Your SINGLE favourite film

Deus Ex Machina · 05-06-2012 11:46am #1

People are always keen to tell you their top 5 "in no particular order" or mumble and mention about three films when you ask them straight out what their favourite film is. It's a very difficult thing to do, but I think everyone should be able to tell you what their favourite film is at any given moment. Maybe it changes from day to day or minute to minute, but you should have an answer ready when somebody jumps out of a train and throws the question at you.

I'll answer. My favourite film is 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The reasons are: it encompasses the birth of humanity (the "apes" look stupid but the moment when they discover tool use is perhaps my favourite in all cinema) and goes all the way to the next stage in intellectual and existential development. It is beautifully shot and the classical soundtrack (the inclusion of Johann Strauss' Waltz on the beautiful Blue Danube is genius). It deals with questions of greater depth than anything else I have ever seen (for example, human versus computer intellect, morality versus pragmatism, known versus unknown and about a million more). It also ends with one of the most ambigious and bewildering finales in all of cinema, which allows a subjective interpretation and endless speculation, which lends a great deal of mystery to the whole affair.

I'll end my love-in there. So who can pin their cinematic taste down to one single film in an unambiguous manner? Posts include references to more than one film will be booed and shunned!

Diamond_Ninja · 05-06-2012 11:49am

12 Angry Men (1957) with Henry Fonda. I don't have any particular reasoning, I just adore it!

IRL_Sinister · 05-06-2012 11:51am

Snatch.

I've loved this movie since the day I first watched it. Don't really have any particular reasons it's just overall wonderful!

popzmaster · 05-06-2012 11:54am

Commando

Somewhere, somehow, someone's gonna pay!

Fire1985 · 05-06-2012 11:56am

Training Day or 300.

But I could name many films that are not far off them

Hesh's Umpire · 05-06-2012 11:58am

Casablanca. I just adore it.

Deus Ex Machina · 05-06-2012 12:00pm

Fire1985 wrote: »

Training Day or 300.

But I could name many films that are not far off them

Ahhhhh!!! Two films mentioned!!!!

Go with Training Day if people ask you. As much as I enjoyed 300, Gerard Butler is in it....

MidlandsM · 05-06-2012 12:01pm

Heat .............2 of my fav actors.....and michael mann as director

Borderfox · 05-06-2012 12:01pm

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. a great mix of everything I like in a film.

Kev_2012 · 05-06-2012 12:01pm

American History X

frag420 · 05-06-2012 12:02pm

The Goonies!!

no wait........................Scrooged!!

Mycroft H · 05-06-2012 12:11pm

Diamond_Ninja wrote: »

12 Angry Men (1957) with Henry Fonda. I don't have any particular reasoning, I just adore it!

Yes, I was only thinking of that film last night. Brilliantly simple but executed so so well.

For me it's a hard one. I could change my mind next week. If I had to pick one, it would be No country for old men. It was Lee-Jones's character that made it for me, a proud sheriff that could do nothing to contain the evil of the world no matter how hard he tried. His closing is brilliant as is his opening

TheDoc · 05-06-2012 12:17pm

Hard to pick one

But I'd probably have to lock myself in a room for about 10 years and watch

The Terminator
Aliens

Back to back and over and over

Then I can choose...

Deus Ex Machina · 05-06-2012 12:23pm

BX 19 wrote: »

Yes, I was only thinking of that film last night. Brilliantly simple but executed so so well.

For me it's a hard one. I could change my mind next week. If I had to pick one, it would be No country for old men. It was Lee-Jones's character that made it for me, a proud sheriff that could do nothing to contain the evil of the world no matter how hard he tried. His closing is brilliant as is his opening

Nice choice. It is the most unreasonably criticised film of the last decade, to the point that I often use it as a screening for potential friends. If they don't get No Country, I don't get them.

Sleepy · 05-06-2012 12:33pm

Cinema Paradiso.

It's been in my Top 5 since the first time I ever saw it. Beautiful movie. Tomorrow my answer would probably be different but it always rotates between the same 6/7 movies.

nyarlothothep · 05-06-2012 12:34pm

I'd say 2001 myself but I have to be in the mood for it. If I were to talk about a film that brings a big smile to my face then it would probably be Total Recall or Robocop.

Paparazzo · 05-06-2012 12:34pm

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for me. As Borderfox said, the film has everything for me. Good acting, amazing characters, epic story, great dialogue, funny lines, brilliant music and a fantastic end. There's no film I can watch over and over like this one, for some reason I never get bored of it. Even the dubbed parts somehow add to the atmosphere of the film.

TheDoc wrote: »

Hard to pick one

But I'd probably have to lock myself in a room for about 10 years and watch

The Terminator
Aliens

Back to back and over and over

Then I can choose...

Surely you mean Alien and Terminator 2

Bobby42 · 05-06-2012 12:39pm

Fight Club.

RobbingBandit · 05-06-2012 12:40pm

o brother where art thou,it has a great soundtrack and cast. Very funny film too.

krudler · 05-06-2012 12:42pm

Raiders Of The Lost Ark- because its blockbuster cinema perfection. An iconic hero, well developed female lead, great villains, some cracking setpieces, great script and of course John Williams masterpiece of a score, its perfect imo.

Mycroft H · 05-06-2012 12:43pm

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

Nice choice. It is the most unreasonably criticised film of the last decade, to the point that I often use it as a screening for potential friends. If they don't get No Country, I don't get them.

Yea I know. It takes a little bit of thinking and several watches to get the background meaning of the film. But, yea its one of those films that leaves you thinking for days afterwords.

I could add Shutter Island. Its heavily overshadowed by Inception, but I think its a better film.

Bad Panda · 05-06-2012 12:43pm

Easy.

Predator.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 05-06-2012 12:46pm

the life and death of colonel blimp

blimp and a matter of life and death are constantly jockying for the first place spot in any list i'd make of my favourite films but being honest about it a matter of life and death only gets that close at all is because of david niven, blimp is just the perfect movie.

FortuneChip · 05-06-2012 12:50pm

I'm going with The Prestige.

A movie that was better on the second viewing on the first, and even after 5+ viewings I was still noticing subtle things that help tighten the twists & turns.
I'm always a fan of flawed protagonist, and Nolan seems to love making his characters driven by some obsession. Bale & Jackman are both superb.
I loved Jackman's speech towards the end of the movie.

Anytime I sided with one of the leads, something would happen to make me doubt my support. Both characters are incredible flawed in their own way. Bale's character always seems more intense and as a result easy to perceive as sinister, while Jackman's character always seems to be a self regarded victim of the former's acts, but realistically the lengths both men go to to be victorious in the one-upmanship is staggering, and genius.

And David Bowie's Nikola Tesla is fantastic

sweetie · 05-06-2012 12:51pm

This Is Spinal Tap

Seans_Username · 05-06-2012 12:52pm

[It's been said here earlier but here's my reasons for it]
I'd have to say Fight Club for this.
I've said it before on boards and after becoming a huge fan of One Flew..., The Silence of the Lambs and Stand By Me since then, I'm still sticking with Fight Club.

Norton's narrating is magnificent, the storyline (in particular the twist) is terrific, but the message is the best thing about it (My sig has two of my favourite lines from it). I don't think a movie has changed my way of thinking as much as Fight Club. To me, that is why it's the greatest movie of all time and my single favourite movie.

It's scenes like this that are life-changing: