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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1 new
Le voyage dans la lune
1902 — a.k.a. A Trip to the Moon, in 14 top lists Check -
2 new
The Great Train Robbery
1903, in 12 top lists Check -
3 new
The Musketeers of Pig Alley
1912, in 8 top lists Check -
4 new
Cabiria
1914, in 12 top lists Check -
5 new
Les vampires
1915, in 14 top lists Check -
6 new
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916, in 24 top lists Check -
7 new
The Birth of a Nation
1915, in 21 top lists Check -
8 new
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
1919 — a.k.a. Broken Blossoms, in 13 top lists Check -
9 new
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
1920 — a.k.a. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, in 30 top lists Check -
10 new
The Kid
1921, in 17 top lists Check -
11 new
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
1922 — a.k.a. Nosferatu, in 28 top lists Check -
12 new
The Gold Rush
1925, in 29 top lists Check -
13 new
Metropolis
1927, in 36 top lists Check -
14 new
7th Heaven
1927, in 11 top lists Check -
15 new
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1927 — a.k.a. Sunrise, in 36 top lists Check -
16 new
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930, in 19 top lists Check -
17 new
M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
1931 — a.k.a. M, in 35 top lists Check -
18 new
42nd Street
1933, in 12 top lists Check -
19 new
It Happened One Night
1934, in 29 top lists Check -
20 new
The Scarlet Empress
1934, in 12 top lists Check -
21 new
The Wizard of Oz
1939, in 37 top lists Check -
22 new
Gone with the Wind
1939, in 31 top lists Check -
23 new
Rebecca
1940, in 23 top lists Check -
24 new
The Great Dictator
1940, in 25 top lists Check -
25 new
His Girl Friday
1940, in 21 top lists Check -
26 new
The Maltese Falcon
1941, in 26 top lists Check -
27 new
Citizen Kane
1941, in 39 top lists Check -
28 new
Cat People
1942, in 15 top lists Check -
29 new
Casablanca
1942, in 39 top lists Check -
30 new
Shadow of a Doubt
1943, in 15 top lists Check -
31 new
Meet Me in St. Louis
1944, in 15 top lists Check -
32 new
Double Indemnity
1944, in 37 top lists Check -
33 new
It's a Wonderful Life
1946, in 33 top lists Check -
34 new
The Big Sleep
1946, in 22 top lists Check -
35 new
The Red Shoes
1948, in 27 top lists Check -
36 new
The Third Man
1949, in 37 top lists Check -
37 new
Sunset Blvd.
1950 — a.k.a. Sunset Boulevard, in 35 top lists Check -
38 new
The Asphalt Jungle
1950, in 15 top lists Check -
39 new
A Streetcar Named Desire
1951, in 15 top lists Check -
40 new
Strangers on a Train
1951, in 17 top lists Check -
41 new
La strada
1954, in 20 top lists Check -
42 new
A Star Is Born
1954, in 13 top lists Check -
43 new
Singin' in the Rain
1952, in 37 top lists Check -
44 new
Ikiru
1952, in 25 top lists Check -
45 new
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953, in 11 top lists Check -
46 new
Rear Window
1954, in 31 top lists Check -
47 new
Shichinin no samurai
1954 — a.k.a. Seven Samurai, in 36 top lists Check -
48 new
Rebel Without a Cause
1955, in 16 top lists Check -
49 new
The Seven Year Itch
1955, in 3 top lists Check -
50 new
Le notti di Cabiria
1957 — a.k.a. Nights of Cabiria, in 19 top lists Check
Last updated on Apr 6, 2012;