My Favorite Movies
At last I tackle the ultimate mundane exercise of listing my favorite movies. Until now I have been able to resist the temptation but last night I was reminded of several obscure films and decided that a list of my favorite films might be unique enough to inflict it on the world. Most of these films are old friends which I have viewed many times, hence the "favorite" designation.
Unlike my other lists I am making this one entirely for myself. I don't expect anyone to read it.
Several of these films are too depressing for frequent viewings yet are such inspired creations that I have included them in the list. A few would fit better in a list of my favorite cult films but they will reside here until I create such a list.
Unlike my other lists I am making this one entirely for myself. I don't expect anyone to read it.
Several of these films are too depressing for frequent viewings yet are such inspired creations that I have included them in the list. A few would fit better in a list of my favorite cult films but they will reside here until I create such a list.
List activity
295 views
• 7 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
73 titles
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsSean ConneryPeter FinchClaudia CardinaleTorn by personal guilt, Italian General Umberto Nobile reminisces about his failed 1928 Arctic expedition aboard the airship Italia.This has held the #1 spot on my imaginary favorite list for many years. It might drop a bit in the rankings were I to do a reassessment but for now I'll keep it at the top.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsW.C. FieldsKathleen HowardJean RouverolA henpecked New Jersey grocer makes plans to move to California to grow oranges, despite the resistance of his overbearing wife.Simply perfect.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.Not only have I enjoyed countless viewings of this pretty much perfect film but I have come to regard it as the standard for best movie ever made. Part of my delight is that it beat out Saving Private Ryan (the film that would be at the very top of my Most Overrated Film list - if I had one) for the Best Picture Oscar.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.Another pretty much perfect film that I never tire of watching. I simply get it.
- DirectorVadim PerelmanStarsUma ThurmanEvan Rachel WoodEva AmurriA woman's survivor's guilt from a Columbine-like event 15 years ago causes her present-day idyllic life to fall apart.Great storytelling technique.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsBud CortShelley DuvallSally KellermanAn introverted loner living in the bowels of the Astrodome plots to develop - with the aid of a mysterious guardian angel - a pair of wings that will help him fly.The film that inspired this list. This was Robert Altman's favorite of all the films he made - it was definitely his most "out there" and that is saying something.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKeith CarradineKaren BlackRonee BlakleyOver the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated people prepare for a political convention.Remarkably entertaining film with great original music and terrific supporting performances, especially Ronee Blakley and Barbara Harris. Like Brewster McCloud it has a great ending - great endings being Altman's signature.
- DirectorFrank PerrySydney PollackStarsBurt LancasterJanet LandgardJanice RuleA man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.Absolutely haunting film, I was stunned the first time I saw it.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsGrant WilliamsRandy StuartApril KentAfter Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.Simply transcends the genre.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsCary GrantPriscilla LaneRaymond MasseyA Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.Never gets old - Jack Carson's understated comedy is priceless.
- 19641h 35mPG8.4 (519K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.Holding up rather nicely.
- DirectorRichard ErdmanStarsJohn AstinPat CarrollHans ConriedThe brothers, a couple of ne'er-do-wells, turn a sleepy mining town upside-down in their search for quick riches.As funny as "The Big Lebowski" but something I don't have to share with the world.
- DirectorDick PowellStarsRobert MitchumCurd JürgensDavid HedisonDuring WWII an American destroyer discovers a German U-boat, and in the ensuing duel the American captain must draw upon all his experience to defeat the equally experienced German commander.Best war film ever. A great ending.
- DirectorBernhard WickiStarsVolker BohnetFritz WepperMichael HinzIn 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.Best anti-war film ever.
- DirectorKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard BurtonThe events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.I never tire of watching one.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsBill MurrayRichard DreyfussJulie HagertyA successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, an obsessive-compulsive neurotic, tracks him down during his family vacation.An almost perfect comedy.
- DirectorJessica SharzerStarsKristen StewartElizabeth PerkinsRichard HagermanAfter a blurred trauma over the summer, Melinda enters high school a selective mute. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak.I connected to this one.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsMichael RedgraveTom CourtenayAvis BunnageA young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.A film too depressing for frequent repeat viewing but with a terrific ending.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsRay MillandJean PetersPaul DouglasA scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery.Terrific baseball movie that somehow skirts its ethical issues.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.Contains American cinema's greatest scene, the truckers at the diner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jxLp9PHvDQ&t=13s
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanMichael OntkeanStrother MartinA failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.Wonderful.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.Another almost perfect film.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsDorothy McGuireJoan BlondellJames DunnEncouraged by her idealistic if luckless father, a bright and imaginative young woman comes of age in a Brooklyn tenement during the early 1900s.The book is wonderful, the film is actually better.
- DirectorPaul NewmanStarsJoanne WoodwardNell PottsRoberta WallachA middle-aged misfit struggles to raise her daughters, one popular and the other a promising science student.Even more than the play it points you toward a philosophy to cope with life.
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsToni ColletteRachel GriffithsBill HunterA young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.Incredibly fun with a serious sub-text.
- DirectorM. CahillStarsMichael DouglasEvan Rachel WoodWillis Burks IIAn unstable dad who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter that there's Spanish gold buried somewhere under suburbia.Addresses a huge range of important issues about life.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsRobert MorseJonathan WintersAnjanette ComerSatire on the funeral business, in which a young British poet goes to work at a Hollywood cemetery.Much better than the book.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJames StewartRichard AttenboroughPeter FinchAfter an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.
- DirectorRichard RushStarsPeter O'TooleSteve RailsbackBarbara HersheyA fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.
- DirectorHarley CokelissStarsTom WilkinsonCharlotte WakefieldMatthew BeardTom travels fifty years to the past after discovering a time machine. He meets May, a little orphan who needs help. Now that he knows his friends' fate and his own, he will try to reorder the events and change their history.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppMartin LandauSarah Jessica ParkerAmbitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.Inspired comedy, hard to stop laughing.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
- DirectorJames NeilsonStarsHayley MillsDorothy McGuireBurl IvesA Bostonian widow moves with her kids to the country.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsEileen AtkinsKate BeckinsaleSheila BurrellA recently orphaned young woman goes to live with eccentric relatives in Sussex, where she sets about improving their gloomy lives.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGregory PeckJean SimmonsCarroll BakerA New England sea captain in the 1880s arrives at his fiancée's sprawling Texas ranch, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land.My favorite movie romance.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsClint EastwoodTelly SavalasDon RicklesA group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines in WWII France to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.
- DirectorPete DocterDavid SilvermanLee UnkrichStarsBilly CrystalJohn GoodmanMary GibbsIn order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.Entertaining for adults but not too dark.
- DirectorWarren BeattyBuck HenryStarsWarren BeattyJames MasonJulie ChristieA Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.I like the original version but I like this better.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyMatthew MacfadyenBrenda BlethynSparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?This version really nails it.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsWilliam PowellCarole LombardAlice BradyA scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.Great basic story, excellent dialogue, fantastic cast.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDan O'BannonDre PahichBrian NarelleIn the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.Also hard to stop laughing.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsBette DavisAnn SheridanMonty WoolleyAn acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames WhitmoreEdmund GwennJoan WeldonThe earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsGoldie HawnKurt RussellEdward HerrmannA cruel but beautiful heiress mocks and cheats a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia after an accident, he decides to introduce her to regular life by convincing her that they're husband and wife.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsCatherine DeneuveIan HendryJohn FraserA sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.Incredible but not for frequent viewings.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDennis ChristopherDennis QuaidDaniel SternA working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsSam ShepardScott GlennEd HarrisThe U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsTom BerengerGlenn CloseJeff GoldblumA group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanWilliam H. MacyRebecca PidgeonA movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsKirsten DunstMichelle WilliamsDan HedayaAfter wandering off during a White House tour, two high school girls inadvertently become Richard Nixon's top secret advisers at the height of the Watergate scandal.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouAfter a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerJack HawkinsUlla JacobssonOutnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
- DirectorJohn FordMervyn LeRoyJoshua LoganStarsHenry FondaJames CagneyWilliam PowellIn the waning days of World War II, the cargo officer of a Navy supply ship chafes at its role far from the action in the Pacific's backwater areas, his frustration rising when its captain denies the crew liberty over petty irritations.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsBette MidlerDanny DeVitoJudge ReinholdA couple cheated by a vile businessman kidnaps his wife in retaliation, not knowing that their enemy is delighted that they did.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsGene HackmanRene RussoDanny DeVitoA mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt, and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsRoy ScheiderJessica LangeAnn ReinkingDirector/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
- DirectorMark A.Z. DippéStarsRaviv UllmanLeah PipesSpencer RedfordA teen uses a holograph to create a pop star for his friend's band.Out of left field for many, but I really like this film and since people are unlikely to ever encounter it I will include a review I wrote twenty years ago.
"You get to be the dreamer, all I'll ever be is the dream" says Loretta Modern (Spencer Redford) wistfully in the climatic scene of what is perhaps the most lyrical and intellectually ambitious film Disney has ever made. Lurking beneath its technological showcase and tame teen angst storyline, "Pixel Perfect" (2004) contains a rather deep allegorical take on an existential theme. It explores the isolation of someone who gradually realizes that they do not belong in the world.
It is allegorical because Loretta really does not belong, she is a holographic rock star created by Roscoe ("Phil of the Future's" Ricky Ullman) through an experimental process his father's has developed. His friend Samantha's band, the Zettabytes, needs a front man (technically a front woman as this is an all-girl group) and Loretta has been assembled from a variety of sources to meet this need. This proves a mixed blessing to Samantha as she quickly becomes extremely jealous of Loretta's popularity and the attention she is getting from her creator. Understandable since Loretta was designed to transcend Samantha's limitations.
"Tron" (1982) and "Electric Dreams" (1984) are the film's obvious predecessors, and there is even a little bit of HAL from "2001 A Space Odyssey". But what appears to have started it all was the 1967 Star Trek television episode "Metamorphosis" in which a strange energy cloud called "The Companion" merges with the dying Commissioner Hedford (Elinor Donahue) to become human.
There are several nice "Tron" - like special effects excursions into the world of bits and bytes; as well as a scene inside Samantha's mind. Like Edgar and HAL, Loretta soon begins to transcend her basic programming and develop human emotions.
But Loretta goes somewhere else, into the world of films like "Carnival of Souls" (1962) and "The Incredible Shrinking Man". Taking on the concepts of human alienation, loss of identity, and separation from society. The film's best song "Notice Me" goes to this theme. As it was for a shrinking Scott Carey ("The Incredible Shrinking Man"), for Loretta getting to the outside (getting to feel the rain) is symbolic of no longer being constrained by limitations.
The ending was a little too vague and pulls its punches. But what actually occurs is that Loretta gives up her identity to save Samantha. Loretta must subordinate herself to merge with and heal Samantha. The new Samantha appears unchanged but has taken on a lot of what was Loretta. The allegorical resolution is the realization that loss of identity is freedom, that you are not alone because you are a part of something bigger-and this is what Loretta discovers she wants more than anything else-despite being programmed to simply be a performer.
Redford's take on Loretta may remind you of the character Tamara Hope played in "Stepsister from the Planet Weird" (2000). Until I checked out the two casts I thought it was the same actress. Things tend to bog down when Loretta is not in a scene.
Girls appear to be the primary target audience of this film although boys and adults with active brain cells who are willing slow down long enough to examine its message should be entertained as well.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child. - DirectorRobert AltmanStarsGlenn CloseJulianne MooreLiv TylerConflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRobert DuvallDonald PleasenceDon Pedro ColleyIn the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsSal PontiJoyce TaylorJohn DallWelcome to Atlantis, where royal guardsmen wear uniforms that could easily be from the wardrobe of Ming the Merciless and some unfortunate slaves are turned into bovine-headed beasts.A guilty pleasure from my childhood days. John Dall's character is the greatest movie villain ever.
- DirectorHoward DeutchStarsEric StoltzMary Stuart MastersonLea ThompsonWhen Keith goes out with Amanda, the girl of his dreams, Amanda's ex-boyfriend plans to get back at Keith. Meanwhile, Keith's best friend, tomboy Watts, realizes she has feelings for Keith.My favorite ending - ever!
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsMichael MoriartyRobert De NiroVincent GardeniaThe story of the friendship between a worldly-wise star pitcher and a half-wit catcher as they cope with the catcher's terminal illness through a baseball season.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
- DirectorHilary BirminghamStarsGlenn FitzgeraldAnson MountBob BurrusTully can get any girl he wants and often does every night - until he meets the new girl, Ella - who reveals something within him and his family they've long buried.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.