The Sixty Best Films Ever Made
I created this list in response to the "100 Best Movies" list released by the Academy, which I happen to mightily disagree with. I love everything about film-- making it, analyzing it, and especially watching it. It's rare for me to dislike a movie, but I've narrowed my list down to an exclusive sixty films which I consider must-sees. These movies have shaped and influenced me in countless ways, from what I consider beauty and romance to giving me an insight into what I might study in college. I chose them because they made me laugh or were so involving I forgot I was watching a movie, but also because they are beautiful films: the cinematography in some of these is so well thought out it just floors me. And above all, these sixty pieces have what is necessary to be favorites of mine: great stories and characters that you wish were real.
Here, in only a semblance of order, as it is incredibly difficult to rate movies that are done so well in such different ways, is the sixty films I consider the best ever made.
dum dum da dum...
1) The Thin Red Line
I cannot say enough good things about this drama which takes place on a small island in World War II. The cinematography is unparalleled, and worth watching for alone. This movie is so full of insightful philosophy that I consider it an intellectual commentary on war, love, friendship, beauty... even what it means to be human. The Thin Red Line provokes thought on these subjects by juxtaposing the horrors of warfare with the tranquility and simple pleasures of nature, and by the commentary throughout by the various characters. It questions the morality of soldiers, and how one man can kill another. It's an amazing epic.
2) American Beauty
This stunning movie is at times very funny and at others is probing some very serious issues in modern life. It exposes how a seemingly normal family in suburbia has many problems under the surface, including their disillusionment when the American Dream, domesticated life they have doesn't turn out to be fulfilling at all. Kevin Spacey deserved an Academy Award for his performance. American Beauty leaves you thinking, always urging you to "look closer" to see what's really important in life. You will never look at a paper bag the same way again. :)
3) Good Morning Vietnam
4) Braveheart
5) Only You
6) JFK
7) Schindler's List
8) Titanic
9) Notorious
10) The Dead Poet's Society
11) It's A Wonderful Life
12) Much Ado About Nothing
13) Gladiator
14) Bridge Over The River Kwai
15) Philadelphia
16) Shakespeare In Love
17) The Sound Of Music
18) Elizabeth
19) Romeo + Juliet (the new one)
20) The Matrix
21) Dances With Wolves
22) Sense & Sensibility
23) Lawrence Of Arabia
24) Chaplin
25) Rudy
26) The American President
27) The Joy Luck Club
28) The Fifth Element
29) Doctor Zhivago
30) Casablanca
31) A Year Of Living Dangerously
32) Gone With The Wind
33) Hamlet
34) Raiders Of The Lost Ark
35) The Seventh Seal
36) The Sixth Sense
37) Monty Python And The Holy Grail
38) The Philadelphia Story
39) Office Space
40) Camelot
41) Clueless
42) Disney's Robin Hood
43) Men In Black
44) Sabrina (the new one)
45) Circle Of Friends
46) Pretty Woman
47) Jerry Maguire
48) Mary Poppins
49) Good Will Hunting
50) Gaslight
51) Babe
52) Bringing Up Baby
53) The Godfather
54) Disney's The Little Mermaid
55) Benny & Joon
56) Mrs. Doubtfire
57) While You Were Sleeping
58) Sleepless In Seattle
59) Soapdish
60) Swingers
There you have it. Those are the films that inspired me. They made me question things and see the world in a different way, and I hope you found some of your favorites among mine. Each of us has a different list because we all have a different perspective. Ultimately, I think the best movies teach us about ourselves.