My Favorite Movies
I think it's funny looking at all the "favorite movie" lists. People with 500 or 1000 movies, sometimes more. Why not just call it "Movies I Don't Hate". I think 60 is a workable number. I'd have a difficult time cutting this down to a nice, neat 50, so why try? Here they are, in alphabetical order.
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- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.A great movie to watch with a bottle of whiskey. Gets better with each viewing, and I always notice something new. "Redeux" has some good extra footage, but the scenes with the French family slow things down a bit. I prefer the original.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Four - count 'em - four climaxes! A funny smart script, good performances, perfectly paced, and a fantastic soundtrack. A vastly under-rated film.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsMickey RourkeFaye DunawayAlice KrigeBased on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.The best film ever made for people who love dive bars. Rourke and Dunaway are Oscar-worthy as a pair of drunkards who find love amongst the sleazy bars of Los Angeles.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.I didn't care much for this film at first, but its brilliance grows with every viewing. Is it just a profanity-laced comedy or a subtle commentary on American life? Eh *beep* it, let's go bowling.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydCab CallowayJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.The simple plot - raising money to save an orphanage - is just an excuse for Jake and Elwood to laugh, sing, and dance their way through one of the greatest musical comedies of all time.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsCelia JohnsonTrevor HowardStanley HollowayMeeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.Heart-wrenching doomed romance between two married people in post WW2 England. Gorgeous B&W cinematography, a sublime Rachmaninoff score, wonderful acting and the sure-handed direction of David Lean - as close to perfection as a movie can get.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.The beauty of this David classic is that everyone knows exactly how it will end, yet the final 15 minutes will still have you gripping your armrest.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.The best "color" film noir, highlighted by a sultry John Barry score, a script that surpasses its cinematic inspiration (Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity"), and the palpable chemistry between Hurt and Turner. Kasdan makes heat and lust his main characters.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.An combination of genius comedic timing and sheer goofyness. Grant is especially good - a brilliant example of physical comedy combined with sharp character development and perfect line delivery.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.Geez, if you have to ask why "Casablanca" is a great movie then I'd guess you've either never seen it, or you simply don't know much about movies.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'It's this simple: Before "Citizen Kane" no one made movies in this way. After "Citizen Kane" everybody tried to make movies this way.
- DirectorPeter Ho-Sun ChanStarsMaggie CheungLeon LaiEric TsangTwo Chinese-mainlanders living in Hong Kong form a close friendship. Over the years this grows into love, but there are obstacles.Sort of a Chinese version of "The Way We Were", with a bittersweet romance that spans several years, and a wonderfully evocative soundtrack to tie it all together.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGene HackmanJohn CazaleAllen GarfieldA paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.A masterpiece of paranoia. No monster is as frightening as the moment when surveilence expert Harry Caul isolates a bit of audio and discovers what his client is up to. Forget Popeye Doyle, THIS is Hackman's finest performance.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMartin LandauWoody AllenBill BernsteinAn ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.Might be Woody Allen's best. Two stories, one a sad/funny tale of unreqited love, the other dealing with nothing less than the existence of God and justice, which neatly come together at film's end.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.'Enter the Dragon' meets 'Brief Encounter'. The fight scenes will dazzle you, but in the end it is Michelle Yeoh's beautifully restrained performance that stays with you.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsSteve GuttenbergMickey RourkeKevin BaconA group of college-age buddies struggle with their imminent passage into adulthood in 1959 Baltimore.The ultimate movie about male bonding, Levinson's script and direction create some great moments, with guys just being guys and talking about stuff in a completely natural way.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.The rare sequel which surpasses the original. ESB has great special effects, but it's the plot and character development and the sense of fate hanging over everything which make it a classic. Then there's the score and the cinematography and the perfectly paced script and Yoda . . .
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.One of the few films that can fit into the genre "Quirky Murder Mystery", but that's the delicate balance the Cohen brothers achieved. You'll never look at a wood chipper the same way.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJeff BridgesIsabella RosselliniRosie PerezA man's personality is dramatically changed after surviving a major airline crash.Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez are brilliant as plane crash survivors who have radically different reactions to the tragedy.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.The thinking man's baseball film.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.What more needs to be said about the greatest crime film ever? "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.See above. "It'll be as though she never existed, and all that's left is our friendship."
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine RossA disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.A story relevent to college-aged kids of every generation: How to avoid becoming like your parents.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsTony CurtisNatalie WoodJack LemmonIn the early 20th century, two rivals, the heroic Leslie and the despicable Professor Fate, engage in an epic automobile race from New York to Paris.A childhood favorite. Jack Lemmon deserved an Oscar for his duel performance, and Natalie Wood was never sexier.
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsArt CarneyEllen BurstynRené EnríquezWhen his apartment building is torn down, a retired lifelong New Yorker goes on a cross-country odyssey with his beloved cat Tonto.How did Al Pacino not win the Best Actor Oscar in 1974 for Godfather II? Watch this hilarious and touching senior citizen road trip, and you'll understand.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.If you took this story to any Hollywood producer they would scoff at its lack of reality - but it all happened. Not just a great documentary, it might be the best movie about sports ever made.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanMelvyn DouglasPatricia NealHonest, hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant, egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash.Martin Ritt's deft direction, James Wong Howe's bleakly beautiful landscapes, Larry McMurtry merging the themes of the end of the American frontier with an end of innocence, great acting from Douglas and Neal, then there's Paul Newman, oozing charisma, the only actor who could make Hud Bannon so reprehensible AND so appealing.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.The blue print for every movie dealing with the fantasy of changing the past, it's also the ultimate feel-good Christmas film.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.So much tension during the making of the film - technical problems, over budget, script changes, accidents, a near mutiny by the crew - yet the end result is a masterpiece.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsTamlyn TomitaRosalind ChaoKieu ChinhThe life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.Such a rare film - an emotionally charged multi-generational epic in which all the main characters are Asian women. Never fails to leave me sobbing like a baby.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.Future generations will be baffled by how this film got made without benefit of CGI. The standard bearer for huge, grand historical epics.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowWilliam PowellMyrna LoyWhen a socialite sues a big paper for libel, the editor responsible calls in the help of his ignored fiancée and a former employee to frame her and make the false story seem true.The "Thin Man" movies are great, but this is the best Powell/Loy film. Oh yeah, it also features magificant "supporting" performances by a guy named Spencer Tracy and a girl named Jean Harlow.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleKatharine HepburnAnthony Hopkins1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole put on an acting display unequaled in the history of film, and they're working with a script that's as intelligent as it is unpredictable..
- DirectorBill ForsythStarsBurt LancasterPeter RiegertFulton MackayAn American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.Peter Reigert is a Houston oil company exec who falls in love with a Scottish fishing village slated to be leveled for a new refinery. Quirky, delightful, and totally unexpected.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsChris CooperElizabeth PeñaStephen MendilloWhen the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.A masterpiece of screenwriting and directing, Sayles script expertly flows from subplot to subplot and ends up at one of the most ironically perfect final scenes ever filmed.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonMariel HemingwayThe life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.It begins with a glorious tribute to NYC, and the rest is some of Woody's most insightful commentary on love, life, and relationships.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGabriel ByrneAlbert FinneyJohn TurturroTom Reagan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.A mixture of The Godfather and His Girl Friday, with its stylish mob scheming and rapid-fire period banter. The image of Albert Finny chomping on a cigar while gunning down assailants with a blazing tommy gun to the strains of "Danny Boy" is a classic.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaLinda DarnellVictor MatureAfter their cattle are stolen and their brother murdered, the Earp brothers have a score to settle with the Clanton family.Maybe THE great American western film. Henry Fonda is the epitome of a classic western hero: Humble, fair, honest, but dangerous when the need arises. Forget historical accuracy and just enjoy the beautiful black-and-white cinematography and the simple yet compelling western drama.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsAnton GlanzeliusTomas von BrömssenAnki LidénIn the late '50s, young Ingemar learns a lot about life and himself when he is sent away from his sick mother to live with his aunt and uncle in a town full of eccentrics.Offbeat and heartwarming saga of a little boy learning the hard lessons of life.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.Wildly entertaining road trip thriller in which a simple mistake sets off a deadly chain of events. Brilliant script, sizzling chemistry between Grant and Eva Marie Saint, a wonderfully devious group of villains, and of course the expert direction of Hitchcock.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.The dynamics of a family in crisis have never been presented better than in this Robert Redford directed film. Bravura performances all around, but especially Mary Tyler Moore as the perfectionist mother who just can't handle mess.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.Sidney Lumet's sprawling drama about NY cops on the take plays out like a classic Greek tragedy.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.Simply put: The greatest action adventure film ever made.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiJingwu MaSaifei HeChina in the 1920s. After her father's death, Songlian is forced to marry the wealthy Master Chen. With three wives already, each living in a separate house, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained.Zhang Yimou's best film. Gong Li plays an "extra wife" who drastically shakes up the status quo in an established Chinese home.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.Wheelchair bound Jimmy Stewart and his society girlfriend Grace Kelly think their neighbor has murdered his wife. The perfect allegory for the voyeurism of movie-going, this Hitchcock classic contains the single scariest glance in movie history - a glance that symbolically thrusts the audience into the movie.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..Poetic and deeply disturbing tale of the horrors of drug addiction.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.A hip, visceral heist movie artfully told by director Tarantino, "RD" set the tone for crime dramas and is still being copied today.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Maybe the best movie ever made about WW2, Speilberg manages to capture both the heroism and horror of war.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.John Wayne pursues a ruthless tribe of Commanches and his own personal demons in an effort to rescue his niece in this quintessential John Ford western. The Monument Valley shooting locations have never looked better.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.A wrongly convicted banker (Tim Robbins) forms a strong friendship with a fellow inmate (Morgan Freeman) in this emotionally satisfying prison drama. Great ending.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.The greatest movie musical of all time, it's a tribute to old Hollywood, a comedy, a romance, and features some incredible dance numbers.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenCharlotte RamplingJessica HarperWhile attending a retrospective of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.One of Woody Allen's least popular films, but one of my favorites. Woody's homage to Fellini's "8 1/2" is funny, wistful, and poignant.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.Billy Wilder's sometimes scathing, sometimes nostalgic look at Hollywood and the forgotten stars of the silent film era. Gloria Swanson is magnificent as Norma Desmond, a wealthy former starlet who firmly resides in her own delusional world.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.A truly unique film, specifically its remarkable B&W cinematography, its delightfully different score, and a wonderful script by Graham Greene.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.A masterpiece about greed, ethics, and humanity, traits diplayed in varying degrees by the three main characters. As great as the film is, the story of its making might be better.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsBruce BaldenJacqueline BassettSymon BasterfieldDirector Michael Apted interviews the same group of British-born adults after a seven-year wait as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.Director Michael Apted's "Up Series" spans over 50 years, an amazing cinematic creation that is still evolving. Don't waste time and money on a psychiatrist - watching these films will force you to soberly examine your own life decisions and paths-not-taken.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."Eastwood was uniquely qualified to pull off this film - an unromantised look at the western genre. The white hats aren't always noble, the bad guys are human, and "We've all got it coming."
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsBarbra StreisandRobert RedfordBradford DillmanDuring post-WWII McCarthyism, a diametrically opposed couple come together only to find out that genuine friendship and physical attraction is not enough to overcome fundamental societal beliefs.The perfect marriage of story, director, stars, and music. Katie and Hubble grow as characters through the years, and do it to the strains of that lovely Marvin Hamlisch score.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWilliam HoldenErnest BorgnineRobert RyanAn aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.The appeal of TWB is pretty simple: Their time is ending, and they aren't going out quietly. Modern directors have tried to copy the "poetic carnage" Mr. Peckinpaugh achieved in the film's climax, but they usually fail. For me, it's not the slow motion body count or the blood, it's the final walk that makes the scene.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonSigourney WeaverLinda HuntA young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.TYOLD does so many things well - political intrigue, the fish-out-of-water journalist, East/West culture clash, steamy love story, an evocative score - but the best things about it are Linda Hunt's amazing performance and Weir's ability to translate the atmosphere of living in SE Asia.