If You Could Only Watch 3 Movies, What Would They Be? Here are 82 Movies People Can't Live Without
I spent 1 week canvassing Facebook and Twitter asking this very question. Not "what is the best", but if you could only watch three EVER. And you had to respond quickly.
There were many different tactics people used to come up with their personal list. I received many "I'll get back to you-s" and some tried to come up with a balance of movies, while others knew exactly why they chose what they did.
It was a fun exercise. We have all read the best lists that tell us what movies are great based on who the director is or historical importance. This list describes what really hits home for the most. For example, @adimike55 on Twitter said: Pinocchio (first seen), Casablanca (have to watch beginning to end every time), Life of Brian (fall over every time I watch). He picked with sentimentality and taste. Some people completely disregard the "classics" and post simply to what makes them feel good. For example @DeannaI23 on Twitter laughed that she "is like a child" because of the (I agree that it is fabulous) choice of Benny and Joon, Casper, and Matilda. To each their own, but that is what makes it so much fun!
I composed the question the way I did in order to really get an idea of what the people's movies are. I think I may have succeeded, because I was pretty shocked. For one, the Back to the Future trilogy was named not once, but twice, before anyone responded with the original Star Wars trilogy. John Hughes was grossly underrepresented despite being a legend. No Wizard of Oz! No Willy Wonka! No John Wayne, no Elvis, no Marilyn Monroe, either.
Kevin Smith was represented well, with Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy making the cut- each by a different voter! Will Ferrell also received a lot of love. The only "Vacation" movie to make the cut was Christmas Vacation, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a clear Indy favorite, Star Wars got love for both the trilogy and individually for Empire, women don't vote that differently than men, and everyone loves Shawshank Redemption and Casablanca (the two movies coming in with the most votes).
Long movies do make the cut, with Green Mile, Titanic, and Gone with the Wind making the cut, and very few "new" movies gaining a mention and most being from before the year 2000. As far as Disney animation goes, three made the list and not one of them featured Snow White or Cinderella. The late, great Michael Clarke Duncan showed up twice with The Green Mile and Armageddon, and the recently passed Nora Ephron was represented with You've Got Mail.
I was very surprised that the only baseball movie to make the cut was Bull Durham, no Field of Dreams. And there is no mention of Rocky ( Most of the voters were from the Philadelphia region-shame on you!). I was also expecting someone to mention E.T. and Goonies, and more than one person to nominate Ferris Bueller. Also, no Hitchcock, no Shining, and no horror at all, to be exact! We like a scare, but apparently we can live without it. I think you will be a bit surprised by this list as well. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the goal of this question was to get TRUE results, not people answering by what they think they are supposed to answer. View the complete list after the jump!
Here is the complete list, by order of popularity, and then in alphabetical order. There was no instance of guiding the answers, I did not actually even post my own opinion until the very end. Those asked either like my Facebook page KimberlyWallsArtAndDesign, or follow me, @KimmayJ on Twitter.
Very few movies were mentioned more than once, with 82 total mentioned, only 13 received repeat votes. (Which I love- what a testament to the individuality behind appreciating a story!) But one what was mentioned several times will shock you.
Drum roll please!
Here they are, the movies that we simply cannot live without!
Multiple mentions:
1 Mention Each:
And a special thanks to everyone who was a part of the poll. Thanks for your help and the fun discussions that ensued!
There were many different tactics people used to come up with their personal list. I received many "I'll get back to you-s" and some tried to come up with a balance of movies, while others knew exactly why they chose what they did.
It was a fun exercise. We have all read the best lists that tell us what movies are great based on who the director is or historical importance. This list describes what really hits home for the most. For example, @adimike55 on Twitter said: Pinocchio (first seen), Casablanca (have to watch beginning to end every time), Life of Brian (fall over every time I watch). He picked with sentimentality and taste. Some people completely disregard the "classics" and post simply to what makes them feel good. For example @DeannaI23 on Twitter laughed that she "is like a child" because of the (I agree that it is fabulous) choice of Benny and Joon, Casper, and Matilda. To each their own, but that is what makes it so much fun!
I composed the question the way I did in order to really get an idea of what the people's movies are. I think I may have succeeded, because I was pretty shocked. For one, the Back to the Future trilogy was named not once, but twice, before anyone responded with the original Star Wars trilogy. John Hughes was grossly underrepresented despite being a legend. No Wizard of Oz! No Willy Wonka! No John Wayne, no Elvis, no Marilyn Monroe, either.
Kevin Smith was represented well, with Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy making the cut- each by a different voter! Will Ferrell also received a lot of love. The only "Vacation" movie to make the cut was Christmas Vacation, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a clear Indy favorite, Star Wars got love for both the trilogy and individually for Empire, women don't vote that differently than men, and everyone loves Shawshank Redemption and Casablanca (the two movies coming in with the most votes).
Long movies do make the cut, with Green Mile, Titanic, and Gone with the Wind making the cut, and very few "new" movies gaining a mention and most being from before the year 2000. As far as Disney animation goes, three made the list and not one of them featured Snow White or Cinderella. The late, great Michael Clarke Duncan showed up twice with The Green Mile and Armageddon, and the recently passed Nora Ephron was represented with You've Got Mail.
I was very surprised that the only baseball movie to make the cut was Bull Durham, no Field of Dreams. And there is no mention of Rocky ( Most of the voters were from the Philadelphia region-shame on you!). I was also expecting someone to mention E.T. and Goonies, and more than one person to nominate Ferris Bueller. Also, no Hitchcock, no Shining, and no horror at all, to be exact! We like a scare, but apparently we can live without it. I think you will be a bit surprised by this list as well. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the goal of this question was to get TRUE results, not people answering by what they think they are supposed to answer. View the complete list after the jump!
Here is the complete list, by order of popularity, and then in alphabetical order. There was no instance of guiding the answers, I did not actually even post my own opinion until the very end. Those asked either like my Facebook page KimberlyWallsArtAndDesign, or follow me, @KimmayJ on Twitter.
Very few movies were mentioned more than once, with 82 total mentioned, only 13 received repeat votes. (Which I love- what a testament to the individuality behind appreciating a story!) But one what was mentioned several times will shock you.
Drum roll please!
Here they are, the movies that we simply cannot live without!
Multiple mentions:
·
Casablanca (4 mentions)
·
Shawshank Redemption (4 mentions)
·
Christmas Vacation (3 mentions)
·
Stepbrothers (3 mentions)
·
A Few Good Men (2 mentions)
·
Anchorman (2 mentions)
·
Back to the Future Trilogy (2)
·
The Godfather (2)
·
Gone with the Wind (2)
·
GoodFellas (2)
·
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (2)
·
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (2)
·
Star Wars Trilogy (2)
1 Mention Each:
·
21 Jump Street
·
A Bronx Tale
·
Anastasia
·
Animal House
·
Armageddon
·
As Good as it Gets
·
Beauty and the Beast
·
Bennie and Joon
·
The Big Lebowski
·
Body Heat
·
Boondock Saints
·
Bull Durham
·
Casper
·
Centerstage
·
Chasing Amy
·
Clerks
·
Clueless
·
Crazy Stupid Love
·
The Dark Knight
·
Dumb and Dumber
·
Eddie and the Cruisers
·
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
·
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
·
Fletch
·
Footloose (Original)
·
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
·
Forrest Gump
·
The Fountain
·
The Green Mile
·
Groundhog Day
·
Heat
·
HeavyWeights
·
Hitch
·
Hudsucker Proxy
·
Inception
·
Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark
·
Inglorious Bastards
·
Jaws
·
Kung Fu Hustle
·
Life of Brian
·
The Lion King
·
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
·
Love & Basketball
·
Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
·
Malcom X
·
Mallrats
·
Matilda
·
The Mighty Ducks
·
Money Pit
·
Murder by Death
·
The Notebook
·
Pinocchio
·
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
·
Purple Rain
·
Reversal of Fortune
·
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
·
Rudy
·
The Sandlot
·
Saving Private Ryan
·
Shadow of the Thin Man
·
Shaun of the Dead
·
Showgirls
·
Superbad
·
Titanic
·
Tombstone
·
Top Gun
·
The Wedding Singer
·
What a Girl Wants
·
You’ve Got Mail
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What do you think was under or over represented? Discuss!And a special thanks to everyone who was a part of the poll. Thanks for your help and the fun discussions that ensued!
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