#3 Casablanca

1942
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains

Probably my personal favorite on the whole list, this is Casablanca.  Set in unoccupied France during World War 2, we meet Rick- American owner of a cafe in Casablanca (a waiting point for people looking to get to America.)  With transit papers hard to get, most are found on the black market.  When Victor Laszlo and Ilsa Lund come to Casablanca looking for their transit papers, it is Rick who has them instead of the original black market go-between.  But there's a catch - Ilsa and Rick have met before- in Paris, before the war, and fell in love.  Ilsa left Rick at the train station with no explanation.  Turns out that she was already married to Laszlo and thought him dead in a concentration camp.  So here they are, in Casablanca.  Laszlo a wanted man by the German army, and Rick with only 2 transit papers.  (All this happening with German soldiers in Casablanca waiting for them to make a move, and the prefect -Captain Renault- of Casablanca who takes no sides but is trying to impress the Germans) So..... Ilsa still loves him, but respects her husband who has become a symbol of freedom and righteousness in the war.  What's a girl to do?! She tells Rick he has to think for the both of them, so he does... I won't spoil the ending but what a movie!  Really I think probably the best one so far.  It has some of my favorite actors in Henreid and Rains, and you can't go wrong with Bogart and Bergman.   If you haven't seen this movie, there's probably something wrong with you.

Trivia: Rick never says "Play it again, Sam." He says: "You played it for her, you can play it for me. If she can take it, I can take it so Play it!". Ilsa says "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By"'. The incorrect line has become the basis for spoofs in movies such as A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Play It Again, Sam (1972).

In the famous scene where the "Marseillaise" is sung over the German song "Watch on the Rhine", many of the extras had real tears in their eyes; a large number of them were actual refugees from Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and were overcome by the emotions the scene brought out.

Up Next: The Godfather

#4 Raging Bull

1980
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Cathy Moriarty

Story of prize fighter, Jake LaMotta, set in the 1940's and 50's. LaMotta is unbeatable in the ring and desires greatness, but ultimately destroys everything around him and ends up alone.  The acting in the movie is some of the finest in movies, from DeNiro to Pesci to Moriarty... they all work brilliantly together to tell the story.

Trivia: When the real Jake LaMotta saw the movie, he said it made him realize for the first time what a terrible person he had been. He asked the real Vicki LaMotta "Was I really like that?". Vicki replied "You were worse."

Up Next: Casablanca

#5 Singin in the Rain

1952
Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Starring: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald OConnor, Jean Hagen

Set in 1927 Hollywood, the movie follows movie star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and his costar Lina Lamont (Hagen) as silent movies give way to talking pictures.  Along the way, Don meets-cute Reynolds' character, Kathy Selden, and they fall in love, much to Lina's dismay.  Kathy is trying to make it into the movie business also, but Lamont tries everything she can to prevent it.  The movie is funny, entertaining and is movie-making at its finest.  Loved it!

Trivia: In the "Would You" number, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) is dubbing the voice of Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) because Lina's voice is shrill and screechy. However, it's not Reynolds who is really speaking, it's Jean Hagen herself, who actually had a beautiful deep, rich voice. So you have Jean Hagen dubbing Debbie Reynolds dubbing Jean Hagen. And when Debbie is supposedly dubbing Jean's singing of "Would You", the voice you hear singing actually belongs to Betty Noyes, who had a much richer singing voice than Debbie.

Up Next: Raging Bull

# 6 Gone With The Wind

1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland

Well I got incredibly lucky, and Gone With the Wind happened to be playing in theaters to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its release this year.  It was only playing 2 nights, so I caught the second night with my friend Jillian, who had never seen the movie before.  The day we were supposed to go, I informed her it was a 4hour movie, she had no idea! But away we went.  Seeing it on the big screen was amazing!! My sister was up in New York at a theater seeing it too, and said the theater was packed.  Its my sisters favorite movie, so I knew she wouldn't miss the opportunity to see it in the theater.
This movie is even better than I remember, every scene is captivating.  Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable are sheer perfection.  The movie is simply timeless; it was funny, and sad and moving... If you haven't seen it, see it now!  I'm surprised it isn't in the top 3.

Trivia: When Gary Cooper turned down the role for Rhett Butler, he was passionately against it. He is quoted saying both, "Gone with the Wind (1939) is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history," and, "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."

Up Next: Singin In The Rain

#7 Lawrence of Arabia

1962

Director: David Lean

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Omar Shariff, Alec Guiness, Claude Rains, Anthony Quinn

Peter O'Toole stars as T.E. Lawrence (or "Aurance" as he is called by the Arabs he meets and ultimately befriends and leads.  He is conflicted and brave at times, but always different.  Acting on all fronts is done well.  The whole movie is an adventure.  

Trivia: Peter O'Toole claims he never viewed the completed film until nearly two decades after its original release, by which time he was highly impressed.

Up Next: Gone with the Wind

#8 Schindler's List

1993
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

Well, I knew this one was coming. And I hadn't watched it since high school.  Needles to say, it's a tough movie to watch, mostly knowing that it is based on things that really occurred.  Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler, a greedy and ambitious business man looking to make as much money as he can by profiting off of the free labor of the Jewish people of Krakaw, Poland after the Nazi's had invaded and forced them to live in ghettos and camps.  Throughout the film, we are shown a glimpse of the absolute horrors that occurred.  Schindler takes notice and slowly starts to do good, and ultimately when it is announced that all the Jews in his factory and town will be sent to Auschwitz (all but guaranteeing their death), Schindler insists that he move his factory and his workers come with him.  He draws a list, and ultimately saves the lives of about 1200 people.  The imagery is amazing, and acting is perfection.  One of Spielberg's best films.  It is powerful and haunting and something every person should see.

Trivia: Steven Spielberg's resolve to make the film became complete when studio executives asked him why he didn't simply make a donation of some sort rather than wasting everyone's time and money on a depressing film.

Up Next: Lawrence of Arabia

#9 Vertigo

1958
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes

Classic Hitchcock film which I had never seen before.  As with all Hitchcock film, every shot is perfect and has a purpose.  The story was interesting and dark, as I expected.  Jimmy Stewart's character, Scottie,  is an ex-detective who suffers from vertigo, which was the reason for his early retirement after he witnesses someone fall and couldn't save him because of his fear.  When an old friend asks Scottie to follow his wife because he was afraid something bad would happen to her, he becomes obsessed and in love.  When she falls to her death, he is devastated.  But nothing is quite as it seems...

Trivia: The film was unavailable for decades because its rights (together with four other pictures of the same period) were bought back by Alfred Hitchcock and left as part of his legacy to his daughter. They've been known for long as the infamous "Five Lost Hitchcocks" amongst film buffs, and were re-released in theatres around 1984 after a 30-year absence. The others are The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Rear Window(1954), Rope (1948), and The Trouble with Harry (1955).

Up next: Schindler's List