Michael Caine recommends five movies everybody needs to watch
If you’re looking for film recommendations, who better to take them from than Michael Caine himself? Between a starring role in heist movie staple The Italian Job and a series of appearances in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the London-born actor has become one of the most familiar faces – and voices – to grace our screens. He’s amassed a mammoth filmography over the course of his career, so it’s safe to say that he knows cinema.
If you’ve somehow managed to make your way through Caine’s entire catalogue, through every Nolan collaboration and every Cockney character, and you’re still looking to bask in his cinematic knowledge, fear not. The actor is more than willing to share his favourite movies, a list filled with just as much acclaim and esteem as his own career.
During a conversation with Esquire, Caine picked out five films that he believes everyone should see, starting with the 1942 classic Casablanca. Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film takes the title of Caine’s favourite of all time. It also stars his favourite actor of all time, Humphrey Bogart, whose filmography even had a hand in Caine’s creation of his stage name.
Casablanca is always up there with the all-time greats, so it’s no surprise that Caine believes everyone should give it a watch at some point during their lifetime. In the same vein, he named Lawrence of Arabia as one of his picks. Since its release in the early 1960s, the ambitious adventure flick has only gathered more and more acclaim, winning over the likes of Ridley Scott and Denis Villeneuve.
Caine made two more specific recommendations, both of which were released over half a century ago, reflecting his lengthy career within the business. He picked out Carol Reed’s spy picture, The Third Man, in 1949, and Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, which he had picked up around five years later. He clearly holds that era of cinema close to his heart, still.
The actor did include one more modern pick on his list, however: “Anything done by Christopher Nolan.” Caine and Nolan have honed a close relationship since they first collaborated on Batman Begins. The actor continued to star in his superhero series and has since appeared in Inception, Tenet, and more. “I’ve been in all of his movies!” Caine exclaimed, “But I think Chris Nolan is the greatest movie director.”
He’s not wrong – Nolan is certainly a cut above the rest. Few other modern filmmakers are working on his scale, reinventing the blockbuster and playing with huge themes like time and space. While Caine may be biased, having worked with Nolan so frequently, his filmography certainly is essential watching for fans of cinema (and for fans of Caine).
With a range of classics and contemporary flicks, Caine’s list of recommendations seems to reflect his own tastes as well as his own filmography. If you’re looking for an all-time great that wins the title of Caine’s all-time favourite, dip into Casablanca. Or, if you’re looking for something a little more modern, take your pick from Nolan’s impressive filmography.
Michael Caine’s recommended movies:
- Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz)
- The Third Man (1949, Carol Reed)
- On the Waterfront (1954, Elia Kazan)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962, David Lean)
- Christopher Nolan’s filmography