Top 10 Best movies vs. Top 10 Favorite movies...

[randythetool]

Everyone has a Top 10 Favorite movies list, but how does it measure up to the Top 10 Best movies you've ever seen? I did a little comparison a few days ago, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Favorite:

10. Beauty and the Beast
9. Say Anything...
8. The Godfather
7. Pulp Fiction
6. Fargo
5. GoodFellas
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
3. Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
2. Singin' in the Rain
1. Annie Hall

Best

10. Requiem for a Dream
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
8. Hoop Dreams
7. Once Upon a Time in America
6. Trois Coulours: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge
5. GoodFellas
4. Citizen Kane
3. The Godfather
2. 8 1/2
1. Strangers on a Train

Hopefully this will prompt some interesting responses. Only three of my all-time top 10 favorite movies appear on my top 10 best list!

[Sigur509]

Best: My Top 10 of all time:

1.The Royal Tenenbaums
2.Amadeus
3.Rushmore
4.Unbreakable
5.Edward Sissorhands
6.Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring
7.A.I. Artificial Intelligence
8.Princess Mononoke
9.E.T.
10.Jurassic Park

Favorite:

1.The Royal Tenenbaums
2.Vanilla Sky
3.Memento
4.Jurassic Park
5.Sings
6.Say Anything
7.Reality Bites
8.Fellowship of the Ring
9.Minority Report
10.Clerks

[ToRontoRon]

These two should be the same thing. If a movie is entertaining, it is good. If I like Dumb And Dumber more than Citizen Kane, then I think it's a better movie. So here are my two lists:

Best:

10) A Clockwork Orange
9) Pulp Fiction
8) Se7en
7) Fight Club
6) The Shawshank Redemption
5) The Matrix
4) The Godfather Part II
3) The Godfather
2) Braveheart
1) The Matrix Reloaded

Favourite:

10) A Clockwork Orange
9) Pulp Fiction
8) Se7en
7) Fight Club
6) The Shawshank Redemption
5) The Matrix
4) The Godfather Part II
3) The Godfather
2) Braveheart
1) The Matrix Reloaded

[randythetool]

These two should be the same thing. If a movie is entertaining, it is good. If I like Dumb And Dumber more than Citizen Kane, then I think it's a better movie.

See, I really disagree. CITIZEN KANE is quite high up on my list, but I don't particularly like to watch it - it's a pretty big undertaking, as are REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, and TROIS COULOURS. These are all great great films, and I appreciate their mastery as superior to most others in history, but I don't watch them for the entertainment values - much in the same way that I don't love Van Gogh's work for its aesthetic beauty, but the superiority of its craft. ANNIE HALL is my favorite movie of all time, but I definitely think it's not one of the best ever made. 25TH HOUR is one of my favorite movies of 2002, but it's nowhere near my top ten best films.

I think that separating "favorite" from "good" is a necessary quality of the serious filmgoer, and it's a little disheartening to see so few responses :(.

[ToRontoRon]

Originally posted by randythetool
See, I really disagree. CITIZEN KANE is quite high up on my list, but I don't particularly like to watch it - it's a pretty big undertaking, as are REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, and TROIS COULOURS. These are all great great films, and I appreciate their mastery as superior to most others in history, but I don't watch them for the entertainment values - much in the same way that I don't love Van Gogh's work for its aesthetic beauty, but the superiority of its craft. ANNIE HALL is my favorite movie of all time, but I definitely think it's not one of the best ever made. 25TH HOUR is one of my favorite movies of 2002, but it's nowhere near my top ten best films.

I think that separating "favorite" from "good" is a necessary quality of the serious filmgoer, and it's a little disheartening to see so few responses :(.


I definately see your point, and I used to think that way too, and maybe you're right. But I just think that the purpose of movies is to entertain. For me, The Shawshank Redemption is number 6 on my list, despite the fact that it has very little action in it. But despite the lack of action, I am just drawn to it. If it's on T.V., (which is quite often), it's very hard to turn away from, despite the fact that this should be a 'seen it once, seen it enough' type of movie. I only think that a movie is really good if you want to see it again and again. I don't think a movie is very good if you see it once, think 'ah, that was great', and then don't have the urge to see it again.

But yes, it is strange to see so few responses. (crickets chirping)

[Ren Hoek]

I'd say that the BEST movies are the technically perfect ones which were groundbreaking in some way, while the FAVOURITE movies are the ones with a greater "re-watchability". For example, I consider CITIZEN KANE to be superior to LIFE OF BRIAN in almost every aspect: screenplay, cinematography, direction, acting etc. However, LIFE OF BRIAN is infinitely more re-watchable than CITIZEN KANE because it is less intellectually demanding, more light-hearted, and an easily accessible film to watch with your friends. However, some films perfectly combine technically perfect filmmaking with perfect entertainment, such as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE or JULES ET JIM. Mind you, I love all of the above-mentioned movies equally, it's just that I can watch some of them over and over again, while others are simply too complex and technically rich to be enjoyed repeatedly within a short time span.

Anyways, here are my lists:

BEST:

1) Citizen Kane (1941)
2) A Clockwork Orange (1971)
3) Apocalypse Now (1979)
4) The Godfather (1972)
5) The Third Man (1949)
6) The Seven Samurai (1954)
7) City Lights (1931)
8) C'era una volta il West [Once Upon a Time in the West] (1968)
9) Pulp Fiction (1994)
10) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)


FAVOURITES:

1) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
2) A Clockwork Orange (1971)
3) Singin' in the Rain (1952)
4) Blue Velvet (1986)
5) Jules et Jim (1962)
6) The Shining (1980)
7) Natural Born Killers (1994)
8) The Night of the Hunter (1955)
9) Life of Brian (1979)
10) Hotaru no haka [Grave of the Fireflies] (1988)

[Annie Hall]

I believe that BEST and FAVORITE are very different. Much like RenHoek says, Say Anything...is far more entertaining than Citizen Kane, but there is no doubt in my mind which is the better-made film.

BEST
1) The Godfather
2) The Godfather Part II
3) Citizen Kane
4) City Lights
5) Casablanca
6) 2001: A Space Odyessy
7) Dr. Strangelove
8) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
9) Braveheart
10) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

FAVORITE
1) American Beauty
2) Trainspotting
3) Moulin Rouge!
4) The Godfather *
5) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
6) Annie Hall
7) LA Confidential
8) Pulp Fiction
9) Braveheart
10) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*

*constantly switches with its sequel

[KornKidJedi]

Favorites:
1.The Good The Bad and The Ugly
2.Pulp Fiction
3.The Godfather Part II
4.West Side Story
5.The Godfather
6.Scarface
7.Jackie Brown
8.Schindler's List
9.Taxi Driver
10.Hard-Boiled

Best:
1.Nosferatu
2.The Godfather Part II
3.Schindler's List
4.The Godfather
5.Gone With The Wind
6.Citizen Kane
7.The Seven Samurai
8.Once Upon A Time In America
9.Pulp Fiction
10.The Lord Of The Rings:The Fellowship Of The Ring

[Hannibal21]

I don't do seperate lists anymore, my top 10 movies are my favorites and best movies combined....

1. Citizen Kane
2. Casablanca
3. All About Eve
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. The Godfather
6. Schindler's List
7. Some Like it Hot
8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
9. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
10. The Godfather Part II

[ANavissi500]

My favorites are the ones that appear on my Top 10 Lists
The best ones are more traditional.

BEST

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather
3. Braveheart
4. The Graduate
5. American Beuaty
6. A Clockwork Orange
7. Schindler's List
8. The Graduate
9. Apocalypse Now
10. Moulin Rouge!

FAVORITE

1. Moulin Rouge!
2. Amelie
3. Wonder Boys
4. Braveheart
5. As Good As It Gets
6. American Beauty
7. The Rules of Attraction
8. Magnolia
9. Adaptation
10. Training Day

[Hannibal21]

bump

[blankpage]

I never have two different lists. I don't seperate best and favourite. To me, best is a favourite. In my list, I mix films that are groundbreaking and ones I just love. So, here's the list (both with best and favourites).

1.) Annie Hall
2.) Citizen Kane
3.) L.A. Confidential
4.) Some like it Hot
5.) Jaws
6.) The Seven Samurai
7.) The Shawshank Redemption
8.) Taxi Driver
9.) Manhattan
10.) On the Waterfront

[randythetool]

whee, my post got bumped! yay! :D

[zeppelin]

I think it's silly to make 2 separate lists. I only have a favorites list, but I guess I can make a 10 "best" list too just for the hell of it:

Top 10 Best:
1. 8 1/2
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Citizen Kane
4. Rashomon
5. Lawrence of Arabia
6. The Godfather
7. Seven Samurai
8. Raging Bull
9. Vertigo
10. The Third Man

10 Favorite:
1. Raging Bull
2. Rashomon
3. Citizen Kane
4. Taxi Driver
5. Double Indemnity
6. Do the Right Thing
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Goodfellas
9. 8 1/2
10. Apocalypse Now

[blankpage]

Ok, I gave into peer presure, after some thought, I thought I will try and do one. And although none of these films come close (except for Kane) to touching the brilliance of my favs, I thought I'd give it a go.


1.) 8 1/2
2.) Vertigo
3.) The Maltese Falcon
4.) Citizen Kane
5.) A Clockwork Orange
6.) The Grapes of Wrath
7.) 2001: A Space Odyssey
8.) Apocalypse Now
9.) The Third Man
10.) The Bridge over the River Kwai