15 Movies That Everyone Must Watch
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
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.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.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.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.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke 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.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.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.Perfect. The only way to describe this is as the perfect movie.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe 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.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.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA 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.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.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.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.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.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.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsMatthew BroderickAlan RuckMia SaraA popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.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.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksHelen HuntPaul SanchezA FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.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.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.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.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl HannahAfter awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.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)
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.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.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA 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.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.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe 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.Pulp fiction, possibly the poster child for cult classics, has a star studded cast exploring the seedy underworld of sex, drugs, gangs, and violence.