http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrKplk8bDDc&feature=related

"Lawrence of Arabia", considered by many to be among the greatest movie scores ever!

Here's the original movie trailer, although it doesn't do the film justice . It was simply one of the most magnificent movies of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDF0at7sC0M&feature=relatede

Read the quote from Churchill at the opening to begin to grasp the achievements of the real T.E. Lawrence. He basically changed the Arab world, and was mainly responsible for creating the modern nation of Jordan.


The more that I see of modern films, I think the best movies have already been made. "Lawrence" was certainly among them.

What are some of your favorites?

T-Star

Have the Best Movies Already Been Made?

Yes...and all the best songs have already been recorded.

It's all downhill from here!

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'Merica!

This question is cumulative, over time. So, at this stage in my life, I would have to say that yes, collectively the best movies have already been made. I'm sure that over time, there will be many more great movies to add to the list...

I personally think that the overall quality of movies are probably better today, compared to the early years. There has been a lot of progression in the craft of movie making. This is not taking away anything from the classics, they are great, I'm saying this as a generalization.

I love Lawrence of Arabia, awesome movie, and has to be seen on the big screen! Sometimes art-house theaters will still screen it. If you live near a larger city, you should look for it in that kind of venue...

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NRA Life Member

One of my top ten forever. Peter O'Toole was the most complex characters in a movie I ever saw. He was so interesting because he acted so efeminate yet had a masochistic mental facility that made him embrace hardships where he proved himself tougher than the macho Omar Sharif AND Anthony Quinn. And after pulling off what no one thought he could, he strutted like a peacock because he earned it. That part where he realized how much he enjoyed killing just showed the layers of the guy.
I'm not up on the real Lawrence or the history of that region at the time, but the movie is a true classic. Gregory Peck was great in "Mockingbird" but I lean towards Peter O'Toole as best actor for this movie. And the main co-star of Lawrence Of Arabia was the dessert in those panoramic shots.
And no. All the best movies haven't been made. Just the best ones so far.

AND ALL THE BEST GUNS HAVE BEEN MADE!!!

THAT is true, I'm afraid...

Two things that would be impossible to make today...

a '60's vintage M29 & "Blazing Saddles."

Yes, the best movies have already been made.
The proof is Bogie and The Duke are dead.

Some of my favorites:

Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia (or is it, "Or-renz?")
The Godfather
The Seven Samurai
Catch 22
Fargo
Seven Years in Tibet
A Streetcar Named Desire
Full Metal Jacket
Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring
Rancho Deluxe
Apocalypse Now
Lord of the Rings
Forest Gump
Pulp Fiction
Kill Bill
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Good Fellas
The Story of Adele H.
Blue Velvet


Bullseye

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

Wow, I guess I am the quintessential redneck because I believe the best movies have been made already. The Duke was respectful to women and tough on men. He said what he meant and meant what he said. The war movies were great and the westerns better. "The Quiet Man" is outstanding in every regard. I enjoy some of today's movies, but they don't have the same zest that the older movies did. The message was important in the old stuff because they didn't have the technology that we do today to wow you with. "In Harms Way" is on my tube right now...seen it a hundred times and still love it in the back ground while I'm surfin' the web. I like "Open Range" and "Broken Trail" both with Robert Duvall. Again, back to the older actors with their essence being important instead of the attitude-charged sci-fi special effects. Bronson was good and Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart and Robert Mitchum. Kirk Douglas and Dean Martin also. I'm 43 years of age, but still love the "old" stuff. JMO.....

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Go big or stay home

Yep - Done deal...
Once:
For A Few Dollars More
A Fist Full Of Dollars
Dirty Harry
and, of course, Legally Blond and Bronco Billy were made what else could there be????

Oh yeah - There were those Bourne flicks - Ooooh and Bond, James Bond. Oh yeah and a few movies with The Duke.
Oooooh and how about --- Well maybe there have been a few since they screwed things up and started making talkies. There might even be a few more in the future......

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In dog years I'm dead.

It may just be true. Now they are trying gimmicks to get people to the theaters. Like 3D or remaking old movies like True Grit. What's next, "Gone With The Wind 2012" in 3D?

No, as soon as they stop over-using CGI for special effects, and use real actors/actresses, we will have more great films.
Not my total list, just what I've watched during the last few months on my computer (DVD) during slow periods.
Kung Fu Hustle
Hero
M
Sword of Doom
(I have to get some comedies to cheer myself up. Maybe The Wrong Box).

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and what his trumpet saith

The problem is, every great movie we've ever seen HAS been made already. Remember how back in the early 1900's some guy affiliated with the patent office (not Einstein!) said something like, "Everything that can be invented has been invented". Here's some personal faves in no particular order:
Shane
To Kill A Mockingbird
Lawrence of De Moine, Ia., I mean Arabia (wrong movie)
Godfather part one and two
Rancho Deluxe
Back to the Future
Red River
L.A. Confidential
The Big Sleep
Dazed and Confused
The Maltese Falcon
No Country For Old Men
...Jesse James (with Brad Pitt) betcha hate me for that one!

I can't believe nobody mentioned the best movie ever made: Cool Hand Luke.

Lawrence of Arabia???? Never seen it.

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Forum consigliere

We have been blessed with a number of really good movies. They are terrific entertainment. And I love movies, lately I have been introducing my 13 year old to a series of films he may not have the opportunity to be exposed to in his life time; in the last month or so we've watched Gunga Din, The Hill, The Magnificient Seven, Chariots of Fire and last night, The Great Escape. Next weekend we're going to watch Bullitt. I'm not mentioning these films as the greatest anything. I get the sense that every generation has a list of 10 or 100 great films that may or may not overlap the previous generation, much like books.
Granted I think we all are freaked out by how quickly technology seems to be overwhelming us, this latest assessment by the film geeks that in the future all films will be made in 3D has me experiencing preflight seasickness, I retain the belief as long as there are creative folks out there who have a story to tell we will be entertained.

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R Gitz

I too think that all the GOOD movies have been done! That said there are still some original ideas coming out and not just flashy remakes of old classics. Here's a few of my favorites;
Hildago
Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn
Master and Commander The Far Side of the World
K*19 The Widowmaker
Rio Grand
Key Largo
Lord of the Rings
The Indiana Jones Trilogy
The Fifth Element
Rough Riders and
We Were Soliders. Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

Best western ever made, "The outlaw Jossie Whales". The technology is there to make better movies today, they just don't seem to make the effort to come up with great stories.

You mention technology. My 27 year old son was over once and I showed him the car chase from Bullitt. You know, the greatest movie car chase of all time. Eh, no big deal. Earlier we had watched a movie where Angolina Jolie is flying a car through the air and as it spins shes shooting bad guys through the sun roof before the car lands in perfectly choreographed computerized splendor. How can a guy in some old movie who's REALLY driving a car compete with that?

I saw "Lawrence" at the drive in with my girl Barbara. It was raining like hell, we couldn't see the screen. We made the best of it. Took 3 more trips to the drive in to see the whole movie. One of my favorite movies. A favorite of mine is "Zulu".

"Zulu" is a danged good movie! It probably couldn't be made now, for PC reasons and the fall of white govt. in South Africa.

When people would say "they don't build them like they used to"..My mom would always say, "they never did." 1939 was an amazing year for films...as were the 70s...and with film technology advancing everyday, new and exciting things are always on the horizon...also, what is 'best' is always subjective (True Grit thread)..so where movies are concerned I would have to say, in the immortal words of famed screenwriter William Goldman, "nobody knows anything."

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Back again to the computer generated image and Bullitt. Hard to imagine in "The Train" Burt Lancaster did his stunts. When they wanted to film a runaway train running into the back of another, parked, train, there was only one way to do that.
The special effects dominate. But writing, acting, directing, and editing will make a comeback.

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and what his trumpet saith