Movies every aspiring filmmaker should see?

Question

Movies every aspiring filmmaker should see?

Answer 1

It depends on what kind of films you want to make.



For horror you should see The Evil Dead 1.

For comedy you should see Clerks 1.

Both of these are good because they were done on a low budget but they gave the directors the start that made them who they are today.

Answer 2

Nowhere near complete, but here goes...



M (1931): dir. Fritz Lang

Bride of Frankenstein (1935): dir. James Whale

The Maltese Falcon (1941): dir. John Huston

Rope (1948): dir. Alfred Hitchcock

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948): dir. John Huston

The Third Man (1949): dir. Carol Reed

Rashomon (1950): dir. Akira Kurosawa

The Wages of Fear (1953): dir.Henri-Georges Clouzot

Seven Samurai (1954): dir. Akira Kurosawa

Rififi (1955): dir. Jules Dassin

The Searchers (1956): dir. John Ford

Paths of Glory (1957): dir. Stanley Kubrick

Throne of Blood (1957): dir Akira Kurosawa

Psycho (1960): dir. Alfred Hitchcock

The Hustler (1961): dir. Robert Rossen

The Manchurian Candidate (1962): dir. John Frankenheimer

Dr. Strangelove (1964): dir. Stanley Kubrick

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966): dir. Sergio Leone

Bonnie and Clyde (1967): dir. Arthur Penn

Point Blank (1967): dir. John Boorman

Night of the Living Dead (1968): dir. George Romero

Midnight Cowboy (1969): dir. John Schlesinger

The Godfather (1972): dir. Francis Ford Coppola

High Plains Drifter (1973): dir. Clint Eastwood

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): dir. Milos Forman

Taxi Driver (1976): Martin Scorcese

Animal House (1978): dir. John Landis

Halloween (1978): dir. John Carpenter

This is Spinal Tap (1984): dir. Rob Reiner

House of Games (1987): dir. David Mamet

Grave of the Fireflies (1988): dir. Isao Takahata

Reservoir Dogs (1992): dir. Quentin Tarantino

Hana-Bi (1997): dir. Takeshi Kitano

Audition (1999): dir. Takashi Miike

Amelie (2001): dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Millennium Actress (2001): dir. Satoshi Kon





If you made it all the way to the bottom of this list, you're probably wondering why none of the Star Wars movies are listed. It's nothing personal against George Lucas - even he would say if you want to learn about film making, you should immerse yourself in the films of Akira Kurosawa. His 1958 film "The Hidden Fortress" was a big influence on Star Wars.



I didn't leave "Silence of the Lambs" out by accident, either. Fritz Lang's "M" was one of the first serial killer/police procedural movies, as well as one of the first "talkies" to integrate sound as a vital plot element. Don't let black & white and foreign films put you off - there's a whole world of great films out there.



I listed "Rififi" because it's one of the first "Heist" movies - any film that depicts a daring heist shown in intricate detail owes a debt to "Rififi"; alas, it's due for a remake in 2011.



Thanks for reading.

Answer 3

Well in my personal opinion



=Citizan Kane (1941)

=(500) Days of Summer (2009)

=A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

=A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

=Almost Famous (2000)

=American Beauty (1999)

=Back to the Future (1985)

=Blue Velvet (1986)

=Boogie Nights (1997)

=Boy's Don't Cry (1999)

=Boyz in the Hood (1991)

=Brokeback Mountain (2005)

=Bus Stop (1956)

=Cabaret (1972)

=Carrie (1976)

=Changeling (2008)

=Chicago (2002)

=Chinatown (1974)

=Cloverfield (2008)

=Crash (2004)

=Dead Man Walking (1995)

=District 9 (2009)

=Donnie Darko (2001)

=E.T. (1982)

=Edward Scissorhands (1991)

=Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

=Fatal Attraction (1987)

=Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

=Fight Club (1999)

=Finding Nemo (2003)

=Forrest Gump (1994)

=Funny Girl (1968)

=Gangs of New York (2002)

=Girl, Interrupted (1999)

=The Godfather (1972) and Part 2 (1974)

=Gods and Monsters (1998)

=Gone Baby Gone (2007)

=Good WIll Hunting (2002)

=Grease (1978)

=Gues Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

=Halloween (1978)

=Hannah and her Sisters (1986)

=High Fidelity (2000)

=Hotel Rwanda (2004)

=I Am Legend (2007)

=I Am Sam (2001)

=Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

=Jean de Florette (1986)

=Juno (2007)

=Kalifornia (1993)

=Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

=Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

= L.A. Confidential (1997)

=La vita è bella (1997)

=Les choristes (2004)

=Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

=Little Women (1994)

=Mary Poppins (1964)

=Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

=Million Dollar Baby (2004)

=Monster's Ball (2001)

=Mysterious Skin (2004)

=North Country (2005)

=Ocean's Eleven (2001)

=On the Town (1949)

=One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

=Philadelphia (1993)

=Pillow Talk (1959)

=Pleasantville (1998)

=Poltergeist (1982)

=Psycho (1960)

=Pulp Fiction (1994)

=Raising Arizona (1987)

=Ray (2004)

=Rosemary's Baby (1968)

=Saturday Night Fever (1977)

= Se7en (1995)

=Secretary (2002)

=Sin City (2005)

=Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

=Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

=Some Like It Hot (1959)

=Splendor in the Grass (1961)

=Stand by Me (1986)

=Strictly Ballroom (1992)

=Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

=Sunset Blvd. (1950)

=Taxi Driver (1976)

=Tea and Sympathy (1956)

=The Breakfast Club (1985)

=The Color Purple (1985)

=The Dark Knight (2008)

=The Departed (2006)

=The Exorcist (1973)

=The Iron Giant (1999)

= The Lion King (1994)

=The Piano (1993)

=The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

=The Seven Year Itch (1955)

=The Shining (1980)

=The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

=The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

=The Sixth Sense (1999)

=The Sound of Music (1965)

=The Wizard of Oz (1939)

=Thelma & Louise (1991)

=Titanic (1997)

=Toy Story (1995)

=Transamerica (2005)

=Walk the Line (2005)

=WALL·E (2008)

=When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

=What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

=Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

=X-Men (2000)

=Zombieland (2009)



Hope that helps

Answer 4

Independent movies that were made under conditions similar to what you, as a filmmaker, will be facing. That pretty much means dvds, which is good as you can watch the director's commentary for ideas and advice.



One movie that was good is Wendy and Lucy. It's about a girl with very little money who is trying to get across country for a job when her car breaks down and her dog (her only friend) is lost.

Answer 5

Try movies by: Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg, John Huston, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Ford, and even Clint Eastwood.

Answer 6

Pulp Fiction. Jackie Brown. A couple of my favorites.