What are the must-see movies?

[warning]

My Netflix Queue is getting low and I've been thinking about what movies I should rent.  I think we need to compile a list of CG Approved (tm) Movie Essentials.  These would be movies everyone should see, classics both old and new.

I think we will do everyone a favor and automatically include the Star Wars Trilogy and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Those are a given.

My list (off the top of my head):

Pulp Fiction - probably the funniest, slickest, deepest movie I've seen.  My favorite by far.

Godfather I & II - we don't even talk about part III.  It never happened.

Saving Private Ryan - saw it once.  I doubt I'll see it again.  Too traumatizing.  That said, I couldn't imagine not seeing it.

Schindler's List - see Saving Private Ryan above.

My Neighbor Totoro - I love Miyazaki's stuff.  This is my favorite.  And I can watch it with my sons and they enjoy it just as much as I do.

What would you add to the list?

Edit:  I'll eventually tally up the lists and note which ones received the most votes.

Another edit: if you can include a sentence or two about the movie(s) you recommend that would be nice.

[Bulletpig]

I have to add "O Brother Where Art Thou"

That was one of my all time favorites and would have never even bothered with it until my boss kept hounding me about it.

Pig

[th'FOOL]

Iron Giant
Dr. Strangelove
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Bubba Hotep
Brazil
Big Trouble In Little China
Buckaroo Banzai
Repo Man

[Jag]

Drama:
Usual Suspects
Shawshank Redemption
Goodfellas
Alien
Casablanca
Bonnie and Clyde
The Sting
Annie Hall
Jaws
MASH
Rocky

Classic Comedies:
Caddyshack
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
Animal House
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

[Gratch]

I'll second  Big Trouble in Little China & Iron Giant.  These would also be added to my personal "must-see" list:

-  Spirited Away
-  Clerks
-  Princess Bride
-  Akira
-  Jaws
-  Pirates of the Carribean
-  Braveheart
-  Monty Python & the Holy Grail
-  Young Frankenstein

[warning]

Bubba Hotep

Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) is an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home; seems he switched identities with an impersonator years before his "death" and then missed his chance to switch back. The King teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks he's John F. Kennedy, and the two old codgers prepare to battle an evil Egyptian entity that's chosen their long-term care facility as its happy hunting grounds.

 :shock:

There's one that flew under the radar.  With a plot summary like that it's pretty hard to resist.

[whiteboyskim]

Raising Arizona, Blood Simple, Fargo, and The Hudsucker Proxy. At least one of those (most likely Arizona) will stick with you permanently.

Aliens is demanded viewing if you're even remotely interested in movies. My professor in college showed this to us when we were studying the effects of sound in movies. Listen to the James Cameron commentary during your second viewing and you'll learn just how low budget it was.

Monty Python and the Life of Brian. Leaps and bounds funnier than Holy Grail, though sadly no where near as quoted. Holy Grail stops being funny when you've seen it 2000 times like any college student these days. Brian just keeps getting funnier.

I'll have to argue with th'FOOL on Buba Ho Tep and say if you want to see The Bruce in his finest hour(s), check out Evil Dead 2 followed immediately by Army of Darkness. It won't take that long, and your sides will hurt from laughing.

For stellar dramas, check out The Conversation and The French Connection. Gene Hackman at his finest.

[Clanwolfer]

My list:

The Third Man:  Just watch the lighting, the setting, and the monologue on the Ferris wheel.  Filmmaking doesn't get any better.

Princess Mononoke:  My personal Miyazaki favorite.

Black Hawk Down, especially if you've read the book and appreciate the reality behind the situation.  Sizemore is excellent in his role.

Princess Bride:  It's inconceivable that you haven't seen this.

[SpaceLord]

You can't make a favorites list topped by Pulp Fiction without including Tarantino's favorite movie. Best. Guy. Movie. Ever.

Some classics not on that list...

The Maltese Falcon
Any dialogue-heavy, dark movie owes a lot to Huston's first masterpiece. Bogey was the man.

Chinatown
See the Maltese Falcon. Reason #1 why Jack is my favorite actor.

Once Upon a Time in America
IMHO, as good as Goodfellas, and comparable to the Godfather movies.

Metropolis

The father of sci-fi/fantasy. Frankenstein, Blade Runner, Star Wars, The Matrix, Dr. Strangelove all borrowed from Fritz Lang's silent epic.

[AttAdude]

Bubba Hotep

Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) is an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home; seems he switched identities with an impersonator years before his "death" and then missed his chance to switch back. The King teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks he's John F. Kennedy, and the two old codgers prepare to battle an evil Egyptian entity that's chosen their long-term care facility as its happy hunting grounds.

 :shock:

There's one that flew under the radar.  With a plot summary like that it's pretty hard to resist.

U cant go wrong with this movie, its a great film.  Fair warning tho, the main theme in the movie is ageing and in the end its pretty damn sad.  I loved it enough to buy it tho.

[SuperHiro]

Swingers.

[SpaceLord]

I don't see many older movies here. Sad, really.

I once knew this really cute girl in college. We had a group project together. She liked me. But one day, she told me she didn't like movies more than 3 or 4 years old. Her cuteness suddenly became less important.

[Big Jake]

Dear God, not one of you has said Aliens yet.  Best Action movie ever.  Joel Mathis nailed it: given the situation, the people behaved in a realistic fashion.  No 'Bruce Willis in Diehard doing something you know is patently impossible' moments.

My other absolute must sees:
2001
Seven Samurai


Conditional 'Must Sees' (not for everyone):
Edward Scissorhands
Papillon (Decades before Shawshank Redemption.  And who would you rather be: Steve McQueen or Tim robbins?)
Blues Brothers

I got to think on this one a bit.  I know Im missing something big.

[bluefugue]

Ikiru
Midnight Run
Robocop
Modern Times
The Third Man
Goodfellas
White Men Can't Jump
8 1/2
Sherlock Jr.
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner
Lucas
Rear Window
The Crowd
The Lady Vanishes
Raise the Red Lantern

[whiteboyskim]

Dear God, not one of you has said Aliens yet.  Best Action movie ever.  Joel Mathis nailed it: given the situation, the people behaved in a realistic fashion.  No 'Bruce Willis in Diehard doing something you know is patently impossible' moments.

Ahem.

Aliens is demanded viewing if you're even remotely interested in movies. My professor in college showed this to us when we were studying the effects of sound in movies.  Listen to the James Cameron commentary during your second viewing and you'll learn just how low budget it was.

[SpaceLord]

Aliens is good. Alien is just as good. Scarier, at least. Bilbo did a bang-up job in that one.  And God bless Bill Paxton.

"That's it man, game over man, game over!"

[Jeff]

I'll group my essentials by genre: (i'll leave out the obvious: LOTR, Star Wars, Raiders, etc)

Action:

Die Hard
The Terminator 1 & 2
Kill Bill Volume 1
Ronin (for the chase scenes)
Master & Commander (for the awesome sound)
Heat
X-Men 2


Comedy

Austin Powers IMOM
Office Space
Chris Rock Bigger & Blacker
Best in Show
The Big Lebowski
Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail

Documentary

Spellbound
Winged Migration
Super Size Me

Drama

Glengary Glen Ross
Happiness
The Last Samurai
Magnolia
Pulp Fiction
Saving Private Ryan
Unbreakable
Shawshank

Horror

The Shining
The Evil Dead

Western

Open Range
Unforgiven
Shane
True Grit

I might update my list more later.

[whiteboyskim]

Aliens is good. Alien is just as good. Scarier, at least. Bilbo did a bang-up job in that one.  And God bless Bill Paxton.

"That's it man, game over man, game over!"

I wish I still had my synopsis of the Alien saga I did over at Gone Gold once. I'm a nut for the series, but don't have the time right now to do something other than a drive-by posting.

I STILL will stand up and argue that The Shining is self-indulgent, overrated crap (much like the novels of Susan Sontag) and point out that any one of a dozen scare-flicks have not only proven themselves scarier, but also didn't rely on a score that was deafening right from the start.

[Driver]

Ed Wood.  I just saw that it was on DVD now.

Bubba Ho-Tep  is awesome.  I was surprised by how good it was.

[Incendiary Lemon]

Modern Times

 echoes that choice

Chaplin holds up very well

[Sepiche]

Aliens is good. Alien is just as good. Scarier, at least. Bilbo did a bang-up job in that one.  And God bless Bill Paxton.

"That's it man, game over man, game over!"

LOL Man he has the most quotable lines in that movie.

"How'd they cut the power man, their animals!?"

"... we got sonic, electronic BALL BREAKERS!  We got knives, sharp sticks..."

"Stop your grinin' and drop you're linen, I found 'em!"

"Well maybe you should put her in charge!"

"How do I get out of this chicken sh!t outfit?"

Man I love that movie,
s

[SkyLander]

[Daremo]

Classic Musicals

Kiss Me Kate - Ann Miller number 'Too Darn Hot'.
Broadway Melody of 1940 - Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire together.
Holiday Inn - Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby together.
Calamity Jane - Doris Day hamming it up with Howard Keel.
An American in Paris - Gene Kelly, nuff said.
Singing in the Rain - What can I say.

etc..

I could go on forever naming old musicals.

[Koz]

I just saw Dark City the other day and highly recommend it. It flew totally under the radar, but is a great classic (in the philosophy sense) sci-fi movie. And Jennifer Connelly is in it (yum).

[Nth Power]

Here's a few from off the top of my head in no particular order :

Spider-Man 2
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
This is Spinal Tap
American Splendor
Fight Club
Kill Bill
Se7en
Memento
Lost in Translation

[CrayolaSmoker]

Just looking at my movie collection:

12 Monkeys - while all Terry Gilliam is worth watching, this one is the one I can consistently go back to.  Just brilliant.

Cat Ballou - great musical western starring Jane Fonda back when she was the hottest gal on the planet.  Lee Marvin is absolutely brilliant as the drunken gunfighter.  Nat Cole and Stubby Kaye as the narrating minstrels are a treat.

Charade - the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never filmed.

The Dirty Dozen - required watching to keep your man card.

The Fifth Element - stylish and fun goofy sci-fi romp.  "She KNOWS it's a MULTIPASS!"

A Fish Called Wanda - hysterical.  Kevin Kline, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Jamie Lee Curtis.  'nuff said.

The Game - probably David Fincher's finest work.  I LOVE this film.

The Impostors - Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt in an old-school screwball comedy

Kissing Jessica Stein - the mother in this movie has one of the most real portrayals of emotion I've ever seen.

Murder by Death - classic comedy spoof of literary mysteries.  Stars Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Alec Guinness, Truman Capote.  Written by Neil Simon.

Rollerball (1975) - another classic guy movie.  One of those futuristic 70's films with a message.  But in between that, you get an ultra-violent blood sport with roller skates, a big steel ball, motorcycles, and more spikes than you can count.

Undercover Brother - really funny spoof/homage of blaxploitation films.  One of the funniest movies to come out in recent memory.

[Big Jake]

sorry whiteboy, I thought you wrote that quote about Alien (which was previously mentioned).  My mis-read.  Great call.

[Jeff]

Bubba Ho-Tep  is awesome.  I was surprised by how good it was.

Just saw that one last week. Didn't love the whole movie, but I loved Campbell's portrayal of Elvis. He was friggin' great, and believable as what you might think Elvis would be like now. Some of his lines were very funny.

 

STILL will stand up and argue that The Shining is self-indulgent, overrated crap (much like the novels of Susan Sontag) and point out that any one of a dozen scare-flicks have not only proven themselves scarier, but also didn't rely on a score that was deafening right from the start

93% at RottenTomatoes, #87 all time at IMDB. Obviously, you're in the minority

I listed The Shining under horror, because it generally gets listed there, but really I think of it as more suspense, and psychological drama. Nicholson's portrayal of a man descending into madness was extraordinary.   And I loved the opening score, there has never been more haunting music to set a tone, IMO.

I also strongly agree with these, that others have mentioned:

Planes Trains & Automobiles
Seven Samurai
This Is Spinal Tap
Lost In Translation
The Game

[paulbaxter]

OK, older movies

Red River (amazing)
Arsenic and Old Lace
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House
Network
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Searchers
His Girl Friday
Brazil (it got mentioned already, but needs to be seconded)

[mori]

Swingers.

Made

Also:
The Salton Sea
Suicide Kings
Leon: The Professional
Reservoir Dogs
Desperado

[bluefugue]

FWIW, The Shining is the scariest movie I've ever seen.  You'd have to pay me to watch that alone...

[gameoverman]

more ideas:

City Lights
Duck Soup
Adventures of Robin Hood
Run Lola Run(German)
Das Boot(German)
Some Like It Hot
Sunset Boulevard
Rashomon(Japanese)
The Searchers
Ran(Japanese)
This Is Spinal Tap
Secrets &  Lies(Mike Leigh film)
Pulp Fiction
Amores Perros(in Spanish)
Boogie Nights
Trainspotting

edit: Crap! How could I forget City of God?  That is the definition of must see.

[whiteboyskim]

STILL will stand up and argue that The Shining is self-indulgent, overrated crap (much like the novels of Susan Sontag) and point out that any one of a dozen scare-flicks have not only proven themselves scarier, but also didn't rely on a score that was deafening right from the start

93% at RottenTomatoes, #87 all time at IMDB. Obviously, you're in the minority

I listed The Shining under horror, because it generally gets listed there, but really I think of it as more suspense, and psychological drama. Nicholson's portrayal of a man descending into madness was extraordinary.   And I loved the opening score, there has never been more haunting music to set a tone, IMO.

Yes, I realize I'm in the minority on this one and damn proud of it. I'm also in the minority of people who consider Forrest Gump an insulting rant against the '60's (ironically made by a man who grew up in the '60's) and a terrible, awful film. What's different though is I thought that on my first viewing the year it came out. I also thought Titantic was way overblown (as bluefugue and I have disagreed on in the past ) and really hated it when I first saw it - opening night.

In time, people have come around to my line of thinking on this. I like being way ahead of the curve, what can I say?

Oh and Crayola -

A Fish Called Wanda - hysterical. Kevin Kline, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Jamie Lee Curtis. 'nuff said.

I think you meant Michael Palin on this.

[CrayolaSmoker]

Oh and Crayola -

A Fish Called Wanda - hysterical. Kevin Kline, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Jamie Lee Curtis. 'nuff said.

I think you meant Michael Palin on this.

Oops!  I think studying for finals broke my brain.

[O.DOGG]

I'll go for something less standard.

If you liked Pulp Fiction, chances are you'll also like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. They're like a British Pulp Fiction with memorable characters, a lot of funny moments and very good dialogue. You can't go wrong with them.

Another movie worth seeing is The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Polain AKA Amelie. It's a French movie about a girl trying to make a difference in people's lives. Very touching.

Another very good French movie, if you can stomach it, is Irreversible. It's about a rape and revenge and the flow of time. Also it has a few extremely graphic scenes, so consider yourself warned.

It's a shame there's still no US version of La Haine on DVD. It'd be number 1 on my list.

Another movie I like to recommend is Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned with Laurence Fishburne. It's about an ex-con trying to live life with honor and principles even with all the odds stacked against him.

I'd like to second The Seven Samurai and if you like Akira Kurosawa's movies, definitely see Red Beard, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro. They're all great movies.

Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more.