LU's Favorite Movie

[Parra]

If it is not an adaption of the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" what will I do?

 

[Misanthrope]

As big a foregone conclusion as an INXS song being #1 on a MusicMax count-down.

 

[Parra]

Noted. Funnily enough, both generate the same feelings.

 

[bileduct]

And the winner is?

Boring as bat shit.

 

[Misanthrope]

No. The Godfather came in at #3.

 

[Parra]

Didn't get past the wedding? How did you go with Deer Hunter?

 

[veggiepatch1959]

OK, you people have got me intruiged about this one so I'm downloading it.

Since it has been reported as such a powerful and moving film, would it translate well using real actors instead of amine?

Just finished watching Grave of the Fireflies and seriously, I don't understand all the hype. The only sad part was death of the sister and I felt the brother was the blame for that through his selfishness.

Maybe being a cartoon sterilised the plot and underlying meaning of the film. It would have been way more powerful using real actors in my opinion.

 

[Misanthrope]

Didn't get past the wedding? How did you go with Deer Hunter?

Still on a very lengthy 'to watch' list.

 

[bileduct]

Didn't get past the wedding? How did you go with Deer Hunter?

That wedding scene in The Deer Hunter would have to be one of the most excruciating sequences to sit through.

 

[Misanthrope]

#1 - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
​

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins
Awards: None.
Points: 54 points from 4 voters

The winner of every LU's Favourite Movie count-down I've conducted reigns supreme once again, much to the chagrin of a few haters. Darabont's faithful adaptation of the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption definitely seems to polarize movie-goers.

The tale of a banker's wrongful incarceration and eventual escape from prison is a moving tale of friendship, triumph over adversity, and the way the system changes those who are put through it - whether rightfully or wrongfully.

Helmed by fantastic performances from Freeman & Robbins, the fi;m's main criticism has been for its bloated run-time. Much like Darabont's other faithful King adaptation (The Green Mile), the faithfulness to the source material means there is a lot of content jammed in.

Whether you're a fan (as I am) or one of those who thinks it's overrated, there's no denying Shawshank's immense popularity on this board. It's won every count-down we've done. Will it be toppled next time?

 

[Mader45]

Best movie ever.

Dramatic. Compelling. Character driven. And No female roles.

 

[Misanthrope]

Best movie ever.

Dramatic. Compelling. Character driven. And No female roles.

Sweet Lord, I never even thought about the complete lack of female roles. There's the cheating whore of a wife and some snarky cow demanding that her groceries be double bagged :lol:

It's alongside The Green Mile as my favourite, actually. Great film IMO.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

As promised a few weeks ago, here is a list comparing LU's ratings versus that of IMDB. Enjoy the similarities and some real shockers.

=50 - Vertigo (1958) 49th

=50 - Batman Begins (2005) 104th

=50 - Mad Max 2 (1981) 567th

=50 - Jaws (1975) 142nd

=50 - Jurassic Park (1993) 245th

=50 - Up (1999) 115th

44 - Braveheart (1995) 84th

=43 - Raging Bull (1980) 100th

=43 - Akira (1988) 308th

=43 - First Blood (1982) 613th

=43 - Natural Born Killers (1994) 963th

=43 - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) 966th

39 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 12th

=38 - It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 30th

=38 - The Godfather Part 2 (1974) 3rd

=38 - Swingers (1996) 717th

=38 - The Big Lebowski (1998) 131st

=38 - Wake in Fright (1971) not in top 5000-rating 7.6

=38 - Orgazmo (1997) not in top 5000-rating 6.0

=38 - M (1931) 53rd

=38 - Sling Blade (1996) in top 5000-rating 8.0

=30 - Forrest Gump (1994) 19th

=30 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 76th

=30 - Avatar (2009) 263rd

=27 - Schindler's List (1993) 8th

=27 - Requiem for a Dream (2000) 73rd

=27 - Boogie Nights (1997) 363rd

24 - Kill Bill I (2003) 153rd

=23 - The Green Mile (1999) 66th

=23 - Cool Hand Luke (1967) 136th

=23 - Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) 346th

=20 - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) 5th

=20 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 36th

=20 - Reservoir Dogs (1992) 71st

=20 - Donnie Darko (2001) 177th

=20 - Gladiator (2000) 64th

=15 - The Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 105th

=15 - A Clockwork Orange (1971) 62nd

=15 - The Castle (1997) not in top 5000–rating 7.5

12 - The Two Towers (2002) 20th

=11 - Apocalypse Now (1979) 35th

=11 - Goodfellas (1990) 15th

9 - Return of the King (2003) 9th

8 - Blade Runner (1982)123rd

7 - The Dark Knight (2008)7th

6 - Aliens (1986) 59th

5 - Pulp Fiction (1994) 4th

4 - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 11th

3 - The Godfather (1972) 2nd

2 - Fight Club (1999) 10th

1 - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 1st

Thanks to the IMDB and icheckmovies websites for the information.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Further information about the above list.

1. IMDB only publishes the Top 250 movies for standard users. You need IMDB Pro to access the actual position of a particular movie.

2. The Top 250 movies were accessed by myself in early January 2013 so there is a chance lower placed movies may have shifted a place or two.

3. The Top 1000 movies came from www.icheckmovies.com and was compiled in August 2012. Again, their position may have shifted around a bit.

4. According to icheckmovies, IMDB disregards votes for movies from users with a limited voting history. I'm not sure what the exact criteria for this is.

Hope this explains a few things.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

I've mentioned before that I'm hardly a movie expert (or a regular viewer for that matter) but here's my top 15. Too bad I didn't vote.

1. Mad Max 2 - Probably the best stuntwork I've seen in a movie based in a post apocalyptic setting. Action from go to whoa.


2. Shawshank Redemption - A great perspective of how the innocent guy wins over corrupt authority.


3.Threads - A slow starting but powerful movie about the destruction of Sheffield, England by a global nuclear war and the aftermath. Only shown once on TV in the UK and banned after a family of four committed suicide after watching it.


4. Silence of the Lambs - Wonderful psychological drama featuring arguably cinema's greatest villian, Hannibal Lecter.


5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - A sometimes funny, sometimes serious classic set in a mental institution starring Jack Nicholson, one of my favourite actors.


6. Wolf Creek - John Jarratt's character reminds me of an ex-Navy dude I know who disappears for months at a time in the Outback, loaded with guns and supplies in his Landcruiser. What he does out there nobody knows. Scary.


7. A Serbian Movie - The most visually violent movie I have ever seen. A story of an aging porn star who comes out of retirement to partake in what becomes a rampage of mutilation and death. Not for the squeamish in the uncut form.


8. Fracture - Anthony Hopkins stars as an engineer whose wife has an affair with a cop and is subsequently murdered. How he twists the legal system is on par with Shawshank Redemption.

9. Caddyshack - Classic performance from Rodney Dangerfield with the best one-liners ever. Almost upstaged by Bill Murray as the perverted groundsman at an exclusive golf club.


10. Baraka - Not a word spoken in this Rod Fricke's documentary on mankind and nature, similarities and contrasts. Cinematography at its best.

11. Aliens - Suspense filled sci-fi movie with the most pesky extraterrestrials you'll ever see. A real nailbiter.

12. Forrest Gump - The cheesiest movie ever with a disabled boy beating the odds and being a hero at everything he does.


13. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - About the saddest movie I've seen. A story about two young boys who develop an unlikely friendship in a German concentration camp during WWII.

14. Bladerunner - Being a devout fan of Philip K. Dick's stories, this was a fair adaptation. Darryl Hannah made it all be better with her face smothering gymnastics.

15. The Hurt Locker - An intense story of an American bomb disposal team in the Middle East. Just shows that terrorists will go to any length to achieve their objectives.

 

[Misanthrope]

Amazed that we had exact matches for Dark Knight, Return of the King, and The Shawshank Redemption.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Amazed that we had exact matches for Dark Knight, Return of the King, and The Shawshank Redemption.

Uncanny isn't it.

I'm almost absolutely sure The Dark Knight momentarily knocked The Shawshank Redemption from its No. 1 spot on IMDB immediately after Heath Ledger's death before sanity prevailed.

Talk about the power of the sympathy vote.

 

[Parra]

Says more about the voters than the movies.

 

[Springs]

Uncanny isn't it.

I'm almost absolutely sure The Dark Knight momentarily knocked The Shawshank Redemption from its No. 1 spot on IMDB immediately after Heath Ledger's death before sanity prevailed.

Talk about the power of the sympathy vote.

The Dark Knight came ou six months after his death but I do believe it was no. 1 at some point.

 

[El Diablo]

Uncanny isn't it.

I'm almost absolutely sure The Dark Knight momentarily knocked The Shawshank Redemption from its No. 1 spot on IMDB immediately after Heath Ledger's death before sanity prevailed.

Talk about the power of the sympathy vote.

Here is the exact reason http://strat.in/2009/07/how-the-dar...-the-godfather-as-the-best-movie-in-imdb-250/