When I’m with someone I don’t know that well and the conversation lags, I love to ask them: What’s your favorite movie?
Most of the time, people think a moment and then say they don’t have a favorite movie but, if they had to pick they’d say __________________. Then they ask me for mine.
I say, well, that’s tough but, right now it’s probably ________________. My answer has changed over time–for years I’d have said The Sound of Music. For the past decade, I usually pick Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous but lately I’ve also thrown Body Heat (I could watch it just for Ted Danson and baby Mickey Rourke!), About Time, Your Name, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Spirited Away into the mix.
I love movies but, in the past five years, I’ve struggled to find films worth watching. The most recent film I truly loved is, I think, CODA.
How about you? What is your favorite movie? And what recent releases have you loved?
Hands down, my favorite movie of all time is When Harry Met Sally. Because of the last scene, I consider it a New Year’s Eve movie and for many years, I watched it yearly on that date. This is a broad question but if I restrict to movies with romantic elements, other movies I have loved include The Sound of Music, Stardust, and Before Sunrise. For more recent movies, I really liked Crazy, Stupid, Love and I adored Brooklyn.
And see, Brooklyn is a 2015 movie and Crazy, Stupid, Love, a 2011 film. I like both a lot–where are movies like that from the past five years? 🙁
The Princess Bride propably or A Room with a View with a very young Helena Bonham Carter.
If I am not in the mood for a more romantic film, then the Fellowship of the Ring, extended edition.
I don’t go to the movies very often these days and I don’t watch films on TV or Stream either, so my choices reflect the fact, that I’m terribly out of date.
She was 19 in that role. So young!
Oh, what wonderful movies you all have cited!
My all-time favorite movie, one I’ve seen maybe 20 times. At each time, I notice something new and wonderful. In “On the Waterfront,” with Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J Cobb, and Rod Steiger. Brando falls for Eva Marie Saint, but he set up her brother to be murdered. Like “The Crucible,” it is an allegory about the McCarthy Congressional hearings in which Kazan “named names.” His closest friend, Arthur Miller, never spoke to him again, and he became a persona non grata to Hollywood.
My favorite romance is, well, I have two: “Notorious” with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, directed by Hitchcock. It is not scary as much as it is suspenseful. The other, another by Hitchcock, ia “North by Northwest.” Cary Grant innocently gets involved in a murder, espionage, and spies with a love-hate relationship with Eva Marie Saint. It has one of the top ten scenes in American movies: a plane in the air trying to kill Grant on the ground.
My favorite comedy starts slowly but its scene with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemon in bed is wet-your-pants funny. “Some Like It Hot,” has for decades been voted #1 funniest American movie in AFI’s (American Film Institute’s) “100 Funniest Movies.”.
If you are in a mood for a touching love story (be warned–it’ll make you cry) is Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper in “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
The Thin Man is a great one, definitely one of my top choices, followed by Princess Bride I think.
My husband loved The Thin Man Movies – so sophisticated and clever.
I am terribly, terribly obsessed with the 1985 version of a Room with a View. I’ve been on a Julian Sands kick all year this year, and this version has my heart (we don’t talk about the 2007 ITV version) (or Forster’s epilogue). As I’ve said more than once here, forget Darcy, I want me a George Emerson.
Oh yeah, how can I forget Room with a View? That movie sent me on a hunt for Puccini’s songs and opera right after. Thank God for Netflix!
Speaking of Puccini, the song at the end of Room with a View (O Mio Babbino Caro) is from his short comedy opera: Gianni Schicchi – worth watching and quite funny!
Such a lovely score!
I’m currently watching a Person of Interest episode with Julian Sands. 😀
I watched that the other week! He was so good in that one.
Recent romance favorite? Elemental from Disney/Pixar. One of the best love stories they’ve ever made. Favorite movie of all time? It’s still Star Wars. Initially, I loved it simply because of the story, but now I love the impact it has had on the industry, the nostalgia I feel for the actors, and I do still love the hopefulness of the tale. The idea that a righteous few can take on and defeat an evil many is a dream always worth keeping alive. Loved for the same reasons are the entire Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies (I have extended editions of all of them.) I also like Raiders of the Lost Ark, although pretty much nothing of what came after.
Romance-wise, I still love some of the modern classics. An Officer and a Gentleman has a gritty, real feel to it that makes the love story more poignant. I have always felt confident that while Zack can be a complete jerk, Paula is exactly the kind of person to call him on it and demand decent treatment. Pretty Woman can be fun. I adore About Time and did a write up on it for AAR back in the day although I struggled to fin it in my recent search. The Princess Bride is the ultimate fairytale romance movie. I still love some YA romances so 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s All That, and Clueless still rank as favorites.
Classic classics my favorite would be Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade, and I also love Sabrina with Hepburn and Bogart.Rebecca wth Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.
I so disliked Inside Out that it made me not interested in Elemental. (Somehow they were sort of marketed the same.)
I love An Officer and A Gentleman and need to rewatch it! Debra Winger is so good.
A lot of the older films have such an age gap that I struggle with them. Grant is 25 years older than Hepburn, Bogart is 30. I can’t watch To Catch a Thief for that same reason.
I think you would like Elemental. My family adores it, but we saw Inside Out once and found it meh.
I’ll give it a run.Thanks!
There are only two films I’ve sat through two straight showings back-to-back in a movie theatre: A Hard Day’s Night (but I was 15!!!) and Barry Lyndon, the most beautifully filmed movie I have ever seen with divine costumes and the musical score that I still adore nearly 50 years on. Handel’s Sarabande still makes me shiver with delight when I hear it on my favourite classical radio station. Lit by candlelight, the cinematography was so gorgeous I’ve never forgotten it. Stanley Kubrick’s efforts won a number of Oscars including a special award for Zeiss (of camera and lens fame) for the candle-lit cinematography. Very few films these days excite me: I read the reviews and think I’d rather not waste my time or money.
I did that with Spirited Away and Bagdad Cafe.
Just sat there and watched it again–such fun!
I love Japanese animation and Spirited Away and Your Name are my favorites (for now).
The movies I always stop and watch whenever it’s playing on TV: My Cousin Vinny, Pride & Prejudice (Kiera Knightley’s version), Clueless (I think it’s still the best modern interpretation of ‘Emma’, to this day), Appaloosa (with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, a superb western!)
I’m utterly with you for Keira’s Pride and Prejudice–it’s my favorite version period. My husband’s favorite movie might be My Cousin Vinny. (I’m always baffled why Marisa Tomei is giving Joe Pesci the time of day. I haven’t seen Clueless in years but I feel that way about Ten Things I Hate About You. Never heard of Appaloosa–I’ll check it out.
Thanks~
I hope you’ll like Appaloosa. I usually don’t like Western movies (to my husband’s utter dismay) but this one, I love. The deep and easy friendship between the two male characters played by Harris and Mortensen. The romance between Harris’ character and Renee Zelwegger’s character. Even the villain, played by Jeremy Irons, is fantastic.
I actually prefer the Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth version. I just have a hard time believing it when Darcy puts down Elizabeth’s looks as that comment does not compute when Elizabeth is the ultra gorgeous Keira Knightley.
That’s funny! She’s so distinctive–I can believe that her looks wouldn’t work for everyone.
I can’t stand Keira Knightly – she doesn’t so much act as point her chin at people!
I like Matthew McFadyen as an actor, but he’s not a Darcy. He was terrific in the BBC’s Little Doritt and The Way We Live Now, but Darcy is, and will always be Colin Firth for me!
I LOVE THEM BOTH!!!
Agree with Caz that Colin Firth is the definitive Darcy.
I loved McFadyan in Spooks/MI5. He was so young and so tormented. The series got extra points for David Oyelowo and Richard Armitage, although like in the James Bond movies, characters (and the actors who played them) had rather limited life spans.
I haven’t read P&P but I’ve seen the Matthew MacFadyen/Kiera Knightley adaptation and I found it to be meh. One minute Darcy and Elizabeth couldn’t stand each other and the next they’re in love, there was no sufficient in-between for me. I would have liked to have seen them interact more and been able to pinpoint when their mutual antagonism turned to love. Also what was with all that giggling the misses Bennet engaged in all the time? Perhaps it’s because I have no sisters so there isn’t any giggling in my life, but I found it unnecessary and annoying. I did enjoy Dame Judi’s Lady Catherine – she was something else and whoever came up with the idea to give poor Mr Collins that hairstyle was just mean lol
In the book the transition from antagonists to lovers is more believable because it’s spread over many pages; a 2-hour movie has to leave out a lot. The 1995 BBC miniseries of P&P also has more time to show their changing feelings, another reason I prefer it to the film.
Casino Royale with great action and a nice little romance in it is my favourite movie ahead of Die Hard.
There have been some good unknown action direct to streaming action movies in the last few months. Fast Charlie with Pierce Brosnan and Morena Baccarin was very good and The Family Plan was just great fun.
My husband adores Casino Royale. He STILL has such a crush on Vesper Lynd.
As he should. Eva Green was in a The Three Musketeers duology in France last year if he thinks she will be as good as Milady de Winter.
I recommend everybody who likes romance movies to watch, “the train scene” even if they couldn’t be paid to watch a James Bond movie.
I think Craig rarely generates heat with his female co-stars. That scene is an exception.
While I enjoy the Daniel Craig version of Casino Royale, I like the 1967 spoof version even better. David Niven, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, and whole bunch of other “James Bonds” try to save the world.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061452/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_
Hmm.. Too many good movies to have a favorite. I love both old (1900s on up) and new movies. For classic movies, I will watch How Green Was My Valley, Casablanca, The Searchers, Rear Window, Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, Caprain Blood, Westward the Women, The Sweet Smell of Success, and a few others any time Turner Classic Movies shows them. For newer movies, The Princess Bride, Sleepless in Seattle, Die Hard, Independence Day, and Caddyshack. As for recent movies, I just saw American Fiction and loved it.
My son and I watch Independence Day every Fourth of July. It’s a great film. I love Rear Window, Grace Kelly is so perfect in that.
Yes, I watch “Independence Day” on the 4th, too. It’s an exciting, fun movie. Yes, its jingo-istic, but I don’t care.
Just last month I watched When Harry Met Sally on the plane, and I was happy to see that it is holding up extremely well, so definitely still a favorite. The Princess Bride is always delightful. Billy Crystal in both! Those 2 movies are so witty and quotable. The LOTR trilogy, especially The Fellowship of the Rings. The Harry Potter series still speaks to me, and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of those. I agree with so many of the others mentioned— Sleepless in Seattle, Your Name, A Room with a View. I can’t think of anything recent, which is kind of sad. I used to watch more movies, but now I tend to watch TV series, so I would have more to add if that question were asked.
Yeah, I’ve pivoted almost entirely to TV. Parseable episodes, less stupid macho scenes, and more women leads.
Agreed. I also like the longer story arcs on TV which allow for character development and more intricate plots and world building. And when I am interested in a movie and consider going to the theater, there are several factors to consider, such as price, location, timing, risk of annoying people around me, etc. I want to see Dune 2 in Imax, but here it is $40 for two, and it is almost 3 hours. The 4:30 film ends at 7:30, and that is later than I like to head to a restaurant. The next one is 8:30, so it would get done at 11:30. I may still go, but I do wish they’d figure out better times.
Dune 2 on IMAX is worth the cost. Hope the timing works at some point!
I’m going to answer for my daughter and say her two favourite movies are The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Shrek. Like, every time I turn around, one of those movies is on her computer or on the TV or she’s listening to the soundtrack.
I’m not sure if I have a single favourite. But there are movies I watch every year, like The Sound of Music and While You Were Sleeping.
And see almost every movie anyone has mentioned is AT LEAST five years old. Where are the new classics?
I think Hollywood’s lack of support for original stories is largely to blame . . . Also, there is so much really great “TV” being made and streamed. There have been some really nice films made but the blockbusters all seem to be part of a franchise that has proven itself already at the boxoffice (e.g. superheros or remakes – that don’t really need to be remade IMHO).
In recent years, I’ve really enjoyed CODA, The Holdovers and Living (Bill Nighy, 2022) but I’m not sure these are films I’ll frequently be rewatching like many of the ones mentioned elsewhere as “favorites”. OTOH, did we know When Harry Met Sally would be such a classic within five years of its being released?
I too love CODA. Such a lovely little film.
I too thought LIVING was a lovely film, and Bill Nighy was, as always, great in it. Keep meaning to search for the Japanese film it was based on but haven’t seen that one yet.
Is La La Land too old? I consider it a new classic.
(My favorite movie is Casablanca. So many quotable, even iconic lines. Great actors and great cinematography. As Times Go By. And the suck fairy hasn’t visited it.)
It’s a 2016 so still not in the past five years. But it is really good. I really wanted Gosling to win for Ken because he didn’t for La La Land.
Film critics often say the 70s is the greatest decade for cinema. But I don’t agree–I think it’s the 40s gives the 70s a serious run for the money.
It’s true that movies became more experimental and more culturally critical in the 70s. But for films that stand the test of time, it’s hard to beat the 40s. Casablanca, Citizen Kane, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Grapes of Wrath, Bambi, Gaslight–so many films that we still watch today.
Isn’t the definition of a classic that it stands the test of time? Five years isn’t very much time.
Another one I liked (but still a bit older than five years) is The Big Sick which I highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it. I’ve seen it three or four times.
Among the past year’s releases I liked Poor Things a lot (though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everyone, not because it isn’t a great movie but because it’s very strange and definitely isn’t for everyone). I can imagine re-watching it in a year or so. Although they are very different movies, it had shades of Thelma and Louise for me, and that one is a big favorite of mine.
I don’t think there’s a film critic alive who would argue that the 1940s weren’t an amazingly good decade in the annals of cinema. I think the 1970s get singled out because it was the last decade before the changes that Star Wars wrought in the film industry began to be felt and Hollywood focused its attentions on special effects blockbusters.
I adore The Big Sick. Such a great movie–I’ve rewatched it several times already since it came out.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Museum in Los Angeles has an exhibit about Casablanca with some of the sets and props, and it gives some of the details of the film and the actors. They also have an exhibit about the Godfather movies, but I’m more emotionally connected to Casablanca – one of the local independent movie theaters played it at the end of every exam period when I was in college.
By the way, we watched Diner last night. In general, it held up wonderfully. Very fun.
When romance is done well, it’s also my favorite movie genre/genre hybrid. Notorious (1946) is a great classic thriller, of course, but it’s also one of my favorite love stories ever.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one. I thought I’d seen all the Hitchcock’s but I’m drawing a blank on this one. Thanks!
My favorite movies are ones set in a particular professional/socio/economic world. My most favorite movie is All About Eve (1950). Its ensemble cast with Bette Davis occupying a huge center and Marilyn Monroe in a tiny part that hints of a larger than life screen persona to come and sparkling witty dialog befitting its Broadway theater setting made it unforgettable for me. Second favorite is a romance set in professional football world, Jerry Maguire (1996). It has all the best elements of a good romantic story along with my favorite actor Tom Cruise. My third favorite is Martin Scorsese’s underrated Silence (2016). Hollywood does not make many movies about religious faith and this one is a rare one that brilliantly explores the question of why humans risk and sacrifice their life in the name of faith.
Other favorite movies in no particular order are: Tootsie, Home Alone, Shawshank Redemption, The Age of Innocence, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Back to the Future.
I don’t have any recent movies on my list because now a days I would rather read than watch movies or television shows.
All About Eve is so good: Davis has never been as magnificent. Jerry Maguire is a Cameron Crowe film. That film, Say Anything, and Almost Famous, all directed by Crowe, are all on my list of my top 25 films of all time.
My favourites have already been mentioned, I think, and as with most things, my list changes depending on my mood! But there are some films I’ll always watch – Some Like it Hot, Casablanca (I rewatched it recently, and … they really don’t make ’em like that any more), Singin’ in the Rain, (I’ve seen it countless times and Make ’em Laugh still cracks me up every time) Bringing Up Baby, Notorious, The Adventures of Robin Hood (I can pretty much sing along with every note of that magnificent Korngold score – plus, Errol Flynn is so handsome!), All About Eve and Now, Voyager… when it comes to more modern films, The Shawshank Redemption is wonderful, and Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King is very underrated, I think. Speaking of Gilliam, Time Bandits is on my list as well. While You Were Sleeping is one of the very few really successful (modern) romance movies out there – in terms of being actually and genuinely romantic, I mean, not in terms of box office. I love E.T, Raiders of the Lost Ark is so much fun, and The Empire Strikes Back remains the best Star Wars film of the lot.
My favorite recent movie is Disney’s Elemental movie, like another comment it is a beautiful love story and I loved the protagonist’s relationship with her father.
In romance it would be Pride and Prejudice in the Keira version and right after it is Tangled.
“Meet the Robinsons” It is my favorite non-romantic movie, the message is something that I always need to remember and it was just what I needed to see at 13 years old.
I still like Treasure Planet but one of the reasons is the romance between the captain and the professor so it’s cheating to put it in this “non-romance” category.
I like Treasure Planet too. The music – I’m Still Here – is fantastic, and I loved the examination of paternal relationships it did via Jim. The professor and Captain do make a cute couple 🙂 Watched Elemental again last night; it’s a great love story. The scene where Wade first comes out of the water all muscular when they meet, and Ember is impressed in spite of herself, is so funny. Then he shrinks back to his normal size, lol.
It doesn’t quite meet the 5-year criteria, but I find Moonlight (2016) to be incredibly beautiful and tender. Also: Richard Linklater. I love all of the Before films, beginning with baby-faced Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise and I loved Boyhood too. Interestingly, Moonlight is a very visual film and a lot of Linklater’s actors improvise. When I want brilliant, scripted dialogue, I go to the old school classics like the rest of you!