It
started as a lark. On my 30th birthday, I was bored, so I
figured out my 30 favorite movies of all time and wrote about them –
actually on my birthday – and shared them online.
This
started so many good conversations that I knew I would need to do
another list when I was 35. I worked for weeks leading up to my
birthday – listing all of my favorite movies, then shortening that
list to 35, and then writing an epic post (clearly I had WAY too much
time on my hands), complete with links to other reviews and essays
and clips of the various movies.
And
now that I’m turning the big 4-0, it’s time again to think
through all of my favorite movies (so many more than 40), and select
my all-time favorites. Fortunately, though, I do not have nearly so
much free time on my hands when I was a carefree bachelor at 35, so
this will not be quite such an epic post. (For fun, though, I will
share all three lists for comparison in a few days.)
It
was particularly challenging to narrow the list to 40 this year.
Some of my go-to favorites, that I have watched numerous times, are
ranked between #41 and #50, including My Fair Lady,
the Back to the Future trilogy,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,
and How Green Was My Valley,
which I think is an amazing and beautiful film even though most
people are confounded that it was named Best Picture of 1941 over
Citizen Kane.
Just
over half of the movies on my list – 21 – were released before I
was born. If my memory can be trusted, I think that I saw five of
the movies in the theaters when they were first released. While a
dozen of them were released in the 90s, the rest are pretty evenly
spread out across the decades. The earliest film on the list was
released in the silent era (1928); the most recent in 2012.
According
to IMDB.com, 25 can be classified as dramas, 11 as historical or
biographical films, and 10 as comedies, plus an assortment of film
noirs, musicals, action movies, and romances. They represent the
talents of numerous writers and directors, actors and actresses; even
the most represented people on the list – writer/director Billy
Wilder, James Earl Jones, character actor Bill Paxton and composers
Max Steiner and James Horner are credited in just
three movies each.
The
overwhelming number of these films are well-regarded. 21 appear on
the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. 25 of them
were nominated as Best Picture; 8 of those won the Academy Award as
the best film of the year. Perhaps not surprisingly, given my
passion for music, 25 of them were also nominated for Best Score; 9
of them were awarded Oscars. In all, these 40 films received 97
Academy Awards from 252 nominations.
So
here are the movies I love to watch again and again: my favorite 40
movies of all time.
#40
Lincoln (2012)
When
I was in college, Steven Spielberg optioned the movie rights for a
yet-to-be-published biography of Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It
took fifteen years before that project became a reality, cycling
through various actors and screenwriters attached to the project.
The finished product was well worth the wait. Tony Kushner’s
script evokes the era and key
people really well,
especially the enigmatic Abraham Lincoln, whose personality is drawn
out in several ways. And Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance earned a
well-deserved Oscar, breathing life, humor and even a little bit of
oddness into the president better known as a larger than life marble
statue than as a man.
#39
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962)
It’s
a beautiful and lyrical story of childhood, even if the normal issues
of playmates and creepy neighbors play out against much more serious
issues of racism and the struggle for justice. Also, I gained a
renewed appreciation for the movie when I reread the book as an
adult, which is a wonderful love story between a daughter and her
father.
#38
Victor/Victoria
(1982)
I
don’t quite know why I like it better than so many musicals –
though it does have great music and a stellar cast. Each time I watch
it, I seem to focus on a different character, and love it each time,
which I guess is a testament to Blake Edwards’ genius for comedic
timing.
#37
Sunset Boulevard
(1950)
This
great film noir, told almost entirely in flashback, is a haunting
tale of misguided ambition and self-deception. Watching it now is an
extension of the subtext of the story about the fading glory of a
previous age in Hollywood. And, like so many of Billy Wilder’s
movies, it has a great last line.
#36
Auntie Mame
(1958)
It’s
so ridiculous, but also so wonderful. Rosalind Russell’s Mame is
so much larger than life, and so exasperatingly eccentric, that you
can’t help but be amazed. And she shares the screen with a number
of fantastic character actors, which makes the entire experience a
joyful
romp.
A
gripping action movie featuring dueling chases – a US Marshal
seeking an escaped convict and the wrongfully condemned fugitive
hunting the man who killed his wife. It combines wonderfully
action-movie
know-how, including the famous scene where they actually derailed a
real locomotive, and layered
performances, including Tommy Lee Jones’ Oscar-winning turn. It’s
a fun popcorn movie that can be watched over and over.
#34
The King’s Speech
(2010)
I
was not surprised that I enjoyed this movie when I first saw it, but
I was unprepared for how much I would love it. In some ways, it’s
a basic underdog story, where someone overcomes obstacles to do
something amazing at the end of the movie. But this underdog was the
king of England, thrust into a position he never expected, requiring
abilities that he did not naturally have. It is, at once,
inspirational and humbling.
#33
The Rock (1996)
Yes,
this movie is utterly preposterous. No, I’m not embarrassed.
Sometimes you just want cheesy action with juiced-up one-liners…
and Sean Connery.
#32
Life with Father
(1947)
I
feel like this movie would be mostly forgotten except for two things
– it is one of several featuring William Powell and Irene Dunne
(Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man
series, among other things), plus it features a young Elizabeth
Taylor. It also is the film adaptation of the longest-running
straight play in Broadway history, which ran for some 7 ½ years.
Clearly dated and incredibly paternalistic, it still has plenty of
warmth and humor.
#31
La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc)
(1928)
“We
didn’t need words; we had faces,” said Norma Desmond of silent
films in Sunset Boulevard.
This silent film has both. Maria Falconetti’s face, and
especially her eyes, are mesmerizing in her portrayal of the woman
tried for heresy. And the words on title cards are taken verbatim
from transcripts of that religious trial. Plus
the wonderful score, “Voices of Light,” written for the film by
Richard Einhorn in 1994, meant to be performed live by orchestra and
chorus (which I saw once), adds even more emotional power to this
brilliant film.
#30
The Blues Brothers
(1980)
It’s
a musical comedy for men. It has a car chase ballet (shot in an
abandoned mall), and Illinois Nazis, and wonderful music throughout –
backed by the greatest blues band ever. And it is a postcard of
Chicago, with so many locations from around the city.
#29
Pollyanna
(1960)
The
older I get, the more I appreciate the deeper message of this movie.
In some ways, it is a prototypical Disney product (even if it was one
of the first to take this approach): a young girl changes the world
around her with the force of her personality and persistence.
However, it seems like a wonderfully accessible story about the ways
we each impact the community around us, however old, young, rich,
poor, educated, influential we are, or not; some impacts are positive
and some are less so. Hope and joy can change people – even us –
if we’ll let them.
#28
Sleepless in Seattle
(1993)
This
is clearly a very dated romantic comedy in our Internet age. While
there are still a few radio call-in shows hanging on, it’s hard to
imagine Meg Ryan meeting Tom Hanks through the radio today. Still,
this attempt to update the classic movie romances of the previous
generation has a timeless quality, due to Nora Ephron’s stellar
writing and the likeability of almost every actor in the cast.
#27
Tombstone
(1993)
This
is such a stylish Western that is elevated by its amazing acting,
especially Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, its sweeping score, and the
beautifully-filmed centerpiece of the movie – the famous shootout
at the OK Corral. (And I remain convinced that it would be an
Oscar-winning film, and a much better remembered one, if Disney had
screened it for the critics before it opened on Christmas that year.
What a terrible, terrible mistake.)
#26
Field of Dreams
(1989)
If
its a bit sentimental, so what. While the movie is about the
emotional power of baseball – per James Earl Jones’ wonderful
soliloquy at the climax of the film – it really is about the
effects
that our broken dreams can have on our relationships.
#25
Fargo (1996)
Many
people have favorite dark comedies, and this is mine. It’s
incredibly gruesome (though perhaps not as much as the wonderful TV
series that has taken its name and sensibility), featuring crimes
that are committed by people who are respectively, surprisingly
intelligent and surprisingly stupid. Despite that, the intrepid
pregnant police officer solves the crime and justice prevails in the
end.
#24
Tootsie (1982)
For
a long time, actors have found comedy gold impersonating women. (You
could argue that Tyler Perry has made an entire company based on it.)
None have gone to quite the extreme as Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie,
though. Playing a frustrated actor who can only find work by
impersonating a woman, he becomes convinced that “I feel I have
something to say to women.” It is elegant farce.
#23
Vertigo (1958)
It
can be a fun game to try to decide which Alfred Hitchcock movie is
the best, especially his psychological thrillers – Rear
Window, Psycho,
The Birds, North
by Northwest – but I’ve
always liked Vertigo
the most. Jimmy Stewart is compelling as a man who becomes convinced
that he cannot believe his own senses and nearly becomes unhinged by
a man trying to get away with murder.
#22
The Third Man
(1949)
World
War II inspired a bunch of heroic and inspiring pictures, along with
some zany comedies. The Third Man
shows the dark side of that global conflict and its harrowing
aftermath through the devious war profiteer, Harry Lime, impishly
portrayed by Orson Welles in one of his greatest performances,
coupled with perfectly unsettling cinematography and zither music.
#21
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
(1962)
Someone
told me that Roger Ebert gave a series of lectures on this movie for
a conference, devoting one hour entirely to the opening few seconds
of this movie, a train chugging
down the tracks. Such
trains
ultimately brought civilization that tamed the “Wild West” and
set the chronological end of Westerns. This movie is completely
about that tension which shaped the future of the American west, and
the legends that were formed as the foundations of its history. It’s
simply brilliant.
#20
The Hunt for Red October
(1990)
A
cat-and-mouse thriller set during the final years of the Cold War may
seem dated, but I still find it wonderfully entertaining. In fact,
when I can’t sleep and don’t want to watch anything serious, this
has been my go-to film for years.
#19
Gone with the Wind
(1939)
Yes,
it’s a long movie; often I cannot watch it in one sitting. But
it’s also a sweeping epic that accounts for the Civil War and its
aftermath in ways that demonstrate the possibilities and blind spots
of the new south. Of course, that’s simply the background context
for the romantic entanglements that drive the plot and give everyone
in the audience someone to root for.
#18
All the President’s Men
(1976)
Investigative
journalism is a wonderful means of creating drama in movies,
allowing intrepid reporters to follow leads and clues. Even so, All
the President’s Men exceeds
all of these movies with its amazing cast and its sense that the
story is not about only the reporters, but the entire newspaper’s
role – consider how The Washington Post newsroom
is such a powerful visual character in the story and how the most
dominant character is the editor, rather than the reporters. It’s
simply fascinating drama.
#17
The Caine Mutiny
(1954)
This
is a wonderful character study of men under pressure, raising the
important question of when a person of integrity should stand up
against a seemingly incompetent authority. At points it almost
strains credulity, and yet it is always believable because of the
great acting and the subtle character traits given to all of the main
figures, especially to the unanticipated villain, which are all too
true to life.
#16
To Be or Not to Be
(1942)
Against
the dark backdrop of Nazi aggression, great comedy was mined from a
troupe of Polish actors trying to resist the Nazi occupation of
Warsaw. The ability to find joy, life, and hope in the midst of
horrors is the best example of the famous Lubitsch Touch – director
Ernst Lubitsch’s inimitable way of making movies out of seemingly
impossible storylines. It is brilliant and
original farce.
#15
The Silence of the Lambs
(1991)
At
the same time terrifying and fascinating, Anthony Hopkins’ first
appearance as the brilliant serial killer Hannibal Lecter is
mesmerizing. And Jodie Foster finds equal parts vulnerability and
guile to serve as a perfect foil.
#14
The Wizard of Oz
(1939)
This
movie is equal parts idyllic fantasy and sheer terror. Looking back,
I wonder how I watched it so often as a kid: the wicked witch and her
army of flying monkeys are the stuff of nightmares. Still, The
Wizard of Oz is filled with so
many unforgettable things – the vibrant colors of Oz, the
camaraderie of the band of misfits, the memorable songs and music
(the Wicked Witch’s theme), and a sense of the magic of discovery.
#13
Patton (1970)
I
saw a wonderful 70mm print of this film at
the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.
The visual was so clear that the opening of the film looked like
George Patton walked into the room
in person to address everyone. The rest of the epic war biography
simply dramatizes how much Patton believes his own opening speech,
while showing both his shortcomings and his tactical brilliance as a
general.
#12
Some Like It Hot
(1959)
You’d
have to be almost legally blind to mistake Jack Lemmon and Tony
Curtis as women in this movie, but it doesn’t matter. Billy Wilder
spun comedy gold from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (of all
things) by creating a love triangle between Marilyn Monroe and two
men masquerading as women to hide from gangsters, complete with the
funniest last line in movie history.
#11
Star Wars
(1977)
How
good is this movie that was basically meant to imagine a serial
Western in space? It has created its own universe, filled with
unforgettable characters that have made billions of dollars through
multiple movies, books, action figures, home products, and one very
misguided TV Christmas special. It required special visual and sound
effects that were so innovative, the departments became their own
studios – Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound – which
have added their expertise and
ingenuity to hundreds of
movies since. It solidified John Williams as the greatest movie
composer of the last 50 years. And it captured the imaginations of
millions of people, including me when I first saw it as a boy.
#10
Beauty and the Beast
(1991)
I
love animated movies, and this is, without question, my all-time
favorite. At the same time, it feels timeless and original, from the
opening narration to the rousing production number of candles,
plates, cups singing “Be Our Guest,” to the jaw-dropping beauty
of the animation when the
title couple dance
in the ballroom.
#9
Double Indemnity
(1944)
This
classic film noir just seems to get better and better with age. Fred
MacMurray plays against type (as he did in The
Caine Mutiny,
oddly enough) as a scheming insurance salesman smitten with Barbara
Stanwyck’s seductively conniving housewife. As they hatch a plan
to collect double on a life insurance policy, MacMurray tries to stay
ahead of his boss, Edward G. Robinson. Among the twists and turns in
the plot is an even more intriguing and ambiguous question – how
much awareness do each of these three have in the motivations and
schemes of the others?
#8
The American President
(1995)
After
the political turmoil of the past generation, this certainly seems
like a fairy tale. But the writing is crisp, informative, and
optimistic as we peel back the curtain into the balance of private
and public lives for our presidents. It also has countless memorable
lines, including one of my all-time favorites: when the widowed
president’s daughter meets his date, he talks about her current
history class project – at the same time he’s trying to impress
his date as an attentive father and
get his daughter more interested in US History. His daughter
responds, “This is a nightmare. This is a social studies
nightmare.” On
a certain level, there’s amazing awareness, truth, and humor in
that sentiment.
#7
The Shawshank Redemption
(1994)
I still marvel that this movie
was ever made. It seems like a ridiculous pitch, but it’s an
amazing achievement. The search for redemption – in a variety of
forms – in a corrupt prison can be heart-wrenching and depressing;
ironically, though, this movie is fundamentally about hope.
Sometimes, I feel we need more movies that don’t just distract us
from our challenges, but actually provide glimpses of true, unabashed
hope.
#6
Apollo 13
(1995)
In
this well-known life-or-death situation in space, Ron Howard found so
much to celebrate in the human spirit – ingenuity, calm under
pressure, teamwork, and the fruits of rigorous preparation and
training. It was a huge scientific achievement to send astronauts to
the moon, but it was likely a larger achievement to have created a
system, partially by design and partially by consequence and luck,
that could effectively react to a crisis in a space mission. This
film is
a rousing affirmation of
all of those things.
#5
Lawrence of Arabia
(1962)
On a certain level, I could
simply watch this movie with a 70mm print and the score; it is
probably the most beautiful movie ever filmed and the music enhances
that beauty and the rich variety of the desert it features. The epic
story romanticizes history, but it also provides glimpses of ways
that people of different cultures can positively impact each others’
lives and work together.
#4
Titanic (1997)
I
had read a lot about the fated voyage long before the movie began
shooting, and followed with fascination Robert Ballard’s ultimately
successful
search for the wrecked line on the ocean floor in the ’80s. Even
so, I ended up going to this movie on opening night mostly because
some friends were going and I had nothing to do; frankly, I was
afraid they would minimize the history. Instead, over 195 minutes
(and it certainly didn’t seem nearly that long) I watched history
revealed before my eyes, able to identify various actual passengers
even when they
didn’t have speaking lines,
and
watching in wonder as parts of the ship appeared before my eyes.
The love story served an admirable goal – to help us see as much
of this famous ship as possible; and the action-movie director’s
eye allowed the almost real-time sinking a cold-eyed realism. I’ve
seen this movie more times in the theater than any other, and I still
gasp each time when the ship sets sail.
#3
Ben-Hur (1959)
The subtitle of Lew Wallace’s
novel is “A Tale of the Christ.” If the theme is less prominent
in the movie than in the book, it still drives the story. While we
glimpse Jesus at a couple of points (but are never able to see his
face), we gain a greater appreciation for his time and his culture
through the experiences of the Jewish prince, Judah Ben-Hur. I
cannot help but watch it through the eyes of faith, and I’ve always
found it a helpful meditation on faith. Plus, the chariot race is
simply great, heart-stopping movie-making.
#2
The Sting
(1973)
I’ve said this many times –
this may be a perfect movie in every way. The acting is superb; the
directing spot-on. The production aspects are all excellent. The
story is crafted with exacting detail and an abundance of wit, which
is matched by the ragtime score. If I start watching the movie at
any point, I will stop and watch it to the end. I cannot help it –
nor do I want to.
#1
Citizen Kane
(1941)
Often
identified by film critics as the greatest movie of all time, the
first movie effort by writer-director-actor Orson Welles is audacious
in many ways, from a storyline that mocked real-life media tycoon
William Hearst in countless ways to the deep-focus photography by
Gregg Toland that mimicked a live theatre experience more than a
movie. I appreciate many of these aspects of the movie, but it’s
my favorite for a very simple reason – each time I watch it, I see
and experience new things in it. How many movies can you say that
about?
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