35 Favorite Movies
by KyleH87 | created - 04 Dec 2010 | updated - 13 Mar 2014 | PublicThe "Top" or "Greatest" lists made by people on IMDB and other websites usually don't really define what are the most innovative and well-crafted movies of all time, and the users' own personal opinions almost always interfere with the lists. I knew that if I attempted to make a "Top 35" list, it would be guilty of the same flaw. There's always going to be the argument of whether one movie should be higher than another on such a list. I therefore decided to create a list of my own 35 personal favorites, still in order, but not necessarily what I believe to be THE 35 greatest movies ever made. These are movies that continue to mesmerize every one of my senses and teach me the art and beauty of cinema upon every viewing.
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1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Passed | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz
Votes: 60,590 | Gross: $0.02M
This is such a bizarre, horrifying, and compelling film. It's unlike any other silent or talking picture I've ever seen. Through a script taken from actual dialogue from the trial and the use of facial close-ups almost all the way through the movie, Carl Theodore Dreyer displays the tragedy Joan of Arc endured during her trial and the malicious and vengeful minds of the judges and theologians who questioned her. This film reflects on a timeless, universal level not only the hypocrisy of the church, but the hypocrisy of the law and humanity as well. It seems to be in our nature as humans to say one thing and do another, to go from treating our neighbors kindly to torturing them, and this movie depicts this nature in us better than any other in my opinion.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 718,660 | Gross: $56.95M
Moses, John, and the other writers offered us the Bible of the earth; Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark offer us the Bible of the universe. Here we witness a Book of Genesis, a Gospel, and a Book of Revelation more complex and bedazzling than anything we could possibly imagine. The aliens are God, the HAL 9000 computer is the devil, and space pilot/starchild Dave Bowman is Jesus, saving the world from the corrupt mechanical system it's created for itself.
3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 313,983 | Gross: $44.82M
This is not just a movie; this is a journey through the desolate but beautiful desert of Arabia and the disturbing mind of a masochistic, flamboyant English officer searching for his sense of humanity and self-worth in a world of foreigners that are possibly not so foreign to him after all.
4. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 164,678 | Gross: $9.60M
Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando brilliantly show us the mind and emotions of Terry Malloy and what he has to endure to go from sticking with Johnny Friendly and his gang of crooks and being hated by Father Barry and Edie Doyle, to fighting against Friendly and his greedy counterparts and helping Barry and Doyle bring justice to the working class of the waterfront. This movie rightfully rebelled against the sugarcoated films and TV shows of the 1950's and encouraged the people to realize the injustice of the world and do something to stop it.
5. Citizen Kane (1941)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 465,597 | Gross: $1.59M
Technically, this is just about the greatest thing I've ever seen. Orson Welles is certainly something we'll never see the likes of again. The story is not one of my favorites, but nevertheless, it is a powerful story that speaks out toward the stupidity of those who strive their whole lives to be wealthy and materially successful and fail to see the things in life that really matter.
6. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,216,662 | Gross: $107.93M
Who would have thought that diner theft, hitmen, a boxer, drug abuse, accidental murder, rape, hamburgers, and divine intervention could fit so well in a movie together? Quentin Tarantino is who. This movie is more shocking, hilarious, thought-provoking, and timeless than a great many other movies of the 90's, or of all time for that matter.
7. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,442 | Gross: $0.27M
On the surface, it appears to be nothing more than a very entertaining Japanese samurai movie, but after you watch it more closely, you'll realize that this film has a lot more to say. It expresses on an international and timeless level the social and emotional distance between the classes and the lack of recognition toward the most selfless and proficient people in society. Notice how the samurai risk their lives for the peasants and receive hardly any appreciation at all from them throughout the entire movie. Kikuchiyo even mocks them for it at one point.
8. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
Votes: 1,448,192 | Gross: $322.74M
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, when George Lucas had talent, where legions of nerds dressed in Darth Vader costumes could not be seen, this movie was created, and then transported to theaters in our time, in our solar system. If you look beyond the over-extensive amount of movies, books, and video games that were created after this one film, you will notice its brilliance. This is a John Ford Western set in outer space, with captivating characters, an extremely fun and quotable script, and a story that unfolds in a strange but fascinating order. Many argue that Empire Strikes Back is the best of the Star Wars films, and I can understand where they're coming from, but I still see the original to be the most mesmerizing and invigorating of them all, from the overhead star destroyer entrance at the beginning to the Death Star explosion and award ceremony at the end that, combined with John Williams' beautiful score, brings tears to my eyes upon every viewing.
9. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Approved | 170 min | Drama, Romance, War
Three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Teresa Wright
Votes: 70,474 | Gross: $23.65M
If you have not seen this movie, WATCH IT! It has such a compelling story that just as many people can relate to today as they could after WWII. The dark themes of the movie are balanced out by the humor and romance elements. The script, the acting, and the sublime use of deep focus are other things worth mentioning. This is a timeless classic that both men and women can equally enjoy.
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
PG-13 | 201 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
Votes: 1,976,820 | Gross: $377.85M
11. The Godfather (1972)
R | 175 min | Crime, Drama
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
Votes: 2,009,338 | Gross: $134.97M
Anyone who has seen this film knows that it goes far, far deeper than your typical gangster movie. Every character has multiple dimensions and a very heavy soul. Every violent scene is not just a scene filled with gunshots and death, but a painting in motion that is beautiful in an ironic sort of way. This is the Mona Lisa of crime movies.
12. City Lights (1931)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
Votes: 195,876 | Gross: $0.02M
After 80 years, the movie remains very funny and touching. It also still demonstrates very beautifully the difficulty for a man to make ends meet and impress a girl, even a girl who can't see and won't judge his looks, in the midst of a country with a poor economy.
13. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
After the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 1,378,219 | Gross: $290.48M
As I mentioned, some argue that this movie is better than the first Star Wars, and I can see why. It's the darkest and most mature. The Star Wars saga unfortunately begins to lose its "force" after this installment.
14. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 379,771 | Gross: $23.38M
Martin Scorcese is a brilliant director and Robert De Niro is a brilliant actor who delivers possibly his best performance in this film as Jake LaMotta.
15. The Seventh Seal (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy
A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe
Votes: 198,261
Such a compelling movie that jolts you out of whatever moralistic notion you've ever had and encourages you to look at that notion in a different way.
16. Barry Lyndon (1975)
PG | 185 min | Adventure, Drama, War
An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger
Votes: 182,841
The most underrated Stanley Kubrick picture, and easily one of the best. Kubrick's decision to only use natural light in the film leaves you feeling as if you've actually traveled back in time to the 18th Century, and you're following the bold and greedy Redmond Barry on his adventures in and out of love, battle, and wealth.
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
PG-13 | 178 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean
Votes: 2,004,692 | Gross: $315.54M
My favorite of them all because it sticks closest to the book and Gimli doesn't deliver a bunch of cheesy one-liners like he does in the other two.
18. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 345,775 | Gross: $13.28M
The best Hitchcock movie IMO.
19. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri
Votes: 174,983 | Gross: $0.33M
This movie so beautifully demonstrates what every man will go through to get his end of the payroll, even if it means screwing another guy over after he's been screwed over in the same fashion.
20. Ben-Hur (1959)
G | 212 min | Adventure, Drama
After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet
Votes: 253,408 | Gross: $74.70M
Regardless of whether or not you like the religious theme, the occasionally dense dialogue, or Charleton Heston's overly theatrical acting, it's hard not to be blown away by this movie, whether it's the first time or the 50th time you've seen it. The chariot race, which is what people remember the most about the movie, remains to this day to be one of the best action scenes ever released on film. Every other part of the movie is not quite equally powerful, but very close. Charleton Heston is not nearly as over-the-top in his role of Judah in this movie as he typically is in other movies, and the tension between him and Stephen Boyd as Massala is superb. Jack Hawkins also delivers a marvelous performance, as he does in Lawrence of Arabia and every other movie I've seen him in.
21. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 627,755 | Gross: $117.24M
This is the only Rocky movie that can be regarded as a great film. It's so real, so touching, and probably the most inspirational movie I've ever seen. Everyone feels like a dumb screw-up like Rocky does at one point or another and desires to give it all and "go the distance".
22. 8½ (1963)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama
A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale, Sandra Milo
Votes: 125,101 | Gross: $0.05M
Oddly intriguing, thought-provoking, somewhat Freudian, dreamlike, possibly the most artistic film ever created.
23. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, War
An unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 517,555 | Gross: $0.28M
The perfect black comedy, other than maybe Pulp Fiction.
24. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 427,476 | Gross: $51.97M
Another movie that takes you back to the 18th Century.
25. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Not Rated | 66 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov
Votes: 61,399 | Gross: $0.05M
26. The Godfather Part II (1974)
R | 202 min | Crime, Drama
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
Votes: 1,362,547 | Gross: $57.30M
As good as, or arguably better than, the first movie.
27. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 498,712
I wish it wasn't over-hyped as a "Christmas movie", because it's not really about Christmas at all. It's about a man's realization of his purpose in life and the impact he's had on those around him.
28. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 127,970
29. Rear Window (1954)
PG | 112 min | Mystery, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 521,553 | Gross: $36.76M
This film really demonstrates how brilliantly Hitchcock could add suspense to his movies. He keeps the audience on the edge of their seat without ever allowing them to leave one room.
30. Modern Times (1936)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford
Votes: 259,197 | Gross: $0.16M
One of the more underrated Chaplin films, this richly demonstrates what the working man has to go through in a rough economy, in an equally powerful but different way than City Lights does.
31. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, War
British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
Director: David Lean | Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Votes: 233,102 | Gross: $44.91M
Epic movie with one of cinema's most epic endings. "Madness... Madness..."
32. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
PG | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
Votes: 226,573 | Gross: $102.31M
"Kid, there's somethin' I oughta tell ya. I've never shot anybody before."
".....One hell of a time to tell me!"
33. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 923,146 | Gross: $38.40M
34. Back to the Future (1985)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Votes: 1,305,145 | Gross: $210.61M
"Ronald Reagan? The ACTOR?"
35. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,213
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