TOP 17 MOVIES OF ALL TIME
EVERYONE has a set of movies that reminds them from time-to-time why they love the art form – could be the cast, the director, the screenplay or cinematography, but more likely than not, a mixture of all those ingredients. Starting out with a list of about 1600 movies I intended for this to be a Top 10 list and did manage to whittle it down some, but then got to a point where I just couldn’t lose any more. It should also be noted this covers only the movies I have seen. There are plenty that I haven’t that would probably make the list. They have been put in year of release order. For the record my personal overall fav is Dead Poet’s Society…..
Casablanca, 1942
ONE of two movies on the list where at the end I said to myself “Ok, I get it”. Over the past 66 years this pic has been loved by critics galore. The cynic in me said it wouldn’t live up to its expectations, but it ended up exceeding them. A lot of movies pre the mid-60s had a lot of melodrama – people tended to overact, the soundtracks reinforced this and editing could often be jerky and out of sync. Casablanca is been the exception to the rule with just enough dramatic pauses and clean dialogue to keep you wanting to see the next scene and the next etc. Leads, supports and hangers-on all played their part in this tale of intrigue and lost love set in Morocco during WWII.
Shane, 1953
WESTERNS had been standard fare for cinema until they hit their peak sometime in the late 1960s, early 1970s. Since then, few great westerns have been made, but during their hey-day some real classics were filmed. High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers etc all have their place, and are rightly considered classics. Shane was the one for me though. This anti-hero who came to rid the town of Jack Palance and his bully boys, all the while having eyes for Brandon De Wilde’s mother but knowing he could never have her, and still doing the right thing, was the epitome of selflessness and heroism in the wild west. Alan Ladd never did much after, but many actors would kill to have this film as their legacy.
Shichinin No Samurai (Seven Samurai), 1954
A WINNER on every level – the action, the drama, the acting, the cinematography, the script, and the second of my “Ok, I get it” moments. Clocking in at almost three hours, this true epic of Japanese villagers hiring mercenaries to rid themselves of local outlaws set a new standard for the western. Thing is I remember seeing The Magnificent Seven back when I was about 13 and several critics raved about Kurosawa’s “original”. I thought The Magnificent Seven was outstanding and believed the acclaim Kurosawa’s opus received was due to squiffy, art-house, tosspot critics trying to put us mere mortals in our place over the criteria of what makes a good movie. Boy could I be more wrong.
Ben Hur, 1959
THINGS have gotten a bit bigger than Ben Hur in the film stakes – special effects, styles, camera techinique etc have all moved on, yet you could argue this is where it all started. Most remember this for the chariot race at the end, but the set up was just as important. Recently deceased Charlton Heston plays Jewish prince Judah Ben Hur who is betrayed by his Roman friend and sent in slavery. So the scene is set for one of the greatest tales of revenge to hit the silver screen. Deserved winner of a colosseum full of Oscars.
North by Northwest, 1959
HAD to put a Hitchcock movie in here somewhere. Spoiled for choice really and it was a hard decision. Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive, who in a case of mistaken identity is chased halfway around America by foreign spies. Hitchcock really puts his all into this thriller, with suspense at every turn and Grant and the underrated Eve Marie Saint really having us pulling for them as it seems betrayal is around every corner. Pic gets nod over other Hitchcock efforts due to the plane-chasing and Mount Rushmore scenes.
Some Like It Hot, 1959
BILLY Wilder at his best – funny, charming and dialogue to die for. Helped immensely by Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and to a lesser extent, Marilyn Monroe, the tale of two guys in drag trying to escape the mob is as funny now as it was almost 50 years ago. Class, class, class – gets equal billing with King Kong’s “it was beauty that killed the beast” as having one of the best last lines in a movie. Third movie from 1959 – what a year for movies!
Planet of the Apes 1968
ONLY pic I balked at putting in here, but thought “bugger it, it’s my list and I loved it”. Have seen it several times and still think it is great. Three astronauts crash-land on a planet having been in suspended animation for almost 2000 years. After waking they find themselves on a planet run by apes and monkeys. Not only do the simians talk, but humans are nothing more than mute creatures of curiosity and are the subject of experiments. Charlton Heston is on top of his game as Taylor, the only surviving astronaut who tries to rationalise his way out of a situation he can hardly believe he’s in. Spawned four infinitely inferior sequels – it would have been best to let sleeping dogs lie and leave viewers with that last, powerful scene.
Star Wars, 1977
FOR a long time this rated as my favourite movie of all time. While that title now goes to another pic, this still holds a special place in my heart. It’s a western, it’s a space soap opera, it’s an adventure of a life time. Some critics have used hindsight to flay aspects of this pic, but you have to remember director/writer George Lucas made it for the kid in all of us. Great characters, cheesy dialogue, the start of special effects as we know them now (and thus opening a whole new era of options to directors), and action galore, Star Wars deserves it’s place as one of the best of all time.
Dead Poet’s Society, 1989
MY all-time favourite. Some have called it a bit twee, and I must admit there might be minor just cause for that opinion, but there is something about this film that resonates with me. Has Robin Williams and Kurtwood Smith in it, which helps, but I think the whole concept of young men growing into boys and finding enlightenment in the written word as opposed to brawling, has something to do with it. Great setting and direction helps its cause, Williams’ speech when he shows the boys pictures of long-gone students and their hopes and dreams, and the lack of a usual bullshit happy ending topped it off.
Goodfellas, 1990
MOVE over The Godfather, Casino, Once Upon a Time in America and Mean Streets. This ties with Miller’s Crossing as the mother of all gangster movies. Unlucky to come up against the unstoppable Dances With Wolves in the 1990 Academy Awards, or else it would have been a shoe-in for Best Picture. Based on screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi’s best selling book Wise Guy, Henry Hill’s tale of being an underworld figure on the up has more bite to it than others in the same category. For once Robert De Niro is overshadowed by standout performances from Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci as two low-rent hoodlums trying to make their bones. Worth it for Joe Pesci’s many violent turns.
Miller’s Crossing, 1990
HAVE the Coen brothers ever made a bad movie? Seriously? Not kidding. Weird that the two best gangster movies came out at the same time, one with a lot more commercial success than the other. Gabriel Byrne stars has Tom Reagan, a 1930s gangster who has to walk a fine line between loyalty to his boss and covering his butt in this story of gangsters’ deceptions and double crosses that occur in prohibition-era USA. John Tuturro makes the most of his part, and who can forget Byrne getting the shit kicked out of him by Albert Finney.
Schindler’s List, 1993
SOMETHING had to make this list from Steven Speilberg, it was a matter of which one. This wins out just ahead of Saving Private Ryan due to its theme and subject matter. Both films give viewers a dose of the reality of war, yet it is this tale of a man’s conscience overcoming his ability to make money that hits the right note. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes give stand-up performances, and Speilberg shooting in black and white was a masterstroke – gives the pic a feel for the times that colour probably wouldn’t do justice.
Pulp Fiction, 1994
ANY Yank who wins the Golden Palm deserves to be on this list – that alone gets you there. Having a great script, exceptional cast, top-notch soundtrack, and quick-fire editing helps, too. Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary got everything right in this pic, which is really a series of eclectic vignettes loosely tied together to give the pic its character. Needle in the heart scene still brings a tingle to the spine, and the gimp has just got to be one of the craziest characters introduced to modern cinema. Probably my second favourite pic ever.
Shawshank Redemption 1994
LOVED this movie. It would be fair to say that most Stephen King’s adaptations have been hit and miss affairs – for every Green Mile and The Shining there’s an Apt Pupil and Maximum Overdrive not far behind. The Shawshank Redemption is the pick of the bunch. Initially showing little box office success, it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar giving it a deserved second run. Tim Robbins plays a banker who is sentenced to life for killing his wife, while Morgan Freeman is the inmate who shows him the ropes on the inside. Beautiful script by Frank Darabont moves film along nicely as we uncover a tale of retribution that takes a while to come thorugh, but has a worthy pay-off. Watch out for Clancy Brown as nasty prison guard Captain Handley.
The Full Monty, 1997
SHEFFIELD has given the world Joe Cocker, Def Leppard and the Human League, but nothing beats this great little number set in the depressed north of England. Was the first time Robert Carlyle came to my attention, even after doing a great turn in Trainspotting (truth be told I didn’t recognise him as the same actor). I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying it’s a feel-good movie about a group of unemployed men who find a way to make a living by baring all. It’s the getting there that provides the entertainment.
Vita e Bella, La (Life is Beautiful) 1997
ONE of the few movies that has brought me to tears. Starting out as a comedy set before/during WWII, but soon turns into a tale of a father’s love for his son and the lengths he’ll go to to protect him from the ghastly happenings around them. Writer/director/ actor Roberto Benigni hasn't capitalised on the success of this film, which is a pity. I felt that he might be like Kurosawa or Bergman in that he’d be one of the few non-English directors to find success in the English-speaking world. Just as memorable was Roberto Benigni’s walk to the stage to collect his Best Actor Oscar .
The Sixth Sense, 1999
M NIGHT Shyamalan has never come close to surpassing the movie that made his name. A few have been ok, but most have tried too hard to ape the twist in the tail that this beauty provided. This story of a child psychologist trying to help a boy with a gift for the paranormal is easily one of the biggest “gotchas” in cinema history. When it comes to this type of movie, I’m a bit of a trainspotter and pride myself in getting the kind of turn this one took. Didn’t even come close to seeing this one – a few people I know claim to have – I don’t believe them! Helped a lot by outstanding acting by both Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment.
Next up: Most Underrated Movies of All Time
Casablanca, 1942
Shane, 1953
Shichinin No Samurai (Seven Samurai), 1954
Ben Hur, 1959
North by Northwest, 1959
Some Like It Hot, 1959
Planet of the Apes 1968
Star Wars, 1977
Dead Poet’s Society, 1989
Goodfellas, 1990
Miller’s Crossing, 1990
Schindler’s List, 1993
Pulp Fiction, 1994
Shawshank Redemption 1994
The Full Monty, 1997
Vita e Bella, La (Life is Beautiful) 1997
The Sixth Sense, 1999
Next up: Most Underrated Movies of All Time
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Some Like it Hot, though... that movies has incredible staying power. Is it because of Marilyn?
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Funny thing about the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Searchers--both are John Wayne movies directed by John Ford. They were a great pair--and he was the only director who could get John Wayne to play something BESIDES John Wayne.
I love lists like this. Nice work!!!!
Film & TV on DVD
Like Cib I dont rank Life is beautiful, shawhsank Dead Poets or Sixth Sense. Im also not a fan of The Full Monty or Schindler's List, just feels to bias in its sentimentality with Spielberg making very obvious choices.
The rest are all important films...Millers Crossing and Shane being my personal fave of the selection.
Totally agree that it is Wilder's Direction and the superb screenplay that are the main ingredients for Some Like It Hot's success...Curtis and Lemmon of course work a treat too...for me its Wilder's Sunset Boulevard that sits atop my own best of Wilder list.
James I would also consider the performance Don Siegel got out of Wayne in The Shootist as one of his finest non-stereotypical turns.
Yep, I agree, Sunset Boulevard is a great movie and was there or there abouts on my list.
I also agree re Wayne's portrayal in The Shootist was pretty good, better than True Grit in fact....
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
dead poets society - simply brilliant, learning to look at life from a different perspective, what a great message
the full monty - really put the spotlight on disenfranchised working-class men in rust-belt towns, the dangers of a community being economically reliant on a sole industry, even though it is a fun comedy it is also a realistic character piece which touches on suicide, depression, debt, self-esteem, pride, fatherhood, and the burden of men to be good role models and providers
life is beautiful - so refreshing to see world war 2 from a non-american perspective, so sad (i literally cried through the entire second half of the film) at how much depraved atrocity occurred before the americans roled their tanks in late in the game, the irony of convincing a child that a war-crimes are a game to protect him was absolutely heart-wrenching
you have made some fabulous selections, i dont know alot of the older ones but i enjoyed reading your list
Thanks for the kind words and am glad to find somebody else who rates Dead Poet's Society. Nearly all my friends think it Ok at best, but as stated in my blurb, something about it clicked for me...
Back to the Eighties
Few good picks.
For a knock about bloke like myself, Dead Poets surely has no space in my collection.
I grew up brawling - like Rocky and Daniel Laruso...LOL
- Jarrah
Back to the Eighties
www.backtotheeighties.net
Film & TV on DVD
Did you like Wonderboys?
That one is my favourite of the coming of age writers stories in the modern era..it seemed to avoid the hallmark movie of the week style that grated on me in Dead Poets. Replacing trite scripting with wit and a genuine humanity.
On a side note I do know plenty of people who loved Dead poets as much as yourself, so you are not alone.
If your interested you can read my Wonderboys review HERE
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Horrorphile
I person's favourite movies says a lot about a person I reckon, like their music collection or book library.
Here's mine top 20;
1. Blade Runner
2. 8-and-a-half
3. Apocalypse Now
4. Withnail and I
5. Down By Law
6. Alien
7. Cul-de-Sac
8. Goodfellas
9. Fallen Angels
10. Blood Simple
11. Come and See
12. Three Colours Blue
13. Sunset Blvd.
14. Swingers
15. Orlando
16. La Haine
17. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
18. Scarface
19. The Godfather/The Godfather Part II
20. The Thing
Seems we have one crossover ...
Horrorphile
For me not only is Withnail and I the greatest comedy ever made, it's also one of the best screenplays ever written, and if I was to hold a class in screenwriting I would use it as a prime example for study and analysis.
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Film & TV on DVD