I just saw One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
again for about the seventh time. Saw it when it first came out; loved it then, love it now. May be my all-time favorite movie. I’m not one to pick favorites; I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite band or favorite food. But this one is definitely up there, as it continues to deliver all that a good movie should: complex characters, intriguing plot, superb dialogue, expression of a wide range of emotions, and an ending that punches you in the chest, hard. StraightDopers, what are some of your favorite movies and why?
TH, that is my favorite! My mom and I did it on stage a few years back in OR. We performed it not many miles from where the guy who played Chief Brombden lived. I loved the show then, and had no idea it was a movie. When I became a film buff, I saw it, and was blown away. But the film never explains the title, whereas the play does.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead
A Clockwork Orange
The Right Stuff
Most Marty Scorsese Movies
Most Quinton Tarrantino Movies
Most Mel Brooks Movies
I’m sure I’ll mention a few more as the
thread develops
TennHippie,
Did you read the book? The movie is great, but as usual the book is even better. Luckily, I saw the movie first, so it wasn’t ruined, once I read the book, though, I saw it was much better.
Favorite movies, I can’t name just one, and it seems to change all of the time, let me think of a few.
Taxi Driver
Star Wars
Secrets and Lies
Miracle on 34th Street
The Eel
Seven Samaruai
Pride of the Yankees
Dr. Strangeglove
The Postman (not the Kevin Costner movie, I didn’t see that one, the one about Pablo Neruda)
Harrington
La Femme Nikita
Au Revoir Las Enfants
Manon of the Spring
Jean de Florette
Cabin Boy
Better off Dead
Batman
Hmmm, thats a short list of some I can think of off the top of my head.
Ok not so short, I thought of some more after I typed the first five. Those are the ones when people say they haven’t seen them, I say you HAVE to. There is more, I am sure. But, thats it for now.
pat
One of my faves is “Dangerous Liaisons”. The acting is superb (who won an Oscar that year anyway? Should have been Glenn Close…but then again, I’m biased! ;)), crisp dialogue, diabolical plots, great costumes, decadent characters, John Malkovich (purrrrrr). Just a pure delight.
I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
Alexandre Dumas the Younger (1824-1895)
Little Big Man
Blood Simple
Wag The Dog
I just saw The Man Who Knew Too Little on video. I laughed out loud…it’s been a while.
I actually have a Top Ten list. It changes frequently, but here are my favorites at the moment. (In no particular order)
- Forrest Gump.
- Jurassic Park. I have seen this movie over 300 times, and still haven’t tired of it. I don’t think I ever will.
- Beauty and the Beast. (1992 Disney version) This is the greatest animated film ever made.
- Braveheart. Makes me want to be Scottish.
- The Shawshank Redemption.
- Schindler’s List. When I saw this movie the first time, I nearly wept. I think that this movie should be required viewing, for EVERYBODY.
- Ben-Hur.
- It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s been played to death, but it’s still an excellent flick.
- Field of Dreams. Besides Raging Bull, it has to be the best sports movie that I’ve seen.
- Saving Private Ryan.
Sheesh, I could go on forever. But this will do for now.
BTW, I love Cuckoo’s Nest too. 
Adam
“Life is hard…but God is good”
Hey, ARG220. If you really like Ben Hur, check out a copy of the silent version.
The one irritation is the need of lots of narration camera cards to set up the story.
Slog through those, and I’ll bet you’ll be surprised!
A lot of people (me included)think the silent veresion is actually better.
There are a ton of movies that I really like and some really good ones have ALREADY been named. For instance, Babar714 mentioned ALL Tarintino movies and I second that and ARG220 mentioned two tear-jerkers that I would have also added in SL and FODs…
Here are some others that I’d add:
The Usual Suspects (Who is Kizer Soze?)
Miracle Mile (little known movie where it starts off with a guy answering a ringing payphone)
Full Metal Jacket (War movie)
Heat (DeNiro, Pacino)
House of cards (Joe Magenta)
JFK (Being the conspiracy buff that I am)
Vanished (the one with Jeff Bridges…gave me the creeps)
Zero Effect (I saw this recently on video…Ben Stiller and ???..I forget his name…)
SlingBlade (How can you not appreciate Billy Bob Thornton???)
I reserve the right to add later in the thread…
Contestant #3
Better Off Dead-“Savage” Steve Holland is a comedic genious and it stars John Cusack. Woo!
'Night Mother-talk about a 180 degree turn from “Better Off Dead.” This is basically a discussion between a mother (Anne Bancroft) and daughter (Sissy Spacek) about why the daughter is going to commit suicide that night. Bancroft is always brilliant.
Also: A Christmas Story, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Usual Suspects, Raising Arizona (the ONLY Cohen Brother movie I like), Beetlejuice, Silence of the Lambs, Torch Song Trilogy, Jaws, Blair Witch Project, From Dusk Til Dawn, Pulp Fiction…
Oh, hey, C#3, did you ever see the original “The Vanishing”? Creeped me out!
topolino,
Better Off dead, a movie we can agree on! Have you seen One Crazy Summer? Another great pairing of Savage Steve Holland and John Cusack.
I wish Savage Steve Holland would do more things, I have loved everything he has done. One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead, Encyclopedia Brown series, How I Got Into College. He is just great.
Oh, and thinking of John Cusack, there is a great movie that he is in with Tim Robbins, way back when.
Tapeheads
Its alot of fun.
pat
Forgot Billy-Bob Thornton movies, especially Sling Blade. I love that one.
I’ve recently gotten into independant film. Sling Blade is the reason. Just saw The Deciever(s?) with Tim Roth and Chris Penn, liked it much.
Ooh, and I recently re-discovered Eric the Viking, with Tim Robbins. That is one funny flick.
Pricciar, I have seen “One Crazy Summer” and enjoyed that too. As a matter of fact, this past Sunday, Comedy Central kept running “Better Off Dead”, “One Crazy Summer”, and “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off” as their Back to School Sunday. I’m totally unfamiliar with the Encyclopedia Brown thing though.
I also still need to see Tapeheads but I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy it as Cusack and Robbins are two of my favorite actors.
“Hi, Badger. Your book on how to pick up trashy women came today. Tell me, what’s a little boy like you doing with big boy smut like this?”
You all should go see Twelve Monkeys. It’s a great movie.
And I can’t believe no one mentioned perhaps the best movie of all time: The Godfather!
I don’t know who first said “everyone’s a critic,” but I think it’s a really stupid saying.
Oh Shoot! Silence of the Lambs, and JFK! I knew I had forgotten some. See, there are just too many movies that I love.
Adam
West Side Story - People like to ridicule the singing and dancing, but I still think the message of tolerance and the evils of hatred and gang warfare (“Zip guns? Gee…”) still stand-up.
Six Degrees of Separation (back when Will Smith acted, instead of just acting like Will Smith)
The Little Mermaid - The best Disney movie since Walt died.
Beauty and the Beast - The best Disney movie ever.
Fantasia - Totally underappreciated in its day, it’s gorgeous and wonderful.
Fargo - I was totally caught up in this film. Mostly I don’t like crime-dramas, but I was spell-bound. I didn’t want it to end. I could relate to Jerry Lundegaard (sp?)–not that I ever have or ever would do something so dispicable, I just know how it feels to be so desperate that you go to ridiculous lengths to get out of it and just make things worse, and then it compounds and compounds… sigh
Raising Arizona - Very funny. I loved Nicolas Cage in this movie as a lovable doofus and I’m disappointed that he’s not had a role like this since then. I thought he should have played “Honeymoon in Vegas,” like this, because in that movie he was such a jerk I thought he deserved to lose his girlfriend. If he’d played it as a combo Jerry from Fargo/H.I. from Raising Arizona, I could have had more sympathy
Stand By Me - Best adaptation of a Stephen King story ever
Shawshank Redemption - 2nd best adaptation of a Stephen King story ever
Escape from the Planet of the Apes - I love Roddy McDowell, I love him as Cornelius, I love the apes in modern time, and the ending makes me cry
Fright Night - Roddy McDowell and Chris Sarandon in a funny, and sometimes creepy (at least the first couple times I saw it) vampire movie. Chris Sarandon was the first vampire I thought was sexy.
Poltergeist - The only horror movie I’ve ever seen that actually totally spooks me; most of the rest are just revolting or dumb. But this one is scary, IMHO
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
12 Monkeys! I’d forgotten about that one! We saw it twice in the theater Very spell-binding Best thing I’ve ever seen Bruce Willis do And thinking about it reminds me of my other favorite movie featuring Brad Pitt, Thelma and Louise First movie I’d ever seen him in, and it was love at first sight. He became very overrated shortly thereafter, but at the time I thought I was the only person who noticed him. Sigh
Edward Scissorhands and Benny & Joon. A Johnny Depp double-feature Again, these are movies that I just fall into and don’t want to end. Why do they have to end? Why can’t we go to the theater every week and see a new installment? Oh… because that would be television.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
Ah yeah! “Poltergeist”! I love this movie also. I watch damn near every time it comes on. So we know what happened to the two daughters. They’re both dead now. I wonder whatever happened to the boy (Oliver Robbins, I think).
I also think “Shawshank Redemption” is a stellar movie.
Since I’ve seen Tales From The Crypt: Demon Night it has been my favorite. Very original and wonderfully portrayed.
Brother Haus recommends.
And recently: The Sixth Sense.
I’m growing anxious to see The Haunting.
“What it is, is what it is. And what it should be is a lie someone gave to the people a long time ago.” No one said it better then Lenny Bruce.
Gr8Kat: Have you seen What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? If you like Johnny Depp, then you’ll probably like this movie. It’s also great because it’s the movie that proves Leonardo DiCaprio CAN act.
Adam