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What do you consider to be the best films ever made?

Taking into consideration some of the following:

1. Great production and direction
2. Great cinematic execution, good photography, sets, costumes, etc.
3. Good and meaningful plot
4. Meaningful thematic development
5. Great acting
6. The stories ability to draw the viewer in
7. The main characters transformation during the process (which is fundamental, I think)
8. The timeless and universally enduring quality of the film
9. Whatever else you might consider

What then do you think are some of the best movies ever made?

Using the above criteria, my top two choices would be To Kill a Mockingbird with Gregory Peck, and Apocalypse Now Redux with Martin Sheen.

Personally, on these kinds of lists that you see floating around, Citizen Kane is always at the top. Yet I fail to see how that could be. I hated Citizen Kane, and I can't help but feel that its classification as The Best Film Ever Made is one of those self-perpetuating lies or mistakes that just keeps being retold and retold because someone sees that list, thinks there must be something in it, and then repeats what they read.

What do you think?

Tags: Cinema, Film, Movies

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sean T. on January 19, 2009 at 12:34pm

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope first comes to mind.

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on January 19, 2009 at 12:37pm

Sorry, never seen it. I think I caught part of the clones episode though. SW made a big impact on me though when I was a kid back in the 70s.

Permalink Reply by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on January 17, 2010 at 10:05pm

Hey Dallas...SW IV, A New Hope, IS the movie you and I would call Star Wars, from the 70s.

Permalink Reply by James M. Martin on January 19, 2009 at 1:20pm

Sorry, Dallas, I for one won't be baited into playing Best Lists. I am too old. I went to film school in the late 60's. Everybody had his or her "Ten Best Films of All Time" list, and it eventually dawned on me that as aesthetics boil down to a matter of personal taste, Best Lists are inherently flawed. If you were to ask what were my "favorites," Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible, Pts. 1 and 2 (taken as one, and it was originally to be a trilogy) would win hands down. Others say Casablanca or Citizen Kane. Still others, believe it nor, say Gone With the Wind or even The Wizard of Oz. The only things these five movies have in common is that they are well made and entertaining. Also, some of my "favorites" might bewilder, shock, or infuriate some list members.

Permalink Reply by Paul on January 20, 2009 at 12:31pm

I would tend to agree with you, James. Not only does my own top ten change on a weekly - if not daily - basis but I consistently find it impossible to limit myself to just ten films.

Permalink Reply by Idaho Spud on February 24, 2013 at 1:08pm

I agree James. Personal taste makes it too difficult to be objective. I've heard several directors and actors say that it's impossible to know if a film will be successful or not until they reach the theaters.

I thought of this discussion this morning as I was watching "Sunday Morning. They said that "The Wizard of Oz" is the most watched film of all time. That includes watching it on tape, disk, TV and Netflix. It only made a slight profit when it was first released.

Permalink Reply by Craigart14 on March 21, 2013 at 5:47pm

I think box office success is extraneous. There are a lot of ho-hum films out there making money. Are the Bond movies good movies, or do people see them just because they've seen the others? The last one was a cliche festival.

Permalink Reply by Erin on January 19, 2009 at 11:55pm

ok these immediatly come to mind I am sure to miss a ton of others

The big lebowski
The manchurian candidate (1962 version)
Requiem for a dream
All about eve
The rope
Pulp fiction
The man with the golden arm
Singing in the rain
Whose afraid of Virginia wholfe
To catch a thief
Blade runner
Fargo
And so many more!

Permalink Reply by Randy Rose on March 8, 2010 at 12:35pm

The Big Lebowski is my all-time favorite film! Pulp Fiction is up there, too.

Permalink Reply by function on January 24, 2009 at 10:02am

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is in my opinion near flawless.

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on January 24, 2009 at 6:37pm

I've never seen that, buy this is like the second or third time I've run across the title this week. I'll have to check it out.

Permalink Reply by Randy Rose on March 8, 2010 at 12:36pm

If you've seen Snatch and enjoyed it, you will enjoy Lock, Stock... Same director, similar plot lines (relatively) and the way the characters intertwine is similar.