TOKYO STORY is indeed great, but I don’t know that it’s THE greatest. I don’t even know if there can be such a thing. But the movie that made the first and greatest impression on me in my little life was the original KING KONG.
I saw The Seekers on a list several years ago and, being a fan of old westerns (I loved Shane) I got it from Netflicks and watched it. I was very disappointed.
I would have been even if it was not on the list. I guess I just don’t get it.
If you want to see a surprise great film, watch the original Godzilla. Not the one with Raymond Burr (that one was made with pieces of the original cut with new scenes making a totally different story).
The original Godzilla was made not long after WWII ended and was an analogy for coming to grips with having an atomic bomb dropped on Japan. They talk about whether it is justified to commit a great evil that will cause great suffering (in this case, create and set off an underwater bomb that will destroy all life in the ocean for a wide area) in order to destroy a greater evil (Godzilla).
The scientist that creates the underwater bomb bluntly compares it to the American nuclear bomb, so there’s no doubt about the analogy.
And, the surprise conclusion (considering it was a Japanese film) is: it is justified.