My Top 10 Favorite Movies of All Time
To get to know someone, ask them about their favorite movies
I’m new to substack and I believe I should start with an introduction. My name is Brett Schutt and I have been writing and making films and overthinking for over ten years now. In my endless struggle to figure out what space I do belong in, I have retreated back to the movie theatre time and time again. I hold more than ten films close to my heart and formative to my life, but today I will give you my Sight and Sound Top 10. These movies are both movies I think are technically perfect and movies that resonated a lot with me on a creative and emotional level.
10. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial was a very formative movie for me when I first started to love film. My love stemmed from the Universal Studios attraction first, which I have a lot of warmth for. I picked up the movie at the video store the same day I picked up my number nine choice - and it sold me that I wanted to make movies when I was older. I love puppets and creatures and E.T. is one of my favorite guys. Without any words, I feel his outsider mentality so deeply and the friendship he develops with Elliot in the movie brings tears in my eyes every time I watch the film. The ending scene, where they have to say bye is emotionally devastating. The idea of these two and the adventure they embarked on and how it changed them is really quite poignant. The movie is whimsical and sweet, you can see director Steven Spielberg had figured out how to make one of the most compelling and emotionally dense blockbusters we would ever see. Elliot found in E.T. something that was missing from his life, probably an allegory for the missing father figure in Spielbergs life. However, the story of finding kinship with someone and helping them discover who you are as you come of age and how people come and go from your life but they will “always be right here” is a universal message anyone can resonate with.
9. The Muppet Movie (1979)
Like I stated when I was writing about E.T., The Muppet Movie is another movie I picked up at the video store that made me want to make movies when I was older. The Muppet Movie has had a profound impact on my whole life up to this point. I even worked at the attraction Muppet Vision 3D in Disney World for a year and a half. I strongly resonated with the Muppets irreverent sense of humor but poignant optimism when it came to the world. The Muppet Movie is filled with incredible gags and an iconic cameo by Steve Martin, but it also has quiet understated moments like Gonzo singing up to the stars and wondering where is kind is and where he belongs - a moment that never fails to choke me up anytime I watch the film. The film is about a group of misfits, a counter culture group of artists trying to enter the industry anyway they can. Kermit says that someone on a swamp said he had talent and he went and chased for his dreams. This seems akin to Jim Henson’s own relationship in trying to become a filmmaker. For that reason, I find The Muppet Movie to be one of the most inspiring movies ever made. It’s a genuine and tender love letter to artists everywhere.
8. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Let’s have a change of pace here. David Lynch’s magnum opus is one of the most deeply disturbing and upsetting films ever made and is my vote for the greatest horror movie ever made. Why? It’s because Lynch never compromises his visions. He shows his film in quite a provocative nature the deepest evils of the human condition. The ending stretch of Fire Walk With Me is one of the worst acts depicted in film history, yet it ends on an oddly hopeful note that maybe, one day, things will make sense. I am a huge film of the series this film spawned from Twin Peaks, I’d argue it’s probably my favorite show of all time. However, that show does provide a cozy atmosphere and funny quirky characters to juxtapose the sinister element lingering throughout the series. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me doesn’t do that - it gets straight to the point that the tragedy of Laura Palmer is a tragic tale. It’s famously noted that film critic Roger Ebert was so off put by the film that he left the screening at Cannes and refused to review it. While I do love Ebert, I think he missed the point of the film entirely. This isn’t Lynch wallowing in human suffering, but showing empathy for the victims involved. This movie feels like a cry for help and it hasn’t left my brain ever since I watched it for the first time. I should probably send Lynch my therapy bills.
7. Tree of Life (2011)
Tree of Life is a film people mock when they talk about arthouse cinema. It’s the go to target of a film that people believe is unnecessarily languid and confusing. That people who like this movie are also people who recommend you books from Kurt Vonnegut. Well, I like Vonnegut and I love this movie so what does that say about me? I understand some critiques that the film has received over the years, but as a singular piece of art I believe that Tree of Life is genuinely the best film ever made about faith and creation. The film’s non linear structure shows us the struggle this Texas family deals with. How they have to wrestle with tragedy and question God when they only receive His silence. The film cutting between this and the creation of the universe and the dawn of the dinosaurs is a jarring juxtaposition - but at the end of the day the film is about just how small we are. The cinematography in this film is sweeping, this movie is an epic even if on paper it’s simply just a family drama. That is because, at the end of the day us humans are apart of a much bigger story being written that we don’t know the ending to and won’t until we are on the other side. Isn’t that the most comforting and scary thought you’ve ever had?
6. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
Don Hertzfeldt is one of the most inspirational filmmakers of all time to me. His movies are just simple stick figure drawings and classical music juxtaposed in some of the most unique and thrilling animation sequences you’ll ever see. Hertzfeldt is an experimental filmmaker, making the type of films Hollywood would never let him get away with. His films all resonate emotionally with me very deeply. The struggle of Bill in this movie is identifiable with anyone that has had issues dealing with generalized anxiety. This movie really hits home a lot, it’s all of our deepest fears extracted on screen for us. The humor and fear that comes out of the deepest recesses of our mind. However, the film also provides us hope that in the end - the moments of stillness, stability and love are enough to keep going and keep living. Our stories are expansive, larger and life and hard to grasp onto ourselves. So let go and keep living (maybe you are catching on that some of my favorite movies are thematically similar).
5. Mary Poppins (1964)
Okay, let’s go with something a little lighter now. Mary Poppins is the example of everything movies can do when they are working at 100%. This is one of the prettiest films ever made. Every shot and frame is perfect. It is also a story that is a critique of capitalism and how we so get wrapped up in our own work we forget what truly is important (ironic because of the feud between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers on getting this movie to the big screen). You can debate all day how much of this movie Travers approves, but ultimately it shows even a conflict in filmmaking can result in a masterpiece. The music in here is the best in the Disney library. I’d argue that Feed the Birds is my all time favorite song in the Disney canon. A lovely melody about stopping and not thinking about yourself for just a moment. Humanity is so much more than about you! Julie Andrews gives one of my favorite film performances of all time here (and was potentially my first crush ever as a child without me even realizing it - she developed my type). The moment where Mr. Banks decides to leave the bank to focus more on his family, as he walks the empty streets alone with his thoughts is one of the most powerful moments in cinema. Mary Poppins is everything Hollywood entertainment should strive to be and even more.
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a watershed moment for me. I remember sitting in my living room watching the film for the first time in complete awe, not realizing that movies could even operate like this. It was a sensory experience I would never forget and one of those movies that made me love more obscure and abstract cinema. I think Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece based off the Arthur C. Clarke novel of the same name is an achievement in filmmaking. I still have no idea how they got all these shots and effects that look this striking - let alone in 1968. The films stream of conscious narrative provides an almost numbing affect. I always feel like I’ve ascended to a higher place when I watch this. It’s the same feeling I get listening to the album Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. The film shares a lot of narrative and structural similarities of Tree of Life. The film starts off with apes discovering a monolith and then jumps into the year 2001. Showing the scope is going to go beyond eons. The ending of the film, one that has been discussed and debated for years - is ultimately about our own mortality and how the vastness of time and space is nothing we will be able to ever wrap our head around - even with advanced technology like Hal 9000. This movie is a trip - and it’s the best trip ever.
3. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
It’s a Wonderful Life is usually my answer when people ask me what I believe the best movie ever made is. I know people will say Citizen Kane or The Godfather and I get it to a certain extent. Those are expertly crafted movies that forwarded film - but I don’t find any pathos in either one of those films. It’s a Wonderful Life is not only a genre defining work that has survived for decades, but it’s a movie about us. It’s a movie about the simple working man. George Bailey is one of the most identifiable characters in film history for me. He strives to leave home and explore the world. It seems like a series of events keeps him trapped and caged in Bedford Falls, what he believes to be his own personal prison. Over the course of the film, we see George struggle to find his place. He’s obligated to stay at the building and loan so Mr. Potter doesn’t ruin the town. I think it’s ironic that the films ultimate theme is about God’s plans for us but the villain of the piece is one that would be defended by a lot of Evangelicals in this day of age. This film is overtly one of the most religious movies ever made - to the point an angel even comes down from heaven to show George why he matters to this world. However, the villain of the piece, Mr. Potter, is someone that Trump would probably appoint to his cabinet. The lack of integrity in America is something director Frank Capara was worried about with this film and his previous film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, both films releasing over fifty years ago now but are just as relevant today. The film’s ultimate message in this film is that character does matter. George isn’t a perfect man, he has a short fuse and he’s practically on the point of a mental breakdown from the start of the film. However, he acted out of love and care for a community that needed his help and they all came back to help him in return. It’s one of the most therapeutic films ever made and I occasionally rewatch the ending of the film when I’m feeling a bit lost and I rewatch the film every year around Christmastime. It’s an all timer.
2. Almost Famous (2000)
Almost Famous is a movie I first discovered in High School and it blew me away from the moment I first watched it. The film focuses on William Miller, a kid who gets hired by Rolling Stone magazine to write a piece on the fictional band Stillwater. The movie, directed and written by Cameron Crowe, is said to be an autobiographical tale of when he toured with The Allman Brothers Band when he was a teen. It’s even said the character Russell Hammond is roughly based off of Glenn Frey of The Eagles. I think this approach to making a narrative about your own life is something that really inspired me, because I’ve always thought of my own life as a narrative being written - because it is. This film has some aspects that haven’t aged the best culturally, but, I think it understands that the 70’s were a less politically correct time - you see the warts and all of the entertainment industry presented here. I went through an arc with how I saw the film. In High School, I found it to be escapism. I was so jealous of William, running around at my age seeing all these cool rock concerts and living life. Even his struggles with heartache and longing I felt for. He was on a journey of self discovery, as I had to go to school for eight hours and rinse and repeat. However, I rewatched the film this year - after having one of the most eventful and stressful years of my life and found a new sense of comfort in it. A reflection that I had finally had the adventure, working at Disney World for three years, I longed to have throughout my growing up. I had achieved something I had romanticized about for so long, even if aspects of what I felt were a lot more painful to feel than to see on screen. That is what makes this movie so incredibly special to me, it’s one that I keep coming back to and it means something else to me entirely. I even saw the short lived Broadway musical the last time I was in New York which was a really special experience as well. Whoever is reading this, I hope you have a moment where you also believe you are home as you sing Tiny Dancer on a tour bus.
1. Ratatouille (2007)
Ratatouille is my favorite movie of all time. Pixar is the reason I wanted to make movies in the first place. The way they are able to convey emotion even through the most innately bizarre concepts is something I find inspiring. There isn’t a better example than Brad Bird’s Ratatouille, which is why I find it to be so powerful. The movie is about a rat who inspires to be a chef - anyone can see how this is a recipe for disaster. Yet, despite the odds, Remy is able to make his voice heard and make ratatouille that makes critic Anton Ego reminisce on a simpler safe time in his childhood. This breakthrough teaches Ego and the audience something very important - don’t underestimate the new, the new needs friends. Ratatouille is an allegory for the struggling artist. We all feel like rats in a kitchen sometimes, that there isn’t a place for us. That’s why we continue to fight to make the art we believe needs to be shared in this world. It’s because we are that rat and we do have something new to say. Art can touch us so deeply, and in a moment of pure vulnerability Anton Ego is brought back to a safe place. Anton Ego’s review at the end of the film is my single favorite moment in film history. It states that us critics need to humble ourselves and understand that even the most meaningless art can have a purpose and place in someones life and we should never underestimate new voices and new talents. He states in his review “he’s nothing more than the finest chef in France” as Remy sits on the balcony watching the sunrise come up on Paris. That moment never fails to bring tears to my eyes because that is the moment I’m chasing for in my career I have yet to find. The moment I can finally say “I did it, I got my art out into the world and I’m getting recognized for it - despite the tribulations it took to get here”. Ratatouille is my pick me up movie, it’s the movie I put on when I need motivation as an artist and a person to keep moving forward. People all your life will underestimate your potential because everyone will see you as a rat in the kitchen. That’s okay, because the world needs more of the new - it needs more rats in the kitchen. So go out and make your art and together we can shape the future. To quote Remy, “change is nature, the part that we can influence and that starts when we decide.”
Those are my top ten favorite movies! What are some of your favorites, comment below and let me know. Please follow for more analysis and reviews of current and past media.