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101 films you should see before you die

Emilio

Yeah, I know that everybody is making this sort of list. However, any of the list I have seen convences me, so I am going to try with my one own. My criteria is not related about how good is a film (for that, you can see My fav movies list), but the fame it has, and it supposed cinematographic value. That is, I am looking for list which, if you say you haven´t seen it, a broad range of people is going to say: "Haven´t you...?" I include films you should know what they are about not to get lost in normal conversations, because they are intrinsic part of popular culture. I have also tried not to include too many films of each kind (for example, I do not put all Billy Wilder comedies, although many of them should be in this list). I hope you like this list, and, mainly, that it is useful as a reference of what films you should try to see next.

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	emiliotejera's Rating	My Rating
1	Citizen Kane (1941, PG)
2	The Godfather (1972, R)
3	Casablanca (1943, Unrated)
4	Some Like It Hot (1959, Unrated)
5	E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982, PG)
6	Psycho (1960, R) Should be much more impressive in its time, when the end was not broadly-known, and mental diseases hadn´t been so tretaed in cinema
7	A Night at the Opera (1935, Unrated)
8	Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979, R) Impossible to say anything, just laugh, laugh, laugh... As an annecdote, it was forbidden in Norway, fact what was used as an advertisement in Sweden.
9	The Elephant Man (1980, PG)
10	The Dark Knight (2008, PG-13)
11	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989, PG-13)
12	Blade Runner (1982, R)
13	The Great Dictator (1940, G) Should be watched at schools -OBLIGATORY
14	Alien (1979, R) My question is: with all what is going on, why is Ripley so obsessed with saving the cat?
15	Jaws (1975, PG)
16	Vertigo (1958, PG)
17	Rear Window (1954, PG)
18	It's a Wonderful Life (1946, Unrated)
19	Ben-Hur (1959, G)
20	Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977, PG)
21	Dead Poets Society (1989, PG)
22	Arsenic and Old Lace (1944, Unrated)
23	Spartacus (1960, PG-13)
24	A Clockwork Orange (1971, R)
25	The Shining (1980, R)
26	Full Metal Jacket (1987, R)
27	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, G)
28	Lolita (1962, Unrated)
29	Rain Man (1988, R)
30	The Sixth Sense (1999, PG-13)
31	The Sting (1973, PG)
32	Rebel Without a Cause (1955, PG-13)
33	Pretty Woman (1990, R)
34	The Untouchables (1987, R)
35	Pulp Fiction (1994, R) Just saw a part, but I didn´t like it, as all Tarantino movies. Visually, OK, they are well done. But the scripts are usually very weak, and mainly based on violence, which is not a end itself (or it shouldn´t be for me, although Tarantino likes that vision), but a way to thrill the viewer, or to underline more important aspects. But I must say that I am one of those who prefer script (not just doing flash-backs or talking about hamburgers to seem provocative, real script -Samuel L. Jackson´s character is not believable) to visual ideas.
36	All the President's Men (1976, R)
37	The Blues Brothers (1980, R)
38	The Front Page (1974, PG)
39	Sunset Boulevard (Sunset Blvd.) (1950, Unrated)
40	One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975, R)
41	Easy Rider (1969, R)
42	Take the Money and Run (1969, PG)
43	Bonnie and Clyde (1967, R)
44	Dumbo (1941, G)
45	Mary Poppins (1964, G)
46	My Fair Lady (1964, G)
47	A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, PG) Not the kind of film I am commonly interested in. I will just watch that to see Brando´s play
48	To Kill A Mockingbird (1962, Unrated)
49	Doctor Zhivago (1965, PG-13)
50	12 Angry Men (Twelve Angry Men) (1957, Unrated)
51	Apocalypse Now (1979, R) It was a necessary film after Vietnam war, and because of that, almost forbidden by censorship. Good direction work of a master, and very good scenes that went into cinema story (Ride of Valkirie among them). However, it sometimes looks, more than a tribuite to Heart of Darkness, quite a sort of plagiarism.
52	The Third Man (1949, Unrated)
53	La Dolce Vita (1960, Unrated)
54	Taxi Driver (1976, R)
55	Scarface (1983, R) When I saw this film, I had recently seen the original Scarface, so it was a little repetitive for me. However, I must recognize it has mythical scenes (the chainsaw, the last scene, some sentences)... It´s a good product, and although some weak points, it´s a popular reference of all times: just see what members of Camorra say in Gomorrah...
56	Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961, Unrated)
57	Dog Day Afternoon (1975, R)
58	The Night of the Hunter (1955, PG) Memorable Robert Mitchum; also scenes in the river.
59	High Noon (1952, Unrated)
60	The Matrix (1999, R) Have just seen a part of this film, so, I should watch them completely before giving an opinion. However, when I listen to people´s arguments, I think it can be overrated. The discussion about if we are real or not comes from the XVIth Century, why is people so impressed about that? I´ll have to watch it all to discover it.
61	The Philadelphia Story (1940, Unrated) Although intelligent dialogs, and probably the best trio of actors ever, the plot is superficial and aristocratic, and in my opinion, there?s an abusive attack against the character of Hepburn, related to convencionalisms of that time. However, Cary Grant is specially funny, actings are very good, and you will love if you like light comedies, and the good taste and exquisiteness of Cukor
62	The Pink Panther (1963, Unrated)
63	The Fly (1958, Unrated) Good classics never die. The ending scene (when the question gets clear) feeds my worst nightmares.
64	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958, Unrated)
65	Lawrence of Arabia (1962, PG)
66	Titanic (1997, PG-13)
67	Battleship Potemkin (1925, Unrated) You can see it´s one the first films in which the montage is a essencial part, and in that way, it´s one of the keys in cinema history. However, the problem with these old films is that the novelty they suposse disappears with time, because the resources they have invented are copied by the next one hundred films; so, when you see the film, it´s difficult to get thrilled by it. However, nobody can say that the baby-car scene is not enormous, and that the montage is really well done. Of course, it also carries out the problems of silent movies, and of being a propaganda film for Soviet Union. Anyway, a little jewel, although it´s not so amazing as it should be in 1925.
68	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937, G)
69	The Towering Inferno (1974, PG)
70	The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946, Unrated) I have said the comparison among the original and the new one in the 1981 version review.
71	Out of Africa (1985, PG)
72	All About Eve (1950, Unrated) How to be a harpy, advanced course. Not the kind of story which interests me more, but we must recognize dialogs are brilliant.
73	The Deer Hunter (1978, R)
74	The Great Escape (1963, Unrated)
75	Planet of the Apes (1968, PG)
76	Grease (1978, PG)
77	The Sound of Music (1965, G)
78	The Exorcist (1973, R)
79	Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, PG)
80	Goldfinger (1964, PG)
81	Singin' in the Rain (1952, G)
82	Gone With the Wind (1939, G)
83	The Ten Commandments (1956, G)
84	The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (1957, Unrated) This film is not about the most interesting issue I could find (fear to death?, I have never been too much worried about that), but it is definitevely very well done.
85	The Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) (1954, Unrated)
86	Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è bella) (1998, PG-13)
87	Schindler's List (1993, R)
88	The Wizard of Oz (1939, G)
89	Double Indemnity (1944, Unrated)
90	Fahrenheit 451 (1966, PG) Excellent adaptation from a very good literary work.
91	Raging Bull (1980, R)
92	The Graduate (1967, PG)
93	City Lights (1931, Unrated)
94	The Searchers (1956, Unrated)
95	The General (1927, Unrated)
96	Stagecoach (1939, Unrated)
97	West Side Story (1961, Unrated)
98	Bullitt (1968, PG)
99	M (1931, Unrated)
100	Cabaret (1972, PG) Would like to see Sam Mendes´ version. A good scenario, but many different ways to use it, and although this version is not bad, I think other focus will be even more interesting. Note for Spaniards: the translated version censores a lot of hot sentences. Please, watch it in original version unless you think a toothache is the same as sifilis.
101	Midnight Cowboy (1969, R)