Got the blues on the most depressing day of the year? Then you might need a dose of director Jon Turteltaub’s 1993 effort Cool Runnings . The film was recently voted as the most uplifting movie of all time.
The heartwarming comedy is loosely based on the real-life story of the Jamaican bobsled team’s journey to the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. According to the Irish Times , the movie is considered to be one of the most uplifting tales in cinematic history.
Although Cool Runnings topped the recent UK survey, another popular favorite fell in very close behind. Director Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption missed the top spot by only one percent of the vote. The 1994 film, which stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, still sits atop the Internet Movie Database Top 250 .
These favorites were also joined by another 90s production, namely director Robert Zemeckis’s Tom Hanks classic Forrest Gump . According to The Independent , the film landed in the third place position with eight percent of the total votes. The French flick Amelie starring Audrey Tautou came in fourth, while the Matthew Broderick comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off .
Judging from the recent list of uplifting movies, it would seem modern filmmakers aren’t very good at producing heartwarming material. Most of the movies that made the cut are several years old. In fact, the most recent endeavor on the list is Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ 2006 comedy Little Miss Sunshine .
The folks at the DVD rental service LOVEFiLM are responsible for putting the survey together. Company editor Helen Cowley said of the list:
“There’s no better way to banish the January blues than by instantly lifting the spirits with a feel-good movie and even Blue Monday is no match for our mood boosting top 10.”
The complete list lies below.
1. Cool Runnings 2. The Shawshank Redemption 3. Forrest Gump 4. Amelie 5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 6. Little Miss Sunshine 7. Dirty Dancing 8. Groundhog Day 9. It’s A Wonderful Life 10. Pretty Woman
Do you agree that Cool Runnings is the most uplifting movie of all time?