So as some of you know, me and my hockey buddies hit a bar after our Sunday night games, and sometimes, new people will come along. I got to talking to this one girl about movies, and to my utter amazement, she had not heard about the movie Rocky or even that it spawned a bunch of sequels. I also dated a Korean girl back in the 90's(?) that had never seen Star Wars before. This got me thinking about movies and their place in our culture. If someone came off the plantation or amish colony, or if an alien came to our world, what are the top ten movies you would recommend that they see - the movies that define our culture and our love of entertainment as a whole? This was a hard list, and by no means final or complete, but some of them from my own list would be: Star Wars Raiders of the Lost Ark Lord of the Rings Breakfast At Tiffany's Saving Private Ryan Cinderella The Godfather Enter The Dragon Planet of the Apes Unforgiven In picking these movies, I made sure I didn't pick movies just to tell them about human history. After all, they have history books for that. So I picked movies that I thought were a good representation of why we like movies and continue to make them. What would your top ten "must see" movies be?
Goodfellas The Godfather Clockwork Orange Cool Hand Luke 2001 Space Odysee Saving Private Ryan Jaws Blair Witch Project Dumb and Dumber Deliverance
oh that's a tough one, to get down to just 10 - and it's very difficult to exclude a favorite in favor of an "important" film. then you have to ask to what extent you want to represent "film history" as opposed to just highlighting the very best flick. Off the top of my head, and trying to go in rough chronological order... Casablanca - represents a whole genre of film-making style North by Northwest - have to do a Hitchcock film to represent that sort of thriller It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World - best comedy ever, IMO Edit: The Godfather - I knew I was missing an obvious one. True Grit - there are,I guess, several different ways you could go on Westerns and be good. Another great candidate would be "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" Star Wars - I don't see how you can make this list without it. Raiders of the Lost Ark - kinda speaks for itself Toy Story - hate that there's no representation of "old school" animation but I have to acknowledge the game-changer. The Princess Bride - I might be biased here. but I need a representation of "clever" humor as opposed to more obvious gags Braveheart - My choice for the "spectacle" film this is, of course, subject to a huge amount of change depending on what others suggest.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension 2001: A Space Odyssey Star Wars Big Trouble in Little China Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Them Frankenstein (1931 version) Dracula (1931 version) Patton Apocalypse Now
Blade Runner Cool Hand Luke The Outlaw Josey Wales Kidnapped Twelve Angry Men Brazil The Ipcress File Big Jake Band of Brothers My wife is a Gangster
The Silence of the Lambs Star Wars Bladerunner 2001 The Lord of the Rings Patton The Godfather Schindler's List Hellraiser (first) Jaws
Star Wars The Godfather Casablanca Inception Lord of the Rings Raiders of the Lost Ark Seven Samurai Saving Private Ryan Major League Blade Runner
Ten is a difficult figure. There are for too many great films out there to simply pick ten. But, to try and play ball, perhaps:- The Godfather Schindler's List Frantic The Pianist Field of Dreams The Empire Strikes Back Monty Python & the Holy Grail Secrets & Lies The French Connection Superman The Movie
I'm no film critic, so I'll just list my ten favorite movies in no particular order Star Wars Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Raiders of the Lost Ark Back to the Future Young Frankenstein Monty Python and the Holy Grail Planet of the Apes The Omega Man Rocky The Unforgiven
You ask me in a month, you'll get a different list...but here goes. (I always imagine it thus: if I were going to a deserted island, which 10 would I take with me...) Star Wars - I was 8 years old in 1977; I suspect this amazing mashup of Flash Gordon and Kurosawa will always be the defining movie in my life. The Force will be with you...always. Casablanca - If you don't get a little misty-eyed at the end, you're just not human in my book. On paper, this movie should never have been "great," but you'll find something to love in almost every frame of it. The Third Man - a great fish-out-of-water film-noir tale, with a naive American learning some hard truths about post-war Vienna, and Orson Welles's appearance is one of the greatest movie moments of all time. Silence of the Lambs - 20 years later, it's still chilling and effective. Young Jodie Foster is easy to root for as a plucky, resourceful FBI cadet, and Anthony Hopkins' Dr. Hannibal Lector is the most hideous creature you'll ever find appealing. Suspense becomes almost unbearable at the climax. North by Northwest - Immensely rewatchable, this classic Hitchcock tale has a "wrong man" (endlessly charming Cary Grant) on the run from everyone. And there's James Mason as the bad guy! The Searchers - A western adventure for grown-ups: John Wayne, dark and vengeful, scouring the Southwest for his niece taken by Apaches. Has one of the greatest surprise reveals ever. What do you suppose that little subtextual look between Wayne's character and his sister-in-law means? Pulp Fiction - It really is that good. Or different. Or new. Whatever it is, Tarantino's anthology-with-skewed-chronology has some of the most interesting characters and situations in film history, and the scenes are all sustained by some of the best dialog ever. Redemption, anyone? Saving Private Ryan - 1000 years from now, World War II will still be a big deal; Spielberg's epic war tale explains why: the world stood at a precipice, and an enormous sacrifice in blood was all that brought it back from the edge. All of us are Private Ryan. The Godfather - I tried to resist choosing Coppola's masterpiece, but I just can't. Like this crime epic's central character Michael Corleone (an excellent Al Pacino), I can't help being drawn in. Never take sides against the family. The Big Lebowski - The Coen Brothers made a masterpiece here. Every step of the Dude's (Jeff Bridges, awesome) odyssey has an interesting character, a big laugh, and/or some great dialog associated with it.
If you took me to a desert island RIGHT NOW, then these are the ones I would grab. The Insider The Big Lebowski The Godfather Heat Star Trek II Monty Python: Holy Grail There Will Be Blood Dr Strangelove Annie Hall Star Wars
A few genre trades, a few random seeming ones. Tried to replace relevantly tho. [-]Star Wars[/-] Princess Bride (Better crafting of a fable) Raiders of the Lost Ark-iffy, but nothing really compares or competes [-]Lord of the Rings[/-] Excalibur (Classical mythology) Breakfast At Tiffany's-good call, a chick flick guys can sit through [-]Saving Private Ryan[/-] Bridges at Toko Ri (tragic vs soppy ending) [-]Cinderella[/-] The Wall [-]The Godfather[/-] Reservoir Dogs [-]Enter The Dragon[/-] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (artsy factor) Planet of the Apes Unforgiven I'd probably want to make'em sit through a few weeks of random TV too. Movie wise, yeah, human spirit/character studies.
I don't think I could pick 10 must see movies, I doubt I could even pick my personal favorite 10 movies. And I'm going to be heavily biased by the decade I grew up in. I've never seen Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, or Citizen Kane for example.
Casablanca - my fave drama Star Wars - truly launched the SF genre into public perception Airplane - the definitive modern parody comedy Halloween - seminal modern horror film Ben Hur - best epic film The Sting - best caper film The Untouchables - excellent historical crime/action/drama Breaking Away - underrated (despite winning Best Picture Oscar!) coming of age film still trying to figure out the final two...suspect they will come from the War and Buddy film genres, although I probably need a Western in there as well....
shawshank redemption the breakfast club office space the secret of nimh fight club se7en pulp fiction american beauty stand by me ratatouille
Citizen Kane Arsenic & Old Lace The Godfather Jaws Star Wars Raiders Star Trek II Raising Arizona Pulp Fiction Office Space Of course, If I'm stuck on a deserted island (with a solar powered dvd player): Debbie Does Dallas The Devil in Mrs Jones Insatiable On Golden Blonde Educating Mandy If My Mother Only Knew Blame It On Vanessa Del Rio The Masseuse Beauty & The Beast, Part 2 Taboo
I'll try to mix up the Genres a little: Horror- Alien Comedy- Clerks Mobster- Goodfellas Zombie comedy- Shaun of the Dead/Zombieland tie Zombie Horror- Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead (originals) tie. Mindtwist- Pulp Fiction Western Josey Wales/Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Suspense thriller Jaws/the Shining tie. SciFi-New Hope. Fantasy-Lord of the Rings Fellowship Character drama- Falling Down
I like most of the movies on everyone's lists, but there's a notable omission that must be corrected: John Carpenter's "The Thing"
I'd show an alien Independence Day. It sends the message that yes, we may be idiots, and yes, we may be technologically inferior, but try to wipe us out and we will make you pay.
Oh man, that's really hard to think of just 10. A Clockwork Orange It's All Gone Pete Tong Good Will Hunting Hard Boiled Lord of the Rings Casino Traffic Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan The Big Lebowski Gangs of New York Honorable Mentions: The Goonies, Snatch, Pulp Fiction, Falling Down, Lord of War, American Psycho, hundreds more that could have made the list. Funnily enough, Star Wars doesn't make my must see list. I think George Lucas made me that bitter and jaded with those prequels.
2001: A Space Odyssey Monty Pythons Life of Brian Goodfellas Apocalypse Now Blade Runner Doctor Zhivago Fight Club Land and Freedom Trainspotting The Thin Red Line
Magnum Force The Blues Brothers The Hunt For Red October Hell in the Pacific Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan Das Boot The Wicker Man Friday Letters from Iwo Jima Bullitt
Princess Bride Monty Python and the Holy Grail Wrath of Khan Empire Strikes Back Alien Crumb (or, American Splendor, I go back and forth on which is better) Time bandits A Nightmare on Elm Street Superman Superman II
Movies I am most likely to break out, in real life, and pop into the DVD player if you're at my house and I hear you actually haven't seen one of them. I know this because it really happens: Jaws Alien/Aliens (Yes, I count them as one.) The Thing (You know which version.) The Abyss Gattaca The Matrix The Prestige Big Fish The Shawshank Redemption Tombstone Honorable mentions to Braveheart, Titanic, Empire Strikes Back, The Iron Giant and Blade Runner. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller...?
