Friday Favourites: Your Favourite Movie?

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

This week I'm breaking from the mould a bit for this meme. I'm asking what your favourite movie is - because I was lucky enough to see mine on the TV the other day and it rekindled my love for the movie, and this post gave me the excuse to rave about it further.

My answer is:

The Last Samurai. I first saw it last year, or was it the year before now? with a friend, and then within the week I'd gone out and bought my own copy along with the soundtrack and watched it another three or four times. Since then, I hadn't seen it again until the other night. It's definitely got my favourite listing for the soundtrack. Hans Zimmer has done some wonderful composing for The Last Samurai. (side note: Hans Zimmer has also done my second favourite soundtrack as well: Gladiator)

There's something about this movie that intrigued me - to the point where I've been borrowing or buying a number of books on Japanese history and culture off and on. That's what's inspired my reading of books like James Clavell's Shogun, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, and the non-fiction book Geisha, a Life by Mineko Iwasaki. Those aren't the only books on Japan that I've read either. I'm on the look-out for more books as well.

Either way, regardless of the way the movie intrigued me, in my mind it has maintained a good balance between all of the various elements, and if you watch your way through the commentaries, it's made clear just how much the makers tried to stay true to the period and to respect the culture - something I really appreciate in a historical movie, whether or not I know much about the period or not.

So, what's your favourite movie of all time?