I know it's hard to pick one but if you could, what do you think it would be?
Mine would be The Dark Crystal.
"Flash Gordon".
I realize that it's poorly acted, the effects are lame, the writing is subpar at best, and the movie is just generally stupid.
BUT...
Every single time it comes on TV, I sit down and watch it start to finish. And I enjoy the hell out of it every time. And a little while ago I figured out why I like it so much.
There's a scene where Flash attacks "War Rocket Ajax" with a squad of Hawkmen, and Queen's "Battle Theme" is blasting in the background. As I was watching it, I said to myself "This movie needs to start rocking right freakin' NOW", and just like that, the sound effects give way to a kickass Brian May guitar solo. And I suddenly realized that the movie was tailor-made for ME. In short, "Flash Gordon" makes me feel a little bit more special for having seen it.
As for "The Dark Crystal", I saw that in the theater when I was six. Forty five minutes into it, it dawned on me that they were all puppets. I haven't been able to watch it since without being really creeped out by it.
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> Quoted from Evil Matt
What is there to be creeped out by, there are people behind the puppets, and not everything in it was a puppet, the Landstriders in it were actually people on stilts. I guess you never watched the Muppet Show either?
No, I loved the Muppets. But I sat there thinking that everybody in the movie was an actual person until I saw a few strings, and the whole thing just made me really uneasy after that. I've got nothing against puppets, per se. I just don't like it when they're all covert about it.
Geez - that's a toss-up. There's so many different KINDS of movies. For non-B-movies, my big four prior to 2001 would have to be (in no particular order) Star Wars, Cool Hand Luke, the Godfather, and Dr. Strangelove. Since 2001 however, the Lord of the Rings movies are taking a place at the top as well. I'm a fan of the book, and much to my surprise, Jackson's trilogy has blown me away so far.
Evil Matt - Good call on Flash Gordon! I would have to say that's my favorite B-movie too.
The only part that made me jump in The Dark Crystal was when Fizzgig jumps out & growls for the first time.
That scared the hell out of me when I was a kid!
That & seeing a skeksi stripped half naked by his bretheren.
Post Edited (12-13-03 07:18)
When it comes to favorite films, it all depends on the genre.
Horror-Evil Dead 1/Dawn Of The Dead
SciFi-Equilibrium
Drama-American History X
Action-Boondock Saints
Comedy-Office Space
Cross Genre-Donnie Darko
Thats just a quick list. I'm sure it would change if I thought really hard about it. There are so many fantastic films, that they can't be just "favorite film". I rank The Matrix as high as I do Equilibrium so there is no easy way to decide. Even more so with the drama category. I mean hell, there is still American Beauty, Fargo, Pulp Fiction, Reservior Dogs, LA Confidental, etc.
But if I were to just pick one film out of all that I had ever seen and say it is the absolute no question best; it would be:
Fight Club.
It seems that nobody really gets this film, except for a few people. The first time I saw the film, I was so completely "in tune" with it. Fight Club was the film made for me as The Flash was for Evil Matt. Perfect acting, perfect music (Dust Brothers OWN) and a powerful story with beautiful (dare I say masterful) directing by David Fincher.
Not "The Flash". "Flash Gordon".
Though, sadly, I did kinda like "The Flash" when it was on TV.
Sorry, got the two mixed up. Did mean to say Flash Gordon.
Nell - tayyy in da weeeeeend, tay an may and tay and may, chicka chicka chickapay!
Just kidding
Does anyone actually have the ultimate favorite movie? I can't imagine it, I have to break my down to genre's and subgenre's and decades and even then it depends on my mood. Whenever i see someone with a top 10 list of favorite films of all time i just have to wonder how? I've seen tens of thousands and can't even begin to make one such small list
But I like Terminator ;-)
Post Edited (12-13-03 11:55)
Probably This Is Spinal Tap. Utterly masterful improv, with two of my all-time heroes (Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) in lead roles.
Tied for close second are Plan 9 from Outer Space, Pulp Fiction, and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. No matter how many times I see them, they always put me in a great mood.
As for movies that seem tailor made for me... anyone who's seen the movie may think this is kinda weird, but The Dark Backward is so close to my wavelength, it's kinda eerie. The weird-ass setup (struggling comedian grows third arm), the manic performances, the jet-black gross-out humor (Bill Paxton licking stir-fried dog feces off three morbidly obese prostitutes), the against-type casting of Judd Nelson and Wayne Newton, and an oddly sweet ending, to boot.
It's not hard for me to pick. My favorite is THE GODFATHER, with GODFATHER PART II coming in a very close 2nd. The rest of my favorites are several notches below these movies.
I am forever stuck in older films when it comes to my favorites. This is by no means complete, but they're what hit me at the time of posting....
I love DUEL, since it paved the way to movies like THE HITCHER, JOY RIDE and countless other knockoffs.
THE SHINING, because Jack Nicholson is....well, he's just Jack!
NEW JACK CITY, mainly because it showed that Mario Van Peebles could do a good crime-drama movie (then he lost his mind doing movies like SOLO and GUNMEN) and because Chris Rock was perfect as the junkie-trying-to-turn-clean character.
THE EXORCIST, because this is one of the few movies that can still scare me even with multiple viewings.
Finally, ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ. Clint Eastwood, Partick McGoohan and Fred Ward and a young Danny Glover? With a combination like that and based on a true story to boot, this one is great! If you watch carefully, you'll see that about 1/2 of the scenes in this movie were used in SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION....
It depends on mood that will determine the genre. I'll try to pick ones that I can watch over and over again. There are no favorites, but here are some quick picks:
Sword and Sandal - CONAN THE BARBARIAN (Seen 3 times in theater)
Horror - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (truly insane terror)
Comedy/Horror - RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (or Motel Hell)
Western - FIST FULL OF DYNAMITE (really like this one)
Sci-Fi - STARSHIP TROOPERS (maybe Matrix)
Sci-Fi/Horror - ALIEN II
Fantasy - FLASH GORDON
Adventure - INDIANA JONES (any of them)
Comedy - BLUES BROTHERS (maybe Dr. Strangelove)
Drama - THE MISSION (Saturday Night Fever or Rocky)
Action - FIRST BLOOD (did i just say that?)
Epic - LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Quo Vidas?)
Musical - WEST SIDE STORY
Martial Arts - ABOVE THE LAW ( I know...............)
B-Movie - PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
I would have to say my top 5 favorites are:
1. Crimson Tide- Awesome performances by Hackman and Denzel!
2. Patton-George C Scott was great
3. Clerks--My all time fave comedy!
4. Schindlers List-A Masterpiece
5. Ran-Kurosawa does it again!
Star Trek the Motion Picture ( 1979, 2001- the Director's Edition )
One of the best artworks human science fiction has to offer.
That's a tough one. I don't know if I can really boil it down to one film.
Yojimbo (Kurosawa RULES ALL) and Fistfull of Dollars are both awesome. Truely inspired works, even if they're the same film.
I love the movie Amelie - the best Romatic Comedy has to offer, really.
But I also LOVE Flash Gordon for its sheer re-watchability. I can just sit down and watch that flick over and over. I never get tired of it. Something about the combination of cheesy acting, goofily bad special effects, and an absolutely unbelievably incredible soundtrack...
Tremors is more fun than it has any real right to be, and that's a fact. I love that movie.
The whole Lord of the Rings saga - especially the extended editions - probably come close. Unbelievable, that's what that wole thing was. Un-dirty-word-believable.
But if I had to put all my eggs in one basket... hmmm...
Nope. Canna do it. I can't name one film that stands out above all others. If I come up with something, I'll let you know.
I almost forgot--Star Trek:First Contact was a great film also