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What do you consider to be the essential/must see films?

posted 5 years ago by [deleted]
112 replies | jump to latest

What are the films you consider to be essential films that every film buff must see? Not necessarily your personal favourite or the best, but the films that are required viewing. List yours and tell me how many have you seen from my list? Here is my list of essential films:

2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
8½ 1963
A Clockwork Orange 1971
All About Eve 1950
Apocalypse Now 1979
Ben-Hur 1959
Bicycle Thieves 1948
Bonnie and Clyde 1967
Citizen Kane 1941
City Lights 1931
Dog Day Afternoon 1975
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982
The Exorcist 1973
Freaks 1932
The Godfather 1972
The Godfather: Part II 1974
Gone with the Wind 1939
The Graduate 1967
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages 1916
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels 1975
King Kong 1933
La Strada 1954
Lawrence of Arabia 1962
M 1931
Man with a Movie Camera 1929
Metropolis 1927
Midnight Cowboy 1969
Nashville (1975)
Network (1976)
The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928
Persona 1966
Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975
Psycho 1960
Pulp Fiction 1994
Raging Bull 1980
Ran 1985
Rashomon 1950
Rebel Without a Cause 1955
The Red Shoes 1948
Rosemary's Baby 1968
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom 1975
Sanshô dayû 1954
Schindler's List 1993
Seven Samurai 1954
The Seventh Seal 1957
The Shining 1980
Singin' in the Rain 1952
Solaris 1972
Star Wars 1977
Sunrise 1927
Sunset Boulevard 1950
Taxi Driver 1976
Vertigo 1958
West Side Story 1961
The Wizard of Oz 1939

[–] tcrum (31585) 5 years ago

Well paging through IMDBs list of the top 250 I'm going to name the ones that impacted me. The Godfather series..I watched the entire series in a weekend, Finding Nemo, the first movie I cried at as an adult. Silence of the Lambs, great story, Memento ,A really unique concept, One flew over the Cuckoos nest, probably the best acting I've seen, Taxi Driver, this was hard to watch as its so dark. These days I try to avoid most of these types of movies as too dark and depressing.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

All great films.

[–] tcrum (31585) 5 years ago

I'm not proud of it but I've never seen many of the big dramas on the imdb top, Schindlers list, Shawshank redemption, Forest Gump..This type of big drama doesn't interest me.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Schindler's List is an excellent film. Not an easy watch, but one I would very strongly recommend watching at least once. Shawshank is a little overrated, a good, but generic and predictable film. I enjoyed Forrest Gump. It has a lot of humour and is pretty entertaining. You might enjoy it too.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Schindler's List is overrated.

[–] tcrum (31585) 5 years ago

It's strange the movies that stand out. I've seen many of these on your list , but Dog Day afternoon, I remember watching that and thinking , wow what is this weird amazing movie.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

True. Dog Day Afternoon is a very memorable film that definitely impacts viewers.

[–] tcrum (31585) 5 years ago

Citizen Kane I've watched some of it but I don't get the appeal. What would you say puts it as a must watch, acting story..What got to you on this film.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I find the story really interesting and the way they tell the story is compelling. The acting, especially Orson Welles, is flawless.

[–] tcrum (31585) 5 years ago

Anytime someone says something is the greatest(film, song etc), as with this film, I always try to see what they see. Sometimes its possible , sometimes not.

[–] tcrum (31585) 5 years ago

allaby dont leave me here all alone.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

You're not alone. There are lots of other people here.