Top 10 Movies of All Time

Movies are always hard to judge. Many people like action, romance, horror, drama, or comedy. Usually public opinion on movies differs from that of so called experts. It really is a difficult task to put together a list of movies that would not only keep the critics nodding put the public cheering. Here is the list of the ten best movies of all time.

10. Pulp Fiction - A box office bomb in a sense, this spectacular story of good and evil is packed with A-list stars and a controversial director. Pulp Fiction has turned into a cult classic and is still today Quentin Tarantino's best work of cinema. The list of movie stars that make an appearance in this movie include: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Harvey Kitel, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, and of course Christoper Walken. The winner of the Best Screenplay written for the Screen Oscar, received 6 other Academy Award nominations. If you haven't witnessed this piece of art yet, you have to check it out.

9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - A simply remarkable story with the quintessential villain, Nurse Ratched and a out of the ordinary hero in the form of Jack Nicholson. A criminal convinces a judge that he is insane and is sent to an asylum where he wreaks havoc and gives the patients the sort of life they never could have dreamed of, if only for a short time. In 1976 it became one of the only films to ever sweep the five major categories at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

8. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - "Luke, I am your father." A line as iconic as the saga itself. George Lucas struck gold with this trilogy over thirty years ago and revitalized it some ten years ago. How many trilogies do you know that have been released twice, almost fifteen years apart? Not many. The best trilogy of all time, The Empire Strikes Back takes the cake as the best in the series. It only has one Oscar to its credit but the story line, the continuation of the first movie, and the set up for the finale make this movie one of the best movies ever made.

7. Casablanca - This 1942 classic has everything. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman carry this movie from start to finish. When Rick meets one of his former lovers he cannot predict the controversies and trouble it will get him into and leads him to make some difficult and brass decisions along the way. You truly are in awe watching the whole thing unfold and you don't want it to be over when it is. Michael Curitz won the Oscar for Best Director and the film was a shoe in for Best Picture. This truly is a work of art.

6. 12 Angry Men - In the racial filled world of 1957 Reginald Rose wrote a story about a jury who was dead set on convicting a minority for a murder. The thing that stood in their way? Juror #8, better known as Henry Fonda. There's no spectacular scenes as most of the movie takes place in the jury deliberation room. You can feel the pain and anguish that Fonda goes through as he tries to convince everyone to just give the kid a chance and look at the evidence instead of doing the easy thing and sentencing him to death. You cringe all along and are on the edge of your seat as they continue to take vote after vote.

5. Schindler's List - One of the greatest Holocaust stories ever told. The acting by Liam Neeson and the directing of Steven Spielberg create a perfect storm of personalities to create the brash and heroic Oskar Schindler. It's a story of heroism, humanism, and the fight against pure evil. A movie over three hours long has to be epic and in this case Spielberg hit his mark. Winner of the 1994 Best Picture Oscar and 6 others, this remains the quintessential movie going experience.

4. Citizen Kane - AFI's #1 best movie of all time. Orsen Welles shot to stardom as a 25 year old kid and the movie literally just blows you away. Everything is right, everything is just perfect. The camera angles, the lighting, the symmetry, the acting, the directing, the editing, the music, everything. The 1941 Best Writing Oscar winner, brought this movie juts one highlight that it would receive throughout the next sixty years.

3. The Shawshank Redemption - One of the most masterful story tellers of all time, Stephen King, gives us his best piece of work ever. Besides the acting by Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton, this movie is the only one on the list that I had to watch over and over to see everything. You really have to watch how many times Andy Dufresne is almost caught in his nineteen year long escape from Shawshank Prison. It's miraculous his determination and will power and creativity.

2. The Godfather, Part II - Almost in a tie for number one with is predecessor, Mario Puzo's The Godfather Part II is a classic tale of the rise to power, the corruption of absolute power, and the willingness to do anything to stay in power. Michael Corleone, the man who didn't want anything to do with the family business shows his ruthlessness and his aggressiveness. This 6 Oscar winner is Francis Ford Coppola's baby and the story and direction and mood all make this into one of the best movies ever made.

1. The Godfather - Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Francis Ford Coppola team up to make the best movie of all time. The music is classic, the acting is perfect, the storyline is second to none, the camera work and anticipation cannot be questioned. It's a movie you want to watch over and over again to see if the same things happen, to see if Michael stays out of the family business. Along with being the best piece of art cinema has ever seen, it provides countless lessons of business strategies that still hold true today. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."