What are the most powerful films you have seen?

[longship]

60. Okay, here goes.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey -- no competition here. None whatsoever.
2. Gotta be Hitchcock, who never won a directing Oscar, the bastards. Take your pick of one of three big 1950's color films. I cannot decide on any random day. "Rear Window" with an Oscar worthy supporting actress performance by Thelma Ritter (the bastards, she wasn't even nominated), "Vertigo". The reveal scene alone deserves an Oscar, to say nothing of Kim Novack, the bastards. "North by Northwest" which long pre-empted Seinfeld by being a film about nothing. (Google "MacGuffin&quot Nevertheless, it is an extraordinary escapade on how to make yet another film that has a bad guy falling off a national landmark. (See also "Sabateur&quot Take your pick. Any one of the three could belong here. Any one of them do belong here.
3. The Third Man -- OMFG! What an incredible film. Joseph Cotton, long from Orson Welles' stable, turns in a helluva performance along with everybody else in this wonderful cast. Iconic noir. As always, it's the script.
4. Dr. Strangelove -- Yup! It's all about the script. "Jet exhaust frying chickens in the barnyard!" "I'm going to get those doors open if it hare lips everyone on Bear Creek!" Etc. What? Two Kubricks in the top four? Get over it. He was simply the best.
5. My Man Godfrey. A perfect script and cast. I often sarcastically call this film "Carlo's Defenestration" which happens in the last act. William Powell and Carole Lombard at their absolute best. A stellar supporting cast helps a lot. The script crackles! Cook Molly is a supporting actress cynic and standout.

After five, things get a bit fuzzy.

The absolutely extraordinary To Kill a Mockingbird belongs in the top ten. The only other one that comes to mind.