Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner top 10 movies of all times, according to PW members?

Well...

We always do these top ten lists for composers, works, pianists, etc... But I've never seen one for films HERE!

So, how do you feel about this? About movies? It seems rather rare here...

well...

I'm 34 years old and thus it seems that my taste for movies is rather... recent I think. And apparently I'm liking specific directors as well!

1. Inception. Great movie overall, brilliant acting from all actors and a story that keeps you hooked up from the very beginning.
2. Memento. Same director and story teller. Christopher Nolan. His stories are simply stunning most of the times. (Same goes for The prestige but I won't list it here.).
3. Fight Club. Come on! This IS a great movie on every account! Plust it's not Christopher Nolan, but David Fincher! Again story, effects, great acting...
4. Avatar. Am I serious? Yes I am! The first 3d CGI movie that I didn't mind the CGI! It was THAT real! The CGI actors were playing extremely well, for computer made. And story was a copy of Pocahondas but I didn't care!
5. Wall-e. A most touching 3d cartoon! Another great movie, with great music in this case, and awesome story. All the little details make the difference. How Wall-y can chose between a spoon and a fork with a third option (so no binary system in him), how he reboots with the sound of a Mac... so many little details going on...
6 The Dark Knight. Some batman for good measure here. It's not just batman, it's a psychoanalysis for a weird joker, and a weirder batmam! It's the ultimate batman movie yet. (Nolan again... sorry... And he's young, btw! Born in 1970 and working with his brother Jonathan Nolan!!! Brilliant)
7. Forest Gump. An unbeatable scenario! Such a joy to see the slow win and the history of the US being shaped by sheer luck! YAY!
8. Pic-nick at hanging rock. A can't really speak in the same terms with the above movies, but it still was a great movie! A haunting movie, with some weird music, that's still following me today, after so many years that I first saw it!
9. Children of men. Quite possibly one of the most contemporary, current and brilliant movies of semi sci-fi! It's so stunning to watch a movie about the UK in a near future, where no children in the world can be born, the world seems to have a deadline and a finish line, and everyone has abandoned hope! "Will the last one turn off the lights?" is the moto of the movie! UK is the only country that appears to keep ahold of some... order yet it really seems to be a complete fascist country. Various smaller race clans seem to fight over small things... and then the miracle happens! A woman (After 18 years) is pregnant! And heck breaks loose!
finally
10 The princess and the warrior. A movie by Tom Tykwer, screen write by Tom, music by Tom, etc... A personal project (as most of his movies are... He also did 'Paradise' and 'Run Lola, run'.). I don't know... this movie (despite imdb disagreeing with me) is one of my favorites!

If anyone's interested, here the imdb list for top 250 movies: http://www.imdb.com/chart/top

EDIT: I shouldn't have to but still: This is in a sense a pub talk... Some beer, a bit of food and silly discussion. Nothing serious...

Citizen Kane

Network

Philadelphia

A Few Good Men

Schindler's List

There are other films that I think are first rate but I wouldn't add them to the Top Ten of All Time. If there's a master list of the top ten, the five I gave I'm sure are on that list.

How about a top ten of Movie themes..since this is a piano forum?

here's one
1. The Third Man

Magnolia has to be up there.

Pans Labyrinth, the lullaby for piano beginners, even though it's not written for piano. Easy to play but not to get the same melody line as the original.

Others for music: Road to Perdition, Meet Joe Black, most of Morricone's scored films, and Thomas Newman.

"Picnic at Hanging Work", what an extraordinary film. I'm assuming the "strange music" you are talking about is the wonderful pan flute playing by Zamfir. The movie also makes very effective use of the slow movement from the "Emperor" Concerto. I also saw it many years ago, and like "The Last Wave", another early Peter Weir film, it is not easily forgotten.

No, I'm actually talking about that weird track with a weird time signature, composed (most probably) by Bruce Smeaton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x05QuAhpq6o

The track starting at 0:49 or so... with the piano!

The pan flute track by Zamfir (always remember the name as Zemfir... oh well) is also brilliant!

Off the top of my head, and doing 'favorites' rather than any attempt at 'greatest':

Duck Soup
Song to Remember (Chopin)
The Jolson Story
Schindler's List
Bananas
Blazing Saddles
All the President's Men
12 Angry Men
Wizard of Oz
The Graduate

Amadeus would make the list except that I thought it paled in comparison to the show.

would be in my next 5

Casablanca
To Kill a Mockingbird
Psycho
Predator
The Godfather
Amadeus
The Shawshank Redemption
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
It's a Wonderful Life
Airplane!

Thanks for the link to the clip. Yes, now I remember the rather strange piano score. Almost new-agey at times, but with the weird time signature and some strange harmonic progressions.

"To Kill A Mockingbird", another wonderful score. Has anyone seen "The Boys from Brazil"? The score by Jerry Goldsmith is genius.

My all time favorite is "The King of Hearts" - antiwar irony with Alan Bates. The music was very unusual too.

12 angry men.... awesome movie. The title almost sounds like a movie about PW...

That was one of the best films of all time.

First person I've 'met' that's seen this!

I love a lot of movies, but after my all-time favorite, Forrest Gump, I can't rank a 2-9.

Several of my all time favorites, though I wouldn't classify them as Top Ten, are Notting Hill and Groundhog Day. They are delightful and perfect films though not on the level of more serious films.

The Uninvited, 1944
The Time Machine 1960
Anything with Von Dexter

Great film. Not many people I know are aware of this film. I've seen it a few times over the years.


All time favorite :
Wim Wender's (director) - Wings of Desire
This film is in in German with subtitles. A masterpiece.

and a few other favorites:
Brazil
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf
Harold and Maude
Brother Sun , Sister Moon
and I'll 2nd your choice Nikolas, Princess and the Warrior

Thanks for the fun non-piano related thread.

what do you think this is a movie forum?


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i kind of like the Sound of Music and Mary Poppins who share the number 1 spot.

then a few more:

To Kill a Mockingbird
Shawshank Redemption
The Old Man and the Sea
Burnt by the Sun (Russian) - many reasons why it is so good... so beautiful.. the main actor's daughter also is in the film and charmingly, it look like she cut her own bangs before shooting... the scenery and their summer house are absolutely gorgeous.