What are the "essential" movies to watch? (1 Viewer)

[Scott McGillivray]

Hi Gang!

I had a rather eye-opening, stomach-retching experience last night in talking with a young fellow about movies. He was in my store with 2 of his friends. They knew I was a part-time movie actor and started asking about my last movie. The 2 guys mention that the 3rd is a "real movie fanatic" and that I should not even begin to talk about movies because he knows so much. Well, I was intrigued to say the least! So, to start off, he mentions that in his opinion the greatest movie ever made was..."Smokey and the Bandit".

*ahem* Now, certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion. I mentioned what I considered to be some great movies of the past and he had not heard of any of them. "Who is Kurosawa?", he says. "Did he film some crappy old movie?"

So, I started thinking...in order for one to be considered knowledgeable in the field of movies, is there such a thing as a list of say 10-20 movies that one HAD to have seen in order to be considered literate in a good movie discussion? If so, I would love to see what movies you guys would suggest.

 

[Henry Gale]

...he mentions that in his opinion the greatest movie ever made was..."Smokey and the Bandit".

While we work on our "Top 20" lists....can we discuss ways to "silence" this kid?


Jim

I was going to suggest something more permanent.

 

[StephenK]

In the spirit of this thread, these are my "essential movies", NOT my favorite movies, but merely those that I would consider mandatory to even begin calling one's self a cinephile.

In no particular order.....

King Kong (1933)
Duck Soup (Marx Bros)
Psycho
Gone With the Wind
Citizen Kane
Wizard of Oz
The Ten Commandments
The 400 Blows
The Bicycle Thief
At least 1 Kurosawa film, (my pick The 7 Samurai)
At least 1 Fellini film, (my pick La Dolce Vita)
Star Wars
Jaws
Casablanca
The Exorcist
Taxi Driver (though Raging Bull was better)
Lawrence of Arabia
The Sound of Music
Animal House
Apocalypse Now


This was so much harder than I initially thought...To include Animal House over, say, Dr Stangelove, or The Sound of Music over West Side Story, The Exorcist over Rosemary's Baby....still this is my list at the moment.

edited to correct an egregious spelling error

 

[Michael Boyd]

This reminds me of an incident about a month ago. Clint B and I were at a friends birthday party. She tells her friend to talk to us since we are into movies and he is also. Great I know whats coming. Sure enough I get an earful on how great Deuce Bigalow was.

By the way cinephile StephenK . . . That would be Citizen Kane.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Also in no particular order:

·Citizen Kane, more essential than The Magnificant Ambersons or A Touch of Evil.
·Vertigo (or another Hitchcock such as Rear Window or North by Northwest[)
·8 1/2 (or another Fellini such as La Strada or La Dolce Vita
·I was born but… or another Ozu such as Tokyo Story
·Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
·Singin’ in the Rain
·Breathless or another early Godard or French New Wave such as Jules and Jim or The 400 Blows
·Dr. Strangelove or another Kubrick—perhaps 2001 or Barry Lyndon.
·The Passion of Joan of Arc or another Carl Dreyer such as Ordet
·The Palm Beach Story or any other top Preston Sturges such as The Lady Eve.
·The Gold Rush or Modern Times
·Some Like it Hot—I know that George will nominate The Apartment and most critics would place Sunset Blvd. at the top of the Wilder list.
·Grand Illusion or perhaps Rules of the Game. For those who do not like Renior, a pre-New Wave choice might be L’Atalante or Children of Paradise
·L’Avventura or maybe The Red Desert. If these are too inaccessible, choose a neo-relist film such as The Bicycle Thief.
·In the Mood for Love, for a mature Wong Kar-Wai. For a breakthrough film, pick Chungking Express
·Seven Samurai or some other Kurosawa, especially Ikiru
·Bringing Up Baby or some other comedy of the 30s or 40s by Hawks, Capra and company.
·Wild Strawberries—Bergman’s most personal film—many would choose The Seventh Seal.
·Taxi Driver or another top Scorsese such as Raging Bull or Goodfellas
·Through the Olive Trees or another film from Iran—perhaps The While Balloon or A Taste of Cherry

I could make another list of 20 that I feel equally important. As I look at this list I have seriously underrepresented musicals, Asian films and newer films. But essential is a bit harder to define for newer films, so I went with older ones.

When I was done with that list, I’d have another 20 that I also consider essential. Of course no one really has to like all these films, but they are all essential for anyone who wants to really understand film. The same for the other lists, I read.

 

[StephenK]

Omigod, I spelled Citizen Kane with a "C"ane. I feel like crawling into a hole (really!). That's embarrassing, man, and I'm usually one to point this stuff out to others. Argh!

 

[george kaplan]

I do think that there is a difference between the 20 greatest films and the 20 most essential to having a good knowledge base. See my signature for the former.

For the latter:

Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Rear Window
The Apartment
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Gold Rush
Duck Soup
Toy Story
The African Queen
Double Indemnity
Adam's Rib
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Maltese Falcon
The Sound of Music
Bringing Up Baby
The Thin Man
Top Hat
Mr. Hulot's Holiday
M
Ben-Hur

 

[Bill Williams]

Movie "essentials" I would put on the list (I may be duplicating some earlier suggestions):

Metropolis (1920's)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Gone With the Wind
The Wizard of Oz
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
The Ten Commandments
Ben-Hur (the 1926 and the 1959 versions)
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Godfather
American Graffiti
The Godfather Part II
Star Wars (original version)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Superman: The Movie
E.T.
Akira
Dances With Wolves
Jurassic Park
The Lion King
Titanic
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

That's where I would begin. But to quote Dennis Miller, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

[Seth--L]

I think that Week End is a must over Breathless .

 

[Lew Crippen]

Ah Seth, I chose Breathless as my prime choice for the same reason that George chose his list: This, along with The 400 Blows was the film that began the French New Wave. I can still remember going down to the theatre to see these two films when I was a freshman in college and sitting in the coffee house and discussing them into the night.

While The 400 Blows came first, I chose Godard’s film because Trauffaut was a screenwriter on Breathless and I did not really feel I could include two New Wave films as I was running out of nominations.

Even then, I missed a Tati, but George included Mr. Hulot’s Holiday in his excellent list, so all is well.

 

[Kevin Porter]

I know everyone is reccomending older films and I agree but I would say that every single (Yes all 3. 4 by the end of the year. 5 by Febuary) Quentin Tarantino directed movie is essential. I just discovered this and I am in love (But not like that) with Tarantino. You may have heard claims that this guy is a one hit wonder but these claims are false. This man has a talent for directing and anyone who calls themselves movie fans has to at least watch these films if not absolutely love them.

Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
Jackie Brown
And coming soon Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2

All of these films are in my opinion nothing short of masterpieces. I'm sure Kill Bill will join the ranks of these movies soon. Kill Bill will thrill mill...ions at the theaters as well.

 

[Walter Kittel]

My picks ( today )...

2001: A Space Odyssey
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
City Lights
Double Indemnity
Dr. Strangelove
The General (1927)
The Godfather
High Noon
King Kong (1933)
Night of the Hunter
Out of the Past
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Pinocchio
Rashomon
The Searchers
The Seventh Seal
Singin' In The Rain
Some Like It Hot
Vertigo

- Walter.

 

[Greg_R]

he mentions that in his opinion the greatest movie ever made was..."Smokey and the Bandit".

This would receive my nomination for most humorous TV edit of a film ('scumbum', etc.).

 

[Seth--L]

Lew Crippen,

I would say list 400 Blows to represent French New Wave, and Week End as both the ultimate Godard experience, and a film that brilliantly subverts itself and commercial narrative filmmaking.

just my two sense.



I think the claims are that he's turned ripping off others into a genre.

 

[Edwin-S]

I don't know how you guys do it. There are hundreds of thousands of films available. How does anyone go about deciding what is "essential" viewing to be called a "cinephile"? The lists here already show signs that being a "cinephile" is already nothing but a subjective exercise. Someone who hasn't watched "400 Blows" but has watched "Seven Samurai" and "2001:A Space Odyssey" isn't a "cinephile"?

I think that "Bambi" and "Apocalypse Now" are essential movies to watch, but if someone hasn't seem them and doesn't want to, does that make them less "cinephiliac"?

 

[SteveGon]

You guys are forgetting the most essential film of all: The Third Man.

Carol Reed's masterpiece is THE film for me - the one that opened my eyes to cinema.

I would also add Romero's Night of the Living Dead to the list.

 

[Walter Kittel]

The lists here already show signs that being a "cinephile" is already nothing but a subjective exercise.

And here all this time I thought my list was the definitive one.

Seriously though; lists like the AFI 100, the Sight and Sound list, Johnathan Rosenbaum's 100 best American films, and Roger Ebert's The Great Movies are all good sources of titles that are worthwhile choices for anyone who wishes to expand their film horizons. The point being that while a consensus cannot be achieved, an approximation that provides a number of strong film recommendations is obtainable. These lists are merely personal variants that are limited to 10 to 20 titles.

- Walter.

 

[Arman]

One great director, one essential movie (not necessarily my greatest or most favorite out of their many great works):

Non-active - The Top 20 Most Essentials
Welles: Citizen Kane
Truffaut: The 400 Blows
Kurosowa: Ikiru
Hitchcock: Vertigo
Bunuel: Belle de jour
Bergman: Wild Strawberries
Lean: Lawrence of Arabia
Fellini: 8 ½
Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Renoir: Grand Illusion
Bresson: Au hasard Balthazar
Antonioni: L’Avventura
De Sica: The Bicycle Thief
Chaplin: City Lights
Lubitsch: To Be Or Not To Be
Lang: Metropolis
Dreyer: The Passion of Joan of Arc
Ford: The Searchers
Wilder: Some Like It Hot
Ozu: Tokyo Story

The other 20 (one each):
Griffith: Intolerance
Rossellini: Open City
Sturges: The Palm Beach Story
Tati: M. Hulot’s Holiday
Tarkovsky: Andrei Roublev
Kusturica: Underground
Reed: The Third Man
Altman: Nashville
Carne: Children of Paradise
Visconti: Rocco and His Brothers
Eisenstein: Battleship Potemkin
Murnau: Sunrise
Ophuls: Letter from an Unknown Woman
Ray: The World of Apu
Kieslowski: Dekalog
Sturges: Sullivan’s Travels
Herzog: Aguirre, Wrath of God
Vigo: L’Atalante
Cocteau: Testament of Orpheus
Wiene: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or Clair: A Nous La Liberte

20+ more from active directors (one each):
Kar-Wai: In The Mood for Love
Scorcese: Raging Bulls
Godard: Breathless
Coppolla: The Godfather
Kiarostami: The Wind Will Carry Us
Lynch: Blue Velvet
Allen: Crimes and Misdemeanors
Miyazaki: Spirited Away
Malick: Days of Heaven
Zhang: Raise The Red Lantern
Polanski: Rosemary’s Baby
Lee: Do The Right Thing
Rohmer: Chloe In The Afternoon
Bertolucci: The Conformist
Tarantino: Pulp Fiction
Hanson: LA Confidential
Spielberg: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Almodovar: Talk To Her
James Ivory :Remains of The Day
Takahata: Grave of the Fireflies
Woo: A Better Tomorrow
Inarritu: Amores Perros
Von Trier: Breaking The Waves
Lucas: Star Wars
Gilliam: Brazil (one hit wonder?)

I can sort it by country, one film each too.

 

[Seth--L]

Edwin-S,

I would call a "cinephile" someone who is well versed in various modes of filmmaking from various countries.

Some early Russian works should be added to these lists, like Potemkin and Man with the Movie Camera. I'd also add Murnau's The Last Laugh, Dalí and Buñuel's Andalusian Dog, Brakhage's Anticipation of the Night, and maybe Buñuel's The Golden Age. I also feel compelled to mention somthing like Rhythmus 21

 

[Seth--L]

I disagree since these lists only focus on commercial narratives. They exclude film modes like personal and experimental. I'd be shocked if any of them mentioned something by a filmmaker like Stan Brakhage.