Zach Braff: Top 10 Films

Annie Hall was the first great modern romantic comedy. Woody Allen became my hero because he knew how to write about love in such a funny way and also such a heartbreaking way. That’s what I aspired to do with my films was to write films that you were laughing so much, and then you could come around a corner and feel the pain of, in this case, a lost love. And he also broke all the rules. You can come around the corner and you’re in a cartoon. You’re in a cartoon world, literally. I thought it was brave, groundbreaking, and beautifully shot.

Harold and Maude is another example of something that’s totally outside the box. It broke all the rules for what a romantic comedy can be and it’s beautifully shot.

I think is Spielberg’s best film. I know that’s probably sacrilege to say. It’s the most powerful one to me. It’s where I first discovered Christian Bale as a very young actor and it was clear to me, as I’m his age and he was my acting peer, that he was quite extraordinary.

This is my favorite Scorsese movie. I just think it’s a masterpiece, the way it’s shot, the acting, the dialogue... I think it’s flawless

Manhattan is probably the most beautifully shot Woody Allen movie. I love New York City, and again, it’s funny but it shows the pain of love and that’s what I like to write about. I like to write about laughter and love and pain. The pain of love and the laughter of love. And Manhattan is that.

I know Glory’s sort of an odd choice on here but I was so blown away by the discovery of Denzel Washington, it’s always stuck with me. It thought the performances were extraordinary in that movie. Every cast member was amazing and it’s just beautifully shot and exciting. And that to my mind when I was thinking of movies I love.

I was blown away by Lost in Translation. I related to it. It’s about loneliness, It’s about isolation. Clutching on to someone when you feel so lost and you feel like no one understands you. And here these two people that couldn’t be more different find each other and find this friendship. And I’m always a sucker for movies where things have to end, a friendship has to end or a love has to end. And I just think it’s stunning, gorgeous, and moving.

I believe this film is IMDb’s top movie and I agree with fans there. There’s a reason it’s on TV at all times. It’s just a perfect movie. It makes me cry. It’s beautifully shot and extraordinarily acted. What more do you want?

I think Groundhog Day is a pretty flawless comedy. Bill Murray is a master and I can’t imagine a better screenplay.

Like so many people, I saw Bicycle Thief in film school. It was the first film that opened my eyes to Italian cinema and thought, wow, there’s a whole new world here of films that I know nothing about that were influential to so many of the great filmmakers on my director list. It’s a film I often recommend to people who aren’t into foreign films at all, let alone old foreign films but it’s a great entryway into classic Italian cinema because it’s a masterpiece and it’s heartbreaking and beautiful.