Schindler's List
Steven Spielberg
Perhaps Spielberg's greatest achievement, the film set during World War II, brings forth the horrors of war and its toll on humanity in such a hard-hitting manner that it'll haunt you. Shot almost entirely in black and white this 1993 multiple Oscar winner boasts of an incredible performance by Liam Neeson. The climax is heart-wrenchingly sad, one that'll leave you in tears.
Inception
Christopher Nolan
Without doubt a contemporary classic, this film fires on more cylinders than any movie has ever had the nerve to do. Nolan reaffirms himself as the modern master of movie making with this mind bender which forces you to use every bit of your brain to be able to decode it fully.
The Shawshank Redemption
Frank Darabont
One of the greatest films of all time, this moving tale of hope and redemption does that one wonderful thing — make you believe. It also has the best-ever tagline a movie could have — ‘Fear keeps you prisoner, hope sets you free.' Brilliantly acted and directed this prison break flick was slow to gain recognition, despite boasting the star power of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.
Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino
Only Quentin Tarantino could have pulled of a flick so shamelessly wicked that you almost tend to derive a guilty pleasure from all the endless violence and blood. A celebration of cinema, it toyed with the boundaries of movie-making and the way stories are meant to be told on screen. It revived the sagging career of Bruce Willis and boasts of a fanatic fan following. Tarantino's best, by some distance.
Good Will Hunting
Gus Van Sant
Despite having the distinction of bringing two extremely talented actors — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck — into the limelight (who also find their names in the credits as writers) this flick will undoubtedly be remembered for the timeless performance of Robin Williams, who deservedly walked away with an Academy award that year. Despite most of the movie just being long chunks of conversation between a part time psychiatrist and a mathematical genius, the raw emotions and the passionate performances make this a timeless classic. Not all Robin Williams' comedies may make you laugh but here he just effortlessly makes you cry.
Those that almost made it
The Prestige - Christopher Nolan
Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis
Gandhi - Richard Attenborough
The Aviator - Martin Scorcese
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - David Fincher
Ben-Hur - William Wyler
The Godfather Part 2 - Francis Ford Coppola
(K. Ananth is studying Chartered Accountancy. Watching films is his passion and he calls it his romance with an alternate world.)
