Tom Hanks’ Favorite Movies: Eight Films the Oscar Winner Wants You to See

Asking an acclaimed actor like Tom Hanks about his favorite movies is like asking Shakespeare for literature recommendations. 

The beloved Hollywood everyman has been a constant presence on the big screen for the past four decades, and his hilariously dry supporting turn in Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” is a reminder that he still has plenty to contribute as a performer. His role in the wildly successful film presents a perfect opportunity to explore the films that shaped Hanks’ tastes.

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Hanks has always presented himself as a throwback to an age of kinder, gentler movie stars. So it’s not particularly surprising that his list of favorite movies is full of rock solid Hollywood classics. After listening to the Oscar winner talk about his favorite movies, it becomes clear that Hanks values the kind of timeless storytelling and quality acting that help great films remain relevant centuries after they hit theaters. He loves the kinds of black-and-white classics from Old Hollywood that he very well might have starred in if he was competing with Jimmy Stewart for roles in the 1940s. But his willingness to single out more contemporary independent features proves that he hasn’t taken his finger off the pulse of the film industry, either. 

Hanks has made no secret of his admiration for Stanley Kubrick, taking advantage of every opportunity he gets to heap praise on the auteur. An avid admirer of Kubrick’s cinematography, Hanks was astounded by the opening act of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” entitled “The Dawn of Man,” where for over 20 minutes the audience is left without dialogue and only the screams of a chimpanzee pack and silence of space. After a tapir bone is discovered and used as a bludgeoning weapon against an opposing group of primates, the skeletal remains are tossed into the sky, where the scene shifts from the bone to a satellite orbiting the earth, encapsulating the entire history of mankind in a single instant.

“‘2001’ had the greatest time cut in the history of time cuts,”Hanks said, recalling the first time he saw the film. “When that happened, my head exploded.”

Keep reading for an updating collection of movies that Hanks has publicly praised, listed in no particular order.

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