My must-see movie list
Submitted by darktremor on Wed, 08/24/2005 - 11:06
Tags:
- This isn't really made for anyone to read, I'm just storing a list of all the movies I must see before I die, to be checked off as I view them, and to be added to as I think of more. You can look at it if you want, but I don't think you'll find it interesting. (! means seen)
- Pulp Fiction ! (5/5)
- Trainspotting ! (4.5/5)
- Eraserhead ! (4/5)
- Requiem for a Dream ! (5/5)
- Fargo ! (4/5)
- The Godfather ! (5/5)
- The Usual Suspects ! (4/5)
- Pi ! (5/5)
- Ratatouille ! (4.5/5)
- Primer ! (5/5)
- Mulholland Drive ! (5/5)
- Bowling For Columbine ! (4/5)
- Taxi Driver ! (4.5/5)
- Ghost in a Shell ! (4/5)
- The Silence of the Lambs ! (4/5)
- Young Frankenstein ! (2/5)
- Groundhog Day ! (4/5)
- My Neighbor Totoro ! (5/5)
- Laputa: Castle in the Sky ! (4/5)
- Akira ! (4/5)
- Spider Forest ! (1/5)
- Mirror Mask ! (3/5)
- City of God ! (5/5)
- 1408 ! (4/5)
- Brazil ! (4/5)
- Lost in Translation ! (4/5)
- This is Spinal Tap ! (4/5)
- Reservoir Dogs ! (4.5/5)
- Grave of the Fireflies ! (4.5/5)
- A Clockwork Orange ! (4.5/5)
- Paprika ! (3/5)
- Up ! (4/5)
- Se7en ! (4.5/5)
- The Wrestler ! (4.5/5)
- Cold Souls
- District 9
- Vertigo - have copy
- Oldboy - have copy
- Gran Torino
- Amelie
- Life is Beautiful
- Leon The Professional
- L.A. Confidential
- Full Metal Jacket
- The Elephant Man
- Ed Wood - have copy
- Singin in the Rain
- The Crying Game
- The Last Emperor
- Triplets of Belleville
- Big Trouble in Little China
- El Mariachi
- Metropolis
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- Das Boot
- Casablanca
- The Graduate
- Psycho
- Dr. Strangelove
- A Few Good Men
- Soylent Green
- Dead Poets Society
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Caddyshack
- The Producers
- Animal House
- True Romance
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- The Jerk
- Good Morning Vietnam
- Cube
- Waydowntown
- The Acid House
- Natural Born Killers
- Porco Russo
- Kiki's Delivery Service
- Tales From Earthsea
- Pom Poko
- A Boy and His Dog
- Videodrome
- Alphaville
- Seconds
- Open Your Eyes
- Save The Green Planet
- District B13
- Delicatessen
- 2046
- THX 1138
- The Host
- Metropolis (1926)
- La Strada
- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Schindler's List
- North By Northwest
- American History X
- The Pianist
- Rashomon
- Waking Life - have copy
- Tasogare Seibei
- Vozvrashcheniye (aka The Return)
- The Man from Earth
- Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo
- Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
- The Lives of Others
- This movie is not rated
- A Dirty Shame
- Little Otik
- Elephant
- Arlington Road
- Seven Samurai
- Kagemusha
- Hidden Fortress
- 99 Francs
- The Tree of Wooden Clogs
- Rear Window
- Once Upon a Time in the West
- The Seventh Seal
- Cinema Paradiso
- Chinatown
- Touch of Evil
- Riget / The Kingdom
- Lisa's must-see:
- Princess Mononoke
- Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
- Favorite Movies (in no particular order):
- Spirited Away
- Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Hero
- Legend of the Drunken Master
- The Matrix
- Fight Club
- Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail
- Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different
- Goodfellas
- Being John Malkovitch
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Lord of Rings (I consider all three to be one big movie)
- Kill Bill (I consider both volumes one movie)
- Twelve Monkeys
- Dark City
- Sin City
- Requiem for a Dream
- City of God
- The Godfather
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Mulholland Dr.
- Favorite film genres:
- Artistically done anime (and by that I mean NOT Pokemon, Inuyasha, Yu Gi Oh, or anything of the sort: think more along the lines of Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, etc.)
- Kung fu
- Gangster
- Intelligent Science Fiction (think Gattaca versus Attack of the Killer Tomatoes)
- Surrealist
- Eccentric/absurd/surreal/oddball comedy
- Anything strange (with a point) and anything extremely well done
- They're not a particularly abnormal set of favorite movies or favorite genres: it's sort of a "you and everyone other person alive?" list, but to anyone who does read this, is there anything you'd recommend based on those favorites?
Did you see soylent green yet?
Not yet, I should really mark down which ones I've seen...
I saw it a few months ago. At first I couldn't get into it but then it got interesting. I saw your rating on Kill Bill. Did you see Pulp Fiction? If you did, which one did you like more? PF or KB?
I think I might be one of the few people alive who actually liked Kill Bill more. Although I loved Pulp Fiction.
why did you like Kill Bill more? I though KB was good in the sense that Pulp Fiction gave me more to think about. I just saw PF like a month ago and my friend and I talked about it for the next few hours. I guess I though KB was more entertaining but PF seemed a lot more thoughtful. But hell, what do I know? I loved both. Have you seen Reservoir Dogs?
I found Kill Bill to be quite thoughtful in a different sense. It just completely chopped up and rearranged every "fallen genre" in an absolutely brilliant and original way, without ever feeling like a parody, collage or homage. It was like Tarantino stuck it all in a big blender. On top of that, it was immensely entertaining and exciting, and there was so much elegance and detail in how it was filmed and executed (although Pulp Fiction had that too). Quentin also managed to make so many scenes that should have been terrible and probably looked like disasters waiting to happen on paper into some of the most memorable and funny (perhaps even classic) scenes in recent cinema (ie the limb-cleaving scene, and Pai Mai's training session). Everything about it should have been so corny and forced (The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad?), but it all worked. And it didn't even have to parody anything. In the same tradition of Star Wars, Tarantino managed to create a brilliant pastiche that was far greater than the sum of its often very weak parts (only instead of building it out of 40's science fiction, space opera, sword & sorcery fantasy, and Buddhist mythology, it was made from Kung fu films, Spaghetti Westerns, classic anime, and corny 70's action movies). It even managed to turn an incredibly simple plot into a complex and entangling web, another amazing feat.
Pulp Fiction was also incredible, I just preferred Kill Bill slightly. And it might only be that I saw Kill Bill first.
Perhaps it's because I haven't seen Kill Bill in such a long time. I only recently saw Pulp Fiction so I can grasp it a lot better. I found Kill Bill to be enormously entertaining when i did see it though. I loved the mood of it, at least from what I remember. The sudden changes in direction, how it all seemed to fit. The actor's expressions. The sequence was fantastic. I'm trying to see all Quentin movies so I can try and understand his mind a bit better, in a way. I really want to see From Dusk till Dawn even though he didn't direct it. I was pretty little when I saw KB so I can't really say a whole lot on it which makes my decision unfair.
Well, it's not really unfair. Most prefer Pulp Fiction slightly. (BTW, with From Dusk Till Dawn, you're not missing that much, IMO)
What about the fountain?
Sure, I'll watch it. I'm a fan of other Arontofsky films. In fact, I planned to watch it.
and what about 'natural born killer' should be on your list thought,authentic movie
Looks interesting, I'll definitely check it out.
Check out “The Deer Hunter”. Even though it’s quite an old movie, I still think that certain scenes in the movie are some of the most intense and disturbing scenes ever filmed. The movie really had an impact on me. It’s a “MUST SEE”.
Sure, I'll check it out.
1408 is a really terrible movie I wouldn't watch it. You have to see (if you haven't already):
Fight Club (Really a very different film from many others)
Blazin Saddles (Absurd amazing comedy from Mel Brooks)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A very powerful film, and although I suppose it's very basic compared to studying it, you would probably enjoy it being a psychology student.)
Also, If you like scorsese you will absolutely ADORE "The Departed"
Hope that's of some help!
I loved The Departed. It was great.
Fight Club is already on my "favorite movies" list in this list.
Blazing Saddles I also want to see, but it's not a must-see for me, because I've never liked Mel Brooks. I may be the only person alive that didn't enjoy Young Frankenstein: I didn't find it funny at all.
I do want to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. Thanks for reminding me. I hear it's a masterpiece.
As for 1408, I'll have to see. A lot of people have told me the opposite.
"Arlington Road" is another movie to check out. It's also quite a sensitive topic, especially in regards to the acts of terror.
Sure. +adds.
Clockwork Orange does seem bizarre if you only see the first half, but it figures itself out (eventually). Still, a surreal and different experience, I actually really enjoyed it, but some of it just makes for some very uncomfortable viewing.
Agreed! But weird doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. :D
I'm looking forward to the rest.
hey darktremor, what abt Gus van Sant? I loved Elephant
Sure, I'll check it out. :D
I would check out some of Akira Kurosawa movies.
I recommend Seven Samurai and Kagemusha, Hidden Fortress is also pretty good, though not as good as the first two. Though he is responsible in some way, shape or form for upwards of fifty movies.
Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas look up to him.
Sure, I'll check them out.
I don't understand why 'Mulholland Drive' is a great movie. I rented it once after seeing it had a five star rating on it, but was very dissapointed with what it had to offer.
I tried being patient up until the lesbian scene. I just thought "what the f*ck is up with this bullsh*t" and switched it off.
Anyone explain why I should watch it again?
Yes, there are 2 reasons:
1) The surreal atmosphere is so well-drawn, watching it feels like being immersed in a dream.
2) Finish watching it, then analyze it as a whole. The first half of the movie is the dreamworld of Naomi Watts' character. The second part,
I don't know, even when David Lynch's movies don't make any sense, I still feel compelled and drawn to watch. I love his complete disregard for popular narrative structure: it allows for really innovative, interesting, and intense films.
Speaking of which, I forgot to add it into my favorites...
If you don't mind me jumping in here real quick...
I wish I knew more about what you didn't like about Mulholland Drive. If you didn't like the David Lynch style of bizarre surrealism, then I probably can't help you there, except to suggest you avoid Eraserhead and Blue Velvet too.
If you liked the bizarreness but didn't like the specific style of the first part or how the acting seems out of a 1950s film, you should go back and finish it, because the style does change. It remains surreal but about 2/3 of the way through it, like darktremor said, it seems to indicate that the first part was all a dream - one that illuminates the psychology of the characters, but a fantasy nonetheless.
If you didn't like how the story was difficult to understand, I gotta tell you, Mulholland Drive is actually one of the most easily-interpretable surreal films out there. That's not to say that the point is readily apparent to a first-time viewer, but if you're so inclined to finish the film, I'm sure a minimal amount of Googling will direct you to a fairly cohesive interpretation of how to read it. In fact, here's a good reading right here. Again, avoid Eraserhead, which Lynch has claimed there is an easy interpretation to but no one has come up with it in the past thirty years.
If you like bizarre, stylized, abstruse films but the imagery and style of Mulholland Drive just didn't work for you, maybe it's just a personal taste thing. Once again, minimal Googling could probably direct you to reviews discussing the style. But again, the last 45 minutes or so do shed much more light on what has come beforehand.
Really? Avoid Eraserhead? I enjoyed it quite a bit.
I love Eraserhead, but it's certainly not for everyone, and I wouldn't recommend it to someone who didn't like Lynch's surreal style or habit of making films that defy easy interpretation.
That's true, I definitely agree with that. Plus, it's not exactly an "easy" film.
What did you think of Pi? Was it worth a watch? I have a torrent of it, but I've heard mixed reviews...
It's a wonderful film, I really enjoyed it. It's fairly dark and twisted though, not to mention bizarre and surreal. However, if you're a fan of artistic and interesting films, I think you'll enjoy it.
Alright, I'll torrent it and give it a shot. You ever heard of The Fountain? It's also directed by Aaronofsky (if that's spelled correctly). I've heard manyyy mixed reviews on that one.
I think that movie has the most mixed reviews of any film ever released. I've seen some call it a penultimate masterpiece, and some call it the worst movie of all time (and everything in between). lat I recall, I think it had exactly 50% on rottentomatoes, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had a "50" on metacritic too.
I don't know how Pi was first received, but I think time has been rather kind to the film, perhaps as Aronofsky established himself as a real auteur capable of works as unique as Requiem for a Dream. I'm glad, because I think Pi is a great film.
I'm an idiot who should do more than just skim conversations before he comments.
I just literally finished watching The Fountain. I am not an avid movie goer, and I would not say that I am an expert with movies in any way. But, this movie (if you could call it that) may just be one of the most intense experiences I have ever been through in any film Requiem For A Dream was very sad and very real (a close friend of mine cannot watch it, because he is going through similar problems as Harold). The Fountain is DEFINITELY a must see. I would call this film art. Pure art. When it ended I was literally baffled. I felt like crying, and I felt...well...I honestly don't know (but a good "honestly I don't know" lol). The film itself is pretty confusing...but it definitely makes sense (and yes that does sound pretty redundant I know). In my vocabulary, I do now know any word for this film. I understand several of the concepts that Aronofsky was portraying, but at the same time I did not get the full picture. It's just one of those films that NEEDS to be watched over again. The people that booed at this film are what Ayn Rand would refer to as "second-handers" while Aron and the actors of this movie would be called "Creators." (If you have read The Fountainhead, you will most likely understand what I am saying). I truly hope, that in years to come, people will realize how gorgeous this movie really is.
It is art...I just don't know how else to say it...
It is a MUST see.
Check out this site to understand what I am saying. The reviewers here made more sense than I did lol. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/
And the music is PERFECT.
Cool. I do want to see it, actually. I think I'll rent it soon.
This isn't necessarily a "movie" but it is a Extremelly good video series on youtube. It's on my "interesting things on the internet list," but I don't feel like sending a list over one video. Anyway, when you have free time check out at LEAST his video, but the entire series is very well done. Guy is British, and he is very intelligent. Why do people laugh at Creationists (Part 19)
Haha, nice! Loved it. The whole series is pretty entertaining, actually (what I've seen so far). I've heard a lot of such ridiculousness already, but it's still quite amusing. Thanks for the link!