On a side note, I will never understand how describing something as ‘brutally terrifying’ could possibly be a recommendation.
Anyway, as you were.
Yep, absolutely.
Good choice.
I will add- Seven Samurai, Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.
The Directors cut of the LotR trilogy is wonderful.
I’ll nominate North By Northwest
That was my first inclination. Love that movie. I also thought of On Golden Pond. Growing old isn’t for sissies, but you can do it with good humor and forgiveness or die old and bitter.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
Tripler
I mean, who wouldn’t want a training joyride with a bunch of cadets?
Although I suspect that is the moral lesson that most people would take from the film, the deeper theme is the inevitability of loss and tragedy; Kirk’s loss of command (emphasized by his need for glasses for reading); the tragedy of Khan’s crew being deposited on a planet that became uninhabitable, killing his wife; and of course Kirk discovering that despite all of his guile with Khan and cleverness at cheating on the Kobayashi Maru simulation, he can’t actually avoid the “no win situation” regardless of his refusal to believe that it can happen to him. A great film for sure, although the lessons where somewhat undone by the sequel, and completely lost on the makers of Star Trek: Into Darkness because J.J. Abrams is a hack.
Stranger
Since Casablanca and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre have already been mentioned, I’ll go with The Best Years of Our Lives. My dad told me “Once you see it, you’ll never forget it,” and he was right.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK helpfully spells out a number of timeless lessons: the Jews were right, the Nazis were wrong, and there’s no reason to lose a fair fight if you can gun a guy down from a safe distance.
1 of mine HAS to be Pulp Fiction, 1st off because it’s so much f"ng fun. As a film though Tarantino shows how important good dialogue is for revealing character and moving the plot along and also how the soundtrack music is key to setting the mood and atmosphere of particular scenes. Most of all, Pulp Fiction shows how to create a hella opening scene to draw the audience in, again all done with basic conversation and a totally unforeseen & wicked cool declaration by Honey Bunny at the end!
The “Men in Boats” trilogy: Jaws, Apocalypse Now, and Das Boot.
You left out The Caine Mutiny, The African Queen, and Mr Roberts.
For those who prefer lighter fare, I’d recommend Some Like It Hot.
The Lion King (original animated film, of course)
No human characters and such an amazing story with some of the best film music of all time.
I know this will not be popular; Crash (2004). I know many find it ham fisted in its message and I can understand that view even if I don’t share it. It’s not subtle but I think it says things that anyone can derive some lesson from and, to me, it’s just a well written, interesting film.
- The Graduate
- Harold and Maude (depicts suicide so maybe not for everyone)
Rififi
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Toy Story It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s family-friendly. If you ever had a favorite toy, this movie speaks to you.
Mrs. Miniver.
One should definitely watch Toy Story… to understand the background when watching Toy Story 2. The first is good, but 2 is a masterpiece.
You said it, gnu.