Stephen King drops his list of 10 favorite movies ever

You might be surprised to know that Stephen King’s list of favorite movies skips over his own adaptations and also jumps all over the place because, apparently, it has no particular order.

Sorcerer

You might think that a film called Sorcerer would be about spells. It’s nothing of the sort. The film actually features plenty of trucks and jungle roads, as well as more nitroglycerin than any other film out there. It’s no surprise King likes it so much, though.

With William Friedkin directing and Roy Scheider starring, the film was bound to be a classic. The film’s about four men who take a job to transport dangerous material through the jungle, mostly because their lives are a mess. You know, usual film stuff.

The Godfather II

The Godfather Part II is one of those rare sequel films that doesn’t feel like your standard sequel film. You get to see Michael Corleone become a colder and harder-to-read figure in one half. During the other, you learn about how Vito Corleone built his life.

The film won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor. But the greatest achievement has to be that it made it onto Stephen King’s list of his favorite films of all time.

The Getaway

The Getaway is a film as slick as it is nasty. It’s about a man named Doc McCoy who manages to get out of prison but then gets pulled into a bank job. Everything then goes sideways. Steve McQueen plays Doc in such a stiff and cool way that it’s not hard to see why King likes it.

Let’s not forget about Ali MacGraw’s Carol. She gives the entire escape sequence more bite than practically anyone else in cinema. However, what makes the film so great is that it’s not trying to be fancy. A bag of money and a couple on the run, that’ll do. That’s enough.

Groundhog Day

You can’t get any more classic than Groundhog Day. It had an idea, a time loop, that was pretty refreshing at the time for films, although it’s a bit overdone now. The film stars Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a man who’s experiencing February 2 again. And again. And again.

You might think it sounds repetitive, and that’s kind of the point. There’s something so interesting about the whole thing. Harold Ramis also helps each loop stay funny without it being explained to death.

Casablanca

You couldn’t make a list like this without Casablanca on it. It seems Stephen King agrees. The film’s about a man named Rick who runs a nightclub in wartime Morocco and his relationship with Ilsa Lund. 

Each conversation in the film has much more going on under the surface. Plus, with a star-studded cast like Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid, you really can’t go wrong. No wonder it won so many awards at the 1944 Oscars.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

That’s not all for Humphrey Bogart. He also stars in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a film about three men searching for gold in Mexico. But in Sierra Madre, Bogart plays a sweatier and a bit more of an unpleasant guy.

The film begins as an adventure. It doesn’t take long for everything to go wrong, though. King’s not the only fan of the film, either, as it was actually added to the Library of Congress’s United States National Film Registry.

Jaws

Everyone knows Jaws. Not everyone loves it, sure, but everyone knows it, and that includes Stephen King. It might have something to do with Steven Spielberg’s incredible direction and how he makes Amity Island look so normal and then so dangerous, out of nowhere.

The shark’s not even the best part of it. No, the magic’s all down to Roy Scheider’s Brody, Richard Dreyfuss’s Hooper, and Robert Shaw’s Quint. They make all that waiting and arguing seem absolutely gripping.

Mean Streets

It’s true. Mean Streets does take a little time to get going, but once it’s there, you feel as though you’re in the middle of another person’s argument. Charlie, the film’s main character, is like most people. He’s trying to be good. Or, at least, good enough while Johnny Boy makes it harder.

It’s not one of those crime films that tries to wow you with some huge chase scenes or anything. No, it’s a lot more about bars and favors, guilt and Catholic worry. That’s what makes it such a one-of-a-kind film.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Somehow, Close Encounters of the Third Kind makes a mashed-potato mountain seem way more serious than it is. The film’s another one starring Richard Dreyfuss, and it also has Spielberg as both the writer and director. King really seems to like those two. 

In the film, Dreyfuss plays Roy Neary, a man who sees a UFO and tries to make sense of it. The aliens are a big draw, of course. But really, it’s all that weirdness on the kitchen table that’s doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Double Indemnity

Anyone looking for a glamorous movie probably shouldn’t be watching Double Indemnity. It’s not that kind of film. No, this is one about an insurance office, a policy, a husband in the way, and Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff deciding that he should join in the plan.

Barbara Stanwyck adds some danger, too, in her role as Phyllis Dietrichson. It’s another 1940s classic film that Stephen King said he enjoys. Rightly so.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.