Must-see movies

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Samsonite. wow I know 2... yes 2 no 3 of these movies. Now curious, I had read the whole thread prior to posting. That being said I would have had a much different set of movies posted if it were to do with the plain question "must sees".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thursday Next
We all have different fave films, but which movies, good and perhaps bad, are 'must see'? I'm not talking about little known gems here, but movies you would think someone was totally film-illiterate if they hadn't seen. Maybe a top 5 or 10 or 50?



Is this what your ideas for the movies were? cause well, that being the case, I am totally film Illiterate! (in your choice of movies)
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Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
Originally Posted by Xui Wan
Samsonite. wow I know 2... yes 2 no 3 of these movies. Now curious, I had read the whole thread prior to posting. That being said I would have had a much different set of movies posted if it were to do with the plain question "must sees".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thursday Next
We all have different fave films, but which movies, good and perhaps bad, are 'must see'? I'm not talking about little known gems here, but movies you would think someone was totally film-illiterate if they hadn't seen. Maybe a top 5 or 10 or 50?



Is this what your ideas for the movies were? cause well, that being the case, I am totally film Illiterate! (in your choice of movies)
Hey XW!
You know, I just looked back at my list, and I think there are only two that I'd seen 4 years ago or before. All the rest are movies that I've been introduced to by movie message board users. Until I started talking film with people online, I only watched movies for the fun of it, not to understand how they were made or what they could do to make people think or feel. I used to envy people who described themselves as "film buffs" because I knew that I didn't know anything about film. The list I made here is a list of films that I think are important in the history of how film is made. They're each samples of some trend or another that have broken new ground for other films to be made. Some of those I listed are films I don't even like that much, as a watcher, but I can look at them with the history of filmmaking in mind and see why they were innovative and important in that context. My list of favorite films includes only a few of these.
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not too many films i would say are "must see" though lots of "should see" ones. I agree with Caitlyn though: Seventh Seal. Must see that film, you everyone.

Also one probably not mentioned (if mentioned sorry, didn't bother to read the entire thread) yet: My Dinner With Andre. Not Andre the giant or andrei rublev, though that one is must see too.



I got for good luck my black tooth.
Citizen Kane
Casablanca

Those are the only films I'd really consider must see.
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Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
Originally Posted by linespalsy
not too many films i would say are "must see" though lots of "should see" ones. I agree with Caitlyn though: Seventh Seal. Must see that film, you everyone.

Also one probably not mentioned (if mentioned sorry, didn't bother to read the entire thread) yet: My Dinner With Andre. Not Andre the giant or andrei rublev, though that one is must see too.
Ok, I'm putting The Seventh Seal on my queue due to your post. What should I be looking for?

And yeah, My Dinner with Andre is awesome. It's a prime example of what makes humans so darn interesting.



Originally Posted by SamsoniteDelilah
What should I be looking for?
Beats, me. A good time?

Also a bowl of strawberries and some milk for when you watch, in case you get hungry :-)



Dr. Strangelove



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
It just struck me the other day how many old movies I have to 'catch up' on. As someone whose parents refused to by a vcr until I was at college, that is a lot for me (I didn't see Star Wars until I was 15. I know). Thank goodness for on-line dvd rental...

Anyway, I got this book for my birthday last year and wondered whether anyone had heard of it/got it, called '1001 movies to see before you die'. I think there are a few different versions floating around as they keep updating it to put in new movies. This book is really good as a read and for reference and an idea for what to watch next. Although it is really addictive!



Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
That sounds like a very interesting read, Thursday. I'd say "post the list!" but you'd be 79 by the time you typed it. I posted Roger Ebert's Must See list here somewhere, and am keeping track of the ones I have seen... I'm still only up to 36%! Like you, though, I didn't have a vcr til the late 80's. And when I did get one, I had no taste.



Another great one is Fail Safe with Henry Fonda. I can usually predict how a movie will end, but this just nailed me. I was absolutely floored at the way this one ended.



Originally Posted by Thursday Next
Anyway, I got this book for my birthday last year and wondered whether anyone had heard of it/got it, called '1001 movies to see before you die'. I think there are a few different versions floating around as they keep updating it to put in new movies. This book is really good as a read and for reference and an idea for what to watch next. Although it is really addictive!

Yeah, I've looked through it. The same company also has 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. If they weren't such big, honkin' $35 hardcovers they'd probably sell better. They do give decent either half or full-page write-ups for each choice justifying inclusion and are full of photos.

There are a few nice surprises of some obscure movies, CDs and books in each volume that show the people involved compiling the lists had decent taste, but mostly they're filled with the pretty standard choices you'd expect: award winners, big names, extremely popular stuff. They're fun to page through once with a friend, but I can't see relying on it as some great resource - especially not for thirty-five bucks.



For my money, a recent book with more offbeat and interesting choices is Kenneth Turan's Never Coming to a Theater Near You: A Celebration of a Certain Kind of Movie. In it the Los Angeles Times and NPR critic re-prints over two-hundred of his reviews focusing on the great movies he's fallen in love with, mostly stuff from the past fifteen years or so that didn't get their due at the box office or at the big awards shows, breaking it up into English laguage, foreign language, documentaries, a handful of classics and a few essays on largely forgotten directors like Anthony Mann and Edgar Ulmer. Turan's reviews are well written, and his choices are more interesting than reminding you that you should proabably get around to seeing Casablanca and Star Wars before you die.

But, maybe that's just me? I'm a different breed of cat.

*MEOW*
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there's a frog in my snake oil
Originally Posted by Holden Pike
But, maybe that's just me? I'm a different breed of cat.

*MEOW*
Heeeere's Holdy
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there's a frog in my snake oil
Does this mean we can chop your head off on a weekly basis?



Originally Posted by Golgot
Does this mean we can chop your head off on a weekly basis?
Yes, but I'll always come back. I cannot die, I am an immortal. I'm a god (and Rita, "I said a god, not the God").



there's a frog in my snake oil
Originally Posted by Holden Pike
(and Rita, "I said a god, not the God").
This one kind of suits you...



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EDIT:
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Which reminds me. Must see movie...

The Elephant Man





Originally Posted by SamsoniteDelilah
Ok, I'm putting The Seventh Seal on my queue due to your post. What should I be looking for?

I think The Seventh Seal gives one a wee bit to think about pertaining to a few of life's great mysteries… and, from what I understand, it set the stage for how foreign films have been judged for years…
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Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
Originally Posted by Caitlyn
I think The Seventh Seal gives one a wee bit to think about pertaining to a few of life's great mysteries… and, from what I understand, it set the stage for how foreign films have been judged for years…
Oh cool, thanks Caity!



there's a frog in my snake oil
Also, feudal-flippancy and Death sound better in Swedish