0015: So You Want To Be A Film Fanatic - Tier 1
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (38)
- The Best Years of Our Lives (46)
- The Bicycle Thief (48)
- The Big Sleep (46)
- The Blue Angel (30)
- Breathless (60)
- Bringing up Baby (38)
- Casablanca (42)
- The Children of Paradise (45)
- Chinatown (74)
- Citizen Kane (41)
- City Lights (31)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (77)
- Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (64)
- Double Indemnity (44)
- Duck Soup (33)
- 8 1/2 (63)
- Frankenstein (31)
- From Here to Eternity (53)
- The General (27)
- The Godfather (72)
- The Godfather Part II (74)
- Gold Rush (25)
- Gone With the Wind (39)
- Grand Illusion (37)
- High Noon (52)
- His Girl Friday (40)
- I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (32)
- It Happened One Night (34)
- It's a Wonderful Life (46)
- Jules and Jim (62)
- La Strada (54)
- Lawrence of Arabia (62)
- Lola Montes (54)
- M (31)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (42)
- The Maltese Falcon (41)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (39)
- Modern Times (36)
- Nashville (75)
- The Night of the Hunter (55)
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (28)
- Pather Panchali (55)
- Persona (66)
- Psycho (60)
- Raging Bull (80)
- Rashomon (51)
- Rear Window (54)
- Red River (48)
- The Red Shoes (48)
- Rules of the Game (39)
- Sansho the Bailiff (54)
- Schindler's List (93)
- The Searchers (56)
- The Seven Samurai (54)
- The Seventh Seal (56)
- Singin' in the Rain (52)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (37)
- Some Like It Hot (59)
- Stagecoach (39)
- Strangers on a Train (51)
- Sullivan's Travels (41)
- Sunrise (27)
- The Third Man (49)
- Tokyo Story (53)
- Tom Jones (63)
- Top Hat (35)
- Touch of Evil (58)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (48)
- Vertigo (58)
- The Wild Bunch (69)
- The Wizard of Oz (39)
- Zero for Conduct (33)
Would you like to investigate cinema? Perhaps find new genres you enjoy? Start a serious DVD or video collection? Here's the list for you.
These films represent must-see movies, films no self-respecting cinema fan can afford to be unacquainted with. This is not a list of the BEST films, although most of these films are certainly excellent, but this list represents most of the major genres of cinema history well and also includes the obvious masterpieces no collection can miss. I also have tried to represent most of the major film-producing countries within the list. I hope you find this helpful, whether you are just starting seriously to explore cinema, or you are just wanting to plug a few hungry holes in your DVD collection.
This is the first tier; I have a similar list for rock music, and I hope to add a second tier to both lists soon.
I saw your note about the intentional dearth of 80s and 90s movies on this list, but you know what a recency freak I am. So how 'bout Pulp Fiction (94), Unforgiven (92), Platoon (86), Amadeus (84), The Big Chill (83), or Tootsie (82)?
or, from the 70's, Taxi Driver?
As I mentioned in my response to Jim, this list is pretty much the size I wanted it to be. I had room for one Scorsese film, and I opted for Raging Bull over Taxi Driver. To be completely honest, the final decision was pretty much between Raging Bull and Mean Streets, although Taxi Driver is certainly also one of Scorsese's geatest films, and I did consider it.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I don't feel that Platoon or The Big Chill quite reach the level of quality most of the films on this list represent. Pulp Fiction certainly does, but so far, it has only inspired a few decent films and a handful of terrible ones. I had trouble considering it a foundational work at the present. This, hopefully, will change. The same went for Unforgiven.
Amadeus was considered very seriously. Tootsie is a great film, but seemed out of place on this list both in terms of quality and influence.
This list reached the length I wanted it to be about halfway through. Therefore, from M onward, every time I added a new film, I had to remove one. Your suggestions were great, but I cannot see deleting one of the films already on the list to make room for them. I'll give Amadeus some more thought, but so far, there it is.
I've started Tier 2 of the rock list. You'll be happy to know, Jim, that already at least one 90s album has made the cut.
Thanks for the feedback.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
By the way, Amadeus will certainly be on the second tier, whenever I get around to posting it.
I'm currently working on the second tier of rock music. I am tempted to create a page like this one for literature. Any interest out there?
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Of course I would be interested in seeing a literature list, although given how long the printed word has been around, that seems like a MUCH harder task. Will you be sticking to a nationality? English lit, perhaps? Modern lit?
I may narrow it down to Western literature ( I do read some Eastern literature, but I fear I am still probably much too ignorant to make any sort of definitive list ), but other than that, I'm thinking of trying to include the entire span of history. I may start on this soon.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I also think you might need to narrow it by genre, and have multiple lists? The lists I've read have been book length... Although i think you could probably write a book, and would be very interested in seeing it, since out of our categories (Film, music and books), books is the area where I can give the most intelligent comments...
That all seems reasonable to me. But here's one that's almost from the 80s: how close was Apocalypse Now from making the cut? I can understand not wanting to be too Coppola-heavy, but can't one of the Godfathers be dropped (personally, I'd drop the first one, but it's kinda hard to only include a sequel on a list like this)?
Apocalypse Now will probably appear on the second or third tier. It is a fantastic film, but its influence is a bit questionable, and its episodic nature perhaps makes it difficult to put it on the first tier for reasons of quality alone. I thought about this for quite awhile, and it was definitely seriously considered.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Why do you believe that for a movie to be "good" it must have definitivly influenced another movie? It seems to me that is a poor weighing mechanism in the debate. Your list automatically rules out movies with originallity and real guts.
Did you read my comments? I most certainly do not believe influence makes a film good or not good. My other lists and my comments should show this. This list simply attempts to give a film history education in a concentrated dose, and when viewing film history, it is important to tackle the milestones in order to understand why film is how it is now. That's where the influence comes in. As my comments say, this is not a list of 'best' films. By no means do I believe a movie must be influential to be 'good,' and many conversations I have participated in here should prove this beyond question.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
And just to show I'm not an entirely shallow child of the now, how close were these to making the cut: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Manchurian Candidate, The Sting, The Graduate, Brazil (okay, it's an 80s movie I forgot), or To Kill a Mockingbird?
The Manchurian Candidate and The Graduate both almost made this list, and I predict they will easily make the second tier. To Kill a Mockingbird was also considered, but probably not as much as the first two I mentioned. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will probably appear on Tier 3, but I'm not sure. I still haven't finished the second one yet.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I did not see a Vietnam film on here. Is there any that you find worthy of being on here? Also One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest I consider to be the greatest movie of all time. Where might that appear on your list( if at all) ?
I have only seen 15 of the films listed here. Of course, that may be due to my total lack of exposure to movies growing up. I keep adding to the amount, but it takes some time. Thanks for all the work you have put into it. It gives a lot of direction to movies novices such as myself.
Thanks, 7days! I am glad to know this list is useful. It was certainly very fun and informative to assemble, and hopefully it will help people discover entire new genres of films to love. I think it is really too bad that most people only hit the new releases section of their video stores, but I also realize that many feel lost in the classics / foreign sections. Which old films are worth a few bucks and which ones are not worth a second's time? I hope this list might serve as a map of sorts, leading to troves of films unpopular yet mesmerizing.
Again, thanks. I'm thrilled this list is serving its purpose.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I have been able to watch a lot of movies lately so I am coming along on the list. There are several films on this list that I really enjoyed and I doubt that I would have been exposed to them if it wasn't for this list. Go you.
Thank you very much, 7days. I'm thrilled both that you are enjoying such great films and that my little list isn't completely useless!
Soon, no doubt, I'll have to finish the second tier of this list. These "So You Want To" lists take a bit of time!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs