Candidates for Greatest Movie Ever Made
Thursday, December 10th, 2009Citizen Kane is often cited as being the consensus pick for greatest movie ever made. But what if it had never been made? Or what if you just don’t want to read about it anymore? What would be the greatest movie ever made then? (Maybe I should have titled this article “The 2nd Greatest Movie Ever Made.”
One candidate for greatest film ever would be The Godfather. I’ve seen it several times, and it’s one of the most overrated movies on any list of greatest films ever. It’s one of the most quotable movies ever, maybe. (It’s featured on every best movie quotes site I’ve ever seen.) But I, for one, don’t think it will stand the test of time.
The Searchers is another potential candidate for greatest movie ever made, but I’m not sure that it’s as universal as a “classic” should be. It is a Western after all, and not every culture relates to that genre. But in terms of sheer beauty, it’s hard to imagine many movies matching the cinematography in that one.
Some people might enjoy ranking movies by genre even more. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the greatest action movie ever made was Die Hard. And It’s a Wonderful Life has no competition for the greatest Christmas movie ever made. The best courtroom drama is easily To Kill a Mockingbird. You could even rank movies according to obscure genres, like greatest Australian movie ever made. (Mad Max maybe?)
What are your candidates for greatest movie ever made?