# Give me 5 movies I should see before I die! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144 "2007-02-06T23:16:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![rucciface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@rucciface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rucciface)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/61 "2007-02-08T22:01:04Z")
**Throw Momma From The Train** is good for a couple of laughs. ---
**Author:** ![DurbBook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DurbBook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DurbBook)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/62 "2007-02-09T00:15:56Z")
The Gold Rush Citizen Kane Young Frankenstein Fargo The Passion of Joan of Arc ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/63 "2007-02-09T01:04:00Z")
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) De vierde man (1983) The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989) Turks fruit (1973) C’era una volta il West (1968) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/64 "2007-02-09T03:30:11Z")
Each of these I saw without knowing or expecting much. In each case I was thrilled by what I saw. Terrence Malick’s **Badlands** with young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as a sociopath and his girl. Best use of a voice over in any movie. Saw this as the support to something I can’t recall at a midnight show. Baz Luhrmann’s **Moulin Rouge** for the fun and surprises. Errol Morris’s\*\* The Thin Blue Line\*\* the first truly riveting documentary I can recall. **Cool Hand Luke** I had never heard of it and saw it at the Drive In as the support for Easy Rider which I hated. It was 3 years old at the time. The Coen’s **Blood Simple** their first movie, made on the cheap. **Brassed Off** great Brit film with a bit of everything, romance, music, comedy and social comment. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/65 "2007-02-09T03:58:51Z")
Oh man, people here gots good tastes… they’ve already mentioned **Badlands** , **Apocolypse Now** , **Memento** , **Bull Durham** , **Brokeback Mountain** , **Pulp Fiction** , **Amadeus** , **The Usual Suspects** and **Chocolat**. Kudos to you all, those are definitely excellent choices. For me though, I’ll have to keep my usual parade from the decade that I hold as most perfect; 1970s all the way baby. With that in mind, I submit the following. For Hilarity and Dark Humor de Jour… **Harold and Maude** For Head Spinning (heh!) Chilling… **The Exorcist** For Pure Wilder Fantasy… **Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory** For The Sap Who Likes Idealistic Musicals (I know, I know)… **Grease** And For Sheer Warp (the already several times mentioned, but I just had to add my voice crying out in the state controlled wilderness) and Pain… **A Clockwork Orange** * * * There are so many more that my heart lurves, like **Dog Day Afternoon** , **'Night, Mother** and say, **The Entity** or **Resurrection** that there’s just too many to name. So in other words, YOU BETTER NOT KICK THE BUCKET ANYTIME SOON!! You’ve lots of movies to watch. 😉 You just can’t miss Cate Blanchett and Johnny Depp and Jennifer Jason Leigh and… ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/66 "2007-02-09T04:13:44Z")
If you were actually dying, then definetly skip Solaris, it would only speed up the death process. I’d reccomend the Three Lord of the Rings films, pure magic Scarface is also a must and finaly, Pulp Fiction is pure movie perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/67 "2007-02-09T05:48:56Z")
1. Seven Samurai 2. Lawrence of Arabia 3. Princess Bride 4. Raiders of the Lost Ark 5. Tremors 😃 You could also throw _Rashomon_ in there as well. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/68 "2007-02-09T06:51:11Z")
Ok… my sad but relevant 5 1. \*Trainspotting \* (SO THRILLED!! that its already been mentioned several times- and so few I know have even heard of it!) 2. _Notorious_- IMHO the best Alfred Hitchcock. Or the best Ingrid Bergman. Or the best Cary Grant- whatever 3. _Star Wars Episode IV_? - \*A New Hope \* and \*V - Empire Strikes Back \* the rest are pretty much crap although both Return and the last of the prequels are so-so. 4. Pick any Jane Austen based flick from the following: BBC version of \*Pride & Prejudice \* , \*Sense & Sensibiliity \* (the one with Emma Thompson of course) and _Persuasion_ (the one with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root) 5. _Elizabeth_ or _The Godfather_ - can’t imagine my life with either of these movies not in it- so you should ask for extra pain meds or life support and make sure you watch both. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/69 "2007-02-09T09:02:09Z")
Pulp Fiction A Clockwork Orange American Psycho 12 Angry Men (the original) Psycho ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/70 "2007-02-09T12:47:07Z")
Very happy to see mentions of **Breaker Morant** and **Lion in the Winter**. I’d like to add : **Snatch** Not a profound movie, but nicely paced and you get to see Brad Pitt’s nekkid torso. **Jane Austen** films. Any version . **Spongebob** there is brilliance in this cartoon. **Buckaroo Bonzai** ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/71 "2007-02-09T13:49:42Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] [ol] [li]The Maltese Falcon[/li][li]The Hidden Fortress[/li][li]The Incredibles[/li][li]Duck Soup[/li][li]Pandora’s Box[/li][/ol] [/QUOTE] Ya know, skip _Pandora_. Add _The Adventures Of Robin Hood_, starring Errol Flynn. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/72 "2007-02-09T15:51:00Z")
[QUOTE=Tahssa] A lot of ones I thought of are already mentioned so here’s some different ones. Also I would want to watch funny movies if I were about to die. Clerks 1 & 2 -Randal is one of the greatest and funniest characters ever. “Porch monkey 4 life” What about Bob? -Bill Murray is a genius. Shrek Team America -the funniest first couple scenes of any movie ever. And puppet porn. [/QUOTE] Randal is the star of 2! I enjoyed it as much as the original. (I never heard of the phrase “porch monkeys” before the movie. I’m an AA chick. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/73 "2007-02-09T16:24:39Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] … and **Lion in the Winter**. [/QUOTE] Dearie, that made for a wonderful giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/74 "2007-02-09T16:40:00Z")
Some of my favorites that I haven’t seen mentioned yet: Bagdad Cafe Mixed Nuts Hunt for Red October The Fortune Cookie ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/75 "2007-02-09T20:07:56Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso] _Solaris_ [/QUOTE] What, do you want him to kill himself before the next movie? ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/76 "2007-02-10T05:57:07Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Brokeback Mountain - as a bonus, if you’re dying, you won’t spend the next four months of your life wondering when you’re going to get over this film. [/QUOTE] Although you probably won’t anyway as long as you are straight and male. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/77 "2007-02-10T06:06:51Z")
**Glitter** , **Gigli** , **Alien Versus Predator** , **Battlefield: Earth** , and **The Avengers**. After that, dying won’t seem so bad. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/78 "2007-02-10T13:04:19Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] **Glitter** , **Gigli** , **Alien Versus Predator** , **Battlefield: Earth** , and **The Avengers**. After that, dying won’t seem so bad. [/QUOTE] Alternatively, if you haven’t felt motivated to top yourself after watching those, I’d suggest following them up with **Moulin Rouge**. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/79 "2007-02-10T20:12:16Z")
Highlander 2 Starflight 1 Titanic Robin Hood(Costners version) Navy Seals After being forced to watch them all the way through Death wouldn’t seem so bad. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144/80 "2007-02-10T20:19:31Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Highlander 2 Starflight 1 Titanic Robin Hood(Costners version) Navy Seals After being forced to watch them all the way through Death wouldn’t seem so bad. [/QUOTE] Apologies ,somebody expressed the sentiment earlier. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-5-movies-i-should-see-before-i-die/391144.md?page=5)