This study presents a nonlinear stability analysis of thin Newtonian liquid films flowing down a cylinder moving in a vertical direction. The long-wave perturbation method is employed to derive the generalized kinematic equations for a free film interface. The current thin liquid film stability analysis provides a valuable input to investigations into the influence of the style of motion of the vertical cylinder on the stability behavior of the thin film flow. The modeling results indicate that both subcritical instability and supercritical stability conditions are possibly to occur in the film flow system. The movement of vertical cylinder significantly affects the stability behaviors of thin film flow. These behaviors can be quantitatively characterized in details by using the proposed approach.