Our Favourite Films of All Time

Before Sunset

Truly great movies transport you somewhere completely different - dragging you into the lives of fictional beings, making you care about their story almost more than your own. And very few do this better than all three films from Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. With each intoxicating instalment, you’re immersed in the beauty and brutality, the highs and lows, the squabbles and seductions, of Jesse and Celine’s captivating relationship.

Yet what makes Before Sunset the greatest of the lot is how short its runtime is. Nah, I’m just joshin’. It’s how real it is. While Before Sunrise is a dreamy, hazy deep-dive into the excitement of young romance, Sunset strips back the magic, exploring the challenges of broken relationships and mulling over what could have been. Hawke and Delpy get screenwriting credits here, and their chemistry is never more engrossing than it is in this eighty-minute tour of the French capital. By the time the credits roll, and Celine is serenading Jesse with a song - making him seriously question all of his life choices in the process - your heart is aching and your eyes are watering. That’s the power of filmmaking. George White (Editor)

American Beauty

Picking the best film is hard. Do you judge its artistic quality? Its cleverness? Its cinematography? The answer isn’t clear. But, when I think of my favourite films, they’re the ones that impacted me emotionally. Usually, they’re the ones that brought me to tears or changed my perspective in some way. That’s why, for my pick, I’m choosing American Beauty. Released in 1999 (the same year I was born), it’s the story of Lester Burnham’s midlife crisis in suburban America. But really, it’s a tale of finding the beauty in the everyday, alongside the violence that can live within the minds of a small, tight-knit community. A film that plays with opposites to create a perfect balance, it’s worth watching. Lizzy O’Riordan (Assistant Editor)

Johnny Guitar

Jean-Luc Godard once declared that "Cinema is Nicholas Ray". It is hard to argue with this sentiment upon seeing the luscious and vivid vistas of Ray's deeply romantic Western. Ray constructs each frame like an expressionistic painting, with such deep and powerful colours that make it look like no other Western produced in the 1950s. Sexual repression, political violence and melancholic loneliness are all rife in the film's small town setting which simmers to boil over the course of its two hour runtime. Johnny Guitar floundered to find an audience when it was first released in America, mostly due to its very blatant and graphic depiction of the anti-communist witch hunt raging through Hollywood at the time. Over time however, mostly due to Cahier du Cinema critics such as Godard and Truffaut, the film has been correctly readjusted in the cinematic zeitgeist; rightly becoming acclaimed as the strange but absolutely wonderful film that it is. Oliver Parker (Screen Co-Editor)

Your Name

Makoto Shinkai's animated body-swap romance is a film that not only left a profound impact on me the first time I saw it, but finds me deepening my appreciation of it upon each subsequent watch. Its attention to detail is breathtaking, from the subtle differences in body language between the two leads, to the spellbinding photorealistic backdrops of both bustling central Tokyo and the serene Japanese countryside. Your Name excels at being several things all at once, including an almost documentarian depiction of modern-day Japan and a thoughtful analysis of gender identity – but first and foremost, it's an absolute masterpiece of melodrama which never fails to bring me to tears. A rollercoaster of a film filled with great characters, beautiful visuals and an anthemic soundtrack, it's a truly life-affirming work of art. Jamie Morris (Screen Co-Editor)

Almost Famous

As someone who has dreamt of a career in music journalism, you’d think I’d have been familiar with this film for a while. But I was entirely oblivious to it, perhaps because it came out before I was even born - until I was interviewing Roy Stride from Scouting for Girls and he recommended it to me. 

Set in the early 1970s, a high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour. Sounds like a dream, right? Yet as the tour goes on, he realises that the music industry can be chaotic, messy and out-of-control behind the scenes. This semi-autobiographical tale (Cameron Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone) is a must for any journalist, aspiring journalist, or anyone who is interested in the music industry in any way. Yes, things may not be as glamorous as you’d expect, but Almost Famous captures the spirit of rock and roll perfectly. Gemma Cockrell 

The Gentlemen

There is something about a Guy Ritchie movie that leaves you in awe of what you’ve just experienced. The Gentlemen is no different. In fact, it is one of the best movies I have ever watched. It centres around the selling of Mickey Pearson’s (Matthew McConaughey) narcotics empire to fellow drug lord Matthew (Jeremy Strong). The viewer witnesses the dramatic story through a past and present format, jumping between what the journalist Fletcher (Hugh Grant) knows, and what actually occurred. Throughout the film, there is a constant blackmail battle between the drugs lords, with Dry Eye (Henry Golding), an upcoming mafioso, involving himself to stir up the contest more.

Alongside the incredible casting and classic storyline, the articulation of the narrative is topped off by the quick-witted humour and individual direction each actor takes with their characters. Plus, the non-romantic chemistry is the best on screen I have seen to date - my personal favourite character being Rosalind Pearson (Michelle Dockery), Mickey’s wife. We all know she can act from Downton Abbey, and her recent performance in Anatomy of a Scandal was good too, but her ability to shift into an East London car garage owner, married to a millionaire American drug lord, is honestly phenomenal. Josephine Ruffles

Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation is an authentic meditation on the moral struggle of attempting to restructure oneself after a prolonged period of romantic turbulence and emotional emptiness. Disillusioned Charlotte, played by Scarlett Johansson, and dwindling commercial star Bob, played by Bill Murray, bond over a shared sultry suffering where the lines between emotional interpretation and physical actuality become blurred. The film's framing of the emerging neo-digitalism of Tokyo in the early 2000s is soaked in a quiet haze of feminine, intellectual loneliness. The essence of absence runs through the entire 102 minutes and the act of mutual, spiritual character restoration transcends the cultural genre barriers of ‘Romance’. Francesca Beaumont

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody has a very special place in my heart because it transcends me into one of my favourite eras of music and is a beautiful dedication to the late Freddy Mercury and Queen as a band. The biographical element of Bohemian Rhapsody gives the audience an insightful account of the areas of the band members' lives, which were much more raw and authentic behind the glamour and appeal of the rock and roll world. The film’s ability to take the audience on a complex journey of an impending sense of grief is very effectively done and solidifies its bittersweet and compelling nature. The cast and director Dexter Fletcher did an excellent job at capturing the fascinating story of one of the most significant rock bands to ever exist. Lottie Murray

Ugetsu

One of cinema's crown jewels, Ugetsu combines two Japanese fables for a mournful expression of desperation in the throes of war, in which master director Kenji Mizoguchi seamlessly melds together harrowing realism with ethereal surrealism. The story of two peasant families being ripped apart by conflict, greed and male anxiety is an emotional and technical marvel - brutal yet beguiling, epic yet intimate.  

With one delicate tracking shot, in a matter of minutes Mizoguchi is able to capture the rich tapestry of the human condition with more compassion and subtlety than most directors can in ninety-odd minutes. His characters are often foregrounded against vistas of Japanese landscapes with the depth of these compositions threatening to swallow these characters whole. It speaks to the universality of this story - somewhere in those vistas, the same story, the same hardships, the same emotions, will be unfolding. Aaron Roe

Hot Fuzz

Whilst it’s impossible to choose a favourite film, Hot Fuzz (directed by Edgar Wright) would definitely fall in my top ten. This action-comedy stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as a hard-boiled cop and his incompetent sidekick as they investigate a series of grisly murders in a West Country village. With a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating, this beloved cult classic has been highly praised for its quick humour, gritty action and loveable characters. The plot is genuinely mysterious and every tiny detail cleverly interweaves for a blast of an ending. Edgar Wright’s signature choppy editing style, mixed with an upbeat pop soundtrack, contributes to a fast-paced viewing experience guaranteed to keep anyone on their toes. The even better news is this satire film is one of three, known as The Cornetto Trilogy. So, if you love it, why not try Shaun of the Dead or The World’s End, too? Amy Child

Casablanca

While admired on its release in 1942 - picking up three Oscars - few could have predicted Casablanca would be as loved as it is today. Yet, what was regarded as a piece of wartime propaganda is perhaps even more relevant in the modern age. And, as Umberto Eco once said, Casablanca “is not one movie, it is ‘movies.’” A fabulous ensemble cast, spearheaded by Humphrey Bogart as the jaded, world-weary Rick, bring this tale of desperate people fleeing tyranny to life. Many of the cast and crew were refugees themselves and they add a gentle humour and humanity to a story that charts what we will do to find safety and freedom.

With strong support from Claude Rains as appalling corrupt policeman Louis and a wonderful subtle performance from Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo, Casablanca defies its lead character when he says “the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill o’ beans in this crazy world.” It shows us that we can make a difference, either by helping some win their freedom at the roulette table, by defeating bad guys (either by shooting them or just by singing louder than them), or by playing a corrupt system to make sure the woman you love and her freedom fighter husband live to fight another day. Add to this Ingrid Bergman’s luminous heroine, a soundtrack from Dooley Wilson and one of the most quotable scripts in Hollywood history and you have yourself a classic. Here’s looking at you, kid. Sue Barsby

On the Waterfront

Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront may turn seventy next year, but it’s still as raw and relevant as ever. The greatness of the film lies in the performance of Marlon Brando, who delivers one of the definitive performances in the history of cinema. Brando stars as Terry Malloy, a former prize fighter who slowly awakens to the corruption around him. In the hands of Brando, Malloy becomes someone who is strong and vulnerable, a tension that grows from his relationship with Edie Doyle, played by Eve Marie Saint. 

Any great film needs a great line, and Brando duly delivers: “You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum, which is what I am.” There have been plenty of contenders but there’s only one film with a whole lot of class, and that is On The Waterfront. Manvir Basi

The Truman Show

Picture this: it’s the first week of year nine and my English teacher decides to put on a film instead of teaching the class. Boy, oh boy, am I lucky she chose The Truman Show. I have watched it probably fifty times since - and wondered if I am unknowingly the star of a TV show about a hundred times more. But why was I so drawn to this film at the age of thirteen? Perhaps it was because it was the first film I had seen starring Jim Carrey (a crime, I know)? Perhaps it was the blending of prophetic dystopia and metafiction with aesthetic suburbanism? Not that I would’ve understood any of those concepts at that age. I think, more than anything, it was the twisted nature of Christof’s god complex which has gripped me for all these years. I guess I could say that I rewatch (and recite) the whole film time and time again to try and understand the movie’s antagonist and his controlling nature. The Truman Show really does bring up questions around ethics of the media, marketing and consumerism. Give it a go if you haven’t already. Sophie Robinson

Paddington 2

It's always impressive when a sequel surpasses the original, and Paddington 2 does just that. This story of a humble Peruvian bear on a simple quest for the perfect gift for his Aunt Lucy launches him into an unexpected adventure, with lashings of marmalade. It’s brilliantly funny and aesthetically perfect (especially in the cinematic masterpiece that is the prison). Paddington, with his innocent naivety and unwavering optimistic faith in human nature, never deserves the typically unfortunate tight spots he ends up in - but it sure makes his life exciting. And the end… My heartstrings are truly tugged every time. Paddington is the story of a refugee, who is shown kindness and compassion by the Browns. As he is welcomed into family and community, he is able to brighten the lives around him. The world of Paddington is colourful and joyous and the feeling when watching is equally so. Paddington 2 makes you feel uplifted every time, that’s why it deserves a spot on the greatest films of all time. Rose Mason