We were asked at the Film board to add explanations for our choices so here are my ten favorite films of all time with explanations. It's ok if you just wanna post your ten favorites but I am interested in some of your thoughts on your favorites.

My ten favorite films. I do not consider these the ten best of all time, as I've said.

Le Samourai, if I may be shallow, is the coolest film to my entertainment I can think of. Jef Costello is the type of character I love in films, loner criminals. Only here we get a sense of his isolation, and it has a gritty yet beautiful mysteriousness to it. A lot of grays and blues, his decrepit apartment, and in the midst of it, a bird he keeps for reasons not explained. He's completely anti-social, even when talking to his girlfriend. He limits his words as much as he can, and always has a serious look on his face, which he probably doesn't notice himself. There's very little violence, but it may be the most tense film I've seen, fascination burning through every moment. Hell, watching this makes me wanna wear a fedora/raincoat. An excellent Neo-Noir and partial inspiration from American gangster films.

Taxi Driver, I can't remember how many times I've seen this. It's in my opinion the greatest character study ever along with Citizen Kane, and it gets better every time I see it. It's also Scorsese's best work. I think a large part of my admiration has to do with several aspects I heavily relate to on a smaller non-psychopathic scale. Herrmann's score was a wonderful end for his career. DeNiro's performance is top-notch, and it makes the film even more engrossing. A very gritty depiction of loneliness.

Collateral is Michael Mann's third best film, and a perfect example of his visuals. Tom Cruise gives us one of his best performances, competing only with Magnolia. Mann went the extra yards to fully develop his characters even if some of it doesn't reach the screen. Vincent is somewhat of an opposite to Jef Costello, in his sociopathic ability to charm and socialize, such as the Jazz club scene. The music, digital photography, acting, and wonderful realistic action scenes turn this into a crime drama more powerful than most are these days, especially on the emotional level. It's shy of being a masterpiece, mostly due to it's cat/mouse rising action, although the actual ending on the Subway was a very good ending. It's also one of Jamie Foxx's performances that proved he can act, from Any Given Sunday to this, and eventually his excellent Ray Charles portrayal. Antonio Pinto's "Requiem" is also a beautiful score. Scorsese and Mann are huge inspirations to me as an aspiring filmmaker. It's unfortunate Mann is usually overlooked many times, and usually doesn't make as much money as other people do like Spielberg, even though he's an excellent storyteller.

Memento was a milestone during my cinematic maturing. It introduced me to elaborate writing and ambiguous mysteries. I watched it over and over in the days and weeks following my first viewing, fascinated by the more I learned about it. That also allows you to care for the protagonist a lot. I usually pace out my viewings of this very spread out now, which enriches the film when I rewatch it. The music by David Julyan is very depressing and fits the film perfectly. It's probably the best or one of the best mystery/suspense films to come out in the last 25-30 years.

Pulp Fiction never gets old. You can listen to just the audio on this film on a CD and be entertained. Tarantino takes homages and brilliantly turns them into creative material. This is his best film by far, excellent writing, soundtrack, humor, and it even works on a dramatic level. One of the most iconic of the 90's and in cinema generally.

Mean Streets originally I only admired as one of Scorsese's best, but after repeated viewings I grew to love it on an entertainment level. I consider it his third best behind Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. It's definitely his most personal film, but it's one of those films you can just sit back and relax to. It exhibits a presence through characters and setting that just pull you into it. My favorite scene is definitely the pool hall fight, which is boosted by the music, which is another thing all together. This contains one of the best soundtracks ever, mostly from Scorsese's personal record collection. Keitel and DeNiro light up the screen, and Scorsese's visual style creates a wonderful atmosphere.

Dead Man is unlike any western I've seen, and trust me, I love the genre. Jarmusch is quickly fascinating me to see his other material. I think this film can compare to Apocalypse Now in how the entire film is a journey. It's a journey in losing fear in death. It feels like it was adapted from a novel of the American Romanticism period. The nature seen through the black and white photography is a beautiful example of cinematography, which is among the best of the 90's. Johnny Depp's acting is very good as usual and Jarmusch's perfectly paced direction is taut. However a huge emotional impact comes from Neil Young's excellent score. Young's music flows wonderfully through the film, especially during the final scenes.

Heat is possibly Michael Mann's best. It's longer than The Insider but feels ironically shorter. I admit it's a tad overlong but I loved every minute of it. Mann not only gives us the cop as the hero, but he makes the villain someone we can sympathize with, and in the end is a victim of impulse, which is against his nature, kind of the opposite of Max in Collateral, where impulse works for him. The music is great as usual, and even though I am not a Moby fan, I love his second song in the film used in the final scene. The final image itself is a perfect ending to this crime epic. This also stars two of my favorite actors, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Many brush this off as a gimmick film to put them together, but I think it couldn't be more wrong. Hell, that one diner scene proves it. And let's not forget one of the best shootout scenes I've seen in cinema, the bank heist scene. The sound makes you feel right in the middle of the chaotic action, even on a TV speaker. As usual Mann brings beautiful visuals and a sense of realism to the film, especially in training the cast. Hell, Pacino said he didn't even know how to use to a gun that well up until this film.

Citizen Kane is one of THE best films ever made, and I never really loved it entertainment-wise like Mean Streets until repeated viewings. I loved watching how great an actor Welles was, and especially as the director, considering this film was decades ahead of it's time. The visuals are as great as they come and for their time were very innovative. Hell, you probably won't be able to spot what was created in post-production unless you're told. The story is simply about a man who wanted love, but had none to give to others, and it's painful to watch the second half, especially towards the end. The scene where he destroys the room is one of the greatest in all of cinema, and the mirror shot right after is one of my favorite still shots in history.

Raging Bull is Scorsese's second best, and the best sports film ever made. The fight scenes are simply brilliant, every shot conceived by Scorsese. Movies like Rocky make you feel like an audience member much of the time. This film puts you in there and makes you feel like the fighter. Even with black and white it's a brutal film, water and blood everywhere. Of course it's not all blood and sweat. It's primarily a character study about a man who is considered by many unlikable. He's a sinner and at times a scumbag, but it doesn't stop us from sympathizing with him, because we see him and realize he's flawed. He's sexually insecure and paranoid, which causes a rocky relationship with his wife. He's a great fighter, but that doesn't stop him from saying he has girl hands. He's one of the great tragic heroes of cinema, and DeNiro's performance is mind-blowing. He mainly wanted to make the movie and his dedication is evident, including his weight gain to play the burnt-out Jake LaMotta. The classical music used as the score is beautiful, but what I love is the visuals. The size of the ring changing through the film, the smoke, tracking shot. By the second half the boxing ring is a pit in hell rather than a ring.

pulp fiction
high fidelity
eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
clerks
fight club
moulin rouge
goodfellas
taxi driver
raging bull
almost famous

honorable mentions: 25th hour, requiem for a dream, reservoir dogs, as good as it gets, american history x, fear & loathing in las vegas, the godfather (parts i & ii), closer, ed wood, gods & monsters, jackie brown, kill bill, memento, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, mystic river, rebel without a cause, this is spinal tap...

that's a rough draft (the actual list, not the honorable mentions) - i'm probably forgetting alot, but i'm lazy & don't care

I gotta rewatch Fight Club and Eternal Sunshine For the Spotless Mind soon. Probably not gonna have much time between watching other films and coming up to exam week. The latter is definitely the best of 2004.

Vertigo (1958/Hitchcock)
Needless to say, this is indeed my favorite film. It isn't the most suspenseful film in the master of suspense's repetoir. It's the most tense, the most resonante, the one that is fresh today as the day it cameout. It is a film about obsession, and this theme is fully explored from Benny Herrmann's sublime score to Saul Bass's opening credits. But more than it is a film about love, betrayal, loss and those themes are brought together by the two principals. James Stewart has his finest hour here. A film relating to obsession is also indeed a film you'll find obsessing you.

Casablanca (1942/Curtiz)

Alright. Roger Ebert said it best, saying that he'd never heard of a single bad review of this film. I see what he means. This film is a cornerstone in American cinema, and so beautifully put together from the script by the Epstein's and Howard Koch to the moody lighting of Arthur Edson and of course the acting of Bogart, Bergman & Co. This is perhaps the best case of what happenes when all the elements of film making magically morph to make not just great melodrama but intriguing charecters.

Duck Soup (1933/McCarey)
It's hard to belive that upon it's release that "Duck Soup", a film which we commonly name as the greatest hour from those zany Marx's, bombed in the box office and nearly sunk the carrer of the Bros. It is so witty, so madcap, so insane. Again, it's also a film that stands the test of time (73 years) so well that it works even beter today.

Singin' in the Rain (1952/Kelly-Donen)

Simply put, this is the highpoint of the musical film. Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" number was accuratley noted by composer Leonard Bernstein as, "The Reafirmation of Life". The rest of the film is so enjoyable, full of happiness and glee.

Ikiru (1952/Kurosawa)
I haven't really seen a film that has made me want to change my way of living or inspired me to do something as much as this. The tale of Kanji Watanabe and his striving to give purpose to his life before he dies of cancer is so pogniant and beautiful.

The Maltese Falcon (1941/Huston)

In a year that Orson Welles was busy changing film practices forever, accross town John Huston was altering filmdom in his own right bringing us not only the birt of film noir but presenting to us some of the screen's most intriguing charecters and pronouncing to us the presence of Humphery Bogart in his greatest role. This is how a book should be aadapted; faithfully and briskly paced.

Modern Times (1936/Chaplin)
Chaplin was more than a comedian. He was a director, composer, writer and producer of his own films. he backed his own movies with his own money, added the emotions of pathos into his work and made film into a truly emotional medium. Here, he's perfected it all almost a decade into the sound era. This proves his artistry.

Greed (1924/von Stroheim)

Easilly the greatest look at the subject of the film: Greed. It is a feast of the eyes, probably the first true mastepriece of the sreen placing any of the work Grifith did in the teens and bitch slapping it with it's use of menace, Greed and darkness. The final frames are so so haunting.

The Big Red One (1980-2004/Fuller)
Band of Brothers (2001/Assorted Directors)
I'll combine my reviews for these both films. I usually never meantion "Band of Brothers" as a film and yet now I can't help but give it a place on my list alongside with, "The Big Red One". These two films portray perfectly not only the events of the war in gneeral. They understand the topic of men in war; and their pain, troubles, loss. "Band of Brothers" goes into that theme. "The Big Red ONe" however goes more into a statement of how stupid the romantic conceptions of war is. After all, the only glory of war is surviving.

1. The Godfather Part II (1974)
What can I say that hasn’t already been said. In my opinion, a perfect film in every aspect. Not Pacino or DeNiro’s best performance, but they work within the story. Flawless direction by Coppola, great music by Rota, cinematography, supporting cast, all just meshes together perfectly. Not to mention, what I consider to be the most intriguing, thought-provoking, interesting, well-written story in all of cinematic history. My favorite scene is Fredo's rant in the boathouse.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 100%
5/5 Stars

2. The Godfather (1972)
For me, the only reason that this is #2 and PtII is #1 is simply because of PtII's story, which I dont think PtI can compare to, but put it up against anything else, still blows it away, and like its sequel, absolutely perfect in every other aspect. My favorite scene is the Baptism massacre.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 100%
5/5 Stars

3. Goodfellas (1990)
I always feel like I'm doing this film a wicked injustice not ranking it as #1, considering I feel as though this one too, is a perfect film. For my top 5, it basically just comes down to the type of film it is, as I feel that all 5 are the best of their kind. Goodfellas too, exemplifies perfection in areas of music, cinematography and lighting, camera work, acting, and most of all, direction. I feel as though Scorsese must have locked himself away for 10 years with the Goodfellas script and methodically plotted each scene out frame for frame, because it doesnt seem like there's anything out of place. I love how the film is able to seem like two different films combined into one, as the beginning feels like a good old 1940's/50's/60's mob story, and the second part is completely different, the coked out 70's and 80's. My favorite scene is probably Henry's last day before he is arrested, fantastic editing by Thelma Schoonmaker (sp?) and direction by Scorsese, here especially.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 100%
5/5 Stars

4. Heat (1995)
Clearly Michael Mann's best work, this epic cops/robbers drama gets it all right. No need to repeat myself I guess, I consider this film perfect in every aspect. Mann's direction made me fall in love with LA. The infamous bank robbery, the final showdown, stellar performances from Pacino, DeNiro, Kilmer, Sizemore, Voight, etc, etc. My favorite scene is obviously the bank robbery shootout.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 100%
5/5 Stars

5. Forrest Gump (1994)
A fantastic film, seems to tell the story of America and the tumultuous 60's and 70's through one man's story. Hanks is at his best, and as much as I hate to say it, Robert Zemeckis' direction is perfect as well. Never becomes too cheesy or too serious, a perfect blend of everything, the 5th and final perfect film on my list.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 100%
5/5 Stars

6. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
Even I'm kind of surprised to see this film way up here at #6 but I recently realized upon a rewatch just how truly great it is. Beautiful black and white photography, lighting reminiscint of Citizen Kane, a well-paced meticulous story, a likeable yet emotionally-distant main character, perfectly acted by Billy Bob Thornton. The story seems to transcend the boundaries of the main character's life and his struggles to apply to all of mankind. Questions of normalcy, instinct, truth, family, love; really a much deeper film then you might see it on a 1st viewing. Probably what I consider to be the most underrated film of all time. My favorite scene is the intro to Tony Shaloub's character.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 19/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 14/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 9/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 97%
5 Stars

7. American Beauty (1999)
A surprisingly mature and excellent film from rookie director Sam Mendes. I feel like I probably like this and Forrest Gump more then some others might because of how much they reflect the American way of life. Gump holds a fairly optimistic point of view, whereas the opposite is true here. Kevin Spacey is brilliant, my favorite performance of his. My favorite scene is the one where Spacey almost spills beer on the couch as he and Annette Bening are about to kiss, and the ensuing conversation.

Direction – 19/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 9/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 4/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 97%
5 Stars

8. Casino (1995)
Upon my intial viewing, I had the same feelings that many others seem to have about Casino; too long, too much like Goodfellas, confusing story at times. But after watching this about 20 more times, I started to come around. No one can argue that Scorsese is at his best in the technical aspects of this film; perfectly lit, edited, framed, and although the story may seem a bit dragged out and muddled at times, I really feel like after taking it all in a few times, the story really comes togethor. My favorite Joe Pesci performance. My favorite scene is the scene in Ace's house where Pesci yells at him about his TV show and stuff.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 13/15
Rewatchability – 13/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 10/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 96%
5 Stars

9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
The only thing I have against Pulp Fiction is the fact that at times Tarantino doesnt seem to chose his shots too carefully and sometimes holds the same shot for too long, but not in a good way like the Copa tracking shot in Goodfellas. Great music, great acting, amazing story, probably only 2nd to GFII, Tarantino's best. My favorite scene is all of Vincent and Jules's conversation on the way to Brett's in the beginning.

Direction – 19/20
Acting – 20/20
Story – 15/15
Rewatchability – 15/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 7/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 4/5
TOTAL = 95%
4.5 Stars

10. Traffic (2000)
Soderbergh's best, great ensemble piece, Benecio Del Toro really stands out. Traffic pulled off the multi-layered storytelling format much better then Magnolia or Syriana I thought. The cinematography and lighting really stand out here. I love the fact that this film was shot with mostly natural lighting and with an unmounted camera usually being handled by Soderbergh himself. This type of guerilla filmmaking really works excellently. My favorite scene is probably when Benicio Del Toro is sitting watching the baseball game at the end.

Direction – 20/20
Acting – 19/20
Story – 14/15
Rewatchability – 13/15
Music – 10/10
Depth – 9/10
Cinematography – 5/5
Supporting Cast – 5/5
TOTAL = 95%
4.5 Stars

And in case you were wondering, I consider Pacino's best performance to be Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, and DeNiro's best to be Max Cady in Cape Fear.

mista mista i'd have to say i love your list except for casino and traffic. but to each his own. my list would be

the godfather
the godfather 2
American Beauty
goodfellas
citizen kane
Its a wonderful life
apocalyse now
mean streets
LOTR trilogy
clerks

now you may ask why i would put lotr and clerks on my list. my reasoning is because lotr seemed to be near flawless in all aspects. i didn't see any real problems in the acting(though i've heard a few people say they wished someone else had been frodo). the cgi was amazing...just look at gollum. and then clerks is more of a sentimental pick on my list. i just love the script.

1) Scarface One of my favorite actors, Al Pacino, in (in my opinion) his best role. A lot here criticize this movie as being "populist cinema." Whether you agree or disagree with this I do not think you can deny Pacino's brilliant performance. I still sometimes have trouble beliving that Al Pacino is playing Tony Montana. He's THAT convincing. It was also good to see a young Michelle Pfeiffer show Hollywood what she is capable of doing. And on a personal note, I know I'm the only person on this message board who thinks so, but I enjoyed the music of this movie.

2) The Usual Suspects A fellow co-worker of mine originally showed this to me at the time. He said it was great and after viewing it (a couple of more times to piece everything together), I agreed. The cast and the writing make this movie. Singer did his thing but it is just such a treat to watch Kevin Spacey, Kevin Pollak, Benicio Del Toro, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne and Chazz Palminteri work together. Christopher McQuarrie wrote a terrific movie and I'm glad to hear that he won an Oscar for his screenplay.

3) The Big Lebowski I know I'll get crucified for this but I do enjoy The Big Lebowski more than I enjoy Fargo. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy Fargo or that it's not a good movie (I own the DVD), but I enjoy this movie more. My favorite genre is comedy and it's very rare for me to find a movie that I can watch 100 times and still laugh at it as if I'm watching it for only the 10th time. I know the joke is coming but the performances are just so great that it gets me everytime. Jeff Bridges, John Goodman (this REALLY turned me into a fan of his), Steve Buscemi, Julianna Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman did fantastic jobs. Yet again another movie with a terrific cast.

4) JFK In my opinion this is Oliver Stone's masterpiece. The directing, flashbacks, and quick editing are the things (other than the cast) that I love the most in this film. The story is truly compelling, as I am a subscriber to the 2nd gunman theory. This is 1 of the best, if not THE best cast I've ever seen assembled. Where to begin? Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones (probably my favorite character in this movie other than David Ferrie or Lee Harvey Oswald), Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Sissy Spacek, Jack Lemmon, Joe Pesci, Donald Sutherland, John Candy and a cameo from Walter Matthau.

5) Raging Bull My favorite Martin Scorsese movie. This is another movie that I never get tired of, as with both Kill Bills Volumes 1 & 2. My favorite Robert De Niro movie of all time. I cannot put into words how great he was as Jake La Motta. I LOVE the music, writing, fighting scenes, the fact that the movie was black/white, the cast and the camera speed in this movie. Truly a masterpiece and the best movie of the 1980s. Unfortunately, Marty didn't win his Oscar for this.

6) Goodfellas My favorite mob movie along with The Godfather Part I. Jimmy 'The Gent' Conway played by Robert De Niro is my 2nd favorite De Niro role. Other than perhaps Field of Dreams this was the movie that made Ray Liotta and he, Joe Pesci and De Niro put in truly great performances. Pesci deserved his Oscar as did Marty (although it was again taken away from him). However, for the role that he has, I always loved Frank Vincent as Billy Bates. One of my favorite mob characters.

7) Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 It's well documented here how I feel about this movie. Easily my favorite Quentin Tarantino movie. Once again the cast is fantastic from Uma Thurman (she should have been nominated for an Oscar), Lucy Lui, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Sonny Chiba and David Carradine. The character of Bill is my favorite onscreen villian ever. This movie has had such an influence of me in terms of the Asian film market. As Don Vercetti said in reference to Pulp Fiction, I will use this in reference to these movies. "Tarantino takes homages and brilliantly turns them into creative material. Excellent writing, soundtrack, humor, and it even works on a dramatic level."

8) The Godfather Part I Again I know I'll probably get ridiculed for having this movie so far down on my list but part of the reason is because I've seen it so many times I'm kind of tired of it. However, this along with Goodfellas are my favorite mob movies ever. I was originally drawn to this (and still am) by Marlon Brando's performance of Vito Corleone. A fabulous cast with Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Diane Keeton, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Talia Shire. A great movie to see the cycle of the mafia continue.

9) Fight Club One of the few here who I believe has watched both the movie and read the book, I enjoyed the movie more. Again another movie dubbed "populist cinema" but I don't see how you can't fall in love with this movie. Aside from Brad Pitt and Edward Norton who put in fantastic performances, the story and action in this movie are just so intoxicating. This movie has so many loveable quotes such as "This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f*cking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world" among others.

10) Memento This was the movie to introduce me to both Guy Pearce and Christopher Nolan. I'm not as big of a fan of Nolan's as others here but this is his masterpiece. Again like Don Vercetti, after watching it for the first time, I quickly continued to watch it days and weeks after to piece everything together. The writing, directing, storylines are truly powerful and I really commend Nolan for having the balls to show this movie from the end to the beginning. I don't think it would have had the same affect or been as powerful had it been shown in chronological order.

HONORABLE MENTION
Sorry, I thought of another movie and already wrote this up so I'll just keep it if anyone wanted to read it.
The Boondock Saints The first and only movie Troy Duffy has released and I fell in love with it. Willem Dafoe is one of my favorite actors and this is my favorite role for him as Agent Smecker. Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus do a great job at playing the MacManus brothers. The story is very interesting for me as it's about 2 Irish brothers who feel they have been sent by God to rid Boston and the world of the "scum of the Earth" (sorta like Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver). David Della Rocco also does a great job as Rocco who helps them in their quest by rubbing out the mob who have recently turned on him. He always adds humor when the movie needs it.

The Godfather Trilogy
Paths of Glory
True Confessions
Dial M For Murder
House of Games
Fargo
Broadway Danny Rose
Raging Bull
Miller’s Crossing
Anatomy of a Murder

For the past few weeks I've actually been working on my all-time Top "I-Don't-Know-How-Many-Are-Gonna-Finally-Be-On-It-Yet-Favorite-Film-List", complete with year, brief plot summary, director, cast, awards, and comments.

One of these days I may actually finish it.

See, I knew I was right when I said you occasionally contributed something worthwhile here. :p

This one doesn't quite make my Top Ten, but it's damn close.

A true comedic tribute to film noire, minus the jokes, and one of the most underrated films I've ever seen.

And yes, Tony Shaloub absolutely steals the show, doesn't he?

1. The Godfather Part II - A masterpiece. Arguably the greatest movie of all time.

2. The Usual Suspects - A modern day classic. They don't make films like this anymore.

3. The Godfather - I heard it was a good movie, thought I'd include it on the list even though I haven't seen it.

4. Goodfellas - The prototypical Gangster film. If you haven't seen it, where have you been the last 16 years?

5. Pulp Fiction - Another modern day classic. Quentin Tarantino's best work.

6. In The Name Of The Father - Highly underrated. Daniel Day Lewis should have won best actor for this and the film itself should have won a couple of Oscars at the very least.

7. Casino - It's Goodfellas 1.5.

8. Traffic - I have yet to see the t.v. movie Traffik that it was based on but this was a breakout movie for Benicio Del Toro and Don Cheadle and deserves a place on the list.

9. Donnie Brasco - May not be on the top 10 lists of too many people but I absolutely loved it. A solid Gangster picture with solid performances by Depp, Madsen, Pacino and the rest.

10. Syriana - For its importance. Everyone should see this movie. Definitely worthy of Oscar buzz, but likely won't win any of the big awards because its too controversial and its not directed by Steven Spielberg. Anyway, since Day-Lewis did not win the best actor Oscar for Gangs Of New York I lost all faith in the "Academy Awards."

Honourable Mentions: American History X, Blow, Bugsy, J.F.K., Malcolm X, Midnight Run, Reservoir Dogs, Snatch.

The Godfather Trilogy
Raging Bull
Mean Streets
Goodfellas
Apocalypse Now (and Redux)
Laura
It's a Gift
Bride of Frankenstein
Duck Soup
Seconds

Honorable Mention: Nosferatu (Murnau), Greed, Metropolis, True Confessions, The Bank Dick, Blade Runner, The Thing (Carpenter), Chinatown, Fail-Safe, Cavalleria Rusticana, Gimme Shelter, Last Waltz, Bugsy.

10?
I really can't think of so many films that I would honestly call my all-time favorites.

My all time favorite changes a lot, but here is ten movies, which are now my favorites of all:

Amadeus
Casablanca
Dog Day Afternoon
Forrest Gump
The Gosfather
Gone with the Wind
Maverick
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Star Wars, Episode III
Wizard of Oz

Godfather: The best movie ever made. Why? For me, I can watch it again and again without ever getting tired of it.

JFK: Although I know it's factuality has been disputed, I enjoy this more as a film and its character portraryal than its historical accuracy. So many key actors: Tommy Lee Jones as Clay Shaw, the accused conspirator in JFK's death; Kevin Bacon as a convicted pimp Willie O'Keafe; John Candy as a very accurate Dean Andrews, who turned out to be Oswald's attorney; and Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald.

Godfather Part II

Apollo 13: I have never been a big Tom Hanks fan, but this is Hanks at his best. Excellent supporting cast as well, especially with Ed Harris. An excellent account of the near disaster of the Apollo 13 mission.

Jaws: one of Steven Spielberg's best films, which forever changed our perception of going into the water. I think one of the best features is not seeing the entire shark until at least 75 minutes into the film. Excellent support actors in Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw as Quint.

Casino

Goodfellas

Heat: One of the most underrated movies IMO. Excellent, complex storyline paralleling the protagonist (Pacino) against the primary antagonist (DeNiro). Some excellent subplots as well.

Thirteen Days: My most underrated movie. An excellent account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It stars Kevin Costner as JFK's presidential assistant, Ken O'Donnell. Bruce Greenwood does an amazing job portraying JFK. It details all of the ups, downs, and tensions surrounding the very real possibility of the US & Soviet Union engaging in nuclear war in October 1962.

All the President's Men: Film adaptation of the Woodward & Bernstein book regarding Watergate. It focuses on the investigation of the two reporters, played well by Redford and Hoffman. For me, Jason Robards steals the show with his portrayal of "Washington Post" editor Ben Bradlee. Obviously, when the film was made and until recently, we had no idea who the mysterious "Deep Throat" played by Hal Holbrook was. Even with the mystery now solved, the parking garage late night meetings between Woodward & Deep Throat are poignant moments within the film.

1. The Godfather
2. Goodfellas
3. Almost Famous
4. Godfather II
5. LOTR The Two Towers
6. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
7. Diner
8. Braveheart
9. Gladiator
10.Snatch

See, I knew I was right when I said you occasionally contributed something worthwhile here. :p

This one doesn't quite make my Top Ten, but it's damn close.

A true comedic tribute to film noire, minus the jokes, and one of the most underrated films I've ever seen.

And yes, Tony Shaloub absolutely steals the show, doesn't he? [/b][/quote]Thanks plaw

I do really love how the Coens were able to take the noire genre, add a little bit of their own flavor and some ironic humor, and really update an older style of filmmaking without destroying the concept. They really seem to have chosen the exact right person for each role, I especially loved James Gandolfini here, I had only ever seen him in maybe one movie or two before this. And Billy Bob Thornton is great. There's very few actors who I feel could pull off that role, where their character has almost zero lines spoken onscreen, and still make it interesting.

I think the reason that this film didnt do very well or isnt very widely known is simply because of how different it is. You cant really accurately market it or categorize it under any existing genre. I forget what I was thinking when I went into it the first time. I feel like anyone who likes Fargo, Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, or any other Coen films, really just need to go into this with no expecations whatsoever, because chances are whatever you think it might be like will be wrong.

To tell you the truth, I had been kind of rethinking my placement of this film, but after you made your comments, seeing your support and just thinking about it some more, I feel like the film definetly deserves that #6 spot.

1)SAVING Private rayan
2)The GODFATHER
3) PULP FICTION
4)Fight Club
5)Forrest Gump
6)apocalyse now
7)Jurassic Park
8)Sarface
9)The warriors
10)Enter the dragon

1.The Godfather Trilogy
2.Goodfellas
3.Raging Bull
4.North by Northwest
5.Casino
6.Boiler Room
7.Mean Streets
8.A Bronx Tale
9.The Manchurian Candidate (original)
10.Happy Gilmore

Limited to one film a director for sheer diversity reasons (I didn't want to comprise a list solely of Lynch, Herzog and Godard), mine looks like this, in chronological order:

Citizen Kane (1941; Welles)
Le samourai / The Samurai (1967; Melville)
Week-end / Weekend (1967; Godard)
The French Connection (1971; Friedkin)
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes / Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972; Herzog)
Don't Look Now (1973; Roeg)
The Conversation (1974; Coppola)
Eraserhead (1976; Lynch)
Taxi Driver (1976; Scorsese)
Manhattan (1979; Allen)

Nothing against you personally, but I HATE when people lump all 3 films togethor.

Just some friendly criticism.

I'll limit my list to one film per director as well. ABC order:

Agguire, Wrath of God (1972; Werner Herzog)
Blue Velvet (1986; David Lynch)
The Deer Hunter (1978; Michael Cimino)
The French Connection (1972; William Friedkin)
The Godfather part 2 (1976; Francis Ford Coppola)
Mean Streets (1973; Martin Scorsese)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984; Sergio Leone)
Southpark: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999, Trey Parker)
Unforgiven (1992; Clint Eastwood)
Vertigo (1958; Alfred Hitchcock)

All great lists folks. My list is always changing, but off the bottom of my heart (No Rankings):

FULL METAL JACKET
THE RIGHT STUFF
GOODFELLAS
THX-1138
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA
SCARFACE
HEAT
SEVEN SAMURAI
THE GODFATHER PART TWO

JustMe Is Godfather or its sequels in your all time favorite list? Your posts about how FFC changed Puzo's characters make me curious! Anyway, why don't you list till whatever number of favorites you find.

Wow, I'm actually surprised to see Scarface in there