Essential Movies To Watch

I'm 13, And in the past 2-3 years I have been inspired. When I am older, I either want to be an editor, cinematographer or director. Anyway, after last year watching every movie with awards buzz and all the big movies (Except transformers 4, because I am not giving that horrific movie money) Anyway, I have started making friends that also love movies, and they have loved movies all their life, and when talking to them about all the classic movies I realised I haven't seen. I'm wondering what people consider the essential films to watch. (I'm not looking for indie movies or cult classics, these are movies that you think you need to see if you want to start calling yourself a huge movie fan) BTW I have been doing this for around 2 months, I have about 10 secondhand DVD's of classic movies sitting next to me. Thanks for help in advance

Have you checked the Forums' lists? Click on "Lists" under the second O in MOVIE FORUMS at the top of any page.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Yeah, the AFI 100 list would be a good place to start to get into films. Older classics, but nothing too inaccessible, as they're all American and normally films with good stories. Then see what you like and start exploring more.

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Another great thought is to stick around here and start posting even if it is only a few times a week in specific threads. I was 37 when I joined here. I thought I watched a lot of movies and had a pretty good handle on the film world. I hadn't even scratched the surface and still haven't. Hope you find the kind of stuff your looking for.

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1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. 42nd Street (1933)
3. The 400 Blows (1959)
4. All About Eve (1950)
5. Annie Hall (1977)
6. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
7. L'Atalante (1934)
8. The Bank Dick (1940)
9. The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
10. The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
11. Blow-Up (1966)
12. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
13. Breathless (1960)
14. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
15. Casablanca (1942)
16. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)
17. Children of Paradise (1945)
18. Chinatown (1974)
19. Citizen Kane (1941)
20. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
21. Closely Watched Trains (1967)
22. Close-up (1990)
23. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
24. The Decalogue (1988)
25. Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
26. Diner (1982)
27. Do the Right Thing (1989)
28. La Dolce Vita (1959)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Duck Soup (1933)
31. Easy Rider (1969)
32. Enter the Dragon (1973)
33. The Entertainer (1960)
34. The Exorcist (1973)
35. Faces (1968)
36. Fargo (1996)
37. Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
38. The General (1927)
39. The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974)
40. Gone With The Wind (1939)
41. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
42. The Graduate (1967)
43. Greed (1924)
44. Happy Together (1997)
45. High Noon (1952)
46. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
47. Jailhouse Rock (1957)
48. Ju Dou (1990), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), Red Sorghum (1987)
49. Killer of Sheep (1977)
50. L.A. Confidential (1997)
51. Landscape in the Mist (1988)
52. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
53. M (1931)
54. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
55. The Man With a Movie Camera (1929)
56. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978)
57. Metropolis (1927)
58. Modern Times (1936)
59. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
60. Nashville (1975)
61. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
62. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
63. Nosferatu (1922)
64. Los Olvidados (1950)
65. On The Waterfront (1954)
66. Open City (1945)
67. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
68. Pandora's Box (1928)
69. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
70. Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1958), The World of Apu (1960)
71. The Piano (1993)
72. Psycho (1960)
73. The Public Enemy (1931)
74. Pulp Fiction (1994)
75. Raging Bull (1980)
76. Rashomon (1950)
77. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
78. The Rules of the Game (1939)
79. Schindler's List (1993)
80. The Searchers (1956)
81. The Seven Samurai (1954)
82. The Seventh Seal (1957)
83. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
84. Star Wars (1977)
85. La Strada (1955) and Nights of Cabiria (1957)
86. Sunrise (1927)
87. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
88. The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
89. Tokyo Story (1953)
90. Top Hat (1935)
91. Touch Of Evil (1958)
92. Trouble in Paradise (1932)
93. Ugetsu Monogatori (1953)
94. Unforgiven (1992)
95. Les Vampires (1915)
96. Vertigo (1958)
97. The Wild Bunch (1969)
98. Winchester '73 (1950)
99. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
100. Written on the Wind (1956)

1. Berlin Alexanderplatz
2. Out 1
3. Melancholia (Lav Diaz)
4. Satantango
5. Crude Oil
6. West of the Tracks
7. Shoah
8. War and Peace (1965)

Good luck

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

You need to add Crude oil and West of the tracks.

Added. Added two other films, too.

You might want to check the IMDB top 250.

Stand By Me.

Everyone loves Stand By Me. If you haven't seen it then I would highly recommend watching it. Especially since the characters are about your age!

Also, what classics are the ones beside you?

Ha, stand by me is one of the few I have seen, and beside me is The Shining, Die Hard (Which I watched) The original Star wars trilogy (I watched A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back so Far) I also have 21 grams, memento, 2001: A space odyssey and Se7en (Which is now what I consider the best movie I have ever seen, but Airplane is my favourite movie)

Nice. Airplane is a top five for me. Best comedy of all time.

Awesome! It took me until last year to watch Stand By Me (I'm 19!). I was a bit late haha! Do you like the film?

Airplane is fantastic! I am glad you like it.

Y'know I think I'm gonna continue doing it how I have been for the past few months, by director, I did Tarantino first, and now I'm trying to get some George Lucas in but I really want to start on Stanley Kubrick so george lucas may have to wait!

And yeah, I enjoyed Stand By Me, maybe a bit overrated though! 8/10 if I had to give it a score

Yeah, I would get Kubrick in first haha!

I started with Tarantino funnily enough. Which of his films have you yet to see?

I have yet to see Django, Death Proof and Jackie Brown. But I'm told the last 2 are his weakest.

Yeah, Django is pretty average in my opinion and Death Proof is quite bad. I'm not a fan of Jackie Brown either, but people seem to like it.

You spelled Blazing Saddles wrong.

Blazing Saddles is in my top five.

In no order

Airplane
City Lights
The Producers
Spaceballs
Blazing Saddles