The Beginners
Created by JessKlette.
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Movies...ruining the book since the 1920's.
For my friends that have been overwhelmed with my recommendations over the years. This is the beginner's list. The list is for luke-warm fan's of film, the one's who would never admit that "the film was better than the novel" (You know who you are), the ones who have briefly ventured into the terrain of Technicolor but have jumped off the train at a screening of "Deuce Bigelow"or have given up after witnessing the less than 'dynamic' range of Keanu Reeves and Nicholas Cage.
Fear not, good film exists.
I hope that you will be able to knock of these films one by one and succumb to the passion for film that will begin to grow within you. I hope these films will inspire you to look for more films made by the same directors, for more performances by some great actors and pursue beautiful cinematography by the masters of their craft. Ultimately I hope that this list would be the start of your journey through the wonderful world of moving pictures.
The films listed are evaluated by year: so take "Jaws" or "Say Anything" for example...not exactly the greatest movies known to man but they were brilliant for the years that they came out. The Impact on the trajectory of film making and cultural significance also plays a huge factor e.g "À bout de souffle (Breathless)" might be a bizarre choice but the French New Wave introduced techniques like starting the dialogue of a scene before cutting to the shots of the characters speaking. Wide consensus or popular approval are considerations for some choices e.g "Titanic" and "Finding Nemo" were chosen as they are enjoyed by a wide array of audiences. Some pictures are in the list because of the brilliant performances by actors e.g the 2011 film "Take Shelter" has an interest premise and is very well made for the budget that was available to them but it's Michael Shannon that completely steals the show and displays some of the finest acting since the beginning of film itself.
My specialty is classic American cinema...yes, contrary to hipsterian knowledge, a large percentage of the best films ever made are American and yes, films can be in English and they can be enjoyable - We don't need to sit through "Salo: 120 Days of Sodom" just so we can say that we have seen a movie that regular people who don't appreciate violent intellectual porn haven't. So there is tons of great early American film including some wonderfully dramatic, chiaroscuro inspired Film-Noir. I have also sourced important films from an array of countries, even from Iran for all you 'progressive' cool cats. An endnote: Bias is reduced when using methodology like I have listed above. Many of the film's here I am not fond of at all, including Kubrick's 40min sequence of apes bashing rocks in "2001: Space Oddessey", but these films are still significant and they do have large groups of eccentric fans.
Seeing those scribblings of movie lists handed to friends might be long gone, or keeping the place at page 22 of attempts at Tolstoy's "War & Peace"...this indestructible digital version might be the thing that gets you guys on the right track. Please enjoy these films and let me know what you think of them. : )
Pssst, want to check out the The Beginners list in our new look?
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5 new
Les vampires
1915, in 14 top lists Check -
85 new
Scener ur ett äktenskap
1973 — a.k.a. Scenes from a Marriage, in 4 top lists Check -
22 new
Gone with the Wind
1939, in 31 top lists Check -
108 new
Once Upon a Time in America
1984, in 19 top lists Check -
68 new
Lawrence of Arabia
1962, in 40 top lists Check -
47 new
Shichinin no samurai
1954 — a.k.a. Seven Samurai, in 36 top lists Check -
7 new
The Birth of a Nation
1915, in 21 top lists Check -
129 new
Schindler's List
1993, in 35 top lists Check -
146 new
Titanic
1997, in 25 top lists Check -
66 new
Ningen no jôken
1961 — a.k.a. The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer, in 12 top lists Check -
106 new
Fanny och Alexander
1982 — a.k.a. Fanny and Alexander, in 25 top lists Check -
97 new
The Deer Hunter
1978, in 26 top lists Check -
122 new
Dances with Wolves
1990, in 17 top lists Check -
73 new
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
1966 — a.k.a. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, in 29 top lists Check -
141 new
Casino
1995, in 11 top lists Check -
80 new
The Godfather
1972, in 42 top lists Check -
63 new
La dolce vita
1960 — a.k.a. La Dolce Vita, in 22 top lists Check -
76 new
Patton
1970, in 13 top lists Check -
72 new
The Sound of Music
1965, in 25 top lists Check -
107 new
Scarface
1983, in 19 top lists Check -
75 new
C'era una volta il West
1968 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in the West, in 29 top lists Check -
6 new
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916, in 24 top lists Check -
190 new
Avatar
2009, in 13 top lists Check -
109 new
Amadeus
1984, in 23 top lists Check -
200 new
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011, in 1 top list Check -
180 new
There Will Be Blood
2007, in 20 top lists Check -
87 new
A Woman Under the Influence
1974, in 14 top lists Check -
162 new
Amores perros
2000, in 17 top lists Check -
137 new
Pulp Fiction
1994, in 38 top lists Check -
42 new
A Star Is Born
1954, in 13 top lists Check -
13 new
Metropolis
1927, in 36 top lists Check -
16 new
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930, in 19 top lists Check -
182 new
The Dark Knight
2008, in 27 top lists Check -
188 new
Män som hatar kvinnor
2009 — a.k.a. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in 1 top list Check -
74 new
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968, in 45 top lists Check -
103 new
Das Boot
1981 — a.k.a. The Boat, in 15 top lists Check -
197 new
Biutiful
2010, in 3 top lists Check -
4 new
Cabiria
1914, in 12 top lists Check -
193 new
Inception
2010, in 21 top lists Check -
100 new
Apocalypse Now
1979, in 37 top lists Check -
70 new
Suna no onna
1964 — a.k.a. Woman in the Dunes, in 22 top lists Check -
202 new
The Help
2011, in 6 top lists Check -
102 new
The Shining
1980, in 28 top lists Check -
121 new
Goodfellas
1990, in 31 top lists Check -
173 new
Memoirs of a Geisha
2005, in 1 top list Check -
65 new
L'avventura
1960 — a.k.a. L'Avventura, in 24 top lists Check -
177 new
Babel
2006, in 5 top lists Check -
44 new
Ikiru
1952, in 25 top lists Check -
136 new
Forrest Gump
1994, in 25 top lists Check -
138 new
The Shawshank Redemption
1994, in 24 top lists Check
Last updated on Apr 6, 2012;