Also, I prefer movies with a a quality script over those that focus on elaborate special effects and/or bright colors.
Independent reviewers rank most of my 10 highly as well, though not as highly as I do. A 2007 American Film Institute list of “The 100 Greatest American Films of All Time” includes 7 of my 10.
Without further ado, below I list my ten favorite movies.
10. Breaking Away (1979)
This movie focuses on a somewhat quirky, somewhat idealistic teenager during his transition from high school into adulthood. It features a love story, some progress toward maturity, a bit of humor, and some drama. It won an Academy Award for best original screenplay.
9. It Happened One Night (1934)
This movie won Academy Awards for best picture, best director, best screenplay, best actor, and best actress--the first movie to win all five.
It’s a nice comedy-drama-romance. It stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. You may get a sense of déjà vu watching a few parts of it, since some of its memorable scenes were imitated in later movies and television shows.
8. Forrest Gump (1994)
The Forrest character is a person with a low official IQ who manages great accomplishments. He has a knack for playing a role at places where memorable events occur.
Watching this movie brought back many memories of historical events I read about in the news and watched on television over the years.
The film is probably best known for Forrest’s memorable comment about a box of chocolates. But it contains several other wonderful scenes. It won six Academy Awards, including best picture, best adapted screenplay, and best actor for Tom Hanks who played Forrest Gump.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
This marvelous film about racism in a southern U.S. town features Gregory Peck as a lawyer defending an African-American charged with rape. It won Academy awards for best adapted screenplay and best actor.
6. Imitation of Life (1934)
The movie contains humor, as well romantic love. But the thought-provoking depiction of racism and its impact is the movie’s focus.
This magnificent picture was far ahead of its time in its depiction of racism and its effect on a young lady. Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington are African-Americans in major roles at a time when that was uncommon. Claudette Colbert does a great job. The movie's stereotypes are a bit dated now. But it remains relevant. I consider this version superior to the 1959 remake.
5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jimmy Stewart is magnificent in this heartwarming Christmas movie featuring an angel and flashbacks to enable Stewart’s character to visualize how his life has been much more significant than he realized.
Below is a photo of a VHS tape of It’s a Wonderful Life. I own more VHS tapes than DVDs.
This Christmas classic featuring Santa Claus and efforts to dispel a young girl’s disbelief--and the disbelief of a court of law--is well done. This 1947 version is far superior to the remake as I see it.
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
This magnificent political satire starring Jimmy Stewart as a naïve, idealistic United States Senator is superb. I love it. It may be as timely now as it was when it came out.
Many (including me) feel that 1939 was the best year for Hollywood movies. And although I include two 1939 movies among my ten, I omit Gone With the Wind, which won best picture that year. I also omit the 1939 British movie, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which won the best actor Academy Award for Robert Donat.
2. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
This classic aired annually during my childhood and was a pleasure to watch several times. It can be called a children’s story, an allegory, or a lot of other things. But it’s nicely done. Need I state more about this film that most may have seen multiple times?
Below is a photo of a VHS tape of The Wizard of Oz.
This is the best movie Hollywood ever made as I see it. The script magnificently blends humor, drama, war, music, and a love triangle.
Casablanca includes a love triangle, but is not really a love story. It includes wonderful humor, but isn’t a comedy. It takes place during World War II, but isn’t really a war story--even though it was likely produced as wartime propaganda. It is a magnificent drama with the ending perhaps a surprise, though even if you know the ending you can still appreciate its greatness, as well as the acting of its marvelous cast.
You need to see it at least twice to appreciate it. The first time you’ll miss many subtleties and may be confused about some aspects and/or cast members. I’m confident you’ll enjoy it much more the second time--really.
Below is a photo of a VHS tape of Casablanca.
Any list of superb movies is subjective. And I’m not an expert. Indeed, there are lots of quality Hollywood movies I’ve never seen and can’t evaluate--including most in recent decades. And I’ve seen few foreign films and rank none of the few I have seen among my top ten.
Also, I’m usually not fond of musicals, violent movies, movies that glorify the “bad guys,” and movies with lots of sex and/or vulgar language. Therefore, my list differs from top ten lists you’ll see in a lot of other places.
But The American Film Institute’s list of “The 100 Most Inspiring Films Of All Time” includes 8 of my 10, with all 8 being in the top 37, and 5 being in the top 9. This serves as an indication of my bias toward inspiring films as my favorites.
Closing Thoughts
My list is biased toward movies from the motion picture industry’s glory years in the 1930s and 1940s. I’ve seen relatively few of the old silent films and of the newer motion pictures from recent decades.
Cigarette smoking and alcoholic beverage consumption were more common in mainstream movies decades ago than they are now. But overall, I feel these classic movies from decades ago reflect higher moral values than more recent ones. As I see it, they also feature better written scripts, and remain more timeless than the best ones produced more recently.
The ten movies I list are classics as I see it. What do you think? Am I biased or being relatively accurate?
NOTE:
Much of this article is adapted from an earlier Google Blogger article I wrote about seven classic movies from the 1930s and 1940s.
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