With his RRR, our very own Rajamouli has become a global phenomenon. Recently, he won the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director! And you know something, 16 out of the last 22 times, the winner went on to win Best Director at the Oscars. And in Sight and Sound magazine he listed his favorite films which shaped him as a filmmaker.
Sight and Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade Sight and Sound Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing since 1952. And it lists filmmakers’ favorite films.
Here Mayabazar To Ben-Hur, 10 All Time Favourite Movies Of SS Rajamouli He Listed On Sight And Sound Magazine
Ps: Not ranked in any particular order
1. Forrest Gump (1994)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Screenplay by Eric Roth
Story by Winston Groom
Starring:
Tom Hanks
Robin Wright
Gary Sinise
Mykelti Williamson
Sally Field
Slow-witted Forrest Gump has never thought of himself as disadvantaged, and thanks to his supportive mother, he leads anything but a restricted life. Whether dominating on the gridiron as a college football star, fighting in Vietnam, or captaining a shrimp boat, Forrest inspires people with his childlike optimism. But one person Forrest cares about most may be the most difficult to save — his childhood love, the sweet but troubled Jenny.
2. Mayabazar (1957)
Directed by K. V. Reddy
Screenplay by K. V. Reddy
Story by Pingali Nagendra Rao
Starring:
N. T. Rama Rao
Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Gemini Ganesan
Savitri
S. V. Ranga Rao
Balarama promises Subhadra to get his daughter married to her son. However, when he loses his kingdom to the Kauravas, Balarama has no choice but to break his promise.
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan
Story by George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Starring:
Harrison Ford
Karen Allen
Paul Freeman
Ronald Lacey
John Rhys-Davies
Denholm Elliott
An epic tale in which an intrepid archaeologist tries to beat a band of Nazis to a unique religious relic that is central to their plans for world domination. Battling against a snake phobia and a vengeful ex-girlfriend, Indiana Jones is in constant peril, making hair’s-breadth escapes at every turn in this celebration of the innocent adventure movies of an earlier era.
4. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Directed by John Stevenson, Mark Osborne
Screenplay by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Story by Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris
Starring:
Jack Black
Dustin Hoffman
Angelina Jolie
Ian McShane
Seth Rogen
Jackie Chan
Po might just be the laziest, clumsiest panda in the Valley of Peace, but he secretly dreams of becoming a kung fu legend. When the villainous snow leopard Tai Lung threatens Po’s homeland, the hapless panda is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy and defend the Valley from attack. Training under Master Shifu, Po embarks on an epic high-kicking adventure as he sets out to thwart Tai Lung’s evil plans. A DreamWorks animation.
5. Aladdin (1992)
Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements
Starring:
Scott Weinger
Robin Williams
Linda Larkin
Jonathan Freeman
Aladdin is a lovable street urchin who meets Princess Jasmine, the beautiful daughter of the sultan of Agrabah. While visiting her exotic palace, Aladdin stumbles upon a magic oil lamp that unleashes a powerful, wisecracking, larger-than-life genie. As Aladdin and the genie start to become friends, they must soon embark on a dangerous mission to stop the evil sorcerer Jafar from overthrowing young Jasmine’s kingdom.
6. Braveheart (1995)
Directed by Mel Gibson
Written by Randall Wallace
Starring:
Mel Gibson
Sophie Marceau
Patrick McGoohan
Catherine McCormack
Brendan Gleeson
William Wallace is the medieval Scottish patriot who is spurred into revolt against the English when the love of his life is slaughtered. Leading his army into battles that become a war, his advance into England threatens King Edward I’s throne before he is captured and executed, but not before becoming a symbol for a free Scotland.
7. Apocalypto (2006)
Directed by Mel Gibson
Written by Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia
Starring:
Rudy Youngblood
Raoul Trujillo
Mayra Sérbulo
Dalia Hernández
Jonathan Brewe
The Mayan kingdom is at the height of its opulence and power but the foundations of the empire are beginning to crumble. The leaders believe they must build more temples and sacrifice more people or their crops and citizens will die. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), a peaceful hunter in a remote tribe, is captured along with his entire village in a raid. He is scheduled for a ritual sacrifice until he makes a daring escape and tries to make it back to his pregnant wife and son.
8. Ben-Hur (1959)
Directed by William Wyler
Screenplay by Karl Tunberg
Starring:
Charlton Heston
Jack Hawkins
Haya Harareet
Stephen Boyd
Epic drama about an aristocratic Jew living in Judaea who incurs the wrath of a childhood friend, now a Roman tribune. Although forced into slavery on a galley and compelled to witness the cruel persecution of his family, he survives, harboring dreams of vengeance. A battle at sea and a chariot race are among the memorable sequences. The film used 300 sets at Rome’s Cinecitta Studios and won a record 11 Oscars.
9. Django Unchained (2012)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Written by Quentin Tarantino
Starring:
Jamie Foxx
Christoph Waltz
Leonardo DiCaprio
Kerry Washington
Samuel L. Jackson
Two years before the Civil War, Django, a slave, finds himself accompanying an unorthodox German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz on a mission to capture the vicious Brittle brothers. Their mission is successful, Schultz frees Django, and together they hunt the South’s most-wanted criminals. Their travels take them to the infamous plantation of shady Calvin Candie, where Django’s long-lost wife is still a slave.
10. The Lion King (1994)
Directed by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton
This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba, the heir of his father, Mufasa. Simba’s wicked uncle, Scar, plots to usurp Mufasa’s throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon and Pumbaa.
Watch them if you haven’t yet
