Okay, we have a person in my game group who has not seen a lot of classic films- So I need some must see films that are important in that quotes of them are common or are just a part of culture. If you have not seen these films, you will miss many cultural references. Not necessarily meaningful films- Schindler’s List is deeply moving, meaningful and important- but no one quotes it. Citizen Kane is almost there but just one word- Rosebud.
In no order
B&W Casablanca
*Maltese Falcon, * Seven Samurai
Color Wizard of Oz
More recent Star Wars - A New Hope Raiders of the Lost Ark Monty Python & The Holy Grail.
I guess I’m a bit puzzled why you think Schindler’s List doesn’t quality on this criterion, but Maltese Falcon and Seven Samurai do. Great movies, of course, but what cultural references are you like to miss with these two? All your other picks make good sense.
They Live Big Trouble in Little China Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Flash Gordon Aliens Terminator 2 Ghostbusters Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Pirates of the Caribbean
Thank G-d for @gdave, because his additions included most of the ones I would add for Gamer Culture.
A few extra, less iconic, less quotable, but still probably key.
Zombieland (because all gamers have rules for operating in a tropeverse)
Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness - AoD especially is extremely quotable, but ED2 has many moments and lines that persist in gaming.
Tremors - for so very, very many reasons.
Robocop - can’t imagine why this isn’t on the list “I’d buy that for a dollar” being one of the most common quotes in my group, but both style, quotes and general culture.
Fifth Element - Gamer culture aplenty, including the lines about negotiating, Zorg on warriors and the zf1, and the of course, ZERO STONES, ZERO CRATES!
Spaceballs. I mean, just all of it, why isn’t it on this list???
Conan the Barbarian - while lacking in quotes (although I always say ‘contemplate this on the tree of woe’, and “What is best in life? Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of de wimmen”), it is the source of many gamer tropes, including why turning into a snake never helps, and it is a must for most Fantasy RPG culture moments.
Sam Spade: The stuff that dreams are made of. * Sam Spade: When you’re slapped, you’ll take it and like it.
And there have been how many films that take off on the Seven Samurai? I count six, maybe more.
wiki *t has remained highly influential, often seen as one of the most “remade, reworked, referenced” films in cinema.[10] The visuals, plot and dialogue of Seven Samurai have inspired a wide range of filmmakers, ranging from George Lucas to Quentin Tarantino. Elements from Seven Samurai have been borrowed by many films. Examples include plot elements in films such as Three Amigos (1986) by John Landis, visual elements in the large-scale battle scenes of films such as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), and borrowed scenes in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road
Blazing Saddles Casablanca The Godfather I & II Gone with the Wind Monty Python and the Holy Grail Night of the Living Dead Raiders of the Lost Ark Star Wars: A New Hope The Wizard of Oz
These are not the ten best movies ever made (although some of them would also be on that list). But I feel these are the ten movies that have made the biggest impact on American culture.
When people misquote “such stuff as dreams are made on”, do you think they are quoting Sam Spade misquoting it? Do people really think it was an original line in the movie?
I guess the fact that Seven Samurai has been widely influential for other filmmakers counts as generating cultural references that your friend might miss - but only when they see some of those other films!
If this is a cultural education, I’d be more inclined to identify genres, and then the best 3 movies in each genre. Black and White isn’t a good category, because it covers all genres up to and well past the introduction of color. By the way, there’s a much better quote from Citizen Kane: “It’s no trick to make a lot of money … if all you want is to make a lot of money.” Really, Mr. Bernstein had all the best quotes in that movie.
Here are some suggestions for genres:
Drama (romantic, domestic, others not including the ones listed below)
Suspense
Crime
Mystery
Noir
War
Musical
Comedy
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Supernatural (e.g. ghost stories, Universal horror)
Western
Well, I’ve run out of inspiration. Within each of these genres are important sub-genres. For example, “kitchen sink” dramas were important in England in the 50’s, and their influence carried on for some time after. You could easily do a 10-best list out of any of these categories. The more I think about it, the less possible it seems to get a useful list together.
My suggestion: sit them down in front of Turner Classic Movies, give them food, drink, sleep and toilet breaks, and come back in a year.
I guess I’m confused as to what you’re looking for. In your OP, you state:
Since you specifically indicated this individual was part of your game group, I listed ten films I thought were important to gamer culture, in that quotes of them are common around the game table and are just a part of gamer culture. In your OP, you actually seemed to directly indicate you weren’t necessarily looking for great films.
So, I guess you’re looking for films that are great in and of themselves and are widely quoted or just a general part of culture?
Even by that standard, though, I disagree with your assessment of my list. Just to take three of my suggestions:
I don’t think Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension actually is even a good film. It’s an important film for geek culture and by extension gaming culture. But if you’re looking for great films, then I’d agree that it doesn’t fit.
On the other hand, I think Flash Gordon does. It is at the same time a camp classic and a loving homage to the original comics and even moreso the Saturday matinee movie serials. I think it is a great movie. But, I’ll admit, it’s has a relatively narrow appeal, so it may not fit a more general interest list.
Aliens, though, absolutely does. It is the military action/horror movie. “They mostly come out at night. Mostly” “Get away from her, you bitch!” And the immortal and extremely widely quoted and referenced, “Game over, man, game over!” Bughunts. The iconic archetypal Corporate Weasel Who Wants to Weaponize and Monetize the Monster. The iconic archetypal Greenhorn Officer Who Is Going to Get Us All Killed. The first Final Girl who goes on to become The Badass Action Heroine. And on and on. It is a genuinely great movie, and is very important to geek culture, and it’s very much a part of wider, mainstream culture.
Of course, that’s all just my opinion. If you didn’t find my suggestions helpful, and you don’t think any of them are worth recommending to your friend, that’s completely fine, of course. Individual tastes vary.
But definitely The Princess Bride, though. That one I’ll brook no arguments about
