Here Are Tim Burton’s Two All-Time Favorite Movies He Could Watch Again and Again
Tim Burton recently shared his two all-time favorite movies that he can watch again and again, even if he just saw them the day before.
Speaking with the Cannes Film Festival, he revealed a surprisingly classic pick: Where Eagles Dare. “It’s strange, there’s a weird one like Where Eagles Dare; it’s a movie that every time it’s on TV, I watch it,” Burton said.
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 action-adventure war film directed by Brian G. Hutton. The movie stars Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure and is set during World War II.
It follows a Special Operations team trying to rescue a captured American general from the fictional Schloß Adler fortress, only for the mission to take unexpected turns. The screenplay was written by Alistair MacLean, who also wrote the novel, and both were successful at the time.
The film involved top filmmakers of the era and was shot on location in Austria. Hollywood stuntman Yakima Canutt directed the second unit, handling most of the action sequences, while British stuntman Alf Joint doubled for Richard Burton in several stunts. Award-winning composer Ron Goodwin created the film score, and future Oscar nominee Arthur Ibbetson handled cinematography.
Where Eagles Dare received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the action, the music, and the performances of Burton and Eastwood. Over the years, it has become a classic.
For Tim Burton, the appeal is more than just the story. “It’s got a mood to it, in the snow, and you’ve got the soundtrack and the quietness,” he explained, emphasizing the atmosphere that keeps him coming back.
Burton’s second favorite is The Omega Man, a 1971 post-apocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston.
The movie follows Colonel Robert Neville as the last man alive after a Sino-Soviet biological plague devastates the world. “There are certain films I would watch anytime, even if I had seen them the day before,” Burton said of the movie.
The Omega Man is the second adaptation of Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend, following The Last Man on Earth (1964) with Vincent Price and preceding the 2007 Will Smith adaptation. The film also has connections to other sci-fi classics, as its producer Walter Seltzer worked again with Heston on Soylent Green in 1973.
Even though Burton is known for his offbeat and gothic style, he clearly finds something timeless in these two films. Their mix of action, atmosphere, and storytelling has earned them a permanent spot on his personal list of movies he can watch over and over.
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