North by Northwest would definitely be my favorite. It’s got spies, it’s got Hitchcock, it’s got a blonde, it’s got the always wonderful Cary Grant, great color, great shots, you name it. It’s just a fun movie.
*I agree with the person that said Requiem for a Dream blew them away.
Midnight Cowboy
Persona/The Passenger … tied in a photo finish … Bresson’s donkey and Battle of Algiers to place and show.
Manhattan.
Fanny and Alexander. If I’m going to limit it to one film at least I get 5 hours to watch.
Sergio Leone’s "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(Il Buono, Il Bruto, Il Cattivo)
“Taxi Driver”, “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Full Metal Jacket” tie at 1.5.
Did anyone notice that it was stated to pick ONE?
Raiders of the Lost Ark- anytime, anywhere.
Vagabond (directed by Agnes Varda).
@Ivan
But it’s just too hard!
Satan’s Tango…… there is so much of it, literally and figuratively speaking.
When thinking about favourite films i always include wild strawberries, limelight, tokyo story, straight story or my night at maud’s. so the favourite would be one of them. Probably if i’ve seen ikiru, 400 coups and a time to live and a time to die some more times, they would also be contending…
There are a lot of good choices above.
My (obvious) choice is 8 1/2. It is what I would show to an alien who wants to understand the the richness and layering of the art of filmmaking. Oh yeah, it’s themes are also very ‘appealing’.
8 1/2
it projects most of our struggles in understanding truth and love.
A tie between The Godfather annd Fantasia.
Rushmore. It made me realize it was okay to ignore everyone else’s standards and simply create my own.
“L’Argent” by Bresson. The economy, the sensuality of objects, the interplay between aural/visual, the frame + cut, the color, the locations, the depiction of the tragedy of our times, the commentary on the urban/rural dichotomy, the rigid formality of the characters, etc, etc, etc,. To me this film is the perfect representative of all cinema has to offer. A master at the height of his game, working on autopilot. Too bad this was his last work. Thank god for the Kent Jones monograph on this film, otherwise I’d think I was nuts for considering it the best film of all time. I don’t know why it’s so overlooked. So much better than say “A Man Escaped”, “Diary of a Country Priest” or the donkey film (though I can understand why people like that one, as I can “Mouchette” and “Pickpocket”).
“L’Eclisse”, “Stalker”, “The Bed You Sleep In”, and “Vertigo” are all very close behind, and would round out my top 5.
I would say Werckmeister Harmonies would be my top if I had to pick one. Eraserhead, Stalker, and Satantango are up there too.
I can never decide between 8 1/2 and City of God (cidade de deus).. I guess I am going to say City of God because it has been my favorite for longer.
North by Northwest (1959), because it delivers everything I love about movies.
Cheers,
Steve
http://cinemauprising.blogspot.com/
Cinema Paradiso.
Don’t judge me :P
reservoir dogs
Manhattan
Woody Allen’s Love and Death
Although I agree with most of the above comments and would include alot of the films mentioned as favorites of mine such as Apocalypse Now 2001 Magnolia Mulholland Drive or any thing by Mr Lynch JAWS is my number 1 film choice
I’d love to say something like 8 1/2 or Tokyo Story, but I’d only be lying to myself. If I ever end up stranded on a desert island, I hope The Empire Strikes Back is there with me (… and well, something to watch it on… obviously).
There are at least 10 or 15 films that could take this spot, but for the moment A Clockwork Orange wins out simply because it was the film that turned me into a serious filmgoer. And I have seen it at least 10 times and it gets infinitely better the more I see it.
Kevin Longrie
Bande à Part