With you cats4ever,  - can't believe I forgot "Zulu". Must have seen it a hundred times. Reason ? I was a corps training officer at the School of Infantry in Oz for several years during my time in the army. Believe it or not, all new soldiers who join the Infantry Corps in Oz are still shown this movie as part of their training, on about day 2. It is used to instil the importance of obeying orders, remaining confident and not panicking, amongst other things. Michael Caine is a newbie in the original "Zulu" so I guess that makes me rather old now too.

32 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Just like there are actors/actresses that are almost a guarantee for a worthwhile movie (e.g. Robert de Niro, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, ...) there are also directors which provide consistent quality in their movie projects.

You cannot go wrong with movies by

- the Coen brothers

- Stanley Kubrick

- Akira Kurosawa

- Milos Forman

- Lars von Trier

or in the more popular genre, movies directed by

- Ridley Scott

- Quentin Tarantino

- Steven Spielberg

Ridley Scott unfortunately lost it with Robin Hood film- ridiculous PC nonsense. Pity as it started really well, but degenerated after he met Maid Marion.

 

IMO best director is Hayao Miyazaki, but David Lean is pretty good too.

Joe Hisaishi who does the music for studio Ghibli put on a 25 year anniversary concert of Ghibli film music that had some 1160 musicians and singers on stage and many thousands of fans in the audience. For anyone interested it's on U tube.

https://www.metafilter.com/129533/Joe-Hisaishi-in-Budokan-celebrating-25-years-of-Studio-Ghibli-music

 

15 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

Joseph Strick's "Ulysses"

LOL. When that came to NZ it was shown to segregated audiences, so of course everyone went to see it. Complete waste of my time and very boring.

Many of the nominated films are quite dark. For a lockdown situation, we don't need to be even more depressed than we are, so I'd rather see happy ending films like Bend it like Beckham, Gregory's Girl and Elizabethtown.

I really like 500 days of Summer, but it's way too depressing to watch while imprisoned.

I'll be watching A Hard Day's Night soon for a pretty good cheer up it's not all bad movie.

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

LOL. When that came to NZ it was shown to segregated audiences, so of course everyone went to see it. Complete waste of my time and very boring.

It's not for everyone.  Well-suited for those who have read James Joyce, know Irish history, and Homer, of course.  Sounds like you might prefer the "Fast and Furious" series.

Avatar

Destiny of a Man ( Russian )

Mon Oncle Benjamin ( Jacques Brel )

Silence of the Lambs

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

LA Confidential

Malcolm ( Australian )

High Noon

Battle of Britain

2001 - A Space Odyssey

 

So many other worthy contenders - African Queen, In the Heat of the Night, Hopscotch, Babette's Feast, Dirty Harry., Every Which Way But Loose, To Sir with Love, Braveheart, Gladiator, Witness, Escape from New York, Billy Elliot, Modern Times, The Great Race, Goldfinger, The Trap, Outland, Mad Max.........

 

7 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

It's not for everyone.  Well-suited for those who have read James Joyce, know Irish history, and Homer, of course.  Sounds like you might prefer the "Fast and Furious" series.

I think I know as much about Irish history as well as any Irish person, and more than many.

Fast and Furious was OK for the first couple but not later than them in the series.

I don't read Joyce because he's boring and have zero interest in Homer and if that makes me a Philistine, so be it.

I do like Science Fiction though. Reading the later Dune novels now- they give Homer a run for his money, IMO. Favourite books in school were Lord of the Rings, and they are good on every level. Now they became great movies.

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Many of the nominated films are quite dark. For a lockdown situation, we don't need to be even more depressed than we are, so I'd rather see happy ending films like Bend it like Beckham, Gregory's Girl and Elizabethtown.

...

When you are looking for Feel Good movies in these Covid-times.  Try:

- comedy movies with Jim Carrey and his particular brand of cheerful ADHD (e.g. Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, Me myself and Irene, etc.);

- comedy movies with Steve Martin (e.g. Planes, Trains and Automobiles)

- the Naked Gun series with Leslie Nielsen (total nonsense but good for a laugh);

- early Laurel and Hardy (personally I prefer their slapstick silent clips over their full-length movies);

- Charlie Chaplin movies (e.g. the Great Dictator);

And my all-time favorite Feel Good movie > Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain (2001) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet < english title = Amelie > 

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Avatar

Destiny of a Man ( Russian )

Mon Oncle Benjamin ( Jacques Brel )

Silence of the Lambs

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

LA Confidential

Malcolm ( Australian )

High Noon

Battle of Britain

2001 - A Space Odyssey

 

So many other worthy contenders - African Queen, In the Heat of the Night, Hopscotch, Babette's Feast, Dirty Harry., Every Which Way But Loose, To Sir with Love, Braveheart, Gladiator, Witness, Escape from New York, Billy Elliot, Modern Times, The Great Race, Goldfinger, The Trap, Outland, Mad Max.........

 

Reading all these lists it becomes apparent that we all have different opinions when it comes to movies.

 

Anyone remember "On the Beach" from 1959?

 

It's as apt today as it was back then.     Difference  is that this enemy is  most likely not man made.

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Reading all these lists it becomes apparent that we all have different opinions when it comes to movies.

The Mission and Schindler's List are great movies. However, I could only ever watch films like that once due to the calculated inhumanity in them.

In no particular order:

 

Tasogare Seibei

Maboroshi no Hikari

Umarete wa mita keredo

Tokyo monogatari

Shichinin no samurai

Ano natsu, ichiban shizukana umi

Biàn Liǎn

Xích Lô

Hachi no su no kodomotachi

Ugetsu monogatari

 

26 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

When you are looking for Feel Good movies in these Covid-times.  Try:

- comedy movies with Jim Carrey and his particular brand of cheerful ADHD (e.g. Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, Me myself and Irene, etc.);

- comedy movies with Steve Martin (e.g. Planes, Trains and Automobiles)

- the Naked Gun series with Leslie Nielsen (total nonsense but good for a laugh);

- early Laurel and Hardy (personally I prefer their slapstick silent clips over their full-length movies);

- Charlie Chaplin movies (e.g. the Great Dictator);

And my all-time favorite Feel Good movie > Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain (2001) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet < english title = Amelie > 

Watched Amelie recently. Rather quirky, but very enjoyable watch.

The French make many great movies and of course there's that French actor Jean Reno that makes many movies for the English speaking audience. Always worth a watch.

 

Princess Bride

Spirited Away

Book of Stars

She's the One

Local Hero

Romancing the Stone

Claire's knee

American Graffiti

Jane Eyre

The sweetest thing ( has a great song about something unmentionable in polite society ) Very un PC         movie and has Christina Applegate in it- what more could one want?

Shaun the Sheep movie

A shot in the dark

Pink Panther movies

Vanishing Point- the original, not the abominable remake.

True Grit- either of them, but I like the first most.

Atanarjuat

Edited April 24, 20206 yr by thaibeachlovers

11 minutes ago, Andy from Kent said:

 

Anyone remember "On the Beach" from 1959?

 

It's as apt today as it was back then.     Difference  is that this enemy is  most likely not man made.

I do. It was good at the time. Other Shute films like No Highway and A Town like Alice were made into enjoyable films too.

At the stroke of midnight and appropriately self-medicated, you can't beat:

Rocky Horror Picture Show

7 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

At the stroke of midnight and appropriately self-medicated, you can't beat:

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Of course. I used to go see it every Saturday night in London at the Prince Charles cinema. Unfortunately they changed to The Sound of Music or something, but great while it lasted.

I don't know that I would label these as my "top 10 movies of all time" but they would certainly be in a bunch of movies which I like, namely: –

 

Shawshank Redemption
Tombstone
Apocalypse now
Alien
Shooter 
The Matrix (x3)
Law Abiding Citizen
Live by night
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
The Big Short
Bottle Shock
Jeremiah Johnson
The book of Eli 
Leon

Cast Away

Apocalypse Now (especially Redux version, with the French holdouts)

Rumblefish

A Walk on the Moon

Running on Empty (coulda been me!)

Man Who Would be King

The Last Detail (Nicholson's best, IMO)

Cider House Rules

Harry Brown

Ronin (in the early 00's this movie seemed to be be playing constantly in LOS wherever expats gathered)

3 Marx Bros movies:  Duck Soup, Horsefeathers, Coconuts

 

Too new to know if it'll be a fave: 1917, just amazed at the way it was filmed

 

(hey, 3 for Michael Caine in that bunch!)

 

 

Edited April 24, 20206 yr by bendejo

Longest Day

The Vikings

True Romance

Platoon

Dracula (Gary Oldman)

Scarface

Goodfellas

Cape Fear (DeNiro)

Saving Private Ryan 

Mississippi Burning

Unforgiven

 

That's my 11.

 

Thank you to the op for a good thread. I now have some ideas for downloads to keep me sane for a while.

In no particular order

 

Annie Hall

Godfather I&II

The Big Sleep

Snatch

The Big Lebowski

Lawrence of Arabia

Usual suspects

Chinatown

Casino

Blade Runner (82)

 

Under the Radar Epics

The Sand Pebbles - Steve McQueen’s best.

Max Havelaar - depressing, but what a film.

Probably one of the most entertaining movies of all time.....Mel Gibson in Payback with a great supporting cast.

Saving Private Ryan because of the realism of war....very gritty.

Original 2001 because it was state of the art then, and brilliant.

Lawrence of Arabia. Mainly because of the story and the amazing vistas.

Silence of the Lambs....mainly because of how chilling and the brilliant acting.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly....took the western to a whole other level.

Some like it Hot....fun movie with some ot the best talents of that time. Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Totally off the wall creative humour like nothing done before.

Pulp Fiction. One of the great new writers and directors made this one.

Something about Mary. Very funny movie about the dumb things that guys will do to get a girl.

 

Four of my movies are comedies. Pretty much the most difficult genre to be successful in. 

 

 

 

There are so many good movies I like, but there's one which always comes first in my mind since I watched as a boy in the sixties

 

"Lawrence of Arabia"

I don't have a top 10 as wouldn't know where to start and into what order. But there have been many good Aussie films. I kept on adding to the list.

The adventures of Priscilla queen of the desert.   Wish it would appear on Netflix.

Welcome to woop woop . So bazzar even most Aussies wouldn't get it.

Picnic at hanging rock.

Walkabout.

Mad Max.

Sure there are many as mentioned above , one of my favs.  Leon the professional.

OOps, eleven.  Never mind.  In no order.....

 

Excalibur

Casablanca

Saving Private Ryan

Paths of Glory

Michael Collins

Madagascar

The Hateful Eight

High Plains Drifter

Italian Job (1969)

Blues Brothers

A Bridge Too Far

 

Now I've started thinking about I could rack my brains for another eleven.

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Many of the nominated films are quite dark. For a lockdown situation, we don't need to be even more depressed than we are, so I'd rather see happy ending films like Bend it like Beckham, Gregory's Girl and Elizabethtown.

I really like 500 days of Summer, but it's way too depressing to watch while imprisoned.

I'll be watching A Hard Day's Night soon for a pretty good cheer up it's not all bad movie.

Most of the movies that are my favorites are a bit dark/heavy. Some of the really good movies are actually emotionally exhausting to watch. Ie basketball diaries, saving private Ryan, Blackhawk down, requiem for a dream, pans labyrinth, tintanic..

 

If I want easy watching, a few of my guilty pleasures are: 

 

There’s something about mary

starship troopers

the mummy

10 things I hate about you

2012

lost in translation 

 

I love films. I worked at a video store when I was 16 and it was the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had. Lol.

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

I don't know that I would label these as my "top 10 movies of all time" but they would certainly be in a bunch of movies which I like, namely: –

 

Shawshank Redemption
Tombstone
Apocalypse now
Alien
Shooter 
The Matrix (x3)
Law Abiding Citizen
Live by night
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
The Big Short
Bottle Shock
Jeremiah Johnson
The book of Eli 
Leon

Cast Away

i don't know how to be sarcastic. i don't know how to be funny. i know how to read numbers and the numbers tell me everyone's wrong.

 

Why stop at ten? Gladiator, Youth, Saving Private Ryan, Godfather, Wind River, Harry Brown, 42, Hands of Stone, the Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum, Seven, Moon, Alphaville, The Fly, Children of Men, Ex-Machina, Solaris, Alien, The Terminator, Enemy of the State, Gravity, The Great Beauty, Across the Universe, The Revenant, The Secret life of Walter Mitty, This must be the place, Mystic River, The Natural, The River runs through it, An unfinished life, All the President's men, Million dollar baby, The Wrestler, Anna, Angel Heart, In the electric mist, No country for old men, Fargo, Barton Fink, Lady Vengeance, Dreams, Seven Samurai, Ran, Kagemusha, High and Low, Field of Dreams, Mr. Brooks, Open Range, The 3:10 to Yuma, True Grit, Crash, City of Ghosts, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Apocalypse Now, The Thin Red line, Ghost Dog, Mystery Train, Down by Law, Only lovers left alive, Dead man, Night on earth, American sniper, Letters from Iwo Jima, Unforgiven, Pale Rider, I could go on and on and on. 

Edited April 24, 20206 yr by spidermike007

Yes! Angel Heart! A young Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke in his prime, what a pairing.

 

Also High Noon, one of the all time best Westerns.

To Kill a Mockingbird,   The Great Escape,   Ben Hur,  Godfather,     Good,Bad and the Ugly,     Papillon,    Braveheart,   Shawshank Redemption,   Spartacus, and  Goodfellas, but so many are close it's hard to name just 10.