Ten Best Movies

By Robert Crowe

Wanna start an argument? Simply make a list and call it the ten best _____ (fill in the blank.) Rather than make my own list I decided to borrow from others and let them take the criticism. The first group is from an article by the Internet Movie Data Base. They did their cut-off in the year 2012, probably because they got tired of hearing such meaningful objection such as, “How could you leave off my favorite movie?” Some services don’t include recent movies in the “All-time” list because some time needs to pass to put them into historical perspective. Anyway …Here they are, in order:

  1. The Godfather (1972)

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son. Director: Francis Ford Coppola’ Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton

  1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. Director: Frank Darabont; Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

  1. Schindler’s List (1993)

In German-occupied Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazi Germans.

Director: Steven Spielberg; Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall

  1. Raging Bull (1980)

An emotionally self-destructive boxer’s journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring destroys his life outside it. Director: Martin Scorsese;

Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent

  1. Casablanca (1942)

In Casablanca in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate encounters a former lover, with unforeseen complications. Director: Michael Curtiz; Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains

  1. Citizen Kane (1941)

Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance. Director: Orson Welles; Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead

  1. Gone with the Wind (1939)

A manipulative woman and a roguish man conduct a turbulent romance during the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Director: Victor Fleming; Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O’Neil

  1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home in Kansas and help her friends as well. Director: Victor Fleming; Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr

  1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

A criminal pleads insanity after getting into trouble again and once in the mental institution rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients. Director: Milos Forman; Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco

  1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks. Director: David Lean; Stars: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins

Don’t like that list? Here’s another. The American Film Institute: Movies 1912 -1996

  1. Citizen Kane (1941)

  2. Casablanca (1942)

  3. The Godfather (1972)

  4. Gone With the Wind (1939)

  5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

  6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  7. The Graduate (1957)

  8. On the Waterfront (1954)

  9. Schindler’s List (1993)

  10. Singing in the Rain (1952)

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