Apocalypse Now –It’s not my definitive number one, but it’s the film that springs to mind before anything else when the favourite movie question comes up. It’s full of faults, is a major head fuck of a movie without a doubt, badly paced in places, and the less said about Redux the better, but I’ll forgive it these things because of the massive amount of brilliance going on in each scene alongside the madness!
Others:
Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive - Hopper terrifies me in BV and Mulholland Drive was compelling enough despite the weirdness that I’ve now watched it enough times to believe that I understand it completely!
Once Upon a Time in The West and Once Upon a Time in America – Leone knows how to make a film look pretty. Moricone knows how to make a film sound good. A better double act than Spielberg and Williams for me.
Clockwork Orange and The Shining – Daring and both films are terrifying in their own special way.
The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother Where Art Thou and The Man Who Wasn’t There – From the heyday of the Cohen brothers when they just couldn’t make a bad film. Funny in the quirkiest of ways and just grin inducing to watch.
The Birds and Rear Window – Suspense taken to a new level. The ease with which Hitchcock does this makes me wonder how modern thrillers are generally so unthrilling.
Fight Club – Style over substance? Perhaps. A film about men afraid to embrace their homosexuality who show their love for each other through beating each other’s faces in? Perhaps. A film with a twist that actually gets better when you know the ending? Yup! Good? Without a doubt!
Donnie Darko, Requiem for a Dream – I’m not sure if these two will stand the test of time but both were hugely affecting when I watched them. Any films that can make a bitter soul like me cry must be good and both of these did.
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy - Fellowship is my favourite by a long way if forced to choose just one. Hobbiton is so painfully idyllic it does actually bring a tear to my eye every time I watch it
Commando - My guilty pleasure, with more classically cheesy Arnie quotes than any other.
Kill Bill 1 and 2 - they are homages to all of my geek interests so I find them hugely appealing and I think direction wise they micturate all over the other Tarantino films.
Oh I have got to stop, there are too many!
