10 Best Films of all Time - Telstra Media

 

So, what are the best movies of all time? This list includes a wide range of films, from musical to blockbuster and a classic from the golden age of Hollywood. The selection spans many genres and include some of the greatest actors, writers and directors. A number of the movies were recognised in their own time as well as cult movies or sleeper hits that took time to find an audience. Shawshank Redemption, for example, was not highly regarded or popular in theatres when it first opened, but has since risen to the top of many best movie lists.

Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane written, directed and starring (a then 25 year old) Orson Welles, opens with media mogul Charles Foster Kane dying in his mansion, Xanadu. His last word is "rosebud", and the quest to find out what it means drives a newspaper reporter to uncover the mystery.
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The Godfather (1972)
Released in 1972, the success of The Godfather made director Francis Ford Coppola a house-hold name and Al Pacino cemented his place as a Hollywood star with a stand-out performance playing the son to Marlon Brando's sinister Don Vito who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role. Brando declined the award in protest of Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americas in film.
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Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Renolds and Donald O'Connor - who won a Golden Globe for his performance. This jewel of a film maintains it's longevity because of the renowned dancing in the rain scene. The simple story of two silent movie stars forced to make the switch to sound but the gorgeous female lead has a voice that would make your hair curl. This is the perfect romantic comedy.
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E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Winning Academy Awards for sound, visual effects and sound effects editing, it remains a classic (unlike Star Wars) unmarred by corrective digital effects and additional scenes. Steven Spielberg uses his master of storytelling to subtly take us on a journey about a boy who is coming to terms with the divorce of his parents and the affect that it's had on his family. He rescues and befriends a stranded alien. It then becomes a race against time to get the alien home before he is captured by the government. This is a movie that the whole family will enjoy.
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Avatar (2009)
The first movie to ever break the US $2 billion worldwide box office and later becoming the highest grossing film in history. The largely computer-generated world and fully immersive experience of this film makes it one of the best movies of all time and went on to change the 3D film making landscape.
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Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club, like The Sixth Sense, had a twist that very few cinema-goers picked. It lead to many seeing the film multiple time to try and workout if it was a sobvious as it seemed. Starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, it won several awards out of the 19 that it was nominated for.
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Forrest Gump (1994)
This charming film has firmly intrencheded itself in popular culture with phrases like "Run Forrest run!", "Stupid is as stupid does" and Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get". The story follows Forrest Gump's life over three decades and contained ground breaking special effects that allowed Forrest to interact with Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. Tom Hank's won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his captivating and charming portrayal of Forrest Gump.
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The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix introduced us to a revolutionary and breath taking array of special effects that have gone on to be used on the red carpet in 360° gown views. The film generated over $27 million in its opening weekend and two sequels, all filmed in Sydney at Fox Studios.
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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and adapted from the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemptiom. The film centres around Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. He befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.
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Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
With a loud whip crack this film kicked off the successful franchise, entertaining audiences throughout the 1980's and propelled Harrison Ford into Hollywood stardom. Indiana Jones was turned down by Jeff Bridges and Tom Selleck was finally passed over because of Magnum P.I. This is a great film to watch alone or with the entire
family. 
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This is by no means comprehensive or exhaustive and like all 'best of lists' is subjective. There are many other films that deserve to be here, but we’d be here all night if we were to list them all. These are just some of the best movies of all time.