5 must-have movies for every home collection?

Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone)
James Cameron's Aliens
George Lucas's Star Wars.
John Carpenter's The Thing.
I guess Woo's The Killer is alright, if you're into that sort of thing. Maybe?

Dersu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa)
Ivan the Terrible 1 & 2 (Sergei Eisenstein)
The 400 Blows (François Truffaut)
M (Fritz Lang)
Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)
The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman)
Bad Day at Black Rock (John Sturges)
Luis Buñuel Dolls (Luis Buñuel)
Dolls (Takeshi Kitano)

errr ... something like that, I guess

Anthony Davis6 said:Dersu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa)
Eisenstein Ivan the Terrible 1 & 2
The 400 Blows (François Truffaut)
M (Fritz Lang)
Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)
The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman)
Bad Day at Black Rock (John Sturges)
Luis Buñuel Dolls
Takeshi Kitano

errr ... something like that, I suppose.

👍 Not a bad selection. Though, I wonder why there isn't something like Dr. Caligari in the mix? And I don't see Stalker or Alphaville listed either.

Kieslowski,
Francis Ford Coppola,
Stanley Kubrick,
Charlie Kaufman,
Steven Spielberg,

I didn't quite have the energy to list all the titles... forgive me😉

frozenfox13 says:

Great picks. I'm wondering why you didn't include Dr. Caligari somewhere, and I don't see Stalker or Alphaville on here either.

Those are just films that mean a lot to me, so they made my list. I guess we could argue about whether Stalker is better than Andrei Rublev or Ivanov's childhood... or this versus that, but it feels pointless. For me, Alphaville is just an okay movie... but that's just how I feel.
Of course, in most cases, I find the entire body of work from these directors to be pretty special.

Anyway, I'm certainly no critic or some kind of "film" snob, I guess.

Anthony Davis6 said:frozenfox13 says:

Great picks, but why isn't Dr. Caligari on there? I don't see Stalker or Alphaville either.

Those are just movies that happen to mean a lot to me, so they made the cut. I suppose we could go back and forth on whether Stalker is better than Andrei Rublev or Ivanov's Childhood... or this versus that, but it feels a bit pointless. For instance, I find Alphaville to be just an okay movie... but that's just how I feel.
Of course, in most cases, I tend to find the entire body of work from these directors to be quite special.

Anyway, I’m certainly no critic or—heaven forbid—some kind of "film" snob, I guess.

Piao, I was just checking in to see how you were doing. I've grown up a bit, but since there's no real thread here, well...

1) Dr. Caligari
2) Metropolis 3
3) Boulevard of Twilight 5
5) Rashomon

Though I'll probably end up arguing with myself about this too... I'll eventually expand this list. There are plenty of things I've heard are masterpieces that I haven't gotten to yet, but I'll get there slowly... one by one.
What exactly defines a film snob in your eyes?

frozenfox13 said:5) Rashomon

Why pick Rashomon specifically? I mean, it’s a great film and all, but I suspect there might be more representative works by Kurosawa out there.

Take Ikiru, for example.

Lavender Hill Mob
Whitnail and I
Producers
My Fair Lady
Trading Places

Taxi Driver
Kum 1
Kum 2
Kum 3
Pulp Fiction

They never get old. At least they don't for me.

👋

frozenfox13 said:I just played them to see how you’d react. I’ve checked off my top five, but since there isn't an official list here, I guess this is it for now...

1)Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
2)Metropolis
3)Twilight Boulevard
5)Rashomon

But I know I'll end up arguing with myself about these choices... I'm going to keep working through my list. There are plenty of other things I've heard are amazing that I haven't gotten to yet, but I'll get there eventually. It'll happen.
So, what does being a film snob actually mean to you?

Arsen Oremovic

Miros said:Why specifically Rashomon? It’s a great movie, don't get me wrong, but I feel like there are much more representative works by Kurosawa out there.

Take Ikiru, for example.

It’s more about the philosophical reasoning... and we aren't really talking about directors here, but the films themselves. I'm not asking which single Kurosawa film is the most iconic, but rather which five belong in the top tier.
I suppose the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari would definitely be among them, and it holds its own just as well as Twilight, though I guess you could nitpick about the others.

Anthony Davis6 said:Arsen Oremovic

I'm not familiar with that. Could you clarify the concept or tell me who this person is? Thanks.

frozenfox13 said:I don't know who that is. Could you explain the term or tell me about this person? Thanks.

Oh, you mean our local "critic" and wannabe celebrity. He writes for the New York Post, and honestly, he just gets on my nerves. He’s such an arrogant blowhard. I mean, he's incredibly harsh when reviewing movies, acting like he knows everything and is basically the smartest guy in the room. Yeah, right.

I guess I generally think snobs are the types of people who look down on anyone actually getting into movies or daring to have an opinion. It feels like they think you have to watch their specific list of "essential" classics or whatever before you're allowed to speak. Instead of being happy that more people are watching and enjoying films, they act superior. Even if we're all talking about the same movies, why can't they just let us enjoy them?

Anthony Davis6 said:Oh look, it’s our local "critic" and wannabe celebrity. He writes for the New York Post, and frankly, he gives me a headache. Just an arrogant blowhard. He acts so incredibly harsh with his ratings, acting like he knows everything and is the smartest person on the planet. Yeah, right.

Generally speaking, I think snobs are the types who look down their noses at anyone just entering the world of cinema or anyone who dares to have an opinion on movies. If things were up to them, you'd probably have to watch all their "essential" classics first or whatever else they demand. Instead of being happy that more people are watching and enjoying films, they act superior. Even if people are commenting on the same movies, why shouldn't they?

Look... if you want to have a somewhat serious discussion about anything, you need knowledge and experience. In this case, that means having seen certain films to be properly informed. It’s not like there aren't a vast amount of foundational films you could reasonably catch within a year or two. The issue is that they aren't always easy to access, which makes gaining basic insight difficult—unlike literature, which you can find right in front of you at any local library. If video rental stores or streaming archives were as accessible as libraries, I suspect more people would be interested in film and have a better grasp of it.

I don't follow this specific guy, so I'm not sure exactly what level he operates on, but I am aware of that common, small-minded attitude where people claim, "American movies are trash; I only watch indie productions or European and Asian films." Honestly, that usually just reveals how narrow-minded the speaker is. Then there’s genre exclusivism, where people dismiss entire genres a priori—like Westerns or thrillers on one hand, or dramas and fantasy on the other. To a more well-rounded viewer, those elitists seem almost laughable because they can't see past their own clouded lenses. For instance, "Hazard" starring Newman is a fantastic film—deep, nuanced, tense, and so on. Yet, some "critics" will dismiss it simply because it doesn't fit their preferred genre, even though many people, myself included, could easily demonstrate that the film is actually an underrated little masterpiece. But anyway... regardless Cabinet of Dr. Caligari leads the way for me on every level, and now I can finally sleep soundly.

Movies that just hit different

1. Independence Day
2. The Godfather
3. Private Parts
4. National Treasure
5. Bad Boys

1. Childhood - Tarkovsky
2. Andrei Rublev - Tarkovsky
3. Taxi Driver - Scorsese
4. The Deer Hunter - Cimino
5. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - Buñuel

P.S. Honestly, picking just five movies feels way too short. I think a list of 12 or even 15 would be much better.

Evil Dead 2
2.Kill Bill
3.Schreck
4.Lethal Weapon
5.Creature

Pulp Fiction...
Donnie Darko...
Silence of the Lambs...
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Fight Club...

Reservoir Dogs...
American Beauty... Requiem for a Dream...
American Beauty...

I don't know, you've gotta look at all the genres, right? I'm mostly into the fun stuff, so here's my list:
The Goonies - easily my favorite childhood movie
Dumb and Dumber - my absolute favorite comedy
Rush Hour - my go-to action comedy
Star Wars - the best Sci-fi or fairy tale out there, if you can call it that
Saving Private Ryan - the only "serious" movie I actually like (the rest just aren't)

1. The Lord of the Rings
2. The Godfather
3. Gladiator
4. Braveheart
5. Patriot
6. Dracula
7. Dynasty
8. Beautiful Village
9. Wound
10. Hannibal
11. The Bridges of Madison County
12. Titanic 😳