Agreed. I always take someone’s taste into account when recommending creative works to them. I may recommend to Apollo 13 to almost anyone, but I can imagine that there are people out there who wouldn’t like it.
I’ve gotta add one to my list:
Bugs Bunny: What’s Opera Doc?
For an eight-year old?
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Anne of Green Gables
The * “Little House”* books
Maybe Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? (The original, not the remake with Johnny Depp)
My favorite artist, Alphonse Mucha, without a doubt.
The film Casablanca.
Terminator, the original.
The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin.
Airplane!
If I had a quarter for every time I’ve handed someone (an adult) my copy of this book, saying, “Seriously, you must read this. If not for yourself, then for me,” I could probably buy myself a second copy.
Also, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
Beethoven’s Ode to Joy
Classic Bugs Bunny
“Without reservation” to me means I have to exclude most films and TV shows as they will be language dependent and sub-titles change the dynamic. Books may be okay but even then how many languages will they be translated into?
That leaves silent film, music, opera, ballet and the visual arts. Hopefully I will be excused any reservations about not being blind, deaf or both 
How about:
- A decent production of the ballet ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Sergei Prokofiev.
- Laurel and Hardy’s 1929 silent film classic “Big Business”
- William Turner’s picture “Ancient Italy Ovid Banished From Rome”
Books (too many to list):
Lonesome Dove
White Nile
Half The Sky
Movies:
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
West Side Story
On Golden Pond
Fargo
Art:
The Dutch Masters
Bernini’s sculptures
These are all examples; an exhaustive list would take too long.
A case in point why “recommendations without reservation” will fall flat on some recipients, thus making the whole idea impossible. I love classical music, but I can’t stand this piece (the first three movements of the 9th symphony are OK to me, but I simply cannot listen to the choral 4th movement that is referred to as Ode to Joy).
Who Framed Roger Rabbit would be on my list. Going to see the Nutcracker as a live ballet by a professional company. The sculptures of Bernini. There are others people mentioned in the thread that I would agree with, namely Apollo 13 and Princess Bride.
That being said, people’s tastes are so subjective that even these works would probably get rejected or only warrant a passing glance for some people. There are plenty of works I would recommend people if they pass liking a specific genre or criteria, but otherwise I won’t bother. If you don’t read comics, I’m not going to bother recommending Naoki Urasawa’s Monser, for instance.
Moonrise Kingdom is a great choice, one that I hadn’t thought of. Casablanca is fantastic in my opinion (though Citizen Kane is better), but I know a lot of people that refuse to watch old black and white movies, period.
My picks: Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, and the first three seasons of Spongebob Squarepants.
Animal Farm might be a good choice too. Or A Wrinkle in Time. Or The Jungle Book.
I’m thinking of simple things that are nevertheless quite entertaining for adults and children alike. Taking children out of the equation doesn’t change anything, because there are many adults with the sophistication, literacy and attention span of children.
About half of the things recommended so far are things I either despise or would never read/watch because of violence or other issues. So the thread just becomes yet another “List your favorite stuff!”
Okay - how about we add our most despised of the recommendations of others as a footnote to yours? With reasons for added spice…
Choral music doesn’t do it for me. I’m not a big symphony, fan either. I like chamber music and concertos though, so it isn’t just that I don’t like classical music. I guess I like to hear individual voices and instruments, rather than a big army of them blending together all at once.
And music seems to create deeper divides, that’s why my first post was restricted to TV shows and books. Though liking Weird Al at least a little bit seems to be universal.
Threadshitting: declaring the topic of a thread stupid and the people participating idiots for doing so.
You’re darned close to that here.
Remember, you’re not obligated to post in a thread if you disapprove of/disagree with its premise.
Thanks,
twickster, Cafe Society moderator
You know, you’re right. Sorry about that.