Few filmmakers in modern cinema have inspired quite the level of awe as Peter Jackson. From his humble beginnings making splatter comedies in New Zealand, to reshaping the fantasy landscape with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson has long been open about the films that shaped him.
In a 2009 interview with Rotten Tomatoes while promoting The Lovely Bones, he sat down to name his five favourite films of all time. Here, we list them, along with his commentary for each.
King Kong (1933)
“King Kong – the original 1933 King Kong, which is the film that got me interested in filmmaking when I saw it when I was eight years old.”
It’s perhaps no surprise that Jackson’s list begins with King Kong. The original RKO classic, directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, is one of the defining spectacles of early cinema.
A tale of beauty and the beast, the film follows adventurers to a mysterious island, where they discover a gigantic ape who ultimately meets his fate on the skyscrapers of New York.
It was the film that sparked Jackson’s dream of filmmaking, and in 2005, he paid the ultimate tribute with his own big-budget remake.
(Image: Getty)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
“Another movie that absolutely blew my mind was George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead”, jJackson explained. “That was an unbelievable film at that time, and really it did shape my sense of humor and splatter style of filmmaking that I did.”
Set largely in a shopping mall under siege by the undead, Dawn of the Dead combined social commentary with extreme gore, creating an allegory about consumer culture as hordes of zombies shambled through brightly lit department stores.
Jackson’s early films – from Bad Taste to Braindead (Dead Alive in the US) – gleefully combined outrageous violence with an absurdist sense of humour, much in Romero’s spirit.
(Image: Getty)
The General (1927)
Few silent films hold up with the sheer scale and precision of Buster Keaton’s The General. Based loosely on real events during the American Civil War, the film follows Keaton as a hapless train engineer who must single-handedly recapture his stolen locomotive and, in the process, win back the heart of his beloved.
“Buster Keaton’s The General, from 1927, I think is still one of the great films of all time. […] Treat yourself to one of the most incredible filmmakers at the height of his power”, said Jackson.
Though a box office disappointment in its day, The General is now considered one of the greatest comedies ever made – a masterpiece of timing, physical stunts, and technical innovation.
Keaton performs jaw-dropping feats atop speeding trains without the aid of special effects, a kind of raw cinema that Jackson admires.
(Image: Getty)
Goodfellas (1990)
Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas is widely hailed as one of the greatest gangster films ever made. Starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci (who won an Oscar for his terrifying turn as the volatile Tommy DeVito), the film traces the rise and fall of Henry Hill, charting decades of mob life with frenetic energy and needle-sharp direction.
Jackson explained his admiration: “Several films by Martin Scorsese – I’m a huge fan of his – but at the top I would say Goodfellas, probably, as my favorite Scorsese film.”
“That’s a movie that I always see when I feel that my imagination is kind of stuck and trapped, and I can’t think of a way forward. I watch Goodfellas and suddenly it frees me up entirely; it reminds me of what great film directing is all about.”
(Image: Warner Bros)