A list of movies that endure

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

Most movies today die quickly, and so they should. Although they may open big and take in all kinds of fast money, they fade and disappear without leaving a lasting impression on anyone. Made of shallow ideas and momentary inspirations, on the whole they aren't designed to last. Think of them as processed american cheese slices along with a glass of warm water in comparison to aged smokey cheddar sampled with a good Black Label scotch.

We all know the list of mediocre escape-from-reality flicks- it's an almost endless list, and it's growing larger by the day. But where is the list of Really Good Ones? The movies we spend extra money to buy, then watch them again and again, appreciating all their glorious subtlties each time? Such rare masterpieces carry with them a new message- an idea that although it may have been said before will never be said nearly as well again. Others simply tell a good story very well.

A few from my short list of carved in stone classics (in no particular order, and far from all-inclusive):

Ben Hur
The Planet Of The Apes
The Manchurian Candidate
Ice Station Zebra
Blade Runner
Casablanca
The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Birds
True Grit
Forbidden Planet
The Outlaw Josie Wales
The Longest Yard
2001: A Space Odyssey
War Of The Worlds
Enter The Dragon
Star Wars
The Time Machine
Brazil
A Clockwork Orange
Catch 22
M*A*S*H
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Tron
Apocalypse Now
The Wild One (RIP Marlon!)
Sneakers
Deliverance
Seven Faces Of Dr. Lao
The Wizard Of Oz
The Ninth Configuration
To Kill A Mockingbird
Backdraft
12 Angry Men
The African Queen

What are YOUR favorites (ANY genre)?

Please note that my list references ORIGINAL releases, NOT remakes. Although a few remakes may be somewhat worthy, I believe that about 99.9% of them are crap. The same applies to most sequels.

[larryepke]

1. I'd add...

A Man for All Seasons
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Bonnie and Clyde
The Year of Living Dangerously
The Maltese Falcon
Laura

[Beware the Beast Man]

2. My list

Star Wars (OT)
Night of the Living Dead
Jaws
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Clerks
Clockwork Orange
2001
Planet of the Apes
Schindler's List
Young Frankenstein
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Blazing Saddles
all I can think of for now...

[Estel]

3. And I would add

The Hunt for Red October
Once Upon a Time in the West
All three of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings

[Gildor Inglorion]

7. Welcome to DU, Estel...

you bring HOPE to us all! ;-)

[doctorbombeigh]

4. So many flicks.. so little time

Vertigo
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Lion In Winter
The Stunt Man
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
The Philadelphia Story
Being There
Chinatown

Tons more I'm not thinking of... (sorry if there are duplicates to your own list)

For kids - and my fellow Aunts who do not wish to be tormented by kiddie-vision - Time Bandits. Tremendously good kid/adult flick.

On a more transient note - if you haven't seen "The Zero Effect" with Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller - it's pretty snazzy. Smart, funny, fast, sardonic. Everyone I've recommended it to really enjoyed it.

And - also more recent/possibly transient - The Contender - love love love it. Joan Allen rules the chick-thespian universe.

[Gildor Inglorion]

5. "The Lion in Winter"

All the Indiana Jones movies
"Cold Mountain" (instant classic!)
"West Side Story"
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
"Shakespeare in Love"
"Bridge on the River Kwai"

[realisticphish]

6. Full metal jacket

psycho
The Shining
Pink FLoyd's The Wall


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Here are just a couple of mine...

The Agony and the Ecstasy
Under the Red Robe
The Deer Hunter
Platoon
and the Lonesome Doves series...those were great!
:hi:

[johnnie]

9. There are a few that I think do

Some like it Hot
Rebel without a cause
The Jerk
Willy Wonka
The Godfather
Wiseguys

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

10. kick for the night crew

and also to stoke my ego :hug:

[-..__...]

11. Not agreeing wih all on your list, but adding a few.

War movies

The Great Escape.
Where Eagles Dare.
Bridge Over the River Kwai.
Kellys Heros.

Westerns

Shane (Shane... come back, Shane... we love you).
Unforgiven.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Comedy

Animal House.
This is Spinal Tap.
Dr. Strangelove.
Slapshot.

Action

Die Hard.
Rambo.

Drama

Rocky.
On The Waterfront.
Angels With Dirty Faces.
Flight of the Pheonix.
Cool Hand Luke.


Other thoughts...

The Ten Commandments.
Goodfellas.
Easy Rider.
Blue Velvet.
Pulp Fiction.
Memento.
Usual Suspects.

[sir_captain]

12. City Lights, Vertigo

Rear Window, Dr. Strangelove, Modern Times, Barry Lyndon, Annie Hall...the list goes on and on...

[lpbk2713]

13. My two cents worth...........

In addition to a lot of those mentioned above......

High Noon
Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
Failsafe
North by Northwest
The Diary of Anne Frank
Schindler's List
The Longest Day
Catch-22
M*A*S*H
The Thomas Crown Affair (Original)
Giant

That's a start, I could go on........

[elperromagico]

14. Oh God, there are so many.

I'll just name a few.

Lawrence of Arabia
Schindler's List
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
East of Eden
The Big Parade (really great silent film about WWI)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
The Apartment
Life of Brian
The Shining
The Shawshank Redemption
Nosferatu
North by Northwest

I'll think of 100 more as soon as I hit "Post message," I'm sure.

[antigone382]

15. Well, let's see

Fight Club (I will marry Tyler Durden one day)
American Beauty
Spartacus
Cool Hand Luke
The Sting
The Silence of the Lambs
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp...mmmmm)
A Christmas Story
It's a Wonderful Life (yeah, I know it's obvious, and I've heard that Jimmy Stewart was a big RWer. But I don't care...so there)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (see above)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
As Good As it Gets (*so* deserved the best picture Oscar won by Titanic)


Since I'm still practically a child, I'll throw in some kids' movies I love:

The Jungle Book (I love the songs, they still get stuck in my head)
Bambi
The Lion King
Anastasia...
*EVERYTHING* from Pixar

...and some more Christmas movies:

The Grinch (animated version)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
A Charlie Brown Christmas

Many more, but that's all I can think of now.

On Edit: I almost forgot All Quiet on the Western Front!

[DemWitch]

16. Xanadu (not)

Mrs. Miniver
Rebecca
Young Frankenstein
Jaws
American Werewolf in London
Moonstruck
Steel Magnolias
Dracula (with Winnona)
Practical Magic
Titanic (with Kate)

[elperromagico]

17. Now, be fair. Xanadu is the GREATEST FILM

Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John ever made together.

[DemWitch]

18. I love Xanadu

have it on VHS and DVD... but as far as enduring films... well... Citizen Kane it ain't :)

[elperromagico]

19. It's the Citizen Kane of movies

starring Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John.

Welcome to DU, btw. :hi:

[RandomKoolzip]

20. Movies I can watch time and time again:

Harold and Maude
Seize the Day
Putney Swope
King of Marvin Gardens
Rushmore
The Chocolate War