Please share the best movie you’ve ever seen. Is there one you think of immediately? One that touched you deeply, or was especially well-crafted? Any genre: Drama, comedy, action film, mystery, short feature, documentary, foreign or domestic. Is there one that changed you in some way?
If you can’t narrow it down to one, how about two? I’m on a continual search to find great things to watch and I’d love some recommendations.
I’ll start off though, of course, I could add many more to these. These are oldies but had a lasting impression on me.
Wuthering Heights, the original from 1939 with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. It was on the movie channel when my sister and I were in high school. I’ve since seen it many times. By the end I was crying my eyes out and my sister was bawling at top volume — she has no memory of this, btw. That was when I decided Laurence Olivier was the most handsome man on earth.
The other is also an old black and white film from 1940, the play, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, with William Holden and Martha Scott, a sweet little story that brings home what’s really important in life. If you’ve ever read the wonderful short story, The Kitchen Clock, by Wolfgang Borchert, it has the same theme.
An Honorable mention is the epic, Ryan’s Daughter, with its haunting theme song.
Good topic @Maeve. I don’t think my favorite reflects well on me though … it is the rather dark Sid and Nancy. Made in 1986 with a young Gary Oldman. I love the music, the story and the subtle humour.
Mine’s an unusual one, but Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010) was at the top of my list for years. It’s brilliant at every level – tons of complex symbolism, and I love the music and colors/design. The writing and character development are really well done, and the moments of humor hit just right!
“Sometimes, I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast” …one of my favorite quotes!
Favorite of all time, good for Anglophiles & history lovers: The Lion in Winter, with Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine & Peter O’Toole as Henry II, as well as a young Anthony Hopkins as Richard I
Most recent favorite & top recommendation: The Gentleman, by Guy Ritchie, with a host of great actors — as well as the related streaming series of the same name, both avail on Netflix…hilarious, sort of caper-ish; loved Colin Farrell & Hugh Grant’s characters in the movie
Quiet, under-rated fav; great drama/acting: A Winter’s Bone, one of Jennifer Lawrence’s first & finest films; earned her first Oscar nom at age 17-ish. A stoic young woman growing up in the close-mouthed culture of Appalachia, trying to save her family’s homestead while also determined not to be trapped there forever. Very moving.
A few other Favs we watch at least every couple years, in no specific order:
Shawshank Redemption (classic)
Pulp Fiction (brilliant, if you can deal with the violence)
The Right Stuff
Saving Private Ryan
Easy A (very funny, when you just need that)
The Big Chill (nostalgia, for those of us of a certain age)
Rat Race, w/Mr. Bean, Whoopie Goldberg, & more (our family’s favorite watch-together comedy, by consensus)
Love, Actually (favorite family Xmas movie, even though I know it’s fallen out of favor with some over the years; still makes me laugh & cry every time)
The Toy Story franchise (a retrospective of my children’s lives, from toddler to adulthood…)
The Godfather, parts I & II (because no movie list is complete without them)
Oh gosh…so many movies, sorry — but so many good memories…thank you! (Warning…please do not create a thread for favorite books lol)
@MaggieUU , I never saw it but will try to find it. It sounds quirky and original, I remember when it was out. Gary Oldman was so good as Churchill in Darkest Hour and wasn’t he fabulously obnoxious as Lamb in Slow Horses?
@MerryPuppins , The Shawshank Redemption is a classic, as are The Godfather movies.
@Globetrotter and @PVGemini , that settles it. I’m going to see Little Miss Sunshine. Every time it comes up, my husband has no interest in seeing it because he’s seen it before (I haven’t) but I’m going to watch it! Too bad we lost Alan Arkin. Wasn’t he outstanding in The Kominsky Method?
I just love ‘The Big Year’ - it’s about nature, birds and constant traveling, with some humour and funny faces scattered into the mix - Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black.
