Perhaps there is no better way to let you into somebody’s head than to know what their favourite films are. It’s always my go-to question. I just think you can tell an awful lot about someone from what their favourite film is. I really do read into things like this. Despite the hypocrisy that you will soon see, you can tell quite simply whether or not a person is a big film fan by whether or not they say that The Shawshank Redemption is their favourite film. It’s on TV a lot and it is great, but lots of people say it because they just can’t think of anything else, or they lay in the other camp consisting of people who don’t want to embarrass themselves or rock the boat so they say The Shawshank Redemption, because they know that the response won’t lead to comments in the vein of “Really?” or “That’s sh*t”.
Anyway, I realise that I have digressed already. I’ll return to the title: 'My top ten films of all time (for now)'. I add “(for now)” as a get-out clause for any changes I may have in the future. For instance, I do believe that Once upon a time in Hollywood sits somewhere near the 18, 19 or 20 slot, however I just want to give it a little time to settle and see if in a few years the power of that film will remain. As of writing this piece, we are close to its one year anniversary and it’s only now that I feel firm in declaring it as my favourite Tarantino. I have similar feelings for the masterpiece 45 Years, which I still have to evaluate the recency bias of, but that film did come out some five years ago, so maybe that one should actually be on here. The title has another addendum in that in actuality I have composed my top 20 films of all time (for now). I see this more so as to offer the reader a further glimpse into my seriously eclectic taste in film and I haven’t skirted around the matter, I have properly ranked all 20 films in order of favourites, bar two ties, which I’ll explain when I get to them. So, yes, in actuality, it’s my top 22 films of all time. So if that bothers you, give yourself thirty seconds before you keep reading.
It goes without saying that if you haven’t seen any of these films and you enjoy sitting for a couple of hours watching a movie, then you have many treats ahead of you. One of my most repeated comments is when I introduce a film to somebody and they ask me that pseudo-obligatory question of “what’s it about?”. I wince first, before replying “What are you talking about? I wish that I could see this film knowing absolutely nothing”. So bar my little descriptors, do yourself a favour and watch these films, or re-watch them, it’s not like it’s ever been a torturous experience to watch The Silence of the Lambs (yes, I did just ruin one of the picks). Hence, I’ll also be sparing the word-count some un-needed stress, and you some needless spoiling, by avoiding sentences of plot description.
20. Network (Lumet, 1976)
I find that above any other topic being discuss when it comes to returning to older films is the subject of prescience; something about the dire current times has led to a an almost constant revaluation of classic film in the context that “they feel more relevant now than ever”. I instead like to look at things from a different angle: timelessness. This is also a very long winded way to introduce the first film on this list, the timeless Network, flawlessly directed a Sidney Lumet (my shout for the best film in his cannon), from a script by Paddy Chayefsky which will forever be lauded on any list broaching the topic of greatest scripts of all time. There’s something so effortless about this film that it seems to glide through its two hours without us giving a second thought to the drastic narrative shifts and the interweaving stories. As much as I adore and cannot deny the power, dark humour and immense charisma of Peter Finch and the wicked trajectory of the story of Howard Beale. The heart and core of the story for me has, however, always been William Holden as Max Schumacher. The beauty and vulnerability of his performance, paired with the pain and honesty of Chayefsky’s dialogue, leads to the love triangle between himself, an exceptional Faye Dunnaway and a film-stealing Beatrice Straight, to be for me the reason I find myself returning to this film over and over again. One cannot deny also the mammoth energy of Robert Duvall as Hackett injecting a certain volatility and a naivety to the film that is the mixture that cements the whole film into the painfully neat package that it is.
19. Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950)
What further solidifies the performance by Holden in Network is the career aspect that we gain from his earlier work in the fifties, an effect that I will talk about later in this list, also by way of a Billy Wilder classic. This first Wilder film (top five director for me) came to me by way of my other love musical theatre. I actually was a great fan, and still am, of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of this film, before I even watched the film. When I discussed an interest in seeing the film, my mother commented that “it’s good, but it doesn’t have the songs”. 1950’s Sunset Blvd. frankly doesn’t need them. The tragic portrait of Norma Desmond, played beautifully by Gloria Swanson knows no bounds when it comes to dark humour, deep sadness and great pain. The deviously devilish script from Wilder and Charles Brackett leads us down a path that we never thought we’d go down, despite them showing us the final destination in the first frame. "Ingenious" would be one word to describe the film. "Genius" would be another. Both are apt for me and make this a very close second in my Wilder rankings, with the top seed appearing later in the list.
18. Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
Above my bed hangs a beautiful canvas of the poster for Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca. In an upcoming essay I will explain why I think that this is the greatest film ever made, over Citizen Kane. Now, there now props up the inevitable question of why the film is only ranked at 18, if I do indeed think that it’s the greatest film ever made. Well, for me, I can compartmentalise quality and personal taste. For me there is similarly no question that West Side Story is the greatest musical of all time, albeit that does enter my top five musicals of all time, it is still not my number one (that’ll have to be another article one week). But for now, there is no film more quotable, there is no more economic and efficient screenplay, there is no greatest closer scene, never mind closing line, there is simply no film like Casablanca. The love story of Rick and Ilsa will remain with me forever and will never fail to bring a tear to my eye. There are those who believe that older films are dull, boring and dated. I wish I had the funds and means to corral as many of these people as I could into one screening room and then show them Casablanca and then see where everybody stands by the time that Bogart starts talking about hills of beans.
Edward Albee’s masterpiece of theatre may indeed by favourite play of all time and that naturally has a great emphasis on its positioning in this list. However, Sweet Bird of Youth is my second favourite play and I wouldn’t dream of putting that film anywhere near the top 100 of any of my rankings. What makes this film so special and masterful is Mike Nichol’s adaptation of the play to the screen, along with Haskell Wexler’s impeccable cinematography. Punctuated by the four leads note perfect performances, this swiftly lifts from the page and becomes more than its own beast. The power and punch of the play remains wholly intact, whilst every cinematic touch and intricate use of expanding the piece leads to a simply superb 2 hours and 11 minutes of celluloid. Oh, and good God is it funny. Maybe I’m sick, but I laugh harder at this film than most comedies released today. Yet when it comes to the third and final act of this piece (aptly titled “the exorcism” in the playbook), there is no more vulnerable image ever put on a screen than Elizabeth Taylor as she recalls a memory that never was. But Burton and Taylor are matched more than enough by George Segal and Sandy Dennis, making this quartet of bitter, booze-ridden vehicles of wit and vulgarity a more than suitable gang to fill our 17th slot. There will be more Nichols down this list.
16. Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990)
There was a long time when I considered Casino to be my favourite Scorsese/gangster/De Niro/Pesci/Pileggi film. That time has since passed. Albeit I do still have great fondness for that film and find it eminently re-watchable, Goodfellas has really secured it’s spot for me atop Scorsese mount. It’s not like it crept up on me or anything, it’s always been there and it’s always been excellent and it’s always been a favourite, but now it’s dead firm. The last time I watched this film before writing this piece was with friends and it simply astounded me that every time we cut to a different scene and every time we cut to a different character, it excited me as I recalled instantaneously the majesty of the filmmaking and performance I was about to view. Pesci’s great, De Niro’s brilliant, but for me, there’s just no argument and I find it very odd when people either forget or disagree; this is Ray Liotta’s movie, perhaps even more than it is Scorseses’ and the strength of his back means that this film (all two and half hours of it) reaches it’s finish line with grace, grit and guts every time. Brief note to end, the lack of admiration and acclaim for Lorraine Bracco will similarly always baffle me, but that’s the brilliance of the film I guess, there’s just too much quality to even surmise.
15. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Hughes, 1987)
It’s an old adage and it’s a solid one that I still go by. For me, there is simply no better review for simplicity. For my number 15 slot, the review has never been more apt. The film is John Hughes masterful Plane, Trains and Automobiles and the review is “it’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry and all less than two hours”. One of my other favourite phrases that I return to often in film criticism is that “the film strives in its simplicity”. There’s just something undeniable about this film. Now, I’d say that all 20 of these films are perfect, naturally with them being on this list. But for me there is something undeniably perfect about the script, direction and performances in this film. And as I aforementioned, it’ll make you laugh and it’ll make you cry. I don’t quite know why, but in attempting to describe the brilliance of this film, I find myself simply lost for words. Such is the power of this terrific film.
14. Crimes and Misdemeanours (Allen, 1989)
There is an odd phenomenon when it comes to my top directors list. Even though Woody Allen is ranked number two on that list, he only has one film on this list and that film only ranks at 14. When it comes to Allen and why I do think he is the greatest writer of all time, I think immediately of this film. To discuss faith, guilt in an immoral world, adultery, tragedy in life, unrequited love and also have a five minute extended scene that’s basically a slapstick farce moment of the lowest denominator, truly evokes a talent for tone and an immense deftness of skill that I believe is unparalleled. By the time that Judah (an unbelievably good Martin Landau) and Cliff (another brilliant Woody turn) sit down by the piano to discuss the plot of a film script, we have gone on an entertaining and desperately thought-provoking journey that rivals the best drama’s and also the best comedies of the eighties. And Alan Alda. My word! Alan Alda as Lester – one of the greatest comedic inventions in the medium.
13. Rushmore (Anderson, 1998)
Without a doubt my favourite Wes Anderson and without a doubt my favourite Bill Murray, perhaps even my favourite Brian Cox (if only for that hospital visit scene alone). There is the obvious complaint with Anderson that his works consists wholly of style over substance, and although I might agree with this sentiment when it comes to certain films in his oeuvre, I couldn’t agree less when it comes to his second feature and my personal favourite, Rushmore. The narrative strive and the arcs of every character in the piece is flawlessly acted and written and just plain entertaining. Max Fischer is one hell of a creation and in the creation of Herman Blume, as his foil, we have a brilliant film, propelled by an oddly believable love triangle with the wonderful and just plain great Olivia Williams as Rosemary Cross. Every joke hits, hard and every dramatic shift plays with ease. Of course it’s hyperbolic, but I’d even consider putting the film on this list for its tagline alone: “all’s fair when love is war”.
12. Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)
When people try and tell me that Tom Cruise is a bad actor, I tell them to watch Magnolia. When people tell me that 3hr8m is too long for a film, I tell them to watch Magnolia and that Avengers: Endgame is bad. When people want to watch the best multiple story movie, I tell them to watch Magnolia. When people ask for Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance (not that they would ask that), I tell them to watch Magnolia, then watch Doubt (No.2), and then The Master (No.1). When people tell me that the frogs are bad, I tell them to watch Magnolia again and again. Something clicks down the line and suddenly the film can end no other way in your head. When I watched whatever Hunger Games film it was after the passing of Hoffman, the whole way though the film I kept thinking about how I’d much rather be watching Hoffman and Julianne Moore in Magnolia, or another film that may be showing up later. For me, I wouldn’t cut a frame and I know that Paul Thomas Anderson disagrees with me, despite it being his own film. But for me this film is ideal in its length, its mightiness and its supreme quality.
11. Airplane! and Caddyshack (Z.A.Z, Ramis, 1980)
Now later in this list there are other films with lots of comedy in them, but I have paired at number 11, my two top straight out comedy flicks, both released in 1980 and both just non-stop gag fests.
First, Airplane!, from Z.A.Z (Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker). Now if you want to talk about sheer, unbridled brilliance in comedy, look no further than this film. For me, personally, every gag lands, but for those who don’t feel the same way, you only have a few seconds before the next gag is already past you, so when it comes to formulating a batting average for the film, it puts itself in a pretty good stead. The stellar ensemble all playing to their strengths in the best way possible for the film, leads to this being an eminently re-watchable and forever enjoyable non-stop farce that I will love to the day I die.
Second, Caddyshack, from Harold Ramis and... well, three different writers, and an incredible cast just throwing everything at the wall and seeing if anything sticks. Luckily for the audience, a whole lot of it does. Now where Airplane! succeeds in its sheer perfection and structure and construction, Caddyshack rather succeeds in you feeling you’re along for the ride with the greatest comedians of two different eras. To put it frankly, the film is really quite messy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is not the film where you are surprised when you hear the behind the scene stories of cocaine fuelled debauchery and multiple re-writes and endless improvisation and as I just alluded to, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Two thoroughly re-watchable and undeniably hilarious comedy masterworks.
10. The Apartment (Wilder, 1960)
In 1960, the right film won best picture. Against such films as Psycho, Spartacus, The Magnificent Seven, La Dolce Vita and Peeping Tom, Billy Wilder’s The Apartment won, and more than rightfully so. Sometimes advertising is wrong and sometimes it’s more than misleading, but the tagline for this fantastic film is perfect: “Movie-wise, there has never been anything like The Apartment. Love-wise, laugh-wise or otherwise-wise”. And it’s all true. A sensational Jack Lemmon falls for an effortlessly charming and beautiful Shirley Maclaine, as he rises up the ladder of his work through more than nefarious deeds. C.C Baxter and Frank Kubelik are a couple of the ages and paired with Wilder’s ingenious comedic and dramatic direction, the film just soars. It also happens to have one of my top five closing lines of all time, in “shut up and deal”. For the record the other four consist of two more Wilder classics (“All right, Mr Demille, I’m ready for my close-up” and “Well, nobody’s perfect") and two outrageous sex-based 80s comedy closers (“Hey everybody, we’re all gonna get laid” and “I’m gonna go home and sleep with my wife”).
9. Titanic (Cameron, 1997)
Now, there are those who think that this film is bad. Opinions are opinions, of course. I’ll be the first to comment on some of this film's, shall we say, less prestigious moments. The movie is corny in elements, even down-right groan-worthy in parts. But what cannot be taken away from this film is the sheer achievement of it. To pardon the pun, but that fact that this film, with its huge budget, floundering critical lambasting after lambasting (before release) swam rather that sunk, is a testament to the incredible power of James Cameron as a director. But all that removed, the movie just works so well. In its romance, in its tension. The amount of people who comment on the final half of this film and how they forget almost immediately about how it’s all going to end and they’re back to hoping that everybody will survive and maybe this time the ship will miss the iceberg, just solidifies the immense craft of the film. And yes, I weep, like a new-born babe every time. Perhaps there is an overriding sense of nostalgia with this choice, as I used to watch the film on repeat most days as a child. However, when I take a step-back from all the mindless jabbering about the film’s more lacklustre parts, I see nothing but a miraculous achievement in movie-making and a bloody good film that still works to this day.
8. The Graduate (Nichols, 1967)
It’s hardly the "boy meets girl" that we’re used to. As a matter of fact, it’s "boy meets friend of his mother's, starts affair, ends affair, boy meets daughter of friend of his mother's, starts affair, friend of mother’s ends affair, boy stops wedding – boy and girl sit and contemplate the rest of their life". I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the camera-man had heard Mike Nichols (on the toppest form he’s ever been on) say cut and the film didn’t keep with Ben and Elaine in the back of that bus. I do still think the film would be on this list, I do still think it would be as acclaimed as it currently is. The ending would still work as well as it does and the whole hour and half before it would still be as awkwardly hilarious and brilliantly dark as it has always been. But the bitter-taste feeling left by that ending, punctuated by just one of Simon and Garfunkel’s many amazing contributions to the film, leads you to think about the film for days on end. Or in my case, 8 years on end.
7. When Harry Met Sally (Reiner, 1989)
For me there is simply no better rom-com. There is no better final run. There is definitely no funnier and more relatable female lead. There’s no better run for a director than Reiner’s 80s run. There’s no better depressive but hilarious male lead. There is no better second couple/friends. For me there is simply no film better that When Harry Met Sally when it comes to movies of its type. I’ve always loved this film and I know that I always will, because as soon as we fade up on that old college building and we see Sally honking her horn and Harry necking a girl he’ll soon forget, all the while hearing the first of many acutely picked jazz standards, I’m fully invested all over again, and before I know it, the swiftest 90 minutes of romance and comedy have flown by once again.
6. Terms of Endearment (Brooks, 1982)
One of the most underrated movies of all time. "How can this be?" you ask? The film won multiple Oscars, including best picture and director. Well, I purely think the film is underrated as nobody talks about it anymore and when they do it is reduced simply to a "weepy". But this film is so funny, so brilliant and so exceptionally written. Yes, it makes you cry. But this film has so much more going for it and people seem to forget that you with a really good film, those tears come from well-built characters and good writing that make you care when the tear-jerking moments do come about. This is pure film-making at its finest, in the world of dram and in the world of comedy. Shirley MacLaine wows us again, with her pitch-perfect presentation of Mrs Greenway. Lithgow, Winger and Daniels offer the most sublime supporting cast and we haven’t even mentioned Jack yet. In any other world this could be Jack’s movie. But to have a film where Jack Nicholson is at the least the third best thing in it, now that is surely saying something.
5. The Godfather Parts I and II (Coppola, 1972/74)
My second tie. Now I will remove the tension immediately, I prefer the first part. I think the first part is also a better film. That being said, I never (bar the odd moment of channel flicking around) watch just one of these films. Whenever I set about re-watching them, it is always a six and a half hour job, that is to say, for the parts make a whole epic film. They are more than companion pieces, they complete one another. Now of course, either can be seen in solitary, but the whole experience remains one of the finest cinematic achievements of all time. Pacino offers the performance of all time. You can have Brando, you can have De Niro, you can even have Nicholson (my personal favourite actor), because the arc of Michael Corleone across these two films is without a doubt the single greatest performance ever put on a screen, male, female, whatever, film, TV, whatever – it’s Pacino. For me both films fly by and the length never even touches the sides, per say. Coppola’s 70’s run consists of four absolute masterpieces of the medium and these two films begin it and top it.
4. Boogie Nights (Anderson, 1997)
Now, you just can’t beat Boogie Nights. My favourite film of my favourite director, featuring many of my favourite performances of many my favourite actors. It’s simply a feast of talent on display, a feast for the eyes and a feast for film lovers everywhere. I have been in the company of those who are alienated by the porn world in which this film is set; however, I refer to the excellent joke in New Girl. Jess and Coach have just finished watching the film and while Jess comments on how “it’s actually about family”, Coach comments on the exact running time of the film and how the DVD lied. The Coach joke aside, the sentiment remains. The film is about family, no matter how perverse. But also the film is about so much more than that; it is about fame and the price of it, addiction in all of its guises, hedonism and its place in the modern world, art and it’s place in the modern world, as well as, above all else, the lives of multiple actors thrown into a world that some didn’t really want to be in. It’s a film that is simply endlessly re-watchable and discussing it here makes me pause to recall the last time I watched the film. Although I now realise that it was only two months back, I still think I will watch it again tonight.
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975)
As aforementioned, Jack Nicholson is my favourite actor and this, his greatest vehicle, will forever be my favourite version of Jack on screen. Perfectly encapsulating all of the best traits that make him the actor that we so very much love and admire: the pathos, the humour, the charisma, the jester nature of him. It’s a triumph of a performance and, as has been a running theme on this list, that’s just the beginning of why this film is so excellent. The cold brilliance of Louise Fletcher. The marvellous script from the Ken Kessey’s book. The almost documentary like direction of Milos Forman. The producing talent of a young Michael Douglas. The non-stop talent of the entire supporting cast, from De Vito to Lloyd to Crothers and more. To surmise, there is also no more endearingly tragic yet simultaneously heart-warming ending to a film in this past 50 years.
2. The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991)
The perfect thriller. Perhaps I should have saved the word ‘perfect’ for this film. Not a single frame is wasted and not a single step is wrong-footed. The film truly is flawless, but I’ve said that about a lot of films on this list so far, so what makes this film even more flawless, if that’s possible? For me, it’s the construction; starting from the effortless adaptation of Harris’s novel by Ted Tally, to the way the Jonathon Demme put it to the screen, to way that Foster, Glenn, Levine, and of course, Hopkins, bring those horrifyingly intelligent words off the page and inhabit the brutality, wit, humour and scariness of each and every character in this exceptional motion picture. I’m noticing again that as this list continues, what I have to say about each film is waining, whereas surely it should be the other way around. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I feel the films more than speak for themselves, or at least, that’s what I’ll say is the reason.
And number 1 is (drum roll please)...
1. The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, 1994)
What a twist ending, eh? It just is. It’s my favourite film. There was a long period of time where I felt a touch of shame saying that this is my favourite film. I saw people’s eyes roll when this self-professed film fan came out with the most basic answer ever. Did they expect Bergman? Did they expect one of Hitchcock’s silent movies? There is just no denying. It is my favourite film and that is that. Whether it’s halfway through, ten minutes in, ten minutes from the end, or just starting, I will watch it and always until the end. I feel no shame anymore. The reason that this is so many people’s favourite films is because (maybe even more so than Casablanca) it may just be the greatest film ever made.
And so concludes the list for now, far longer than I originally suspected. If over the years there are any serious changes, then I will be the first to correct them and make a follow-up article. But as I stay put firmly in my 20th year on Earth, I will dare to say that this list does feel rather sturdy and I don’t really know what film could come along and blow the wind out of the sails on this great ship.
-Thomas Carruthers
 - Tom){kind=link}
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