What's your alltime favorite movie?

[Jennifer Lynn]

Great picks - I especially like Casablanca, Raiders, Army of Darkness and Radio Days. But currently I don't know if I could pick just one movie and call it my absolute favorite. Depending on the day, the weather, my mood, and other things I could veer towards a sci-fi movie, a romantic drama, a sweeping historical epic, or a western (among other genres). So, I am undecided.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Favorite is easy, it's the also-rans that are hard to limit

My top favorite, the one I'll always stop on when channel surfing, is Shane. I loved it from the first time I saw it as a kid on our black-and-white TV. I've seen it twice on the big screen; if you ever have a chance to see one of your faves in a festival or revival you should take the trouble to go, it'll knock your socks off, especially if you've only seen it on your television.

Also-rans, in no particular order or genre:

My Man Godfrey (1936) - probably my favorite comedy, great dialogue and the opening credit sequence was far ahead of its time.

The Lion in Winter (1968) - sharp dialogue, Kate Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton - hard to miss with that cast and script.

China (1943) - Alan Ladd, Wm Bendix, Loretta Young. Very entertaining. The opening sequence with Bendix wending his way through a cityscape under attack from bombers is very good. Not a great film, but there's just something about a leading man wearing a battered brown high-crown, wide-brim fedora and a leather jacket driving a big, canvas-covered truck....now where have I seen that before?

The Searchers - John Wayne, John Ford, Monument Valley, in color - nuff said?

Young Frankenstein - Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Mel Brooks, in B&W - nuff said?

Singin' in the Rain (1952) - I usually eschew musicals but this is the exception that proves the rule, great film.

Harvey (1950) - James Stewart is excellent, but Josephine Hull stole the picture.

Passion of Joan D'Arc (1928) - Excellent silent film, holds up well. I screened it for my (then) teenaged daughter and she was enthralled.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) - Early sound anti-war film holds up remarkably well today. Look carefully at the actor who plays Franz (Ben Alexander); he grew up to play Joe Friday's partner Frank Smith in Dragnet!

Anatomy of a Murder (1956) - Jimmy Stewart is excellent, and is probably the first male box office star to say "panties" on the big screen...

City Lights (1931) - classic Chaplin, not to be missed.

Reservoir Dogs (1992) - Early Tarantino, and I think his best (but I haven't seen Inglorious Basterds yet).

North By Northwest (1959) - Hitchcock classic, the best of his Hollywood films I think.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - Homer, the Coen Brothers, George Clooney, and the Deep South of the '30s - dynamite recipe, dynamite movie. More quotes-per-foot-of-film than any other I can think of.

Inherit the Wind (1960) - Darwin, Stanley Kramer, Spencer Tracey, Fredric March, and the Mid South of the '20s - serious film that still delivers its message today; too bad it still has to.

In Cold Blood (1967) - masterful police procedural, done in semi-documentary style, really captures the late 50s/early 60s. Director Richard Brooks used the actual Clutter farm for his location shooting, produced the film and wrote the screenplay too. Brooks made many outstanding films but doesn't seem to have the fame that his body of work would indicate.

The African Queen (1951) - Bogart, Hepburn, Huston. It's (finally!) out on DVD and it looks fantastic - would make a great Father's Day gift.

Key Largo (1948) - Bogart, Robinson, Bacall. Great movie, you can almost feel the Florida heat. Look sharp for Jay Silverheels.

The Stranger (1946) - Orson Welles' film is not one of his more respected pictures, but I love it for Edward G. Robinson's portrayal of the title character, a cagey government man searching for a Nazi war criminal in a sleepy New England town. Good pipe-smoker film too.

Son of Paleface (1952) - I grew up watching reruns of the old Roy Rogers TV show and countless old B westerns with Roy, Gene, Rex, etc, and this spoof of that genre is marvelous. Bob Hope is a scream (and is the only one playing for laughs). Jane Russell and Roy Rogers play it straight, which makes it that much funnier. Director Frank Tashlin borrowed a lot of sight gags from his days as an animator and director of animated shorts. As usual in Hope's pictures from this period, there's a Bing Crosby cameo.

That's 21, and I haven't gotten to Blithe Spirit, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Tall T, The Great Escape, L.A. Confidential, The Lady Vanishes,George Washington Slept Here, Master and Commander, The Big Heat, The Blue Dahlia, In Which We Serve, The Big Sleep, To Be or Not To Be (Benny, not Brooks), Cat Ballou, Dr. Strangelove, Alfie, The Magnificent Seven, Ball of Fire, The Hanging Tree, The Ipcress File, The Caine Mutiny, Seven Men from Now, or It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

Oh wait, I was only supposed to list one.....

 

[Charlie74]

Tough to pick one. On the previous list was "City Lights". Probably my favorite silent movie. I also liked "Resevoir Dogs" althought I cannot hear that song " stuck in the middle with you" any more without thinking of the scene in the movie. I will list my top 5 in no particular order. Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Streetcar named Desire, Wizard of Oz, and A.I.

 

[Mario]

Oh wait, I was only supposed to list one.....

Well, to quote from one of your favorite films with regard to what you said above:

"Damn, you're in a tight spot!"

By the way: How's my hair?

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Well, to quote from one of your favorite films with regard to what you said above:

"Damn, you're in a tight spot!"

By the way: How's my hair?

I like the smell of my hair treatment; a pleasing aroma is half the point.

 

[JWS34]

It is difficult to limit to one choice, particularly after seeing the great choices of others. The movie that I return to most frequently is The Best Years of our Lives. It recalls to me my Grandparents who had their early years of marriage interrupted by the Second World War and spent the rest of lives not really talking about it. I find it to be a movie of great dignity and ultimate optimism. I am not a movie scholar, but I find the plot lines to be developed in a more serious manner with intelligent dialogue. The idea of a young woman breaking a marriage seemed daring to me for the time of production. Well, just a few thoughts...

 

[Michael Carter]

Holiday Inn.

 

[Undertow]

I really wish I could contribute to the discussion, but I can't name a single movie that's my "favorite" anymore than I can name my favorite book, author, album, band, composer, etc.

I can tell you Bing Crosby is my favorite singer...but that's not exactly a movie favorite. [huh]

 

[Gilboa]

Of all the movies I like (new or old), there is only one that reliably makes me chuckle and has each time a 'feel good' effect:

Some like it hot

 

[Lensmaster]

This is easy. There are lots of movies I love but my favorite is Singing in the Rain.

 

[Blackthorn]

My knee-jerk reaction is always to say Casablanca, but then today Fiddler on the Roof came on and I remembered what a masterpiece it is. I'm not even Jewish, but it's my favorite of all time.

 

[CopperNY]

gun to my head? would have to go with "The Big Sleep"

 

[MrZootSuit]

I'd have to go with "The Hunt for Red October", I'm pretty sure my DVD is just one more watch away from falling to bits.

 

[Edward]

gun to my head? would have to go with "The Big Sleep"

I prefer Casablanca, however there is nothing - nothing in cinematic history that can, IMO, quite match the chemistry between Bogie and Bacall in The Big Sleep.

 

[Widebrim]

I prefer Casablanca, however there is nothing - nothing in cinematic history that can, IMO, quite match the chemistry between Bogie and Bacall in The Big Sleep.

:arated:

 

[C44Antelope]

This thread is the reason I registered. If I were to be stranded on an island with a DVD player and only one DVD to watch, it'd have to be Mahatma Kane Jeeves' masterpiece "The Bank Dick"

Although I love a lot of the choices others posted

 

[Hey_Laaaaaady!]

I have a ton of favorite movies...just one? Jeez....

Roman Holiday!! I love Audrey Hepburn, I love Gregory Peck, I love the romantic storyline and the funny moments and the super-awesome bittersweet ending (something you see rarely in Hollywood films)...I love Edith Head's costumes...I just love it all to death!

 

[Miller Fan]

"Master And Commander". "Dances With Wolves", "Memphis Belle", tough choice.

 

[Miller Fan]

Great pick. My favorite sub movie though would be "The Enemy Below".

 

[Pompidou]

It could very well be the original "Alien" by Ridley Scott. I'm a huge fan of the whole quadrilogy (I don't consider crossovers canon) and watch them religiously along with their making-of's, but the first is my favorite.