Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.
No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?
Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to one of my favorite places on Earth: Telluride, Colorado.
For the tenth time, I’ll make the journey into the San Juan Mountains for the Telluride Film Festival, where for four days, the mountains provide one of the most spectacular backdrops imaginable. So it seemed appropriate that this week’s Top Ten Tuesday head for higher ground.
There is something inherently cinematic about mountains. They can be beautiful and inviting, imposing and dangerous, or simply a place where characters go to escape the world below. In many great films, mountains aren’t merely a backdrop. They become part of the story itself, shaping the characters, influencing their choices, and sometimes becoming a character in their own right.
Whether they serve as a breathtaking and dangerous wilderness in the Appalachians, a place of terrifying isolation in the Rockies, a symbol of beauty and freedom in the Alps, or a mythical landscape in Middle-earth and Pandora, these are the ten greatest films where mountains play a major role.
10. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
9. Deliverance (1972)
8. The Gold Rush (1925)
7. The Shining (1980)
6. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
5. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
2. The Sound of Music (1965)
1. The Deer Hunter (1978)
