Defining Yourself Through Your Favorite Movies Over a Lifetime
by dragonsi | created - 14 Dec 2010 | updated - 01 Sep 2011 | PublicTurning 40 recently, I come to realize that I'm now halfway through life, (and hopefully not more than that!)and I'd like to look back on some of my favorite movies that I enjoyed, and perhaps taught me a few things, or shaped the way I viewed life or various concepts I normally wouldn't have ever considered or broached alone. My "Life Motto" is: "I never claimed to be normal". And I for one, have never listened to the critics views and ratings and have always kept an open mind when viewing films and normally like shows that others might not.
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1. Night of the Comet (1984)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
Director: Thom Eberhardt | Stars: Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Sharon Farrell
Votes: 23,954 | Gross: $14.42M
2. Stand by Me (1986)
R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell
Votes: 439,803 | Gross: $52.29M
3. Malibu Express (1985)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
A womanizing private detective is assigned the task of investigating who is behind the hi-tech computer technology leaks to the Russians.
Director: Andy Sidaris | Stars: Darby Hinton, Sybil Danning, Art Metrano, Shelley Taylor Morgan
Votes: 2,716
4. Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab (1974)
PG | 98 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Ten people are invited to a hotel in the Iranian desert, only to find that an unseen person is killing them one by one. Could one of them be the killer?
Director: Peter Collinson | Stars: Oliver Reed, Elke Sommer, Richard Attenborough, Stéphane Audran
Votes: 3,507
5. The Legacy (1978)
R | 102 min | Horror
An American couple in England stumble upon a rambling mansion where a number of powerful individuals have been summoned by its patriarch regarding the home's legacy.
Director: Richard Marquand | Stars: Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, John Standing, Ian Hogg
Votes: 3,420
6. Firestarter (1984)
R | 114 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telepathic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Freddie Jones, Heather Locklear
Votes: 36,717 | Gross: $15.10M
7. The Stand (1994)
Not Rated | 361 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
After a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 38,302
8. It (1990)
TV-14 | 192 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
Stars: Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole, Harry Anderson
Votes: 140,428
9. Taken (2002)
TV-PG | 677 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Three families experience alien abductions over a period of five decades.
Stars: Dakota Fanning, Matt Frewer, Emily Bergl, Heather Donahue
Votes: 20,966
10. The Round Table (1992)
60 min | Drama
Friends in DC are in different aspects of law enforcement except for Danny, Jen's bartender boyfriend. Rhea rebelling against mother Anne, has joined the FBI along with Devereaux. Wade is a rookie cop, while Jen and Mitchell attorneys.
Stars: Roxann Dawson, Pepper Sweeney, Stacy Haiduk, Erik King
Votes: 45
11. Picket Fences (1992–1996)
120 min | Crime, Drama, Family
An aging Sheriff tries to keep the peace in Rome, Wisconsin, a small town plagued by bizarre and violent crimes.
Stars: Kathy Baker, Tom Skerritt, Lauren Holly, Costas Mandylor
Votes: 5,125
12. Earth 2 (1994–1995)
TV-PG | 60 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
Colonists, crash-landed on an alien planet, begin the long trek to their originally designated landing place, facing alien and human threats.
Stars: Debrah Farentino, Clancy Brown, Sullivan Walker, Jessica Steen
Votes: 5,498
13. Get Smart (1965–1970)
TV-G | 25 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, battles the evil forces of rival spy agency KAOS with the help of his competent partner Agent 99.
Stars: Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, Robert Karvelas
Votes: 13,729
14. Dynasty (1981–1989)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The trials and tribulations of two feuding families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, both oil rich families in Denver, Colorado.
Stars: John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Gordon Thomson
Votes: 8,415
15. Knots Landing (1979–1993)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The residents of Knots Landing, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, deal with various issues such as infidelity, health scares, rape, murder, kidnapping, assassinations, drug smuggling, corporate intrigue and criminal investigations.
Stars: Michele Lee, Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, Kevin Dobson
Votes: 3,200
16. The Talisman
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | Announced
To save his mother from certain death, young Jack Sawyer enters a parallel world known as the Territories in search of a powerful talisman.
17. Shazam! (1974–1977)
TV-Y7-FV | 30 min | Action, Family, Fantasy
A young boy, able to transform into the superhero Captain Marvel, travels the country fighting evil and helping people.
Stars: Michael Gray, Les Tremayne, Jackson Bostwick, John Davey
Votes: 1,658
18. Death Becomes Her (1992)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
When a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini
Votes: 130,676 | Gross: $58.42M
19. The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Approved | 96 min | Comedy, Romance
Nicky and Tacy are going to be married. Nicky wants to save up money for a house, but Tacy dreams of starting off with their own home on wheels--a trailer.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 5,477
20. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Approved | 210 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A group of motorists witnesses a car crash in the California desert, and after the driver's dying words indicate the location of a hidden stash of loot, they turn against each in a race across the state to get to it.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney
Votes: 45,893 | Gross: $46.30M
21. What's Up, Doc? (1972)
G | 94 min | Comedy, Romance
The accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars
Votes: 26,904 | Gross: $10.47M
22. Yentl (1983)
PG | 133 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.
Director: Barbra Streisand | Stars: Barbra Streisand, Amy Irving, Mandy Patinkin, Nehemiah Persoff
Votes: 15,726 | Gross: $40.22M
23. American Pie (1999)
R | 95 min | Comedy
Four teenage boys enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night.
Directors: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz | Stars: Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jennifer Coolidge
Votes: 432,389 | Gross: $102.56M
24. American Pie 2 (2001)
R | 108 min | Comedy
Jim and his friends are now in college, and they decide to meet up at the beach house for some fun.
Director: J.B. Rogers | Stars: Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan
Votes: 269,530 | Gross: $145.10M
25. American Wedding (2003)
R | 96 min | Comedy
It's the wedding of Jim and Michelle and the gathering of their families and friends, including Jim's old friends from high school and Michelle's little sister.
Director: Jesse Dylan | Stars: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy
Votes: 216,675 | Gross: $104.57M
26. Left Behind: The Movie (2000)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
The Biblical prophecy of Armegeddon begins when the Rapture instantly takes all believers in Christ from the Earth. A reporter left behind learns that the Anti-Christ will soon take power.
Director: Vic Sarin | Stars: Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Janaya Stephens, Clarence Gilyard Jr.
Votes: 10,464 | Gross: $4.22M
27. The Dreamers (2003)
NC-17 | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 131,094 | Gross: $2.53M
28. April Fool's Day (1986)
R | 89 min | Horror, Mystery
Nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend, but nothing is as it seems.
Director: Fred Walton | Stars: Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, Clayton Rohner, Jay Baker
Votes: 18,182 | Gross: $12.95M
29. Student Bodies (1981)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
A serial killer with his signature heavy breathing proceeds to systematically kill the students and teachers of Lamab high school.
Directors: Mickey Rose, Michael Ritchie | Stars: Kristen Riter, Matthew Goldsby, Jerry Belson, Joe Flood
Votes: 5,333 | Gross: $5.17M
30. Doctor Who (1963–1989)
TV-PG | 25 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
The adventures in time and space of the Doctor, a Time Lord who changes appearance and personality by regenerating when near death, and is joined by companions in battles against aliens and other megalomaniacs.
Stars: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker
Votes: 39,410
31. Doctor Who (2005–2022)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Smith
Votes: 245,679
32. The Smurfs (1981–1989)
TV-Y | 30 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The Smurfs are tiny blue creatures that live in mushroom houses in a peaceful forest. They repeatedly try to outwit Gargamel, an evil sorcerer, his apprentice, Scruple, and his mangy cat, Azrael.
Stars: Don Messick, Danny Goldman, Lucille Bliss, Michael Bell
Votes: 20,885
33. Saved by the Bell (1989–1992)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
A close-knit group of six friends get through their teens together while attending Bayside High School in Palisades, California.
Stars: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies
Votes: 37,425
34. Benson (1979–1986)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Jessica Tate's sharp-tongued former butler, Benson DuBois, moves up in the world, becoming first the governor's "director of household affairs," then the state's budget director, then lieutenant governor and candidate for the executive mansion.
Stars: Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Inga Swenson, Missy Gold
Votes: 4,134
35. Roswell (1999–2002)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
The lives of three young alien/human hybrids with extraordinary gifts in Roswell.
Stars: Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl, Majandra Delfino
Votes: 30,631
36. Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984–1985)
TV-Y7 | 24 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
This series focuses on five lion robots and their pilots as they fight the evil forces of King Zarkon and Prince Lotor.
Stars: Peter Cullen, Michael Bell, Lennie Weinrib, Jack Angel
Votes: 5,165
37. The Nanny (1993–1999)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
After being fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, a cosmetics saleswoman becomes the nanny to the three children of a rich English widower. As time passes, the two fall for each other.
Stars: Fran Drescher, Charles Shaughnessy, Daniel Davis, Lauren Lane
Votes: 48,995
38. Who's the Boss? (1984–1992)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
Tony Micelli, a retired baseball player, becomes the housekeeper of Angela Bower, an advertising executive in New York. Together they raise their kids, Samantha Micelli and Jonathan Bower, with help from Mona Robinson, Angela's man-crazy mother.
Stars: Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro
Votes: 15,491
39. Dungeons & Dragons (1983–1985)
TV-Y7 | 30 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A group of kids are thrown into a fantasy world where they must search for a way home, armed with magic weapons that an evil tyrant wants.
Stars: Willie Aames, Don Most, Adam Rich, Peter Cullen
Votes: 6,132
40. Mazes and Monsters (1982 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Bound together by a desire to play "Mazes and Monsters," Robbie and his three college classmates decide to move the board game into the local legendary cavern.
Director: Steven Hilliard Stern | Stars: Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, David Wysocki, Chris Makepeace
Votes: 4,271
41. The Sands of Time (1992 TV Movie)
96 min | Drama
In Spain, three nuns and a band of revolutionaries are pursued by an evil army colonel.
Director: Gary Nelson | Stars: Deborah Raffin, Michael Nouri, Amanda Plummer, Elizabeth Gracen
Votes: 107
42. If Tomorrow Comes (1986)
304 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Tracy was an innocent, in love and pregnant by the son of a wealthy family. She is sent to prison for a crime she did not commit. When she gets out, she proposes to take revenge on the people who framed her.
Stars: Madolyn Smith Osborne, Tom Berenger, David Keith, Jack Weston
Votes: 1,969
43. Bloodline (1979)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When her father is murdered, a pharmaceutical heiress becomes the next target of an unknown killer amid the international jet set.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Claudia Mori
Votes: 1,906
44. Lucky Chances (1990)
272 min | Drama, Romance
Based on the novels "Chances" and "Lucky" by Jackie Collins, this miniseries features the rise of Gino Santangelo in the Las Vegas casino industry, and his daughter Lucky's subsequent ... See full summary »
Stars: Vincent Irizarry, Michael Nader, Anne-Marie Johnson, Eric Braeden
Votes: 347
45. Lady Boss (1992– )
240 min | Drama
The story of Lucky Santangelo taking over a movie studio in Hollywood called "Panther Studios. "
Stars: Kim Delaney, Jack Scalia, Alan Rachins, Phil Morris
Votes: 174
46.
Voyagers! (1982–1983)
Episode:
The Trial of Phineas Bogg
(1983)
TV-G | 49 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
Phineas Bogg is put on trial by other Voyagers for endangering Jeffrey's life and violating the Voyager code.
Director: Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Stars: Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce, Stephen Liska, Bill McLaughlin
Votes: 57
47. Young Americans (2000)
60 min | Drama
Portrays life at Rawley Summer Academy, an elite school in Connecticut where boys with a bright Ivy League future spend the summer industriously in classes and rowing training on the lake.
Stars: Mark Famiglietti, Kate Bosworth, Rodney Scott, Kate Moennig
Votes: 1,636
48. Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982–1983)
60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
The adventures of a 1930's Pacific Islands bush pilot and his companions.
Stars: Stephen Collins, Jeff MacKay, Caitlin O'Heaney, Marta DuBois
Votes: 1,877
49.
Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2005)
Episode:
The Jade Monkey
(2000)
TV-Y7 | 22 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
It's Career Day at school for Jade, as part of the assignment she has to accompany Jackie to work. They find the Monkey Talisman, and figure out its power. Jade and Jackie are shipwrecked ... See full summary »
Directors: Rick Del Carmen, Jane Wu | Stars: Jackie Chan, James Sie, Stacie Chan, Sab Shimono
Votes: 126
50. A Far Off Place (1993)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
When a gang of African poachers raid her family's farm, young Nonni, visiting American teenager Harry Winslow and a local bushman guide must escape into the Kalahari desert and reach the nearest town.
Director: Mikael Salomon | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Ethan Embry, Jack Thompson, Sarel Bok
Votes: 3,804 | Gross: $12.89M
51. Paper Moon (1974–1975)
30 min | Comedy
The adventures of Moses Pray, a con artist selling bibles to credulous widows, and Addie Loggins, a young girl, as they travel the roads of America during the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Stars: Christopher Connelly, Jodie Foster, Vern Porter, Jacques Hampton
Votes: 268
52. Paper Moon (1973)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman
Votes: 52,255 | Gross: $30.93M
53. The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (1980 TV Movie)
100 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
When Kirby inherits only one thing from his millionaire uncle: a pocket watch that can stop time. Only the bad guys know that he has it and will do anything to take it from him. But they ... See full summary »
Director: William Wiard | Stars: Robert Hays, Pam Dawber, Zohra Lampert, Ed Nelson
Votes: 627
54. The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite (1981 TV Movie)
93 min | Fantasy, Comedy
A magical watch that can stop time becomes the focal point in a land swindle.
Director: Hy Averback | Stars: Lee Purcell, Philip MacHale, Burton Gilliam, Zohra Lampert
Votes: 128
55. The Twelve Chairs (1970)
GP | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a priest and a con artist search for a treasure of jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs, lost during the revolution.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, Ron Moody, Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise
Votes: 7,087 | Gross: $1.81M
56. Little Darlings (1980)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
Two fifteen year-old girls from different sides of the tracks compete to see who will be the first to lose their virginity while at a summer camp.
Director: Ron Maxwell | Stars: Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, Armand Assante, Matt Dillon
Votes: 6,520 | Gross: $34.33M
57. Freaky Friday (1995 TV Movie)
TV-G | 86 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Ellen and Annabelle have a hard time getting along with each other. On Friday the 13th, they both wear magical necklaces that make them switch bodies for the day.
Director: Melanie Mayron | Stars: Shelley Long, Gaby Hoffmann, Catlin Adams, Sandra Bernhard
Votes: 1,369
58. Freaky Friday (1976)
G | 98 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A mother and daughter find their personalities switched and have to live each other's lives on one strange Friday.
Director: Gary Nelson | Stars: Barbara Harris, Jodie Foster, John Astin, Patsy Kelly
Votes: 14,027 | Gross: $25.94M
59. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)
G | 97 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Two mysterious orphan children have extraordinary powers and are chased by a scheming millionaire. But where do these kids really call home?
Director: John Hough | Stars: Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence, Kim Richards
Votes: 11,307 | Gross: $20.00M
60. Return from Witch Mountain (1978)
G | 95 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Tia and Tony visit Los Angeles, but he's quickly kidnapped by an evil scientist, leaving her to desperately search for him.
Director: John Hough | Stars: Bette Davis, Christopher Lee, Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann
Votes: 5,643
61. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
G | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.
Directors: Robert Stevenson, Ward Kimball | Stars: Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe
Votes: 40,607 | Gross: $18.53M
62. Clue (1985)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Six guests are anonymously invited to a strange mansion for dinner, but after their host is killed, they must cooperate with the staff to identify the murderer as the bodies pile up.
Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd
Votes: 108,754 | Gross: $14.64M
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