Topic Video
Added 2022-06-08 04:37:25 +0000 UTCWhat is your favorite movie, and why? Let me know, and maybe I'll react to it.
Comments
Gattaca it isn't usually on lists of favourite movies.
Tom Rufer
2022-06-13 12:37:33 +0000 UTCHere's my 30 or so favourite movies: https://letterboxd.com/spanishprisoner/list/top-30ish-favourite-movies-of-all-time/ some that stand out as not usually in the top favorite lists of others: - The Long Kiss Goodnight - (La Femme) Nikita - Leon - Basic Instinct - Body Double - Dressed to Kill - 13th Warrior - The Color Purple
Tom Rufer
2022-06-13 12:32:30 +0000 UTCI don’t have a film I would consider a definitive favorite. For me, it can change from day to day, depending on how I feel, what I respond to, what my outlook is on things. Consequently, there have been several films over the years that I’ve considered my favorite, but I’ll cite the one that has probably been most consistent at holding the title: Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter. That film, about a big-city lawyer who ventures to a small Canadian town struck by a cataclysmic event in order to initiate a class action lawsuit, remains one of my most haunting cinematic experiences. It is a beautifully made film, at once solemn and ethereal, that serves as a meditation on grief, the driving search for meaning in tragedy, and most compellingly, the unfathomable depths of parental love. Ian Holm, in a rare leading role, gives an immaculate performance of quiet turmoil, but it’s Sarah Polley, as an introspective, enigmatic teenage survivor, who lifts the film into the transcendental more than any other. The somber navigation of her life as it is and what it will never be will stay with you long after the film is over. The Sweet Hereafter doesn’t get talked about as much as it should, and I must confess that I love it all the more for that reason. But for anyone seeking an experience and not just a diversion, it’s very much worth checking out. It will be a welcome discovery.
Bennett Oliver
2022-06-08 18:34:36 +0000 UTCI think I have to go with The Handmaiden at this point in my life. For me it combines everything great about the medium of film into this beautifully intriguing, sexy and unsettling package. Not a single moment feels out of place and every time I watch it, it feels like I'm watching a different film just because it has so much wonderful narrarive and thematic complexity. It has everything I want from a movie and then some.
Tyler Shobe
2022-06-08 09:55:08 +0000 UTCBlade Runner For me, Ridley Scott’s final cut of this film is my all time favorite. The lack of narration and the removal of an obligatory happy ending in favor of an abrupt revelation allows us to become more immersed in film’s world, while also being able to speculate about the characters behavior and contemplate it’s existentialist themes. In particular, the revelation of Deckard being a replicant at the end, only enriches repeated viewings when it comes to understanding his behavior along with the behavior of other characters feeding into the film’s ultimate question of what defines humanity. The score by Vangelis is perfect in reinforcing the futuristic dystopian setting, while also capturing the isolation and melancholy that comes with living in a world like this. Additionally, the film’s mise-en-scene is one for the ages from elaborate sets and costumes to the smallest details in the background to create a nightmarish Los Angeles that feels lived in. Finally, Rutger Hauer gives a career-best performance, convincingly portraying all the quirks of his character and still being able deliver that poignant monologue at the end.
Stephen
2022-06-08 07:55:36 +0000 UTCI’ll be honest, if every movie was erased from history except Tampopo (1985), I think we’d be ok. I leave the movie perfectly satisfied, and a second later I think, “Man I can’t wait to watch Tampopo again”. The film about ramen literally uses the act of eating a bowl of ramen as a metaphor for experiencing the film itself! There’s no contest! It’s the best! Itami gave us a cinematic gift that is funny, sexy, delicious, thrilling, weird, joyful and beautifully bonkers from start to finish.
Jared Angcanan
2022-06-08 06:45:14 +0000 UTCThis is an intimidating question, because favorite and best are not always exclusive. My best film is probably "Citizen Kane", but my favorite is Oliver Stone's quasi-interpretation of his Kane, "Nixon". Look at "Nixon" and you'll see the varied types of media, the obvious nods to Kane in his use of shot selection, jumps in time, use of "newsreel" exposition. Stone goes further with the psychedelic elements; the scene where Nixon goes to the Lincoln Memorial, with flashes of carnage and war in the background. His attempt to connect to the kids camped out there and the girl who says to the president after he all-but admits he can't control the government and its policy on war... "sounds like you're talking about a wild beast." The scene when Nixon goes to see the head of the CIA, Jesse Helms, who then quotes Yeats' "Second Coming"... it's chilling. Anthony Hopkins was completely intimidated by this role, but he pulled it off and Stone made something memorable. I'll admit this picture did grow on me over time, but now I can hardly start it up to just watch a few minutes where I'm not completely entranced, even though I've all but memorized it. I guess that defines "favorite".
Atticus Xey
2022-06-08 06:35:01 +0000 UTCMy Fair Lady. Of all the films I've seen, none have exemplified the magic and joy of the cinema better. The production design, the music, the performances, everything fits together so flawlessly that it never fails to impress me. Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins is as perfect a fit for a role that I've seen, Audrey Hepburn is always appealing even with a phony cockney accent, and the film has a timeless message on gender politics that doesn't resort to shaming men or glorifying women, *cough cough Disney*, but instead sees both the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and that despite everything, we can learn to like one another. Take note, modern Hollywood.
Wolfman Brandon
2022-06-08 06:06:45 +0000 UTCI would usually say "Come and See," but we all know that movie is amazing. I think it often overshadows another impressive soviet anti-war movie directed by Klimov's wife, Larisa Shepitko, called "The Ascent." This movie is truly the goat. My brother made a very smart observation on how this movie kept reminding him of the chapter from Moby Dick called "The Whiteness of the Whale." This is the chapter where Ishmael describes how scary pure whiteness is. It's the absence of EVERYTHING and a lack of life, and its more in your face. This movie is basically that chapter put to film. The miles upon miles of tundra in this movie compliment this idea and make the events portrayed come across as even more hopeless and exhausting. I was truly sucked into the bleak world this movie resides in. The personal connection with the characters make the atrocities portrayed hit even harder. The usage of the score is very mature. The approach to the cinematography is excellent. And the themes the movie successfully explores such as sacrafice, the weight of our decisions, maintaining a moral compass, and generational trauma are so rich. And to quickly add, this movie may have the best Climax I've ever seen. Fantastic movie.
Christopher Cassara
2022-06-08 05:32:56 +0000 UTCThere’s too many to definitively say one is my favorite, but currently I’d say Apocalypse Now. It’s a great war film in that it explores questions about war that other war movies don’t like to ask. It asks if there is a specific kind of person that is drawn to fight in wars, and it explores the extent to which war enhances one’s callous disregard for humanity. But why I really love it is that it far transcends being a war film. It’s a journey into the human psyche and one’s acceptance of death. Just the most perfect adaptation of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in that way, and I find it incredibly psychedelic. Every time I watch it, I find a new way in which it affects me which is why out of all the films I could call my favorite, I’m most confident about this one.
Jackson Littlewood
2022-06-08 04:46:42 +0000 UTC
