Under extreme pressure from @Killer_Mike, here’s a quick list of 40 or so of my favourite films.
There won’t be much of a cross-section with others’ list because I automatically exclude fantasy, sci-fi, super-heroes and Asian films.
I’ve included a few foreign films and should have included a few more, but I have a massive gap in my 50s-70s European viewing…except for The Wages of Fear .
If anyone wonders which version is referred to, bear in mind that I don’t rate remakes. Most of them you wonder why they bothered.
I included Volver, because you’ve just got to have at least one Almodóvar and the only one I hated was Bad Education. I’m not that big on “quear” cinema either.
Here it is…
Casablanca
Meet John Doe
Rear Window
Vertigo
Dances with Wolves
Forrest Gump
I’m All Right Jack
Kind Hearts and Coronets
From Here to Eternity
Lawrence of Arabia
Full Metal Jacket
Bedazzled
The Big Lebowski
Volver
To Kill a Mockingbird
Goodbye Mr Chips
Mrs Miniver
Sullivan’s Travels
High Noon
Singin’ in the Rain
The African Queen
The Best Years of our Lives
The Shawshank Redemption
The Sting
Double Indemnity
Fargo
Saving Private Ryan
Dr Strangelove
The Lives of Others
The Life of Brian
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Some Like it Hot
Gilda
The Third Man
Chinatown
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Cool Hand Luke
Wages of Fear
Wild Tales
Gilda
Nine Queens
Butch Cassidy and the SundanceKid
And yes, I know Citizen Kane isn’t there. I prefer other films of Welles…in that era.
As Better Davis said in All About Eve, or would have if it had been in the script, COME AT ME!
Just remember that because you like it, doesn’t mean I do.
And I reserve the right to add others. These are not in order.
There are a few in there that I’ve never seen: Meet John Doe, Dances with Wolves, a couple of others.
Top 40s or top whatevers are impossible really. No matter what films you choose, you can always think of half a dozen others that deserve to be in there.
I did a top 10 favourite movies on here a while ago. If I did it again now I bet about half of them would be different.
I own the movie…and naturally I ignore the American remake, but it does get a bit nasty and bullying, which is why I suppose you’ve included it.
I should have included some Marcel Pagnol films like Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources, Le Chateau de ma Mère and La Gloire de Mon Père. I just flat out enjoyed them.
Con air
The rock
Aliens
Terminator 1 and 2
Batman begins
Dark knight
Dark knight rises
Predator
Warrior
Indiana Jones and the last crusade
Dawn of the planet of the apes
Man on fire
Crimson tide
Truman show
Inception
Ace Ventura
Liar liar
Dumb and dumber
Death at a funeral
For me these are movies I could easily sit down and watch at any time. There are so many more I could include