Almost everyone has an answer to "What is your favorite movie?" For some, the answer is based on a favorite childhood memory. Others say the theme is central to the love of the flick. And some folks can't decide on just one , giving a list of their top few favorites.
When our readers answered that question, the responses ranged from documentaries to dramas, and cult classics to comedies. There were very few repetitions.
Two 1939 classics were favorites among readers, with "Gone With The Wind," getting three nods, and "The Wizard of Oz," topping the list for two. The 1942 Bette Davis film "Now, Voyager" also got two votes.
Following are the responses we received:
"Raging Bull," because it is so realistic, gritty, in black and white. Scorcese's best directing and among DeNiro's best acting performances. It makes even a person (like me) who abhors violence hardly ever take his eyes from the violence depicted.
_ Joe DeVitis
of Milledgeville, Ga.,
formerly of Oneonta
"The Dark Crystal," by Jim Hanson. Not sure why I like it. It is just my favorite movie. Although it is animated, it is just a well-played movie.
_ Bonnie S. Bowen of Maryland
My favorite movies are the "Star Wars" series.
I've been watching "Star Wars" or about two years. My favorite in the series is "Attack of the Clones." I like this one because of the amazing action scenes. My favorite scene is a Jedi battle.
The "Star Wars" movies have awesome weapons, costumes and makeup. There are interesting characters like Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the bounty hunters and clones.
I will always like "Star Wars" movies for the rest of my life, just like my uncle. I wish there were more than six parts!
_ Cameron Neer, 8,
of Oneonta
"National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" is a movie I can watch several times a year. The movie came out in 1989 and I still laugh when I watch it.
_ Lorraine Obergefell
of Banning, Calif.,
formerly of Gilbertsville
"Gone with the Wind." I love the era, the dress and the fact that men had to court women. I loved all the characters.
_ Jodi Mravlja of Worcester
"Grease." It's the best movie, and I can watch it over and over again.
_ Jessica Heaney of Otego
"Fireproof." It's about a couple who are having marital problems and how they solve the problems, staring Kirk Cameron. A good movie to see; five stars.
_ Keith Allen of Corning
For me it's always "Jaws" I go back to. I was a boy when it was released in 1975. I remember walking by the theater in Cooperstown and being scared of the now-famous poster. I wasn't allowed to see it until years later, which made the movie more intriguing. Now, I am amazed at how well it holds up! Spielberg built the right amount of terror and suspense with music and camera, giving us the sense of the ominous. When we finally see the shark, in the famous scene toward the end, it creates that perfect movie moment!
_ Steve Dillon of Oneonta
My favorite movie is "Dances with Wolves." It is a cinematic tour de force. It is a wonderfully wrought love story within a larger clash of cultures tale. The directing is superb with every scene honed to perfection. The actors and actresses are right on target, and the characters well-drawn and memorable. The scenery and photography are exquisite and the musical score is soaring. It is a movie I have never grown tired of, and turn to again and again. The seven Academy Awards in 1990, including Best Picture, were well deserved. I recommend it highly.
_ Bob Davidson of Otego
A movie that transports you to another world? "Somewhere in Time," an overlooked 1980 gem starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. He travels back in time to meet his true love. The movie was filmed on Mackinac Island in Michigan. The island has no cars; transportation is horse-drawn carriage or bicycle. My husband and I vacationed there in 2007, and, waking up in a restored Victorian mansion, hearing the horses' hooves clopping outside our window, we felt like we were in the movie!
_ Marie Hegeman of Oneonta
"The Bishop's Wife." Cary Grant is an angel demonstrating wisdom and kindness to everyone. The movie empowers you with goodness and faith of God's loving touch through his angels. Infatuated with money, one mustn't forget what is truly precious. Look in the eyes of those you love, hold their hands and find them once more. Smile. Laugh buckets of tears. Grant looks up at the church as Niven gives the sermon. We forget Jesus at Christmas. He asks what would Jesus want: Loving kindness, warm hearts and the outstretched hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on Earth.
_ Barbara Spataro, West Oneonta
"Now, Voyager" would have to be my favorite. Watching this movie is like sitting down with a good book. Bette Davis' character changes from a frumpy, almost neurotic, woman under the thumb of a domineering mother to a woman of confidence, pride and inner beauty. ... There's the scene where Bette Davis stands on the ship deck; all you see is that wide brim hat as she slowly lifts her face and you see her transformation for the first time. That image, from a "moving picture," is more like a snapshot that just gets burned into your head forever.
_ Teri Weigl of Oneonta
I could BE a movie critic for the number of movies I have seen. To pick one favorite is hard. But I'd have to say "Annie Hall," directed and written by Woody Allen. It's a monument to valuing someone else's "individualism" and right to it. So often people don't do that and it's the cornerstone of how this became a great country.
_ Nancy Schobert Entrup of Oneonta
I love "Nobody's Fool" with Paul Newman. Lots of great performances by the supporting cast. The card game scene is priceless, as well as the follow up scene where the "leg" is returned. It is a movie that makes you laugh out loud, and yet Sully's darkness is omnipresent.
_ Bruce Kerans of Cooperstown
"High Noon." Gary Cooper's best film. Deserted by his community, he fulfills his job and then throws his star in the dirt.
_ Charles Steinberg of Long Beach
My favorite movie of all time is "Gone With The Wind." I love all the beautiful dresses and gorgeous plantation houses. I would have loved to have been a Southern bell.
_ Brooke Bassett of Franklin
Actually there are three movies I favor and see over and over again. The oldest is "Cabaret," with Joel Grey and Liza Minelli. It reminds me of another time and place, a whole different world. Next is "Rainman," with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. So different, so touching. It actually infuses my body and soul with contentment. My third favorite is "Pretty Woman" with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Pretty, regal and uplifting! I feel relaxed, released and satisfied with all the happy endings. All the movies are different, yet so alike.
_ Norma Dianich of Stamford
I decided to go with my favorite cult classic film, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai." The plot is really confusing. Basically, Buckaroo Banzai, a scientist and rock star, becomes the Earth's last hope in a battle against inter-dimensional aliens (all of them named John). Peter Weller, who later played RoboCop, is great in the film as the title character. John Lithgow is also great as the film's antagonist, Dr. Lizardo. But what really makes this film worthwhile is that it's pretty much a live-action cartoon. However the film's biggest drawback is that it requires multiple views to understand it completely.
_ Greg Hunter of Oneonta
"Magnificent Seven" is a film of high moral ground, compassion for the suffering, abandonment of financial wealth and standing against racial bigotry and terrorism. It opens as two gunfighters offer to drive a team of horses and funeral wagon to a grave site. The grave site is for whites, but the body in the wagon is a man of different ethnicity. A dangerous mission. In the crowd, three men witness this courage. They need the heroes to aid their village. A ruthless gang dominates them. The heroes do not come cheaply, neither do the others they summon. A terrific score.
_ Don Carter of Harpersfield
It's hard to narrow it down to just one! My favorite movies go according to how I feel when I have watched them over and over again. So here's the top five: "The Wizard of Oz," "North to Alaska," "Beautiful Girls," "Now, Voyager" and "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you the way you asked. It' just to difficult too choose.
_ Karen Rains of LaGrange, N.C., originally from Edmeston
My favorite movie is "Chariots of Fire." It is the story of Eric Liddle and his quest for Olympic Gold at the 1924 Olympic games. He was a reluctant hero who faced conflict in his life over becoming a missionary to China and running in competitions. It works out in the end and he does both. A great human interest story. Also it won the Oscar for Best Picture that year.
_ Bruce D. Barnes of Oneonta
My favorite movie is the "Princess Bride." Andre the Giant should have won an Oscar for his performance. The movie has some awesome lines. Unfortunately, the only one my wife will let me quote is "as you wish."
_ Andy White of Norwich
"The Wizard of Oz" is my all-time favorite movie. It's great for kids and adults alike. It reminds adults what it's like to dream, and shows kids that there is "somewhere over the rainbow." It's just a classic!
_ Morgan Liddell of Oneonta
Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" with Alastair Sim. Christmas is hardly Christmas without seeing that wonderful rendition in the evening.
_ Betsy Mazurak of Delhi
I love "The Sound of Music." I've seen it 25 times. I have it on tape and DVD and I watch it every time it's shown on television.
_ Janice Naylor of Mount Vision
A student of history, my favorite movie is "Movin' On," a 60-minute documentary on how the railroads helped build America between 1840 and World War II. It deals with the struggle between labor and management and was produced by the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, which was founded in the Little Red Caboose in Oneonta. When I was a high school teacher I showed the movie to my classes every year. I now own the video and never get tired of watching how the railroads literally built this nation and tied it together between the Civil War and World War II.
_ Jan Benson of Jefferson
My favorite movie is "A League of Their Own," about the women's softball leagues during World War II. My daughters who played sports loved watching the women athletes and how they eventually gained acceptance and appreciation. The Baseball Hall of Fame had some of the ballplayers there from the league, and they played catch. These grandmotherly women could really fire the balls as they threw, and stung my girls' mitted hands (and dad's). Aside from the entertainment, a beautiful movie _ you laugh, cry and have the occasional neck shiver _ you also have history and a partially local setting.
_ Ron Shumway of Morris
"Gone with the Wind," the classic epic illustrating the end of an era, is enthralling and technically superior to many films. Skillfully crafted, the work depicts historical tumults of the South during the Civil War, as well as unveils the pivotal years of Hollywood, in which all aspects of filmmaking exceeded mere flourish. Acting, cinematography, costume design, art direction, editing, production in its entirety of "Gone with the Wind" is unfathomably stunning. The impassioned connection evoked in the viewer is completely justified by the dramatic, clever and effortlessly romantic characters and story. This film is timeless, a perfectly constructed masterpiece.
_ Ian Brydon, Senior at Delaware Academy, 17, of Treadwell
"An Affair To Remember." First of all _ it's CARY GRANT!!! As if that's not enough, the story is the classic "love conquers all" message. Definitely a chick flick, and definitely a feel-good _ but with tears _ movie. I think I'll go watch it now!
_ Linda Freudenmann of Franklin
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