For me, these are nearly one and the same. My favorite film is the one I consider to be the best film that still appeals strongly to my personal aesthetic tastes.
The newly restored image that Criterion did for Seven Samurai does not, of course, change the plot but it is like a layer of haze, damage and dust has been removed from the film revealing the great cinematography in a way it has not been seen in a long long time....well...I guess it isn't "like" a layer of haze, damage and dust has been removed...it HAS been removed!
Get it Holadem, you'll thank yourself as soon as you start it up.
It's an interesting topic, as I find myself similar to you at time. I find myself obsessing about a new favorite and drowning myself it over and over and over. As for how often, I watch my favorites, I would say that I have a list of 10-20 films that are repeated every 1-2 years. There are probably another 20-30 that are repeated every 5 years. I just don't have the time for repeat viewing anymore. I own at least 400 DVDs that I've never seen before and have a list in excess of 1000 movies that I want to see. I'm very jealous of some people who have a small clump of films that they re-peat over and over and are completely content. Here are my most repeated films: The Apartment Magnolia The Big Lebowski Rear Window Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Vertigo Blazing Saddles Young Frankenstein Double Indemnity American Beauty Wonder Boys
It's all but impossible to narrow my favorites down to one, but Pulp Fiction would have to be it. It's the movie that turned me into a movie geek. However, my lifelong favorite movie is probably Ghostbusters. It was my favorite as a kid and even now it's still among my favorites.
I'm kind of surprised that I'm the only person who has listed Pulp Fiction...
As the thread topic asks for my one favorite film (not to be confused with what I think is the "best" film), my vote goes (and has since it debuted around six years ago) to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
I think that the reasons for it being my favorite film are not entirely clear, even to me, but I know that there's no other film that comes anywhere near this one's power over my emotions.
#2, just for the record, is LOST IN TRANSLATION. It makes me miss Japan every time I see it.
My favorite film of all time is Renoir's Rules Of The Game - the wisdom and compassion of the film breaks my heart every time.
ROTG makes a lot of all time greats list, and with good reason. I first saw it, with little preparation or preconceptions, as a teen in college back around 1971. I had an immediate emotional identification with the film that has remained with me ever after. For this reason, while others may prefer The Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game remains a supreme cinematic achievement and my favorite movie.
There are scores of other films I dearly love & watch frequently from Sunrise to The Passion Of Joan of Arc, from Blade Runner to Blue Velvet, from Tokyo Story to The Philadelphia Story, from the Lady Eve to Some Like It Hot, from Singin' In The Rain to Swing Time, from The Conversation to Goodfellas. But ROTG is my fave if forced to pick just one.
For me it's Apocalypse Now. It never ceases to astonish me, and it certainly helps that it's highly watchable.
Up until a few months ago I would've specified that I prefer the original cut, but when I recently watched the Complete Dossier DVD, I think I preferred Redux.
Man, what's with all the Star Wars fans? Am I the only one who thinks Star Wars is hyped up mediocre fare?
Anyway, my all-time most precious favorite is Akira Kurosawa's: Dreams
Not Kurosawas best in terms of an overall film, but his most personal, and as a big fan of Kurosawa, just one that is most personally incredible for me.
Apocalypse Now would be be near the top of my list as well (excepting many Kurosawa films). Apocalypse Now is kind of the ultimate anthropological critique for me, a marvelous film.
Almost Famous literally feeds my soul every time I watch it. It's the most emotionally honsest film about living on the cusp between childhood and adulthood I've ever seen.