what is the greatest movie of all time?

[Johndoe]

This is not including kung-fu or martial arts movies? what is you favorite movie of all time? :confused: :confused:

[ShaoLinMonk108]

The Lotr Movies!!!!!!!!

[Eddy67]

my favorite movie? Probably the Matrix, it just totally blew me away the first time I saw it, and I never get tired of watching it.

The rooftop scene where Neo dodges the bullets still gives me goosebumps

[Alexander]

American Psycho. Or possibly the original Italian Job. Or what Eddy67 says.

[WhiteWizard]

The LOTR i'm counting it as one big long probably 12 hour mad film by the time extended ROTK comes out anyway

[Anth]

Gotta be either The Great Escape or The Italian Job (original version) :D

[Mushroom]

Too many to choose from..
Goonies, is a great oldie.

ChungKing Express, old Star Wars, Indiana Jones..... :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

[Maverick]

Chungking Express is a personal favourite, although The Big Lebowski is pure comic genius and deserves the no.1 spot.

[Athleng Nordic]

That would be the Duellist from 1976. Ridley Scott's first major motion picture by the way.

[alex_000]

Pulp Fiction

[Sandus]

My personal favorite? The Usual Suspects (1995).
Greatest all time? Citizen Kane (1941)

[Dave Rees]

The Godfather or The Godfather pt2.

[Visage]

Some people say Citizen Kane.
To those who do, I say "what in the name of mozerella cheese is wrong with you?!"

I personally think ONE of the best is Baz Lurmans "Moulin Rouge".

[Topher]

American History X, followed by The Hurricane

[Sandus]

Some people say Citizen Kane.
To those who do, I say "what in the name of mozerella cheese is wrong with you?!"
Tell me what's wrong with it. Tell me it isn't technically sound and stylistically bold. Tell me the story sucks, that it doesn't make any social commentary while at the same time keeping the viewer's interest. Tell me it's not one of the most influential films ever. What makes something else better?

(And Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet is better than Moulin Rouge--but don't listen to me, I'm pretentious and full of crap anyway :) )

[Dave Rees]

American History X, followed by The Hurricane

American History X AWESOME!! I havent seen The Hurricane.

[Visage]

Tell me it isn't technically sound and stylistically bold.

Yes, it is, but the story sucks, therefore making me and all others in my group lose interest in it...

Tell me the story sucks,

Done :p

that it doesn't make any social commentary while at the same time keeping the viewer's interest.

No, it doesnt, and as for viewers interest, read a couple above :p

Tell me it's not one of the most influential films ever.

Its not one of the most influencial films ever.

What makes something else better?

Not being Citizen Kane. :p

(And Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet is better than Moulin Rouge--but don't listen to me, I'm pretentious and full of crap anyway :) )

I base my whole arguement on the highlighted sentence :p:p :D

[Topher]

American History X AWESOME!! I havent seen The Hurricane.
The Hurricane is about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter (brilliantly played by Denzel Washington), who was wrongly imprisoned for murder.

I hightly commend it. :)

[oni_sensei]

Ghost in the Shell.

[Furikuchan]

I can't limit myself to just one.
In my opinion, a good movie has to be something that CANNOT be done in any other style of art or entertainment. This puts the Lord of the Rings Trilogy very high up on the list, then. The books were tremendous, but the movies just completely sucked you in to the experience in a different manner.
King Kong, I think, would qualify as the greatest movie of all time because it has stood up to the test of time. Everyone has seen it, it is still cool, even with today's special effects. And it couldn't have been done in any other style.
As for personal favorites, the list would have to be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Robin Hood: Prince of Theives, The Princess Bride, American Beauty, Night of the Living Dead, and both renditions of Dawn of the Dead. If you want to throw Anime into the mix, add Akira and Princess Mononoke.
Just my humble opinion.

[Ian Nottingham]

i gotta give mad props to THE CROW. that movie was like awe inspiring. defenitley left behind a legacy. just the message of the movie was like, whoa. you know what i'm say.

Ian Nottingham

[Shadow_of_Evil]

For me it's The Passion of the Christ followed religously by StarWars and Lord of the Rings.

[Kwajman]

Braveheart, the un-edited version
2. The Indiana Jones Movies

[zanflad]

I taught me that life is not fair, and that idealists are being killed everyday

[Athleng Nordic]

Braveheart, the un-edited version
2. The Indiana Jones Movies

Oh Yes, Jones rocks! I love all of the circa 1920-40 style cliffhanger movies.

[GojuKJoe]

i gotta give mad props to THE CROW. that movie was like awe inspiring. defenitley left behind a legacy. just the message of the movie was like, whoa. you know what i'm say.

Ian Nottingham

me too, the crow is probably my favourite. closely followed by pulp fiction

[GeeniusAtWurk]

Boondock Saints, hands down.

[Shadow_of_Evil]

Oh Yes, Jones rocks! I love all of the circa 1920-40 style cliffhanger movies.

Not to mention Indiana Jones had a harder punch than Bruce Lee ;) Jones kicked ass.

[Blevunly]

Pulp Fiction

[navanman]

Empire Strikes Back/Lord Of The Rings (directors cuts of course)/The Crow/American History X

Sorry for being so indecisive, but theres no way I could choose between them.

[andy_mccabe501]

i liked drunken master

thought it had alot of decent ma in
but, i like comedy movies alot, shaun of the dead is pretty good, :)

andy

[rabidpenguin]

Legend of the drunken master, that movie is hilarious. Me and my friend watched it half asleep and it kept us up and laughing like crazy. So we watched it again in the morning to make sure it was ACTUALLY funny and we wern't just stupid tired. IT WAS! I didn't really put that much thought into this, but other than that The Lion King was a great superb movie. Yeah there is probably another movie in there but i dont want to think. Oh the 2nd and third matrix! those were great.... did anyone believe me?
bye like

[Jason Simpson]

1. LOTR trilogy
2.Once upon a time in china series - all of them!!!

[Spongie]

The first post does say this excludes martial arts films.

The Sound of Music is an old childhood favourite - it's kitsch fun, the scenery is gorgeous (I've been to Salzburg twice, but have yet to go on the SOM tour) and, as an adult, Charmian Carr is most easy on the eye... :D

http://www.thesoundofmusic.net/images/liesl.jpg

Otherwise, it has to be Commando. Arnie does one-liners like nobody else, and this contains some of his best :cool:

[Sgt_Major]

1. American History X
2. Platoon
3. Full Metal Jacket

[gaz shaw]

MATRIX but not the second and third :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo:

[Zach]

the LOTR movies are definetly my favorite

[Infrazael]

The Shawshank Redemption, The Matrix Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Gladiator.

[aikiMac]

This is not including kung-fu or martial arts movies? what is you favorite movie of all time?
Not m.a.? Um, now I have to think.

Forrest Gump is 1st.

Other favorites:
The Jungle Book (Disney's cartoon)
Star Wars
Indiana Jones (only the 1st one)
Sense and Sensibility

Wow, weeding out m.a. films is hard!

[Ian Nottingham]

i love bruce lee's "Game of Death" but i mean the real movie, not the one that they released on video. the real game of death was all about jeet kune do, but because bruce died before he could finish it most of the movie isn't even him. if you've seen the real version, then you know what i'm talking about and if you haven't then you are a dooty head.
i also thought "Interview with the Vampire" was pretty good. kinda cheesy, but pretty good.
another great one is "Instinct" with cuba gooding jr. and anthony hopkins.

"Peace out-side!!!!"
Ian Nottingham

[Hannibal]

reminder...NO MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES!!!

Anyway, we all know that the best movie(s) ever are the Star Wars Trilogy...And T.E.S.B. is teh best of them all!

[Ian Nottingham]

reminder...NO MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES!!!

i know i know, i just couldn't help myself. oh yeah, and Disney's The Jungle Book was a pretty bitchin' movie.
HEY, SHUT UP, YOU LIKE IT TOO!!

Ian Nottingham

[Lafhastum]

Why so freaking obscure it is is insane my favorie movie is the yakuza class Fireworks (or Hana-bi) starring Takeshi Kitano.

[honchrat]

My all time personal fav --Fight Club

runners up -- Memento, Kill Bill 1 & 2, The Matrix

[Faminedynasty]

The Godfather is the greatest film of all time. No one can dispute this. I'm not saying it has to be your favorite, but it is superior to all other films, in all ways. The only film that someone competent can even list as a challenge to its supremacy is Godfather 2.

[battlestone]

LOTR most deffaintly!

[RR1]

This is a toss-up its either The Untouchables or Kill Bill Vol. 1 ...
desicions desicions........

[aikiMac]

The Godfather is the greatest film of all time. No one can dispute this. I'm not saying it has to be your favorite, but it is superior to all other films, in all ways. The only film that someone competent can even list as a challenge to its supremacy is Godfather 2.
Heh heh heh!
Not!

"Citizen Kane" is the greatest film of all time. Note the year it came out (1941), watch it, and you'll understand why it's always at the top of movie critics' list. It set the standard by which everything except special effects are measured still today.

[Developing]

The Hurricane is about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter (brilliantly played by Denzel Washington), who was wrongly imprisoned for murder.

I hightly commend it. :)
I agree this was my favorite movie my Denzel Washington and he is one of my three favorite actors. I loved the scene where the prison guards wanted to toss his sell and he stopped them by pure intimidation. Absolute brilliant peformance.

Can't really call what I think the best movie is though. When I first saw Gladiator by Russell Crowe I walked out the movie theatre thinking this was the best movie that I ever saw. But a few years later I still love it but also recognize there are other films on its level. Not that many though.

[MrHnau]

Dirty Dozen and Apocolypse Now

[Hades]

My top 3: A clockwork Orange, Heat, Schindler's list.. I can never pick one of these as the best.. so it has to be one of these 3..

Other great movies: The Hustler, casablanca, The godfather, fight club, mystic river, Hud, american history x...

[Legless_Marine]

My favorite move of all time is "Empire of the Sun", about a British boy who spends WWII in a Japanese internment camp in China.

There's a particular disturbing beauty about the film that reaches me on a visceral level.

My love for the film was cemented when I found out it was based on the experiences of author J.G. Ballard.

[Mrs Radcliffe]

greatest movie of all time has to be any films with Johnny Depp or Russell Crowe for me :)

[hux]

1 - Pulp Fiction
2 - Raising Arizona
3 - Blues Brothers

edit

1.5 Cinderella Man

/edit

[Yohan]

LOTR movies, the special features (from LOTR), fight club.

[Incredible_PROX]

If i could choose martial arts.... :cool:
Well well so the best movie (because no MA) is...

Lord of the rings

[royder1976]

All the ROCKY movies! 1-5 and maybe now 6 when it comes out!

[Bloke]

12 Angry men - an excellent film based on an excellent play.

[AikiBudo]

RAN

Visually spectacular, Kurosawa's camera angles were wonderful, and a great story

[aikiMac]

RAN

Visually spectacular, Kurosawa's camera angles were wonderful, and a great story
You gotta watch "Citizen Kane." (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13088&)


(But yes, "Ran" was a very good movie. I liked "Seven Samurai" and "The Samurai Trilogy" better, but, still, this is a good one.)

[vickbd]

The Last Samurai.

[Gary]

Not very cool, but my favourite is probably It's a wonderful life.

[AikiBudo]

You gotta watch "Citizen Kane." (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13088&)


And why do you assume I haven't? :confused:

I agree that Citizen Kane is a spectacular movie and realize that most Cinema critics put it at near the top of their lists but the question was
This is not including kung-fu or martial arts movies? what is you favorite movie of all time?

and my favorite is Ran. :cool:

Peace to you

[aikiMac]

but the question was "This is not including kung-fu or martial arts movies? what is you favorite movie of all time?" and my favorite is Ran.
But (1) the title of the thread is "what is the greatest movie of all time?" :D Greatest is different than favorite. And (2) "Ran" is a samurai movie. :D

But ya, "Ran" was pretty good. Can't disagree there. Made me sad, though. I did not feel good after watching it.

[the only eagle]

The Lion King!!!!!!!!!!

[AikiBudo]

hmmmmm.... I suppose with a very long stretch 'samurai" movies can be considered kung fu theater.

So greatest movie of all time thourghly removed from martial arts.....

and this is a family based forum, so.... yikes now it is getting tough.....

I would have to go to Casablanca or The Quiet Man ( i almost said Citizen Kane....but it wouldn't come out. :cry: )

[aikiMac]

I would have to go to Casablanca or The Quiet Man ( i almost said Citizen Kane....but it wouldn't come out. :cry: )
LOL! Actually, now that you mention it, "Casablanca" would be my 2nd choice for "greatest movie," in the original black and white of course.

[onyomi]

I love a lot of the movies that have already been mentioned and I'm nowhere near qualified to make judgements about what movie is "the best," but I thought I'd stick in a few foreign films to mix it up:

I love the work of Japanese director, Juzo Itami, who was actually killed by the Yakuza for making fun of them in the hilarious satire, Minbou no Onna. My personal favorite is Tampopo because it has such an unusual style. It has a primary story, but it keeps following random scenes in the life of the characters walking by in the background. It's touching, hilarious and stylistically unusual all at the same time.

In China, of course, there's Zhang Yimou. The only problem is his movies tend to be kind of repetitive in their themes, I think. My personal favorite is Raise the Red Lantern, which I think gets it right on all accounts. Besides the obvious social commentary, pay close attention to the use of color and also think about the husband and his wives as an analogy to the emperor and his ministers. Farewell My Concubine is great too, of course... aggh too many... I'll just stop here. :)

[SickDevildog]

Malcolm-X followed by Shindlers List

[karate princess]

savin private ryan rules. not only does it make me cry, its intresting and educational lol

[Fuzzy Panther]

There are a lot of movies that I love, but I think the best is The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Fuzzy Panther
:Angel:

[Kwajman]

A couple of them,

The Sting

The Dirty Dozen

[gogz]

The dirty dozen, man I love that film. I don't really have an idea of the greatest movie of all time but some of my favourites include the Conan (scharzenegger) series, Forrest gump :D , and the Matrix series :woo: .

gogz

[gogz]

The dirty dozen, man I love that film. I don't really have an idea of the greatest movie of all time but some of my favourites include the Conan (schwarzenegger) series, Forrest gump :D , and the Matrix series :woo:.

gogz

[Giver]

The Princess Bride.

That is by far the best movie ever. It's not too serious or anything, but it keeps your attention because it's not too long. It's witty and the characters are easy to get attached to. The sword fighting is wonderful and the environments are grand.

[TheMightyMcClaw]

I'm really tempted to say Moon Over Tao, even though I've never seen it. The movie just *looked* so goshdarn cool.

I'll cast my vote for I Heart Huckabees. I think that movie had some of the greatest dialogue in the history of cinema.
Such as my personal favorite:

Girl: "Jesus will always love you if you keep him in your heart."
Man: "No! He won't, because...."

And then he went into a rant about the oil industry. So classic.

[kmguy8]

if you have not seen "the city of god" run do not walk to the video store
it is subtitled.. but you do not need the subtitles on.. that good

I can not believe nobody said "bladerunner"

really... see City of God

[Kadaj]

Id have to say the Shawshank Redemption :D

[Munen Mushin]

A quickie off the top of my head.... Boondock Saints, but there are so many good films out there.

[Frogman316]

Starwars: Return of the Jedi

[boards]

The Long Kiss Goodnigt
For comedy - The Great Race
Historical (sorta) - The Great Escape

[niclans]

The greatest MA movie ever = Enter The Dragon starring Bruce Lee :D

[LUM]

Monty Python's Holy Grail!

[cnada]

RENT. Think I might be a RENThead.

[tom pain]

My favorite movie ever is Se7en, but I wouldn't say its the greatest.

For me, The Shawshank Redemption.

[Hapuka]

The Tongan ninja (A kiwi film)

[freak]

memento it my favourite movie of all time, but i think the greatest movie of all time is ben hur

[jsmith]

The best movie is impossible to pick, but I think there should be a law that if you were a teenage boy in the 80s your favourite movie is automatically Top Gun, end of story. C'mon, who didn't want a pair of aviator glasses and a bomber jacket just like Tom Cruise?

[TheMadhoose]

My sister was obsesssed with TopGun and can honestly tell you after the 3,000th time it begins to get boring.

[Ragnarok2005]

KISS saves Christmas.

"Everyone knows Pterodactyl's can't stand the wail of a guitar!"

*Guitar solo*

"KISS! You saved Christmas!"

[Davey Bones]

hmmm... my top five flicks of all time (in no particular order, mind you)

The Lion in Winter. Classic film. Peter O'Toole as Henry II, Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Anthony Hopkins as Richard the Lionhearted. They don't make them like this any more.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: great story, great cinematography, great acting, etc.

Brokeback Mountain. Same praise as above.

Kill Bill, Vols I and II. Deadly Viper Assassination Squad led by David Carradine. 'Nuff said.

Brotherhood of the Wolf. Very similar praise as CTHD and BBM.

I'd add "Rent", but since it was originally a Broadway show, don't think it qualifies for my list.

[kimlyk]

I love the LOTR trilogy, Forrest Gump, the Color Purple, the Godfather, and Gone With the Wind plus lots of others too numerous to mention. But, my all time favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz. The music, the characters, the good vs. evil theme and the "there's no place like home" values, plus the ingenious and inspired use of color....I never get tired of watching it. It always makes me feel like a child again. It helps me remember how incredibly beautiful and magical life can be.

[wildirishrose19]

1.Lawrence of Arabia (by David Lean)
2.The barber of Syberia (a russian movie by Nikita Mihalkov with one of my favourite actors Oleg Menshikov)
3.The Legend of 1900

this is my top 3..really awesome motion pictures :o

[doublelegtackle]

The Warriors (1979)
amazing street fighting movie

[Devildog2930]

:woo: The Good The Bad and the Ugly. Enough said!

[Tom@Foresight]

Layer Cake, thought that film was great!

Another onefor the brits!!!#

TOM

[greenlantern]

the outlaw josie wales....some of the best one liners ever "dying ain't much of a living boy"

can't forget the godfather

[mai tai]

I can't limit myself to just one.
In my opinion, a good movie has to be something that CANNOT be done in any other style of art or entertainment. This puts the Lord of the Rings Trilogy very high up on the list, then. The books were tremendous, but the movies just completely sucked you in to the experience in a different manner.
King Kong, I think, would qualify as the greatest movie of all time because it has stood up to the test of time. Everyone has seen it, it is still cool, even with today's special effects. And it couldn't have been done in any other style.
As for personal favorites, the list would have to be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Robin Hood: Prince of Theives, The Princess Bride, American Beauty, Night of the Living Dead, and both renditions of Dawn of the Dead. If you want to throw Anime into the mix, add Akira and Princess Mononoke.
Just my humble opinion.
you make a strong point on.... it has to be in this medium(film) and would not be better elsewear

[Su lin]

Zatocihi - Kitano+ swords + tap dancing= this weeks #1
Seven samurai (trying not to be up my own a**e) but Mifune is simply awesome
Any Babycart film for sheer blood spurts plus little boy in cart etc
Enter the Dragon- brilliant
Chungking Express- for its story and being brilliant
Kill Bill (both) again blood spurts plus number of people killed
Zu Warriors from Magic Mountain- simply mental
Mmm so many films, :confused:
Withnail and I for obvious reasons
Will probably edit this many times! ( on 3rd edit now!)

[mai tai]

I agree this was my favorite movie my Denzel Washington and he is one of my three favorite actors. I loved the scene where the prison guards wanted to toss his sell and he stopped them by pure intimidation. Absolute brilliant peformance.

Can't really call what I think the best movie is though. When I first saw Gladiator by Russell Crowe I walked out the movie theatre thinking this was the best movie that I ever saw. But a few years later I still love it but also recognize there are other films on its level. Not that many though.
only problem is it is absoulutly untrue
FALSE: The Police Emergency Phone Call Log Was Faked to Frame Carter
THE MOVIE: A group of Canadians -- convinced of Carter's innocence after reading the convicted triple murderer's book -- find a telephone log indicating that the murders were reported at 2:45, not 2:30. However, the paper appears to have been doctored, and "Carter" says the"2.45" is in the handwriting of the racist detective who is out to get him.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: The movie claims that Carter left the Nite Spot at 2:40 -- at least 10 minutes AFTER the murders -- and the racist detective doctored the phone log to make it appear that the murders occurred when Carter was "out on the street."

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Moviegoers have really focused on this bogus issue, and because I've received so many e-mails about it, I'm providing some extra documentation.

Among the people with first-hand knowledge are Pat Valentine, who phoned police to report the killings, and Jim Lawless, the first police officer to arrive at the scene. Both told me there is no question that the murders occurred at about 2:30.

Here is the sequence of events:

Shortly before 2:30 a.m. -- Four people are shot in the Lafayette Grill.
About 2:30 a.m. -- Eyewitness Al Bello calls to report the murders. The report is taken by telephone operator Jean Wall.
About 2:34 a.m. -- Pat Valentine calls police to report the murders. Police are notified by radio to look for a white car with two "colored" occupants.
2:40 a.m. -- A white car containing Carter, Artis and a man believed to be John "Bucks" Royster is stopped by Officers Capter and DeChellis. Capter checks the registration and lets them go because there are three blacks in the car instead of two. He does this despite the fact that Carter is lying down (hiding) in the back seat and could not be seen from the street.
3:00 a.m. -- After getting a more complete description of the getaway car, Officers Capter and DeChellis apprehend Carter and Artis and bring them to the murder scene for questioning.

DOCUMENTATION

IMPORTANT UPDATE, AUGUST 2002: Recently I inspected a copy of Detective DeSimone's notes from his interview with telephone operator Jean Wall. Those notes report -- in his handwriting -- that the time of the first phone call was about 2:30, which is consistent with Wall's trial testimony and the initial police report. [Click here for more info.] Copies of those handwritten notes were turned over to Carter's defense team before the second trial. -- Cal Deal
Original homicide report from the day of the murders showing the time of the crime (2:30) and the time it was reported (2:34) View report.
Newspaper report published on the the day of the crime. It says the murders occurred at 2:30 a.m. Read story
Sworn testimony of Sergeant Capter, who pulled over Carter and Artis.
CAPTER: "Well, the first information we got was at 2:34 to look for a white car. ...That was from headquarters." ...
Q (BY MR. HULL): "Then you stopped this particular car at about 2:40 a.m. at 14th Avenue and East 28th Street?"
CAPTER: "Yes,sir."
Operator Jean Wall testified in May 1967 that she received the emergency call at "about 2:30 a.m." [View original news story]
News story reporting that Carter's key alibi witnesses lied about his whereabouts at the time of the murders [Story from 1976 trial]. Also see Carter's 1967 jailhouse letter which outlines his alibi story for his alibi witnesses -- the witnesses who later admitted perjury. [View letter]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: The Gunmen Made a Quick, Shadowy Getaway
THE MOVIE: The gunmen run out of the front door of the bar and through the shadows to their getway car, which is waiting at the curb. Al Bello is shown watching the shadowy figures from a distance.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: Bello could never have identified the gunmen with such a fleeting glimpse of darkened figures.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: The gunmen came out the front door, turned to the right, walked around the corner and walked down the sidewalk, laughing and talking loudly, according to Bello's testimony. They were so brazen that Bello at first thought they were gun-wielding cops. Only when he got to within 10 or 15 feet of them did Bello realize that they weren't cops. He turned and ran for his life.

The getaway car, rather than being parked at the curb out front, was in the westbound lane of the side street that ran alongside the bar.

Pat Valentine was in a bay window overlooking that street. She looked down to see them running away from the building, getting into the car and driving off.


DOCUMENTATION

Bello's statement to police, October1966
Pat Valentine's testimony


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: The Racist Detective Was Out to Get Carter
THE MOVIE: Lt. Vincent Della Pesca is a profanity-spewing racist who is obsessed with nailing Rubin Carter. This obsession begins after the 11-year-old Carter is picked up for stabbing a white man, it intensifies when Della Pesca makes it clear he is going to "get" Carter for the triple murders, and it carries through to the day that Carter is released from prison -- a hearing attended by the glowering racist detective.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: Lt. Della Pesca's obsession led to the framing of Rubin Carter.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Carter is now backpedaling on this character. He now says it is a "composite" designed to represent the racist system. But this alleged composite has a name strikingly similar to that of the real detective in the case:

FILM: Lt. Vincent Della Pesca
REAL: Lt. Vincent DeSimone

The real detective was a man who worked hard to maintain an excellent reputation. He was a religious man did not swear and he had no contact with Rubin Carter before the murders. He was a big teddy bear who was surprisingly sensitive, and was self-conscious about his appearance because he had been shot in the face during World War II.

On the day Carter was released from prison, Lt. DeSimone was not sitting in the courtroom -- he had been dead for years and was probably turning over in his grave at the thought of Carter going free.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: Eyewitness Al Bello Lied to Help Frame Carter
THE MOVIE: Al Bello is seen sitting in front of a tape recorder while the racist Lieutenant promises not to prosecute him for burglary and starts to ask him leading questions. Bello plays along with this and tells the detective that it was Rubin Carter he saw leaving the murder scene. Sitting behind Bello is Arthur Dexter Bradley, Bello's burglary accomplice.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: That Bello falsely accused Carter to keep himself out of jail, and that Bello and Bradley coordinated their stories in a conspiracy with police.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Bello actually identified Carter to police eight days earlier, on Oct. 3, 1966. When Paterson Detective LaConte saw Bello's car outside a bar, he went inside to talk. Bello was rattled because he had been threatened to keep his mouth shut. He told LaConte "You had the man and let him go," and then said it was Rubin Carter. LaConte arranged for Bello to meet later that day with his boss, Paterson Police Sergeant Mohl. During that meeting, Bello again identified Carter.

Finally, they arranged for the taped meeting with Passaic County Detective Lt. Vincent DeSimone, in which Bello identified Carter for the third time. That was Oct. 11, 1966, and is the interview portrayed inaccurately in the film. [Read the complete transcript.] Other points:

Bello did not know he was being taped during the interview, according to the Carter and Artis arrest report. The recorder was hidden. View page from police report (This report was given to Carter's attorney before the first trial.)
Bradley was not sitting in the room; he was many miles away at the Bordentown Reformatory.
Bradley first identified Carter on Oct. 6, 1966 -- five days BEFORE the taped interview with Bello. Bradley had been incarcerated since his August 3, 1966 arrest for armed robbery and other charges. He was serving time at the Bordentown Reformatory when he gave his statement to detectives. Although he had no opportunity to coordinate his story with Bello and had not seen him in months, their detailed stories about what happened that night were the same.
The burglary was unsuccessful, and police had no evidence of the attempt other than Bello's own testimony, which could not be used.
Any "promises" made to Bello were to ensure that his life would not be in danger if he testified against Carter. [Read the complete transcript.]
After Bello recanted his identification of Carter and Artis, the prosecutors played the entire tape recording in open court to discredit Bello's recantation. [TOP]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: Carter was Robbed of the Middleweight Boxing Title
THE MOVIE: Carter beats Middleweight Champ Joey Giardello to a puffy pulp, but the judges shock Carter by giving the victory to Giardello.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: Carter was robbed of the boxing title he deserved.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Here is how sports reporters who were there saw the fight (from a story by Wallace Matthews in The New York Post, January 2, 2000):

Jerry Izenberg, Newark Star-Ledger: 10-5 Giardello
Bob Lipsyte, New York Post, saw nothing wrong with the decision
Jesse Abramson, a Hall of Fame writer, reported the ringside press agreed with the call by a 3-1 ratio.
[TOP]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: The Racist Bar
THE MOVIE: The Lafayette Grill, where the murders occurred, was a bar that welcomed blacks such as Louise and Avery Cockersham. Mrs. Cockersham says they even ran a tab at the bar.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: The prosecution's "racial revenge" theory is false. The prosecutors believed that the murderers went to a white bar where blacks weren't welcome to retaliate for the killing of a black man earlier in the evening. The black man was the stepfather of Carter's friend Eddie Rawls, and Carter and Rawls were together just before the killings at a black bar just a few blocks away. This is meant to discredit the theory that provided the motive for the killings.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Blacks were not served at the bar, according to Pat Valentine, who lived upstairs and knew all the people at the Lafayette Grill.

Louise and Avery Cockersham would come in the side door, pick up their drinks at the far end of the bar near the restrooms, pay their bill and leave, Valentine said (in January 2000).

In the 1970s, Betty Panagia, the owner of the bar, told me rather sheepishly that the bartender, Jim Oliver, was something of a racist. She and Oliver were seeing each other at the time of the killings. Oliver's spinal cord was severed by a shotgun blast.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: Carter Rode in the Front Seat
THE MOVIE: It repeatedly shows Carter sitting up in the passenger seat as police stop his car 10 minutes after the murders. He's supposed to be on his way home from an innocent night out.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: Carter had nothing to hide, was not afraid to be seen and was acting normally.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Carter stayed out of sight by lying down on the back seat of the car. Was it because he knew he had just been seen leaving the murder scene by Bello and thought police would be looking for him? Or was this boxer in peak physical condition so tired from partying that he just had to lie down for the short ride home?

The man in the front seat was actually John "Bucks" Royster.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: The Lily-White Jury Was In On The Plot
THE MOVIE: Carter's jury of his "peers" is so white that it evokes snickers from the audience. The whitest juror of them all gets up and delivers the "guilty" verdict with a subtle, self-satisfied sneer.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: Paterson's white racist justice system, aided and abetted by an all-white jury, unjustly convicted Carter.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Two blacks served on the jury in Carter's second trial, which is virtually ignored by the film. The jury was selected in Hudson County, not Passaic County where the crimes occurred.



FALSE: Rubin Carter, the squeaky-clean solider

In the movie, he comes home from the service, orders a soda pop and falls in love. He was actually discharged after 21 months because of his "unfitness" for military service. That discharge followed four courts-martial. (Remember, Carter calls this movie "absolutely true.")







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: Young Rubin Stabbed an Attacker to Get Free
THE MOVIE: After defending a childhood pal from a molester, 11-year-old Rubin is grabbed by the man and lifted into the air. He stabs the man several times in the shoulder to get free.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: That brave Rubin was a good kid just doing what he had to do. This sequence is preceded by scenes focusing on the mean streets of Paterson, an apparent attempt to explain why an 11-year-old would be carrying a knife.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: On Feb. 4, 2000, Paul Mulshine reported in The Newark Star-Ledger:

"Onscreen, for example, [Carter] is sent to a reformatory as a young boy after breaking a bottle over the head of a child molester who is menacing his friend. In real life, he was sent to the reformatory for breaking a bottle over the head of a man from whom he stole a wris****ch and $55.

"These two events have one thing in common -- the bottle.

"This, apparently, is what 'based on a true story' means."

From the Saturday Evening Post, 1964:

"Rubin was a kind of schoolboy Mount Vesuvius -- his early history is dotted with minor thefts, street fighting and school incorrigibility -- before he erupted with a vengeance at the age of 11 and was sent to Jamesburg reformatory for atrocious assault.

"That's right," he says, "atrocious assault at age eleven. I stuck a man with my knife. I stabbed him everywhere but the bottom of his feet." [TOP]



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FALSE: Racist Cops Used Heavy-Handed Tactics
THE MOVIE: Police cars surround Carter's car as he's detained for questioning.

WHAT THIS IMPLIES: The racist cops were going to teach that you-know-what a thing or two with a show of force.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Officers Capter and DeChellis are the ones who brought Carter and Artis in for questioning. Capter testified that he had to get another squad car to help. "I pulled them [Carter and Artis] over to the side on Broadway and then I got another squad car to come over," he said. "I put the other squad car on East 18th Street facing in a northerly direction. I had Mr. Artis to turn his car around in order to follow the squad car over to East 18th and Lafayette Street [the Lafayette Grill]. I told the car in front to make a left turn off of 18th Street into Lafayette and they [Carter and Artis] were following him."

Elsewhere in the testimony, Capter refers to one other police car: "I asked them to turn the car around and follow the squad car."
Why Denzel Washington should not get the Oscar in 2000

Opinion by Cal Deal (March 2000)


SEE HOME PAGE FOR COMMENTS
ON DENZEL'S 2002 NOMINATION


Denzel's mailing address
Now you can give a piece of your mind to him and not just me. Dear Denzel....


---------------

Hollywood trashes Carter's prosecutors with Jack Valenti's blessing

Comments on Valenti's unfortunate statement

Valenti launches a second attack

(3/26/00)


Comments on Unfortunate Statement No. 2





'HURRICANE' PROTEST REACHES THE ACADEMY'S FRONT DOOR

Murder victims' families send picketers to Hollywood to oppose Oscar for the false and hurtful film

CLICK ON PHOTO


VARIETY & THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER REFUSE AD FROM VICTIMS' FAMILIES

Universal reportedly contacts media outlets to muzzle "No Oscar for Hurricane" effort


Read APB.com's coverage


See the censored ad online

'Hurricane' Pickets Wind Down, Protesters Hope Washington Won't Win Sunday

APBnews.com 3/22/00

DID CONTROVERSY KILL "HURRICANE'S" OSCAR HOPES?

Read Staci D. Kramer's story on APB.com.
VICTIMS' FAMILIES CONDEMN A HURTFUL FILM

Published Feb. 9, 2000

N.Y. DAILY NEWS: 'Hurricane' Foes Fight Back -- In this corner, kin of victims say Carter is guilty. Read story.

NEWARK STAR-LEDGER: Children of the slain pan 'Hurricane.' Read story.

THE BERGEN RECORD: 'Hurricane' reopens old wounds. Read story.

PLUS: Debra DeSimone releases her 1998 "goodbye" letter to her late father to counter the impact of the movie. Read letter.

A tribute to Lt. DeSimone by his son: "My father was the ultimate honest cop." Includes comments on the movie. Read letter.

OTHER CRITICISM OF NORMAN JEWISON'S FALSUMENTARY
N.Y. DAILY NEWS; The Storm Over 'The Hurricane': As Academy prepares to vote, critics say script takes liberties. Read story.

"The movie disregards or distorts virtually every fact of the case." Read Paul Mulshine's excellent, point-by-point column in the Newark Star-Ledger, 1/13/00

"The movie is a distortion of the truth," says the judge who presided over Carter's second trial. Plus: Families react. Bergen Record, 1/9/00

"'Hurricane' Slurs the Name of An Honest Man" Another terrific column by Paul Mulshine of The Star-Ledger in Newark. Read the column.

BOXER REBELLION
Could-a Been the Champion of the World??? Carter's boxing record was 7-7-1 in 1965-'66. View chart.

"The Real Freakin' Story of The Hurricane from cyberboxingzone.com, which looks at his boxing career. Excerpt: People "are blown away when I tell them the real story of "The Hurricane" & his boxing career as opposed to the claptrap of the film. And what's even more astounding is that after I tell them the real details of Carter's life & career they don't wanna believe me ... They'd rather believe in the movie & Dylan's song because that makes them feel all warm & fuzzy." [Caution: Profanity]

[mai tai]

the outlaw josie wales....some of the best one liners ever "dying ain't much of a living boy"

can't forget the godfather
or cyotes got to eat same as worms

[mai tai]

1 - Pulp Fiction
2 - Raising Arizona
3 - Blues Brothers

edit

1.5 Cinderella Man

/edit
son you got a panty on your head

[mai tai]

hmmm... my top five flicks of all time (in no particular order, mind you)

The Lion in Winter. Classic film. Peter O'Toole as Henry II, Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Anthony Hopkins as Richard the Lionhearted. They don't make them like this any more.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: great story, great cinematography, great acting, etc.

Brokeback Mountain. Same praise as above.

Kill Bill, Vols I and II. Deadly Viper Assassination Squad led by David Carradine. 'Nuff said.

Brotherhood of the Wolf. Very similar praise as CTHD and BBM.

I'd add "Rent", but since it was originally a Broadway show, don't think it qualifies for my list.
ya had to take brokeback.....i give ya...acting, singing, sports,polotics, and artist...but is nothing sacrad....couldnt you just (at least in my mind) left the cowboys straight.....

[mai tai]

my movies

1.goodfellas...suprised no one else mentions it
2.brave heart....my buddy recomended this by saying "remeber how cool the scene with the scotsman fought in highlander...well picture three hour of this"
3. team america
4. godfather II
5.platoon

[Emil]

Star Wars Episode III!!!

[angacam]

Casablanca :cool:

[Sgt. Cueball]

Conan the Barbarian, or Passion of the Christ.

[Ecks]

My personal favourite would be "The Twilight Samurai." Unbelievable story and a unique spin.

But in terms of actual greatness, Citizen Kane ranks quite high up there.

[Shadow_of_Evil]

Original StarWars trilogy, LOTR trilogy, Back to the Future Trilogy, The Passion of the Christ...and many more.

But really, IMO, nothing come even close to the spectacle that was:
BEN HUR!

[drcdeath]

Martial Arts: Enter The Dragon
Greatest of my choice: The Good The Bad And The Ugly
Greatest of all time: Godfather

[Su lin]

My personal favourite would be "The Twilight Samurai." Unbelievable story and a unique spin.

But in terms of actual greatness, Citizen Kane ranks quite high up there.

The Twilight Samurai -great choice! Must watch it again!

[CraigUsher]

Tough one...

Ong bak and Tum Yum Goong are good....Enter the Dragon is great...

As for other movies...theres loads that i like...Dont know what I would say are the best though. Ill get back to you on this one...But I do like those 3 mentioned MA movies. Tony Jaa is a beast

[Ecks]

The Twilight Samurai -great choice! Must watch it again!

Yea, Sanada seriously struts his talents in that one. :)

[slideyfoot]

Critically, as has been mentioned several times in this thread, Citizen Kane is the clear winner as 'greatest' - Sight and Sound (http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics.html), one of the most respected film magazines around, has repeatedly placed it right at the top since the 1960s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_films#Films_acclaimed_by_critics_and_film makers) (yeah, yeah, I know thats a Wiki link ;)). You can try and pretend to be more discerning by picking something less established in that position, but doesn't change the facts. :p

That's followed by films like Casablanca, Seven Samurai, The Third Man, The Godfather and The Seventh Seal, along with a few silent films like Battleship Potemkin and Metropolis.

'Great' is not a word that should be thrown around lightly. For me, a film needs to have proven itself over time before its even considered in that light; 20 or 30 years at least, probably more. Same goes for books and music. Hence why most polls asking the public inevitably bring up ridiculous results, with recent films rating highly, to be completely forgotten in the next few years.

'Favourite' film, again as mentioned, is an entirely different kettle of fish. For me, I'd say in terms of non-martial arts, Conan the Barbarian, The Flight of Dragons and Labyrinth.

If I'm being a little more discerning, I'd mention others like Delicatessan, Orphée and Dead Man, all of which I also greatly enjoy. Or I could try and babble about anime, and say Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Ninja Scroll. But I can't pretend they have the same pull of nostalgia and sheer love of Labyrinth and the others. :love:

[Unsung Hero]

I don't know...Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Battle Royale are some good ones that no matter how many times I watch them, they never get boring.

[Kuma Densetsu]

Clerks is the greatest movie of all time, very funny, with a lot of introspection and thought as well, with some life lessons to learn. GG guys, GG.

[Jordan]

troy

[aikiMac]

My personal favourite would be "The Twilight Samurai." Unbelievable story and a unique spin.

But in terms of actual greatness, Citizen Kane ranks quite high up there.
My aikido teacher recommended "Twilight Samurai" to me last month, so I watched it. Dude --- seriously good movie. Wow. I was moved.

But ya, Citizen Kane is rightly placed in #1. There's a reason. Yep.

[prowla]

Can't do one - top ten are:
1. My Cousin Vinny - Ralph Macchio and buddy get caught for robbery/murder, and cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci), a wannabe trainee lawyer, turns up to run their defence, accompanied by luscious girlfriend Marisa Tomei. There is some fantastically clever almost slapstick humour in it.
2. In the Heat of the Night - racial prejudice in the southern states, featuring Sidney Poitier as a New York black detective and Rod Steiger as the local sheriff (with inbred prejudice) trying to solve a murder.
3. All of the spaghetti westerns (Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Terence Spencer/Bud Hall, et-al.). Bizarre tongue in cheek overacting about a way of life that never existed. Made by Italians in Spain, and typically with a theme by Ennio Morricone. Best line of all = bandit brandishing 6-gun at victims: "hey - I like you - I kill you last!".
4. Airplane/Naked Gun:- "she's gone to the hospital" - "what is it?" - "a big white bulding with patients!".
5. The Three Stooges "Sing a Song of Six Pants". Ridiculous slapstick accompanied by pokes in the eye (with "bwoingggg" sound), twist of nose ("with honk!"), and likewise. The scene where one of them is trying to iron some trousers that accidentally got wrapped in a roller blind is a hoot! (holds one end, and the other rolls up - holds both flat, and reaches for iron - the end he lets go of rolls up, and so-on...).
6. 633 Squadron. Basically really cool De Havilland Mosquito planes on a WWII mission.
7. The Dirty Harry series - set a trend for one-liners.
8. The James Bond series. So much action as Britain saves the world from evil criminal organisations based on secret islands with hidden trapdoors. (Of courshe, Connery wash the besht!)
9. The Pink Panther series. "A em nan ozeur zan chef inspecteur cloozo of the surete!".
10. Independence Day. (Nah - only kidding - that was crap!)

[Moosey]

Hmmmm.... best film of all time? That's a real tough one!

I've never sat through all of Citizen Kane so I can't really judge whether I'd agree with its constant placing at #1.

Best films that I can bring to mind at the moment:

Thriller: OldBoy
Anime: Princess Mononoke
Horror: Ring
Period: Seven Samurai
Romance: Before Sunrise
Comedy: Clerks
Action: Terminator 2
Art House: 3 Iron
Science Fiction: Donnie Darko (although you could argue the genre of that one for ever)
Martial Arts: Fighter in the Wind

But I'll probably change my mind by tomorrow!

[elektro]

Hmmmm.... Scarface springs to mind, for acting, suspense, atmosphere, music etc. etc. never really been another film quite like it. IF you can understand what they're saying that is :p

Other than that, it would probably be something quite old I would have thought......

[wudangfajing]

Momento i hope, i spelled it correctly.

[Tommy-2guns...]

rocky 1
any sharpe movie
braveheart
:D

[Stevebjj]

The Bourne Identity

Followed closely by Cool Hand Luke

with Rob Roy taking third by a comfortable margin.

[Big Will]

For me, I'd say Forrest Gump or Rocky :D

[Macca]

You cant beat shawshank redemption. But my favourite is...topgun. Oh the rivalry!

[Pacificshore]

Blues Brothers or Caddy Shack...classics I tell ya :D

[boards]

1. Ben-Hur or
2. The Great Escape

[Binary Zombie]

Dude... You guys got it all wrong.

1. STAR WARS (Or Star Wars IV: A New Hope for you non-real fans.)
2. The Fifth Element
3. Leon (The Professional)
4. Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door
5. Snatch

Honorable Mentions:
The Twilight Samurai
Oldboy
Hodsucker Proxy
The Green Mile
Trainspotting
Layer Cake
Magnolia
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Boondock Saints
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (For DNA, otherwise it sucked.)

[Patrick_baji]

star wars all the way. it was even voted that on the 20 to 1 countdown as number 1. but that was in australia tho :P

[cloudz]

Once upon a time in the West.

[akatrk]

Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles (The scene where they're eating beans around the campfire is a gas. Get it, a gas. Oh never mind).

Yeah I know, what a weird combination.

[Stevebjj]

Dude... You guys got it all wrong.

1. STAR WARS (Or Star Wars IV: A New Hope for you non-real fans.)
2. The Fifth Element
3. Leon (The Professional)
4. Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door
5. Snatch

Honorable Mentions:
The Twilight Samurai
Oldboy
Hodsucker Proxy
The Green Mile
Trainspotting
Layer Cake
Magnolia
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Boondock Saints
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (For DNA, otherwise it sucked.)Very good list!

[aikiMac]

Honorable Mentions:
The Twilight Samurai
...
Hudsucker Proxy

Very good movies. Ya.
When my children are older I'm going to make them watch "Twilight Samurai."

[Binary Zombie]

AikiMac and peisistratos... Thank you! :D :D

[cloudz]

One flew over the cuckoos nest.

[Angelus]

This is not including kung-fu or martial arts movies? what is you favorite movie of all time? :confused: :confused:
Star Wars saga :D:D not the first but the fight scene was cool with maul
last samurai was good :D
matrix and lotr... .ONG BAK!!!.. Drunken master... Fist of legend...the notebook

[Mei Hua]

Henry V
or
Richard III (the version with Ian Mckellan)

[Cait]

i know it's supposed to be non-martial arts, but i gotta say Hero... the cinamatography is just so utterly amazing, how zhang yimao uses color to tell the story... it's just stunning.

[Lame Leopard]

OK. I'll bite. It is "Mars Attacks". Great acting and plot. :D

[NaughtyKnight]

Gladiator

Though, soon to be 300...

[Mei Hua]

Plan 9 From Outer Space

[Smokey13]

Eworks: The Battle for Endor...

[Cannibal Bob]

Kung Pow - Enter the Fist.

I know it's sort of a kung fu movie, but it's mostly a comedy.

And a very good one at that. ;)

[Kew-Do]

Jackie Chan....

"Wheels on Meals"

[tom pain]

Eworks: The Battle for Endor...

Someone fetch this guy a nice, big, shiny medal!

[cloudz]

Kung Fu Hustle - I think I'm gonna watch it again tonight!

Also going to catch 'Charlie' - about the Richardsons, South London rivals of the Krays in the Sixties. Borrowed it off a mate.

[TheMadhoose]

Its Gotta be Donnie Darko

[cloudz]

For the life of me, I don't think i'll ever understand that movie. Plus even clips spook the bejeezus out of me.

[Mei Hua]

Kung Pow - Enter the Fist.

I know it's sort of a kung fu movie, but it's mostly a comedy.

And a very good one at that. ;)
Amen bro, it's one of the funniest movies I've ever watched :D

The "Iron Body" scene where they whoop him with the staffs, ROTFLMAO!!!

[Cannibal Bob]

Amen bro, it's one of the funniest movies I've ever watched :D

The "Iron Body" scene where they whoop him with the staffs, ROTFLMAO!!!
Got that right. :D

Here is the clip Mei Hua is talking about for those who havn't seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DMqNzbrQtc

Quality isn't great, and it's a little long since it also shows what "inspired" The Chosen One to try it, but enjoy. ;)

[HappyT]

There are FAR too many to choose from but my top three would have to be Boondock Saints, Ocean's 11 and The Sting.

[Rin]

Most definately "Gladiator". A great movie if there ever was one.

[Myst Kitty]

Here is the second vote for the Goonies! I live enough of reality in my every day life. Therefore, the greatest movie of all time must be fantasy lol.

Gotta give a shout out to LOTR, however. I do own the collection.

[Taekwondomaster]

definetly star wars (the first ones made) and indiana jones.

[saru1968]

Another vote for Star Wars

[Vimtoforblood]

Fight Club
American History X
If MA films were allowed, Seven Samurai

[tom pain]

If MA films were allowed, Seven Samurai

Seeing as it is a film, why wouldn't it be allowed?

[Vimtoforblood]

Op

[Terao]

LOTR films and last samurai

[Su lin]

No no no no no no !

The Last Samurai- there are SO many Samurai films that are amazing and The Last Samurai isn't one. :(

[Shiho-Nage]

I am torn between Lawrence of Arabia and Network.

Its amazing how so very relevant Network is today. Even more so than when it was first written/produced.

[Stevebjj]

No no no no no no !

The Last Samurai- there are SO many Samurai films that are amazing and The Last Samurai isn't one. :(HOnestly, the first time I saw the Last Samurai, there were things that really bugged me, but it's one of those movies that I like more every time I watch it. What don't you like about it, Su Lin? I wonder if your objections are similar to my own.

Oh, and if I had to pick one movie as best ever... I'd have to go with my first instinct: Cool Hand Luke, the story about the indomitable spirit of man.

A close second would be One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. These two great movies are actually very similar, thematically. I could watch either over and over.

[Patrick_baji]

the fact the only guy that survives is white...

[flaming]

What was the samurai film lucas based star wars around?

[Stevebjj]

the fact the only guy that survives is white...LOL... that's the reader's digest version of my own reaction. But as I said, every time I see this movie, I can appreciate the intent a little more and I guess I either understand or perhaps forgive the ethnocentrism.

Regarding Star Wars, Lucas wrote that around a book called "The Hero's Journey". It's basically a formula for writing epic adventure. You can learn a little more about it here: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html

Here's a summary of the Hero's Journey in Star Wars specifically:
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sparks/sffilm/mmswtab.html

[BGile]

Spartacus, I saw it uncut in San Juan Puerto Rico in the 61 very good one in my opinion.

So many good ones, it is hard, but when I read the question this is what came to me first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_(film)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus


Gary