Hi everyone,

I'm usually pretty serious in the other forums. I like the slow pace of TOTEM...and having the option to start some light conversation.

** What is your favorite(s) movie and why?

MY LIST (in no order):

Stars Wars (first 3 of the trilogy - not the new ones!)
- Because when the opening starts it makes my skin crawl. The music, acting, story...just perfect for the time. I'm 5 years old again!!

Raiders of the Lost Ark
- I should have grown up to be Indiana Jones. What happened?

Good Will Hunting
- Something about the story, Will crying and Robin Williams finally being soft and quiet.

Singin' in the Rain
- I saw the new DVD recently and damn it...color has never been used the same way. It's a perfect story that uses theatre elements with filmmaking savy. It's just cooler than you think if you always watch new movies...old movies have just as much if not more value.

Shawshank Redemption
- The story is great - it's just a great movie to watch over and over.

Pulp Fiction
- The first movie where I thought - "hmm, that's not really a movie like other movies out right now...or ever?!"

Apocalypse Now
- Dark, dark...dark. I love dark movies that were made under stress because it shows on screen. If a movie was easy to make it looks that way. But, Apocalypse Now has dread running through every frame and it's beautiful...like napalm.

Rear Window
- I saw a new print out in CA a few year ago. It was awesome in the theatre. I felt like it was back when it originally came out. I love Hitchcock...sometimes I wish I were born a lot earlier, so I could see all the classics in the theatre first run!

Se7en
- Dark again! I love this movie...David Fincher is amazing with using a dark room and a flashlight.

Fight Club
- Dark (with neon green?) I love this just like Se7en.

The Great Dictator (and everything else he did for that matter)
- I saw a new 35mm print at Boston's MFA last year right before the DVD release. Chaplin's great granddaughter was there and I talked to her...I felt a presence! Also, more importantly...the film made me incredibily amazed at Charlie Chaplin. The guy was the first true auteur - he did it all. There were destined to be better, but he was the first true all encompassing filmmaker.

A Christmas Story
- Something about this movie tells me that sometimes you just need to make people feel good and laugh.

Stand by Me
- Some movies connect with you - this one makes me feel like I'm a young boy again with my friends. It's amazingly spot on!

Back to the Future (I-II-II)
- Is popcorn entertainment great? I love these.

Schindler's List
-Made me realize that a blockbuster doesn't need to be popcorn entertainment. The adult me loves these movies because it's important. :(

ET
-Yeah, I cried when ET was in the little river all cold..

Chinatown
- I love this movie because it's not typical storyline. It's about water! I'd rather it be water than drugs or whatever.

JFK
- This is my all-time favorite I think...amazingly told, not perfect which is ok! It's got great editing...lots of film types like 8mm, 16mm, 35mm..on and on. It's just great and Oliver Stone is great for making movies and not backing down.

Let's hear yours! I love watching movies, so I need some input for some new rentals.

Murph

My two favorite films were, coincidentally, both released in 1980, the year I was born. (There are many more coincidences between them, including the sharing of several cast members, but I leave the fun of spotting those to the reader.)

The Empire Strikes Back stands alone in the STAR WARS series as a perfectly concocted confection of science fiction, fantasy, myth, fairy tale, and noir pulp. The story's methodical, episode-by-episode revelation and the cliffhanger climax lend a profluence--the audience's sense that we are getting somewhere--akin to reverie. The hero Luke hits the nail on the head when he sits lost and forlorn on the dim swamp planet Dagobah and muses, "It's like something out of a dream." Then not twenty minutes later he's battling his inner demons in a metaphorical dream-duel that no film has ever topped for its strangeness and shock symbolic meaning. The plodding, maudlin Gone with the Wind never achieved such unblemished balance.

The Blues Brothers is meant to be watched (for the first time, at least) late at night, between the hours of midnight and 2 am, when one's critical faculties and resistances to wonton wackiness have already retired. It's an epic musical, with two fighting heroes battling a system that would throw orphans on the street over $5000 but would send countless cars, legions of mounted police, boats, helicopters, tanks, a SWAT team, etc. after two troublemakers whose greatest threat is that they can make people get up and dance and enjoy themselves. Surprise cameo after surprise cameo--some you might not recognize until the end credits roll, and some you'll have to turn to the internet (http://www.chicano-art-life.com/index.html) to spot--typify the sheer giddiness and delight of the movie. When you see the film for the second time, the symbolic meaning of the toasted white bread may unlock in your thoughts, and for a moment, the universe will seem in order.

Little Big Man - Great Western and a wonderful portrayal of Custer by Richard Mulligan.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - "Hell, the fall will probably kill you."

The Sting - Too much greatness to single out any one part.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - First movie to make me cry.

October Sky - Good father/son conflict.

Men In Black (only the first one) - "The FBI does not have a sense of humor that we know of."

Pirates of the Caribbean - Just so I can list one from this century.

Finding Nemo (okay, two from this century), Toy Story 1 and 2, Monsters, Inc. - The people at Pixar turn out some wonderful stories.

This is fun.


Star Wars is the only movie that I ever saw in a theater more than twice. I was at the perfect age at its release to think that it would be the greatest epic of all time. Of course, now we know that any movie that relies on special effects will lose its luster in a matter of a few years. The effects look a little cheesy by today's standards.

Apocalypse Now and The Godfather have convinced me that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the true masters of the craft. He also runs one of the best wineries in Napa. How could you not worship him?

Recently, I was completely smitten with Master & Commander. So much so, that I am currently on the 5th of the 20 novels that the movie is loosely based on.

But for all time, nothing can top Casablanca.

EDIT: I had a nagging thought in the back of my mind as I was finishing this that I left something out that I had intended to include. It was One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest. Jack plays nuts better than anyone in Hollywood. Robin Williams has given him a challenge with a couple recent films (Insomnia and One Hour), but he is still the king.

Forbidden Planet: Something about the future as seen through the eyes of the 1950's is really charming, and I think it is the first great science fiction movie. I am also a sap for technicolor. Besides which, it has robots AND monkeys. Totally underated.

The Birds. Hitchcock's hatred for humanity is so close to the surface here. I love it!

Akira: I'm not too crazy about anime in general, but there are a few really good ones. this is the best.

Rope. More Hitchcock, and with Jimmy Stewart, and Farly Granger; what could be better? It's also a pretty daunting technicle achievment.

X2: I really dig the way it's lit. Same thing with-

Sleepy Hollow: The only Tim Burton film I like 100%

City of Lost Children: I like the fairy tale style of it, and the way it looks.

Princess Mononoke: another great Japanese film. Simply the most beutiful animation I've ever seen.

Thirteenth Warrrior: the greatest, cheesiest guy movie of all time!

Blade Runner (Director's cut): I think that everyone in it does the best work of their respective careers.

Almost forgot: Millers Crossing and The Big Lebowski: the Choen brosthers at their very best, hitting both ends of the spectrum.

MG

I'd have to say "The Godfather" (the first one) is tops because after seeing it hundreds of times, I can still watch it over and over.

Others:
Notorious
The Third man
Chinatown
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Touch of Evil
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
Bullets Over Broadway
Rope
The Conversation
All That Jazz
Hud
Nashville
The Maltese Falcon
All About Eve
The Piano
Blood Simple
Topsy Turvy
True Grit
His Girl Friday

The World According to Suzie Wong - because it made me as a kid in West Texas in the 60s dream about going to exotic places...and look where I am now! (not married to a prostitute though...yet)

Some girls - because it proves that a small film can be a poetic orchestration that outclasses the big boys

Harold and Maude - same as above...and because of its offbeat style

Bottle Rocket and Rushmore - because Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson are two of the most underrated collaborators in the business

Winged Migration - because it gave us a view of the birds that we've never seen before, and gave us their view of us

The Graduate - because it's so full of symbolism and artistry that it still inspires long discussions

Mmmm Big call.

Coming out on top, and as the only movie I've seen 4 times in the Cinema:

The Matrix.

Talk about blow my mind!

Shame the next two parts didn't follow up, but then, how could they?

Close second: The Blues Brothers (And what a soundtrack).

I don´t have favorite movies.. but I´ll mention the ones that pop out as the ones that impressed me the most (for good).

Dead Or Alive (Takashi Mike):
This is my last discovery... and this director just blew me away.... I´m actually still picking up my brain. It´s like Tarantino on Nitro with that Japanese Oriental touch... I´m getting Takashi Mike Addiction.

The Clockwork Orange:
It was the first movie I saw that kept me thinking about it for a week. (I was 12).

Brother:
Takeshi Kitano goes to L.A. Need I say more?

Natural Born Killers:
It´s not my Oliver Stone´s favorite but for some reason that day I decided I wanted to make movies.

Conan-Braveheart-(sword movies in general)...
There´s something about swords chopping heads that I like since I was little kid. I guess it´s my visual fettiche...

Platoon:
It´s my favorite Stone movie.. and the cast... it´s perfect...

Big trouble in little China:
I don´t really know why, but I´ve seen this one about 12 times, and everytime it´s on TV I just can sit and watch it all the way through without noticing that the FX´s are crappy and that I allready know what´s going to happen.

The Usual Suspects:
Great Script... great Spacey... Great Movie

Scar Face:
Tony Montana

Pulp Fiction:
I know it sounds cliché but, it´s one of the best movies I´ve seen... great script, great actors, fast pace...

Dark City:
This one I rented without even reading the back... and I was impressed by the story and the visuals..

Shiner:
I really like Michael Caine in this movie... and the script... it´s great...

EDIT:
John Carpenter´s Vampires:
I couldn´t let this one out of my list.

I guess I need to start getting impressed by non violent movies, or maybe I´m a little violent today...
Other day I´ll post non-violent ones that I like..

Lord of the Rings Trilogy - To me they're all just one big 12 hour film. I consider them the most well crafted films I've seen in a very long time. I was mesmerized from beginning to end, and left the theater wanting more, even though they're 3.5 hours each. Absolutely amazing.

Back to the Future Part II - Fun, fun, fun. Enjoyed every minute of all three of them, but especially how they really mess with time-travel in Part II.

Aliens - I know, I know, the first one is a classic. But the sequel was so tense, action packed, and well written... The best Hollywood action of the 80's.

Apollo 13 - Breathtaking music, an amazing true story, and top notch production values. Ron Howard at his best.

Jaws - Yeah, the shark look fake, but it still scares the crap out of me. Endless repeat value.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The best Spielberg movie. Richard Dreyfuss is phenomenal.

The Abyss (Extended Edition) - The most intense thriller I've seen. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio deciding she has to drown is just heart-wrenching.

The Matrix (Part I only!) - Blew my mind in the theater. Excellent concept, good writing, stylish cinematography, bullet-time. The other 2 were cheap rip-offs.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - All three Indy movies are great, but the third one was very clever, and tied up a lot of loose ends very nicely. Great music by John Williams.

Saving Private Ryan - I'm not too fond of war movies, but this was just a work of art. The D-Day invasion was unbelievable, as was the end battle sequence. Gripping, moving, disturbing.

The Empire Strikes Back - The best of all Star Wars. The drama, the action, the family reunion! Good dialogue, cool special effects, and a cliffhanger ending round out the movie.

Forrest Gump - I just get completely absorbed by the story. Great acting all around, perfect blend of humor and drama, and impressive FX work.

North by Northwest - Hitchcock messing with our minds! Great intrigue all around.

Smoke - with Harvey Keitel. One of the first times that I really understood film as something that could represent basic reality, and not just fantastic fiction, and I realized it's what I wanted to do.

Next Stop Wonderland - what can I say, I love Bossa Nova, and textured films.

Dazed and Confused - I didn't go to high school in the 70s, but this was almost just like my high school experience (minus the hazing). Love Richard Linklater!

Dances with Wolves - every time I see it, it makes me wish I was there. Quiet fantasy of mine to be in John Dunbar's place, alone on the frontier, 'before it's all gone'. Too late now though.

And more recently:

Lost In Translation - what atmosphere!
Pieces of April - real and beautiful.

There are so many more, but there's no way I could cover it all. I won't really mention any blockbusters as they're being well covered by others.

Oh my.

The what is your favorite film(s) question. Agghhh. There are so many! Coming to mind are:

JAWS

Saw it at the drive-in with my mom when I was 5 or 6. Let me just say WOW.

STAR WARS

It's like the first time. Ya know? 7 years old in the theatre. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) offically becomes my hero for life.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

The first movie I ever saw in an actual walk in movie theatre. Need I say more? Oh yeah, I fell asleep.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

This was the film that made me ralize that there was a Director. Need I say more?

THE THING

Perfect Carpenter.

1941

Just cool.

Of course there are many more films (classics and modern) that I could put on a BEST OF list. But these are the ones that are responsible for me wanting to make films.

There are too many "greats" to remember, but luckily some of your lists jogged my memory:

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou--Great writing.

Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade-- Ford & Connery at their best with some great lines.

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid -AND-
The Sting -- Can't love one without the other. Best acting duo in history, IMO. And to add to Philip's quote, "I've got vision and the rest of the world wears bi-focals!"

Revenge of the Pink Panther--I think that's the one; get them mixed up sometimes. And speaking of Peter Sellers:

Murder By Death--Hilarious. Neil Simon fare.

Waking Ned Devine -- So well-written. And the gentleman who played Michael was excellent.

Star Trek: Generations--When the saucer section crashes on that planet it makes up for Data and all his stupid laughing.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn--Pretty dated now, but I'll bet I watched it at least a half-dozen times.

Bowfinger--Weak, but the sub-plot with the illegal aliens just cracks me up. And Eddie Murphy running across the LA freeway...

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Another Steve Martin favorite.

Those are just the ones that sprang to mind; there are lots more!

Just to mention two,

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS

It's hard to find another movie that would be so beautifully cinematographed and would work with the music in such a powerful way

I AM DINA

Stunningly powerful acting in a powerful story set up in one of the most beautiful places in the world

I just saw Barry Lyndon for the first time in a few years. I was brought through adolesence by Kubrick's films, but became an adult (and wannabe filmmaker) via Tarkovsky and Marker. Anyway,

Barry Lyndon -

Kubrick expresses everything in this one film of his, I feel/think. I feel an emptyness after watching his films, great artist though I think he was, or was capable of being. It's like there's a birth every time that zoom ring gets twisted. Blasting the reprise over the credits was entirely the wrong thing do, though.

Russian Ark -

Saw this very recently. This film offers what very few films offer: time. Tarkovsky was a master of this. Sokurov, very keen. Very generous, too.

Andrei Rublev -
Mirror -
Stalker -
Nostalghia -

Tarkovsky's gift to us: sprirtual transformation.
Without a doubt, the most important filmmaker of the 20th century.

Sans Soleil -

Chris Marker is my model for being a human being as well as artist.
More scholarly filmmakers, please. This film is vacation footage turned masterpiece. It can be done. All you need to do is be an interesting person.

The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting -

What a marvelous mind Raul Ruiz has. Absolutely brilliant.
Pure entertainment.

The Color of Pomegranates -

I can't keep up with all of this Sergei Paradjanov film, part of the attraction, I suppose, but Pomegranates has these terrifically occult effects, at moments, on me, that mean the world to me.


My list doesn't go on and on. There are others, but these stand out as representative.

A good argument can be made that Kubrick was the American/British answer to the deliberate, contemplative, intellectually exploratory Russian films of Tarkovsky et al. I wonder if the Soviet filmmakers were as demanding of their casts and crews as Kubrick was notorious for.

Personally, I enjoy crawling on my eyelashes, but a brisk run suits me too!

JAWS, because I've always dug sharks, and I grew up watching that film since I was around 7.

GOODFELLAS, because it proved to this then-14 year old that I can see a movie like that in the theatre 6 times. And it solidified my choice to be a filmmaker.

THE THIRD MAN, which is just plain great.

RUSHMORE, for being a fantastic, funny film.

JURASSIC PARK, for no other reason than it still transports me to someplace else. It's fun, and still has great effects.

TOY STORY, because the story, and the animation, are incredible. And what friendship means.

ALIENS for scaring me.

DIE HARD for re-defining the action film. Before THE MATRIX came along, it was "Die Hard on a..."

Old Universal Horror Films, which got me thinking about filmmaking as a very young guy. Plus, I dig Frankenstein's Monster!

Man, there are so many others...I'll have to post up more when I'm more awake.

heath

Wha---. No one liked Last Tango in Paris? Eraserhead? Blade Runner? Dune? Oh, so many interesting movies out there....

Dune?! First movie I ever walked out on. But I'll grant you the other three. ;)

Yeah, it was slow, and it could have been a bit better with story---to many pieces missing. However, I enjoyed it. Whenever I want to put my wife to sleep (slow, long movie, plus she hates sci-fi), I pop it into my VCR.

Everything I've ever seen from the Studio Ghibli crew, I saw "Princess Mononoke" mentioned earlier and "Spirited Away", I think that was the English title, is another. These guys produce the most beautiful anime you'll ever see and the stories show human understanding and compasion you don't often see here in Japan. Others from this neck of the woods include 7 Samurai, Samurai Fiction, the Lone Wolf and Cub series, and Red Shadow.

I'm with Robert on Empire Strikes Back, and quite a few on the first Matrix movie. For my popcorn value, aka toilet humor, I can't go past college comedies like Animal House, Road Trip, American Pie, and the South Park movie.

For tea and crumpet value there's Snatch and Mean Machine, and yes I know it's a remake of The Longest Yard.

Not in any particular order...

Citizen Kane - The scene in the screening room with all the smoke.

Office Space - Been there, done that.

Apocalypse Now - I love the smell of Napalm in the morning.

Shakespeare in Love - Brilliant screenplay.

My friend and I may have been the only ones in the theatre the weekend OFFICE SPACE opened in January 5 years ago.

I felt robbed when SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE beat out SAVING PRIVATE RYAN for the best picture Oscar.

heath

Yes, Robert, I have heard this of this comparison being made too, indeed, Kubrick had everything to do with my taking in Tarkovsky's work in stride, but, knowing Tarkovsky's films as well as I do, now, and knowing Kubrick somewhat, I find the likeness a superficial one. Slow, atmospheric, contemplative the works of both can be said to be, but Kubrick's films scream TECHNIQUE much more so, to me. Too clever and too many shots/edits that serve to move a linear plot along, to be wholly transcendental. These words don't capture everything I mean, but....
Tarkovsky's is sprirtual, with the intellect acting as a boat only until reaching the shore, so to speak. I don't mean to say that Kubrick offered none of this, but, anyway, they are very different filmmakers in their scope and intentions, I think.
Let me know if you would like to continue this conversation, perhaps elsewhere would be a better place for it?

Shawn

I'd love to continue it, and this is as good a place as any, but I'm afraid my love (tolerance?) for Tarkovsky's lot is limited and so my exposure has been likewise. So I probably wouldn't have much else to say--but I do understand and to some extent agree with your point of view regarding the distinction between the Russians and Kubrick.

One of my favorite annual events in my hometown is the Case Science Fiction Marathon (http://films.cwru.edu/marathon.html)--a life altering experience if ever one can be had by penning several hundred film geeks alone in a darkened room for 30 hours--and last year we were Surprised with the original Solyaris. As if the first two hours of the film didn't test the crowd's collective patience enough, the final half-hour of the movie--predominantly long, static shots of plant life growing around a pond, or a man's still face--prompted agonizing cries throughout the whole theater for the man to throw himself in the pond and for the credits to hurry up and roll.

I don't think the audience response would have been terribly different if the film were, say, Eyes Wide Shut.

Ah, yes, you can, by that audiences reaction, imagine, then, my feelings about the vapid remake of said science fiction film, made by people desperately trying to distinguish themselves as artists.

A Place in the Sun-That Monty Clift, what a bad ass actor
Vanishing Point-mopar power
House of Games-Mamet
Homicide-see above
Raising Arizona- cause i know every line
Giant-james dean, big west texas skys

Office Space - for content and making me feel better about my job!

Snatch - Great writing, great acting, great story

Leaving Las Vegas - Nick Cage is incredible in this film

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - Just freakin' funny

Scarface - Pacino, need I say more

Heat - Pacino and De Niro, need I say more (and one of the best gun fight scenes ever)

True Romance - Good story with all the Tarentino twists (also another great gun fight)

Top Two

Race For Your Life Charlie Brown The greatest white water rafting/war of the sexes movie of all time. Plus, who's cooler than Snoopy? Nobody.

Tremors IMHO, the best balance of scary, funny adventure ever.
I watch it over and over.

Other favorites

Pulp Fiction
Blade Runner
Apocalypse Now
Das Boot
Star Wars/Empire/Jedi
Lady X Ep. 13: The Ronin
Seven Samurai
Akira
Spirited Away
Predator
Vista Valley P.T.A.
Night Of The Living Dead
Zombie (Lucio Fulci's)
Joss Whedon's Firefly (I know it's TV, but if I watch all the DVDs back to back it's like a movie, so shaddap!)

I've got a top 20 list, but that's enough for now.

SNOOPY COME HOME made me cry when I was 5 years old. Only movie that ever did that.

heath

My current favorite movie is Strictly Ballroom and I just can't figure out why, but everytime I catch on IFC or something I'll sit through the whole thing again.

Spirited Away really good anime, could be trimmed just a tiny bit in some places but loved the otherworldiness of the whole thing.

Tremors - totally fun film can't get enough of the worms
Arrival - nice sci-fi suspense, I like the paranoid feeling
Army of Darkness - Ash + boomstick that's all you gotta say
LOTR - Just love Tolkien - read all the books like a hundred times sat through the extended versions + appendices like 6 times already
Revenge of the Nerds - One the best campy and cheezy movies
Real Genius - Pure wacky/zaniness/insanity
Hackers - yeah loved this film, just this side of a campy comic book, who cares if everybody's computer screens are projection LCD screens - it's got Angelina in it!
Sneakers - love adventure type Robert Redford films, he just has this way of telling stories simply and in a straight forward entertaining manner - also likes Spy Games
Indiana Jones - I don't really need to explain why do I?
Spider Man - Raimi at his best
Uzumaki - hard to explain why, just have to see it
Kill Bill - well I've got a million kung fu movies in my head, but this one did a great job of putting it all in one movie, can't wait for part II

And of course a ton more ...

Raimi at his best?

Just so you guys know. Heat is going to get a special edition
treatment on DVD (finally!). It should be out as a 2 disc set
somewhere in the summertime (let it please have dts).

Rob,

Good news! I love that movie, sweet. I can't wait, especially if it includes new dts sound!

My tase in film goes all over the board, My dvd collection runs from Henry V to Emmanual in Space. But when it comes to the films I watch whenever they are avaliable, that I have seen so many times I have lost count, it comes down to three.

Fight Club-not for the camra angles or the lighting. As an old Red, I guess I'm still waiting for the revoloution.

Shawshank Redemption-Make kaput that which makes you kaput, use the systtem to destroy it.

The Shipping News-Ending line of the film, "There are still so many things I don't know. If a piece of string can unleash the wind, or a drowned man can come back to life, then I believe a broken man can heal." Even better than the book.

<<<-- Raimi at his best? -->>>

Yeah him too, I always get him and Zemeckis mixed up, I don't know why :-)

I used to work at Blockbuster and got tired of watching the super popular Hollywood flicks, so I began dabbling in the ones that didn't get rented very much. I've since become a big fan of smaller budget, independant, lesser-know, even controversial films. In my opinion, these films don't have the funds for fancy equipment and state-of-the-art graphics, so they have to compensate with creativity and a great story. I think this characteristic shines through in the movies I chose as my favorites, among many others.

- American History X - Fortunately, I saw this movie in the theater on the day of release, two days before it was pulled for being too violent. Easily the most powerful movie I've ever seen, even beyond Schindler's List in my opinion.

- Melena - This is an Italian film about a beautiful woman that is living in a new town, taking care of her father, while coping with the death of her husband, as told through the eyes of a young boy. I know I didn't do the film any justice with my description, but I really liked it.

- The Straight Story - An actual David Lynch movie that wasn't weird. This is a story about a man from Iowa that hears of his brother's illness. He can't legally drive, so he hops on his riding lawnmower and trucks it up to Wisconsin, meeting a variety of people on the way.

- The Blair Witch Project - I'm sure I just lost all credibility with many of the other critics out there, but in my opinion, this movie was pure genius, mainly because of marketing. Most people complain about two things with this movie, you don't get to see the witch, and "well, I saw it after everybody found out it wasn't real." I have an extremely vivid imagination, so not seeing the witch actually made this movie better for me. And, yes I did see it on premiere night when everyone thought it was real, but even now I'll still get completely sucked into that movie at any scene. Ultimately, even if you hated that movie, you have to admit that the website was pure genius.

Of course, I don't want you folks thinking that I'm some kind of artsy-fartsy film guy, so here's a brief list of all the greatest movies ever made:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Airplane, Back To School, Benny and Joon, Better Off Dead, Beverly Hills Cop, The Breaks, A Bug's Life, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, A Christmas Story, Dances With Wolves, Dark City, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, Dumb and Dumber, Edward Scissorhands, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Field of Dreams, Finding Nemo, Fools Rush In, Groundhog Day, Half Baked, Home Alone, Hot Shots, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!, Johnny Stechino, The Kentucky Fried Movie, Lethal Weapon (all 4), Loaded Weapon 1, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Memento, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Naked Gun (all 3), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Office Space, The Other Sister, PeeWee's Big Adventure, The Princess Bride, Rad, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, See Spot Run, The Shawshank Redemption, Snatch, Soul Food, Spaceballs, Spies Like Us, Spy Hard, Star (BMW Films), Stir of Echos, Swingers, There's Something About Mary, Thunderheart, Top Secret, Toy Story, Transformers: The Movie, Tremors, UHF, The Wood, Wrongfully Accused.
... okay, I need to stop before I get too excited :).

Didn't like most of Jim Carrey's comedies, other than I thought DUMB AND DUMBER was funny...

I thought AMERICAN HISTORY X was good, but not really powerful. The real juicey stuff was what the director was doing (and still is) behind the scenes.

I really liked THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, mostly because it was more real than any other film. My friend and I both used to camp in the middle of nowhere (me in the Colorado Rockies, he in rural New Jersey), and we can relate to being lost. And mostly, we always know when people are lost how the loved ones feel. That movie showed them talking about how their family was probably looking for them, along with others. Eerie...You never quite know what's happening when someone is lost, but I always think they're helpless. That painted a different picture.

heath

Don't forget about Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Very low budget, almost indie, yet an amazing film.

American History X is great film indeed, to bad that it has a very
bad DVD, again. I have it on the shelf though. I've been a bit
absent in this thread because it is hard to vote for my (all time)
favorite movies. Actually it's getting harder every week. If you
check my bio on the wrangler page (see the link in my signature
after my name) I list some. I'm both an avid fan of big hollywood
productions (I just loved the cinematography of Pearl Harbor)
and the unknown ones like F---ing Amal [no, that isn't porn]
which probably almost no-one knows (like Delicatessen, Bound
and Withnail & I for example).

I'm a movie (yes I choose this word explicitly over film) fan and
love to see all kind of movies. My image of what I'm liking is
shifting slowly constantly. And thus my favorites as well. Ofcourse
there are quite a lot of movies that I really like.

To list some (in alphabetic order):
- 12 monkeys (*)
- Amelie (*)
- American History X
- Armageddon
- Avalon (*)
- Beach, the
- Bound (*)
- Cruel Intentions
- Dark City (*)
- El Mariachi
- Fight Club
- F---ing Amal (*)
- Godfather, the (yes part 1, not 2)
- Green Mile, the
- Heat
- Leon (*)
- Matrix, the
- Nightmare before Christmas, the (*)
- Meet Joe Black
- O Brother Where Art Thou
- October Sky
- Pulp Fiction
- Reservoir Dogs
- Se7en
- Sixth Sense, the
- Snatch (*)

* = lesser known movies

Some I love that haven't been mentioned:

Amadeus
Dog Day Afternoon
Unforgiven

Everyone is naming really good movies that I haven't seen in a while.
Rob, are you talking about Leon: The Professional? If so, I take it you've seen the real version.

I just realized that you're from The Netherlands, which means you've seen the real version. Here in American, 24 minutes (the scenes when Leon takes Mathilda on a couple jobs) of the film were banned and didn't show up until years after when the special edition dvd came out. The original version was called "The Professional" and the later, full version was "Leon: The Professional." I'm guessing we're talking about the same movie, only you actually got to see the originally intended cut, as well as title.

I'm indeed talking about the movie. I've seen the original version
as intended indeed. The funny thing is, is that I actually have the
DVD as a region 1 NTSC disc. It is the uncut international version,
ofcourse. The US disc has a better picture (anamorphic) and some,
is dual layer (thus better bitrate) and is actually longer then the
European version. Go figure.

I've seen both versions, and actually prefer the US version. The overall pace seems to be smoother.
This is also one of my top favorite movies, but I forgot to list it earlier.

I wouldn't put it in my all time top ten, but the best film I saw in 2003 was Dogville. Who's seen it?

Haven't seen that yet, but your recommendation just added it
to my list!

Last week I wrote in this thread about the negative audience reaction to the original Soviet version of Solaris at last year's Case Science Fiction Marathon. I was amused to see at this year's Marathon this past weekend that "I survived Solaris (http://www.robertks.com/showpicture.php?picture=2421_medium)" had been made the official slogan printed on the posters and t-shirts!

practically any and everything by Gilliam, most notably Brazil, Baron Munchausen, Fear and Loathing, and Time Bandits of course. Brazil was actually the first Gilliam film I saw and when I saw the shot of the old drunk towering over the buildings holding a flask and I couldn't stop laughing. Saw F&L 4 times in the theater and got kicked out twice for laughing. I hope he gets funding for another film soon.

Brakhage's Mothlight-call me a sucker for unusual techniques.

McLaren's Neighbors-famed for the pixilation technique he used, it's as much a political statement as it is a fable/morality tale.

Lynne Ramsey's Ratcatcher-the pace felt like falling into a warm relaxing bath despite the degraded, yet beautiful look and off-beat storyline (or the way it was handled). Stunning cinematography...a few of her shorts on the Criterion are really excellent as well. Have yet to see Morvern Callar...still need to.

Fantastic Planet-although the English dubbed version is a bit cheese at time, the cut out animation is great. I actually saw this when I was a child and forgot about it completely until I rediscovered it a few years ago. Colored pencils never looked better on the screen.

Human Nature-it gets a bad rap for supposedly being the weakest Charlie Kaufman script, but I don't see it. I don't get why more people don't appreciate the audacity and off-beat manner of this film. Michel Gondry has done some great work in the past and present, but didn't go overboard with his usual technical trickery on it like other video directors do (although it is stylised somewhat). I just like the conversation-like way the narrative is laid out for the viewer.

I'm sure there are more but I don't think I've seen any of these mentioned. I saw someone listed Real Genius on the thread and I have to fully agree--what a fun movie, whenever it's on TV I watch it. I love the generic forgettable 80s music soundtrack going on it also.

This thread has gotten a lot of response!

I forgot my #1 favorite film of all time...it's Rocky!

Upon reflection after reading all these posts - it made me think about how film has the ability to change your life. It dawned on me that I forgot to mention my favorite film - Rocky. It has one of the most personal stories with an amazing ending in the history of cinema. It's about a man who realizes he's not a bum - even though he still loses. That is real life at its purest form - we're all losers throughout life at certain points. But, when you except it and yet can still keep your head up...you've won the game of life.

Life imitating art and vise versa have always had a profound effect on me, so Rocky takes the cake.

Anyone else like Rocky too? The story behind the making of Rocky is great too. If you get a chance got to Sly Stallone's personal website - he actually posted the story behind Rocky on his site. It's actually cool - he posts stuff on there himself.

http://www.sylvesterstallone.com/

also

http://www.rockythemovie.com/

Murph