Massachusetts has been deemed as home base for releasing movies that resonated well with audiences worldwide. Results from a recent poll from www.boston.com show the top three films which were deemed classics in nature. Throw in a touch of nostalgia and you got yourself a trifecta of winners that were presented on the silver screen.

Leading the way, an Oscar winner from 1988 that picked up a pair of Academy Awards including a Best Supporting actor nod for the late GREAT Robin Williams. 38% of readers agreed that “Good Will Hunting” was the best movie ever filmed in the Bay State. The story of a young genius, Will Hunting (Matt Damon who also co-wrote the script with Ben Affleck) who works as a janitor at MIT until his genius is realized by professor, Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) as he helps Will achieve his full potential. However, when Hunting runs into trouble with the police, Lambeau sets him up with Sean Maguire (Robin Williams with another brilliant performance as Damon's therapist: He is SO sorely missed). Throughout the film Hunting and Maguire work through their emotions and, eventually, become friends. This movie not only captured the beauty and rawness of Boston and it's surrounding cities, but it targeted the essence of born and raised Bostonians, in contrast to those who did not grow up in Beantown.

In second place with about 10% of the vote, a surprise entry from 1973: "The Friends Of Eddie Coyle" which was filmed in various parts of New England which includes Boston, Quincy, South Weymouth, Dedham, Sharon and in neighboring Rhode Island. The film stars Robert Mitchum in the title role as his character is facing several years of jail time after acting as a gunrunner for a bank robbery crew. Having limited options, Coyle decides to turn in his “friends” in exchange for a lesser sentence as he aligns with detective Robert Foley (Richard Jordan). However, Coyle can’t seem to stay out of trouble as he upsets the criminal crew, the detective, and his family with an assassin on his tail.

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An excellent supporting cast compliments this film which includes Peter Boyle (The dad on "Everybody Loves Raymond")  Alex Rocco, Mitchell Ryan, Helena Ryan and Joe Santos ("Hill Street Blues"). the setting and characters are uniquely Boston as this movie is worth checking out, if you have not yet done so.

“Jaws” the instant favorite and iconic movie directed by Steven Spielberg receiveda total of 21 write-in votes from readers. The phrase "Don't Go Near the Water" was an ever popular catch phrase as swimmers avoided the beaches after watching this 1975 classic which was filmed in Martha's Vineyard as the scenery perfectly captures the quintessential New England summer beach town feel.

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After a woman is killed by a shark while swimming near a Massachusetts town, police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) and Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) struggle to decide the right course of action. The panic could result in a loss of tourism for the 4th of July holiday as hizzoner convinces Brody to stay quiet about the incident. That is, until the shark strikes again. Enter Marine biologist, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and ship captain, Quint (Robert Shaw) as the pair along with Brody decide to go after the shark and a bloody battle ensues. The best line in the movie is uttered by Scheider "You're gonna need a BIGGER boat".

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That was a close one as depicted in this bone-chilling still. To this day, the original "Jaws" remains as effective as it was almost four decades ago and it stands as one of my TOP 5 films of ALL TIME. 

(Some information obtained in this article courtesy of www.boston.com)

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