As an adult, I think it's his finest and richest. As a late adolescent, it was Clockwork, and in my early twenties, 2001.

Will have to take a look at BottleRocket, thanks John.

that's funny i just saw bottle rocket tonight from movielink.com as part of EW's offer to preview their service. it's OK but not really a classic. it's typically wes andersen.

meanwhile, jackie coogan's most famous persona/role is "the kid" with charlie chaplin, is that what you're referring to?

King Kong.
the original, of course.

I could never be a Dogme 95 director. I like action, and strangeness too much. And I hate hate hate rules. Also, to me, anything that entertains is good, I don't care if it's a movie about pocket lint, giant monkeys, grandma's funeral or horny space aliens.

More power to anyone who has taken the vow of chasity, though.

and I did enjoy "Mifune" which was a Dogme 95 movie.
But I wouldn't want to make it.

Magnolia.

The acting is amazing, the cast is amazing, the director is amazing, the movie is amazing.

My Name is Nobody


I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti westerns in general, but I do like anything with Terence Hill (www.terencehill.com). He is quite a unique actor.

It must be BRAVEHEART.

I love small indie productions and art-films, but this one is special.

Has someone here seen Oldboy? That Korean movie that won the jury price at Cannes? (And will have an American remake in 2006, unfortunately)?
It's really a beautiful movie.

Drama: Amadeus
Has the most original and sympathetic antihero ever--talented and passionate enough to recognize and be tortured by the genius of another just by looking at the written notes. Hit me right between the eyes, but maybe that's just me. Brilliant to use Salliere's (spelling?) point of view.

Musical: Singing In the Rain
Needs no explanation

Horror: Stephen Hawke's The Thing
Pace, whip-smart dialog, dash of humor, suspense, B&W eeriness, shocks, traumatized me as a kid.

Okay, okay-- Amadeus

I just might have to go with something like Sin City. It seems like no movie carried out it's concept and original idea quite as well as it did.

Phenomenom

Don't like John Travolta (do like Kyra Sedgwick), the premise is far-fetched, it's kind of a 'chick-flick' and yet every time I pass by it playing on a movie channel, I stop for a few minutes and watch. Some outstanding cinematography of the foothill vistas in central California.

Second goes to The Sixth Sense. It completely suckered me the first time through and it has claim to the only movie I ever watched three times before I took it back to the video store. It made me watch this directors other films though they don't match The Sixth Sense.

Third is actually a mini-series: Lonesome Dove. Duvall is an all-time favorite.

I was glad to see Gattaca in some of the early lists. The score to that movie was amazing, in fact I think it may be what I like most about it. Also the use of color was masterful.
The subject of the movie was well ahead of it's time. I mean who in the world was thinking of those issues then? It really should have been made now, but I'm glad it wasn't because it would most likely have been ruined by the over use of special effects.
Gattaca is everything I love in a movie. It's a well told, fairly well thought out story that is told with minimal effects work. Thought provoking good story telling.

All that being said, I dont think i saw a vote for American HistoryX. That movie left me speechless for about an hour after I saw it. I'll never be able to shake the teeth on the curb scene.

I'd love to name about 10 more movies, but that would be breaking the rules *cough* Usual Suspects, Close Encounters, Dead Poets *cough*

-Ethan

I was glad to see Gattaca in some of the early lists. The score to that movie was amazing, in fact I think it may be what I like most about it. Also the use of color was masterful.
The subject of the movie was well ahead of it's time. I mean who in the world was thinking of those issues then? It really should have been made now, but I'm glad it wasn't because it would most likely have been ruined by the over use of special effects.
Gattaca is everything I love in a movie. It's a well told, fairly well thought out story that is told with minimal effects work. Thought provoking good story telling.

Indeed a very fine movie, with one of the most beautiful opening tracks by Michael Nyman ever.

I think it can be said of Gattaca that it is the height of modern minimalist cinema. From the way it was shot, to the way the score was written and performed. (sorry for the poor sentence structure... my 5th grade teacher would kill me if she read that last fragment of mine)

On a side note, I bought the DVD a few months ago and was going through the deleted scenes and noticed that they looked very very odd. It was almost as if they shot the movie on some type of strange film stock, or ran it through an odd process. I've never seen anything with that look to it before. I understand that these deleted scenes, as is true with most deleted scenes, were not processed and polished the way the finished film was, but even with that in mind I've still never seen anything like it before. Has anyone else noticed this?

It's funny..I saw Gattica when it came out. I didn't like it at all...at the time I was to much into modern paced films. (I was 25, so please excuse the youth!)

Flash forward 7 years later - I caught it on HDTV a few months ago. It was the only thing on that night, so decided to "give it another chance". I do that a lot years later and always get surprises. This was one of those surprises! I loved it...pacing was slow...which I LOVE now. Also, very minimal if non-existant effects. I'm anti-effects now...have been for about 4-5 years.

Anyway, Gattica was great the second time around for me. I've also recently caught a few other great ones on HDTV too. They're porting movies that didn't do so well in the B.O., so we now get to see them in HD for nothing. (cable fee, ya i know)

Off the top of my head favorites are:
scifi-donnie darko
action- Heat (w/robert deniro and al pachino)

Braveheart. Absolutely magnificent movie, everything about it is top notch.

I can't pick one it truly is impossible, but here are ones that continually come to mind when I'm asked:


Battle Royale
American Beauty
Usual Suspects - Usually I don't like a movie where the ending is something that may degrade the film if known before hand (like EVERY M Night movie), but in this case I believe the movie stand on its own, beyond the ending.

Wow, this is such an interesting thread - thanks Murph!!

Just quickly, while I'm thinking about "The One", as regards Usual Suspects I think so much of it's charm, power and brilliance lies in the fact that the ending *should* be bloody obvious, but you're taken in by the unreliable narration.
Brilliant.

OK, so I guess I'm out of thinking time...

Err... I'd have to say Bladerunner, personally - just brilliant in every way...

Pi's a bloody close second though, and Fight club not far behind, to wantonly break the rules!!!

Oh, and this one's gonna really blow my cool (if I ever even had any!):
The Breakfast Club.

Damnit, why did I have to grow up in the 80's?!

I second that this is a really interesting thread!

I've asked and been asked this exact question many times, and it's always a struggle to give just the one answer, sigh.

Not any easier today, but I'll give the answer I've most often used, drumroll please...and no jokes about it ok, ;-)

The Sound of Music, ta dah!

Hey, it's kinda old, but I've seen this movie more than 20 times man, and each time I see something new or look at it in a different way.

Lots of movies mentioned have also made my list of good movies, Bladerunner - great movie. The 25th Hour - great acting. American History X -wow, and I am also never going to forget the curb scene. Usual suspects, lol that phrase made my lexicon. Braveheart, always good for the weekend!

Gattaca was interesting, but didn't really move me.

Lemme throw out another old movie and see who knows it, I love this movie as well, and it takes a close second in times viewed by me :-)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

How many times have I or my friends said Tuco's famous line: When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk!

Lol, that gets me everytime. Anyhow, hope you guys laugh with me, and not at me. :-)

This is fun Christopher

Currently I am junkying on 2 films

House of a 1000 Corpses
Shaun of the Dead

Are they my favorite films ever? No But lately they are.

Whilst we're on the subject of old movies, I just finished watching The Hustler again for the first time in years - man, that is one hell of a film...

And how about Charade - that's gotta be one of the best scripts ever written, and beautiful performances from both Audrey Hepburn (Mmmm!!) and Cary Grant.

Sorry - that takes me up to about 6 now, doesn't it? :)