Top Five Favorite Films of All Time

As a film student, I feel it is important that my loyal readers should know not necessarily what I consider to be the best films of all time, but what are my favorite films of all time. RottenTomatoes does this feature where people come on and speak about their top five favorite films, and so I feel I should do something similar.

1. Ran (1985) Dir: Akira Kurosawa

Kurosawa has been revered immensely by some of the best directors of our time, like Coppola, Scorsese, Spielberg, and Lucas (just to name a few). His epic adaptation of William Shakespeare's King Lear is a masterpiece in itself - with beautiful cinematography, acting, set design, and story. Kurosawa takes liberties with the play -but makes it all work. He went beyond the job of director and took it a step further, constructing buildings and creating authentic explosions, painting full scale storyboards, and using thousands of extras and production necessities to create a marvel of a film, it is my opinion that Ran is the best film of all time.

2. Rashomon (1950) Dir: Akira Kurosawa

Though it is over half a century old and under 90 minutes long, Rashomon has not at all lost its touch. What may have made this film so famous is the way it manipulated narrative. So many films in Hollywood and around the world have borrowed ruthlessly from this film, but what elevates Rashomon beyond these other mundane titles is the human feeling that comes with the film. The acting is so convincing, the direction is so daring, and the pacing is so perfect, that Rashomon his the high mark on all levels.

3. Raging Bull (1980) Dir: Martin Scorsese

This movie is on most top critics' lists, and there's a reason for it. Scorsese's shooting style and technique, his choice to shoot the movie in black and white, and his depiction of machismo is what elevates this film beyond the typical sports movie. Robert DeNiro's portrayal of Jake LaMotta is unflinching and brings out the method actor that Hollywood used to have. This film is a study on humanity, and it chronicles the rise and fall of one of the greatest fighters of all time, and brings in an unconventional character who tragically destroys his own life, a man who does not fit in with the world, with a hot temper and fists of steel - a mad man; a raging bull.

4. The 400 Blows (1959) Dir: Francois Truffaut

I never thought the French New Wave would influence me so much until I saw this film. This semi-autobiographical account is a story of growing up, and as we see the challenges that the protagonist Antoine faces, we realize the importance of morality and childhood in our everyday lives. Beautifully shot and written, The 400 Blows was the start of a new era in film-making, it began a trilogy and the career of one of the world's greatest directors.

5. 8 1/2 (1963) Dir: Federico Fellini

The first time I saw this movie - I hated it. I had no idea what was going on, I felt lost and bored. But when I re-watched it and took a second, third, then fourth glance, I realized how important of a film it was. As personal as it is imaginative, it contains Marcello Mastrioni's best performance as the womanizing morally conflicted Guido, incredible black and white cinematography, and clever writing that reminds us that this film is a drama, a musical, a comedy, an everything - it is life.

Other of my favorite films include: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1961), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Godfather Parts I and II, Apocalypse Now (1979), Pulp Fiction (1994), La Vita e Bella (1998), La Dolce Vita, Citizen Kane (1942) - of course.