A Casual Favorite Movies / Films List

[SonicMan46]

Well, I own a lot of musicals - below is a list of 20 which are probably some of my favorites - 

42nd Street (1933)
A Star is Born (1954)
An American in Paris (1951)
Band Wagon, The (1953)
Caberet (1972)
Court Jester, The (1955)
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Gigi (1958)
High Society (1956)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Music Man, The (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
On the Town (1949)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Sound of Music, The (1965)
Top Hat (1935)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Of course, the list could be extended, e.g. plenty of more good Astaire & Rogers; how about the Marx Brothers (as musicals?); animated features, e.g. I love 'Beauty & the Beast'; and those films w/ 'some' singing, like the many Bing Crosby films, mentioned already by Bill.  So, just a short list that 'spans' a lot of decades! 

[Iago]

I inadvertently omitted "How Green Was My Valley" from my original list.
It belongs very near or AT the top.
Every time I see it, that film absolutely "kills" me.

[Kullervo]

I inadvertently omitted "How Green Was My Valley" from my original list.
It belongs very near or AT the top.
Every time I see it, that film absolutely "kills" me.

I didn't leave it out of mine. God that's a good movie.

[Steve]

Well, I own a lot of musicals - below is a list of 20 which are probably some of my favorites - 

42nd Street (1933)
A Star is Born (1954)
An American in Paris (1951)
Band Wagon, The (1953)
Caberet (1972)
Court Jester, The (1955)
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Gigi (1958)
High Society (1956)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Music Man, The (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
On the Town (1949)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Sound of Music, The (1965)
Top Hat (1935)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Of course, the list could be extended, e.g. plenty of more good Astaire & Rogers; how about the Marx Brothers (as musicals?); animated features, e.g. I love 'Beauty & the Beast'; and those films w/ 'some' singing, like the many Bing Crosby films, mentioned already by Bill.  So, just a short list that 'spans' a lot of decades! 

Very impressive list, SonicMan. Were you able to track most of these down on DVD? If so, where? I find it difficult to locate DVDs of my favourite, lesser known, musicals. 

[Bogey]

Well, I own a lot of musicals - below is a list of 20 which are probably some of my favorites - 

42nd Street (1933)
A Star is Born (1954)
An American in Paris (1951)
Band Wagon, The (1953)
Caberet (1972)
Court Jester, The (1955)
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Gigi (1958)
High Society (1956)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Music Man, The (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
On the Town (1949)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Sound of Music, The (1965)
Top Hat (1935)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Of course, the list could be extended, e.g. plenty of more good Astaire & Rogers; how about the Marx Brothers (as musicals?); animated features, e.g. I love 'Beauty & the Beast'; and those films w/ 'some' singing, like the many Bing Crosby films, mentioned already by Bill.  So, just a short list that 'spans' a lot of decades! 

Printing list now to update my queue.  Thanks Dave.

[bhodges]

This is so difficult, making a list like this -- somehow even harder to whittle it down than a list of favorite composers or pieces. 

Cabaret - For many years, my favorite film, not that I like Ms. Minnelli particularly, but for Bob Fosse's steely direction.
The Silence of the Lambs - Maybe the best thriller ever.
Nights of Cabiria - Fellini at his most intense, moving, and sad.
Rosemary's Baby - OK, maybe this is the best thriller ever... .
Cries and Whispers - An amazing group of actors, photographed like a painting come to life.
Nashville - My favorite of many from Robert Altman, with his signature overlapping dialogue.
Chinatown - Fantastic, literate, socially conscious screenplay, with everything else following right along.
The Importance of Being Earnest - My favorite comedy, nonstop funny.
Blade Runner - Great sci-fi premise, and scenic design that influenced dozens of films afterward.
Alien - I still remember the first time I saw this, when the friend with me almost passed out.

And others...

The Fly (Cronenberg) - Grisly but with brilliant, touching performance by Jeff Goldblum.
Vertigo - Had to pick one Hitchcock, and this one has that score.
Minority Report - Another great sci-fi premise, with an amazingly edited opening scene.
All About Eve - A screenplay to hold in awe with performances to match.
Annie Hall - Another great comedy of an entirely different type.
2001: A Space Odyssey - Despite advances in special effects its mystery holds up remarkably well.
Blue Velvet - As if someone had tapped into your dream world and put it onscreen.
Rocco and His Brothers - My favorite Visconti film...operatic in scope.
Grand Illusion - Great in many ways...
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - Just saw this again recently.  Perhaps a chuckle rather than a guffaw, but I love it.

--Bruce

[Bogey]

This is so difficult, making a list like this -- somehow even harder to whittle it down than a list of favorite composers or pieces. 

[Minority Report - Another great sci-fi premise, with an amazingly edited opening scene.


--Bruce

Great movie Bruce....totally agree.  Check out Williams' score for this.  One of his best efforts IMO.

PS: Got PM and thanks! 

[bhodges]

Great movie Bruce....totally agree.  Check out Williams' score for this.  One of his best efforts IMO.

And I'll agree with that!  Williams' score is one of the film's many assets.  (Love so many of the scenes: the doctor (Lois Smith) in her greenhouse...Cruise chasing his eyeballs down the hallway...the little robot "spiders" that scan people's eyes... )

--Bruce

[bhodges]

some random faves...

aviator (2004)
texas chainsaw massacre part 2 (1986)
the fly (cronenberg) (1986)
toxic avenger (1985)
black christmas (1974)
frenzy (1972)
night of the living dead (1968)

Wow, what a list!  (And I can't believe someone else actually rates the Cronenberg so highly!)  And I must have seen Frenzy five or six times...underrated Hitchcock...tense and also quite funny.

--Bruce

[Robert]

Camp Sunshine......

Bingo you know your stuff.... my personal fave.....

[Bogey]

some random faves...

aviator (2004)

Made my list as well....I beleive that DiCaprio, at some level, funded the movie.  
As a bit of trivia, Martin Scorsese was the voice of the projectionist and in appeared in another scene.  Kind of Hitch like here!  

[SonicMan46]

Very impressive list, SonicMan. Were you able to track most of these down on DVD? If so, where? I find it difficult to locate DVDs of my favourite, lesser known, musicals. 

Steve - actually, I own all of those on the list in DVD format - I have my DVDs (includes standard films, musicals, animated features, & documentaries) in an Access database, so I simply went through the 'musicals section' and picked out some of my favorites (out of interest, I also had an IMDB window opened w/ their 'top' musicals list - nearly all of these were on that list).  Not sure about the 'lesser known' musicals that you mention, but provide a list & maybe we can help?   

[SonicMan46]

Printing list now to update my queue.  Thanks Dave.

Bill - after the 'musicals' list, I was goin' to start back in the '30s w/ some of my favorites from this decade, and just advance per decade - seems like the 'old' movies are not being mentioned as much, so I see a 'role' here for myself; but I might generate a 'second' 20 musicals list - there are SO MANY!     Dave

[Solitary Wanderer]

I'm rather partial to Gritty, 1970s, Urban Crime Dramas.

Heres a list of my collection on Amazon

[Bogey]

I'm rather partial to Gritty, 1970s, Urban Crime Dramas.

Heres a list of my collection on Amazon

And the music on some those is priceless Chris.

[Solitary Wanderer]

And the music on some those is priceless Chris.

Agreed Bill. I also have a list on Amazon of my collection for those as well.

Did you give me a helpful vote?

[Kullervo]

Did you give me a helpful vote?

I did

[Bogey]

Agreed Bill. I also have a list on Amazon of my collection for those as well.

Did you give me a helpful vote?

Done. 

[Solitary Wanderer]

I did

Done. 

Mucho appreciated

[SonicMan46]

For those interested in my previous post of musicals, I had a little time @ lunch today to come up w/ a 'second' twenty from my database; ratings explanation:  * from Maltin & # from Videohound (4* & 4# are their tops); most of the musicals in the previous list rated 3+ to 4, so this is 'second tier' but still a lot of entertaining films.  Again, the Marx Bros could be included (in either list), a bunch of 'Broadway Melody' flicks were made but this '40 version is one of the best (Eleanor Powell's dancing is phenomenal - she keeps up w/ Fred Astaire easily IMO); I have a bunch more, both on commercial DVD & burned, but these 40 should keep anyone busy for a while - enjoy! 

Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) (3* 3#)
Auntie Mame (1958) (3+* 3#)
Broadway Melody of 1940 (3* 7.3/10 IMDB)
Damm Yankees (1958) (3* 3#)
Easter Parade (1948) (3+* 3+#)
Follow That Fleet (1936) (7/4/10 IMDB)
Funny Face (1957) (3+* 3#)
Gentlemen Prefer Blonds (1953) (3* 3#)
Great Ziegfeld, The (1936) (3+* 3+#)
Holiday Inn (1942) (7.5/10 IMDB)
Kiss Me Kate (1953) (3+* 3#)
Love Me or Leave Me (1955) (3+* 3#)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) (4* 3#)
Oliver (1968) (3+* 3+#)
Pajama Game, The (3+* 3+#)
Pal Joey (1957) (3* 3#)
Producers, The (1968) (3+* 3+#)
Seven Little Foys, The (1955) (3* 3#)
Silk Stockings (1957) (3* 3#)
Swing Time (1936) (4* 3#)