Double Indemnity is on my list, too. But I would add The Third Man to the noir list.

Two foreign language flicks make mine. Z from Costa Gavras and Wild Strawberries from Bergman.

My fave SciFi is The Day the Earth Stood Still, the Robert Wise version, not the silly remake. Wise's The Haunting makes my list, too, mostly because it honors Shirley Jackson's novel so well.

Thanks for the post. I love flick posts. I always learn about movies I haven't yet seen. So many; so little time.


PatSeg

(46,794 posts)
39. Z is a movie you hardly ever hear mentioned
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:59 PM
Aug 2012

I saw it in the movie theater when it came out and the audience stood up and applauded at the end. I watched it again a few years ago to see if it was as good as I remembered and it was, except for the noticeable rubber clubs that wiggled. That part was amusing.

 

Marr

(20,317 posts)
29. Why are they always such ancient movies? I mean, let's be honest--
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:39 PM
Aug 2012

the artform was pretty new in those days, and rough around the edges. Most of these movies were more like filmed plays or vaudeville than "movies" as we think of them today, and I doubt that many people watch them for anything but nostalgia or film school projects.

Even Hitchcock is, to me, more notable for what he *started* than for what he actually did. People have picked up on so many of his techniques and greatly sharpened them over the years. It's a bit like saying Marlon Brando was the greatest movie actor ever, because he was the first to not act in that old, stagey way.

Still, having said that, my choice for best movie ever would either be Laurence of Arabia or the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Both are just masterfully done pieces of storytelling.

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
43. There is good reason for canonical works to be time-tested
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:15 PM
Aug 2012

It is distinctly possible that some com temporary films are "greater," but a lot of the most critically praised contemporary films will be down-right embarrassing in a few years time.

Contemporary criticism is almost a counter-indicator... critics are as swayed by fashion as anyone else, or even more.

The early 1990s were strong. I found Todd Haynes SAFE to be an almost perfect film. I would put Natural Born Killers fairly high. 12 Monkeys is a marvel. Cronenberg's Naked Lunch is spectacular film-making.

But I don't mind the canon being old. And it does get corrected over time. For instance, Birth of a Nation was way up there in the early S&S polls, but no longer makes it.

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
30. S&S critics really messed up. Vertigo is not even *Hitchcock's* best film.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:41 PM
Aug 2012

I don't know what the greatest film is—I go back and forth between TOUCH OF EVIL and PSYCHO.

(The Exterminating Angel wows me, but lacks the world-class craft.)

But dethroning Citizen Kane is silliness. Contrarianism. It has long served as a fine #1 because no film is clearly better, and its historical import is so great.

Vertigo, on the other hand, has always been a bizarre entrant because it isn't even Hitchcock's best film. A fun and fascinating film, yes, but STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and PSYCHO are clearly superior. And I'd add NOTORIOUS and (oddly enough) THE BIRDS to that.

The directors poll has outshone the critic's poll pretty reliably in the decades since they added the director's poll.

And THE SEARCHERS... even if we grant that it is better than any of the calvary trilogy, it isn't better than STAGECOACH.

SoCalDem

(103,856 posts)
31. My all time fave is "The 25th Hour" (the original one with Anthony Quinn)
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:44 PM
Aug 2012

It's NEVER shown anymore... probably because it exposes the intersecting lines of war & media , and how they corrupt everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_25th_Hour_%281967_film%29

JustAnotherGen

(31,681 posts)
33. n/s
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:48 PM
Aug 2012

Charade
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Just for Audrey singing Moon River
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The Shop Around the Corner
Rope
Rear Window
American Gigolo (signaled the beginning of the High Concept Era)
Flashdance - Music Video is a Movie
The Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
Gentleman Prefer Blondes
Philadelphia Story AND High Society - both excellent versions
The Mouse that Roared
Bonjour Tristesse
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
A Raisin in the Sun
The Diary of Anne Frank
Miracle in the Rain
The Color Purple

Going to show my age here . . .
Swingers
Reality Bites

Edit - Let me show a little bit more of my age - can't believe I left this off the list:

High Fidelity!

 

hifiguy

(33,688 posts)
42. I toyed with putting "Tiffany's" on my list
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:13 PM
Aug 2012

but once I start heading down Audrey Hepburn Road, I can never stop.

JustAnotherGen

(31,681 posts)
46. Oh hell!
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:26 PM
Aug 2012

I'm just putting all of her movies on the list!

I'm a big fan - met her when I was a little girl at a department store in Rochester NY.

Tiffany's is a tough one to put out there because of the portrayal of an Asian caricature by Mickey Rooney. That in comparison to Capote's novella's language? Audrey wouldn't do the movie unless she could drop all of Holly's 'N-Bombs'. And Holly used it like I say the word 'and'.

Honestly - his portrayal is up there with Natives being portrayed by whites, the continuous 'tragic mulatto' stereotype, the 'Sassy Sapphire' stereotye . . . though - these continue to this day. . . . Check out the movie/book The Help for the last two. And even right here at DU people fall all over themselves to fawn over The Help.

jorno67

(1,986 posts)
34. my list:
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:50 PM
Aug 2012

This is Spinal Tap
Raiders of the Lost Arc
Hollywood Shuffle
Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2
Wild at Heart
Glory
The Great Waldo Pepper
Once
The Quiet Man
Taxi Driver

 

lumberjack_jeff

(33,224 posts)
35. 12 monkeys. Repo Man. Good Will Hunting. Full Metal Jacket. Grosse Pointe Blank.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:53 PM
Aug 2012

a) I don't think all good movies are necessarily black and white and/or subtitled.
b) Anyone's opinion is as good as anyone elses.

Ganja Ninja

(15,953 posts)
37. I don't know that there is a "Greatest Film Ever"
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 01:56 PM
Aug 2012

It's very subjective.

Was "Gone with the Wind" better than Ken Burns "The Civil War"?

Was "The Little Big Man" better than "A Man Call Horse" or "The Unforgiven" or "Blazing Saddles"

Was "Saving Private Ryan" better than "Letters from Iwo Jima" or Kelly's Heros"

Was the "The Graduate" better than "Harold & Maude"

I just don't think there's a definitive answer because the variety of films is just too broad.

1-Old-Man

(2,667 posts)
44. Psycho, The Godfather II, Fargo, 1984 (John Hurt version), and maybe the new True Grit
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 02:23 PM
Aug 2012

oh, and "The Wrestler"

Maraya1969

(22,441 posts)
60. The Milagro Beanfield wars! I haven't seen that in years but I loved it!
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 03:37 PM
Aug 2012

Also no one mentioned any of the Shrek movies. I think Shrek 2 is one of my favorites. And Babe is wonderful cinematography and story and just plain adorableness.

I guess I like movies that leave me with a smile now.

 

Whisp

(24,096 posts)
62. I like underdog stories
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 03:45 PM
Aug 2012

but what I really liked about Milagro was that special mysterious magic about it that a lot of Spanish stories have. Like 100 Years of Solitude.

mathematic

(1,430 posts)
50. The best you can do is "best by genre"
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 03:18 PM
Aug 2012

Because movies can be so many things. How does it make sense to compare The Wizard of Oz to Dawn of the Dead?

I also agree with an above poster that was critical of these lists being biased to old movies. Is our culture so dead that we haven't made a good movie in 50 years? What about art's role in commentary about contemporary culture? Dr. Strangelove is a great, hilarious movie but how can a movie satirizing cold war politics be relevant outside of a narrow historical context? What about Taxi Driver? A movie that is as relevant today as the day it was made but its themes weren't even on the radar during the golden age of film.

This lack of newer films is particularly strange when you consider how much the craft of filmmaking has actually advanced over time. We're at a point now technologically that anything anybody can imagine can be convincingly realized in a movie.

I think there are many reasons for this phenomenon. Perhaps the most basic is the desire to point to a good recent movie and say "oh this movie was just ripping off X", or, more charitably, "this movie was influenced by X" and then people conclude in some sort of mixed up application of transitivity that X must somehow be a better movie. Naturally this just leads us further and further back in time. Pulp Fiction,? Ever see Mean Streets? Mean Streets? Ever see The Wild Bunch? The Wild Bunch? You telling me you didn't know they made westerns until 1969? And on and on it goes until the only good movies are full of black and white long shots of a wagon in the American west. It's not so much that these movies are exactly like an older movie, it's just that they are naturally influenced by an idea or technique of their predecessors.

In summary, these lists are totally irrational and crazy and absurd but we keep going through them because, well, we need the eggs.

grilled onions

(1,957 posts)
56. Dr. Zhivago
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 03:30 PM
Aug 2012

The beautiful scenery marred by a war where children were soldiers,families starved and the rich didn't understand.

Samantha

(9,314 posts)
70. That is at the top of my list as well -- it is simply incredible in every way and has withstood
Sat Aug 4, 2012, 12:00 AM
Aug 2012

the test of time. I bought the movie (two tapes) and have it sitting prominently where I can see it at all times. That one seen where Omar Sharif in the role of Zhivago is walking home from the war in the blizzard is simply mesmerizing. The cast, their performances, the photography, the script all simply impeccable. Once you see it, you can never forget it.

Sam

CTyankee

(63,769 posts)
61. Where is "Chariots of Fire"? It is one of the best all around films I have ever seen.
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 03:44 PM
Aug 2012

The thing is masterful in so many categories. I love to see reruns of it on TV.

I can't agree on Godfather II. But I think Godfather I is a masterpiece...

intaglio

(8,170 posts)
65. Very difficult, Here are my choices
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 04:18 PM
Aug 2012

British ones first.

An Inspector Calls: based on Priestley's time play with the magnificent and under-rated Alastair Sim.

A Matter of Life and Death: Starring David Niven, Production/direction Powell and Pressburger.

Little Dorrit: Exquisite and beautiful Dickens adaptation, Starring Alec Guinness and Derek Jacobi.

Kind Hearts and Coronets: Guinness again, and the blackest Ealing comedy.

Others

7 Samurai: perhaps not Kurosawa's finest but his most accessible.

Kagemusha: Kurosawa again and just so wonderful ...

Night of the Hunter: Mitchum doing extraordinary things and completely out classed by Lillian Gish.

Casablanca: 'nuff said

2001: Kubrick being spectacularly inventive.

Dr Strangelove: got to be on the list.

Easter Parade: Astaire and Garland.

The Heat of the Night: Poitier and Steiger are dynamite.

And for a surprise

The Green Mile: a great weepy

 

taught_me_patience

(5,477 posts)
66. Why all ancient stuff?
Thu Aug 2, 2012, 04:39 PM
Aug 2012

List of more recent films:
Full Metal Jacket
No Country for Old Men
Goodfellas
Unforgiven
Empire Strikes Back
Usual Suspects
American Beauty
Inception

Nevernose

(13,081 posts)
69. I was just reading Ebert's essay on that very subject
Fri Aug 3, 2012, 11:57 PM
Aug 2012

His theory is that partly ot's nostalgia and a common human tendency to glorify the past. Te other part of his theory is that the Siht and Sound voters, and cinephiles in general, like to look over a director's whole career and identify a masterpiece.

I'll have to watch Inception again, but the rest of your list is spot-on to me. Unforgiven, especially, changed the rules of almost a hundred years of Westerns overnight.

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