Kenneth Branagh names the 10 greatest movies of all time
British actor and director Kenneth Branagh is widely credited with bringing the works of William Shakespeare to a contemporary audience. Branagh is a diehard believer in the impact of Shakespeare and has taken the directorial reigns as well as starred in some of the greatest film adaptations of the Bard of all time.
Branagh has been awarded with an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmys, a Golden Globe and an Oliver throughout his career, making him one of the most decorated actors of his generation. Back in 2012, offering a peek behind the curtain of his inspirations, Branagh selected his picks for the ten greatest films of all time in a feature with the BFI.
Immediately, we see that Branagh holds close attention to two films which often top the ‘Best Films of All Time’ list. Firstly, Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia examination The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, and Orson Welles’ tale of the rise and fall of a media tycoon Citizen Kane, in which Welles also performed in the lead role.
Branagh also picks out one of Martin Scorsese’s best works, Raging Bull. The 1980 feature saw Robert De Niro star in one of his all-time great performances as the middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta. LaMotta’s aggression and self-destructive behaviour were primarily the reasons for his excellence in the ring, but it was also the downfall of his family life.
There’s also room for classic Japanese cinema on Branagh’s list too. He selects Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon. The feature told of the varying accounts of those who claimed to have witnessed the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife and gave rise to the ‘Rashomon effect’, which explains the subjective variance of multiple people who claim to have seen the same event.
Branagh’s list also significantly departs from films that are often uttered in the breath of the greatest films of all time. He selects the 2012 film Cloud Atlas, co-directed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykver, starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugo Weaving, taking place across six eras in time.
We also see the inclusion of William Friedkin’s horror classic The Exorcist, Patty Jenkin’s 2003 film Monster, and Spike Lee’s widely admired Do the Right Thing. Check out the complete list of Branagh’s selections for the ten greatest movies of all time below.
Kenneth Branagh’s 10 favourite movies:
- The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
- Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003)
- Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer & Lana and Lily Wachowski, 2012)
- Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947)
- Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
- The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
- Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
- Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017)
- Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
