Classic Movies You Couldn't Live Without

Cafe Society
1

While not all-inclusive, here is my list of must-see movies to have an appreciation of cinema. Please submit your own favorites. Add new categories (like Musicals) or flesh out the existing ones.

(PS: I’m sure this has been done before.)
Drama:

Citizen Kane
Lawrence of Arabia
Ben Hur
The Misfits
Of Human Bondage
Educating Rita
Cool Hand Luke
Easy Rider
Born Free
Casablanca
To Have and Have Not
Gone With the Wind
The Grapes of Wrath
On the Waterfront
A Hatfull of Rain
Inherit the Wind
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The African Queen
Marty
To Kill a Mockingbird
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
A Streetcar Named Desire
Lolita
Steppenwolf
Comedy:

Some Like It Hot
The Road To Rio
The Road To Bali
Airplane!
Tom Jones
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Pink Panther
Duck Soup
Dark Star
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles
Father Goose
Out West
You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man
The Bank Dick
My Little Chickadee
Adventure:

King Kong
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Dr. No
Thunderball
Diamonds Are Forever
Goldfinger
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Science Fiction:

2001
Alien
Aliens
Solaris
The Illustrated Man
The Fifth Element
Star Wars (IV, V & VI)
From the Earth to the Moon
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Terminator
Bladerunner
Things to Come
Metropolis
1984
Farce:

The Producers
Cat Ballou
Dr. Strangelove

Western:

Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Giant
The Magnificent Seven
Hang 'em High
Thriller / Suspense:

Psycho
Sabotuer
The 39 Steps
The Man Who Knew Too Much
North by Northwest
Rear Window
Notorious
Vertigo
Shadow of a Doubt
Dial M for Murder
Gaslight
The Nightstalker
The Manchurian Candidate
The Conversation
Mystery:

The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
Fantasy:

The Wizard of Oz
Animation:

Snow White
Sleeping Beauty
Fantasia (Original)
The Last Unicorn
Yellow Submarine
The Wrong Trousers
A Close Shave
Pinocchio
What’s Opera Doc
Porky In Wackyland
War:

Apocalypse Now
The Deerhunter
The Bridge On the River Kwai
King Rat
The Great Escape
Night and Fog
From Here To Eternity
Where Eagles Dare
Crime:

The Usual Suspects
House of Games
Godfather I, II & III
Bullit
Dirty Harry
Horror / Occult:

Dracula (Bela Lugosi)
Dracula (Frank Langella)
Frankenstein
Rosemary’s Baby
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Nosferatu
Silent:

The Little Tramp
City Lights
The General
Foreign:

Doctor Redbeard
Throne of Blood
Satyricon

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The Natural
The Cowboys
The Quiet Man
Les Miserables (Charles Laughton)
Shawshank Redemption
A Shot in the Dark
Sabrina (Bogart & A. Hepburn)
Saving Private Ryan
Full Metal Jacket
The Shootist
The Hustler
Moby Dick
Seven Samarai
Harold & Maude
8 1/2
Unforgiven
Rebel Without a Cause
West Side Story
Of Mice and Men
Johnny Got His Gun
The Dirty Dozen
Hello Dolly
The Odd Couple
Un Chien Andalou
The Longest Day
The Great Escape
The Three Little Bops (animated short)
Hillbilly Bugs (animated short)
Dark Mondays (animated short)
A River Runs Through It
Tombstone
Brazil
Support Your Local Sheriff
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
The Searchers
Pat & Mike
Desk Set
Woman of the Year
Gallipoli
Spellbound
Excalibur
Wr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Great Race
Horse Feathers
Time Bandits
In the Heat of the Night
Day of the Jackel
Schindler’s List
Angela’s Ashes

i could go on…

Don’t force it, get a bigger hammer!

3

Sorry, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

4

How could I forget “Cyrano de Begerac” with Jose Ferrer?

5

To “Foreign” I’d like to add:
The Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
All Fritz Lang, Sergei Eisenstein, and Ingmar Bergman you can find

to Comedy:
Bringing up Baby
What’s Up, Tiger Lily?

And add a category for Essential “B” movies:
One Million Years, BC
The Vampire Lovers
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Our Man Flint

6

We’ve worn out Snow White, so that’s the family favorite.

7

Great list so far.

Comedy
The Philadelphia Story

Fantasy
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Thriller / Suspense
The Silence of the Lambs

Musical
West Side Story
The Music Man

Pash

8

Animated
Beauty and the Beast

Drama
Double Indemnity (1940s version)

Adding the new category of Indy films
Trust
Flirt
Party Girl (favorite Parker flick)
Many many Parker Posey flicks. Love her!

9

I’m not sure if the following belong on a “must-see [list of] movies to have an appreciation of cinema” as Zenster says, but I know my life wouldn’t be as good without them:

Drama

The Stunt Man
Ran
Chinatown

Comedy

My Favorite Year
Love and Death
Broadway Danny Rose

Documentary

The Thin Blue Line
Crumb

10

I’m pleased to say that I’ve seen at least 90% of the films on your list, Zenster, and agree with almost all of them.

Leaving out what has already been added by other posters, I would add:

Drama:
An excellent but little know film; No Way to Treat a Lady.
Schindler’s List.

Comedy:

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
A Night at the Opera.
The Seven Year Itch.

Adventure:

I think there may be too much James Bond here, but I have nothing to add at this time.

Science Fiction:

The Thing (the later version with Kurt Russell, which is much closer to the book.)

Western:

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.
And possibly Stagecoach.

War:

A Bridge Too Far.

Crime:

The Sting (?)
Charlie Varrick (Not sure if this belongs here.)

Horror / Occult:

How about The Invisible Man (the original B&W)
And one of the Wolfman movies, although they were pretty cheesey
Silent:

You need something with the Keystone Cops in it, but I can’t think of any titles, and IMDB never heard of 'em.
I’ll think of more later, of course.

11

And, of course, Battlefield Earth. ducks and runs

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Science Fiction:
Destination Moon

Western:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
What were Solaris and The Illustrated Man about? I’ve never heard of either.

13

How did this list get so long without The Third Man?? Have I missed it somewhere?

14

Cinema Paridiso
Once Upon a Time in America
A Matter of Life and Death (“Stairway to Heaven” in the States)

15

A few more:

Adventure

The Man Who Would be King

Comedy

Les Vacances de M. Hulot (Mr. Hulot’s Holiday)
Raising Arizona
The Lavender Hill Mob
The Man in the White Suit

Crime

Blood Simple
Get Carter
Miller’s Crossing
The Anderson Tapes
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The Long Goodbye
The Long Good Friday
The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3

Science Fiction

The Road Warrior

War

Paths of Glory
The Train
Zulu

Western

McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Winchester '73

Budget less than the cost of a new car :wink:

Clerks
El Mariachi
Night of the Living Dead
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Stranger Than Paradise

16

Excellent call on Destination Moon, Chronos, I’d also submit some of George Mellier’s work in the Silent category. As to Solaris and The Illustrated Man, Solaris is a fairly impenatrable Soviet 2001 wannabe. I’ll need to read the book to figure out what happened in the movie. As to The Illustrated Man, it stars Ray Milland and Claire Bloom and is a superior rendering of Ray Bradbury’s classic short story collection of the same title. For the late sixties it was difficult to beat. A must see for anyone who has read the book.

This is a d@mn good question. Thank you for asking it.

Excellent additions with The Man Who Would Be King, What’s Up Tiger Lily and Road Warrior.

I’d like to say that so far, anyone who watched all of the movies listed in this thread would gain an almost instantaneous appreciation of cinema. The general quality of flick being suggested here is usually in the 90% appropriate level. Good work team!

Oh yeah, in Suspense, Rebecca and Drama, Doctor Zhivago.

17

Was that about a charming serial killer starring Rod Steiger? Or am I completely off the mark?

Sheri

18

Drama:

Days of Wine and Roses with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane with Bette David and Joan Crawford

Angels with Dirty Faces with James Cagney
Musicals

An American in Paris with Gene Kelly (my FAVORITE)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with Howard Keel (my second favorite!)

Showboat with Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson

Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire
Sheri

19

That would be Bette DAVIS, of course. :rolleyes:

The ONE time I don’t preview.

Sheri

20

The Cagney reference reminded me… (thanks DarkWriter)
Public Enemy

Also:
Paint Your Wagon
The Wild One
Rooster Cogburn
Mutiny on the Bounty
Koyaanisqatsi
Robin Hood (1938)

I can’t help it, at least one Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes

Zenster, are you referring to the Director’s Cut of Bladerunner? If so, thanks, one of my top 5

Thanks also to Bumbazine for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and to Quickdraw McGraw’s alter ego for The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3

Don’t force it, get a bigger hammer