Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time? - Page 2

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Agreed. I have "comfort movies" and I have favorites which I purposefully don't watch all the time, so that I don't blunt their impact.

If I had to name an all time, single favorite movie, it would probably be Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans.

However, other films vie for that spot, depending on my mood and whatnot. A handful of films that are very near "absolute favorite status":

Out of Sight

Raiders of the Lost Ark

To Catch a Thief

Ben-Hur

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Casablanca

Perfect movie from the perfect movie making time. Perfect writing, perfect acting, perfect characters, perfect emotion and perfect plot. The script alone makes it a classic among classics.

"I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."

No, they amount to much more Rick. Much more.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Favorite movie (aka comfort food): The Fellowship of the Ring (really all of LOTR actually).

Others in the same category: LA Confidential, The Shawshank Redemption, Saving Private Ryan, T2, Magnolia, Aliens, Mulholland Dr and many others. These are movies I simply never tire of watching and will always own in their best possible presentation.

Greatests IMO? Too many to cite.

Last 5 movies which flat out blew me away, starting with the latest:

The Departed (2006)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Jules and Jim (1961)
United 93 (2006)

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H

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

If I had to decide what the absolute best film of all time is, it would be between these five: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, CITIZEN KANE, CASABLANCA, CITY LIGHTS and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. THE THIRD MAN, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and THE RED SHOES would be up there, too.

I think my two tied faves-BRIDE and ROBIN HOOD-are certainly in the top 100 films ever made.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Ok guys...I was guilty for listing 2 films.....my bad ...but if we list too many, then it kind of lessens the original intent.

That's aimed at me too. So I've chosen The Empire Strikes Back. Just too technically solid. It's one of those films to me that are just nearly PERFECT.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

I don't find either of those choices strange. The Abyss has an incredible atmosphere to it, and I'm surprised the whole underwater thriller genre hasn't taken off, and for that I'm kind of grateful.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Deleted.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Ditto.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

That would be my #2

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Vertigo

It's just a stunning film. The first time, I admired it, but didn't really like it all that much. It just seemed to meander and wander a little bit, taking its time to get where it was going. The second time I saw it, I was astonished at how fast the film actually is - it gets to the ending pretty quickly. There's really not that much fat that you could cut from the film - it's pretty tight. But what Hitchcock does is present the film so that it feels as though it is wandering aimlessly - deliberately, since there is a lot of discussion in the film about just wandering, and it reflects Scotty's current aimless wandering through life after he is forced to retire from his job. And that is a stunning thing.

I also love the way he brings the audience into a point where they very quickly have a lot of sympathy for Scotty, and then at a pivotal point he reveals one key information to the audience but not Scotty. That information distances the audience from Scotty, who we suddenly find ourselves viewing from a more neutral position and we realise that we were buying into a character who really is not behaving in a terribly healthy way.

Hitchcock was a master of audience manipulation. While I think Psycho is most often cited as an example of this (car/swamp), it is also probably his most show-off piece of manipulation. Vertigo by contrast is subtle and simple, but infinitely more effective.

And that's why I love Vertigo.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

MY FAIR LADY

Always has been. Love the script, the music and Audrey Hepburn. Based on what many consider the greatest Broadway Musical of the 20th century. Not a perfect film, it won 8 Oscars including Best Picture and is among the AFI's Top 100 Films.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Blade Runner...pick a cut, any cut.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Hmmm...If I were stranded on an island and could only have one I guess it would have to be A New Hope. I suppose the nostalgia thing has a lot to do with it. Empire may be a better film but ANH was the original.
(Still haven't bought the bonus features though.)

I do have an affinity for Home Alone also.

This is really an impossible question for me. There's just too much good stuff out there!

What if you could put together a montage of your favorite clips from your favorite films into one movie. If so then I'd have about 50 of my favorite scenes all rolled into one!

The movie itself might not make much sense though.

...move along...move along...

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Vote #3 for Billy Wilder's "The Apartment"

The perfect blend of comedy & drama with an incredible cast (Lemmon, Maclaine, MacMurray, Walston, etc...). Even though Wilder is often attacked for his harsh cynicism (which is plentiful in this movie) the film concludes with a great moral lesson and truly heartfelt scene. I have the final line as the greeting on my cellphone "Shut Up and Deal".

I'm overdue for another viewing of this classic as it's been over a year. I wish MGM would release a new SE for this title as it sorely deserves it.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Star Wars--the original. Though all six films are precious to me, if I had to pick only one, it would be this one.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

I often wonder how frequently people screen their favorite movie. I think I started a thread asking this question a million years ago. For about 2 years after I first saw Saving Private Ryan and it instantly became my favorite movie, I watched it, parts or whole, on average every other week. I just couldn't have enough. I compulsively watched Magnolia the same way for a long time. I would put it on as background noise while doing stuff around the apt. I've stopped the pratice, I rarely watch my favs nowadays, too many movies out there to discover to keep rethreading the same ole same ole...

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H

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Favorite movie from a sheer enjoyment perspective:
Star Wars (Episode IV, "A New Hope")

Favorite movie to admire from a sheer craft perspective:
Citizen Kane
And I always follow up a viewing of this movie with a listen to the Roger Ebert commentary track.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

North By Northwest.

I find it to be both technically perfect and highly entertaining. Hitchcock at his best.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Micheal Bey's The Independants Day is always my favorit film, grate grate film! I like when big space sheeps comes over all citys and kill everyone! Woah the sound great when reely on loud. Wheel Smif and Geoff Golbloom than fly away to the mothersheep to makes the aleen PC crash! So fanny! Fanastic film, watch more times then 300! 2rd favrit films is Armogedin.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Alien Vs. Predator is jsut a sublime experiance. To be able to fit a metaphorical battle between the ID and SUPER EGO into a movie that fits in perfectly with to highly overrated sci-fi (IE: dumbed down comic book movies) series is just a stroke of genious.

And that genious would have to be Paul Anderson. Clearly channeling Wells on this one with the use of light as a metaphor for the internal psychology of the charaters. I do not understand how the AFI has not givn this man a lifetime acheivment award, nor how the acadamy has continued to ignore the work of this visionary who well continue to push the art of film into the future.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Yess! Paul Andersson a grate directer! He can makes reely exiting space films and then moves like McNolia wif Thomas Cruz, so tallented! Aleen verses Predeter woold be on mine top 6!

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Oh alright my favorite film is the fabulous Ben-Hur (1959) and has been for some time.

Some good choices in this thread, I'm happy to see some people picking Star Wars A New Hope over the vastly overrated Empire Strikes Back.

Favorite musical - Singin in the Rain.

Favorite Science Fiction film - 2001 A Space Odyssey

Favorite Horror flick - The Exorcist

Favorite Anime - Akira

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

2001 A Space Odyssey

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Impossible question, but I'll narrow it down to three titles and then pick:
Seven Samurai
Apocalypse Now (1979 theatrical version)
Blade Runner

....ok, let's see....having been so impressed with the spectacular new DVD from Criterion I have to say that the new image just opens up an already fantastic film to newer levels of visual depth, so Seven Samurai would be my #1 film.......for now.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Now, now, Steve. We are forced to pick only one film. If I could pick from any of the SW films, I would watch ESB, ROTS, and AOTC over ANH. But if I had to pick ONLY one, I would go with ANH for the nostalgia factor. I find ESB superior on pretty much every technical level.

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Well the muppet factor automatically makes the two sequels to the 1977 Star Wars inferior for me, and the 3 prequels aren't even on my radar.

Favorite Comedy - Duck Soup (1933) followed by Some Like it Hot (1959).

Re: Your ONE Most Favorite Film of All Time?

Is the new transfer that much better? I generally don't double dip, but it appears I may have to?

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H