Some interesting choices in here, the only one I never could get into at all was Blade Runner. One of those movies I tried to watch over and over and could never get to the end.
This is actually really hard. If you could clump sequels with their original it would be a lot easier (he said, stating the obvious).
The Godfather (and part 2, I can't differentiate my love for these two movies)
Lost in Translation
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Yojimbo
Goodfellas
HM for kid memories and just pure enjoyment: the first TMNT, Explorers, Goonies, Ghostbusters.
+1 for Explorers and Goonies. Everyone knows Goonies, but almost nobody I know has seen Explorers, but I loved that as a kid. Also have to mention Stand By Me even as a kids film. My parents were pretty liberal in letting me watch that for the first time at 7.
I'm wondering if we should do a top 5 for certain categories, like family/kids films, comedies, dramas, foreign, documentary etc. Let me know if anyone is actually interested in doing something like that. I'm beginning to see a lot of similar films over and over again on these lists, but was hoping for variety. Oh well.
Also, I love Shawshank, but I'm genuinely surprised how many people put it in the top 5 films they have ever seen. A great film that is compelling but also fun, and yet I don't consider it a masterpiece. It's what I would consider a "classic" film however.
*On a side note, my wife still can't figure out why so many men love watching Shawshank so much.
**On another side note, I used to work in a video store way back in the day, and my favorite mispronounced title was a guy coming in asking for "The Shoeshine Convention". I told him I'd never heard of that, but maybe he could tell me a little about it and I could find it. He goes on to say it's a movie about a guy in prison…not much else.
"Who's in it?" I asked.
"I think Morgan Friedman and Tom Collins", he replied.
"You mean Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins?", I asked.
"Yeah, that's it!", he perked up.
"I think you're thinking of the Shawshank Redemption.", I pointed out.
"That's what I said!", he was so sure of himself.
"No, I'm afraid not", I answered, "you said The Shoeshine Convention."
He sheepishly said, "yeah, well….whatever."
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Last edited by Cali Panthers Fan; 08-11-2014 at 12:15 PM.
1. Schindler's List
2. Inception
3. Amelie
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Pulp Fiction
I'd also like to call an audible: Triumph of the Will. And while I may get crucified over that selection, I think it is probably one of, if not, the best example of cultural impacts that cinema can have on society. Pretty much being the ultimate propaganda film, it's impact on the world is well documented unfortunately in the evil it helped cause.
I agree that we might want to break down the generality of the 'Top 5' into categories. There would have to be rules in place however. Such as only one category a week, suggestions for categories given, but only Cali opening the thread, and in my estimation maybe some interesting categories along the lines of Best Non-gory Horror as opposed to just Horror (for example).
I too opened my working career in a movie store, and watched way to many questionable films for a couple of years. Thus began my resume building expertise in non-transferable skills.
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1. Schindler's List
2. Inception
3. Amelie
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Pulp Fiction
I'd also like to call an audible: Triumph of the Will. And while I may get crucified over that selection, I think it is probably one of, if not, the best example of cultural impacts that cinema can have on society. Pretty much being the ultimate propaganda film, it's impact on the world is well documented unfortunately in the evil it helped cause.
Birth of a Nation would be a controversial film that had way more impact than Triumph of the Will.
Lists like this are so hard to put together but these ones come to mind quickly;
Pulp Fiction
Aliens
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Goodfellas
The Silence of the Lambs
oh man, Aliens. I can barely watch that movie, so intense. Aliens is like the night vision scene at the end of Silence of the Lambs ... but for like 2 hours.
Yah Shawshank is kinda overrated. It's one of my favorite movies, and I love how Darabont tells stories like no other (even in The Mist and The Majestic). But I don't think it's quite good enough to put it near the top of my list.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre deserves some appreciation by the way, it's in my top 25.