What movies should be compulsory?

[Nameless_Rose]

I got the idea for this thread when I was replying to FurryFury's movie thread, and I thought it would be fun to hear what people have to say. So, here's the question:

-If there was a list of movies that were compulsory for the entire human race to watch, what would be on it and why?

I'll start with my #1 favorite movie of all time, Quills. I would put Quills on this list because it shows that even in the face of tremendous persecution, the human spirit can remain true to it's principles. The movie also highlights the ridiculousness and cruelty that stems from censorship, and glorifies the power of the written word.

There's my choice. What are yours?

 

[myinnerslut]

funny this just came up. A recently discovered that i am very very movie deprived and has comprised a list of movies i have to see. he is plannign on watching them all with me at some point. the shortlist is all three back to the future movies (i just watched one and two with him), all the indiana jones movies, pulp fiction, and several of the bond movies.

 

[neonflux]

Not sure if I'd call these compulsory viewing, but I love all of the following (I am also a fan of good action/adventure and sci-fi, btw):

Three now queer classics:
Boys Don't Cry, Gods and Monsters (starring Sir Ian) and Monster

King of Hearts
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011624-king_of_hearts/
(I am a woman of my generation)

Sally Potter's Orlando starring Tilda Swinton,
based on the Virginia Wolf book by the same name

Chac, God of Rain (also a film about the true meaning of sacrifice)
http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=3385

Inarritu's Amorres Peros
(First film in his trilogy that ended with Babel)

Most films by Wong Kar-wai
(primarily complex stories about unrequited or painful love)
Especially Happy Together, Eros, 2046. His In the Mood for Love was the inspiration for Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation.

Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal

Akira Kurusawa's Ran
(Based on King Lear)

Jane Campion's The Piano

Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book
(He also wrote and directed, The Thief, the Cook, his Wife and her Lover)

Women in the Dunes, based on the Abe Kobo book of the same name
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/28/womaninthedunes.html

Kikujiro by Takeshi "Beat" Katano,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikujiro
(a gangster helps a young boy find his mom)

Have a lot more but I think that I will stop there for now. While I have a quirky sense of humor, by and large I tend to go for the emotionally painful ones, LOL.

Neon

 

[intothewoods]

Oh man...this could be a long list! There are a ton of classics that I still have to see, but I'll stick with movies I've seen...


Strictly Ballroom
Gosford Park
Little Miss Sunshine
La Vie En Rose
Heathers
The Matrix (heh heh)
American Beauty
Dangerous Liaisons
Red White Blue (trilogy)
Annie Hall
Husbands and Wives
Jawbreaker

I could go on forever! More tomorrow when I'm awake...

 

[intothewoods]

Before I forget...

The Wedding Banquet

 

[neonflux]

Before I forget...

The Wedding Banquet

Oh yes! *jumps up and down clapping*

 

[TheDivineMsM]

Reservoir Dogs is a MUST!

 

[HottieMama]

NEON!!!! i LOVE Monster. Absolutely AWESOME movie.


BrokeBack Mountain.
TransAmerica
Wayne's World
American Pie
Hellraiser
Gia
Rocky
The Godfather
Scarface
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Corpse Bride
Dirty Dancing
Grease.

 

[intothewoods]

Oh yes! *jumps up and down clapping*

And I also loooooved Orlando!

oh, and Brokeback Mountain! How could I forget? Amazing movie, and I can masturbate to it. Just kidding.









Yeah, no I'm not.

 

[neonflux]

And I also loooooved Orlando!

oh, and Brokeback Mountain! How could I forget? Amazing movie, and I can masturbate to it. Just kidding.









Yeah, no I'm not.

Most amazing sex between two men, ever!

And then there's Shortbus!

Oh, HottieMama,

Loved the Nightmare before Christmas.

 

[neonflux]

Speaking of LGBT-themed "must sees," has anyone read this post in Miss Rebecca's news thread? Neon

 

[@}-}rebecca----]

so many wonderful movies noted above just adding a few...

Eat Drink Man Woman

"Basic human desires. Can't avoid them...."

Like Water for Chocolate

"A feast of the senses ...."

Stealing Beauty

"The love, the hurt , the pain....."

 

[JMohegan]

-If there was a list of movies that were compulsory for the entire human race to watch, what would be on it and why?

Schindler's List

Because humanity needs more humanity, clearly.

 

[naxalite0906]

funny this just came up. A recently discovered that i am very very movie deprived and has comprised a list of movies i have to see. he is plannign on watching them all with me at some point. the shortlist is all three back to the future movies (i just watched one and two with him), all the indiana jones movies, pulp fiction, and several of the bond movies.

A sounds like me.. They are in my fave list too..

Others I think everyone should watch:
Fight Club - Brilliant story, brilliant acting, brilliant twist, and amazing concept.

Amelie - A beautiful story with some awesome cinematography.

Caddyshack - Just for Bill Murray improvising all the way through.

LOTR trilogy - Epic blockbuster stuff. Obviously this choice isnt very original, but you cannot argue how well made they are.

Zoolander - because it is still "so hot right now!"


On a side note, one thing I would say should be compulsory for all children whilst at school is "requiem for a dream." Not only is it a brilliant film, but it is so graphic and honest that maybe it will make people think twice before turning to drugs and, more importantly, letting them take over and control their lives.

 

[callinectes]

To Kill a Mockingbird

That movie had a profound affect on me as a child. It still does today.

 

[JMohegan]

To Kill a Mockingbird

That movie had a profound affect on me as a child. It still does today.

An outstanding choice, I agree. Peck as Finch is magnificent.

 

[Etoile]

And the Band Played On. It's based on the Randy Shilts book about the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, but it's not as cerebral as the book. The cast is star-studded, which should tell you something about how important this movie is. Alan Alda, Phil Collins, Richard Gere, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, Lily Tomlin, BD Wong, and so on. IMHO this is the single most important movie of all time. It was originally an HBO special feature but it's now available on VHS and DVD. I have listed this as my top all-time favorite movie for many years and I do think everybody should see it.

Aimée and Jaguar was excellent too, that's usually my second listed favorite.

 

[PrimalGirl]

Movies...

"Empire of the Sun" I love it! its one of those you either LOVE or HATE- there is no in-between on this one. Also, there is a movie and the name escapes me- I THINK it's called "Muses". It's an amazing movie- Hugh Grant is in and Sam Neil..oh yah..and Elle McPherson...

 

[the captians wench]

I got the idea for this thread when I was replying to FurryFury's movie thread, and I thought it would be fun to hear what people have to say. So, here's the question:

-If there was a list of movies that were compulsory for the entire human race to watch, what would be on it and why?

I'll start with my #1 favorite movie of all time, Quills. I would put Quills on this list because it shows that even in the face of tremendous persecution, the human spirit can remain true to it's principles. The movie also highlights the ridiculousness and cruelty that stems from censorship, and glorifies the power of the written word.

There's my choice. What are yours?

that movie freaked me out! My then hubbie and I had decided to rent a movie for our date night (every friday night), I picked up that one, and read the back cover and thought it sounded like a sweet romantic movie....it was NOT what I was expecting at all. it freaked me out and I kept thinking this is so disgusting why can't we turn it off, but neither one of us could turn it off....course I might view it differently now, that's been 5 years, and I'm a whole different person now than I was then *giggles*

 

[Netzach]

ONE? I only get ONE?

Oh, geez...

 

[Etoile]

ONE? I only get ONE?

Oh, geez...

Who said that? Let loose, girl!

 

[ShyGuy68]

I'll kist add one to start with

The Shawshank Redemption

 

[Nameless_Rose]

Pan's Labyrinth-Just beautiful, makes you question reality
Little Children-Reverses your perceptions of suburban life
V for Vendetta-Just one of my fav "1984-esque" movies
The Silence of the Lambs-Best psychological thriller out there
The Evil Dead Trilogy-Most hilarious movies ever made, specifically vol. 2
The Princess Bride-No childhood is complete without it

 

[Netzach]

Oh, whew. I re-read that. My more mainstream picks:

1910-1920 - Fritz Lang - Metropolis. One of the most visually compelling films to date, and an amazing window into the turn of the century before the turn of the century.
1920-1930 1931. M - Peter Lorre's performance is unforgettable, prior to his typecasting subsequently. Morally ambiguous and not dated.
1930-1940 - this encompasses the year 1939 which was a possibly one of the best in American Film history. It's Cukor's "The Women" that resonates with me most now, but take your pick - you've also got Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Ninotchka and other things I'm surely overlooking
1940-1950 - 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives. Still devastating. The Deer Hunter of its day - and thus light years ahead of its time. William Wyler and Gregg Tolland cinematography make this no slouch from a filmcraft perspective either. (Tolland did Citizen Kane - my nominee for most overrated film in history)
1950-1960 All about Eve. Look for Bette Davis' speech not about bumpy nights but about Being a Woman. Feminism doesn't advance again to this point till Judith Butler.

Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life. Its race politics are simultaneously completely naive and completely groundbreaking. If you have a mother you will be affected. Naive or not, nobody was asking these questions on film and no black characters had air time of this kind in mainstream US cinema.
1960-1970 - The New Waves - cinematic explosions throughout Europe: Jules and Jim ( I am that much the romantic) Night and Fog - essentially THE definitive film on the Holocaust until Shoah in the 80's - The Entertainer and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning -

and my unlikely pick of them all: Pasolini's "Gospel According to St. Matthew" - the greatest version of the greatest story ever told. Humane, beautiful, gentle, earnest, realist, intimate.

1970-1980 Dog Day Afternoon. Because truth really is stranger--- and the writing just crackles.

1980-1990 Akira. This is one of the most conceptually dense and rich films I've ever seen let alone visually and sonically. Also noted the small understated and brilliant "Brother From Another Planet" by John Sayles and my favorite Jarmusch "Stranger Than Paradise"

1990-2000 American Beauty really is all that. Hana-Bi and Sonatine by Takeshi Kitano, Shohei Imamura's "The Eel" would probably get more of a workout in my DVD player though.

2000 - present
Roman Polanski does a startling double dose of incredible. The Pianist is followed as he finally does an iteration of Oliver Twist that I can stand, including reading the damn thing in the first place.

Brokeback Mountain is going to descend into camp and cliche forever now. But this film really is all that and a bag of cinematic chips - the natural world as much as the story in it.

 

[_Anna_]

Definitely Schindler's List for me. It's a beautiful story of survival and the strength of the human spirit.