As a followup to [thread=7302222]The five movies that nearly everyone on Earth has seen[/thread], what films, dear Doper, are the five movies that nearly everyone on Earth should see? This is clearly a completely arbitrary list based upon personal preference, but take into account appeal and accessibilty to the general public, therefore leaving out films like Brazil or La Dolce Vita that require more patience or concentration than the average viewer cares to invest in.
Here’s my list:
[ul]
[li]Rear Window (obviously the Stewart-Kelly version)[/li][li]Casablanca[/li][li]Raiders of the Lost Ark[/li][li]Arsenic and Old Lace[/li][li]Goodfellas[/ul][/li]
Almost rans: Dr. Strangelove, The Great Escape, Some Like It Hot, Cool Hand Luke, The Wild Bunch, Real Genius, Best In Show.
Stranger
I’d keep Casablanca from your list.
I’d add Gone with the Wind - part of our cultural heritage.
I’d replace Rear Window by either North by Northwest or Psycho.
2001 a Space Odyssey and Star Wars both, for two ends of the sf spectrum.
And I’d wind up with Citizen Kane.
I’d be tempted to add The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but it’s probably too much for the average viewer.
Off the top of my head, and in no particular order…
Lawrence of Arabia
The Godfather
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Fantasia
Duck Soup
Real Genius is an also ran? Are you serious? It was a cute movie but no way in hell should it ever come close to a top 5 “must see” list.
I just know someone will say Gone With the Wind…I shudder to think of keeping people awake through that one if it were on a top 5 list.
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
2001: A Space Odyssey
Duck Soup
The Godfather (has to trump Goodfellas)
Actually…
Scracth Duck Soup off my list and replace it with The Wizard of Oz.
Lonesome Dove. It was a TV movie, but probably better than 95% of the theater films produced.
Godfather I & II
The Oxbow Incident
The Execution of Private Slovik
African Queen
As good drama, sure. As any semblance of realism then absolutely not. The Godfather is about as realistic as Raiders of the Lost Ark or even Real Genius.
Remember, we’re not talking about significant movies, but accessible ones, and movies that can cross cultural boundries. (Everyone I know who’s seen Real Genius has enjoyed it immensely–but I probably stuck it on the list because the DVD was recently released and I’ve watched it a couple of times in the last month.)
I realize that this is all opinion, but I’d have to say that Gone With The Wind should probably be out of consideration; it may be part of the cultural history of someone in the American South, but for most people, especially non-Americans, it’s both culturally irrelevent and, frankly, boring as hell.
The Godfather is an interesting pick; I’d have to agree that it’s a better movie than Goodfellas, but many people seem to find it slow-moving and boring. (Go figure.) And while it’s a great drama with lucious cinematography and the second or third best acting job Al Pacino has ever done, it’s really a Greek tragedy in the guise of a Mafia movie, which gives it more thematical complexity than Goodfellas (which is basically a straightforward biopic of a low-level Mob soldier) it also makes it harder to absorb. (Similarly, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is the best Western John Ford ever made and that John Wayne ever had the privilege of appearing in, but because it is a deconstructuralist story that undermines the whole Western genre it has a somewhat limited appeal to the viewing public.) I’d have to go with Goodfellas over The Godfather, and indeed, over the superior but less accessible Scorsese-DeNiro masterpieces like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver.
2001: A Space Odyessy: a great film, but most people find it boring as hell and lacking any plot. It was a commercial success in initial release only among serious sci-fi filmies and acid heads, and while many of the scenes and ideas have been ripped off by lesser films, it remains an enigma, unappealing to most viewers.
I like pinkfreud’s picks (aside from The Godfather); I hadn’t even thought of Lawrence of Arabia. Unfortunately, to get the full impact of the film you really have to see it in 70mm projection, and baring the remaining handful of cinemas so equipped, most people will never get the chance to see it properly.
Stranger
Should a movie be judged on how well it reflects reality? Other than documentaries, I would say that criteria is the last thing I consider in a good movie.
I’d agree that the Godfather is a greek tragedy described as a “mafia” pic. It’s also an excellent movie. My problem with it, however, is that it glamorizes the mafia lifestyle and even invents part of it. It was adapted from a potboiler tha had very little basis in reality. Goodfellas is much more convincing and in many ways a much more human movie. It is, in my opinion, a vastly superior movie and one that is more relevant and more valuable than any of the Godfather movies.
Well that depends on how you define a good movie. My concern with the Godfather is that it glamorizes (and invents) a profoundly anti-social lifestyle. Is that something we want to spread around the world? The Godfather is almost a cartoon, a male adolescent fantasy, insofar as it makes sociopathic thugs out to be honourable business men.
A movie like Goodfellas holds that very same lifestyle up to the light and basically mocks it. To my mind, that’s a more important and powerful message and one which I think ought to be shared before that of the Godfather.
A casual list only, quite likely I could change my mind on any of them on the slightest whim.
I’m going to start by picking one each from what I consider major film catagories.
Comedy - Blazing Saddles
Drama - Casablanca
Suspense/Thriller - Rear Window
Action/Adventure - Raiders of the Lost Ark
SciFi/Fantasy - Star Wars
Western - The Wild Bunch
So I picked six, oh well. SF/Fant and A/A could be combined then, the nod going to the Lucas Film. Catagories may change at the drop of a hat.
Star Wars (and not that A New Hope crap re-release that Lucas did, I mean the original cut released in 1977)
Blazing Saddles
The Terminator
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Stop Making Sense
and if I can add one more, in the nonfiction category, it would be Koyaanisqatsi.
(I know, I know… having 6 is cheating. :rolleyes: So sue me.)
Would be interesting to see some postings from non Western nation Dopers. (if there are any left.) As long as the shows are readily available to me, Joe Average American. 
I’ve started [post=7302940]another thread[/post] on this topic, so as to prevent hijack. Enjoy.
Stranger
Just off the top of my head…
Casablanca
The Godfather
Dr. Strangelove
The Princess Bride
And for a western, what the heck… The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
I almost went for that one! Might depend on mood for me…
Easy Rider, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Gummo, The Fog of War and another one I don’t know the title of. Had to do with Nuclear Energy and why its a good thing.