My Top 25 List of Greatest Films, TV shows or episodes, and/or Performances of All Time
There are greatest of movies and shows, on both the Big Screen, and the small, and there are greatest of performances.. But sometimes, the twain don't meet. Here are some of my favourites of them all~
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- DirectorHerbert RossStarsRichard DreyfussMarsha MasonQuinn CummingsAfter being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.In this case it's both my #1 favourite movie of all time--from the time it came out to this day--and performance by the truly brilliant Richard Dreyfuss, my neck-and-neck, can't-decide-tie for favourite actor of all time alongside Jack Nicholson.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsAnne BancroftPatty DukeVictor JoryThe story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.Probably the most important, awakening, inspiring motion picture I've ever seen.
I was 6 or 7 when I saw it for the first time, and it had such a profound effect on me, {a gal born with a fair share of physical hindrances, though Helen's not among them}.. I remember, distinctly, thinking that day as I got up from my seat to leave the theatre with my mother, "If she could do it, so can I!".
I still get goose pimples, and cryyy during the pump scene! ..Though, I expect not many are unmoved by it.. If they're not, I don't think I'd lile to know them. - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.I LOVE this movie! The top 3 stars give some of the greatest performances of any movie I'll ever see, Roy Scheider especially. I still get goosebumps when he bolts up while tossing food out to sea to entice the..."...You're gonna need a bigger boat"--SHARRRK!
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonJohn BeckA nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis into a future world to fight an oppressive government.One of the most hysterically funny films I've seen to date--and certainly the very first uproarious comedy that comes to mind!
- DirectorColin HigginsStarsGoldie HawnChevy ChaseBurgess MeredithA San Francisco librarian picks up a hitchhiker whose car has broken down, which leads to her being stalked and hunted by shady individuals. A cop she briefly met during a function eventually comes to her rescue.Thee MOST fun I've had seeing a movie, first time, every time! These two are simply scrumptious together, and the rest of the cast follows suit! Has been in my Top 10 list of favourite movies ever since it came out in theatres! I've loved most anything those two, and Marilyn Sokol, too, have been a part of. [ok, with the exception of Goldie's Out-of-Towners, *wwooff*!]
Colin Higgins really knows his stuff! As with Neil Simon, I've loved almost everything he's ever made. - DirectorColin HigginsStarsJane FondaLily TomlinDolly PartonThree female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.Everything about this movie I loved; Dolly's perfect themesong, every single performance herein. Again a Colin Higgins classic. Others include: Harold and Maude, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Silver Streak, ALL of which I've delighted in, over and over again through the years.
A great loss to the entertainment industry, his life being cut so short. - DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracySidney PoitierKatharine HepburnA couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.I've got to have seen this one at least a hundered times~ I've got to have seen Spencer Tracy's climactic speech at least probably 50 more times than that!! His last role, did he ever make it count!
It's a film that's articulate.. sophisticated, and ultimately positive. You don't see that so much today... I miss it. - DirectorLouis MalleStarsAndre GregoryWallace ShawnJean LenauerTwo old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.....Fascinating film. Engaging, introspective, thought-provoking, both timely and timeless.. Classy, smart, sophisticated... Brilliant, intelligent piece. A recounting of a conversation the two men actually had one evening~
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.Another beloved movie of my Jack's.. But here, it's one of the greatest performances, and--surprise!--not even for Jack this time, but for Will Sampson as Chief Bromdon, or "Chief Broom" as he's lovingly remembered. His character, and his final scene performance, stands as one of the most powerful, and indelible of any movie I've ever seen.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.Jack~#1 BEST actor of all time for me~ NEVER disappoints! And although this version of Stephen King's The Shining wasn't quite as in-depth as either the later mini-series, {in 1997, starring Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay, which also had much more input by its creator, King}, or the book did, it still stands as a must-watch Nicholson performance.
- DirectorJim SharmanStarsTim CurrySusan SarandonBarry BostwickA newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.Thee greatest, wittiest, wackiest, craziest, wildest, cleverest, most creative, most memorable, most-fun-ever-at-a-musical musical of all time!
- DirectorPaul Michael GlaserStarsJoe MantegnaPaget BrewsterShemar MooreA serial killer turns himself in and challenges the team to find five people he has hidden somewhere before they die.THIS episode is beyond a doubt among the finest pieces of writing, directing, and acting--the whole shmeer--that I've had the pleasure of watching on the small screen in, at the very least, a decade! Acting most especially on the part of much underrated actor, Jason Alexander. For me, had this been extended and put up on the Big Screen, his was a hands-down, absolute, no questions asked Oscar-winning performance! Intense like you cannot believe.
It's a perfectly named, classic episode you don't want to miss, and if you're a true-blue fellow CM devotee, and you DID, by some flukish, unfortunate happenstance, keep your eye out for it--you will NOT be disappointed! - DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.BEST Marlon Brando film of all time. The Godfather was great, yeah, but his performance here, most notably the closing scene, was phenomenal. That right there has got to be the greatest ending of any movie ever made..EVER!
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsChristopher ReeveJane SeymourChristopher PlummerA Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.So romantic, so beautiful, the hotel.. the scenery, the music~ The chemistry between Reeve and Seymour is sheer magic! The movie was considered corny by some, but I for one loved every minute of it. Jane's performance was spendid.. charming, graceful elegance~ Christopher never looked more dashing, whether in his present-day casual preppy jacket, riding his convertable sports car, hair blowing in the wind.. or in the "outdated" for 1912 three-piece suit.. Devine.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMatthew McConaugheySandra BullockSamuel L. JacksonIn Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.One of the finest, most important, gripping, unforgettable films I've ever seen. Matthew McConaughey's extraordinary performance was, as has so often been said, truly star-making, and one of the greatest of the decade in my book.. Just as well played-out as creator John Grisham's riviting book, with not one gratuitously violent seen in the whole perfectly realised masterpiece. Exemplary cast, including Ashley Judd in a shining performance as McConaughey's wife, and Tonea Stewart as Samuel L. Jackson's wife.
May McConaughey reach the heights of his performance here, someday again. - DirectorBrian GibsonStarsJoBeth WilliamsCraig T. NelsonHeather O'RourkeThe Freeling family have a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don't seem to be over.Although I loved the first one, this one I think I liked maybe just a little more because of its various characters, and somehow, it seemed to have a bit more soul, pathos. Loved seeing Zelda Rubenstein again as "Tangina", or as Craig T. Nelson's character called her, "..the Magic Munchkin". And the grandmother, Geraldine Fitzgerald, the little she was in it, really added dimention and needed tenderness. Will Sampson, {here as "Taylor", the shaman, which he also was in real life}, again, imbued a special sense of humanity, and wonder, not really present in the first. The creepy preacher/creature played by Julian Beck also did well to give us a deeper dose of the shiv-v-vers than the original.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonAn orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.I'll come back and say more at some point about this precious gem that started it all, but for now, I'll suffice to say that for me it just doesn't get much cuter than Ronald Weasley! hehehe
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonHarry Potter lives his second year at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione when a message on the wall announces that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The trio soon realize that, to save the school, it will take a lot of courage.I love this one, I think, most especially~ Maybe because I've seen it most often, and memorised it the most.. But, also, it has some of my favourite scenes, and lines in it of the whole lot! ..."Spiders!! Why couldn't it be 'Follow the butterflies'??!!" I love allll the Harry Potter films, and the perfectly crafted score John Williams!
I truly believe this masterfully created collaberation, with a massive amount of dedication on everyone's part, to be the greatest, most successful achievement in cinematic history.. Seven consecutive stories, TEN YEARS in the making! The books by J.K. Rowling so vividly written, so masterfully thought out, we see the pages of each book come alive on the screen! As Kenneth Branaugh's character said in "..Chamber of Secrets", "It's just like magic!!!!".. It really, truly is~ - StarsCarol BurnettVicki LawrenceThe Ernie Flatt DancersTelevision show featuring skits by Carol Burnett and her comedy troupe.Never was there a funnier, more fun show---"."!
- DirectorGene SaksStarsLucille BallRobert PrestonBea ArthurFollowing the death of his father, an orphan is sent to live with his free-spirited aunt.Perhaps not the most popular film version of the classic stage play, and, indeed, perhap not the best. But from my perspective, Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur together is a perfect match! One of my all-time favourite scenes in this, or just about any movie, is their duet of "Bosom Buddies" in the restaurant, with an array of puzzled patrons looking on~ Classic! I give it a near-perfect "9" for that number alone!
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsMatthew BroderickAlan RuckMia SaraA popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.LOVE this movie! The best part? Broderick 'singing' "Twist and Shout" up on the float during the parade! Chicago just SHINES when it comes to big, spontaneous, rollicking song & dance numbers!
And as with the Harry Potter magical movies, I almost liked the co-star a bit better...allmost! But in both "Harry" and "Ferris" were fantastic! Both sets of actors worked so well off each other, I can't imagine one without the other. Perfect casting! - DirectorJeff KanewStarsRobert CarradineAnthony EdwardsTimothy BusfieldAt Adams College, a group of bullied outcasts and misfits resolve to fight back for their peace and self-respect.This movie has always held a special place in my heart. It's funny, it's silly, it's goofy, it's bawdy, it pushes the envelope, and it has, in all it's hijinx, and banality, a real take on friendship, family, loyalty, conscience, and a surprising sensitivity that you don't see in many of the high school/college/frat films made. I loved the ending, with the great climactic speech by Robert Carradine's character, "Skolnick" closely followed up by the perfect-fit song by the legendary band Queen, "We Are The Champions"... my themesong since high school~