# what is your ONE favorite film of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768 "2010-01-21T00:21:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/1 "2010-01-21T00:21:19Z")
I’ve been following a similar thread elsewhere and have been very amused at the inability of the posters to cite just a single movie. The _vast_ majority listed more than one, some as many as 10 or 15. 😃 And they were _full_ of rationalizations: “Sometimes it’s A, sometimes B”, “All of the Star Wars movies”, “It’s a tie between Porky’s and Citizen Kane”, etc. I would guess that less than 20 per cent actually listed a single film. So, dopers, here is your challenge: Tell us what your ONE favorite film is, and tell us why if you like. The first one to list more than one film, in any context, gets a pie in the face next time I see you. Mine? The Godfather. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/2 "2010-01-21T00:25:03Z")
_Stalag 17_, with _Casablanca_ a close second. ---
**Author:** ![CHEN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3d9bf3/32.png) [@CHEN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CHEN)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/3 "2010-01-21T00:25:59Z")
(500) Days of Summer. Great music, great writing, great directing, great acting (Tom’s little sis = a little miss badass) It’s pretty clear-cut for me. I have a lot of second-favorites, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/4 "2010-01-21T00:28:40Z")
Shane ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/5 "2010-01-21T00:31:47Z")
_The Bridge On The River Kwai_ It’s faultless throughout, and it has Alec Guinness and William Holden. And Sri Lanka. ---
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/6 "2010-01-21T00:33:58Z")
Good Bye Mr Chips. The original version. > **[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) ⭐ 7.9 | Drama, Romance](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031385/)** > > 1h 54m | Unrated I am not an emotional man, but the end makes me cry EVERY time I see it. Not out of sadness, but out of joy for a life well lived. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/7 "2010-01-21T00:40:14Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’ve been following a similar thread elsewhere and have been very amused at the inability of the posters to cite just a single movie. The _vast_ majority listed more than one, some as many as 10 or 15. 😃 And they were _full_ of rationalizations: “Sometimes it’s A, sometimes B”, “All of the Star Wars movies”, “It’s a tie between Porky’s and Citizen Kane”, etc. I would guess that less than 20 per cent actually listed a single film. > > So, dopers, here is your challenge: Tell us what your ONE favorite film is, and tell us why if you like. > > The first one to list more than one film, in any context, gets a pie in the face next time I see you. > > Mine? The Godfather. This is one of my biggest pet peeves on the SDMB. Any post with “What’s your favorite…” in the title will, within ten replies, get a post linking to [Entertainment Weekly’s 500 Greatest Films of All Time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=12018502), or even better, a cut and paste of the list. Vanya on 42nd Street. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/8 "2010-01-21T00:42:57Z")
Contact ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/9 "2010-01-21T00:43:58Z")
If I could only live with one film, it’d be Buster Keaton’s _The General_. Epic, intimate, suspenseful, hilarious, and masterfully executed throughout. A treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/10 "2010-01-21T00:46:45Z")
Interesting that so far the majority are older films. I’m 53 and adored Star Wars etc., but still went for Good Bye Mr Chips. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/11 "2010-01-21T00:51:50Z")
Coraline 3-D. ETA: I’m not discussing it because I’m not allowed to name more than one film 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/12 "2010-01-21T00:56:05Z")
Boogie Nights. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/13 "2010-01-21T01:02:03Z")
> [@CHEN](#): > > (500) Days of Summer. Great music, great writing, great directing, great acting (Tom’s little sis = a little miss badass). This is stunning and confusing to me. It’s a sweet movie, but I wouldn’t think it a contender for anyone’s favorite of all time. Also who’s Tom and who’s his sister? There were no badasses in this movie that I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/14 "2010-01-21T01:02:23Z")
Two Lane Blacktop. Warren Oates should have got an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/15 "2010-01-21T01:02:47Z")
Not to be paranoid or anything, but isn’t this sometimes a question used as a security challenge to help you reset your password? 😛 My answer used to be _Ran_ by Kurosawa, the retelling of the story of King Lear in a Japanese setting, but now I realize that the last time I’ve seen it was several years ago, I will have to view it again and see if I have changed my mind. I love the battle scenes, the poignancy of the old emperor’s fall from power, and especially the strong-willed daughter-in-law Lady Kaede. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/16 "2010-01-21T01:05:19Z")
Caddyshack. (seriously) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/17 "2010-01-21T01:05:51Z")
_A Man For All Seasons_, with Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More, Wendy Hiller as Lady Alice, Robert Shaw as Henry VIII, and many, many other superb actors. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/18 "2010-01-21T01:07:14Z")
Hm. Maybe Gangs of New York. Tough to just pick one. I decided to say hell to thinking of a canonically good answer, just named a movie I like seeing every time I see it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/19 "2010-01-21T01:08:32Z")
_Top Hat._ ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768/20 "2010-01-21T01:08:53Z")
_12 Angry Men_ (1957 Sidney Lumet version) So much of personality interaction, modern society, and the subjective nature of the truth is encapsulated in one tight, perfectly acted and shot film. In the event of an apocalypse, I’d also guard _Beauty and the Beast_, _Star Wars_, _Jurassic Park_, and _Casablanca_ with my life. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-one-favorite-film-of-all-time/525768.md?page=2)