# Movie Genre "Starter Packs" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593 "2011-01-14T14:27:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CornTheHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@CornTheHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CornTheHead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/1 "2011-01-14T14:27:23Z")
While listening to NPR yesterday, they had a movie critic talking about the new Coen Brothers movie “True Grit”. He (the critic) was giving what he called a Western genre “Starter Pack” for people unfamiliar with the genre. He did say that the 5 movies he chose we not the BEST westerns, they were simply 5 movies that someone new the genre might enjoy. He did state that if you watched the movies and didn’t like any of them, you are just not going to like westerns at all. His movies where - \*\* 1. Shane 2. The Seekers 3. The Dirty Dozen 4. Blazing Saddles 5. Unforgiven\*\* That got me thinking about doing this for other genres. So here are the rules - 1. List a genre. 2. List 5 movies that you would consider essential to any fan. 3. Explain why, or don’t, doesn’t really matter. 4. Enjoy 🙂 Now for mine. **Genre:** Horror **Starter Pack** : 1. The Exorcist 2. Poltergeist 3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4. The Ring 5. The Strangers Again, these are not what I would say are _ **THE BEST** _ horror movies made, just my opinion on some essential flicks for the genre. Your turn. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/2 "2011-01-14T14:50:05Z")
**The Dirty Dozen**? Are you sure it wasn’t **The Magnificent Seven**? The Buddy Flick 1. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid 2. Lethal Weapon 3. 48 Hours 4. The Wedding Crashers 5 Thelma & Louise ---
**Author:** ![CornTheHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@CornTheHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CornTheHead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/3 "2011-01-14T14:59:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **The Dirty Dozen**? Are you sure it wasn’t **The Magnificent Seven**? Hell I was pretty sure it was The Dirty Dozen, but I guess I am wrong. He said that it was on his list because it was the first of the really violent movies that didn’t really have a “hero” saving the day. It was focused on the outlaw aspect and was unique in that way\*. - - I am not a fan of westerns and have never seen any of the movies in the pack (with the exception of Blazing Saddles), so I’m just going on what the critic said. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/4 "2011-01-14T15:05:55Z")
**The Wild Bunch** fits that description more than **The Magnificent Seven** does, but **The Dirty Dozen** is a WW2 action movie. ---
**Author:** ![CornTheHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@CornTheHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CornTheHead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/5 "2011-01-14T15:10:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **The Wild Bunch** fits that description more than **The Magnificent Seven** does, but **The Dirty Dozen** is a WW2 action movie. Crap, you’re right. It was **The Wild Bunch** :smack: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/6 "2011-01-14T15:13:08Z")
Now **that** one does belong on the list. Peckinpah was a flawed genius, but it all came together in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/7 "2011-01-14T15:14:11Z")
Here’s a link to the story: [Westerns starter kit](http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/01/13/132905247/git-along-little-dogies-a-western-starter-kit). The critic is Bob Mondello, and he includes a list of movies he considered but discarded. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/8 "2011-01-14T15:19:00Z")
Screwball comedy: 1. The Awful Truth 2. The Palm Beach Story 3. My Man Godfrey 4. Nothing Sacred 5. The Good Fairy As with **CornTheHead** ’s list, these may not be the most famous or the best, but they are my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/9 "2011-01-14T15:32:28Z")
A genre I’m sure everyone knows and loves, **Torture Porn** : **Audition** **Hostel** **Saw** **Inside** **Frontier(s)** There are movies much, much harsher than these ( **Srpski Film** , **August Underground Mordum** , **Philosophy of a Knife** , **Snuff 102** ), but those five are “mainstream” enough to give someone an intro. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/10 "2011-01-14T15:37:51Z")
**Time Travel** (inspired by the 12 Monkeys thread) 1. 12 Monkeys 2. Back to the Future (if I can count a trilogy as one movie, then all 3, but if I only get 1, then just the first, even though I think 2 is a better example for this thread, since there is a lot more time travel, but 2 really relies on having seen 1 to get the full experience.) 3. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (one of the best examples of closed-loop time travel, especially the end with the whole “I’ll hide the keys right here…awesome, here they are!” part.) 4. Terminator II (doesn’t rely as heavily on having seen the first one as BttF, and goes more into the whole “can we change the future with our actions” aspect.) 5. Primer (I recommend viewing this last as well to avoid the inevitable head explosions ruining the viewing of future movies.) ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/11 "2011-01-14T15:57:06Z")
War Movies: 1. Saving Private Ryan 2. Letters from Iwo Jima 3. Paths to Glory 4. Platoon 5. Das Boot ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/12 "2011-01-14T16:08:39Z")
\*\*Non-_Star Trek_, non-_Star Wars_ Sci-fi Alien\*\* - Fantastically filmed and an excellent thriller/horror. **The Matrix** - I could do without the pseudo-Eastern philosophy but still an impressive film. **Forbidden Planet** - Great effects for the era and budget and tells the the journey within our mind is at least as important and the journey to the stars. **Plan 9 From Outer Space** - From the “so bad it good/no, it’s just bad” file. **Blade Runner** - I don’t even much like the movie but it’s a perfect example of the dystopian/cyberpunk future. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/13 "2011-01-14T16:09:18Z")
Rock Concert Pics (multiple artists): Woodstock The Last Waltz Monterey Pop The Concert for Kampuchea The TAMI Show ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/14 "2011-01-14T16:43:15Z")
It’s the End of the World (as we know it) 1. The Road Warrior 2. The Day of the Comet 3. On The Beach 4. Damnation Alley 5. Planet of the Apes ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/15 "2011-01-14T16:45:46Z")
Fantasy (as in, swords-and-sorcery): **The Lord of the Rings** (if limited to one movie, **The Fellowship of the Ring** ) **Conan the Barbarian** **Ladyhawke** **Highlander** **The Princess Bride** ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/16 "2011-01-14T16:51:43Z")
Holocaust movies:[ol] [li]Schindler’s List[/li][li]The Pianist[/li][li]Sunshine[/li][li]The Grey Zone[/li][li]Escape from Sobibor[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/17 "2011-01-14T17:00:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s the End of the World (as we know it) > > 1. The Day of the Comet Not meaning to be critical of your list but I can’t claim to be familiar with this film. Googling turned up an HG Well story that was never filmed that I can find and that deals with then ending of our current world and the birth of a new, better, more rational time. Is this story what you’re referring? If not, then please enlighten me. Could it possibly be [Night of the Comet](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087799/)? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/18 "2011-01-14T17:02:36Z")
Yes, you are correct. That’s what I get for trying to talk to a student on break and type at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/19 "2011-01-14T17:11:10Z")
Documentaries: 1. The Eyes of Tammy Faye 2. Jesus Camp 3. The Smartest Guys In The Room 4. Helvetica 5. Gonzo As an alternate, I’d swap out one of these, probably Helvetica, for something like This Is Spinal Tap, Best In Show or A Mighty Wind. I figure any of those are as much a documentary as Blazing Saddles is a Western. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593/20 "2011-01-14T21:31:20Z")
Coming of age: 1. _Stand By Me_ 2. _Summer of ‘42_ 3. _A Separate Peace_ 4. _Charlotte’s Web_ 5. _Almost Famous_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genre-starter-packs/567593.md?page=2)