S. S. Rajamouli names the 10 greatest movies of all time
Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve; why is it that when we talk about the greatest filmmakers of all time, we’re always referencing directors from Hollywood? Sure, the South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho gets some love, as does the Swedish creative Ruben Östlund, but others, like the influential Indian director S. S. Rajamouli, go without the necessary credit.
Dominating Indian cinema in the 21st century, Rajamouli worked his way up from relative obscurity, helming his debut Student No. 1 in 2001 all the way up to an Oscar win for his wild 2022 film RRR. Yet, it would be foolish to merely recognise his latest film as his crowning achievement, having also succeeded with other modern classics like 2012’s comedy flick Eega and his Baahubali saga.
Yet, no movie garnered him more global attention than RRR, with endless filmmakers coming out to praise him and the film. “I couldn’t believe my eyes – it was like eye candy. It was extraordinary to look at and experience,” the legendary director Steven Spielberg said of the movie, praising Rajamouli face-to-face, “I thought your movie was outstanding…it was just amazing”.
“I can almost get up from the chair and do a dance – it means a lot to me,” Rajamouli said in response to Spielberg’s comments, and there’s no wonder the RRR filmmaker was so taken aback by the praise, for he considers the director’s 1981 classic Raiders of the Lost Ark to be one of the greatest ever made”.
“The film revolutionised the adventure genre,” Rajamouli told Sight and Sound when listing his picks for the ten greatest movies of all time, “Indiana Jones is unapologetically true to himself and a true-blue hero. He has a captivating character arc as well”.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is just one of ten movies Rajamouli picked out, with other Hollywood classics including the Disney movies Aladdin and The Lion King from 1992 and 1994, respectively. “I love how the film creates a world of its own and uses magic and other elements to narrate its story,” the director said of the former, before exclaiming, “The Lion King is arguably the most popular and loved animated film in the history of cinema!”.
Elsewhere, Rajamouli is fond of a classic contemporary release from Tarantino, bypassing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Hateful Eight to choose 2012’s Django Unchained. “I’ve always loved Quentin Tarantino’s films. Django Unchained is a bold masterpiece with a raw screenplay,” said of the movie that stars Jamie Foxx as a vengeful freed slave searching for his wife.
Take a look at the full list of the ten movies S. S. Rajamouli calls the very best below.
S. S. Rajamouli picks the 10 greatest movies:
- Aladdin (Ron Clements, John Musker, 1992)
- Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006)
- Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959)
- Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995)
- Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)
- Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
- Kung Fu Panda (Mark Osborne, John Stevenson, 2008)
- The Lion King (Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers, 1994)
- Maya Bazaar (K. V. Reddy, 1957)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
