The 10 BEST movies of all time

[jerrys]

A few years ago an in order BEST 10 movies list of all time was published. Recently a new list came out that is quite different in both the order and movies selected. Not necessarily your favorites but what movies and in what order would you pick as the 10 BEST movies of all time? The toughest one to pick is the tenth.

The list published several years ago:
1. Citizen Kane
2. Casablanca
3. The Godfather
4. The Godfather 2
5. Gone With the Wind
6. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
7. Rear Window
8. A Streetcar Named Desire
9. Jaws
10. Rocky

The most recent published list:
1. The Godfather
2. 12 Angry Men
3. Casablanca
4. Rear Window
5. Citizen Kane
6. Pulp Fiction
7. Schindlers List
8. Psycho
9. Singin' In The Rain
10.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

My List:
1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather 2
3. Citizen Kane
4. Gone With the Wind
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai
6.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
7. The Grapes of Wrath
8. Dr. Strangelove
9. 12 Angry Men
10. Rocky

[Peter_Spaeth]

Seven Samurai has to be on any top 10 list IMO.

[glynparson]

I hate the godfather. i watch tons of movies and i can not stand the film. It is bloated garbage in my opinion. As Peter Griffin says it insists upo itself. It tries way too hard. It has very little redeeming qualities besides incredible acting. What I would say are the 10 best films not my favorites but the best.

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Silence Of The Lambs
4. Jaws
5. Pulp Fiction
6. Rear Window
7. The Good The Bad and The Ugly
8. Blackkklansman
9. 2001
10. The Hateful Eight

I of course recognize more people feel the same as you and the list about the godfather I just feel its an utter fraud of a great film.

[barrysloate]

My all-time favorite is "On the Waterfront", but putting together a top ten could be tough because each time I do it, it's likely to change a little.

[samosa4u]

Best horror film of all-time: The Exorcist.
I watched it as a kid and I still have nightmares to this day.

[Jim65]

I would rate Godfather 2 very slighly over Godfather as my favorite. Schindler's List and Taxi Driver would have to be there as well. Favorite comedy is easily Slap Shot.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Witness for the Prosecution is a great movie, just outstanding acting.

[jerrys]

The object was to list your estimate of the 10 BEST movies of all time. Not favorites.

CHANGE TO: 10 BEST or 10 FAVORITES or BOTH!

My Favorites: (no order)
12 angry men
My cousin Vinnie
The Graduate
Dr. Strangelove
Rear Window
Jaws
Rocky
Cool Hand Luke
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Bridge on the River Kwai

Seven Samurai? Foreign? What are your others?
Hateful Eight??
Waterfront - excellent - watched many times. Change is expected.
Yes, Godfather 2 over Godfather.
Witness - good - disliked the ending.

[Peter_Spaeth]

If there is a better scene ever than Marlene Dietrich on the witness stand saying Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! I'd like to see it. The ending may have been a little over the top, I don't disagree, but the whole thing was just so well done, Charles Laughton was brilliant and Dietrich, for all her reputation as just a sex symbol, could act with the greats of her era.

Seven Samurai of course is Japanese, from the great Akira Kurosowa who also directed the incomparable Toshiro Mifune in Rashomon.

[bnorth]

2 that need to be on the all time best list are:
Good Will Hunting
Of Mice and Men

[jerrys]

Which 'Of Mice and Men'?

George:
1. Burgess Meredith
2. Robert Blake

People must have seen more than two good movies.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by jerrys

Which 'Of Mice and Men'?

George:
1. Burgess Meredith
2. Robert Blake

People must have seen more than two good movies.

The 1992 version with Gary Sinise is the only one I have seen.

I mainly watch comedy, they are funny but far from all time great movies.

[PolarBear]

Here's a few that would be on my list. I'm not really sure what my top 10 would look like though.

The Sting
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Open Range

[The-Cardfather]

It goes without saying that IMHO "The Godfather" should be at the top of any list.

But what I find strange is that "Goodfellas" didn't make it into anyone's top 10 list.

.........And that I do not forgive.

[1952boyntoncollector]

except for the ending. No Country for Old Men is has all the good things you want in a movie..

[PolarBear]

Glory is quite underrated. One of the best Civil War movies, maybe THE best.

[stlcardsfan]

Lots of great movies mentioned here.

I love The Verdict with Paul Newman. Great movie I always watch to the end when I catch it on.

[irv]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Best horror film of all-time: The Exorcist.
I watched it as a kid and I still have nightmares to this day.

Jaws did it for me!!

I also remember the movie, Grizzly, freaking me out but my wife and I purchased it about 10+ yrs ago and we laughed at how fake it is compared to today's movies.

I really enjoyed these movies but I know there are a bunch more I can't currently recall.

Shawshank Redemption. #1
Forest Gump
Silence of the Lambs
Saving Private Ryan
One flew over the Cuckoos Nest
Brave Heart
Gladiator
Man on Fire. Love this movie as I like seeing justice served!
Heat
American Graffiti

[nolemmings]

1. Casablanca
2. The Godfather
3. Gone With the Wind
4. Shawshank Redemption
5. Citizen Kane
6. One flew over the Cuckoos Nest
7. On the Waterfront
8. Forest Gump
9. American Graffiti
10. The Deer Hunter

[bnorth]

1 Fletch
2 Good Will Hunting
3 Up in Smoke
4 Of Mice and Men (Sinise)
5 Blazing Saddles
6 History of the World Part 1
7 Caddyshack
8 Nation Lampoon's Vacation
9 Forest Gump
10 The Gods Must be Crazy

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Years ago I actually did a bracket on a poker forum I belonged to. There was a nominating process and the the top 64 movies duked it out. That was for "favorite" not "best" and Shawshank Redemption destroyed all comers.

[Writehooks]

1. Goodfellas
2. The Outlaw Josey Wales
3. Casablanca
4. Treasure of the Sierra Madre
5. Seven Days in May
6. The Manchurian Candidate (Sinatra version)
7. Citizen Kane
8. Fail Safe
9. A Bridge Too Far
10. The Wizard of Oz

[pokerplyr80]

I'm surprised to see The Shawshank Redemption didn't make many lists. And i'm equally surprised that Rounders didn't take the title on a poker forum.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I'm surprised to see The Shawshank Redemption didn't make many lists. And i'm equally surprised that Rounders didn't take the title on a poker forum.

To be honest, I'm surprised The Shawshank Redemption made ANY top 10 lists. Its OK, but definitely not in the company of some of the greatest all-time films.
My list in no particular order...

1. The Shining
2. Goodfellas
3. Once Upon a Time in America
4. Gangs of New York
5. Jaws
6. The Sting
7. The Exorcist
8. Carrie
9. Stand By Me
10. Aliens

Honorable mentions...

- American Graffiti
- American Beauty
- Evil Dead
- Dracula (1931)
- The Ninth Gate
- Wizard of Oz
- Apocalypse Now
- True Romance
- Christine
- The Godfather
- The Godfather II

[the 'stache]

Ten best films of all-time? Tough question. I've been intensively studying film history for about the past five years, as I'm going to write books about the subject. Doing so has exposed me to a great number of films I probably otherwise wouldn't have seen, and I'm a better person for having seen them. The money I used to spend on my collection has been diverted to building my film library over that time. I know that streaming is the way of the future, but I'm a real physical media guy.

This is my top ten right now. I'm not going to put them in any order, as that would be a bit of a nightmare. And it may change, upon further reflection.

My list:

David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia
Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai
David Lynch's Mulholland Drive
Orson Welles' Citizen Kane
Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo
Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull
Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon
Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc
Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt
Ingmar Bergman's Persona

With so many different eras, genres and countries of origin to choose from, picking only the ten best films feels like an exercise in futility. As soon as I selected Bergman's film, I'm immediately looking at the list, and trying to figure out how I can get The Godfather in, as well as Tokyo Story, City Lights, Sunrise, and a handful of others.

There's nothing by Billy Wilder, or John Ford. No Andrei Tarkovsky, Francois Truffaut, Jean Renoir, John Cassavetes, or Krzysztof Kieslowski.

This is exceedingly difficult.

[tedzan]

My personal Top 11 (in alphabetical order), each of which I have seen numerous times

American Graffiti
Casablanca
Dr. Strangelove
Great Escape
Guns of Navarone
Jaws
Johnny Guitar
High Noon
On The Waterfront
Shane

and,
The Stratton Story...…True life story of Monty Stratton (Chi Whi Sox, 1934 - 1938), portrayed by Jimmy Stewart.

Jimmy Stewart, after his outstanding WWII service (Army Air Force....retired as a Brigadier General), was quite disappointed with the way his acting
career was going (1946 - 1948).
Jimmy returned to his hometown in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he worked with his Dad at their hardware store. In 1949, he received a phone call
from MGM requesting him to play the leading role in this movie. The Stratton Story was a huge success at the Box Office, grossing $4.5 Million.
Jimmy Stewart returned to Hollywood...and, the rest is history.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by jerrys

A few years ago an in order BEST 10 movies list of all time was published. Recently a new list came out that is quite different in both the order and movies selected. Not necessarily your favorites but what movies and in what order would you pick as the 10 BEST movies of all time? The toughest one to pick is the tenth.

The list published several years ago:
1. Citizen Kane
2. Casablanca
3. The Godfather
4. The Godfather 2
5. Gone With the Wind
6. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
7. Rear Window
8. A Streetcar Named Desire
9. Jaws
10. Rocky

The most recent published list:
1. The Godfather
2. 12 Angry Men
3. Casablanca
4. Rear Window
5. Citizen Kane
6. Pulp Fiction
7. Schindlers List
8. Psycho
9. Singin' In The Rain
10.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

My List:
1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather 2
3. Citizen Kane
4. Gone With the Wind
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai
6.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
7. The Grapes of Wrath
8. Dr. Strangelove
9. 12 Angry Men
10. Rocky

First of all, who published these lists? The ten greatest films of all-time, and the only foreign film appearing in any list is The Bridge on the River Kwai, which is a co-production of the UK and USA?

And Pulp Fiction....one of the ten best films of all-time? Over every film ever made by Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Yasujiro Ozu, Edward Yang, David Lean, John Ford, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, Roberto Rossellini, Roman Polanski, Andrei Tarkovsky, Michelangelo Antonioni, Werner Herzog, Carl Th Dreyer, John Huston, F.W. Murnau, John Cassavetes, Paul Thomas Anderson, Josef von Sternberg, Fritz Lang, Robert Altman, Howard Hawks, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, Charlie Chaplin, Jean Renoir, Jacques Demy, Vittorio De Sica, Satyajit Ray, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Sergio Leone, Peter Bogdanovich, Terrence Malick, Carol Reed, Ernst Lubitsch, George Cukor, Wong Kar-wai, Woody Allen, Masaki Kobayashi , William Wyler, Elia Kazan, Joel and Ethan Coen, Luchino Visconti , Agnes Varda, Joseph Mankiweicz, Alain Resnais, Jean-Pierre Melville, Luis Buñuel, Robert Bresson, Frank Capra, Mel Gibson, John Frankenheimer, Kenji Mizoguchi, Nicholas Ray, Sergei Eisenstein, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Stanley Kramer, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, Jean Cocteau, Clint Eastwood, King Vidor, Victor Fleming, Stanley Donen, William Friedkin, David Fincher, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Abbas Kiarostami, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Aldrich and Cecil B. DeMille?

GTF out of here. I like (and own) Pulp Fiction. But there's not a chance in hell it's a top ten film of all-time.

Pulp Fiction in the top ten, and a complete lack of landmark foreign films makes me call the source into question.

[SmokyBurgess]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

except for the ending. No Country for Old Men is has all the good things you want in a movie..

Just what did that end mean?

[icollectDCsports]

Suppose it's impossible for folks not to put favorites on the list. Sort of like -- no, much like -- the MLB Hall of Fame. Thanks for posting this. I've seen the OP's top 10 and the other top 10 he cites, but there are so many great movies, particularly classics, I still want to see. Another couple for consideration: Chinatown and Sunset Boulevard.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by bnorth

1 Fletch
2 Good Will Hunting
3 Up in Smoke
4 Of Mice and Men (Sinise)
5 Blazing Saddles
6 History of the World Part 1
7 Caddyshack
8 Nation Lampoon's Vacation
9 Forest Gump
10 The Gods Must be Crazy

Ben - I realize this is YOUR list, but where's Young Frankenstein?

'What hump?'


.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Ben - I realize this is YOUR list, but where's Young Frankenstein?

'What hump?'


.

I don't think I have seen that one, will have to check it out.

As you can tell for the most part I am a big fan of comedy. After seeing it advertised today I forgot to add The Usual Suspects to MY list of favorite movies.

[tothrk]

My favorite top ten list would have to include:

Lawrence of Arabia
Manhunter
Thin Red Line

and I guess Raiders of the Lost Ark so I'm up to four so far.

Count me in the group that doesn't understand the attraction of The Godfather movies. I like the first two but I personally would never put them on a top 10 list.

[pawpawdiv9]

Austin Powers movies
American Pie movies
Adam Sandler movies >Click (just b/c its funny)
Jim Carrey movies> Cable Guy/Ace Ventura/Dumber

[irv]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I don't think I have seen that one, will have to check it out.

As you can tell for the most part I am a big fan of comedy. After seeing it advertised today I forgot to add The Usual Suspects to MY list of favorite movies.

Forgot about that one too, Ben.

Another great movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiXdPolca5w

[TUM301]

In no real order:
12 Angry Men
Godfather 1
Bridge Over The River Kwai
Casablanca
Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
8 Men Out
Fail Safe
Spy Who Came in From The Cold GREAT Movie
House Of Games
Christmas Carol (1951 version) It`s a Wonderful Life

[RCMcKenzie]

1 2001 A Space Odyssey
2 Citizen Kane
3 Lawrence of Arabia
4 Casablanca
5 Fitzcarraldo
6 The 39 Steps
7 Vernon, FLA
8 Bladerunner
9 Resevoir Dogs
10 The Deer Hunter

[RCMcKenzie]

The above are for a general public canon.

My top 10 as follows...

1 Burden of Dreams
2 Repo Man
3 Five Easy Pieces
4 The King of Marvin Gardens
5 Moby Dick
6 Being There
7 The Shootist
8 The French Connection
9 The Boys from Brazil
10 Bartleby

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by stlcardsfan

Lots of great movies mentioned here.

I love The Verdict with Paul Newman. Great movie I always watch to the end when I catch it on.

Late to the party but it's nice to see someone else giving The Verdict some love. I thought it was Paul Newman's best performance. Ben Kingsley got the Oscar that year but Newman deserved it, at least in my eyes. In fact the whole movie was perfectly cast.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

First of all, who published these lists? The ten greatest films of all-time, and the only foreign film appearing in any list is The Bridge on the River Kwai, which is a co-production of the UK and USA? .

There probably aren't too many Metropolis fans out there.

[stlcardsfan]

Some favorites I can think of in no particular order:

Breaking Away
Silence of the Lambs
A Few Good Men
The Verdict
Godfather II
Alien
Shawshank Redemption


Comedies:
Caddyshack
Animal House
Stripes
Dumb and Dumber

Edited to add:
Rounders (Ed Norton is phenomenal)
Spy Games with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt

[AgonyandIvy]

Well, here’s my nominations for the ten best:

Citizen Kane (1941)
2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Ben Hur (1959)
Casablanca (1942)
Goodfellas (1990)
Singing in the Rain (1952)
Duck Soup (1933)
Hells Angels (1930)
Water (2005)

[Wihawk]

It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World
North by Northwest
The Man who Knew Too Much
The Godfather
Saving Private Ryan
Napoleon Dynamite
Gone with The Wind
Blazing Saddles
The Good,The Bad and the Ugly
Field of Dreams

Great lists so far, nice to see everyone's opinion

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by commishbob

Late to the party but it's nice to see someone else giving The Verdict some love. I thought it was Paul Newman's best performance. Ben Kingsley got the Oscar that year but Newman deserved it, at least in my eyes. In fact the whole movie was perfectly cast.

Hey Bob

We are limited to 10 movies here, of which I have already posted. Anyway, my next 2 best movies are Absence of Malice and The Verdict. Back-to-back (1981 & 1982, respectively)
really great performances by Paul Newman.

Furthermore, I agree with you, Paul Newman should have received the Academy Award for his performance in The Verdict.


I rate Paul Newman and Charlton Heston as the best actors during the years from the early 1950's to 1990's.

Incidentally, my Daughter Zoe, had a bit part in the TV film Empire Falls. It was a Bar scene in Lewiston, Maine where she served Paul a beer, and had a few spoken lines with him.
She said that he was "all business" during the filming, but afterward they did have a short conversation.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[drcy]

Some fine films, but definitely don't agree witht the OP lists (Jaws??? Rocky??? Not saying there not good films, but come on)

Merely my 10 favorite, in order:

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Director: Stanley Kubrick)-- also my pick for best movie ever made
2) Raging Bull (1980, Martin Scorsese)
3) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, Carl Dreyer)
4) Taxi Driver (1975, Martin Scorsese)
5) The Graduate (1967, Mike Nichols)
6) M (1931, Fritz Lang)
7) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra) . . . Yes, a sentimental favorite
8) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, John Huston)
9) Scarlet Street (1946 Fritz Lang)
10) Bad Lieutenant (1992, Abel Fararra)

Duly note that I'm a fan of So Good They're Bad vintage horror movies, so I like a lot of really bad and corny movies too.

[barrysloate]

Ten is impossible, as it could easily been fifty, but I'll take a shot:

On the Waterfront
Citizen Kane
Some Like it Hot
Grand Hotel
A Night at the Opera
Pulp Fiction
Knife in the Water- Roman Polanski's directorial debut
Rosemary's Baby
Performance- Mick Jagger and James Fox
O Lucky Man- Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren

The list could change tomorrow.

[rats60]

Citizen Kane
The Godfather
Casablanca
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grapes of Wrath
Gone With the Wind
On the Waterfront
Vertigo
Lawrence of Arabia
A Clockwork Orange

[jiw98]

My list in alphabetical order:
American Graffiti
Blazing Saddles
Cool Hand Luke
Forrest Gump
Jeremiah Johnson
Outlaw Josey Wales
Saving Private Ryan
Shawshank Redemption
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Unforgiven

Yes, I like Clint Eastwood westerns.

[ClownQuestionBro]

I haven't seen a lot of the older "classics". maybe i'll get around to them now that sports are shut down for a few months....

my list:

Band of Brothers ( I know its a mini series, but this is MY list)
Shawshank redemption
Godfather movies (2 is best)
Saving private ryan
Rounders
Legends of the fall
Rocky 4
Gladiator
Dances with Wolves
Office space (gotta have a comedy)

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by ClownQuestionBro

I haven't seen a lot of the older "classics". maybe i'll get around to them now that sports are shut down for a few months....

my list:

Band of Brothers ( I know its a mini series, but this is MY list)
Shawshank redemption
Godfather movies (2 is best)
Saving private ryan
Rounders
Legends of the fall
Rocky 4
Gladiator
Dances with Wolves
Office space (gotta have a comedy)

Band of Brothers is one of my favorite "anything" on film. I could watch that 100 times and not get tired.

[Snapolit1]

My top 10 would include Night of the Living Dead. Made by students and college profs. Negligible budget. A gore horror movie that is terrifying and has important societal points to make. To me a top 10.

Bear movie ever. That’s easy. The Wizard of Oz. Case closed.