Ask HN: What is your favorite movie? And why do you like it?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5546358

by xijuan • 13 years ago

23 58 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

jtchang• 13 years ago

Armageddon! How much cooler can you get with NASA sending up a team to blow up an asteroid?!

xd• 13 years ago

How about jump starting the planet in The Core.

a3n• 13 years ago

The Third Man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_third_man

Orson Wells. Black and white. Noir. Photography. Impossible love story. The score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oEsWi88Qv0

joshsegall2• 13 years ago

Good one! Best use of zither music ever.

aaronbrethorst• 13 years ago

Blade Runner, but not the theatrical version with the phoned-in narration. Director's Cut or Final Cut. It's a beautifully-shot noir film whose special effects hold up even today, and has a very interesting take on the nature of humanity.

Edit: Harrison Ford on his narration: "It was simply bad narration." http://web.archive.org/web/20080603083514/http://www.harriso...

gnosis• 13 years ago

The original, with Harrison Ford's voice-overs, was perfect.

The various-re-releases such as the Director's Cut ruined it.

I hate Director's Cuts! They invariably make great movies worse. Why can't Hollywood leave well-enough alone? Why do they feel the need to mess with something that was great to begin with?

kken• 13 years ago

>The original, with Harrison Ford's voice-overs, was perfect.

Sometimes I wish HN would allows downvotes...

xijuan4• 13 years ago

I watch mostly Chinese movies. I think my favorite one is "You Are The Apple of My Eye". You can watch it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4gZIolIrxw&list=FLSZdbc5...

It is a love story about first love. This is one of those stories which everyone can relate to some extant. It is a very very cute story.

It has English subtitles!

clicks• 13 years ago

I think movie media (with subtitles) is one of the best ways to learn a language. I have been trying to learn Mandarin for a few months now, so can you please make some more suggestions? Thanks!

xijuan4• 13 years ago

I was just looking through all the Chinese movies I know on youtube.. It seems that most of them do not have subtitles... I will keep looking and see if I can find a few more.

wqfeng2• 13 years ago

I used to create a Chinese movie list for a friend from France. http://movie.douban.com/doulist/1317587/ Hope it helps.

xijuan4• 13 years ago

I am not sure if it is relevant. The most famous Chinese dating show now has a channel on youtube and the show supports English subtitles. I just took a look at it. The translation is very accurate and they show English and Chinese at the same time. I think it can be very helpful for you in learning English. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmGYsqlsbdQ

xijuan4• 13 years ago

Hey, I have found another youtube Chinese movie with subtitle. You probably have heard of this movie. It is Lust Caution, a very very famous movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQgpbC4hvHg

cyphersanctus• 13 years ago

Enter The Void. A powerful parade of colors that takes you through the different stages of death. One does not simply watch this movie. One experiences it.

haukur• 13 years ago

When I saw it more than half the audience walked out. There was even a couple that walked out just before the credits started rolling (for those who haven't seen it, it's almost three hours long).

Excellent film.

richardjordan• 13 years ago

Lawrence of Arabia - man comes to believe in his own myth

(plus the stunning cinematography and incredible nature of the true - though dramatized - story)

petercooper• 13 years ago

Koyaanisqatsi. It reminds me how big the world is and how everything is ultimately connected together in some way or another. Plus, good music and no dialogue which is a bonus.

s_tec• 13 years ago

Yes, Koyaanisqatsi is my favourite too. This is a film with no characters, plot, or dialogue. Instead, it offers 90 minutes of images set to music. The film begins with shots of nature, such as clouds, lakes, and mountains, and slowly moves its way into civilization, with roads, mines, cities, factories, and endless throngs of people. Watching this film is a unique experience, and really allows you to see the world in a different light. Plus, it's great art.

rudimk• 13 years ago

Spy Game - starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Guess it's the only spy thriller out there, that talks about the dirtier side of espionage, yet how it's up to the inhabitants of that dark corner, to not sell their souls.

razibog• 13 years ago

The Matrix, first movie, I love how everything has a parallel with our own world, also a lot of the movies ideas, messages have underlying concepts in Buddhism, which is just cool.

redliner51• 13 years ago

Rocky - Reminds to never give up, dream and reach goals.

lfcode• 13 years ago

Drive. Blown away by it. Thought it was another car racing film after seeing the trailer, but it was actually IMHO the best film in 2011. Edit: Forgot the why: Minimalistic. Beathiful Story and propably the best music editing in a film.

LaSombra2• 13 years ago

Same here. Not my favourite but I was totally blown away by it. It looks almost like an art movie for its photography is extraordinary.

EDIT: The trailer didn't make it justice.

curiousfiddler• 13 years ago

Shawshank Redemption: "Never ever ever ever ever give up"!

vs4vijay2• 13 years ago

Awesome movie..

vs4vijay2• 13 years ago

The Godfather...Everybody knows why..

prakster• 13 years ago

Absolutely.

alcuadrado• 13 years ago

Rule number one: You don't talk about your favorite movie

amirjalali• 13 years ago

Rocky, Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

techwraith• 13 years ago

The Fountain: for it's seemingly-naive-but-deep take on the effects of death on those who experience it.

gghootch• 13 years ago

Always used to be Children of Men and/or La cite des enfants perdus. First is the most intense movie I have ever seen, some scenes literally blew my mind. Latter is very dark whilst beautiful and sweet, like Amélie but better - more techfriendlly.

-------------- Don't really like trailers, but still --------------

Children of Men: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VT2apoX90o

La cité des enfants perdus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSPmtX5KzEw

bitboxer• 13 years ago

Night on Earth. 5 cities, 5 cab drivers, 5 stories. Just beautiful storytelling. If you haven't seen it, you totally should

qw• 13 years ago

Groundhog Day. It's a comedy with some dark elements in it. And it's also something that I would like to experience myself so long as I could resume normal time when I wanted to. A day with no consequences would be fun.

algopats• 13 years ago

it is in fact possible, though in a different way :) You need to achieve nirvana (look up buddha writings, Zen interpretations, nagarjuna's core points, nisargadatta's "i am that" NO BS spoon feed, in that order. And may be add-in bhagavata gita for a fun read). HTH.

nivstein• 13 years ago

I think that for me it's "Spirited away" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiEzl7SEtkI

The story of how the heroine matures in front of our eyes as the weight of the world is placed upon her shoulders was really moving to me. Coupled with beautiful hand-drawn animation and an overall sense of gentleness and wander, it's been an real favorite for me which I enjoy watching time over time.

peterhi• 13 years ago

2001 a Space odyssey - Saw it on a school trip when it came out. Have watched it dozens of times since then

Also Metropolis.

ErrantX• 13 years ago

Metropolis is a fantastic film!

I've never been into silent films, but last year my brother conducted a performance of Metropolis (live orchestra of the film score) and I was blown away by how good it was!

joshsegall2• 13 years ago

I second 2001. Way ahead of its time in special effects and realism about space. The cinematography is Kubrik at his best. Plus it was the first film I ever felt was mind expanding.

intellectronica• 13 years ago

Drowning by Numbers - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092929/

- It's gorgeous. Not like a movie, but like a collection of hundreds of beautiful pictures. - It's geeky. I had to watch the movie dozens of times and read the script to understand all the allusions and references.

eterps• 13 years ago

My favourite:

Let the right one in (the original version), beautiful atmospheric movie: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt1139797

Other recommendations:

City of God, harsh but realistic: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0317248

Barefoot Gen, shock and awe, made me cry, IMHO better than Grave of the Fireflies: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0085218/

The Chaser, breathtaking thriller: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt1190539/

The Andromeda Strain, now this is real SF: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0066769

The Man from Earth, good low budget SF: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0756683

Castaway on the Moon: funny movie about a man that 'bootstraps' his life on a 'stranded island' after a failed suicide attempt: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1499666/

I saw the devil, violent but very good thriller: http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt1588170/?ref_=sr_1

trumbitta2• 13 years ago

Castaway on the Moon is great, and insightful.

pfg• 13 years ago

City of God is amazing.

txet• 13 years ago

Vitus - A perfect combination of all story elements, simply genius.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478829/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

LaSombra2• 13 years ago

I think my favourite is Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind. A beautiful love story talking about how hard it is to forget your true love, how regrets can consume you and that everyone deserves a second chance.

joshguthrie• 13 years ago

I'm upvoting this until I ask to have my memories removed.

bsenftner• 13 years ago

Search online for the script. The original was posted somewhere, and you can learn how the story had much more depth in its original form, but due to time constraints and editing a good 1/4 of the script never made it to the screen. Well worth tracking down!

mdsw1• 13 years ago

Saving Private Ryan. It's the first time I had any kind of idea as to the suffering these people went through to give us our freedom. I know it is a film, and it is dramatized, but you watch that and it will give you some sense as to what it must have been like that. After watching that, and then Band of Brothers, the famous phrase "For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today" made a lot more sense to me.

mazsa• 13 years ago

The Kingdom (Lars von Trier, 1994) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108906/ (The Kingdom II, Lars von Trier, 1997: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127392/ ), do not confuse it with the remake Kingdom Hospital, 2004 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324864/

jensnockert• 13 years ago

Not really a movie, but it is amazing. Doubly so if you are Swedish (or possibly Danish)

carlyle4545• 13 years ago

American Psycho (2000) because you shouldn't just look at it, you should eat it. (Too obscure?)

dccoolgai• 13 years ago

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011). A poignant reminder of the difference between real honor and superficial/dogmatic show.

afsina• 13 years ago

Cannot say one favorite. But Children of Heaven impressed me a lot when I saw it first. Perhaps because I saw the innocence of children that we have long lost.. Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle are also very good.

richardkmichael• 13 years ago

Many enjoyable films posted already. No one has mentioned 'Primer' (2004/Shane Carruth). Respectable as hard sci-fi, and inspiring as an independent project (Carruth did almost everything himself.) I suggest watching before you read anything about it.

For non sci-fi, 'Old boy' (2003/Chan-wook Park) was memorable - fun concept, well acted and a good ending too.

jjkmk• 13 years ago

Fight Club - The most relevant movie of this generation. Addresses issues such as consumerism, the over feminisation of young men.

olivier1664• 13 years ago

Batman - The Dark Knight: Clever bad guy, goods characters, believable, fantastic, long movie.

(It is not original, it just take what Holliwood do for long know, and it do it very well.)

skilesare• 13 years ago

The Big Lebowski - It is good to know that there is someone out there taking it easy for all of us sinners.

Ask HN: What is your favorite movie? And why do you like it?

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