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15 Movies That Everyone Must Watch

by GrouperTrooper • Created 13 years ago • Modified 12 years ago
These 15 movies are works of cinematic genius, pop culture classics, and/or milestones for the silver screen. They are consistently referenced and parodied and everyone should watch the original works.
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  • 15 titles
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

    1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

    19682h 29mG84Metascore
    8.3 (760K)
    When a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and one supercomputer is sent to Jupiter to find its origins.
    DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam Sylvester
    One of the most commonly referenced movies out there, 2001: A Space Odyssey is an artistic journey dealing with the ideas of man, God, and life. It is a movie that was never meant to be fully understood, so when you finish watching it and are completely confused, be glad that you received the full viewing experience.
  • Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

    2. The Shawshank Redemption

    19942h 22mR82Metascore
    9.3 (3.1M)
    A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.
    DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob Gunton
    This movie was considered a box office flop, making far less then the production costs. But, after its video release, it has become a crowing achievement in cinema and gave the world another reason to fall in love with Morgan Freeman.
  • Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, and Kenny Baker in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

    3. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

    19772h 1mPG90Metascore
    8.6 (1.5M)
    Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
    DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie Fisher
    Arguably the greatest movie of all time. It was the world's first blockbuster and remains the pinnacle of the greatness of Hollywood. It revolutionized everything that was every known about special effects and paved the way for most every technical effect we see in movies today. Even the mighty Pixar got its start under George Lucas's wing when he assembled a group of talented computer engineers and animators to develop new special effects for future movies.
  • Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972)

    4. The Godfather

    19722h 55mR100Metascore
    9.2 (2.1M)
    The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
    DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames Caan
    Perfect. The only way to describe this is as the perfect movie.
  • Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci in Goodfellas (1990)

    5. Goodfellas

    19902h 25mR92Metascore
    8.7 (1.3M)
    The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
    DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe Pesci
    A look at the rise and fall of a once big time player in the Italian-American mob. The acting, art direction, and pacing of the movie make for an enjoyable and engaging watch, but what is astoundingly impressive is the realistic, inside look at the life of a mobster.
  • Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939)

    6. Gone with the Wind

    19393h 58mG97Metascore
    8.2 (349K)
    A sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
    DirectorVictor FlemingStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas Mitchell
    Still considered to be the most popular movie of all time, it still holds its spot as one of the movies with the most theater tickets sold (which is even more impressive considering it was on the silver screen over 70 years ago). The movie is beautiful, the acting captures the best of the golden years of Hollywood, and the story of a southern woman of privilege trying to survive love and war during the Civil War has stood the test of time. And, when one considers that this movie came out in the U.S. when Jim Crow laws were still in place and the African American cast member's couldn't attend the premier because it was held in a whites only theater really drives home the message of struggle for equality in this movie.
  • Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charmian Carr, Angela Cartwright, Duane Chase, Nicholas Hammond, Kym Karath, Heather Menzies-Urich, and Debbie Turner in The Sound of Music (1965)

    7. The Sound of Music

    19652h 52mG63Metascore
    8.1 (279K)
    A young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
    DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor Parker
    This movie put musicals on the map, and (adjusted for inflation) remains the third highest grossing movie ever. Its overly feel-good musical numbers perfectly juxtapose the horrors of living in Austria during the rise of Nazi Germany and has meaning for both children and adults.
  • Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club (1985)

    8. The Breakfast Club

    19851h 37mR66Metascore
    7.8 (461K)
    Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
    DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly Ringwald
    A teen cult classic that deals with high school class division and "clicks" can resonant with anyone who has lived through high school. This movie is surprisingly serious at times but still riddled with laughter and delight.
  • Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

    9. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

    19861h 43mPG-1361Metascore
    7.8 (405K)
    A brash, cocky high school senior, tired of skipping school to spend a boring day at home, is determined to enjoy an epic day roaring around his favorite Chicago sites, enlisting his best friend and girlfriend to join him on the adventure.
    DirectorJohn HughesStarsMatthew BroderickAlan RuckMia Sara
    Who doesn't want to be friends with Ferris? Mathew Broderick may never outlive this character, but then again, he may never want to. Ferris is the manipulating, cunning, mischievous high schooler that we all wish we were and could be.
  • Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000)

    10. Cast Away

    20002h 23mPG-1374Metascore
    7.8 (671K)
    A FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.
    DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksHelen HuntPaul Sanchez
    It's a movie that starts Tom Hanks opposite a volleyball and still leaves its viewers entertained. This movie has taught us two things; everyone loves Tom Hanks, and Tom Hanks loves Wilson.
  • Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Wolf Kahler, Ronald Lacey, and Terry Richards in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

    11. Raiders of the Lost Ark

    19811h 55mPG86Metascore
    8.4 (1.1M)
    In 1936, archaeologist Indiana Jones is tasked by Army Intelligence to help locate a legendary ancient power, the Ark of Covenant, before the Nazis get it first.
    DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul Freeman
    The first and still the best Indiana Jones movie. Here, Hans Solo fights the Nazis over buried treasure while dealing with the awesome, super natural power of biblical artifacts. There are snakes, tombs, fight scenes, and the classic struggle between good and evil all wrapped up with elements of an old western. It is the perfect adventure movie.
  • Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

    12. Kill Bill: Vol. 1

    20031h 51mR69Metascore
    8.2 (1.3M)
    After waking from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
    DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl Hannah
    Look at this movie as if it is an action comic book come to life, and you will see what everyone else sees in it. (Don't believe me? You can pause Kill Bill at any scene and the still shot looks like a piece of art from an anime graphic novel)
  • Alien (1979)

    13. Alien

    19791h 57mR89Metascore
    8.5 (1M)
    After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.
    DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn Hurt
    Probably the best scary movie of all time. This movie uses incredible directing to make the viewer feel the small, dark, and inclosed spaces that the characters are in. With he use alarm tones to mimic heart beats, this all adds up to giving the audience the same constant fear that the movie's characters feel of an unbeatable, grotesque alien that can attack you at any time. What adds an extra level of fear and "creep" factor is the movie's use of sexuality through the alien's reproductive pathways as means to induce a more intimate fear in the viewer. Also, this movie finally put the female heroin on the silver screen.
  • Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Paul Henreid, and Conrad Veidt in Casablanca (1942)

    14. Casablanca

    19421h 42mPG100Metascore
    8.5 (637K)
    A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
    DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul Henreid
    As one of the most quoted movies ever, this love story taps into the eternal feelings of love that we all share and thus has stayed relevant since 1942.
  • Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction (1994)

    15. Pulp Fiction

    19942h 34mR95Metascore
    8.8 (2.4M)
    The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
    DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. Jackson
    Pulp fiction, possibly the poster child for cult classics, has a star studded cast exploring the seedy underworld of sex, drugs, gangs, and violence.

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