Entertainment For Lively Minds
What is the greatest film ever made?
Posted by Uncle Wheaty on 25 September 2009 - 10:43pm.
My favourite film of all time is "The Graduate" but I am sure The Massive will helpfully try to disavow me of this opinion.
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The Godfather, I think.
Just the perfect film in my eyes - to try to describe it in words would do it a disservice.
I shall offer up three suggestions...
Oliver Twist (David Lean)
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)
Ladri di biciclette (Vittorio De Sica)
I'm onna
Kevin Smith kick at the mo, don't look at me that way Dude...
You wanna see helicopters?
Goodfellas is my favourite Scorsese
All the President's Men
Back to the Future
The Third Man
Do the Right Thing
I always go back to those, don't know if they are the greatest.
I only watched the Godfather about 10 years ago and was disappointed, second is deffo better.
North by Northwest
of course.
For me..
Star Wars.
Still fantastic.
Or possibly Local Hero.
No.
Star Wars.
You got there before me
It is, without a doubt, Star Wars.
Millers Crossing
works every time.
All The Presidents Men too. I love the sound of typewriters.
Hoorah for you inky
Miller's Crossing is near perfect to my mind.
If you're talking Coen brothers...
It's got to be "Blood Simple".
Cracking debut - never bettered...
The Dude
Would disagree. Lebowski every time.
It must be a Powell and Pressburger
probably A Matter of Life and Death
On the subject of The Graduate, I read somewhere that Robert Redford wanted to play Ben, but wiser heads tried to disuade him by asking, 'Bob, have you ever been turned down by a woman in your life?'
Redford replied, 'What do you mean?'
'A Matter of Life and Death'...
great film, great shout.
P&P - the masters
Great to see 'A Matter of Life and Death' mentioned here - it's sublime - but my personal favourite is 'Black Narcissus'. A one-off among a body of work that seems to consist entirely of one-offs.
I bought 'Black Narcissus' today...
it's a wonderful film. The cinematography by Jack Cardiff is so extraordinary and beautiful.
Peeping Tom
which is Powell sans Pressburger is a very powerful film. Perhaps the best produced by either or both
Great observation by Mr Specs Beard about their body of work being a series of one-offs. "Matter", "Narcissus", "Life and Death of Colonel Blimp", "Battle of the River Plate" - all unique, all brilliant.
Up there with the finest filmamkers of all time
yes indeed
Black Narcissus is a brilliant. Hard to believe that it was shot almost entirely at Pinewood.
Still on P+P
Several of their films have been issued on those dvds which newspapaers give away. Anyone wondering why so many of us here are fans should dig around their local charity shops, where they are quite likely to find the brilliant A Matter of Life and Daeth and The Life and Times of Colonel Blimp, and the rather odd 49th Parallel, and the rather dull (for me) Battle of the River Plate.
But surely the "Battle of the Rver Plate"...
at least served to explain to some viewers where Uruguay was!
I am sure this was of great importance. Especially as they have won the football World Cup on more occasions than us!
1930 and 1950.
a difference of opinion
I say Get Carter my missus says Say Anything, what does that mean?
Maybe not 'greatest'
but I never tire of seeing The Ipcress File, especially the opening sequence with John Barry's wonderful score:
Another three, if I may...
Chinatown: The best detective film you'll ever see, and about the last staggeringly brilliant thing to come out of Hollywood before the accountants took over. Only problem is that what was shocking then would probably turn up in the tabloids or Oprah now. Still wonderful though.
Seven Samurai: Best action film ever. Anyone who bitches about subtitles may be safely ignored.
Dr Strangelove: Like nothing made before or since. Quite over the top, but perfect at the same time. That comment might not make sense, but I don't care - that's what the film is like.
The Apartment
I loved Shirley MacLaine (as she was in 1960).
Goodfellas
I think it's an excellent blend of action, crime, drama and comedy.
Good call, Awesome.
Better than The Godfather?
I'd have said so. It's one of the very few films I get a regular urge to watch. Also Casino. Which is great but, basically, Goodfellas set somewhere a bit different. And with Sharon Stone.
"Letter from an Unknown Woman"
is the saddest
"Apocalypse Now" - the most exciting
"Performance" - the most disturbing
"Psycho" - the most frightening
"The Philadelphia Story" - the most delightul
and the best is - actually is - not just saying it. The best is:
"Citizen Kane"
Sheev - You Are...
A man of Wealth and Taste.
Apocalypse Now
without a doubt one of the greatest films of all time. Did you see the director's cut redux version though? The ex missus took me to see it when it had a short run at the cimema a few years back. It was great to see some the legendary scenes that were cut from the original theatrical release but at a bum-numbing 202 minutes I was kind of wishing that I'd waited for the DVD. Apparently a 289 minute version exists...
The Rebel
Torn between Ealing comedies like 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' and 'kitchen sink' dramas like 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning', so I'll pick neither..........'The Rebel' with Tony Hancock.
' I did that from memory.
That is women as I see them'
'Ooh, you poor man'.
Perfect desert island hamper if you chuck in Dr Strangelove and Kind Hearts and Coronets as well.
Irene Handl
as his landlady.
Irene: "Wot is it?"
Tony: "It's a self-portrait"
Irene: "Who of?"
Tony: (long pause and look disbelief)"Laurel and Hardy!. Who do you think? Me, you great pudden! Who of...?"
Brilliant.
This has got the lot....
... futuristic dystopias, crazed mono-dextered scientists, sexy robots, what's not to like?
Nothing decent been done since!
I love
Three Colours Red.
And pretty well anything involving Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy.
I love
That too but I would give the edge to Three Colours Blue..A devastating portrait of grief.
Soylent Green
I may have mis-spelled the title (Solent Green?) but I watched this a while ago and was blown away by its dystopian depiction of future earth. Charlton Heston over acts, as normal, as the hero figure who uncovers the real source of the green tablet food suplement that the masses live on. There is a massive disparity in wealth, real food is only available to the rich and citizens are encouraged to commit suicide at 'dignitas' type organisations. It is not perfect but I thought I would avoid the obvious (Citizen Kane, Godfather II, Vertigo et al)
Soylent Green
Excellent Sci-Fi with a superb performance from Edward G Robinson. The part where he goes to the voluntary euthanasia centre and the collage of beautiful scenes from Earth (lost long ago) and the music from Beethoven's 6th Symphony (Pastoral) as his life slowly ebbs away are so moving. It's not the best film ever made, but I respect this as a great choice for a film that really makes you think. It's message is even more relevant today.
It probably isn't the best
It probably isn't the best film ever, ultimately I was being something of a contrarian, but it is better than a lot of so called 'best films'. I also thought that nobody else would mention it.
Soylent
is the correct spelling being a contraction of Soya and Lentil (even though Soylent Green is ...).
Obviously it's
Casablanca - humour, thrills, politics, romance, Bogart at his best and Bergman beyond compare.
Goodfellas
Just brilliant. Visceral thrills, comedy, a story with a beginning, middle and end, a set of actors and director completely operating at the very pinnacle of their abilities, dialogue that Tarantino could only dream of and a killer soundtrack.
Excuse me while I whip this out.
For laughs, Blazing Saddles. For tears, Shakespeare in Love. But hands down, the actual factual Best Film of All-Time, is Casablanca.
All about eve
Not the winsome pop goth 80s band, but the 50s Bette Davis movie, recently voted the best film ever in the Indy. Not having seen it I Lovefilmed it and watched it last night. Very good I have to say, though not sure its the best film ever.
All about my mother
Pedro Almadovar's film about a mother's love is one of the best for me.
Others include Citizen Kane, Blade Runner, Duck Soup, and just to prove how low-brow I am, Pulp Fiction.
Robocop
Funny, terrifying, outrageous, poignant, original, stuffed with great lines and performances, Kurtwood Smith... there just isn't a single thing wrong with it.
This is what I chose to watch tonight
A fun film if not the best ever.
Should I bother with the rest of the boxset?
no
it's the "Law of Diminishing Returns" thereafter
20 minutes in to No. 2 I fell asleep!
Say no more!
Robokip...
sorry.
I'm gonna stick my neck out and say
Watchmen (2009)
A modern classic in the making.
Absolutely brilliant.
Watchmen
I thought it was as good a superhero film as I've ever seen. Certainly not my favourite film of all time, but certainly much better than the rather sniffy reviews made out.
The Usual Suspects
although good, wouldn't be my nomination, but the film the phrase comes from (Casablanca) probably would be. Closely followed by The Third Man, Philadelphia Story and The Ladykillers. The original (silent) version of Ben Hur is also up there.
My favourite film
I love Kubrick and Welles, but if its only one movie for the desert island, it has to be...
The 1970s thing for turning TV sitcoms into Films
There's a number of these.
Porridge, Rising Damp, Please Sir, Love Thy Neighbour, Bless This House, Are You Being Served - all been filmed up, usually with relatively successful results
haway or what ever they say
really good film
I think
ye mean "canny fillum bonny lad"
Greatest ever?
Distant Voices, Still Lives (+ The Long Day Closes) by Terence Davies
or
Comrades by Bill Douglas
Amelie
Funny, moving, surreal, Audrey Tautou and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
All my favourite ingredients are there:-)
And
A fantastic smile.
The Elephant Man
......is the film that came to mind first.
Cinema Paradiso
Perfect in every way, from the astonishing cinematography to the heart wrenching (near) final scene. Always amazes me how it doesn't seem to get a mention by the massive when film 'stuff' discussed (likewise Pink Floyd on the music vibe, recent thread regarding best guitar solos was redundant due to the omission of Comfortably Numb !).
Long Good Friday
Currently my favourite - if anyone disagrees "you're gonna wind up on one of those meat hooks, my son"
Don't know about best film.
But probably best closing scene. Bob Hoskins in the back of the car, heading to his probable death, writhing impotently at the viscissitude..vicissit.. vicsis.. viscisitt..
Whims of fate.. cracking.
As seen elsewhere
This Is Spinal Tap
Honourable mentions for
Dr Strangelove (saw it at the NFT a couple of years back and was so great to hear an audience killing themselves over it all over again)
Young Frankenstien
Goodfellas
Schindler's List
Downfall (even all the constant parodies can't blunt its power)
For me it's
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday - perfect in every way.
Seriously though...
I can't believe some of the "nominations" being put forward here!
'Citizen Kane' is certainly a contender, as is 'Doctor Zhivago'. 'Casablanca' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' are also up there. For sheer brilliance, technical excellence, and because it was years ahead of its time I'll go for '2001 - A Space Odyssey' - but it has to be seen on the big screen.
2001
I'll second 2001, for all its faults-as it really does become a new experience in 70mm, especially under the stars ...
http://www.catchesides.co.uk/blog/Commercial_and_PR/cambridge_film_festi...
and I am sure it was something else again in Cinerama.
Though I am sure I'd have a different favourite tomorrow.
One of my favourites too
I watched it in my late teens once when I had a fever. Had been sleeping all day, woke up in the middle of the night and watched it with headphones. Amazing experience. Not sure how big a part the fever played.
depends,
there's no car chase in the real film ;-);-)
seriously though, tale is told of the hippie who said "it's God", and walked straight into the screen-which unfortunately had a sheer drop behind it ... broken ankles iirc.
Saw it myself aged 10 at a rather seedy Gaumont I think in Southampton, so can say all subsequent showings have been on steadily better screens, including about 3 in 70mm.
Depends on my mood
but it would be one from Shawshank, Godfather 2, Spinal Tap, Planes, Trains & Automobiles or Midnight Run.
I think I might be a *proper philistine*
Because... and I won't mention any titles 'cos I don't want to offend anyone... I find all those 'great films' on the great film lists of all time really, skull crushingly dull & boring.
And I have tried, believe me. I've sat through them... I felt like I was doing something worthy, maybe improving my shabby mind - but not once did I feel entertained.
Can I mention -
Withnail & I
Jesus Of Montreal
The Baader Meinhoff Complex
Run Lola Run
Last Night
Get Carter
- films with a brain that really did entertain me...
Impossible to pick a 'greatest...'
I must be a Philistine too
So many of the 'greatest' mentioned here fall into the 'unwatchable' category for me. And I won't say what they are either, except...
When I saw the trailer for Withnail and I, I knew I could never watch a film which had a sink full of dirty dishes.
It gets worse!
Richard E Grant's finest hour, though...
I was just thinking.
There's not a 4,000,000,000 word post about why The Exorcist is the best film, etc. Two possible explanations. 1) Fraser's taken it down to save bandwidth or 2) Mark Kermode isn't a secret member of The Massive.
well
spotted
One of these three...
'the room'-spoons!
tommy wiseaus a genius
and i'm a liar
You did ask...
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Goodfellas
All seasons of the Sopranos (I know its not a movie but hey..)
Brazil (gilliams best)
Leon
A Night in Casablanca (Marx Bros...you gotta have them)
Jackie Brown (how cool is this movie..)
The Exorcist
One flew over the cuckoos nest (R.P.McMurphy Hero..)
MASH
Three Days of the Condor
Hearts of Darkness (Best Documentary EVER about movies)
There people my List of Movies..maybe not the best ever,but I can watch them over and over...
Oh I Forgot Midnight Run with De Niro,Grodin...what a double act...
A Matter Of Life And Death
Opening sequence.
'Painting with light'....
2 Movies
12 Angry Men & Goodfellas
Oh, and Amelie is pretty bloody good too
What about this one?
Great performances, stunning cinematography, and historically the subject matter is about a turning point in history which has led us to where we are now, a world living with the geopolitical fallout of catastophically bad decisions made by rapacious western nations.
Of all of the suggestions so far...
This has to be the one to run The Graduate a close second.
OK, serious answer this time...
Casablanca. Got to be.
Highbrow, Bergman´s
"Fanny & Alexander" will blow your socks off and Tarkovsky´s " Sacrifice" and Klimov´s " Come and See"
The Greatest Fillum Ever Made
is the one that "rings your bell", the one that comes on just when you're "in the mood"
there is no "one fillum to unite us all", there's a lot of common ground but that's all it - FACT!
handle it Dudes Snoochie Boochies :D
Vertigo
It´s my personal Hitchcock favourite and thus it makes sense to name it my all time personal favourite. The title sequence alone gives me goose bumps.
All hail the genius that was Saul Bass...
king of film title design.
He really was, wasn´t he?
The only ones worth while in new films seem to be the ones paying tribute.
12 Angry Men
No matter what great films have come out over the years, I always go back to 12 Angry Men......
A Matter Of Life And Death
Will always be my favourite film but I think Casablanca might well be the perfect movie.
Also a big fan of
Diner
American Graffiti
Big Wednesday
I'm a sucker for the American coming of age film
Casablanca
but Some Like It Hot runs it very, very close.
All mine come from 1970s...all of them miserable
Godfather 1&2 - everything you ever wanted to know about America
The Parallax View - best paranoid film
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid - best Western ever
Night Moves - amazing cynical script
The Passenger - best camera shot ever
The Last Detail - another Jack Nicholson but underrated
and the oft mentioned Get Carter...
"Clever sod aren't you?"
"Only comparatively"
You are all wrong
The correct answer is "Double Indemnity".
Ticks all the boxes.
Clever script.
Great black and white photography.
Great actors:
Fred MacMurray
Barbara Stanwyck
Edgar G. Robinson
Best scene: when she comes down stairs - that ankle bracelet - hot!
Best movie for fun:
"The Big Lebowski" - The Dude abides !!!
The Sting
you can't beat The Sting, which cleaned up on Oscars in 1973 or so. A first class con movie, beautifully plotted and played by Newman, Redford and Robert Shaw. I watch it every few months.
my other compulsive favourites include:
Laurel and Hardy shorts especially The Music Box, Its a Wonderful Life, Hitchcock 50s classics, James Dean's movies, Shane, The Searchers, Cool Hand Luke, In the Heat of the Night, The Leone/Eastwood spaghetti westerns, Outlaw Josey Wales, Lawrence of Arabia, Zulu, Dr Zhivago, The Battle of Algiers, early Woody Allen comedies, The Godfather I and II, Dog Day Afternoon, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Deliverance, Midnight Run, Platoon, Mississippi Burning, Wall Street,Black Rain, Goodfellas, Casino, Heat, Paris Texas, Falling Down, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Scum, Nil by Mouth, Lost in Translation, Amelie, American Beauty, Mulholland Drive, Black Hawk Down, LA Confidential, 21 Grams, Sideways, No Country for Old Men, Downfall, The Lives of Others, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.
oh sod it I'll stop there
"Meet The Parents":
Obviously.
A film that is so funny...
that it managed to keep my wife laughing between severe contractions.
Currently...
Kiss Me Deadly - bleak 50's noir. Completely nuts!
Gregory's Girl - saw it on BBC4 last week and it gave me a shiver of nostalgia.
400 Blows - Truffaut's poetic ode to misspent youth
No doubt about it for me
It has to be "Gregory's Girl".
Some suggestions
Heaven's Gate
Apocalypse Now
Withnail and I
Downfall
Blair Witch Project
Station Agent
Citizen Kane
if not how about a musical The Wizard Of Oz, Singing In The Rain or West Side Story
I love
"Singin in the Rain" and ...No, Im not in "showbusiness". Every year it gets a spin around Christmas. All together now " Moses supposes his toeses are roses..."