What are your top 5 favorite movies?

[pg1067]

L.A. Story

I saw that movie in the theater, and the ONLY thing I remember is "big S, little a, little n, big D, little E, big E."   

[Stadler]

L.A. Story

I saw that movie in the theater, and the ONLY thing I remember is "big S, little a, little n, big D, little E, big E."   

I'm not sure I liked the movie, because of the subject matter, but it's chock full of great quotes (like most of Steve Martin's funny movies).

[El Barto]

And though you didn't ask, there are countless versions of CEotTK, too. Director's Cut is the only way to go. The studio version was too short. The Special Edition was too long. The director's cut was exactly as Spielberg wanted it to be, and he knew what he was doing.

I generally won't cite Wikipedia as a source, but I found this. I have only seen this once, and am sure it was the theatrical cut. 

Running time   
135 minutes (Theatrical Version)
132 minutes (Special Edition)
137 minutes (Director's Cut)

That doesn't seem right to me; I went down that rabbit hole when my wife, daughter and I watched it (we had a poster with 100 great movies and during COVID set out to watch them all).   We ended up watching the theatrical version, to see what the people saw back in '77 or whenever, and then went back and watched the Director's Cut.  I too liked the Director's Cut but I would bet a six pack it wasn't two minutes difference.

As I recall, the studio insisted on having it edited in a certain way that Spielberg didn't really like. This was before he had the clout he does today, obviously. He wanted to reedit it, and the studio only agreed if he tacked on the ending where they show inside the space ship. He hated it, but agreed. That's the special edition. His version whacks that ending, but edits all of the pieces, including a couple of minutes of extra footage back into the original. It also removes a couple of scenes from the original. The difference between the theatrical and director's cut is that the latter is a bit darker, while the former has a more lighthearted feel. If you saw them both recently, the scene of Roy falling apart in the bathtub perfectly highlights the difference between the two. I don't now as I've seen the original since it was, well, original, but I don't recall Roy being completely unhinged like that. Anyhoo, I suppose it doesn't surprise me if they're all within 5 minutes of each other. It does surprise me that the SE is the shortest of the three, though, considering that the whole point was an extra 5 minute scene.

[lonestar]

Top 5 IMO best made movies?  Best acted movies?  Best directed movies?  Best story?  Best cinematography?

Top 5 movies I've watched over and over?

Lots of ways to categorize "favorite."  So hard to make choices here.

Some Like it Hot *TIE* Young Frankenstein
The World According to Garp
Apollo 13
The Last Temptation of Christ
Out of Africa

Good call on Garp, wouldn't make my list, but I love the story. Irving is definitely one of my favorite authors, and Prayer for Owen Meany is an easy top 5 book for me.

[Cool Chris]

Some Like it Hot

Good pick, haven't seen this in a long time.

[T-ski]

Off the top of my head...

1. River's Edge
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. This Is Spinal Tap
4. Gettysburg
5. White Chicks

White Chicks?

[Harmony]

Top 5 IMO best made movies?  Best acted movies?  Best directed movies?  Best story?  Best cinematography?

Top 5 movies I've watched over and over?

Lots of ways to categorize "favorite."  So hard to make choices here.

Some Like it Hot *TIE* Young Frankenstein
The World According to Garp
Apollo 13
The Last Temptation of Christ
Out of Africa

Good call on Garp, wouldn't make my list, but I love the story. Irving is definitely one of my favorite authors, and Prayer for Owen Meany is an easy top 5 book for me.

Irving is brilliant - PfOM has been on my to-read list for a long time.  Might just have to tackle it on vacation in a couple of weeks.

TWAtG (book and movie) really were ahead of their time.  Thinking back on when I first discovered that story it must have been the first time I realized the arc of sexuality and the limitations of sexual social norms.  No doubt Roberta (the brilliant John Lithgow) was the first trans character I'd ever seen on screen who wasn't a flamboyant caricature ala Rocky Horror.  His relationship with Garp formed my idea of what true acceptance between 2 men (trans and cis) looked like.  It may have even been my first real understanding of feminism as a movement and not merely something my mom talked about.  Good stuff.

I also really enjoyed The Cider House Rules.  I definitely need to read more of Irving's works.

[ZirconBlue]

L.A. Story

I saw that movie in the theater, and the ONLY thing I remember is "big S, little a, little n, big D, little E, big E."   

 

[TAC]

Off the top of my head...

1. River's Edge
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. This Is Spinal Tap
4. Gettysburg
5. White Chicks

White Chicks?

The funniest movie I've ever seen.

[Cool Chris]

And though you didn't ask, there are countless versions of CEotTK, too. Director's Cut is the only way to go. The studio version was too short. The Special Edition was too long. The director's cut was exactly as Spielberg wanted it to be, and he knew what he was doing.

I generally won't cite Wikipedia as a source, but I found this. I have only seen this once, and am sure it was the theatrical cut. 

Running time   
135 minutes (Theatrical Version)
132 minutes (Special Edition)
137 minutes (Director's Cut)

That doesn't seem right to me; I went down that rabbit hole when my wife, daughter and I watched it (we had a poster with 100 great movies and during COVID set out to watch them all).   We ended up watching the theatrical version, to see what the people saw back in '77 or whenever, and then went back and watched the Director's Cut.  I too liked the Director's Cut but I would bet a six pack it wasn't two minutes difference.

As I recall, the studio insisted on having it edited in a certain way that Spielberg didn't really like. This was before he had the clout he does today, obviously. He wanted to reedit it, and the studio only agreed if he tacked on the ending where they show inside the space ship. He hated it, but agreed. That's the special edition. His version whacks that ending, but edits all of the pieces, including a couple of minutes of extra footage back into the original. It also removes a couple of scenes from the original. The difference between the theatrical and director's cut is that the latter is a bit darker, while the former has a more lighthearted feel. If you saw them both recently, the scene of Roy falling apart in the bathtub perfectly highlights the difference between the two. I don't now as I've seen the original since it was, well, original, but I don't recall Roy being completely unhinged like that. Anyhoo, I suppose it doesn't surprise me if they're all within 5 minutes of each other. It does surprise me that the SE is the shortest of the three, though, considering that the whole point was an extra 5 minute scene.

Just thought it was interesting that you said "The studio version was too short. The Special Edition was too long" when the running time of the studio version is longer.

[El Barto]

And though you didn't ask, there are countless versions of CEotTK, too. Director's Cut is the only way to go. The studio version was too short. The Special Edition was too long. The director's cut was exactly as Spielberg wanted it to be, and he knew what he was doing.

I generally won't cite Wikipedia as a source, but I found this. I have only seen this once, and am sure it was the theatrical cut. 

Running time   
135 minutes (Theatrical Version)
132 minutes (Special Edition)
137 minutes (Director's Cut)

That doesn't seem right to me; I went down that rabbit hole when my wife, daughter and I watched it (we had a poster with 100 great movies and during COVID set out to watch them all).   We ended up watching the theatrical version, to see what the people saw back in '77 or whenever, and then went back and watched the Director's Cut.  I too liked the Director's Cut but I would bet a six pack it wasn't two minutes difference.

As I recall, the studio insisted on having it edited in a certain way that Spielberg didn't really like. This was before he had the clout he does today, obviously. He wanted to reedit it, and the studio only agreed if he tacked on the ending where they show inside the space ship. He hated it, but agreed. That's the special edition. His version whacks that ending, but edits all of the pieces, including a couple of minutes of extra footage back into the original. It also removes a couple of scenes from the original. The difference between the theatrical and director's cut is that the latter is a bit darker, while the former has a more lighthearted feel. If you saw them both recently, the scene of Roy falling apart in the bathtub perfectly highlights the difference between the two. I don't now as I've seen the original since it was, well, original, but I don't recall Roy being completely unhinged like that. Anyhoo, I suppose it doesn't surprise me if they're all within 5 minutes of each other. It does surprise me that the SE is the shortest of the three, though, considering that the whole point was an extra 5 minute scene.

Just thought it was interesting that you said "The studio version was too short. The Special Edition was too long" when the running time of the studio version is longer.

Yeah, just working from memory. The whole point of the SE was to add five minutes (too many). Didn't know they'd cut so much of the rest out of it.

[Cool Chris]

Whatever they did, it obviously messed with the pacing if you felt it was too long.

Crazy that even that early in his career Spielberg knew what he was doing. If you wanted to argue that Jaws was his best film, I don't think I'd have a big problem with that, and he made that before he turned 30 (if I recall correctly).

[hefdaddy42]

Off the top of my head...

1. River's Edge
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. This Is Spinal Tap
4. Gettysburg
5. White Chicks

White Chicks?

The funniest movie I've ever seen.

That explains a lot.

[JediKnight1969]

Update:

1- Blade Runner
2- Star Wars (A new hope)
3- Angel Heart
4- Forbidden Planet
5- Twelve Monkeys

Honorable mention:

06- The Terminator
07- The Shawshank Redemption
08- The Player
09- Mistress
10- Buffalo '66

[lonestar]

Top 5 IMO best made movies?  Best acted movies?  Best directed movies?  Best story?  Best cinematography?

Top 5 movies I've watched over and over?

Lots of ways to categorize "favorite."  So hard to make choices here.

Some Like it Hot *TIE* Young Frankenstein
The World According to Garp
Apollo 13
The Last Temptation of Christ
Out of Africa

Good call on Garp, wouldn't make my list, but I love the story. Irving is definitely one of my favorite authors, and Prayer for Owen Meany is an easy top 5 book for me.

Irving is brilliant - PfOM has been on my to-read list for a long time.  Might just have to tackle it on vacation in a couple of weeks.

TWAtG (book and movie) really were ahead of their time.  Thinking back on when I first discovered that story it must have been the first time I realized the arc of sexuality and the limitations of sexual social norms.  No doubt Roberta (the brilliant John Lithgow) was the first trans character I'd ever seen on screen who wasn't a flamboyant caricature ala Rocky Horror.  His relationship with Garp formed my idea of what true acceptance between 2 men (trans and cis) looked like.  It may have even been my first real understanding of feminism as a movement and not merely something my mom talked about.  Good stuff.

I also really enjoyed The Cider House Rules.  I definitely need to read more of Irving's works.

Totally agree on all points, especially about Roberta. I saw the movie before the book, and at a young age it really created a whole new path of thinking about the whole trans aspect of life, in a time when the massive majority wavered between ridicule and outright hate. And yes, Lithgow was brilliant in it.

I've also read Hotel New Hampshire, Widow for a Year, and Setting Free the Bears, but Prayer for Owen Meany is light years ahead of them all in my book. It's just such a unique, beautiful, and painful take on what true faith is. And the title character is one of the best ever created in my eyes.

Just don't ever watch the movie based on it, Simon Birch, they really did it a tremendous disservice.

[crazy climber dude]

This is literally impossible...so like others I did 10 (even that was impossible), but....in no order....

- Silence of the Lambs (incredible acting by Hopkins and Foster)
- The Fugitive (Ford's perfect role, and Tommy Lee Jones outstanding)
- Alien (so far ahead of its time)
- LOTR (if I can do the trilogy, great...if not, then Two Towers)
- The Dark Knight (Ledger spellbinding)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Newman/Redford chemistry on another level)
- Saving Private Ryan (entire movie great, but the opening scene shakes you to the core)
- American History X (Edward Norton powerful performance)


And my last two....I am really surprised not to see one or both of these on a list. I didn't scan painstakingly, but didn't notice from a quick peruse.....

- Memento (Nolan brilliance)
- No Country for Old Men (Javier Bardem is absolutely incredible)

Wild Card...since I didn't list a comedy....Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Broderick's narration/irrepressible expressions into the camera and overall fast paced fun). I remember someone making fun of me for saying it was one of my favorite movies....then he watched it.

[Cool Chris]

The Fugitive is a great movie. It looks a bit 90s-ish now, but still solid based on the story and performances. In his interview with James Lipton, he commented on how terrified Ford looks in the scene at the dam. Ford jokingly says "I was terrified I was doing a scene with Tommy Lee Jones."

I'd swear at least one person put Memento on either their Top 5 or their 'just missed the cut" list. I can't put it that high, but maybe Top 25. Nolan brilliance, but doesn't hold together if Guy Pearce doesn't deliver to the level he did.

[krands85]

Zantera had Memento on his list and LithoJazzoSphere had it on his honourable mentions.

I was having a look at the IMDB 250 top rated English movies and the only ones I'd previously ranked as 10/10 were the ones I mentioned earlier in the thread (LOTR, The Matrix, Terminator 2), plus The Bourne Ultimatum.

Ones that I'd given 9/10: The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight, Goodfellas, Saving Private Ryan, Interstellar, The Green Mile, Gladiator, American History X, The Usual Suspects, The Departed, The Prestige, Whiplash, Memento, WALL-E, Joker, Toy Story 3, Up, Snatch, Batman Begins, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Truman Show, Kill Bill vol.1,  Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hacksaw Ridge, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Stand By Me, Into the Wild, The Imitation Game, Sin City, Casino Royale.

So I guess those are my honourable mentions  But of course that's only those on the IMDB list, there will be others that I can't think of right now.

[Harmony]

- American History X (Edward Norton powerful performance)

That nearly made my list too.  I have seen it many times and it is one of those movies I still think about a lot. Norton is an under-rated actor.  Did you see his Motherless Brooklyn?

[Stadler]

This is literally impossible...so like others I did 10 (even that was impossible), but....in no order....

- Silence of the Lambs (incredible acting by Hopkins and Foster)
- The Fugitive (Ford's perfect role, and Tommy Lee Jones outstanding)
- Alien (so far ahead of its time)
- LOTR (if I can do the trilogy, great...if not, then Two Towers)
- The Dark Knight (Ledger spellbinding)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Newman/Redford chemistry on another level)
- Saving Private Ryan (entire movie great, but the opening scene shakes you to the core)
- American History X (Edward Norton powerful performance)


And my last two....I am really surprised not to see one or both of these on a list. I didn't scan painstakingly, but didn't notice from a quick peruse.....

- Memento (Nolan brilliance)
- No Country for Old Men (Javier Bardem is absolutely incredible)

Wild Card...since I didn't list a comedy....Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Broderick's narration/irrepressible expressions into the camera and overall fast paced fun). I remember someone making fun of me for saying it was one of my favorite movies....then he watched it.

I've only watched the first 45 minutes once - in the theater - and won't probably ever watch it again. Not that it was bad, or even that gory, but it was so intense that I was actually sweating. I rarely, if ever, sweat through the armpits of my shirts, but I did that day. 

I consider D-Day to be one of the two or three epitomes of human endurance and courage, and that 45 minutes captured all of that for me. I imagine that a "visceral" response is the highest compliment you can pay an artist, and that may be the most visceral response I've ever had to a movie. 

[hefdaddy42]

I did as well, especially considering that my grandfather was part of the D-Day invasion at Normandy, as part of the Army Corps of Engineers.  He never really talked about it much.  I see why.

[T-ski]

Anytime someone mentions American History X my teeth hurt.

[Cool Chris]

Regarding D-Day, Charles Durning said everything on the subject I think I'll ever need to hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGBJquOvfUU