Arnold Schwarzenegger names his six favourite movies of all time
If AI were to create an action hero based on the history of American cinema, it would probably churn out someone similar to the clean-cut look of Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, Bruce Willis’ John McClane or Daniel Craig’s James Bond. Indeed, even if the Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has starred in some of the most iconic action movies of all time, his idiosyncratic acting style and towering stance make him something of a cinematic enigma.
Starting his career as a champion bodybuilder long before he pursued a life in Hollywood, Schwarzenegger would earn his first role in the fantasy movie Hercules in New York, where he played the title character. Instantly catching the eyes of Hollywood moguls, he would later earn a starring role in 1982’s Conan the Barbarian before his career was catapulted to success with the release of James Cameron’s Terminator in 1984.
The actor’s fame would only grow throughout the rest of the decade, appearing in the action favourite Commando, John McTiernan’s Predator and 1987s The Running Man, an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 novel of the same name. Having built up a filmography of classic movies, Schwarzenegger has a strong global fanbase and even sat down with Rotten Tomatoes in 2017 to talk about his six favourite movies of all time.
First on his list is the Steven Spielberg classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, released in 1982, which tells the story of an alien who crash-lands on earth and strikes up a friendship with a young boy. “I think that [E.T.] was a whole new way of entertaining,” he told the publication, adding: “Spielberg did just a spectacular job on that. It was literally for everyone to enjoy. I mean, it doesn’t matter — women, men, young, old — everybody could enjoy that movie”.
Second on his list is the all-time 1970s favourite The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won three Oscars in 1972, including ‘Best Picture’. “I think, when you talk about action movies, the combined story with action. And again, you know, really well-fleshed-out characters and all that. I mean, Godfather is without any doubt one of the best of that kind,” Schwarzenegger says of the classic.
Taking the third spot is another gem of classic Hollywood, the Robert Wise musical The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Speaking about the movie, the Terminator actor explained: “It’s Austria: the music, the look of it. I think it was really a movie that was a very interesting story, but it sold my homeland visually in such a spectacular way. And I have gone, of course, to all of the various different locations that they shot the scenes and all that in Salzburg and around in the Alps and all that stuff. It’s a really spectacular, entertaining film”.
Sticking on the theme of American classics, the actor’s next pick is the James Cameron movie Titanic from 1997, praising the filmmaker as he states: “I thought that it was just really well done, visual effects, personal stories about people, the character’s development, the action, and then the end. The emotional roller coaster ride was –and the music. Everything was a straight 10”.
The Clint Eastwood revisionist western ‘Best Picture’ winner, Unforgiven, is Schwarzenegger’s penultimate choice, calling the director and lead star, “an idol of mine”. Continuing, he added: “I always idolised him since before I came over to America. I loved his Western movies and followed his career very closely, then became friends with him and really admired him. Tremendously skilled as a producer, as a director, the music he does for his movies, the acting, the directing — I mean everything”.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favourite movies
- E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
- The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
- The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965)
- Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)
- Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992)
- Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973)
Schwarzenegger’s final pick is the 1973 sci-fi western Westworld, based on the book by the Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton. “It just had the most profound impact on me,” the iconic action star stated, adding: it just had the most profound impact on me — what got me to be really interested in playing The Terminator. Because Yul Brynner plays a machine that malfunctions, and it’s a very well-made movie, a very well-written movie”.
