The August edition of Empire Magazine Australia is now out and readers voted on the greatest movies of all time.
Over 100,000 people voted for their favorite movies ever and Empire Magazine compiled them all. 300 movies were listed, although today we’ll have a look at the top 10.
First I’m going to mention some of the famous movies that did not make the top 10. The first Avengers movie came really close, but only reached number 12. James Cameron’s Avatar and Titanic didn’t make the top 10 as well. The highest James Bond movie was Skyfall positioning at number 45.
10) Inception
In number 10 was Inception directed by Christopher Nolan. This is a unique movie that had an unpredictable plot and great action sequences. Not to mention its ambiguous ending still gets debated on by fans even today. I have no problems with Australian Empire magazine readers picking this as their tenth best movie ever.
9) Raiders of the Lost Ark
What else can you say about Raiders of the Lost Ark? Harrison Ford may have got famous first playing Han Solo, but this movie solidified him as a leading man. Indiana Jones still influences movies and video games today. The Uncharted series wouldn’t have existed without this movie.
8) Jaws
This is pretty much the only good movie from the shark movie franchise. It’s actually been many years since I’ve seen the movie, but I do remember being scared yet exhilarated when I was a younger watching it. This movie also helped boost the career of a then young director called Steven Spielberg.
7) The Lords of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
As a New Zealander, this movie always has a special place within me. I assumed people liked Return of the King better. In my opinion, I always liked Fellowship of the Ring the best. The Cave Troll scene and the ending battle with the Uruk Hai are my favorite moments in the whole trilogy. It also had a memorable soundtrack too.
6) Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
The first Star Wars was groundbreaking when it first came out in 1977. Unfortunately, I was not even born when this came out, but my mother saw it in the cinema and liked it. I only saw it on VHS years later, but I fell in love with it instantly. Now I cannot remember how many times I’ve seen it on multiple other formats now. A deserving spot for number 6.
5) Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is just excellent. It not only has a great cast, but it’s a really funny and humorous movie as well. It is also unique as it’s not a movie that is structured from beginning to end. It is told from different perspectives, but the story never gets too confusing. Thankfully Quentin Tarantino has been smart enough to not make a sequel or anything like that. This classic is great as a standalone movie on its own.
4) The Shawshank Redemption
Regarded by many to be the best movie of all time. I’ve only seen this movie once on TV, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Surprisingly, this movie and Pulp Fiction were both released in 1994 but failed to win the Oscar for best movie. They both lost to Forrest’s Gump.
3) The Dark Knight
Personally, this is my favorite movie of all time for many reasons. It has an excellent ensemble cast with great action pieces and a smart story. Not to mention Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker blew everyone away. His acting was so good, he deserved the Academy Award for best supporting actor. Much like the Star Wars movies, I’ve seen this film multiple times and never get bored of it.
2) The Godfather
This is a film that always tops lists like this and I don’t blame people for voting for it. In my opinion, I always liked the second movie better, but the first one does feature a great performance from Marlon Brando. This is also a film that influenced many other movies and video games. The Grand Theft Auto series is heavily influenced by this film.
1) The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back deserves the top spot for the Hoth battle sequence and of course the iconic ending. I was unfortunate to have been spoiled by the ending since it was common knowledge by the time I watched it on VHS. Nevertheless, it’s still a fun movie to watch even though you know the ending or not. It also introduced us to cool characters like Boba Fett and Lando Carlrissian.
Do you agree with Empire magazine readers? Two of my favorite movies of all time I would have tried to put in the top 10. Toy Story and Terminator 2 would be in my personal top 10. My brother would have filled his list full of Jams Bond movies…
