Top 3 films ...

[cunninglinguist]

Of all time, of any genre.

For me:-

Godfather
Shawshank Redemption
Close Encounters Of The 3rd Kind

[pompeygun]

I'd go
The Godfather
Shawshank

Either American Beauty or LA Confidential in 3rd, I love em both tbh.

[BlueAdder]

Always amazes me that Shawshank scores such high marks. I thought it was average at best. Difficult to classify films as there is a reaction you had twenty years ago when first seen, or same film on TV today when judged against more recent TV and film.
I loved 'Where Eagles Dare' and 'Doctor Zhivago' thirty years ago. Like 'Saving Pt.Ryan' and 'Schindler's List' more recently.
Sadly, my all time favourite and definitely seen the most times is 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', no accounting for taste is there?

[lovedeanblue]

The Great Escape for sure.

[Corkhead]

Blimey, my brain hurts. This is too difficult for a Monday morning.

1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. Schindler's List
3. 2001 Space Odyssey

And Zulu.
And The Duellists

And One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
And The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

And Gladiator
And Master and Commander

And anything with Jack Nicholson including Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces.

And anything with Tommy Lee Jones

[pompeygun]

Schindlers List is indeed brilliant, but I found it so harrowing. The little girls red coat-well that has to be one of the most emotive/moving pieces of film making ever.

[Corkhead]

True Gunny, but for harrowing in the same genre, Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Totally heartbreaking.

Also The Counterfeiters and Polanski's The Pianist. I know Polanski is not fashionable for obvious reasons but I thought his remake of Oliver Twist was totally brilliant.

[chiswickmart]

Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan are great films, but I've always thought that Spielberg used a shock tactic to make his films seem better than they are. Whilst his D Day landings in Private Ryan are brilliant, it's a very long winded story afterwards.

Not sure who said it earlier in the thread, but I also think of which films blew me away when I first saw them. So therefore my 3 will be...

Apocalypse Now
True Romance
Shawshank Redemption

[Andy68]

True Romance - Most certainly

Southern Comfort - Blew me away

Deliverance - In my opinion Burt Reynolds best film.

I can't stop at 3...it is going to have to be 6!

Apocalypse Now has to be in there too!

and so too

Misery.. truly gripping!

and

The Deer Hunter.

[PompeyGlenn]

1. Close encounters of the 3rd kind - blew me away when I first saw it
2. The Graduate - because I like Dustin H & the soundtrack was A*
3. Big Fish - 'cause it reminded me of my old man.

I'm sure there are far far better movies than these but these 3 sort of stuck with me.