# Modern Classics: 100 movies to see before you die **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331 "2010-04-16T12:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/1 "2010-04-16T12:32:30Z")
I just saw [100 Movies to See Before You Die: The Modern Classics](http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die-modern-classics.html) at Yahoo! and thought it might be fun to swap opinions on the list. How many of the 100 have you _NOT_ seen already? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/2 "2010-04-16T13:11:09Z")
I have yet to see these 25: 1991 Beauty and the Beast Directed by: Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale Starring: Paige O’Hara, Robbie Benson 1992 Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam) Directed by: John Woo Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai Supercop (Ging chat goo si 3: Chiu kup ging chat) Directed by: Stanley Tong Starring: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung 1993 Dazed and Confused Directed by: Richard Linklater Starring: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey 1994 Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam) Directed by: Wong Kar-Wai Starring: Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong 1995 Living in Oblivion Directed by: Tom DeCillo Starring: Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener Sense and Sensibility Directed by: Ang Lee Starring: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant Toy Story Directed by: John Lasseter Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen 1996 Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku kidotai) Directed by: Mamoru Oshii Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka 1997 Eve’s Bayou Directed by: Kasi Lemmons Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan 1998 Fireworks (Hana-bi) Directed by: Takeshi Kitano Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto 1999 All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre) Directed by: Pedro Almodovar Starring: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz 2000 Yi Yi Directed by: Edward Yang Starring: Wu Nien-jen, Issey Ogata, Elaine Jin 2001 Donnie Darko Directed by: Richard Kelly Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze In the Mood For Love (Fa yeung nin wa) Directed by: Wong Kar-Wai Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai 2003 City of God (Cidade de Deus) Directed by: Fernando Meirelles Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino De Hora Phellipe, Seu Jorge 2004 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Directed by: Adam McKay Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate Shaun of the Dead Directed by: Edgar Wright Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield 2005 Oldboy Directed by: Park Chan-wook Starring: Choi Min-shik, Kang Hye-jeong 2006 Children of Men Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron Starring: Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Starring: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muehe, Sebastian Koch Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) Directed by: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones 2007 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile) Directed by: Cristian Mungiu Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov 2008 WALL-E Directed by: Andrew Stanton Starring: Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Garlin 2009 Avatar Directed by: James Cameron Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/3 "2010-04-16T13:15:28Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I just saw [100 Movies to See Before You Die: The Modern Classics](http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die-modern-classics.html) at Yahoo! and thought it might be fun to swap opinions on the list. > > How many of the 100 have you _NOT_ seen already? I have only seen 18 out of the entire list. I’ve been busy the past twenty years or so… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/4 "2010-04-16T13:25:13Z")
I’ve missed about 43 of them, but many of the rest I have no desire to see. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/5 "2010-04-16T13:36:24Z")
I’ve missed 68 of them. About half of that number I’d like to see. The other half doesn’t interest me in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/6 "2010-04-16T13:43:00Z")
Looks like I’ve seen 54 of them, and most of the ones remaining I have no desire to see. Overall, a pretty good list I guess. They’ve got some of my favorites on there: Saving Private Ryan, L.A. Confidential, The Usual Suspects, Run Lola Run, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There are a few movies I’d add to the list: Holes, Clear and Present Danger, (500) Days of Summer, Into the Wild, Speed Racer…but overall, a decent list. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/7 "2010-04-16T14:24:59Z")
I have only seen 25 of them but they did manage to capture most of my favorites even though the pseudo-intelligencia likes to make fun of them (Titanic, Forrest Gump for example). I love Election and Best in Show as well. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/8 "2010-04-16T14:55:15Z")
I’m surprised I’ve seen 39 of them, considering I very rarely go to the movies and don’t really watch much at home. Granted, though, the most recent movie I’ve seen from that list is 2005’s 40-Year-Old Virgin. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/9 "2010-04-16T15:40:37Z")
I’ve seen 47. I’m surprised too, since I see maybe one movie a year in a theater. I like that _Amelie_ is on the list. That, and _No Country for Old Men_ and _There Will Be Blood_ are my favorites. And _Fargo_. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/10 "2010-04-16T15:55:55Z")
I have not seen the following: Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam) Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua) Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam) Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge) Living in Oblivion Big Night Dead Man Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku kidotai) Secrets & Lies The Sweet Hearafter Fireworks (Hana-bi) All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre) Yi Yi In the Mood For Love (Fa yeung nin wa) Y Tu Mama Tambien 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile) ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/11 "2010-04-16T15:57:15Z")
There’s 21 on this list that I haven’t seen, mostly for lack of interest. Depressing how identical all these lists end up being, and that someone regards _Anchorman_ as a “movie to see before you die.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/12 "2010-04-16T16:04:31Z")
> [@jordanr2](#): > > There’s 21 on this list that I haven’t seen, mostly for lack of interest. Depressing how identical all these lists end up being, and that someone regards _Anchorman_ as a “movie to see before you die.” How true! I find that the ones I have yet to see may remain that way, with a few exceptions. Unless they come around on a channel with no commercials I won’t try to see them, and I really try to avoid having to read captions for the main dialog. I’d just as soon read a book. (I like captions for English movies so I can see what was trying to be said – in case it’s garbled or otherwise hard to hear.) But I would rather focus on the visual aspects of the movie and not on the dialog. I will leave the animated things alone on principle, even though I did enjoy Nemo. On my list above there are maybe 5 that I will really try to see. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/13 "2010-04-16T16:05:13Z")
I’ve seen 67, missed 33 - most of them foreign films. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/14 "2010-04-16T16:31:18Z")
There are 45 on the list that I haven’t seen, about half of which I’ve never heard of. (_Oldboy_?) Several I’ve meant to watch for a few years (_Being John Malkovich_, _Slumdog Millionaire_) and one today that was recommended that I’d never planned on seeing (_Anchorman_). I haven’t gotten around to _Avatar_ yet and I’m not sure _Inglorious Basterds_ is reallly my cup of tea, though I’ve not seen a Tarantino film I haven’t liked. Also I didn’t know _Scream_ was something that had any merit; I’d assumed it was another dumb slasher. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/15 "2010-04-16T16:35:57Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’m not sure _Inglorious Basterds_ is reallly my cup of tea, though I’ve not seen a Tarantino film I haven’t liked. > > Also I didn’t know _Scream_ was something that had any merit; I’d assumed it was another dumb slasher. You’ll like Basterds if you liked Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Scream is a putdown of all slasher movies and is pure comedy. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/16 "2010-04-16T16:49:35Z")
I’ve seen 100%, and not too bad as canonical stuff goes. In some cases, I think a better film by a filmmaker than the one represented is in order: _Rushmore_ over _Royal Tenenbaums_, _The City of Lost Children_ over _Amelie_, _A Mighty Wind_ over _Best in Show_, _Topsy-Turvy_ over _Secrets & Lies_, etc. Films that are most conspicuously missing (in my mind): _The Last of the Mohicans, Master and Commander, Miller’s Crossing, The New World, The Piano, Se7en, Smoke, The Truman Show, 25th Hour_ and anything by Emir Kusturica, Bela Tarr, Jacques Rivette, or Abbas Kiarostami. Also, there are no documentaries listed that I saw (leaving _When We Were Kings, Man on Wire_ and others as afterthoughts). The ones most deserving of a boot: James Cameron films (3 listed; one is fine but 3 is redundant) _Anchorman Dazed and Confused Finding Nemo Forrest Gump Four Weddings and a Funeral Inglorious Basterds Michael Clayton Misery The Sixth Sense_ ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Not\_Appearing\_on\_This\_Site](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Sir\_Not\_Appearing\_on\_This\_Site](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Not_Appearing_on_This_Site)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/17 "2010-04-16T17:16:20Z")
I found it a little strange that Bourne Ultimatum was on there. I do think it is the best of the Bourne trilogy, but you can’t really watch it without seeing the other 2. At least, you wouldn’t get the full enjoyment out it. Oh, and I have seen 49 of that list. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/18 "2010-04-16T17:20:26Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > The Sweet Hereafter That one’s worth watching. The novel is good too. Totally agree with **ArchiveGuy** that _The Last of the Mohicans, Master and Commander, Miller’s Crossing_ should be on the list. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/19 "2010-04-16T17:29:22Z")
I have seen 31 on the list, though there are several more that I would like to eventually see at some point. There are a few on the list that I have watched that I felt were absolutely terrible movies (Royal Tenenbaums) and a few on there that I really loved (Best In Show, Being John Malkovich) that I was a bit surprised and gratified to see make a list like this… ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331/20 "2010-04-16T17:41:37Z")
I have seen around 55 of them. Quite a good list ; I am pleased to see Princess Mononoke in there. Spirited Away is also good enough for inclusion but if I had to pick one Miyazaki I would go with Mononoke. I agree Master and Commander should have been there; Gosford Park is another major omission IMO. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-classics-100-movies-to-see-before-you-die/536331.md?page=2)