My Favorite Movies
by kdg1991 | created - 13 Jan 2015 | updated - 9 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
Votes: 1,449,352 | Gross: $322.74M
At the age of five my whole life was transformed by this story that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I owe a great debt to George Lucas for his creativity.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
PG-13 | 201 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
Votes: 1,978,799 | Gross: $377.85M
Favorite movie-going experience of my life.
3. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,156 | Gross: $32.00M
4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
After the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 1,379,478 | Gross: $290.48M
Didn't like this installment as a child, mainly because it was so dark. Didn't like seeing Han frozen in carbonite, which was akin to him dying in my eyes, or seeing Luke nearly beaten to death by Vader. Now my all time favorite of the saga.
5. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,106,415 | Gross: $44.02M
My roommate and I used to watch this all the time as freshmen. We'd even fall asleep with it on, only for me to wake up as my roommate shouted from across the room for me to turn it off as Jack breaks the bathroom door down (I'd have the remote in my bed, we weren't sharing a bed as lovers were we? o.O]).
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,072,189 | Gross: $112.00M
Inspiring, nonetheless.
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,040 | Gross: $6.10M
Probably the coolest movie ever.
8. Forrest Gump (1994)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Votes: 2,256,411 | Gross: $330.25M
I almost forgot about this one as I was revising this list. HOW CAN YOU FORGET FORREST??
9. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,061
Who doesn't come close to tears as we realize how much of a hero George Bailey is? And how all of us go through George's struggles at some points in our lives and question our value and worth? Greatest Christmas movie of all time. No questions.
10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,547,871 | Gross: $130.74M
Chilling. A perfect performance by Hopkins as the psychopathic genius Hannibal Lecter, and another perfect performance by Foster as the brave and defying hero Clarice Starling.
11. Goodfellas (1990)
R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 1,257,056 | Gross: $46.84M
Showed this to my roommate that same freshman year. He wanted to watch Knocked Up, instead, which we saw a million times. I made him a wager that I knew I couldn't lose: we watch the first ten minutes of Goodfellas, and if you don't like it, we'll turn it off. Sure enough, he tells me to keep it going.
12. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 719,341 | Gross: $56.95M
It requires a lot of patience to get through it, but it's totally worth it as you reflect on it.
13. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,050 | Gross: $57.60M
So beautiful. There will always be good even when all have turned to evil.
14. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 1,036,732 | Gross: $248.16M
Gotta love Indy, don't we?
15. The Graduate (1967)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels
Votes: 288,371 | Gross: $104.95M
Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me... aren't you?
16. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 168,434 | Gross: $0.03M
Opening scene is one of the eeriest scenes ever. And this was made in 1931. Fritz Lang has owned every modern day director who tries to be suspenseful, and by modern day suspenseful we mean guys who obey the studio executives who demand we use an overacting starlet who is practically naked in at least one scene. Some exceptions can be made, though.
17. Dumb and Dumber (1994)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy
After a woman leaves a briefcase at the airport terminal, a dumb limo driver and his dumber friend set out on a hilarious cross-country road trip to Aspen to return it.
Directors: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly | Stars: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly, Mike Starr
Votes: 412,166 | Gross: $127.18M
Hey, why can't I like this?
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, War
An unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 518,177 | Gross: $0.28M
"Mandrake, have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?"
19. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,450,359 | Gross: $96.90M
Watched it in the summer of 2009 after I got a gift card for graduating high school, and I didn't see what was so impressive about it, but I watched it again not too long after that and I was crying the whole time.
20. Vertigo (1958)
PG | 128 min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller
A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore
Votes: 426,827 | Gross: $3.20M
Patience is needed again, but it totally pays off.
21. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,198 | Gross: $75.60M
Mel Gibson has issues, yes, but he's a great director.
22. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 164,852 | Gross: $9.60M
Gets better every time.
23. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,888,104 | Gross: $28.34M
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
24. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 762,876 | Gross: $85.16M
I really don't get excited about the Oscars anymore, but Sigourney Weaver was nominated for Best Actress for this. Somebody gets nominated for an Oscar for a Sci-Fi/Action movie? Oh, yeah, you need to watch this, then.
25. Life as a House (2001)
R | 125 min | Drama
When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
Director: Irwin Winkler | Stars: Hayden Christensen, Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jena Malone
Votes: 45,596 | Gross: $15.65M
Hayden Christensen IS a good actor. He just had bad direction with George Lucas.
26. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,757 | Gross: $0.27M
It's amazing to see that cinema has no language barriers.
27. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure
In 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 810,824 | Gross: $197.17M
Personal favorite of the Indiana Jones series. Gotta love Sean Connery as Indy's dad.
28. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,870,115 | Gross: $534.86M
Epic ending. Our hero takes on all the troubles of his city to give his fellow citizens hope and rides off into the sunset.
29. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
R | 127 min | Drama
Depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Maia Morgenstern, Christo Jivkov
Votes: 251,092 | Gross: $370.78M
Begged my parents to let me see this when it came out, and they rightly said no. Two years later I saw it for my confirmation class, and I said to my mom when she picked me up: "Thank you for not letting me go see that when it came out."
30. The Changeling (1980)
R | 107 min | Horror, Mystery
After the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, a music professor staying at a long-vacant Seattle mansion is dragged into a decades-old mystery by an inexplicable presence in the mansion's attic.
Director: Peter Medak | Stars: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, Jean Marsh
Votes: 39,998
I watched this movie after reading Scorsese's list of scariest horror movies, and it was the first movie to scare me in years.
31. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 659,305 | Gross: $260.00M
Fell in love with this at age nine. Showed it to my six-year-old brother and he was afraid to go to swimming lessons in the pool we went to.
32. Metropolis (1927)
Not Rated | 153 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Votes: 185,488 | Gross: $1.24M
First silent movie I watched on my own.
33. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
PG | 118 min | Action, Adventure
In 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri
Votes: 535,186 | Gross: $179.87M
Indy again. Truly embodies the role of a hero in this one as he saves children.
34. The Lion King (1994)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 1,142,058 | Gross: $422.78M
First time I ever went to the movie theater, and what a movie to start with.
35. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,067,669 | Gross: $138.43M
I could relate to Will on a smaller level, as I had problems with people and needed to talk to somebody in order to get me back on the ground and not push people away.
36. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 1,173,770 | Gross: $204.84M
The villain is now the hero. That's pretty awesome.
37. Hot Fuzz (2007)
R | 121 min | Action, Comedy, Mystery
An overachieving London police sergeant is transferred to a village where the easygoing officers object to his fervor for regulations, all while a string of grisly murders strikes the town.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy
Votes: 535,209 | Gross: $23.64M
I don't think I've ever laughed as hard during a movie as I did with Hot Fuzz.
38. Young Frankenstein (1974)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle
Votes: 168,875 | Gross: $86.30M
I first watched this when I was ten, and I didn't get any of the jokes until I saw it again when I was sixteen.
39. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,210,796 | Gross: $130.10M
While I may have some disagreements over certain aspects of the film in regards to sexual ethics, it's a great movie.
40. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 427,947 | Gross: $51.97M
Just a masterpiece, and introduced me to classical music.
41. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy
In the 1970s, an anchorman's stint as San Diego's top-rated newsreader is challenged when an ambitious newswoman becomes his co-anchor.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd
Votes: 378,501 | Gross: $85.29M
Quotable. What other reason do I need?
42. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
G | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The Muppets present their own touching rendition of Charles Dickens' classic tale.
Director: Brian Henson | Stars: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson
Votes: 70,636 | Gross: $27.28M
Favorite version of A Christmas Carol.
43. The Omen (1976)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner
Votes: 132,436 | Gross: $4.27M
When I was a freshman at my Catholic high school, I did a small report on the Book of Revelation and used this movie as my ultimate source, and I'm surprised my teacher did not give me a F. Then again, seeing as it was probably only a few paragraphs long, he probably wasn't concerned.
44. Into the Wild (2007)
R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 658,043 | Gross: $18.35M
Just a beautiful movie about understanding relationships between ourselves and others.
45. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 628,316 | Gross: $117.24M
Rocky may not have been as great a movie as Taxi Driver when it came to the Oscars, but we needed a Rocky Balboa in the midst of the dark ages of heroes in cinema.
46. Philadelphia (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama
When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Votes: 258,034 | Gross: $77.32M
Loved The Silence of the Lambs, and Jonathan Demme made another great flick with Philadelphia. I personally think Washington was snubbed of an Oscar nomination, as he exhibits a great transformation throughout the movie from start to finish.
47. Groundhog Day (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 684,951 | Gross: $70.91M
Such a brilliant concept.
48. A Christmas Story (1983)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz
Votes: 168,608 | Gross: $20.61M
You'll shoot your eye out, the leg lamp, the bunny pajamas, triple-dog-dare, what other quotable moments from this movie are there?
49. The Sandlot (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
Director: David Mickey Evans | Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Art LaFleur, Patrick Renna
Votes: 102,358 | Gross: $32.42M
This is a NECESSITY for any baseball fan to watch. Regardless of your age.
50. The Departed (2006)
R | 151 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg
Votes: 1,421,978 | Gross: $132.38M
Last, but not least. This is the movie that sparked my love for cinema as a teenager, and taught me that cool movies could be hailed by the critics.
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