Stephen King’s 10 favorite films in cinema history
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Stephen King has selected his 10 favorite films in cinema history. On Monday, he mentioned works by William Friedkin, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese on X, notably excluding adaptations of his own novels. The most recent film adaptations of his books are The Long Walk and The Running Man.
The list, presented without a specific ranking, includes several classics from the 1970s. He begins with Friedkin’s Sorcerer, which faced commercial failure and harsh criticism upon release—just a month after Star Wars shook U.S. theaters in 1977. In later decades, however, it has been recognized as an underrated masterpiece.
King also chose The Godfather Part II, winner of six Oscars, and The Getaway starring Steve McQueen. Perhaps most surprising among his choices are Kubrick’s The Shining, the romantic comedy Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, Palm Springs with Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg, and Happy Death Day.
Other favorites include the romantic drama Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman with its iconic dialogue; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre directed by John Huston; and Billy Wilder’s classic noir Double Indemnity. Rounding out the list are the summer blockbuster Jaws, which recently grossed $10 million on its 50th anniversary re-release; Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi drama Close Encounters of the Third Kind; and Scorsese’s Mean Streets, his first collaboration with Robert De Niro.
More than half of these works—including Sorcerer, The Godfather Part II, The Getaway, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Jaws, and Double Indemnity—were based on novels, while Close Encounters of the Third Kind was published simultaneously as a novel alongside its theatrical release.
Had King set humility aside, he might have included adaptations of his own works, such as Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me, as well as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining or Brian De Palma’s Carrie.
