Movies that need to be seen.

Braveheart - A classic example of how to make a good historical epic (Disney, take note).
Basil the Great Mouse Detective - Second Golden Age of Disney, in my opinion, started here, and the film deserves to be seen by more people.
The Pianist and Schindler's List - For such grim films, you will feel so happy at the end.
Pulp Fiction - Great film. 'Nuff said.

There are more but I think everything that can be said has been said about them.

__________________
"When I was younger, I always wanted to be somebody. Now that I'm older, I realise I should've been more specific."

I am a lover of movies, but I must say a lot of the movies listed here I have not seen or I thought were not interesting(to me). I don't force myself through a movie I have no interest in. Is that wrong? I guess I am not a true movie fan.

Metropolis
Apocalypse Now
Dr. Srangelove or: How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb
Citizen Kane
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Ameile
Kill Bill Vol. I and II
Star Wars Trilogy (Original)
Casablanca
The Maltese Falcon
The Wizard of Oz
Bend it Like Beckam
Shaolin Soccer
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Birds
Superman:The Movie
Lost in Translation
The Princess Bride

A lot of movies I'd say are essential have already been mentioned. I'm going to reiterate one. And then add a new one to the list.


L'avventura
Lost in Translation

__________________
You're not hopeless...

Sometimes it takes more than one viewing to really appreciate some movies, but then i only had to watch BASEKETBALL once last week to know that I never want to see it again.

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

The Usual Suspects
The Shawshank Redemption
Adaptation
Gattaca
Remember the Titans
Friday Night Lights
(plus most of the ones above mentioned)

__________________
And like that .... he's gone

Jrs, you mention some good films there but Bend it like Beckham?!!?

The Deer Hunter
A Patch Of Blue
Platoon
East Of Eden
Papillon
On The Waterfront
The Wild One
The Dead Zone
Apocalypse Now
Misery
The Sixth Sense
12 Angry Men
The Shawshank Redemption
Born On The 4th of July
Pulp Fiction....



.

I completely disagree with the sentiment that a movie fan must see certain films to consider themselves a real film buff or true movie fan, which was the original question.

Lets take your list. I've only seen parts of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Gunga Din, and Fargo. And I've never seen Jean de Florette and to be honest up until this exact moment I've never even heard of it. So does this make me not a true movie fan until I see that film and watch the other three completely through and through?

Is this the objective, universal, cannon, definitive list which is the measure of a true movie fan/buff ? And how is it that your list doesn't contain one single silent film. Could a person be a true movie fan without ever having seen a silent film, or maybe even acknowledge that they made silent movies during the first 20 or so years of the art forms inception ?

Well my list (some titles are the same as yours) would be something like

A Place in the Sun
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Raise the Red Lantern
The Search
Aguirre the Wrath of God
Breathless
Vertigo
Gone With the Wind
Rebecca
Greed
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Lilith
Red River
All Quiet on the Western Front
L'avventura
Do the Right Thing
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Empire Strikes Back
Les Diaboliques
The Bicycle Thief
Five Easy Pieces
The Seventh Seal
Amelie
Blazing Saddles
Dr. Strangelove
Johnny Guitar
East of Eden
In a Lonely Place
Taxi Driver
Last Tango in Paris
The Searchers
Germany Year Zero
La Dolce Vita
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Men
Bonjour Tristesse

That's a rough estimate of my list, so remember folks if you haven't seen all of those you're not a true movie fan.

__________________
"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below

http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=26201

Well it's wrong to not give a film a chance. But the idea that if a person hasn't seen Citizen Kane or Casablanca then they're not a true movie fan is absurd.

If the only movie you've ever seen is The Wizard of Oz and you loved it and loved the medium of film to tell a story then you're a true movie fan. Though surprisingly quite a few people here probably don't agree with that.

If I have only ever been to one game of football, does that make me a true fan, oh goody.

game of football? Or football game?

And depending on your reaction and response to it, you may or may not be a true fan. Up to you, not me.

Oh

Let's go back to your original statement. You are of course correct, anyone can consider themselves a movie fan no matter what movies they have seen (they could also consider themselves an art fan, an American Literature fan etc.)

I also don't think that a movie fan would have to see the movies on my list, your list or the AFI list to consider themselves a fan.

But there is a list of films that someone who wants to become knowledgeable about films should aspire to see.

A list like this is of course subjective but there probably some absolutes that include :

Casablanca
Citizen Kane
The Searchers
The Godfather


and someone who becomes knowledgeable about film might not like all of the above, but they should be seen.

__________________

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."- Groucho Marx

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Amelie
Star Wars IV, V, VI

To Kill a MockingBird

The Pianist
Cidade De Deus
Almost Famous
Requiem For A Dream
Forrest Gump

...

__________________
Movies I Watched Last Week:
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) ****
Drive Well, Sleep Carefully (Justin Mitchell, 2005) ****
Grilled (Jason Ensler, 2006) ****
An Inconvenient Truth (David Guggenheim, 2006) ****
The Family Stone (Thomas Bezucha, 2005) ***1/2
Rocky III (Sylvester Stallone, 1982) ***
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Dawn of the Dead (original)

One i missed...