Favorite movie of all time, and why?

[BG318]

I love Lawrence of Arabia. Some brilliant substitute teacher used to play it during my son's classes instead of teaching. He would come home excitedly talking about the cinematography, and we would watch it together on Sundays. 

I could watch High Noon every day. Great Western.

[El Hoze]

Great thread. I always value the recommendations of folks on here. My son was sick yesterday napping all afternoon so I put on Lawrence of Arabia. Somewhat embarrassing I have never seen it. I’m 46 and my buddies and I in high school got super into classic movies and we would watch all the greats after school (along with 30 packs of cheap beer and bong hits of course) but anything earlier than Butch Cassidy or so we didn’t really watch. Glad I watched, amazing film. Even my 6 year old son had his eyes glued to the TV as he went in and out of sleep.

For me personally, and my limited attention span for movies, I would probably say something more action/thriller. The first book I ever read cover to cover without stopping was The Hunt for Red October when I was probably 10. I watched the movie right after finishing and always had a special place for me. Classic rainy day, on the couch, no thinking required kind of movie. I also love most of the other Tom Clancy movies, the Borne movies though the earlier ones much more. And Bond movies most certainly. 

I will be sure to tee up a few more that were recommended here. 

[rcarlson]

Greatest movie ever:  My Cousin Vinny

The other greatest movie ever:  Big Lebowski

[JohnS]

On 4/15/2025 at 11:51 AM, Hammer Smokin' said:

I'm a huge Kubrick fan. Dr Strangelove, The Shining, and Barry Lyndon were favorites (2001 was cool, but not in the same league).

I would agree, as would nearly every movie critic and director ever since (although it was not a critical or box office success, initially upon release in 1968). Out of all of Stanley Kubrick's films, and from The Killing onwards (in 1956) they were made meticulously and hold up to repeat viewing to this day, 2001: A Space Odyssey stands in a league of its own. It is commonly cited as the best science fiction film of all time and has made a considerable impact on the movie making feats of modern greats such as Christopher Nolan and James Cameron.

Traditional narrative structure in the West follows three acts which centre on the set-up, confrontation and a resolution. 2001: A Space Odyssey's plot does not follow this structure. I would say that the plot is obscure at first viewing, unless one is familiar with Arthur C. Clarke's source novel. Rock Hudson famously walked out of Los Angeles premiere saying, "Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?" The movie runs for 139 minutes but there is 88 minutes of no dialogue, including the first 25 minutes and the last 23 minutes. Ironically, the film's last line of dialogue could be interpreted as a summary of it's plot, but it is fact about the monolith found near Jupiter: "Its origin and purpose still a total mystery."

Stanley Kubrick gave the following summary to Joseph Gelmis in a 1969 interview:

Interviewer: The final scenes of the film seemed more metaphorical than realistic. Will you discuss them -- or would that be part of the "road map" you're trying to avoid?

Kubrick: No, I don't mind discussing it, on the lowest level, that is, straightforward explanation of the plot. You begin with an artifact left on earth four million years ago by extraterrestrial explorers who observed the behavior of the man-apes of the time and decided to influence their evolutionary progression. Then you have a second artifact buried deep on the lunar surface and programmed to signal word of man's first baby steps into the universe -- a kind of cosmic burglar alarm. And finally there's a third artifact placed in orbit around Jupiter and waiting for the time when man has reached the outer rim of his own solar system.
When the surviving astronaut, Bowman, ultimately reaches Jupiter, this artifact sweeps him into a force field or star gate that hurls him on a journey through inner and outer space and finally transports him to another part of the galaxy, where he's placed in a human zoo approximating a hospital terrestrial environment drawn out of his own dreams and imagination. In a timeless state, his life passes from middle age to senescence to death. He is reborn, an enhanced being, a star child, an angel, a superman, if you like, and returns to earth prepared for the next leap forward of man's evolutionary destiny.
That is what happens on the film's simplest level. Since an encounter with an advanced interstellar intelligence would be incomprehensible within our present earthbound frames of reference, reactions to it will have elements of philosophy and metaphysics that have nothing to do with the bare plot outline itself.

Source: https://collativelearning.com/2001 chapter 1.html

[potpest]

Eyes Wide Shut is a masterpiece in my eyes from Kubrick.
Pulp Fiction is an all time classic.
American Psycho is my controversial one, I think it's one of the best black comedies ever made, saw it at the original cinema release and remember being the only one laughing.
American History X had a powerful effect on me when it was released.

Any Darren Aronofsky fans? π is a fantastic film.

[BrightonCorgi]

8 hours ago, potpest said:

Any Darren Aronofsky fans? π is a fantastic film.

Pi is an intense and wild movie. Really different and provoking. I put it along with two other movies I really love Session 9 and 8MM.

[bmac]

Dances with Wolves - stunning scenery and cinematography.

 

[SigmundChurchill]

On 4/15/2025 at 5:28 PM, Ford2112 said:

The Godfather.

I came here to say this.^^^

I have about 20 runner-ups, some of which are really close. Many of which are on this list. But the Godfather was truly groundbreaking. Especially with all the hurdles they had to overcome in order to get it made.

[HDGSN]

1. Sling Blade

2. There Will Be Blood

3. Dazed and Confused

[RedLantern]

Casablanca - it's iconic, quotable, Rick is the proto anti-hero, but I have a lot of favorite movies that are more like guilty pleasures:

Rounders

Dead Poet's Society

A Good Year

Bull Durham