Locke00000

Hey guys, I'm a film production major, and pretty much addicted to watching movies as often as I can. Just wondering, what would you guys say are the films that I should see, either for their signifigance historically, within the genre, stylistically, etc. I'm pretty much assuming that anything on IMDB's top 100 is a must see, and of course anything that has won an academy award, yet when it comes to foreign films or independant films I'm a bit lost (short of modern indie films, of which I've seen quite a few). I've seen a number of japenese films for a class I'm taking, but otherwise..any suggestions? And feel free to toss around anything you think I should see just because its a great movie!

walkerboh4269

Let's see.... Night of the Living Dead, Eraserhead(if you can rent wich I doubt, but you can but it directly from David Lynch's website at about 60buxs!). The Last Broadcast, Any and all Terry Gilliam Films(...I.E. Adventures of Baron Munchusen, 12 monkeys, Brazil),Tod Brownings Freaks, Psycho,Sante Sangre or any other Jordowsky(sp) movies you can get your hands on. I am sure I can come up with more. But my taste really runs to the horror or strange movies.

Lasereth

For action movies, I suggest Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It's not just an idiot action movie...this movie is a masterpiece of the genre. It's easily one of my top 5 favorite movies.

I'll also throw in the recent Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2. Super-Mega-Contemporary-Masterpieces!

Spiderman 2 is another example of *the* way to go a certain type of movie (comic-book movie).

L.A. Confidential! This movie is awesome. Ocean's Eleven, Ronin, Black Hawk Down, and the Matrix movies (all three are superb). Donnie Darko is a good cult-classic (if ya wanna call it that).

Those are all pretty generic movies, but they're all damn good-quality films!

-Lasereth

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Mr. Skillman

Igby Goes Down (Take catcher in the rye and put it into a movie...kinda)
The Boondock Saints
Snatch
The Hidden Fortress (what (the bastard) George Lucus baced Star Wars on)

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Seething

Watch anything made by Akira Kurosawa. The man is a genius filmmaker and was inspired by some of the best directors of Westerns. Speaking of Westerns, watch movies made by Sergio Leone.

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Rodney

You should see a lot of the old ones that influenced the top filmmakers of the last 20 years.

Kurosawa, definitely. He influenced the American western (Seven Samurai) science fiction (Hidden Fortress, as Mr. Skillman says), and Rashomon. Rashoman's gimmick of multiple viewpoints of the same story has been used again and again by modern filmmakers.

Look at Orson Welles -- there are a lot of great techniques there to absorb. Citizen Kane, the Stranger, Lady from Shanghai, and last but not least Touch of Evil (I'd bet Quentin Tarantino has seen that one 100 times). TOE starts with an unbroken five-minute long boom shot that travels across half a city; I won't spoil it for you with details. As a film production major, you shouldn't miss it.

Take a good look at classic film noir, both for ideas with camera angles, lighting, storytelling devices, and more. For a start: The Third Man, Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur), the Big Heat (Fritz Lang), Laura (Preminger) Phantom Lady (Siodmak -- Germans were really _good_ at film noir), The Killers, and more.

That's it for now. But if you don't see at least a couple of Marx Brothers' movies, your education isn't complete. If you're in college, check out Horse Feathers; Duck Soup is probably one of the most cynical comedies ever made by vaudeville comedians; and, well, A Night at the Opera I just love.

blahblah10

As Kurosawa has already been mentioned, you might want to check out Twilight Samurai, a recent excellent samurai movie by Yoji Yamada; this movie makes The Last Samurai just look ridiculous.

Fremen

I see 'Psycho' was mentioned above by walkerboh (great username, btw), that's a good one, and Alfred Hitchcock has so many more good movies to choose from, you could put his films in your library and they would about fill it up by themselves.

Rope
North By Northwest
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Birds
Lifeboat
Notorious

Those were just a few.

Here's a boxed set of some of his films: The Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection

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alansmithee

As far as foreign films, I would say The Seventh Seal is very good. I recently saw this, and greatly enjoyed it. Also, I would try to see almost anything by Luis Bunuel (That Obscure Object of Desire, The Diary of a Chambermaid). His movies have a different style to them. If you like any of his movies, I would check out Peter Greenaway as well (A Zed and Two Naughts, The Draughtsman's Contract). They have a similar style to me, but some might disagree. I would also recommend Breathless, by Jean-Luc Godard. If possible, get the DVD w/ commentary, it really helps the movie seem not quite as dated.

Kostya

Where to begin where to begin.

I say start with Kurosawa, the man (if he is indeed a man and not some kind of God) is incomparable.

His masterpieces:

Ikuru, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood and (I believe) the apogee of half a century of filmmaking - Ran.

Silent film hasn't been mentioned, and is a dead art these days, but I highly reccomend you watch some of the silent masters, their techniques are still relevent today.

F. W. Marnau - Sunrise, The Last Laugh and the first vampire movie ever: Nosferatu the Vampire. He also did a production of Goethe's Faust but I don't know how good it is.

Sergei Eisenstien - Battleship Potemkin also his 1939 film Alexander Nevsky is remarkable in its originality, it's also a film which Stalin personally interfered with, a fascinating collision of propaganda and art.

Fritz Lang - Metropolis - See also M

In terms of comedy I'm not getting into the Keaton vs Chaplin debate but certainly The General, Sherlock Junior, The Great Dictator and City Lights are classics of the genre.

Moving on.

I believe the 30's horror films contain some of the most original and striking technical aspects of any era. James Whale's productions especially.

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein are must sees.

The Mummy.

Phantom of the Opera

Browning's Dracula is also very good.

I'm also putting in the original King Kong, for its revolutionary special effects, and status as one of the first films to show particularly gruesome deaths onscreen.

Ingmar Bergman's been mentioned: Seventh Seal is his masterpiece.

Orson Welles, what an incomparable fellow. Citizen Kane is obviously considered his masterpiece, but as Rodney has already said A Touch of Evil is equally brilliant.

Hitchcock, the master of suspense, somebody has already listed his stuff.

However, Clouzot's Wages of Fear is one of the earliest, (and in my opinion best) examples of suspense.

Fellini's 8'1/2 is a must see.

Visconti's The Leopard

Nobody quite renders eroticism and lust like Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris

Noir:

The Big Sleep, Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre and of course Casablanca immerse yourself in Bogart and marvel at a dead genre.

Then go and find a copy of Polanski's Chinatown, and Ridley Scott's neo noir masterpiece Blade Runner (that's right Blade Runner is noir) and finally take a look at the Coen Brother's homage The Man Who Wasn't There

Werner Herzog's twin masterpieces:

Nosferatu The Vampire (remake of Marnau's original)
and the unforgettable

Aguirre: Wrath of God

Westerns.

Tracing back to the early days:

High Noon and The Searchers are both essential to understanding the genre and the stylistic artifice which developed.

Then you must move to (in my humble opinion) the king of all western directors (I know the Howard Hawkes and John Ford camps are going to come after me for this) Sergio Leone.

Now, you might think Spaghetti Westerns are a waste of time, but I say to you that they are one of the most visually striking and stylistically intricate genres of all time.

Absolutely must see:

A Fist Full of Dollars - A reworking of Kurosawa's Yojimbo, interesting to compare the two.

For a Few Dollars More.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Once Upon a Time in the West - Best Western ever made.

Then you gotta look into the revisionists.

Peckinpah led with The Wild Bunch but not long after that Eastwood directed High Plains Drifter a bizarre reexamination of the Western through the lens of borderline cultural nihilism.

For a long time nothing of interest happened in the Western until finally.

Eastwood directed Unforgiven, his best movie, and probably the final chapter in the genre, a brilliant film.

Horror returned in the 50's with Romero and Ed Wood taking a whole new tack on the genre.

Ed Wood's films, every single one of them, is a lesson on how not to make a film.

Plan Nine From Outer Space is considered to be the worst film ever by many, I disagree, but in any case it's highly entertaining.

Night of the Living Dead represents a watershed in horror, and indeed film history, the first film to have the evil guys win at the end (that I can think of)

Kubrick's The Shining and The Omen created a new kind of horror in the 70's.

Speaking of Kubrick, the man's entire catalogue is brilliant. Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey and of course Dr. Strangelove are all quite frankly masterful pieces of film.

The 70's also saw the arrival of a peculiar breed of films spearheaded and championed by a young and still brilliant Martin Scorsese, starting with Mean Streets, moving on to Raging Bull and culminating in the timeless classic Taxi Driver which all dealt with themes of loneliness and alienation, urban forms and social decay. Add to this Francis Ford Coppola's timely meditation upon technology and invasion of personal space and privacy, responsibility and paranoia - The Conversation

Gangster, a brilliant and somewhat underrated genre, one which places human affairs into a framework of life and death.

You must go back to the original Scarface from 1935.

Then basically, 1971 - The Godfather and The Godfather Part II gave rise to the modern gangster film.

High points since then: Scarface, Goodfellas and Donnie Brasco

The highly contentious, and very long (4 hours 20 minutes) Once Upon a Time in America is probably worth a look if you have the time, some say it is a masterpiece, others say it is a load of shite.
You must also check out Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront to comprehend Brando's brilliance, and to a lesser extent Viva Zapata.

War:

Holy crap what a gigantic genre (if it can be called a genre.)

Um

The old ensemble WW2 romps aren't masterpieces, but oh so enjoyable: Where Eagles Dare, The Great Escape and the Dirty Dozen to name a few.

Varmalov's Stalingrad is probably a must see.

Kurosawa's Ran which I have already reccomended, but I put it here to reinforce it's brilliance, is a war film and more, watch it like RIGHT NOW!

Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, I already mentioned this somewhere too I think the best ever exploration of the realities and absurdities of the post nuclear age committed to film.

Then there's the Nam movies.

Apocalypse Now Coppola's masterpiece, see Redux if you can. It's not really a war movie as such, but a film that transcends genre and style which happens to be set in a war.

The Deer Hunter Cimino's masterpiece make's me cry every time.

Platoon Stone goes for realism and in my opinion fails to soar as high as Cimino or Coppola, but it remains a touchstone for the genre.

Kung Fu.

Holy crap, there's so many classics of the genre, but I'll attempt to give you the lowdown on my personal picks:

Drunken Master II: The Legend of Drunken Master - Jackie Chan's best movie by far. The choreography is phenomenal, this was made in the early 90's and makes The Matrix look hackneyed.

Enter the Dragon: Bruce Lee's only English language movie, it's also his most accessible and a classic of the genre. Lee's presence in this movie makes it all the more worthwhile, not to mention the meat and potatoes Southern Chinese style of Kung Fu, which unlike the Wushu practices by say Jet Li, is not about performance, and all about kicking ass.

The Golden Harvest Bruce Lee movies: The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury) and The Chinese Connection (aka Fist of Fury) rad. Also, if you can get a hold of the uncut version of Game of Death yuo can watch the extended version of Bruce kicking the crap out of Abu Kamal, awesome. And of course, finally Way of the Dragon anyone who wants to see Chuck Norris get his ass kicked should watch this movie...

Once Upon a Time in China and Fist of Legend are Jet Li's best 90's films. Also look at Shaolin Temple his first major film, absolutely brilliant.

The Shaw Brothers - Five Deadly Venoms and Invincible Shaolin.

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, The Seven Grandmasters, 36th Chamber of the Shaolin, Iron Monkey (1993 version), Incredible Kung Fu Mission.

The list goes on. Not a genre that is stylisitically or technically brilliant, but the choreography and direction is unique and dynamic as hell. Also, let's face it, it's freaking rad.
Miscellaneous:

I'm abandoning my genre divisions as they are causing me too much grief, but bear with me.

Um,

Laurence of Arabia - I mean come on, if you haven't seen it, what the hell, but chances are you haven't watched it with a critical eye, and it's an entirely different experience.

Crimes and Misdemeanours Woody Allen takes morality and basically scares the shit out of you, while making you laugh...

Jack Nicolson movies:

Easy Rider - Holy shit, one of the most stark, basic and effective indictments of the impossibility of American ideals in America, and an ending which is unapologetic in its utter emptiness. Cult classic

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Acting and direction in this film cannot be described.

Patton - George C Scott's greatest ever performance, and a brilliant and honest look at war and the people who fight them.

The Hustler - Paul Newman rules as one of the first, (if not the first) anti-heroes, Fast Eddie Felson. George C. Scott's ruthless performance as Bob Gordon and the overwhelming grittiness and dark themes for a film made in 1960 make this a must see. Best pool movie ever.

A Man for All Seasons - Schofield rules and this movie is truly one of the best adaptations of theatre I've seen.

The French Connection - Popeye Doyle and friends descend into the underworld and beyond, cop drama at its best.

Cool Hand Luke - Newman again, best chain gang movie ever.

Ok, well it's midnight, I've probably forgotten about a million movie I should have put in here and tomorrow I'll be frantically adding them piecemeal throughout the day, but I guess this should tide you over for a whiles...

I kind of like movies a bit...

Just a tad...

Grancey

And I thought I was a movie buff............
I'll just add a couple....Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte

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ancientk

I agree about Chinatown. Just an awesome movie.

I love Lost in Translation

Delicatessen (French) some of the strangest sci-fi art direction I have seen

anything by Kubrick

Paradise Lost

Kostya said them all. And just for kicks, watch some old Sci-Fi like Forgotten Planet and
The Day the Earth Stood Still, campy, yet quite interesting, the newest Sci-Fi I've watched
AND liked (Other than StarGate) is the original Star Wars trilogy, it's just not a good genre
of movies, very much unlike the books. And in my opinion, other than some David Lean
epics and Westerns (<- which are the best movies ever), Film Noir is just fantastameratic!
I suggest watching any you can. Even if they may not be considered, technically as Noir,
any old movie with a Detective is enough qualifications for me.

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espi

Phew...I thought we were going to go through that whole list and not get Cool Hand Luke. Great film. Absolutely brilliant - and you'll see things in it you'll never see in a moden film, such as Paul Newman singing, and a car washing scene that is sexy without being obscene. (A sweet, innoncent thing like that can only be named Lucille).

Here's a few that Kostya left of the list (maybe intentionally, I dunno), but I think are worth seeing:

The Graduate - It gets a little lost in the generation gap, But definitely worth seeing, if for nothing other than the scene on the bus at the end.

Midnight Cowboy - Definitely gets lost in the generation gap, but Hoffman is great as a small time hustler in this film. Jon Voight ain't so bad, either. The movie was rated X at it's release, and foreshadowed the pending AIDS epidemic. (Not intentionally, of course, AIDs wasn't even heard of in 1969).

Woodstock - The 1973 documentary. Great example of a long form documentary. If I could go back in time to 1969, I would bet the documentary captures the feels of the concert exactly. And, Martin Scorsese was one of the editors. The music, of course, makes it even better.

The Life of Birds - No one makes a better wildlife documentary than David Attenborough. If you can stomach an 8 hour documentary (broken into one hour chunks), this one is worth seeing. The photography is nothing short of amazing.

Winged Migration - Another bird documentary (my wife really likes birds, what can I say). This one is shot almost entirely without narration, just letting you see the birds in their natural habitats. It's rare to see something so pure (for lack of a better word). I actually think a little more narration would have added to the movie, but it's great as it stands.

The Singing Detective - Okay, I actually haven't seen this one, but my wife can't talk highly enough of it, and I trust her opinion. I'm talking about the original 1986 British version, not the recent remake.

I also have a whole bunch of modern spanish language films that I really enjoy. I'm not sure if they can be considered masterpieces, but I believe they're worth seeing, even if I can't give a reasonable explanation why:

Hable con ella (Talk to Her) - Wonderful film by Pedro Almodóvar about fate joining two men who have lost the loves of their lives to long term comas.

Amores perros - Stars Gael García Bernal, who seems to be a staple of spanish films these days. Mostly a movie about coincidences linking an unlikely group of people together.

Y tu mamá también - Another Gael García Bernal movie. This one about two boys who take a road trip with an older woman.

Finally, I think it's still in the theaters, but Garden State is definitely worth seeing. Some critics have compared Zach Braff favorably to Woody Allen. I wouldn't go that far, but it is really well done for a first time writer/director. Who knows, maybe Braff will make it big, and we'll all be looking back on Garden State as a masterpiece.

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Locke00000

Positively brilliant! A number of those films I have seen (particularly the more well known) but very early stuff is where I was lacking, and I see that there is a lot to take in. The one big thing that jumped out at me is that while Ive seen most of the films mentioned in one section (the gangster films for example--of which I'm of the persuasion Once Upon a Time in America is a masterpiece, I havent seen nearly any of the films in another (a lot of the noir). Great recomendations, it looks like I have a lot on my list right now. Just wondering what you guys would call the most influential or expansive cult-classics. Personally, I'm a huge Rocky Horror fan, and love Donnie Darko and Back to the Future (can we call it a cult classic yet, please!)...but I have little knowledge of the "genre"

espi

Well, it's not nearly old enough to be called a classic, yet, but I would highly recommend Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It's the story of a transsexual rock star who flees East Berlin to come to America, only have the wall fall a few months after she leaves. Once she gets to America she falls in love with Tommy, who becomes her musical protege, and then leaves her for fame and stardom.

It's based on a play of the same name by John Cameron Mitchell (who plays Hedwig). The story is funny and tragic, but the music is the kicker. You'll be singing along to all the songs in your second viewing. Hell, you may even dress up and go to a shadow play if you live in LA.

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Arc101

Touching the Void - I can not praise this film highly enougth. It is the true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. Sounds crap doesn't it - trust me this is very well made, interesting and the best film I have seen this year - and I see a lot of films. All I can say is see this film, see this film and see this film. You will not regret it.

K-Wise

Asta!!

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ratbastid

I'll throw in a shout-out for the films of French auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Everybody's seen Ameile by now, but two of his earlier films deserve special attention.

Delicatessen (1991) is a dark comedy about an apartment building of apocalypse survivors, and the twisted relationships they develop. Dark, nasty, brutal, and hysterical.

The City of Lost Children (1995) is a dark sci-fi fantasy film about a gritty, surreal world where children are stolen for their dream energy. Sounds hokey, I know, but it's [i]brilliant[i].

Rodney

Cult classics come and go -- some have incredible staying power, like Rocky Horror, while others are big for a few years and then go out of fashion. I think that "Harold and Maude," now seldom seen in film series, was one of the original modern cult films, playing endlessly in the revival theaters of the time. H&M was a huge influence on a lot of film fans and young filmmakers back in the '70s. It was a comedy about youthful disaffection, fascination with death, nonconformism, and sex with 80-year-old women -- and a omantic comedy, and a pretty damn good satire. With a Cat Stevens score to boot. Things like this aren't so hard to find these days in alternative cinema, but "Harold and Maude" was a pretty rare bird in the '70s: it was a piece of '90s alternative cinema, 20 years ahead of its time. I have to believe that it influenced what came after.

Seething

A few I just thought of:

Leon, the Professional. A great movie with tons of action, an over the top Gary Oldman, and an unconventional love story.

Following. From the same guy who did Memento (one of the best suspense/thrillers I've ever seen). Interesting story about a guy who follows people around. There's more to it than that, obviously.

And finally, Pi. From the director of Requiem for a Dream. Very odd story about a mathematician searching for a formula called the "Golden Circle".

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Fremen

If you like old classic comedic movies, I would suggest :

The Man Who Came to Dinner
Arsenic and Old Lace
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Buck Privates
The Time of Their Lives (all three are Abbott and Costello movies)
Duck Soup
A Night At the Opera
Horsefeathers (all three are Marx Bros. films)

Both Abbott and Costello and the Marx Brothers have a bunch of other great films besides the ones I've listed.

In case you don't know about it, http://www.imdb.com/ is a great resource for looking up films and their casts.
As far as I can tell, they have just about every film made listed in their archives.

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RatherThanWords

...I can help you out with the foreign films

Spanish - Amores Perros
Brazilian - Cidade de dios or Bus 176
French - Amelie
German - Lola Rennt
Italian - Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo
Japanese - Battle Royale (both I and II). and any movie by Takashi Miike
Scottish - Trainspotting

and for american films, go by director. Darren Aranofsky is superb with film technique. David Lynch is an amazing storyteller. Kubric is the quitessential, albeit cliche cool director.

Mostly, watch what you like, bro!

usrbinboy

See SAW when it comes out (28th I think).

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FlatLand Flyer

Some great movies listed so far.

I have one that is foreign and in the war genre that is probably the most well done war movie ever.

Das Boot

It is excellent. I actually prefer the subtitle (original german) version more.

Rodney

I can't fault you taste in Marx Brothers, but you also put me in mind of one of the great comedy writer/directors of the 40s: Preston Sturges. Someone described his movies as some of the "densest" ever made, because each character, no matter how minor, has his or her moment to speak his mind or make an impression. Call them cynical screwball comedies. And in some ways, they were as studiously absurd as the Warner Brothers cartoons of the time. In fact, if you were to remake some of these today, it'd be more effective to remake them as cartoons or illustrated novels than as movies.


Written and directed by Sturges and recommended:

The Great McGinty
The Lady Eve
The Palm Beach Story
Sullivan's Travels -- this is the one everybody recommends, but I think that the others are better.

Reese

I don't know if you've ever watched Walkabout but I highly recommend it. It's an 1971 aussie film about 2 children lost in the Australian outback. I don't get enough chances to recommend that film

I'm sure you've seen some of Spike Lee's best films but The 25th hour is an excellent movie that has yet to be mentioned in this thread.

I also love Charlie Kaufman films. Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine being the most popular ones. He writes some mind bending screenplays and it doesn't hurt that the films have good directors and some of my favorite actors.

I also suggest watching some of the Japanese Horror films being remade for america. Ju-on, Ringu etc... and you'll see why they are remaking them for the states.

You should also watch bad movies, follow Dawn of the dead with House of the dead. You'll learn what NOT to do.

Edit: I almost forgot! Ravenous! You have got to watch this film. The "Musical" score is Terrific!

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radioguy

empire records - movie about a bunch of kids that work in a record store and the stupid stuff they do. came out in '95, straight to video. liv tyler, renee zellwegger, ethan embry, good cast. enjoy!

Reese

Empire Records Rocks! I've loved Liv Tyler ever since I saw her in that plaid skirt

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MexicanOnABike

huh... anything by QT: pulpfiction, reservoir dogs, killbill1,2. most of what was mentionned here...

cybermike: please explain to me why 25th hr is a good movie. seriously, i love movies but that one just sucked from the start to the end... maybe i need to watch it again?

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sendnot

I always liked Repo Man for the incredible amount of detail lavished on the film, if you study it...

Kostya

I totally forgot:

Rosemary's Baby

Predates The Omen AND The Shining absolutely brilliant!

gyroscope

another musst see is fight club.you can watch it 30 times and still you will discover new things!furthermore,its has its own uniqe style that you won't see in another movie.

costello

most of these are obvious, but damn you cybermike for giving away a couple of my lesser known reccomendations (ravenous and walkabout)! 25th hour was mentioned, and is real good, but compared to do the right thing it pales my friend . its lee's best film. Federico Fellini was an italian director and his best (and most controversial work) in my opinon is la dolce vita. truly wonderful. chinatown was mentioned and has one of the best screenplays ever. you need to see Truffaut's film the 400 blows. cant really describe how this movie has affected me. seven samurai is my favorite kurosawa film, but also check out rashamon. brazil is one of my favorites, will blow you away. wild strawberries, persona, and the seventh seal are my favorite bergman films. all of these people have influenced modern movies so much that once you see them you will recognize the influence regularly. hmm what else ... going more recent i dont know if youve seen the royal tenenbaums but its one of my favorite comedies and doesnt get enough attention imo. boyz in the hood is another great fairly recent movie, i wish singleton would have just stopped after this one. dont know if you have seen any of paul thomas andersons films, but i think he is really doing something with modern cinema. boogie nights, magnolia, and punch drunk love are so skillfully done and every detail is perfect. he makes average actors extrodinary. all i can think of now sorry about the jumbled mess i just woke up.

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Unright

Some were mentioned already, but find a good indie movie rental store (every good-sized town should have one) and check out all the Criterion Collection movies. A lot of foreign films are covered in those.

Also check out Dogville.

espi

I can't believe I forgot Boyz In The Hood - possibly one of my all-time favorite films *shakes my head in shame*.

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kenshee

kenshee suggests: Groundhog day
Funny,creative and feel good romantic comedy. One of the best of it's genre.

Tralls

Definitely Caddyshack. greatest comedy of all time.

"somebody step on a duck?!"

RIP Dangerfield

Tralls

Big Lebowski....the dude abides. Amazing movie. Along the same vein of movies about nothing, I definitely recommend napoleon dynamite, awesome movie...or anything with Will Farrell in it, i.e. Zoolander or Old School.