We’re going to start having a “movie night” once a week, where we settle down on the sofa and watch a film together. It got me to thinking what we’d actually watch, so I thought I’d compile my ultimate film list.
The criteria are films which really one ought to have seen, and include classics (such as The Great Escape), films which broke new ground (such as The Matrix), films which have made their way into culture (such as ET) and finally films which I think are too good not to have seen (step forward The Princess Bride).
Missing from this list are most 18 rated films – I am excluding all films which are just unpleasant, or you leave feeling dirty and/or psychologically abused (Pulp Fiction, Blair Witch, Baby Driver – and most horror films. You get the drift).
Of course you will disagree – I will include films you wouldn’t agree with (step forward again Princess Bride), and exclude films you would think should be included – plus ca change. I’ll be the first to admit that some of these aren’t that good, but are too nostalgic for me not to include (The Black Hole, amongst others)
I’ve had half a stab at categorising as well – most films straddle categories, but it wouldn’t be me if there wasn’t some attempt at structure!
Musicals
- Blues Brothers
- Dirty Dancing
- Grease
- Sister Act
- Annie
- My Fair Lady
- Oliver!
- Little Shop of Horrors
- Moulin Rouge
- Singin’ in the Rain
- The Fiddler on the Roof
- The King and I
- Mary Poppins
- The Sound of Music
- West Side Story
- Wizard of Oz
- Saturday Night Fever
- Footloose
- Rocky Horror Picture Show
- plus Cabaret, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Oklahama, High Society, ANnnie get your Gun, Calamity Jane, Joseph, Hello Dolly, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Porgy and Bess, Anything Goes, Phantom, South Pacific, Tommy, Carousel, …
Sci-fi / fantasy
- Alien
- Aliens
- Blade Runner
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- Never ending Story
- The Matrix
- Jurassic Park
- The Terminator 1 & 2
- Star Wars episodes IV – VI
- Star Trek (the 2009+ reboots are excellent, but II: Wrath of Khan, IV: Voyage Home, VI: Undiscovered country also all good)
- The Final Countdown
- ET: The Extra Terrestrial
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Jumanji (the 2017+ sequels are really good as well)
- The Black Hole
- Avatar
- Terminator 2
- Back to the Future
- Blade Runner
- Labyrinth
- The Abyss
- Electric Dreams
- War Games
- Weird Science
- Predator
Disney / Pixar etc
- Finding Nemo
- Toy Story
- Monsters Inc
- Lilo and Stitch
- Frozen
- The Lady and the Tramp
- Beauty and the Beast
- Aladdin
- The Lion King
- Finding Nemo
Drama
- Dead Poets Society
- Gone with the Wind
- Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann)
- Casablanca
- American Beauty
- The Green Mile
- Edward Scissorhands
- Ghost
- The Truman Show
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Forrest Gump
- Good Morning Vietnam
- Apocalypse Now
- Amadeus
- Ben-Hur
- A Room with a View
- The Great Escape
Thriller / Action / Adventure
- The Hunt for Red October
- The Rear Window
- Fatal Attraction
- Lethal Weapon
- Robocop
- The Sixth Sense
- Indiana Jones 1 – 3
- At least one James Bond
- Bourne Identity
- Pyscho
- Die Hard
- Gremlins
- Jaws
- The Never-ending Story
- Batman (Michael Keaton)
- Oceans 11
- Rocky IV
- Speed
- The Goonies
- The Silence of the Lambs
- The Karate Kid
- Mad Max
Comedy / RomCom
- Romancing the Stone
- Crocodile Dundee
- Airplane
- Roxanne
- Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Sleepless in Seattle
- Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
- Wayne’s World
- Ghostbusters
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
- When Harry met Sally
- Beetlejuice
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Monty Python and the Life of Brian
- Nuns on the Run
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Groundhog Day
- A Muppet Christmas Carol
- At least 1 Pink Panther film
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s
- Some Like It Hot
- The Cannonball Run
- The Sting
English Subtitles / Arthouse
- Amélie
- Jean de Florette
- Manon des Sources
- Cyrano de Bergerac
- Bend it like Beckham
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Donnie Darko
- Being John Malkovich
- Dogville
- Lost in Translation
- Police Story (Jackie Chan)