# What is your favorite movie of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251 "2011-10-11T03:40:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/121 "2011-10-13T01:01:17Z")
**I Heart Huckabees**. This was easy. It’s a comedy about existentialism. Almost as if it was made for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/122 "2011-10-13T01:03:05Z")
> [@Bosstrain](#): > > Guys, this is ridiculously easy, anyone who knows anything about directing, acting, story and timing would hands down pick **Sound of Music**. It’s not my top favorite, but it’s easily in my top five. I’ve watched it ever since I was a little girl, and it’s one of the few movies my husband won’t watch with me. I agree it is a brilliant film. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/123 "2011-10-13T01:06:16Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > **Spoke** , your choice makes us kindred spirits! My favorite is also **DOCTOR ZHIVAGO** and has been since it was released in the 1960s. **Zoe** , it is a masterpiece of the art form, in all aspects. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/124 "2011-10-13T02:50:09Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > hmmm this is only the second mention of “the godfather” in 94 replies (the other was #51.) > > 1. best performance by an actor in a movie. no one’s brave enough to mention a serious challenger to marlon brando’s don vito corleon (but online polls always mention de niro’s jake lamotta as a close second.) As good a performance as it was, Brando’s was not even the best performance in The Godfather. Pacino’s was better, and surpassed in GII. Duvall, Caan, Castelano, Shire all put in performances as good as Brando’s. (Yes, I’m aware that is blasphemy.) And Brando gave at least half a dozen other performances that were as good. Streetcar, Last Tango, Waterfront, Appaloosa, One Eyed Jacks. For best all time performances see GII, Pacino. Heath Ledger as the Joker, Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously. Others too. Thing with Brando is that he was always fascinating to watch. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/125 "2011-10-13T04:57:03Z")
ledger’s joker is celebrated for improving (so they say) on nicholson’s. i don’t even believe that, nicholson is simply on a higher plane. just as depp’s pirate is celebrated for improving on hoffman’s. regarding pacino, i thought his GF1 performance was much more compelling than GF2. 1 showed the transformation while 2 showed the maturity. the star of GF2 was de niro IMO. just to bring this hijack a little farther, my top performances are: 1. de niro - taxi driver 2. still de niro - GF2 3. nicholson - the witches of eastwick 4. harris - camelot 5. brando - GF1 ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/126 "2011-10-13T06:55:56Z")
**Fargo** I guess if for Runners up, we have: **Ghost Busters The Bridge on the River Kwai Traffic Sense and Sensibility** Fargo is number one with a bullet though. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/127 "2011-10-13T09:08:58Z")
I vote for this one. > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Raiders of the Lost Ark. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/128 "2011-10-13T13:22:53Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > For best all time performances see GII, Pacino. Heath Ledger as the Joker, Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously. Others too. Thing with Brando is that he was always fascinating to watch. A question I’ve always struggled with: how do we award bonus points? I mean, grant for the sake of argument that Dustin Hoffman deserved his Oscar win for fidgeting and bobbing his head and droning away in a monotone during RAIN MAN; how would we have felt if it’d been some unknown actor who, upon winning the Academy Award, had walked up to the podium and – fidgeted and bobbed his head and droned away in a monotone, because that’s who he really is? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/129 "2011-10-13T14:37:03Z")
1. Wonderful cast, terrific score (it’s a musical) and brilliant writing (some of it by the original founding fathers.) For example: “I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a congress.” John Adams. Also, it’s educational. I can still name the thirteen original colonies. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/130 "2011-10-14T01:23:42Z")
1776 is not my favorite movie, I already mentioned “A Man For All Seasons” upthread. But 1776 is certainly in my top dozen favorite films, and ties with “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” as my favorite musical. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bosstrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstrain)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/131 "2011-10-14T16:30:30Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > It’s not my top favorite, but it’s easily in my top five. I’ve watched it ever since I was a little girl, and it’s one of the few movies my husband won’t watch with me. I agree it is a brilliant film. This is a common problem with us males, I didn’t like the movie myself at first, but then I thought about it and ran through a long list of all the movies I’ve ever seen, and the only one that’s in a class of its own is Sound of Music. It’s not even a typical musical either, the way the singing starts isn’t quite as awkward as the rest of them, the whole thing is brilliant from beginning to end! Are you perhaps married to **MacGyverInSeattle**? 😃 I’m sure his list of favorites starts with Saw 1… :rolleyes:. No offense intended, bro, everyone has their taste, it’s just that some have better taste :D. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/132 "2011-10-14T16:58:32Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > The answer I want to give right now is **A Clockwork Orange**. You amaze me. I’ve never known a woman who liked that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/133 "2011-10-14T17:54:11Z")
Well, I _am_ extraordinary. :o ETA: Singing, dancing, cats, naked Malcolm McDowell, what’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/134 "2011-10-14T19:41:13Z")
**2001: A Space Odyssey.** In Cinerama, of course. The one movie where, though I had been waiting for it for years, and read all I could about it, the reality far exceeded by expectations. I’ve also seen it far more often than any other movie, and never tire if it. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/135 "2011-10-14T20:06:51Z")
Seven Samurai is my favorite movie. Anything with both Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura in it is guaranteed to be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/136 "2011-10-14T20:18:48Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > Seven Samurai is my favorite movie. Anything with both Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura in it is guaranteed to be awesome. Good pick! ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/137 "2011-10-14T22:23:52Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Blade Runner has yet to lose that luster. Wonderful, immersive sets and effects, and no woman has ever looked more beautiful on-screen than Sean Young did in that movie. Great performances - Harrison Ford was well-cast as the world-weary blade runner, and what can you say about Rutger Hauer’s performance that hasn’t been said many times before? The rooftop scene was perfection on film. Even Sean Young turned in a great performance as she hides her fragile, broken self beneath a veneer of ice. The questions the movie asks- what does it mean to be human? How much time do I have? - resonate. > > I have a list of movies I usually talk about when this topic comes up, but Blade Runner, I think, floats to the top. I’ve been watching it for 29 years, and it’s still great. Another vote for Blade Runner. When I first saw it in the theater in 1982, I though it was the most intriguing and profound movie I’d ever seen. 29 years later, my opinion hasn’t changed. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/138 "2011-10-14T23:08:26Z")
Three pages, and I get to remind everyone about “To Kill A Mockingbird”? Today’s second place might be “Gregory’s Girl”. ---
**Author:** ![Sin\_Serially](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Sin\_Serially](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sin_Serially)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/139 "2011-10-14T23:40:27Z")
Grosse Point Blank - Only because of the memories. And the hitman comedy part. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251/140 "2011-10-14T23:58:10Z")
> [@Bosstrain](#): > > Are you perhaps married to **MacGyverInSeattle**? 😃 I’m sure his list of favorites starts with Saw 1… :rolleyes:. No offense intended, bro, everyone has their taste, it’s just that some have better taste :D. > > 🙂 No, my husband actually has pretty good taste in movies - we generally watch and enjoy the same things. He just shies away from musicals for some reason. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-movie-of-all-time/599251.md?page=8)