# Top ten must see films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 6, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587 "2022-03-06T23:25:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/21 "2022-03-07T19:02:39Z")
You make some good points. And _Princess Bride_ is a solid choice. The idea is two fold, and I didn’t explain it well- Films that qualify as great and are culturally important outside of the film itself, films that people will casually quote or that have spawned a genre. _Aliens_ is not a bad choice. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/22 "2022-03-07T19:12:53Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > _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. And perhaps even more frequently quoted - “Nuke them from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.” ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/23 "2022-03-07T19:54:10Z")
_King Kong_ (1933) _The Big Sleep_ (1945) _The Third Man_ (1949) _Kiss Me Deadly_ (1955) _Sweet Smell of Success_ (1957) _The Seventh Seal_ (1957) _A Fistful of Dollars_ (1964) - Note that it’s a remake of _Yojimbo_ (1961) – itself a remake and often acknowledged as having been inspired by _The Glass Key_ (1942) - and was remade several times afterward. _The Good, the Bad and The Ugly_ (1966) _Chinatown_ (1974) _Network_ (1976) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/24 "2022-03-07T20:12:03Z")
Eraserhead Ran Amadeus ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/25 "2022-03-07T20:45:30Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > f this is a cultural education, I’d be more inclined to identify genres, and then the best 3 movies in each genre. Very good point! As a “must see” film, I’d recommend some that could be introductory films to a much wider genre. For example I might recommend: “My Man Godfrey” or “Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House” as an introduction to screwball comedies. “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” or “How the West Was Won” as an introduction to “Bigger than Life” films. “The Maltese Falcon” or “Little Caesar” for hardboiled films. “Pinocchio” or “Fantasia” for animated films. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/26 "2022-03-07T22:15:53Z")
Couple of other great movies with famous quotes that haven’t been mentioned - _Sunset Boulevard_ _The Graduate_ _A Streetcar Named Desire_ ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/27 "2022-03-07T22:50:06Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > The Graduate Ugh what a lousy film. Hasn’t aged well at all. I will throw out there: Witness For The Prosecution The Apartment Down By Law Treasure of the Sierra Madre Beat The Devil (a personal favorite that gets mediocre reviews). Adam’s Rib. Kind Hearts and Coronets (or substitute any Alec Guinness film of that era). Anything with Peter Lorre and/or Sydney Greenstreet. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/28 "2022-03-07T22:59:20Z")
I misunderstood and thought we were looking for “must-see films” rather than “must-see films for pop culture knowledge”. For that, I think you would need to throw in **at least one Jackie Chan film** (any will do), at least one 80s action film ( **Predator** is the definitive one), **Groundhog Day** , **Inception** , **Titanic** , and **Avatar** (with the big blue people). I can’t recommend those last two as good stories. Ignore my previous post. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/29 "2022-03-07T23:05:27Z")
No, you had some good ideas there. Yeah, mostly the “must-see films for pop culture knowledge”- films that when quoted around the gaming table or when having lunch are hopefully films which have been seen. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/30 "2022-03-07T23:15:05Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Ugh what a lousy film. Hasn’t aged well at all. I saw _The Graduate_ for the first time about two or three years ago and I thought it was absolutely fantastic and funny as hell in that understated dark comedy sort of way. Exactly the type of humor I love. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/31 "2022-03-08T15:52:03Z")
_Cool Hand Luke_ _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ _The Sting_ _Three Days of the Condor_ _The Three Faces of Eve_ _Les Ripoux_ _One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest_ _Misery_ _Marathon Man_ _Super Troopers_ ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/32 "2022-03-08T16:38:37Z")
Interesting list BlankSlate. . . the Super Troopers at the ending made me do a “double-take.” Lot’s of Robert Redford and Paul Newman in there. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/33 "2022-03-08T18:52:12Z")
My top 10: _Rear Window_ (could have easily picked other Hitchcock films like Dial M for Murder) _Schindler’s List_ (a must see for historical understanding as well as the movie quality) _The Godfather_ (really can’t include I and not II) _The Godfather II_ _The Longest Day_ (greatest cast ever) _North by Northwest_ _The Exorcist_ (greatest horror movie of all time) _12 Angry Men (1957)_ _Jaws_ (the king of the summer blockbusters) _The Shawshank Redemption_ Near Misses _Apocalypse Now_ _Lolita (1962)_ _Mulholland Drive_ (what can I say, I think Lynch is a genius) _Ben Hur (1950)_ (best spectacle movie) I certainly am not unbiased, I prefer some directors and genres much more than other. ---
**Author:** ![Jan135](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@Jan135](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jan135)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/34 "2022-03-08T19:02:08Z")
I find old movies amusing. When you watch them you feel like you are in a museum. If you are looking for that new yet old feeling i recommend: Hellraiser 1979 Halloween 1978 Terminator 1984 Alien 1979 Also, if you watch Scream 1996 after Halloween, you get a very unique experience. Scream has plenty of refrerences to Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/35 "2022-03-08T19:26:50Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > _Cool Hand Luke_ > _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ > _The Sting_ I like those. > [@BlankSlate](#): > > Les Ripoux Never saw it. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587/36 "2022-03-08T23:03:00Z")
Yes, I should have had North by Northwest in there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-must-see-films/960587.md?page=1)