Many classical movies were so great in their time, that they have been imitated many times. Unfortunately, many of these classics have been outdone by their imitations by now IMHO, so they are no longer on my A1-list of films to watch. Many Black-White movies fall into this category, for example the terrific Citizen Kane or The Manchurian Candidate, but also films like All About Eve and many Hitchcock classics (e.g., Psycho). Clearly, the followup movies were not as innovative or important, but my list is for movies that I would recommend to friends for watching today, not to a film-critic or a film-historian. Of course, the originals are still very good films and worth watching!
To change ordering, click on table header.
| Name | Year | Name | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon | (1990) | Nobody's Fool | (1994) |
| Ben Hur | (1959) | Once Upon a Time in America | (1984) |
| Braveheart | (1995) | Once Upon a Time in the West | (1969) |
| Bridge on the River Kwai | (1957) | One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest | (1975) |
| Chinatown | (1974) | Raise the Red Lantern | (1991) |
| Das Leben der Anderen | (2006) | Roman Holiday | (1953) |
| Doctor Zhivago | (1965) | Shoah (unpleasant) | (1985) |
| Enemy at the Gates | (2001) | Silence of the Lambs | (1991) |
| Farewell my Concubine | (1993) | The Age of Innocence | (1977) |
| Ghandi | (1982) | The Elephant Man | (1980) |
| Godfather I | (1972) | The English Patient | (1996) |
| Godfather II | (1974) | The Great Gatsby | (1974) |
| Gone with the Wind | (1939) | The Last Emperor | (1987) |
| Hoop Dreams | (1994) | The Name of the Rose | (1986) |
| In the Heat of the Night | (1967) | The Usual Suspects | (1995) |
| Jean De Florette and Manon of the Spring | (1986) | Three Days of the Condor | (1975) |
| Kiss of the Spider Woman | (1985) | To Kill a Mockingbird | (1962) |
| Lawrence of Arabia | (1962) |
| Name | Year | Name | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Fish called Wanda | (1988) | Ruthless People | (1986) |
| Being There | (1979) | The Court Jester | (1956) |
| Bowfinger | (1999) | The Fearless Vampire Killers | (1967) |
| Brazil | (1985) | The Full Monty | (1997) |
| Coming to America (maybe) | (1988) | The Jewel of the Nile | (1985) |
| Crossing Delancey | (1988) | The Rocky Horror Picture Show*. | (1975) |
| Delicatessen | (1991) | This is Spinal Tap | (1984) |
| Down and Out in Beverly Hills | (1986) | Time Bandits | (1981) |
| Dr. Strangelove | (1964) | Tootsie | (1982) |
| Me and the Colonel (maybe) | (1958) | Wayne's World | (1992) |
| Other People's Money | (1991) | Without a Clue | (1988) |
| Romancing the Stone | (1985) | Young Frankenstein | (1974) |
| Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion | (1997) |
* if you are <15, you might like the Rocky Horrow Picture Show. If you can laugh, read the Rocky Horror Review, a Christian Analysis of the movie.
| Name | Year | Name | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amistad | (1997); *** | Stealing Beauty | (1996); **- |
| Brassed Off | (1996); **- | The Golden Bowl | (2000); **- |
| Brother's Keeper | (1997); ** | The Legend of Bagger Vance | (2000): **- |
| Empire of the Sun | (19??); ** | The Man who fell to Earth | (1976); *- |
| Full Metal Jacket | (1987); *** | The Producers | (1968); ** |
| Go | (1999); *** | The Year of Living Dangerously | (1983); *** |
| (1931): 1 | (1958): 3 | (1972): 5 | (1986): 12 | (2000): 8 |
| (1939): 1 | (1959): 3 | (1973): 6 | (1987): 8 | (2001): 9 |
| (1940): 2 | (1960): 3 | (1974): 9 | (1988): 17 | (2002): 10 |
| (1941): 1 | (1961): 3 | (1975): 4 | (1989): 8 | (2003): 16 |
| (1946): 2 | (1962): 5 | (1976): 5 | (1990): 15 | (2004): 3 |
| (1949): 1 | (1963): 1 | (1977): 6 | (1991): 15 | (2006): 3 |
| (1950): 1 | (1964): 4 | (1978): 5 | (1992): 17 | |
| (1951): 4 | (1965): 4 | (1979): 10 | (1993): 12 | |
| (1952): 2 | (1966): 1 | (1980): 6 | (1994): 10 | |
| (1953): 2 | (1967): 6 | (1981): 8 | (1995): 13 | |
| (1954): 2 | (1968): 6 | (1982): 8 | (1996): 12 | |
| (1955): 3 | (1969): 6 | (1983): 5 | (1997): 17 | |
| (1956): 3 | (1970): 1 | (1984): 11 | (1998): 12 | |
| (1957): 3 | (1971): 5 | (1985): 14 | (1999): 11 |
| Inside Man | **** | Good - Very good | Clever, fun to watch. Unbelievable Hollywood, of course. | |
| City of Industry | **** | Good | Great revenge story among thieves. Again, clever and not obvious what will happen next.. | |
| Snatch | ***** | Very good to excellent. | Next-best thing to Pulp Fiction. | |
| The Patriot | * | Bad | Lousy collection of bad history and predictable plot. | |
| Pepe le Moko | ⊗ | Outdated | Police and criminals don't have these sorts of relationships. | |
| The Maltese Falcon | ⊗⊗ | Outdated | Cult film, but totally incredible. | |
| Letters from Iwo Jima | **** | Good | Not great. No great story line. Interesting, but long. Sort of like a personal documentary. | |
| Hangin' with the homeboys | *** | OK | Four losers hanging out for a night. Not funny, just story-telling. Again, documentary touch. | |
| The Long Riders | **** | Good | Again, a little big documentary. Historically accurate. Interesting enough story line, though. | |
| Open Range | ***** | Very good | Western with great sceneray, scenes, and lines. Almost Film Noire. Similar to (and better) than High Noon today (not then!). | |
| Hidalgo | *** | OK | Marginally entertaining Western horse fairy tale. | |
| Is Paris Burning? | ⊗⊗ | Outdated | Realism should not be lacking in a war movie. | |
| Hell in the Pacific | **** | Good | Though made in 1968, still reasonably believable. | |
| Yojimbo | **** | Still good | Great at the time. Famous for its imitator, "For a Few Dollars More." (which is a better) | |
| Samurai Trilogy | ** + ** + **** | Mediocre + Mediocre + Good | First two parts are too unbelievable. Third part is good. Final duel is justly famous. | |
| The Eiger Sanction | *** | OK | Fantastic mountain scenes—how did they shoot them? Just tries to be too Bond-like at parts. Much better when it is its own movie. | |
| Parenthood | **** | Good | Poignant and funny. Tough to be cerebrally funny—Steve Martin films often are. Great cast. | |
| Layer Cake | ***** | Very good | Unpredictable. Smart and interesting. (PS: Also stylish.) | Nov 15, 2007 |
| Signs | ** | Mediocre | Stupid. Only redeeming feature: ancester of "War of the Worlds". | Nov 18, 2007 |
| Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within | ** | Mediocre | Nice animation. Bad story that makes no sense to the uninitiated | Nov 20, 2007 |
| Lair of the White Worm | * | Bad | What were they thinking? Nice naked women? | Nov 25, 2008 |
| Harakiri | **** | Good | Old Japanese Flick, held up. | Dec 2, 2008 |
| Unbreakable | ** | Mediocre | Supernatural Thriller w/ B Willis and Samuel Jackson. Mildly entertaining. | Dec 4, 2008 |
| Runaway | * | Bad | Aged very badly. Funny—Terminator, with a similar subject matter and made the same year, aged very well. | Dec 4, 2008 |
| Lone Star | **** | Very Good | Tapestry of Life in Texas with Murder Story | Dec 6, 2007 |
| The Advocate | **** | Good | Not too deep, but entertaining. | Dec 10, 2007 |
| Beyond Rangoon | **** | Good | Depressing—especially that 20 years later, it is still the same in Burma. | Dec 13, 2007 |
| Equilibrium | *** | OK | Mix 1984+Fahrenheit 451+Matrix. Shake. Predictable. | Dec 15, 2007 |
| The Bad Sleep Well | *** | OK to Good | Little long. | Dec 16, 2007 |
| James Bond: License to Kill | ** | Mediocre | Are these films satires of themselves? | Jan 2007 |
| Mission Impossible II | ** | Mediocre | Fashionable. Can Hollywood make realistic films with stories? | Jan 2007 |
| Torn Curtain | * | Bad | Predictable. Bad Studio Production. Stupid. [opposite=The Spy who came in from the cold] | Jan 2007 |
| The Departed | ***** | Very good to Excellent | Great Script | Mar 2007 |
| Das Leben Der Anderen | ****** | Excellent | A slow, but great movie. | Apr 2007 |
| The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) | ** | Mediocre | Silly, though mildly entertaining. Embarrassing product placement. Doesn't Hollywood have real stories to tell any more? | Apr 2007 |
2007 films to see: No Country for Old Men. The Great Debaters. The Kite Runner. Juno.
Tinker-Tailor-Soldier-Spy and Smiley's People.
Good Movie Sites: The Internet Movie Data Base. My favorite critic is Roger Ebert. OK, so I do not fully agee with him, but he is pretty good.