‘‘A very important film for my generation,’’ says del Toro.

Adds del Toro, ‘‘My wife was like every girl I knew: In love with Warren Beatty.

And I was in love with Julie Christie.

Heaven Can Wait (Movie - 1978) | Learning on the job never had such high stakes! ‘‘A very important film for my generation,’’ says del Toro. A hapless angel (Buck Henry) bungles

Everett Collection; Getty Images

It played counter to all of that and it worked.’’

The poor souls who commit suicide are damned to an eternity as civil servants.

It’s one of my favorites of his movies.''

BEETLEJUICE

Everett Collection

Or a master’s thesis defense?

That’s the premise of this memorable exercise in existential judgment.

It really affected me and changed my life.

Defending Your Life | What if you get the afterlife and it’s like small claims court? Or a master’s thesis defense? That’s the premise of this memorable exercise in

Everett Collection

It’s my favorite Albert Brooks movie.

I love everything he has done, but this is the one.

My idea of heaven or hell is exactly this.

Men in Black | ‘‘The first Men in Black movie is a perfect movie,’’ praises del Toro. ‘‘The way it introduces you to that secret wall and the inner

Melinda Sue Gordon

It stayed with me well beyond the theater.’’

‘‘The characters are fully defined from the first scene to the last.

Elf (2003)

When work and family just shouldn’t mix.

Monsters, Inc. | del Toro deems this Pixar favorite ‘‘a movie that can be seen over and over again’’ for its ‘‘perfect…rhythm and screenplay.’’ In it, best friends

Pixar/Disney

‘‘Elfis a movie we watch at home every year.

Elf | When work and family just shouldn’t mix. Oversized elf Buddy (Will Ferrell) literally doesn’t fit in at Santa’s North Pole workshop, so he heads down

Taking a cue from his favorites, del Toro himself has joined the trend of portraying working stiff and supernatural job sites in his films. He

Kerry Hayes