Friday Five – Needful Movies

January 15th, 2010

This week’s #fridayfive is all about the movies that make up the foundation of a basic, well-rounded cinematic education. What are the classic movies that either define our generation(s) or stand on their own as cinematic masterpieces? What movies should you have seen by now?

Here are our individual answers, with a compiled list afterward:

H_Wallbanger – @superbadgirl The Birds, Lawrence of Arabia, Blue Velvet, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and Amazon Women on the Moon.

avandonsel – @superbadgirl 2001: A Space Odyssey, Citizen Kane, The Graduate, Nosferatu, The Rules of the Game #fridayfive #hardtodecide

narcise – Brokeback Mountain, Lost in Translation, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Harold and Maude, Like Water for Chocolate #fridayfive

arachnophiliac – @superbadgirl Rules of the Game, Tokyo Story, Lawrence of Arabia, Amarcord, Mulholland Drive

jeniburns – @superbadgirl Donnie Darko, Chronicles of Riddick, The Secretary, Snatch, Labyrinth #fridayfive

Lorizs_tweets – Harold and Maude, Mommie Dearest, Heathers, Night of the Living Dead (awesome with commentary by MikeNelson), Clerks #fridayfive

jamietoon – The Shining, The Godfather 2, Night of the Living Dead, Blazing Saddles, Star Wars #fridayfive

p_tea – @superbadgirl Aliens, Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure, The Road Warrior, Planet of the Apes, The Dirty Dozen #fridayfive

El_Dickman – Highlander, Blade Runner, Princess Bride, LOTR trilogy, Star Wars trilogy (original 3) #fridayfive

superbadgirl – Labyrinth, The Muppet Movie, The Princess Bride, LoTR trilogy, Donnie Darko #fridayfive

cbellers – Planet of the Apes, Bullitt, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Rashomon, Raiders of the Lost Ark

_bunny_ – @superbadgirl The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, Withnail & I, Some Like It Hot, Boogie Nights #fridayfive

arachnophiliac – Five Essential Films I’ve Shamefully Never Seen: 8 1/2, Raging Bull, Barry Lyndon, The Seven Samurai, Passion of Joan of Arc

violentecstasy – Bladerunner, The Breakfastclub, Heavenly Creatures, Little Miss Sunshine, Wild Zero. #fridayfive

ZSB3 – Goonies, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Princess Bride, Men at Work, The Secret of NIMH #fridayfive

SgtHotpants – #fridayfive Six string samurai, MASH, American History X, Jesus Christ Superstar, Robocop (Nick’s favorite movie!)

thatcesareguy – Evil Dead 2, The Fall, Event Horizon, Rashamon, Aliens #fridayfive

stevodarkly – 2001: A Space Odyssey. Animal House. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Airplane. Dances With Wolves. #fridayfive

jamesblackwood – Notorious, Indiana Jones:Raiders, Seven Samurai, Hero, and Slither #fridayfive

k-del – Mine! Hung over & late! Planet of the Apes(org), Calvaire, Day Watch, High Plains Drifter, Shogun Assassin

sub_english – Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Fantasia, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Exorcist #fridayfive

UnclePilot – Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Curly Sue. #fridayfive

So here’s the master list of movies we came up with. Which of the following have you NOT seen? Leave a note in the comments (or tweet it at me, if you can fit all the numbers in) and I will produce a master-master list of movies that are necessary and that many of us have not seen. There may be a master-master-master list after that, only I am not sure what data it will contain. Your social security number, maybe.

1.   2001: A Space Odyssey
2.   Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
3.   Airplane
4.   Aliens
5.   Almost Famous
6.   Amarcord
7.   Amazon Women on the Moon
8.   American History X
9.   Animal House
10.   Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure
11.   Blade Runner
12.   Blazing Saddles
13.   Blue Velvet
14.   Boogie Nights
15.   Brokeback Mountain
16.   Bullitt
17.   Calvaire
18.   Chronicles of Riddick
19.   Citizen Kane
20.   Clerks
21.   Dances with Wolves
22.   Das Boot
23.   Day Watch
24.   Donnie Darko
25.   Event Horizon
26.   Evil Dead 2
27.   Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
28.   Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
29.   Good Will Hunting
30.   Goonies
31.   Harold and Maude
32.   Heathers
33.   Heavenly Creatures
34.   Hero
35.   High Plains Drifter
36.   Highlander
37.   Jesus Christ Superstar
38.   Labyrinth
39.   Lawrence of Arabia
40.   Like Water for Chocolate
41.   Little Miss Sunshine
42.   Lost in Translation
43.   LoTR trilogy
44.   MASH
45.   Men at Work
46.   Mommie Dearest
47.   Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
48.   Mulholland Drive
49.   Night of the Living Dead
50.   Nosferatu
51.   Notorius
52.   Petrified Forest
53.   Planet of the Apes
54.   Princess Bride
55.   Pulp Fiction
56.   Raiders of the Lost Ark
57.   Raising Arizona
58.   Rashomon
59.   Robocop
60.   Rocky
61.   Rules of the Game
62.   Secretary
63.   Seven Samurai
64.   Shogun Assasin
65.   Six string samurai
66.   Slither
67.   Snatch
68.   Some Like It Hot
69.   Star Wars
70.   Star Wars trilogy (original 3)
71.   The Big Lebowski
72.   The Birds
73.   The Breakfast Club
74.   The Dirty Dozen
75.   The Fall
76.   The Godfather 2
77.   The Graduate
78.   The Muppet Movie
79.   The Princess Bride
80.   The Road Warrior
82.   The Secret of NIMH
83.   The Shining
84.   To Kill a Mockingbird
85.   Tokyo Story
86.   Wild Zero
87.   Withnail & I

Filed under: Friday Five | Comments (4)

4 Responses to “Friday Five – Needful Movies”

thatcesareguy on January 15, 2010 4:46 pm
Why do you have to poster for “Alien” up when the movie on the list is “Aliens”?
SuperBadGirl on January 15, 2010 4:52 pm
I counted as “watched” any movie that I had made a good-faith effort to sit through, but couldn’t.

These are the ones I don’t even think I’ve seen snippets of.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
6. Amarcord
7. Amazon Women on the Moon
8. American History X
11. Blade Runner
12. Blazing Saddles
14. Boogie Nights
15. Brokeback Mountain
16. Bullitt
17. Calvaire
19. Citizen Kane
23. Day Watch
25. Event Horizon
26. Evil Dead 2
27. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
34. Hero
35. High Plains Drifter
37. Jesus Christ Superstar
39. Lawrence of Arabia
40. Like Water for Chocolate
45. Men at Work
47. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
50. Nosferatu
51. Notorious
52. Petrified Forest
58. Rashomon
61. Rules of the Game
63. Seven Samurai
64. Shogun Assasin
65. Six string samurai
66. Slither
68. Some Like It Hot
71. The Big Lebowski
74. The Dirty Dozen
75. The Fall
76. The Godfather 2
77. The Graduate
81. The Rules of the Game
85. Tokyo Story
86. Wild Zero
87. Withnail & I
SuperBadGirl on January 15, 2010 5:01 pm
@ceasare – because I think “Alien” is the superior film, with superior artwork. I also wonder if @p_tea meant to say “Alien,” as that’s a common enough point of confusion.
Stevo Darkly on January 15, 2010 9:24 pm
In some cases sadly, these are the ones I have NOT seen:

5. Almost Famous
6. Amarcord
7. Amazon Women on the Moon
8. American History X*
9. Animal House*!
13. Blue Velvet*
14. Boogie Nights*
15. Brokeback Mountain
16. Bullitt**
17. Calvaire
19. Citizen Kane*
22. Das Boot*
23. Day Watch
24. Donnie Darko*!
26. Evil Dead 2*
27. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
29. Good Will Hunting
31. Harold and Maude
33. Heavenly Creatures
34. Hero*!
35. High Plains Drifter
36. Highlander*
38. Labyrinth*!
39. Lawrence of Arabia*
40. Like Water for Chocolate
41. Little Miss Sunshine
42. Lost in Translation
44. MASH*!
45. Men at Work
46. Mommie Dearest
48. Mulholland Drive
49. Night of the Living Dead*
50. Nosferatu
51. Notorius
52. Petrified Forest
57. Raising Arizona*
58. Rashomon*
61. Rules of the Game
62. Secretary*!
63. Seven Samurai*
64. Shogun Assasin
65. Six string samurai*
66. Slither
67. Snatch
68. Some Like It Hot
74. The Dirty Dozen*
75. The Fall
76. The Godfather 2
78. The Muppet Movie*
82. The Secret of NIMH*
83. The Shining
85. Tokyo Story
86. Wild Zero
87. Withnail & I

*Already on my list of movies I need to see.

*! REALLY need to see.

** Have not seen, but read the Mad Magazine version many years ago.