What are Your Personal 'Must Own' Movies?
Here's how my holiday stacked up...
As you can see from the picture above the holidays brought me some new movies to add to my collection. Let me quickly run down the lot:
- The Third Man (Criterion Blu-ray) – Along with Chungking Express this was one of the two Criterion Blu-rays I had to pick up for myself as they released their first wave of high-definition titles. I already owned the DVD single disc edition, but couldn't pass up those wet sewer walls in Blu-ray.
- The Man Who Fell to Earth (Criterion Blu-ray) – I just posted my review of this one and it isn't exactly a recommendation outside of a select group of cinephiles.
- Bottle Rocket (Criterion Blu-ray) – Had Criterion not sent this one to me for review I would have purchased it in a second. I am not a Wes Anderson fan, but this is the one film of his that is miles above the rest. Read my review here.
- Chungking Express (Criterion Blu-ray) – I gave a brief commentary on this one here, which should explain why I bought it. Haven't had a chance to watch it in high-def yet.
- The Last Emperor (Criterion Blu-ray) – This one comes out on January 6. I have not yet started watching it outside of about an hour of the audio commentary. I am not a huge fan of this flick, but it certainly looks good.
- The Wolf Man (1941) – The rest of these were Christmas gifts and as you can see I filled a void in my collection where classic monster movies were missing. The Wolf Man is my favorite of the four, the fourth being The Mummy, which I already owned.
- Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut Blu-ray) – This will replace my 2-disc DVD edition… now I own it in high-definition and don't have to switch discs in the middle of watching it… No features though. Boo hoo!
- Frankenstein – I just watched this for the first time and I will say it is my least favorite of the classic monster flicks.
- Dracula – This one is probably my second favorite of the classics with The Mummy coming in third. The brides in this one are stellar!
- My Sunday Morning Cup of Coffee – A necessity.
- Ratatouille (Blu-ray) – I just had to own this one on Blu-ray which is why I asked for it so it would replace my DVD edition.
- La Dolce Vita – I absolutely LOVE Federico Fellini… more on that in a sec, but I am so excited I now own this classic.
- The Departed (Blu-ray) – Had to replace my HD DVD version as I continue to try and get rid of all of them and replace with Blu-ray.
- 300 (Blu-ray) – Another HD DVD replacement, while this isn't the greatest of films, it is a fun one to toss in for a good dose of mindless entertainment once in a while.
I bring all of this up because I am slowly trying to fill in the holes where my collection is missing titles and am
Photo: Criterion Collection
This weekend I watched The Battle of Algiers, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, Roman Holiday, La Strada and as I type I am watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for the very first time and realizing just why Mike Nichols made Closer and what a performance by Liz Taylor! Of those films I don't own The Battle of Algiers, Double Indemnity or Virginia Woolf but all three are so good they are now on my list of must owns, especially Battle of Algiers a film that is freakishly relevant right about now and in a scary sort of way… give it a watch and just wait for your brain to begin to spin.
La Strada was part of my Janus Films Collection and as I watched I continue to see the hole in my collection where 8 1/2 should be and it only makes me want the likes of Amarcord and The Nights of Cabiria that much more.
Other films missing from my collection are Citizen Kane, a film I don't necessarily love as much as everyone else, but I have some crazy urge to watch it right about now and not owning it is quite frustrating, it not only to see the box on the shelf… Will it be on Blu-ray soon? Who knows?
I want to replace my Stanley Kubrick collection which I have on both DVD and HD DVD, with the Blu-ray versions, but how can I justify those costs? I want the Criterion edition of Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (a movie I love) for the movie as well as the 80-minute doc on Peckinpah. Too bad it's out of print at Criterion. Perhaps that will be next for Blu-ray since I can't bring myself to buying the cheap MGM release.
I will be ordering 8 1/2 in the very near future and perhaps setting up a Fellini triple play one night, but beyond that I have a feeling it will be some time before I fill those other holes.
So, I wonder…
What's next on your list?
What films have you been eyeing but haven't brought yourself to purchase yet?
What films do you consider MUST HAVES?
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There are many that I'd dare state are must-own's for the masses but that would just be a little too massive and unwieldy for a forum like this.
Anyhoo aside from some choice Coen bros. and John Carpenter flicks I'd nominate Children of Men and Apocalypse Now Redux.
Now I know that Apocalypse Now isnt available on blu-ray yet but one can only hope that when it is Mr. Coppola can graciously allow an unabridged Hearts of Darkness onto the disc… *hurm*
A somewhat unrelated suggestion to those adventurous souls who don't mind dropping blu-ray money on a movie they might have not seen and might not be quite their cup of tea, try Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story.
I have the three big Hitchcock box sets (including the new Masterpiece Collection), and I would consider them all must owns.
I've been buying a bunch of Criterions as of late, because classic films are seriously lacking in my collection (which is nearing 1000).
MUST OWNS:
* JFK
* Any Given Sunday
* Apocalypse Now Redux
* Fight Club
* Pulp Fiction
* Glengarry Glen Ross
* To kill a Mockingbird
* Half Nelson
there are way too many, I'll just just name a few recent ones:
Tropic Thunder
Pineapple Express
Wall-E
TDK
Benjamin Button
the dark knight Ultimate special edition with 10 hours of bonus features!
Sin City, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Donnie Darko, Constant Gardener, The Fall, Cannibal Holocaust, American Psycho, Slumdog Millionaire, Vanilla Sky, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Jacktet, Shaun of the Dead, The Machinist, Requiem for a Dream, Punch-Drunk Love, Grindhouse, Shoot Em Up, Ghostbusters, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Kill Bill, Southland Tales, The Fountain, Children of Men, 300, Seven, Devil's Rejects, Stay, A Scanner Darkly, V for Vendetta, 28 Days Later, 21 Grams, Smokin Aces
@Scott: Is the third one you own the latest one from Fox?
@Matt: Great list, the only one I don't own is Glengarry Glen Ross and for some reason I cannot fall in love with that movie the way most people have.
@adu: Come on… you can't think of any classic films that really top your list?
Touch of Evil, Ben Hur, The Godfather Collection, Jackie Brown, 1492:Conquest of Paradise (If I could find it on DVD), The Maltese Falcon. These are all I can think of that I do not already own.
*The Maltese Falcon
*Casablanca
*A Streetcar Named Desire
*On the Waterfront
*La Dolce Vida
*The Shawshank Redemption
*Forrest Gump
*Titanic
*Training Day
*The Godfather/II
*The Assassination of Jesse James
*Into the Wild
*Collateral
*Bridge Over the River Kwai
*What Ever Happened to Baby Jane
*Gladiator
*Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
*Million Dollar Baby
*Good Will Hunting
*Raging Bull
*Schendler's List—not fun but a good reminder
*One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
*Cool Hand Luke
Probably more, but those are all the films I love to rewatch for one reason or another
Chinatown, American History X, Seven, Usual Suspects, 12 Angry Men (Orginal 1957), Glory, Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, Easy Rider, 3 Days of the Condor, Big Lebowski, V for Vendetta, RoseMary's Baby, The Exorcist, Heat, Duel, Rear Window, Unforgiven, Alien, and Twin Peaks: Come Fire Walk With Me…..That is a few must own and some I own also.
fight club
dark knight/batman begins
american history x
requiem for a dream
the usual suspects
28 days later
donnie darko
boondock saints
seven
american beauty
casino royale
collateral
the bourne series
the incredibles (any other other pixar flicks besides cars)
x-men, x2
21 grams
amores perros
almost famous
lord of the rings series
lock stock and 2 smoking barrels
aliens
snatch
super troopers
crash
pulp fiction
the descent
memento
saving private ryan
sin city
serenity
gladiator
braveheart
v for vendetta
the departed
hard candy
kiss kiss bang bang
iron man
with that list, youre on your way to a great collection
Airplane
To Sir with Love
Psycho
Vertigo
Planet of the Apes (original)
Rollerball (original)
Soylent Green
Silent Running
Hunt For Red October
Vanilla Sky
Tucker
Wild Things
Alien
The Quiet Earth
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
Forbidden Planet
Dark City
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Game
Bound
House of Wax (original)
The Illustrated Man
Local Hero
Island of Terror
Village of the Damned
Midnight Cowboy
Paper Moon
Honkeytonk Man
The Hustler
The Color of Money
Them!
Logan's Run
Tombstone
Toy Story
A Christmas Story
Forrest Gump
I almost forgot…
Saving Private Ryan
Blade Runner
Good Will Hunting
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
mosquito coast
eraserhead
jfk
fight club
bladerunner
breakfast with hunter
that is all.
Once upon a time in America – Bob De Niro's best film
There will be blood – Daniel Day Lewis is incredible
Awakenings – The De Niro
Deconstructing Harry – Vintage Woody Allen
Children of men
I have so many DVDs I don't know which I'm missing. I guess maybe Akira, Citizan Kane, Psycho (1960), King Kong 1933, Universal Classic Monsters… that's all I can think of.
@Jim Gardner: I have Once Upon a Time in America at the top of my Netflix Instant Queue… trying to find 4 hours to watch it. :)
@dmk: Mosquito Coast eh? I remember watching that a LONG time ago and not liking it at all, but my tastes have changed… perhaps I should revisit it.
@Brad Brevet: its like i believe in the principle of the story, but not in the execution.
Must have on Blu Ray, sorry no damn arty farty flicks.
- Club Dread – Silly, sexiest, watched 16 times and counting, I love it and I dont know why. (and yes I keep a play count of any movie I watch, this list comes from my most viewed)
- Beerfest – Again silly, tits, lots of beer, funny, all good.
- SuperTroopers – "You boys ever been to Mexico?!" Funny, again involves alcohol,…hmmmmm.
- Terminator 1,2 & 3 – "I'll Be Back." Ground breaking SciFi Action, Arnold kickin ass.
- Transformers – damn you Michael Bay!! Technically excellent actioner, sfx and sound all good. Great for exhibiting your flashy system.
- Rammstein Au Live Berlin – Loud, Industrial Gothic, best stage act eva.
- Bottom Live – All stage Shows, classic, raw British humour, some of the funniest shit I have ever seen. Youtube it to have a taste.
- Guest House Paradiso – "Candle in the eye!" The Bottom series big budget movie. Think of this as Faulty Towers gone, wrong.
- Old School – "We're Streaking!" Classic American comedy. Will, Vance, and their best.
- Ghosts of Mars – I put this on when I'm drunk, Martian Zombie actioner with Ice Cube and Jason Stratham, FFS they painted an entire valley RED for this flick! Brilliant!
- Fifth Element – Chicken Good! Polished and entertaining sci-fi. Again in HD will be stunning.
- Dodgeball – "If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball!" Repeat viewing guaranteed! You can help hate Ben Stillers charactor.
- I Spy – Owen and Eddie team up to be a very funny partnership. I love this one.
- Taxi – Qeen Laftifah, Jimmy Fallon, Dunno just like it.
- Mr Deeds – "Dont underestimate my sneakyness." Message movie, ignore this, but still very funny.
- Eurotrip – "Com'on Lads its Gonin Off!" Evey one hated this flick, I didnt. So eat it. That kid and the Hitler march cracks me up.
- 13" Warrior – One of the best language switcheroos I have ever seem implemented in a flick. Bear cult, nasty bastards. Fire Vorm!
- Shallow Hal – Funny, with a message. Although I ignore those here too.
- Ong Bak – Best martial arts flick in a very long time.
- The Arrival – Aliens are responsible for global warming, bastards!!
- Predator – Best alien SciFi, period.
- GhostBusters – Classic, grew up in the 80's to this and many more classics.
Well…the ones that i flip out if I notice htey are missing are…
Pulp Fiction
American Beauty
Pan's Labyrinth
Big Fish
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Resevoir Dogs
Boondock Saints
Silence of the Lambs
and
Children of Men
These are my favorite films, so i freak out if I don't have them.
I couldn't find American Beauty the other day, so I went out and bought it again. A freak…I know… haha
The Nightmare before Christmas: it's probably the movie I've seen the most times without ever owning. I'm ashamed.
Titanic on DVD: there will always be a time when I'm just in a Titanic watching state of mind and I'll piss and moan about having to rewind both tapes.
The Color Purple: how can I not own my, my mom and my sister's favorite female bonding movie?
The Star Wars trilogy: I thnk I'm somehow breaking the law by not owning this trilogy.
Every Nightmare on Elm Street movie: Even the bad ones.
At least one Kevin Smith movie: He's one of my favorite comedic film makers yet I don't own any of his movies.
Just a few i'd like to add:
* The big blue (Le grand bleu, Luc Besson) – long uncut version of course
* Leon (the one with Jean Reno)
* (Nuovo) Cinema Paradiso
* Knockin' on heaven's door (German film, not sure if there is an English version)
* Inside Man
* La vita è bella (Life is beautiful)
@mostlyharmless:
Thank you! I thought I was the only one who appreciated Club Dread. The Fifth Element is also one of my favourites.
Every DVD collection needs a few films which are actually improved by switching your brain off, and may I suggest:
Equililibrium – Christian Bale spouting sci-fi nonsense whilst being out-acted by a small puppy dog.
The Emperor's New Groove – Hilarious, but often overlooked, Disney animation about a megalomaniac llama.
Flash Gordon – "Flash, Flash, I love you; but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!!"
Commando – Just for the shamelessly over-the-top final island incursion; 100-odd dead soldiers and Arnie without a scratch on him.
Taxi – Proof that subtitled films can still be funny.
And finally… Shark Attack 3: Megalodon – The Citizen Kane of Crap!
@kassiopeia:
LOL! Theres two of us! I agree with your additions, Commando, Brilliant, may I add Raw Deal too, Total Recall!!! " Get ready for a surprise!" and the classic, "Screw! You !" LOL Flash Gordon!! OMG I forgot about that, I argued with Brad about this when he announced that they were looking at remaking it! "What do you mean Flash Gordon is alive? Open Fire! All Weapons!" :)
I do secretly like "films" too, but "movies" can take your mind of things.
@mostlyharmless: Yeah, I am not a fan of Flash Gordon as much as I can understand why many like it… I think it simply has to do with me seeing it too late in my life.
I am loving reading so many of the titles here as there aren't as many "classic" films as I expected there are plenty of cool little genre films that get to the heart of so many of your tastes in movies. I never expected Club Dread to be mentioned, let alone more than once. :)
The Godfather Trilogy
Wedding Crashers
Old School
Fight Club
Gladiator
Batman Begins + The Dark Knight
Ghostbusters
The Bourne Trilogy
The Departed
The Lion King
Lethal Weapon 1-4
The Matrix
Die Hard 1-4
Forrest Gump
Any Given Sunday
Goodfellas
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Top Gun
Dumb and Dumber
Bad Boys 1 – 2
Indiana Jones (except Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!)
American Pie
Rocky
Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy
The Rock
Back to the Future Trilogy
@Brad Brevet: How about the original Cape Fear, Freaks and Night of the Hunter. I consider them to be up there with classics. And of course Ben Hur.
I'll list afew of my must haves in no order;
The Jerk (steve martains best)
Harold and Maude
Rushmore (Criterion Collection) one of the best ever imo
Seven Samurai, Yojimbo & Sanjuro (really any Kurosawa)
Twilight Samurai (newer but really a throwback)
The Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
Sergio Leones' The man with no name Trilogy
The Searchers (my favorite John Wayne)
The Stanley Kubrick Collection (clockwork orange, 2001, fullmetal jacket…)
Dr. Strangelove
All of Hithcocks films (vertigo, pshyco, rear window…)
Memento (Christopher Nolan)
Fritz Langs M (also watch Metropolis if any one hasn't great scifi)
The Virgin Springs & The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman)
1. Gone with the Wind
2. Ben-Hur
3. Raging Bull
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. The Godfather – Coppolla Restoration
6. The Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition (that's right, I consider it as one epic film).
7. Star Wars: Original Trilogy
8. The Royal Tenenbaums
9. Million Dollar Baby
10. HEAT
You have to start with these Twenty (not in any order just as they popped in my head)…
1. Star Wars (F**k 1 and 2 but 4-6 for sure)
2. Alien (1-3)
3. Lord of the Rings (all)
4. Die Hard (First three)
5. Donnie Darko
6. Memento
7. Snatch
8. Reservoir Dogs
9. Dances with Wolves
10. Unbreakable
11. Dead Poets Society
12. Back to the Future
13. The Untouchables’
14. Pulp Fiction
15. Saving Private Ryan
16. L.A. Confidential
17. Close Encounters of the third kind
18. Matrix (first one and maybe the second, the third should be burnt and dropped in the Atlantic)
19. The Terminator
20. Frequency
And any good DVD collection should have Band Of Brothers. Also The Long Way Round and The long Way Down are must owns. Other good Sires that should be owned are Cracker, life on Mars and House.
My opinion and in no order
-The Pursuit of Happyness
-Gladiator
-300
-American History X
-The Warriors
-Black Hawk Down
-Pirates of the Caribbean ep. 1
-Batman Dark Knight
-Transformers
-Snatch
-Departed
-Old School
-40 yr old Virgin
-Matrix ep. 1
-Star Wars (all but ep. 1)
-Spaceballs
-Ronin
DAMN!!! where did you get your 'the last emperor' & 'La Dolce Vita'. ive been looking for them & i cant find some!