League Unlimited's Favourite Movie

[Misanthrope]

TDK was not Ledger's last role.

We don’t talk about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

 

[Parra]

Well, I'm in full meltdown mode. The Dark Knight??? Higher than the Godfather, and Empire, and Terminator, and just about the entire rest of the list. Is everybody in this place so young they saw it in the cinemas as a teenager? There's no other way to explain it. Take away Ledger's performance and it drops from being a good film to being average. It's not even close to being Nolan's best film.


End rant/ return back to my life.

Saved me some typing. I wouldn't put it near the top of ledger movies

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

It didn’t get a vote from me.

 

[Tommy Smith]

Hard disagree. Combined, they're arguably my favourite 'film' of all time. In the middle of what must be my 10th or 11th series rewatch now, but Netflix doesn't have the extended cuts

This might sound strange but if I'm ever on my death bed, I want to go out watching the LotR Trilogy. Ideally I'd close my eyes for the last time as Into the West played during the closing credits.

Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end
Sleep now
Dream of the one's who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore

Beautiful lyrics and when heard at the end of 11-12hrs of cinematic perfection it hits the spot like nothing else. As an atheist I think such an end is my one shot at not fearing death lol

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

This might sound strange but if I'm ever on my death bed, I want to go out watching the LotR Trilogy. Ideally I'd close my eyes for the last time as Into the West played during the closing credits.

Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end
Sleep now
Dream of the one's who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore

Beautiful lyrics and when heard at the end of 11-12hrs of cinematic perfection it hits the spot like nothing else. As an atheist I think such an end is my one shot at not fearing death lol

On my death bed I want to go out listening to The 12th Man.

Anyone of the good ones. Dealers choice. They’re all classics.

 

[Misanthrope]

This might sound strange but if I'm ever on my death bed, I want to go out watching the LotR Trilogy. Ideally I'd close my eyes for the last time as Into the West played during the closing credits.

Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end
Sleep now
Dream of the one's who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore

Beautiful lyrics and when heard at the end of 11-12hrs of cinematic perfection it hits the spot like nothing else. As an atheist I think such an end is my one shot at not fearing death lol

Oh man, that song is amazing. It's a gorgeous song about death, even if the Grey Havens aren't technically 'death'.

Billy Boyd's version of "Hope Shall Fade" from Return of the King is also a gorgeous tune, and I don't hate Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire" from the Hobbit films either.

 

[Wizardman]

Star Wars: A New Hope = People are going to look at me like an alien here. I have tried at various times to get into this series….I just can’t do it. Im not saying it is rubbish by any means. Im just not into them at all.

Back to the Future: I like the movie but it has not captured my imagination like a good percentage of the population. First one was by far the best.

Jurassic Park: Not that much into them at all.

Apocalypse Now: I’d argue that “Full Metal Jacket” is right on par with “Apocalypse Now” in terms of being a definitive movies about the Vietnam War. Absolutely brilliant movie. Very long but one of those movies where you don’t feel it at all. The bleak atmosphere continues to grip the viewer right up until the closing moments.

Saving Private Ryan: Decent movie, never really fell in love with it.

Goodfellas: Good, strong movie.

Se7en: Brilliant movie….one of the best endings I’ve ever seen.

Return of the King: As mentioned earlier, a series of movies that I need to give another go.

The Godfather: Im actually with Misanthrope here, a very slow movie by any standard. Obviously, some love it but Im going to cautiously move it into the “overrated” section. The movie could easily have had heaps of film on the cutting room floor.

I’ll be absolutely crucified for this comment but I actually liked the third movie the most. Unlike the other two, I felt the movie and the plot at least got moving.

Aliens: Im not a big sci-fi fan but this movie is an absolute masterpiece. A movie with absolutely no faults. A great original with an unbelievable sequel.

The Empire Strikes Back: I’ve made my opinion known about this series.

Terminator 2: One of those movies where every person would have walked out of the cinemas and thought ”WOW!”. Similar to Aliens in that it is just hard to find a fault with it.

The Dark Knight: Very good movie…..”Terminator 2” and “Aliens” are a step up from “The Dark Knight” but still a very good movie.

 

[Misanthrope]

I loved Full Metal Jacket until the halfway point, when it got all weird and 80s action movie. The first half is on point, though.

 

[Wizardman]

I loved Full Metal Jacket until the halfway point, when it got all weird and 80s action movie. The first half is on point, though.

A lot of people say the same thing. I look at the movie as three acts rather than two. Pretty much everybody loves the first act (marine training) due to the excellent performances of the three main characters involved. The second act (characters in Vietnam) I'll grant is the weakest act in the film. I loved as it illustrated the insanity of the way and introduced new characters but I see why lots of people tuned out after the heights of the first act....it was a little slow but I still loved it. The third act (sniper) is an absolute cracker and a very underrated part of the movie as a whole. The third act definitely helps to make it the classic that it is....it ties the movie together.

 

[Misanthrope]

LU's Favourite Movie - #2 and #1
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#2 - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - 2,940 points

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tim Roberts, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore.
Awards: N/A.

Based on a Stephen King short story, The Shawshank Redemption has one virtually every LU's Favourite Movie countdown I've run on this site, but it has finally been unseated.

Marking the start of a successful partnership between director, Frank Darabont and author, Stephen King (they would later release The Green Mile and The Mist together), The Shawshank Redemption has the misfortune of being released in the same year as overrated schlockfest, Forrest Gump. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, it won none but remains one of the most beloved films of all-time thanks largely to a sterling performance from its leads, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Telling the story of a man wrongfully imprisoned and his battle to escape at all costs, it's a moving tribute to the bonds of friendship, while also being an indictment of the way the US prison system institutionalizes violence and criminal behavior.

#1 - Pulp Fiction (1994) - 3,900 points

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L Jackson, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, and Christopher Walken.
Awards: Best Original Screenplay.

This year's runaway winner is also Quentin Tarantino's best, a wonderfully wrought story full of twists, turns, and iconic moments set against an all-time great soundtrack.

Revitalizing the career of John Travolta and launching that of Quentin Tarantino, the crime caper had the misfortune of coming up against both The Shawshank Redemption and the unstoppable Forrest Gump during awards season.

Despite that, it is one of the most beloved cult movies of all time and made a tidy $215 million against its $9 million dollar budget. Not a bad return!

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

To think these two movies came out in the same year, but also Forrest Gump. What an era for movies..

Can I just say a huge thanks and online applause for @Misanthrope for instigating the poll and slugging away putting votes together, no mean feat and I’m sure there are so many like me who’ve absolutely loved it. Reminiscing about great movies, surprises on the lists, banter in the forums...

As for the movies themselves. Both made my top 30, Pulp Fiction at 15 and Shawshank at 30.

I love how Shawshank was a real sleeper movie, did very average at the box office, got nominated for academy award, then became this juggernaut of a movie that is now considered widely one of the best of all time.

Pulp Fiction.

So much can be said why I love this film but simply put, I love films that are highly unique, have a strong storyline, but also that I don’t know where story will go (ie not movies of a standard formula where it’s apparent what’s gonna happen). Pulp fiction is all this and more. Amongst many aspects...

I loved how conversational some of the scenes were... eg Vincent Vega chatting to Jules about Amsterdam.

It has a brilliant Soundtrack, I can’t think of many better except for the Blues Brothers (one of my favourites).

Brilliant Characters. All of them, no weak links at all. All A-grade.

And there’s only a few movies that compare to Pulp Fiction when it comes to number of popular quotes.

In my opinion while it was my number 15, it’s a deserved winner.

As a side note, it would be interesting to see the lists of others here, how people voted etc and I’ll happily post mine too. Be good to see the taste in movies some have and keep the banter going (especially with no footy and isolation still in order). But suggest best in a while so as not to hijack the thread from its purpose - finding LU’s Favourite movie of all time. Pulp Fiction.

Cheers.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Thanks for your efforts @Misanthrope

Very enjoyable list.

I love Pulp Fiction. I had it at 9. I remember the first time I watched it I was in year 11 or 12 and distinctly not liking it all. There was too many people in the room but I remember the editing put me off and I found the drug scenes a bit confronting and it took me a while to watch it again. I reckon I’ve watched it at least 50 times since. Any scene with Jules cracks me up.

Shawshank I didn’t have in my list. Not a bad movie at all, I just like my other ones better.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Shawshank was on telly the other night. I flicked on just as he'd been jailed. Didn't intend to watch, then didn't move.

I guess I just miss my friend is my 2nd fave film quote (after Rutger Hauer's time to die scene).

The final scene is one of the most beautiful scenes ever.

It's funny. I think most people I know only ever saw this on VHS. i remember seeing the poster on video shop windows curious as to what it was about. When we finally did rent it, we were blown away.

Thanks for running poll. I didn't vote but have loved reading thread.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Shawshank was on telly the other night. I flicked on just as he'd been jailed. Didn't intend to watch, then didn't move.

I guess I just miss my friend is my 2nd fave film quote (after Rutger Hauer's time to die scene).

The final scene is one of the most beautiful scenes ever.

It's funny. I think most people I know only ever saw this on VHS. i remember seeing the poster on video shop windows curious as to what it was about. When we finally did rent it, we were blown away.

Thanks for running poll. I didn't vote but have loved reading thread.

Pulp Fiction has one of my all-time favourite movie lines.

Jules Winnfield :
I used the same f***in' soap you did and when I got finished, the towel didn't look like no god-damn Maxi-Pad.

Never fails to get me chuckling. That whole scene and into The Wolf arriving is just great but Jules steals the entire movie for mine.

 

[Matua]

Well, at least 1 and 2 slightly redeemed the top 5 clusterfudge.

Thanks Missanthrope for the thread, it's been a bloody good read, even though I'm still suspicious about the Godfather not winning, and by a landslide.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. Good Fellas
3. Godfather 2
4. Godfather
5. Apocalypse Now
6. Casino
7. The Big Lebowski
8. King Pin
9. Pulp Fiction
10. Fight Club
11. Anchor Man
12. O’ Brother where art thou
13. Good Will Hunting
14. Forrest Gump
15. Terminator 2
16. Unforgiven
17. Apocolypto
18. Gladiator
19. Boyz n The Hood
20. Ferris Buellers Day Off
21. The Departed
22. The Usual Suspects
23. American History X
24. Shaun of the Dead
25. Sexy Beast
26. Pan’s Labyrinth
27. Ten Canoes
28. No Country for Old Men
29. Raiders of the Lost Ark
30. Pale Rider


I love a good comedy and I love a good soundtrack.

The one big movie I wish I had included and could’ve easily found room for was Coming to America.

I feel a little bit like Oscar Schindler “I could’ve done more!”

jkz

 

[Parra]

In order:

Wake In Fright
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Goodfellas
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Godfather
Glengarry Glen Ross
Citizen Kane
Donny Brasco
Barfly
Jaws
The Irishman
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Big Short
The Railwayman
The Deer Hunter
The Wolf of Wall Street
Wall Street
Cloud Atlas
City Lights
I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Best Days of Our Lives
Days of Wine and Roses
2001: A Space Odyssey

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Hehe. Looks like I need to watch ‘Wake in Fright”.

 

[T-Boon]

Great thread. Total credit to the inventor. Brilliant.

Shawshank should be 1 (what an amazing rise from rejection). Pulp is a great movie but not better than shank.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Great thread. Total credit to the inventor. Brilliant.

Shawshank should be 1 (what an amazing rise from rejection). Pulp is a great movie but not better than shank.

Pulp Apex >>> TSSR Fulcrum