[Perfect Stu]

Originally posted by playa_playa
Hmmm, I don't know if there could be a crisp and absolute rubric that would guide me in picking the best movie of all time. The truth is, rating a movie depends on people's differing standards of what really distinguishes a great movie. Some people think the enjoyment factor should be the sole standard. While some people would argue that the mastery of the craft of movie making (direction, screenplay, theme etc.) is the only factor that should be taken into consideration.

The purpose, or the essence, of a movie to me, however, is how much it allows me to feel the experience the movie is trying to portray. In other words, a great movie (notice that I stay away from using the word good; there is a profound qualitative difference) allows me to feel as if I have lived the situations in the movie. A great movie is one in which I can vicariously live the situation which that movie tries to portray.

There are some movies that totally ignore this principle. And yet, I admire them wholeheartedly. "Chungking Express" and all of Wong-Kar Wai's movies come to mind. His movies are about expression of emotions through the medium typically associated with films, with an emphasis on an artistic metamorphosis and transcendence of film.

The fact that there are movies which I enjoy and admit are great that also disregards my principle of great movies should serve as a testament that deciding which movies are "best" can be an endless attempt. In short, there are no "BEST" movies. But certainly there are movies which are better than others.

With that said, my favorites are:

"Seven Samurai" - Akira Kurosawa
"A Better Tomorrow" - John Woo
"Fallen Angels" - Wong-Kar Wai
"Crimes and Misdemeanors" - Woody Allen
"Casino" - Martin Scorsese
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - Ang Lee
and countless others...

I lost you right after you said "Hmmm,"

nice post