Mandatory Movie Viewing?

[Atreyu]

Ed Wood staring Johnny Depp as the great bad movie director also with Martin Landau in his Oscar winning performance as Bela Lugosi. Directed by Tim Burton.

[iam1bearcat]

i'm surprised no one has mentioned Taxi Driver! i thought that was a regarded as a classic. have it in my queue and looking forward to it. heard nothing but great things about it.

[Q?]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i'm surprised no one has mentioned Taxi Driver! i thought that was a regarded as a classic. have it in my queue and looking forward to it. heard nothing but great things about it.

You're in for a treat as well with that one, as Akira I think this is also in my top 20, I haven't made a list, oh well... this is my list

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Blade Runner
3. ????? and so forth, I better start making one.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i prefer sci-fi, dark thrillers, psychological mind benders, but any genre is open. just trying to expand my horizons and make sure i don't miss anythig major that should be viewed.

We have very similar tastes. I've been reading your reviews for a while now.

1. Dark City - sci-fi, mind bending heaven

2. Vanilla Sky - my favorite film for about 10 years. A great mind bending drama/sci-fi lite.

2.5 Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind - similar to Vanilla. great mind bending drama.

2.75. Eyes Wide Shut - in my top 10 all time. Severely underrated. Will become a classic with time, IMO. Themes of sin and temptation, but far beyond what it seems to be. Great thriller (although not as much of a mind bender as others...a little...3/10 on Mind Benders scale )

3. Tell No One - best thriller I've seen since Hitchcock. You'll thank me later

3.5 The Fall - Squid recommended. I love it. You'd like it I think. Great drama with great imagery and another thinking film (beyond the typical plot driven film)

3.75 Magnolia - you just saw it though right?

4. Last Year at Marienbad - mind bending heaven Read Ebert's review after.

5. The Shining - a great horror that also happens to be an infinite abyss of psychoanalysis

6. Rear Window - Hitchcock's best, IMO

7. The Fountain - go talk to Squid and Jhiggy after...I'm only an orange belt in this one but its SICK!

8. Requiem for a Dream - same director as The Fountain

9. Babel - a great drama/thriller involving multiple cultures across the world. Not for the dull thinker. Sick soundtrack.

10. Band of Brothers - no explanation needed. Picture in picture option of the real vet's doing live commentary?? need I say more??

11. Big Fish - a fantasy favorite of mine

12. Cinderella Man - a great drama, definitely worth a watch if you havent' seen

13. THe Lives of OThers - my #2 film all time (behind 2001). Check it out. Great drama! Won oscar for best foreign film 2006.

14. THe Prestige - another mind bending thriller (although "light" on the scale of some of the others above). However, Jhiggy and Squid will tell you of alternative theories which make it more complex

15. Repulsion - worth a watch. Great mind-bending thriller/horror.

16 Walkabout - worth a watch. i loved it. some didn't. another not so obvious thinking film. I think you'll like it.

[The_Basterd]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

We have very similar tastes. I've been reading your reviews for a while now.

1. Dark City - sci-fi, mind bending heaven

2. Vanilla Sky - my favorite film for about 10 years. A great mind bending drama/sci-fi lite.

2.5 Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind - similar to Vanilla. great mind bending drama.

2.75. Eyes Wide Shut - in my top 10 all time. Severely underrated. Will become a classic with time, IMO. Themes of sin and temptation, but far beyond what it seems to be. Great thriller (although not as much of a mind bender as others...a little...3/10 on Mind Benders scale )

3. Tell No One - best thriller I've seen since Hitchcock. You'll thank me later

3.5 The Fall - Squid recommended. I love it. You'd like it I think. Great drama with great imagery and another thinking film (beyond the typical plot driven film)

3.75 Magnolia - you just saw it though right?

4. Last Year at Marienbad - mind bending heaven Read Ebert's review after.

5. The Shining - a great horror that also happens to be an infinite abyss of psychoanalysis

6. Rear Window - Hitchcock's best, IMO

7. The Fountain - go talk to Squid and Jhiggy after...I'm only an orange belt in this one but its SICK!

8. Requiem for a Dream - same director as The Fountain

9. Babel - a great drama/thriller involving multiple cultures across the world. Not for the dull thinker. Sick soundtrack.

10. Band of Brothers - no explanation needed. Picture in picture option of the real vet's doing live commentary?? need I say more??

11. Big Fish - a fantasy favorite of mine

12. Cinderella Man - a great drama, definitely worth a watch if you havent' seen

13. THe Lives of OThers - my #2 film all time (behind 2001). Check it out. Great drama! Won oscar for best foreign film 2006.

14. THe Prestige - another mind bending thriller (although "light" on the scale of some of the others above). However, Jhiggy and Squid will tell you of alternative theories which make it more complex

15. Repulsion - worth a watch. Great mind-bending thriller/horror.

16 Walkabout - worth a watch. i loved it. some didn't. another not so obvious thinking film. I think you'll like it.

Um..... What about Memento?

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by The_Basterd

Um..... What about Memento?

Yeah he better either see it or already have seen it!! And The Following!

[jhiggy23]

It would be easy for me to list my favorite films and state that their mandatory viewing, like The Fountain, but to me that's not what "mandatory viewing" means. For me, I think it's a film that is either such a classic that it must be seen or a movie that is topically very important. With those theories (some overlap of course), I give you the following:


Classics that I consider mandatory:

1) Citizen Kane
2) Casablanca
3) Godfather
4) Taxi Driver
5) Raging Bull
6) 2001
7) Alien
8) Psycho
9) On the Waterfront
10) Lawrence of Arabia
11) 8 1/2
12) 400 Blows
13) Last Year at Marienbad

many others


Films that Topically I consider mandatory:

1) Bicycle Thief
2) Judgment at Nuremberg
3) 12 Angry Men
4) To Kill a Mockingbird
5) Downfall
6) The Lives of Others
7) The Cove
8) Schindler's List
9) The Killing Fields
10) Hotel Rwanda

many others

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

We have very similar tastes. I've been reading your reviews for a while now.

1. Dark City - sci-fi, mind bending heaven

2. Vanilla Sky - my favorite film for about 10 years. A great mind bending drama/sci-fi lite.

2.5 Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind - similar to Vanilla. great mind bending drama.

2.75. Eyes Wide Shut - in my top 10 all time. Severely underrated. Will become a classic with time, IMO. Themes of sin and temptation, but far beyond what it seems to be. Great thriller (although not as much of a mind bender as others...a little...3/10 on Mind Benders scale )

3. Tell No One - best thriller I've seen since Hitchcock. You'll thank me later

3.5 The Fall - Squid recommended. I love it. You'd like it I think. Great drama with great imagery and another thinking film (beyond the typical plot driven film)

3.75 Magnolia - you just saw it though right?

4. Last Year at Marienbad - mind bending heaven Read Ebert's review after.

5. The Shining - a great horror that also happens to be an infinite abyss of psychoanalysis

6. Rear Window - Hitchcock's best, IMO

7. The Fountain - go talk to Squid and Jhiggy after...I'm only an orange belt in this one but its SICK!

8. Requiem for a Dream - same director as The Fountain

9. Babel - a great drama/thriller involving multiple cultures across the world. Not for the dull thinker. Sick soundtrack.

10. Band of Brothers - no explanation needed. Picture in picture option of the real vet's doing live commentary?? need I say more??

11. Big Fish - a fantasy favorite of mine

12. Cinderella Man - a great drama, definitely worth a watch if you havent' seen

13. THe Lives of OThers - my #2 film all time (behind 2001). Check it out. Great drama! Won oscar for best foreign film 2006.

14. THe Prestige - another mind bending thriller (although "light" on the scale of some of the others above). However, Jhiggy and Squid will tell you of alternative theories which make it more complex

15. Repulsion - worth a watch. Great mind-bending thriller/horror.

16 Walkabout - worth a watch. i loved it. some didn't. another not so obvious thinking film. I think you'll like it.

Can't argue with any of the films you listed, although there's a few I need to see (Big Fish, The Fall, etc). Fantastic list. Of course, you and I agree that Tell No One is one of the best pure thrillers ever, The Lives of Others is either the number 1 or number 2 film of the 2000s, Last Year at Marienbad being a great puzzle, Rear Window being so iconic and well-directed, etc.

I do ask, however-----------where is your favorite film of the 2000s????? THERE WILL BE.......BLOOOOOOOOOOD!

[Walts Ghost]

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but Back to the Future is a must to me. As is Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Shawshank Redemption

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by pj_campbell

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but Back to the Future is a must to me. As is Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Shawshank Redemption

I'm not a fan of Raiders or Back to the Future (I know, I know) but it's hard to argue with you--both are iconic. Shawshank is a good choice as well.

[jhiggy23]

I think you could last a year just going through the great foreign films of the 2000s--deepest decade ever:

Amelie
Lives of Others
Hero
Downfall
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
House of Flying Daggers
Countefeiters
Tell No One
The Return
Pan's Labyrinth
Sophie Scholl
Revanche
Summer Hours
A Christmas Tale
Everlasting Moments
Cache
Werckmeister Harmonies
Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Before Night Falls
City of God
etc.

[RatedRstar]

Starship Troopers.
ConAir.

I'm dead serious.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I think you could last a year just going through the great foreign films of the 2000s--deepest decade ever:

Amelie
Lives of Others
Hero
Downfall
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
House of Flying Daggers
Countefeiters
Tell No One
The Return
Pan's Labyrinth
Sophie Scholl
Revanche
Summer Hours
A Christmas Tale
Everlasting Moments
Cache
Werckmeister Harmonies
Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Before Night Falls
City of God
etc.

dude, this friggin Criterion sale is going to bankrupt me! ok, not really, but i will spend a crap load of dough on it!

BTW, great list and he definitely should watch City of God, a great film. I still haven't seen many on this list, unfortunately.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by RatedRstar

ConAir.

It's the greatest film ever made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQFnn6IVh4

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I do ask, however-----------where is your favorite film of the 2000s????? THERE WILL BE.......BLOOOOOOOOOOD!

I think I left it out (along with 2001) because I think I remember reading a review he made of it recently, although I may be wrong. If he hasn't, that is of course a must see!! Mulholland Drive has grown on me and is in a deadheat with TWBB. David Lynch hypnotized me with that black limo driving up the California urban mountain road at night, with plush vegetation all around, the headlights disappearing into the darkness, the city lights flashing in the backdrop below, and the eerie score...

[OG Pooh]

Hey, my first post!!!

Here's my list (no particular order)...

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Blade Runner
Mulholland Drive
The Shawshank Redemption
Amelie
Big Fish
The Ten Commandments
Young Frankenstein
Forbidden Planet
Pulp Fiction
District 9
The Shining
Stripes
Ed Wood
Casablanca
Braveheart
Forrest Gump
The Caine Mutiny
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
The Long, Long Trailer
Ghandi
Rear Window
The Abyss
What Dreams May Come
Saving Private Ryan
Apocalypse Now
The Wizard of OZ
The Big Sleep
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Inglourious Basterds
A Christmas Story
Grumpy Old Men
The Fifth Element
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

There's a lot more that I consider my personal favorites, but the above list, I consider must see films. Given time, I'm sure I'd come up with a much bigger list.

[Canada]

Mulhulland Dr
Platoon
Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
Das Boot
Departed
The Girl with Dragon Tattoo ( Be careful it's brutal)
Heat
Se7en

Action movies

Lethal Weapon & Lethal Weapon 2
Alien
Aliens
and so man others I could be here forever.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by OG Pooh

Hey, my first post!!!

Here's my list (no particular order)...

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Blade Runner
Mulholland Drive
The Shawshank Redemption
Amelie
Big Fish
The Ten Commandments
Young Frankenstein
Forbidden Planet
Pulp Fiction
District 9
The Shining
Stripes
Ed Wood
Casablanca
Braveheart
Forrest Gump
The Caine Mutiny
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
The Long, Long Trailer
Ghandi
Rear Window
The Abyss
What Dreams May Come
Saving Private Ryan
Apocalypse Now
The Wizard of OZ
The Big Sleep
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Inglourious Basterds
A Christmas Story
Grumpy Old Men
The Fifth Element
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

There's a lot more that I consider my personal favorites, but the above list, I consider must see films. Given time, I'm sure I'd come up with a much bigger list.

Great first post!

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Canada

Mulhulland Dr
Platoon
Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
Das Boot
Departed
The Girl with Dragon Tattoo ( Be careful it's brutal)
Heat
Se7en

Action movies

Lethal Weapon & Lethal Weapon 2
Alien
Aliens
and so man others I could be here forever.

You're my hero.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

We have very similar tastes. I've been reading your reviews for a while now.

1. Dark City - sci-fi, mind bending heaven
i actually watched this about a month ago. did not like it at all. i think i gave it a 2/5. it was almost too weird for me. which is weird. definitely will revisit it soon (along with the Director's Cut). i think my expectations were too high. i always try to eliminate that before viewing.

2. Vanilla Sky - my favorite film for about 10 years. A great mind bending drama/sci-fi lite.
it's high on my queue and i'm anxious to see it!

2.5 Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind - similar to Vanilla. great mind bending drama.
this is my second favorite film of all time! love love love it!

2.75. Eyes Wide Shut - in my top 10 all time. Severely underrated. Will become a classic with time, IMO. Themes of sin and temptation, but far beyond what it seems to be. Great thriller (although not as much of a mind bender as others...a little...3/10 on Mind Benders scale )
on the queue, saw it a looooong time ago so i barely remember it.

3. Tell No One - best thriller I've seen since Hitchcock. You'll thank me later
on the queue, very excited for this now too!

3.5 The Fall - Squid recommended. I love it. You'd like it I think. Great drama with great imagery and another thinking film (beyond the typical plot driven film)
on the queue now.

3.75 Magnolia - you just saw it though right?
YES! looooooooove it. 5/5

4. Last Year at Marienbad - mind bending heaven Read Ebert's review after.
i think you and squid were discussing this somewhere. on the queue. another one i'm eager to watch.

5. The Shining - a great horror that also happens to be an infinite abyss of psychoanalysis
seen a few times, but not for a long while. own the dvd actually haha

6. Rear Window - Hitchcock's best, IMO
i used to HATE older movies, but i was a fool. got this on the queue

7. The Fountain - go talk to Squid and Jhiggy after...I'm only an orange belt in this one but its SICK!
definitely can't wait to see this.

8. Requiem for a Dream - same director as The Fountain
same as above.

9. Babel - a great drama/thriller involving multiple cultures across the world. Not for the dull thinker. Sick soundtrack.
hmmm... first mention of this. interest is piqued now. on the queue.

10. Band of Brothers - no explanation needed. Picture in picture option of the real vet's doing live commentary?? need I say more??
i own the blu, considering selling it though. loved it, but will revisit soon to decide if it's worth keeping. (and yes, i watched the PiP bonus features. heartbreaking stuff)

11. Big Fish - a fantasy favorite of mine
always been wanting to see this and never remembering to. on the queue!

12. Cinderella Man - a great drama, definitely worth a watch if you havent' seen
on the queue, bottom half however

13. THe Lives of OThers - my #2 film all time (behind 2001). Check it out. Great drama! Won oscar for best foreign film 2006.
wow. now this really has me anxious to see it. heard little about it. on the queue, near the top.

14. THe Prestige - another mind bending thriller (although "light" on the scale of some of the others above). However, Jhiggy and Squid will tell you of alternative theories which make it more complex
another film i missed for unknown reasons.

15. Repulsion - worth a watch. Great mind-bending thriller/horror.
on the queue now

16 Walkabout - worth a watch. i loved it. some didn't. another not so obvious thinking film. I think you'll like it.
i haven't seen it, but from screenshots i've seen, it reminds me a bit of Into the Wild. don't know if that's a good comparison or not. on the queue!

bold = my thoughts and stuff.

thanks a ton surfdude!