Ten Best Movies Ever Made (horror, actor, The Godfather, Shawshank Redemption)

[Fontucky]

In no particular order:

C'era una volta il West
The Grapes of Wrath
Mildred Pierce
Paper Moon
Dying at Grace
Das Boot
Casablanca
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
The Godfather
The Best Years of Our Lives

[perticusrex]

Oh Paper Moon holds a special place in my heart. I love that movie! Too bad Tatum O'Neal turned into such a trainwreck! She was so talented at such a young age and who knows how good she would have become as she got older. ESSShhhhtupipd Lady!

[Fontucky]

If I'm in a bad mood, all I have to do is watch Paper Moon, and I'm sunny again.

Apparently her Dad was annoyed with her for upstaging him with her cuteness and acting ability. Idiot.
She was brilliant in that picture, as was la Kahn.

Another excellent supporting performance was turned in by P.J. Johnson, who portrayed the young black girl who accompanied Trixie Delight. I'm disappointed to see she never worked but once after Paper Moon.

[Coolhand68]

Cool Hand Luke
Goodfellas
Midnight Cowboy
Jaws
Network
The Exorcist
Unforgiven
Pulp Fiction
Raging Bull
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Others that could be on the list:

Hud
Good Will Hunting
Taxi Driver
Glengarry Glen Ross
Rocky
African Queen
The Hustler
Sixth Sense
Annie Hall
Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid
12 Angry Men (original)
Silence of the Lambs
From Here to Eternity

[ELOrocks17]

Tombstone
Mildred Pierce
Patton
Ran (Kurosawa)
Interview with a Vampire
Dog Soldiers
Airplane!
An American Werewolf in London
Battle Royale
Crimson Tide

[perticusrex]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Apparently her Dad was annoyed with her for upstaging him with her cuteness and acting ability. Idiot.
She was brilliant in that picture, as was la Kahn.

Really? That is terrible! Who knows what she saw and went thru at such a young age. I guess when you dont have a good support system (Like Dakota Fanning apparently has) then its harder not to resist temptation anf fall prey to Hollywood vices. Another "what if" actress.

[matchpoint]

1. Casablanca
2. Star Wars (EpIV-1977)
3. Double Indemnity
4. A Fistful of Dollars
5. The Usual Suspects
6. Stalag 17
7. Shawshank Redemption
8. Rear Window
9. North by Northwest
10. The Natural

[donsabi]

African Queen.

[Fear&Whiskey]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

It takes nearly a lifetime to see a full representation of the product that is out there, and another lifetime to fully appreciate why some films are great and why some are not. Lists like this only represent how well some movies have "hooked" a viewer at the current stage of their life. "Bambi" could be one of the top ten movies for a kid eight years old. The same kid might feel peer pressure to conform to "Citizen Kane" when in his 20s. As he gets older, his tastes might change a few more times. To me, a more telling list is films that you have held in high regard for at least ten years. A baker's dozen from that list are (in no particular order):

Star Wars (a New Hope) - quintessential action/sci-fi movie that did just about everything right.

Casablanca - A grown-up love story.

The Stunt Man - In my mind, probably the finest film to ever understand and exploit the essence of film-making. I could write a novel length dissertation on just how well this film works on so many levels.
95% of people don't have the understanding of the craft and psychology to appreciate even a tenth of it.

Lawrence of Arabia - pure cinematic poetry

Morodor's adaptation of Fritz Lang's Metropolis - Cranked up brilliance over brilliance

Grapes of Wrath - overblown, especially at the end, but with some haunting images

2001 - The film was so influential that the government had to allow NASA a decent budget. Even then, the costs were high enough that it told NASA brass, "Pick one. You can have a shuttle like the one in the film, or you can have a big orbiting station, a moon base is too expensive."

Monty Python and the Holy Grail - what more needs to be said?

Three Colors: Red,White Blue- Interesting French triptych that fits together well (three films, really inseparable if you want to understand any of them)

Cinema Paradiso - for anyone connected with exhibition, this is life passing before their eyes.

Shakespeare in Love - full of nuances. Totally nuts how the recent portrait of the Bard looks almost exactly like the character in the film.

I think that's very true. There are so many movies I saw as a teenager on the strength of 'Greatest Of All Time Lists' or classic reference points but remember viewing 'Taxi Driver' as a teenager and thinking "Is that it?". It was a bit of a letdown after all the hype and expectation. He says "You talking to me?" a couple of times in a mirror and that's it???, I thought to myself.

I was expecting that scene to burst with vitality and grab me mainly because it had been parodied and referenced to such an exaggerated extent that I felt alonst a little underwhelmed by what I thought was a good but not great scene and film that only resonated with me more on the second or third screening. Today I can appreciate the movie for the classic it is and am also a big fan of Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks' that influenced Scorcese when he filmed the movie.

As for critics often they reference films simply on the grounds that they were 'groundbreaking' or because of brilliant 'cinematography' but even sharp dialogue and ex[ertly crafted plots take time to appeciate and it's only as I found myself here in my mid-30's that I truly appreciate great dialogue and some of the classic movies I never really got forst time around.

For some reason critics appear to be a little stuffy about James Cagney. He had more charisma than any character in 'the Godfather'. Now I thought the Gidfather ws great but nowhere near as captivating as 'Goodfellas'. As for 'the Godfather' I think there's something about the Mafia that appeals to middle-aged hacks who have put on an extra few pounds, are a long way from their prime but kind of like the idea of being a powerful old man with a cigar who can rub out a legion of strapping young whipper snappers with the flick of a wrist.

My top 10 off the top of my head
1] Network
2] Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia
3] Land And Freedom (Ken Loach)
4] On The Waterfront
5] Platoon
6] The Wild Bunch
7] State Of Grace
8] Goodfellas
9] Across 110th Street
10] Shane

[cap1717]

for "oddballs" like me:

Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth)
Pleasantville
Shadowlands
Out of Africa
Almost Famous

well, that's the first five, I need to think about the 2nd five