Most Inspirational Films

One of the best films of all time. Christmas classic, Philosophical genius, each person's life touches many others. With the complex, engrossing, Everyman performance by Stewart as George Bailey. Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. Winner of my Top Family Film. Winner of my Most Inspirational Film. Winner of my Best Christmas Movies.

The greatest hero ever Atticus Finch in the greatest courtroom drama ever. Lives up to Harper Lee's novel, which I was inspired to read after watching the film. We all need a lesson in compassion and the evils of prejudice from time to time, and it is here to give it. Robert Duvall is really scary as recluse Boo Radley. Winner of my Classic Courtroom Films.

Spielberg's ulimate masterpiece, A profoundly shocking, disturbing film, like the nightmare that was the Holocaust.

Rocky is a rare combination of a great sport film, a great inspirational film and a great guy film. But more than anything it's inspirational story and central character Rocky are the key to it sucess as a great film. There are plenty of guy sports films but rarely any inspirational ones. Rocky inspires glory in the underdog, the average joe and makes you stand up and cheer. This would not be possible however if it wasn't for the great hero Rocky. Rocky played by Stallone in his best performance, is not only likeable but a true hero for our times. Winner of Best Picture, on the AFI Top 100 and Rocky ranked as the 7th greatest hero, Rocky is a winner. "Yo, Adrian!"

A more Patrotic film you will not find. One of Capra's best ever. A gripping, exhilarating drama. Attacks the corrupt powerful political machine of Washington politics full on. The end secene is riveting, stirring and triumphant.

"Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there."

Spielberg's very personal, heartwarming masterpiece, could almost be classic Disney. With it's portrayal of the love between a young, boy and a lost alien. E.T. "E.T. phone home.", Classic.

"Houston, we have a problem."

It may not look it but this is a Dark World War II drama. The Matter Of Principal. With the famous bridge that embodies the absurdities of war. Guiness seals himself as one of the greatest British actors. One of the best war films made.

Brilliantly acted and confronting

Earnest adaptation, that staryed away too much from Ken Kesey's novel. Jack Nicholson's war on "the system" is fought for freedom, but freedom from what? the 'limited' freedom they achieve is more like slavery to their passions. Nurse Ratched is one of the greatest villans in Cinema. Loved the book didn't like the movie, as much

Shawshank Redemption is a Modern-Day, Moral Masterpeice. What struck me more than anything after watching the film, was how inspirational and philosophical it was, a modern Christian parable with true Christian principles, hope, salvation and redemption. In my belife the greatest films all acomplish the same thing, go transcend the escapism, the entertainment and the artificiality that most films are prone to and become a form of teaching, philosophy or guide to our everyday lives. The audience can take something with them out of the theatre into their personal lives and use it to battle the troubles and situations they faced. Shawshank Redemption is one such film. It's suberb acting, easy going 'let me tell you a story' mood and it's inspirational story cement it as a film without measure, as if taken from old Hollywood and mixed with modern events. One of the greatest films I have ever seen. "Get busy living or get busy dying that's goddamn right."

The Perfect Film. Casablanca is one of my favourite films. To me it represents everything a film should, i.e. the perfect film. The most quoted, and loved of films. A great love story, great action, mystery, suspence, sadness, comdey all in equal greatness. The greatest romantic drama of wartime sacrifice. The great Classic, with the classic song, "As Time Goes By" perfect cast, Bogart, Bergman, Rains, the Academy Award for Best Picture and more famous quotes than any other. "I think this is the begining of a beautiful friendship"and ".Here's looking at you, kid." and "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By." and "Round up the usual suspects." and "We'll always have Paris." and "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Winner of my Best Film from the 1940's. Winner of my Top Romantic Films.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, Way up high, There's a land that I heard of, Once in a lullaby, Somewhere over the rainbow, Skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream, Really do come true." Simply the stuff that dreams are made of. The ageless, timeless words of the dreams of the young and the old, a dream that everyone is familiar with and surely has dreamt of once in their lifetime. The Wizard of Oz is a very much like a dream that really does come true. The ultimate family, fairytale and fantasy film that is universally loved and cherished. The journey down the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Wizard of Oz that tapped into the deep dreams and imagination of generations from the 1930s to today. A journey that made Judy Garland a star, along with the great characters of Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. A journey through the magical Technicolor Land of Oz, that made Hollywood the dream factory that it is famous for. A journey that reminds us that there is "There's no place like home," entered upon the world's cultural consciousness. Perennially ranked among the top ten best movies of all-time in various critics' and popular polls, and has provided as many indelible quotes such as: "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," "There's no place like home" and "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" Yet more than anything in the film it's signature song "Somewhere over the rainbow," sung soulfully by the young Judy Garland and voted the greatest movie song of all time by the AFI, is what makes the Wizard of Oz one of the greatest films of all time. Winner of my Greatest Song Films.

One of my new all-time favourite films. Has one of the best, most romantic tearful, endings ever. The best of the phenomeon that was Charlie Chaplin.

As always Old Fashioned Hollywood Superb portrait of India's great political and spiritual leader comes to life in Ben Kingsley's authoritative yet sensitive performance. Director Richard Attenborough's epic-scale production re-creates Gandhi's life and times, especially his use of non-violence and hunger strikes to bring together the diverse peoples of India and unify them as a nation. The funeral sequence was filmed on January 31, 1981, 33 years to the day after Gandhi's real funeral. Approximately 300,000 extras were used in that scene, the most for any filmepic Winner of my Top Biopic Films.

From T. E. Lawrence's memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the Majestic adventure and character drama - the epic story of T. E. Lawrence played to perfection by Peter O'Toole. The cinematography is unequaled by anything I have seen. Winner of my Best of the British Films.

Excellent concept poor portrayl. To test your family's socially liberal resolve bring home a racial different boy/girlfriend for dinner and see what happens. Despite it's faults it is moving, especially for a scene in which the parents reflect on the power of love. I can't believe Hepburn won another Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.

Crushing Classic, the Great Gritty drama of union corruption memorable, mainly, for Brando's best performance. The end scene on the docks is unforgettable. A must see Classic. Won Best Picture. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."

A simple, kind man changes history. With flashbacks through some of the highlights of modern American history. It is such a fascinating story as he becomes central to the major events of the late 20th century. I thought it was very clever how, through the use of seamless digital visual imagery, Forrest appears to interact in scenes with famous historical people. "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

"When you wish apon a star, your dreams will come true". The great music and characters of Pinocchio, Gepetto and Jimminy added with the moral lessons of being good create a Disney Classic. 'When You Wish Upon A Star' is the best Disney song ever.

"Along time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." The first of an epic space opera franchise and a fictional universe by writer/director George Lucas that has expanded and evolved since 1977 to become a worldwide pop culture phenomenon that has no rival. The beginning of the series to end all series, a film that may not be about history but certainly maked history. Spawining two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, a prequel trilogy and an Expanded Star Wars Universe that virtually created a lifestyle brand. A worldwide epic that has had a irreversible impact on not just the Sci-Fi genre but on films in general. One of the main reasons the film is so great is that despite being about a "galaxy far away", set in a "along time ago", the characters, themes and story are firmly rooted in old hollywood. In the iconic scene where Luke Skywalker looks longfully to the hrizion (with two suns) he could be Dorothy in the Wizard Of Oz, or James Dean, the scene of the lightsaber duel between the wise Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Guinness) and the ultimate villain, the black-garbed sinister Lord Darth Vader (voice of Jones), could be a scene from a medieval swashbuckler epic. The whole film is filled with allusions to the past despite being filled with aliens and galactic battle ships, a quasi-Western film about a battle as old as time between good (the rebel forces) and evil (the Imperial Galactic Empire). Star Wars is an ultimate spectacular space adventure that combines the old and the new: from a desert farm to Jabba the Hutt; the big and the small: from the epic battle between the Rebels and Empire to a simple coming of age story; and good verses evil. Truly one of the greatest sagas ever told and one of the greatest films ever put to screen. "May the force be with you." Winner of my Greatest Film Scores.

All time great war time film. Geer Garson is stunning. Winner of my Greatest War film, World War 2.

The greatest musical ever. A stroke of purer cinema and musical genius by two of Hollywood's greatest musical composers Rodgers and Hammerstein, who's names have become synonymous with the Hollywood musical. From the famous opening shot of Maria daydreaming, standing arms open wide on top of a mountain singing one of the greatest songs in cinema "The Sound of Music" through the Von Trapp family, the romance and marriage and the war to the end credits of the family escaping over the mountains The Sound of Music is filled with a mixture of comedy, love, romance, suspense and the most wonderful collection of songs one film has ever held. Such songs as the incomparable "The Sound of Music", "Maria," "My Favorite Things," "You Are Sixteen, Going On Seventeen," "Climb Every Mountain," "Do-Re-Mi," and "Edelweiss." The Sound of Music stands as the monumental musical, imitated but never duplicated, a musical masterpiece that celebrates music of every kind from a symphonic waltz to a simple guitar, epic and intimate. Not only a musical milestone, The Sound of Music has become a cultural event, as such I have been on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria, one of the highest grossing films of all time and certainly one of the most popular films ever. A personally much loved classic that strikes a note in every heart. Winner of my Best Film from the 1960's.

The gripping, penetrating, and engrossing examination of a group of twelve jurors in a 'seemingly' open-and-shut murder trial case.

Gone With The Wind stands as the most enduring symbol of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Arguably the most loved film of all time and one of the greatest; Gone With The Wind is clearly one of filmdom's greatest cinematic achievements. Winner of ten Academy Awards including Best Picture, it broke the records and created one that would stand for many decades. It has sold more tickets than any other film in history and adjusting for inflation, the film is the highest grossing of all time. Scanning the South's tragic history during the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, told from the view of Scarlet O'Hara, Gone With The Wind is primarily a star-studded Civil War epic drama. However it is so much more than that, it is one of only two films that truly represent America, the other being The Godfather. Set during the time when the nation was forged it has become etched in the American cultural psyche. Gone With The Wind is about war, history, social class, politics, race, work, fashion, the land, language, religion, romance, relationships, death, gender roles, regional distinctions all seen through the lens of the American experience heightened by the "Immortal tale of the old South". Scarlet O'Hara, the indomitable, selfish, fiery Southern belle, played by Vivien Liegh in her greatest performance steals the show and creates a character that encapsulates a great leading lady performance. What makes her character as great as it is, is her twisted romance with Rhett Butler, Clarke Gable, culminating in the greatest line in movie history 'Frankly My Dear I don't give a damn'. It also includes other great lines such as "After all, tomorrow is another day!" and "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." Pure classic, pure great, pure cinema. Winner of my Best Film from the 1930's.

One of my new all time favourite movies, simply perfection. The best silent film ever and one of the greatest comedies ever. Poetry in motion.

Top of all Sci movies. Cooly spectacular science fiction space epic, Kubrick's best. The First space scene is one of my favourite scenes ever, with Strausses Waltz playing to the glory of mankind. The meaning of the film's final sequence, however, is really confusing. HAL 9000 the computer, with that clam voice is unforgettable. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." Winner of my Greatest Science Fiction Films.

Simply a classic in every way. The unlikely love story and rousing romantic adventure in Africa, between Katherin Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Both rated as Best actress and actor ever by the AFI. The chemistry, characterisation and dialogue is pure gold.

O Captain! My Captain! A film that can be uplifting, heart warming, moving and trgic but always unforgettable. "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

The definition of an Epic. 11 Oscars, huge box office and really long. Its depiction of Jesus Christ was also extremely subtle and reverant. This epic, character-driven story features Heston as the title character in his carrer defining role. By far the film's most impressive and legendary action scene - is the spectacularly famous chariot race. Winner of my Greatest Chase Scene.

Spielberg's Spectacular science fiction fantasy. Genius mystery that celebrates the possibility of friendly alien life. The final culmination with the rendezvous with alien creatures is creepy but awe inspiring. Groundbreaking special effects and always great John Williams score. I really hate Richard Dreyfuss.

Julia Robert's career best role as Erin Brockovich one of hollywood's greatest heros. Nominated for Best Picture. Winner of my Top 2000 Films.