SPECIAL LIST - 30 Movies That Will Always Stay With Me
These are the 30 movies that have probably had the most significant & long lasting impact on me - in terms of either being the most inspirational, the most memorable/unforgettable, the most haunting, or the most likely to make me smile uncontrollably when I think about them.
I have broken the films into the following three groupings:
15 Most Hard Hitting Unforgettable Movies
+10 Absolute Favorite Movies from My Absolute Favorite Directors
+ 5 of My All Time Absolute Favorite Movies
I have broken the films into the following three groupings:
15 Most Hard Hitting Unforgettable Movies
+10 Absolute Favorite Movies from My Absolute Favorite Directors
+ 5 of My All Time Absolute Favorite Movies
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30 titles
- DirectorPaul AlmondStarsDouglas KeayBruce BaldenJacqueline BassettIn this the first installment, we get a chance to meet some of the individuals who took on the responsibility of the 7 Up project, 21-years-ago - Tony, Bruce, Suzi, Nick and Peter.◊ 'THE UP SERIES' DOCUMENTARIES ◊
(the entire film series comprises this favorite)
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Director: Michael Apted (from "14 Up" to present)
On "7 Up", Michael Apted is officially credited as "researcher", but also served as assistant to director Paul Almond, & (most importantly) was involved in selecting the children - something which helped form the foundation of the life long bonds between him and the children for all of the remaining films which he directed.
------------------------------------------------------------- • [white]0/white]7 Up (1964)[black] (aka "Seven Up!")[/black] • 14 Up (1970)[black] (aka "7 Plus Seven")[/black] • 21 Up (1977) • 28 Up (1985) • 35 Up (1991) • 42 Up (1998) • 49 Up (2005) • 56 Up (2012) • 63 Up (2019) - Potentially (Director Apted age 77/78) • 70 Up (2026) - Potentially (Director Apted age 84/85)
[white]---------------------------------------------/white] - DirectorRichard SchenkmanStarsDavid Lee SmithTony ToddJohn BillingsleyAn impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.
- DirectorMichael McGowanStarsJoshua JacksonPeter SpenceMarc StrangeChronicles the motorcycle trip of Ben Tyler as he rides from Toronto to Tofino, British Columbia. Ben stops at landmarks that are both iconic and idiosyncratic on his quest to find meaning in his life.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsHugh JackmanRussell CroweAnne HathawayIn 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsSidney PoitierMichael CaineTina LiffordOn June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela, along with numerous political detainees, was sentenced to life imprisonment in what remains the most sensational treason trial in the history of South Africa. The incarceration of Mandela and other political prisoners on Robben Island would become a symbol of the struggle to end apartheid and win freedom for the black majority in South Africa. On February 2, 1990, President F.W. De Klerk stood before Parliament and announced the legalization of the African National Congress and a host of other banned political organizations. At the same time, he announced that Nelson Mandela, having served twenty-seven years in prison, would be released within seven days. Yet the world, and indeed most South Africans, knew little about how this momentous occasion came to pass. Until now. This movie was filmed in South Africa. Most of the locations are those where the actual events took place, and the dramatized sequences are augmented with newsreel footage to ensure the most accurate portrayal possible of recent historical events.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyFredric MarchGene KellyBased on a real-life case in 1925; two great lawyers argue the case for, and against, a Tennessee science teacher accused of the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsUlrich ThomsenHenning MoritzenThomas Bo LarsenAt Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsReese WitherspoonLaura DernGaby HoffmannA chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy.
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsYves MontandGérard DepardieuDaniel AuteuilA greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.◊'JEAN DE FLORETTE/MANON DES SOURCES' DUOLOGY◊
(both parts of 2-part film comprises this favorite)
------------------------------------------------------------ • Jean de Florette (1986) • Manon of the Spring (1986) ------------------------------------------------------------ - DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsJuliette BinocheZbigniew ZamachowskiJulie DelpyA woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.◊ KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI'S FRENCH MASTERPIECES ◊ (1) 'THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE' (2) 'THREE COLORS' TRILOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ • The Double Life of Veronique (1991) • Three Colors: Blue (1993) • Three Colors: White (1994) • Three Colors: Red (1994) ------------------------------------------------------------
This 'film series' is a combination of the stand-alone film 'THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE' & the three films comprising the 'THREE COLORS' trilogy. These final four films of Polish screenwriter/director Krzysztof Kieslowski's career had similar styles & themes.
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[white]---------------------------------------------/white] - DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyAndrea EckertA young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.◊ 'BEFORE' TRILOGY ◊
(the entire trilogy comprises this favorite)
------------------------------------------------------------- • Before Sunrise (1995) • Before Sunset (2004) • Before Midnight (2013) ------------------------------------------------------------
[white]---------------------------------------------/white] - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsWillem DafoeHarvey KeitelBarbara HersheyThe life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAnatoliy SolonitsynIvan LapikovNikolay GrinkoThe life, times and afflictions of the fifteenth-century Russian iconographer St. Andrei Rublev.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsWillem DafoeCharlotte GainsbourgStorm Acheche SahlstrømA grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsBrad PittSean PennJessica ChastainThe story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMax von SydowBirgitta ValbergGunnel LindblomIn 14th-century Sweden, an innocent yet pampered teenage girl and her family's pregnant and jealous servant set out from their farm to deliver candles to church, but only one returns from events that transpire in the woods along the way.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsTom BerengerGlenn CloseJeff GoldblumA group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
- DirectorNora EphronStarsTom HanksMeg RyanGreg KinnearBook superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet, both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
- DirectorDavid SwiftStarsHayley MillsMaureen O'HaraBrian KeithTeenage twin sisters swap places and scheme to reunite their divorced parents.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsSusan SarandonWinona RyderKirsten DunstThe March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.