Your all time top five films?

[McGee_22]

1. Gone with the Wind - simply the best epic sweep of a story ever made with the fabulous Vivien Leigh and equally fabulous Clark Gable at their very best.
2. The Godfather - All life is shown within this film.
3. Doctor Zhivago - Historical drama at its very best with Alec Guiness stealing scenes from the gifted Omar Sharif and almost unbelievably beautiful Julie Christie.
4. Aliens - Ever so slightly outpoints 2001 as greatest sci-fi movie with a near immortal line for the near immortal Ripley.
5. The Outlaw Josie Wales/Pale Rider/Unforgiven- Pick any of these three unsurpassable Clint creations as your Western of choice - they should be the greatest trilogy ever.


Honourable mentions.

1. Musical; Singing in the Rain/ Les Miserables - sublime but opposite magical musicals; happy or sad, choose your mood and sit back to some of the greatest songs ever placed in those two beautifully performed and orchestrated movies.
2. Apollo 13; superbly made and accurate docu-drama of heroic deeds in the highest stress science situation ever, with a few nice fictional nods to some of the greatest factual characters of the space race.
3. Papillon; found-out-to-be-an-over dramatised but superbly acted human story; Hoffman and McQueen simply at their very best without ever over-doing a single scene.
4. Pulp Fiction; a game changer of drama/romance/action/story-telling - it cements Tarantino's place in movie history.
5. Roadhouse; an offbeat but ever, ever watchable fight club bromance with Sam Elliot carefully and beautifully matching but not scene-stealing from an almost perfect Patrick Swayze.
6. Saving Private Ryan - Speilberg at his non-frivolous best showed the world the horror, brutality, futility and finality of War in one amazing movie that dared to show and tell the truth of the Normandy landings in full colour and timeless unforgettable honesty.

There are probably a few others but IMHO these movies can be watched over and over with always a chance to find something new or enjoy the same amazing scenes again and again.

[viggyp]

wjb said:

Pvapour said:

Superman (1st christopher reeve)
Terminator

Love those two, but both sequels are superior films, surely?

50%

To me, Superman 2 is better than the original. I also thought the same of Terminator 2 but after watching the Terminator films consecutively, I came to the conclusion that T1 is indeed better than T2. T2 is basically the same story as T1 except Arnie is the good guy, the budget was huge so the visuals for back then were spectacular but at the same time I thought it was overlong and cheesy is some places.

T1 was done on a budget and apart from Arnie's face/head during the eye removal scene, the effects for 1984 were incredible. Oh yeah, it was also cooler than a Polar Bear's ck

[Halb]

McGee_22 said:

5. The Outlaw Josie Wales/Pale Rider/Unforgiven- Pick any of these three unsurpassable Clint creations as your Western of choice - they should be the greatest trilogy ever.

That's pretty good to think of them as some sort of metaphysical trilogy. High Plains Drifter pips Pale Rider for me...I think. Of course it could be a Quadology.

[Steven_RW]

1. Alien (as much as I love Aliens, Alien was the first and more terrifying. Klaxons, self destruct countdown, steam, flashing lights and angry Alien..)
2. The Big Blue
3. The Shining
4. The Godfather
5. The Terminator

[LimaDelta]

viggyp said:

wjb said:

Pvapour said:

Superman (1st christopher reeve)
Terminator

Love those two, but both sequels are superior films, surely?

50%

To me, Superman 2 is better than the original. I also thought the same of Terminator 2 but after watching the Terminator films consecutively, I came to the conclusion that T1 is indeed better than T2. T2 is basically the same story as T1 except Arnie is the good guy, the budget was huge so the visuals for back then were spectacular but at the same time I thought it was overlong and cheesy is some places.

T1 was done on a budget and apart from Arnie's face/head during the eye removal scene, the effects for 1984 were incredible. Oh yeah, it was also cooler than a Polar Bear's ck

No chance T2 is better than T1. As above it is essentially a remake (reboot?) rather than a sequel, but has very little of the fear or foreboding of the original. It is too light to be a serious si-fi/horror. Too watered down, too many attempts at humor. Also released as a 15 rather than T1's 18 certificate which explains some of the above. Don't get me wrong, I like T2, but T1 is on another level. All IMHO of course.

[viggyp]

LimaDelta said:

viggyp said:

wjb said:

Pvapour said:

Superman (1st christopher reeve)
Terminator

Love those two, but both sequels are superior films, surely?

50%

To me, Superman 2 is better than the original. I also thought the same of Terminator 2 but after watching the Terminator films consecutively, I came to the conclusion that T1 is indeed better than T2. T2 is basically the same story as T1 except Arnie is the good guy, the budget was huge so the visuals for back then were spectacular but at the same time I thought it was overlong and cheesy is some places.

T1 was done on a budget and apart from Arnie's face/head during the eye removal scene, the effects for 1984 were incredible. Oh yeah, it was also cooler than a Polar Bear's ck

No chance T2 is better than T1. As above it is essentially a remake (reboot?) rather than a sequel, but has very little of the fear or foreboding of the original. It is too light to be a serious si-fi/horror. Too watered down, too many attempts at humor. Also released as a 15 rather than T1's 18 certificate which explains some of the above. Don't get me wrong, I like T2, but T1 is on another level. All IMHO of course.

Spot on. When T2 first came out, I thought it was better but as said earlier, when watched consecutively (years ago before DVDs) T1 is much better. The attention to detail when the T-800 keeps getting damaged and the new damage shows is just great.

[yellowjack]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

There's one bit in FMJ that never ceases to set my teeth on edge and annoy the hell out of me.

When they are flying in the transport helicopter with the crazy door gunner (who, incidentally, was originally cast as the Drill Sergeant until that part was given to R. Lee Emery who up until then had merely been a consultant), there is a shot of the trees below with supposedly the shadow of the helicopter. Only instead of the shadow of a honking big transport helicopter, it's the shadow of the small civilian helicopter doing the filming (looks like a Bell Jet Ranger to me).

I know some people will just dismiss me for being nerdy here, but in automotive terms it would be like a truck casting the shadow of a small car.

If the shadow is that of a JetRanger, then it's not too far out for the period. The Bell OH-58 Kiowa was basically a militarised JetRanger, and they did serve in Vietnam. And it's quite possible to fly in formation and be watching a shadow on the ground cast by another aircraft within the formation. Where this argument falls down is also where the real nerdyness kicks in. The film is set between 1966 and 1968 (When the film moves to Vietnam, it is just before the start of the Tet Offensive, which began on January 30, 1968, placing the combat sequences firmly in the first two weeks of February 1968). The Kiowa only entered service in May 1969, and didn't get to Vietnam until the August. So I share your annoyance.

[yellowjack]

wjb said:

I watched Hot Fuzz again the other day, absolute classic.

Is it just me and my wife who say "yarp" and "narp"?

Anyone else?

No?

Ok

Not so much "yarp" and "narp", but "nobody tells me nothing" is a favourite in our house...

[Eric Mc]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

I said it at the time I first saw it, and I still hold with the opinion, that Interstellar is the 2001 of the modern generation.

"Interstellar" is a worthy effort but it's overly convoluted.

[yellowjack]

colonel c said:

12 Angry Men.
Das Boot.
Battle of Britain.
Ice Cold In Alex.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (do that count as one movie?)

I'm grumpy now. You've nicked a couple of those off my long list, and I've had my 'Top five' already. I'd definitely put Ice Cold In Alex and Battle Of Britain into a longer list though.

[K Stand Ken]

rdjohn said:

The Graduate - again just very funny when you were at that “awkward age”.

What would you define as that "awkward age?"
The Graduate is far and away my most favourite movie of all time, which I first saw at the age of 23 then followed it round cinemas in my area to see it 11 times in the late 1960s.
It was Dustin Hoffman's character Ben Braddock who inspired me to replicate his journeys in his Alfa and over San Francisco's Bay Bridge. Admittedly, it took the best part of three decades to do it, sadly, our hired sports car was neither an Alfa, or a convertible, but I was living the dream ! ! !

[Clockwork Cupcake]

K Stand Ken said:

sadly, our hired sports car was neither an Alfa, or a convertible, but I was living the dream ! ! !

Well, it's the trying that counts.

I can sort-of legitimately claim to have driven the Monaco GP circuit, if you accept the definition of having driven several circuits of the public roads that make up the circuit in a Citroen Berlingo hire "car" (sic).

Odd experience being in a strange town, yet knowing certain roads there intimately, having driven them countless times in a simulator.

[Halb]

yellowjack said:

Not so much "yarp" and "narp", but "nobody tells me nothing" is a favourite in our house...

I use 'yarp' a lot, thanks to that film.

Clockwork Cupcake said:

I said it at the time I first saw it, and I still hold with the opinion, that Interstellar is the 2001 of the modern generation.

Yeah, Interstellar for me is probably the best 'hard' sci-fi film.

[Rider007]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

andy_s said:

2001 - the best film ever, for me. Look at the shape of that obelisk...look at the shape of your phone...

I said it at the time I first saw it, and I still hold with the opinion, that Interstellar is the 2001 of the modern generation.

I didn't like Interstellar, the ending is just weird

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Rider007 said:

I didn't like Interstellar, the ending is just weird

But, OMG, it's full of stars!

[Halb]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

But, OMG, it's full of stars!

Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?

[shaunsmith]

Our Man Flint
They Call Me Trinity
Escape To Victory
Italian Job (69)
Midnight Run

[wjb]

viggyp said:

LimaDelta said:

viggyp said:

wjb said:

Pvapour said:

Superman (1st christopher reeve)
Terminator

Love those two, but both sequels are superior films, surely?

50%

To me, Superman 2 is better than the original. I also thought the same of Terminator 2 but after watching the Terminator films consecutively, I came to the conclusion that T1 is indeed better than T2. T2 is basically the same story as T1 except Arnie is the good guy, the budget was huge so the visuals for back then were spectacular but at the same time I thought it was overlong and cheesy is some places.

T1 was done on a budget and apart from Arnie's face/head during the eye removal scene, the effects for 1984 were incredible. Oh yeah, it was also cooler than a Polar Bear's ck

No chance T2 is better than T1. As above it is essentially a remake (reboot?) rather than a sequel, but has very little of the fear or foreboding of the original. It is too light to be a serious si-fi/horror. Too watered down, too many attempts at humor. Also released as a 15 rather than T1's 18 certificate which explains some of the above. Don't get me wrong, I like T2, but T1 is on another level. All IMHO of course.

Spot on. When T2 first came out, I thought it was better but as said earlier, when watched consecutively (years ago before DVDs) T1 is much better. The attention to detail when the T-800 keeps getting damaged and the new damage shows is just great.

I've literally spent the last 25+ years thinking T2 is better.

I'll have to watch them both again now.

[Halb]

I know now why you cry....ugh, at the time I thought that was cringey, still love the film though, a worthy sequel

[toastyhamster]

My list changes all the time but roughly:

Das Boot, just amazing drama, prefer German language with subs
Groundhog Day, I can just rewatch this so many times, I have low tolerance for repeats but I love watching this. Yes I'm aware....
Ferris Bueller, everything already been said about this, love it, absolutely loved sharing this with my kids
The Clint spaghettis, any one really but Good, Bad and Ugly if I had to pick (pub quiz - name the three actors!), has he been in any turkeys?
Pulp Fiction - blew me away when I saw it, story, music etc. Prob Natural Born Killers a close runner.


I also have a soft spot for Stripes which is the first time I saw Bill Murray and John Candy in film, not aged particularly well though.

Got brought up on bbc repeats of WIll Hay etc but they don't really make my top ten, fine films that they are.