Nicolas Cage names his four favorite films of all time

Actor Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas, Raise Arizona, Renfield) is a well-known cinephile and was asked by Letterboxd (via GamesRadar) on the red carpet of the Toronto International Film Festival what are his favorite films. Of course, he was very thoughtful in his response and gave some interesting answers.

The first film Cage lists is Federico FelliniIt’s 1965 Juliet of the Spirits, a comedy-drama that follows a middle-aged woman who contacts the dead during a séance after becoming suspicious of her husband’s wandering gaze. Through her spiritual guidance, the woman discovers more about herself and her husband than she expected.

The second film is one of those obvious answers, as some call it the greatest film of all time, but you can tell he really means his answer, and that is, of course, Orson Welles’Masterpiece of 1942 Citizen Kane. The classic story centers on a journalist who tries to decipher a message left by a dead tycoon, uncovering its secrets. Having held the top spot in the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound critics’ poll for 50 consecutive years, it’s no surprise that the film still remains a favorite of many.

The third film on Cage’s list is the French coming-of-age drama 400 shots directed by François Truffaut. Published in 1960, 400 shots follows a neglected boy who turns to a life of petty crime, taking inspiration from director Truffaut’s teenage adventures.

Cage concludes his list with another giant of cinema 2001: A Space Odysseydirected by the legendary Stanley KubricK. At the beginning of the 1968 sci-fi adventure, an astronaut finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and, with the help of a supercomputer, sets out to find its origin.

“Yeah, it goes on and on,” Cage concludes at the end of the interview, suggesting that he could go on and on about his favorite films. The guy should start a podcast. I bet he would have a lot of listeners!