This is the finest piece of screenwriting ever, and it is matched by all other aspects — direction, photography, performance. There isn’t a false note anywhere, and the imagery and its consequences stay with you forever. I like to quote Mel Brooks in that I have “…about 3000 ‘favorite’ movies,” but this particular film places as close to the top as any. Thank you, Mr. Coppola.

Runners-Up: Raging Bull, Unforgiven, Nashville, Dr. Strangelove, Annie Hall, A Woman Under the Influence (and Breathless, Winter Light, Ashes and Diamonds, The 400 Blows, Rashomon, Dersu Uzala, 8 1/2, Umberto D., The Leopard …)