Tom Hanks names his 10 favourite movies of all time: “I still watch it a couple of times a year”
From lending his voice to the beloved cowboy Woody in the Toy Story franchise to leading the charge up Omaha Beach as Captain Miller in the Steven Spielberg epic Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks is rightfully known as one of Hollywood’s greatest-ever stars. His position as one of cinema’s friendliest faces has not stopped him from being cast in some of Hollywood’s most memorable roles.
Enjoying over four decades in the industry limelight, Hanks has had the chance to collaborate with the likes of Wes Anderson, Jonathan Demme, Robert Zemeckis and many more. Hanks’ career is one of the most exemplary in living memory, having been involved in some of cinema’s greatest pieces of entertainment.
Thanks to his countless starring roles in some of cinema’s most beloved masterworks, Hanks has unsurprisingly gathered quite a legion of global fans, with each and everyone eager to discover his opinion on the world of popular culture. In service of such supporters, we’ve collated Hanks’ all-time favourite movies into one definitive list, giving a fascinating insight into the personality of one of Hollywood’s greatest icons.
Creating a list of one’s favourite films is usually a task only really savoured by true cinephiles. While this list was compiled by our team at Far Out, there’s a good chance that Hanks would have enjoyed the opportunity to do the same. Hanks is not only a legendary actor but a true lover of cinema, having invested over half his life in making the best movies ever.
Let’s get things going with the epic Stanley Kubrick science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, an iconic piece of cinema that went on to inspire a whole generation of burgeoning filmmakers. Repeatedly naming the film as his all-time favourite, Hanks recently stated: “I still watch it a couple of times a year…I could walk you through 2001: A Space Odyssey and not stop talking once during the entire film so I don’t know if you want to have that experience?”
In the very same interview, Hanks was quick to name three other favourites, highlighting his love for the Beatles movie A Hard Day’s Night, William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives and the X-rated ‘Best Picture’ winner Midnight Cowboy.
Elsewhere, Hanks took to a Reddit AMA where he named two other all-time favourites, picking out one recent sci-fi great and another WWII classic. The first was the Rian Johnson time travel thriller Looper from 2012, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a film that was underappreciated by many, and the second was the 1981 slow-burning drama Das Boot from director Wolfgang Petersen.
There’s also another movie Hanks confesses was a “revelation” for him when he watched it, referring to the 1997 movie Boogie Nights, directed by the great Paul Thomas Anderson. With an all-star cast that includes the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds, the film explores the glitz and glamour of the porn industry in 1970s Los Angeles.
The final three movies that make up his ten favourites include the dark Gus Van Sant drama Elephant from 2003, the Coen brothers classic Fargo from 1996 and the Francis Ford Coppola double-bill The Godfather Parts I and II. Yes, before you berate us, we know this is four movies, but in the interest of a nicely rounded ten, we’ve grouped Coppola’s crime chronicle together.
Take a look at the full list of Tom Hanks’ all-time favourite movies below.
Tom Hanks’ favourite movies:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
- The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
- Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)
- Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1981)
- Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)
- Fargo (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1996)
- The Godfather: Parts I and II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
- A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964)
- Looper (Rian Johnson, 2012)
- Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969)
