I can name several, but one of the best films ever made has to be Lawrence of Arabia. Seeing it on the big screen is amazing. The scenery is fabulous, the story is great, the acting is top notch. It is beyond all doubt a classic.

In my opinion, far superior to Avatar.

Others that fit that bill:

Bridge on the River Kwai
Au Revoir Les Enfants
Cinema Paradiso

American History X
The Fifth Element
Barton Fink
Miller's Crossing
Inglorious Basterds


I could go on and on.

I loved Avatar, but it was not the most fantastic movie ever made...it was a spectacle, but it did not have the story to stand the test of time.

Of course, I could be wrong.

This could be one loooong thread!Nonsense - it ends at post #6.I stand corrected... :D

There's something to be said for watching a movie that's light on drama, where you know you won't be so deeply invested emotionally. Avatar (and movies like it) fill a need for pure entertainment when all you're looking for is a casual cinema-going experience.

While I'll applaud films like American History X or United 93, they're not exactly films I'm inclined to view with repeated frequency. Honestly, how depressing would that be? Once is pretty much enough to be able to grasp and appreciate the film for its social significance. I would rate the above two movies as being much better films than Avatar, while at the same time still being able to appreciate Avatar for what it is. The two opinions aren't mutually exclusive :)

I liked Avatar better the first time I saw it and it was called The Last Samurai.

The Last Samurai pulled off some equally impressive feats such as.. stunning visuals without 3D or over the top digital animation..

And they also managed to animate Tom Cruise into a serviceable performance. Nearly as impressive as the 20 years James Cameron spent developing his blue people!

That being said - I still enjoyed watching Avatar. An excellent popcorn movie!

Avatar was merely eye candy with a bunch of filler. I saw the Sherlock Holmes movie last night, it was also better than James Cameron's ode to his ego.

K wait wait wait... hold on a second. Did OP mean better movie than Avatar this year, last year or ever? If this year, 2010, then I can't really think of any; Avatar is clearly the best movie so far this year :P. Last year, was kinda of a bad year for movies IMO, but the "best movie title" I would have to give it to either Inglorious Basterds or Hurt's Locker although there were a couple of more good movies that escape my mind (probably biased by the Globes).

If the question was all time better movies than Avatar :confused:... wow, just wow.

I agree with a lot of posters here about NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, in fact, damn near any Coen Bros. movie. O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? The best thing George Clooney ever did. I think AVATAR should be billed as a documentary about movie technology. "Look what we can do on screen! Now imagine a movie with a story and characters you care about!"

While I haven't seen Avatar, I did just catch The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and loved it. Then again, I'm a Gilliam fan and have been waiting years for this.

Recently caught Sherlocke Homes as well, and quite enjoyed the ride. Good, silly fun.

Cant think on one.:confused:
Pick 100 random movies. 99 are better.

I can name several, but one of the best films ever made has to be Lawrence of Arabia. Seeing it on the big screen is amazing. The scenery is fabulous, the story is great, the acting is top notch. It is beyond all doubt a classic.


I love Lawrence and wish I could see it in IMAX, it would be more impressive than Avatar in my book.

watched this movie in 3D IMAX and watched it again in 2D. Oh my Lord, this movie is just really really bad without IMAX and the 3D effect

Yes I believe Avatar is the best movie of all time. I have Lawrence on DVD, it holds up better than most 50 year old movies, nevertheless two theaters side by side, its no contest.

The Shawshank Redemption, probably one of the best acted, scripted movies of all time, but in a Theater, whats to see on the big screen.

Inglorious Basterds, IMHO a turd, Brad Pitt was horrible, the whole scalping and baseball batting did not ring in the least true. The Nazi opening, and the ending were A level, the rest basement.

Yes I believe Avatar is the best movie of all time.

You got to be kidding me, right?

I've got to agree with you there. Avatar really was a revamped Pocahontas-Fern Gully amalgamation with all the standard family-esque oriented clichés.
I'm glad you spoke of Bladerunner; far better movie in every respect; No.1 in my books. In the end, although Avatar wasn't the greatest movie of all time I think it made itself into a fairly entertaining flick. Just hasn't merited the acclaim is has received.

After hearing all the hype I finally went to see it tonight. What a dissappointment. Yes the special effects were impressive, but the story pretty unimpressive. In a word, just a wierd movie.

Anyway maybe it would be more of a challenge for the thread to name one movie worse then Avatar. I agree with james99, that 99% of movies are better.

is one that stands the test of time and can be watched again and again. It's one I'll watch on TV even though I may have it on DVD. That's a matter of personal preference which I know won't reflect everyones tastes.

Avatar was a technically brilliant movie and I enjoyed it and will probably get the BR when it comes out.

That said, movies I like better include:

Bridge over the River Kwai
Lawrence of Arabia
Field of Dreams
Casablanca
Glory

When I say that there are tons and tons of better movies out there compared to Avatar, I don't mean to denigrate the movie itself, because I definitely enjoyed it.

I, too, will be getting it on BD once its released - hopefully a shiny new TV to go along with it (whether or not it'll be a 3DTV is up in the air).

Avatar might be one of the most entertaining movies ever, but far from the best movie. You simply have to put aside any hope of a unique story before you go in.

UP!
I don't know why everyone's going bananas for avatar. It wasn't really all that good. The graphics were amazing but the plot and dialogue made me giggle like a little school girl. They were horribly bad and Sigourney Weaver's character was unbelieavably annoying.

Who thought he was not going to become a real boy. Who thought the Nazi's were not going to die at the beginning of any WWII movie, especially IB. Was Dorthy ever going to get back to Kansas? Was the Titanic going to sink?
Was the guy with no legs ever going to walk? Yes it was a good story.