Random awesome movies
by crystal-a-crown | created - 22 Dec 2011 | updated - 22 Dec 2011 | PublicThese are some of my favorite movies. There's no particular genre I'm focusing on and I tried the order them by release year. The list ranges from classics to "so-bad-it's-good" type movies. I wrote little blurbs about some of them-- and of course, you can just click on the movie page for the info :)
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1. Nosferatu (1922)
Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder
Votes: 105,531
A silent film from 1922. This isn't necessarily the greatest movie of all time, but I love that it is the first portrayal of a Dracula-esque character in a film. F.W. Murnau could not get the rights to use Bram Stokers character so he made some changes. Sadly, the unauthorized adaptation was still so obvious that Bram Stoker's widow sued the production company some years later for copy-write infringement and won-- effectively putting them out of business. For those of you who saw Shadow of the Vampire (which wasn't so great), this is the movie it is based on.
2. Modern Times (1936)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford
Votes: 259,677 | Gross: $0.16M
I think this may have been the first Chaplin movie with any speaking in it at all. The voice comes from the big boss of a factory (who's actually supposed to be a spoof on Henry Ford). Lots of social commentary in this movie, starting from the first few seconds where a herd of sheep fades to a group of people.
3. The Great Dictator (1940)
G | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 237,511 | Gross: $0.29M
The history behind this movie is fascinating. This was the first film Chaplin ever spoke in, because he stated that he would talk if he had something to say. If you ever have a copy, watch the documentary that comes with the "Chaplin Collection" edition.
I'll never understand why this movie isn't known by more people. The ending speech is posted all over the internet, but most have never seen the whole thing. Is it because the subject matter is just too much for people? Comedy is the best medicine! When you watch this, keep it in context. He wrote it before WWII started to bring public attention to what was going on in Germany, the severity of which lots of people in the U.S. were ignorant to. It was released during the second year of the war, against the will of a lot of people... he was a gutsy guy.
4. Gaslight (1944)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Ten years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy in the 1880s to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the home rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty
Votes: 33,944
5. Inherit the Wind (1960)
Passed | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on a real-life case in 1925; two great lawyers argue the case for, and against, a Tennessee science teacher accused of the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York
Votes: 32,790
6. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Passed | 134 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Wesley Addy
Votes: 61,947 | Gross: $4.05M
It's been years since I saw this movie, and it still sticks out as a classic. You can't go wrong with Bette Davis.
7. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Not Rated | 131 min | Drama
A bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis
Votes: 79,970
8. Scrooge (1970)
G | 113 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Director: Ronald Neame | Stars: Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More
Votes: 12,586 | Gross: $3.70M
This is the best adaptation of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" I've seen. Albert Finney plays a fantastic Ebenezer Scrooge. The music and choreography are also pretty great. A lot of the songs are funny, but perfectly fit in with the story, one of my favorites is "I Hate People."
9. The Amityville Horror (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror
Newlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
Votes: 44,624 | Gross: $86.43M
This is one of the few horror movies that genuinely scared me. I'm not one to be scared of a lot of horror where there's gobs of outlandish stuff -- like monsters and creatures or tons of blood and gore and the like. But this is one where you almost feel like some of these things could happen to you, which makes it very creepy.
10. History of the World: Part I (1981)
R | 92 min | Comedy, History, Musical
Mel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn
Votes: 55,264 | Gross: $31.67M
11. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
G | 82 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.
Director: Don Bluth | Stars: Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, Arthur Malet
Votes: 45,218 | Gross: $10.14M
Even though it's a kids movie, I still love it.
12. Yellowbeard (1983)
PG | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After serving two decades in prison, Yellowbeard (Graham Chapman) breaks out determined to recover the treasure that he buried so long ago, alongside his son, old crew, and the British Navy.
Director: Mel Damski | Stars: Graham Chapman, Peter Boyle, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong
Votes: 8,548 | Gross: $4.30M
This movie seems to be a bit polarizing. People either love it or think it's the worst thing ever made. I think it's hilarious. Look for the bit part of David Bowie playing a shark.
13. Labyrinth (1986)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Sixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.
Director: Jim Henson | Stars: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson
Votes: 149,730 | Gross: $12.73M
14. The Princess Bride (1987)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon
Votes: 451,224 | Gross: $30.86M
15. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 791,019 | Gross: $46.36M
Dark, disturbing, and pretty fantastic. However, before I saw it I had people trying to tell me it was a comedy... it is anything but a comedy. The only funny thing about it is R. Lee Ermey and the insane things he says to the cadets. All the crazy insults he doles out were made up by him, apparently on the spot one day (while apparently being pelted with tennis balls?), and Kubrick liked them so much that he put them into the script.
16. Spaceballs (1987)
PG | 96 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A star-pilot for hire and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a princess and save Planet Druidia from the clutches of the evil Spaceballs.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman
Votes: 206,735 | Gross: $38.12M
17. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
PG | 126 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed
Votes: 56,898 | Gross: $8.08M
18. Goodfellas (1990)
R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 1,258,514 | Gross: $46.84M
19. Army of Darkness (1992)
R | 81 min | Comedy, Horror
When Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie
Votes: 194,475 | Gross: $11.50M
20. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Votes: 1,089,019 | Gross: $2.83M
21. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
PG-13 | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Musical
A spoof of Robin Hood in general, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in particular.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck
Votes: 136,963 | Gross: $35.74M
22. A Bronx Tale (1993)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama
An intense drama about a boy torn between his tough, hard-working father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss.
Director: Robert De Niro | Stars: Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato, Francis Capra
Votes: 161,365 | Gross: $17.27M
23. True Romance (1993)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer
Votes: 242,649 | Gross: $12.28M
24. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,811 | Gross: $57.60M
25. American History X (1998)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama
Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Votes: 1,187,097 | Gross: $6.72M
26. Apt Pupil (1998)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Joshua Jackson, Mickey Cottrell
Votes: 41,654 | Gross: $8.84M
Excellent. A movie about a kid who becomes obsessed with WWII and through researching Hitler's henchmen finds out his next door neighbor is a Nazi war criminal who took on a fake identity. It's a pretty intense movie with some parts that are downright eerie, but definitely worth watching. This is one of those films where you start out siding with one character, but by the end, you change your mind.
27. Boys Don't Cry (1999)
R | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
Director: Kimberly Peirce | Stars: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III
Votes: 103,332 | Gross: $11.53M
Excellent acting, very sad movie.
28. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,548
A twisted Japanese movie which starts with the Japanese economy as a disaster and students getting out of control. The adults eventually come up with the "Battle Royale" act, with the obvious purpose of killing off lots of the youth. This consists of sending groups of kids to an island and having them battle each other until only one survives-- that person is "the winner." Not necessarily a "classic," but definitely something for people who can enjoy the darker side of things.
29. The Score (2001)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An aging thief hopes to retire and live off his ill-gotten wealth with his lover when a young kid convinces him into doing one last heist that comes with a large payout.
Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett
Votes: 134,185 | Gross: $71.07M
This is one of those movies that I probably wouldn't go out and buy, but I am really glad I saw it-- if only for the ending, which is priceless. Ed Norton's character is well done-- he and Robert Deniro work well together.
30. Zoolander (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy
At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell
Votes: 292,088 | Gross: $45.17M
31. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
PG | 87 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wei Zhao, Yat-Fei Wong, Man-Tat Ng
Votes: 89,276 | Gross: $0.49M
This is a really funny, lighthearted, kung-fu comedy. It's about a guy who puts together a super powered soccer team that blends soccer and kung fu. There's lots of flying and balls being kicked so hard they turn to fire.
32. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
When residents of their nursing home start dying of dubious causes, an aged Elvis and an African-American senior who claims to be President John F. Kennedy discover that the perpetrator is an Egyptian mummy with murderous intentions.
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy, Ella Joyce
Votes: 51,518 | Gross: $2.00M
Elvis and JFK (turned into a black man) alive in a nursing home, fighting a soul munching mummy... it's totally ridiculous, but if you like Bruce Campbell, you'll like it.
33. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,295 | Gross: $11.05M
This movie is visually stunning, and very well done. It's all in Chinese but you can turn on the subtitles. Even if you don't like martial arts movies you can still get into it. There is a good plot and lot of things going on outside of the fight scenes, and even the fight scenes have enough altering that they seem like more of a fantasy.
34. March of the Penguins (2005)
G | 80 min | Documentary, Family
In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.
Director: Luc Jacquet | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Romane Bohringer, Charles Berling, Jules Sitruk
Votes: 59,966 | Gross: $77.44M
A great documentary about Emperor penguins and the difficulties they go through to raise chicks in Antarctica.
35. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 703,399 | Gross: $37.63M
The movie is fantastically beautiful, but also very sad. If you're up on your fairy tales and folklore you will notice a lot of references to stories and such.
36. Grimm Love (2006)
R | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
In Germany, as graduate student Katie Armstrong researches cannibal killer Oliver Hagen for her thesis, she becomes obsessed with her subject and ultimately plunges into a lifestyle similar to Hagen's and the thousands of people like him.
Director: Martin Weisz | Stars: Thomas Kretschmann, Keri Russell, Thomas Huber, Rainier Meissner
Votes: 3,603
This movie was a bit disturbing. It's supposed to be about a student who is obsessed with the (fairly well known) German case of a cannibal who found a willing victim online-- though the names are changed, perhaps they couldn't permission to use them. The two main actors did a great job and make it believable-- which is why it's disturbing. The only downside to it was the lead actress...
37. The Prestige (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine
Votes: 1,442,494 | Gross: $53.09M
I thought this was a really clever movie. You can guess the "big secret" about 3/4 the way through, but that didn't really kill it for me. The only sour note was Hugh Jackman, whose bad acting stuck out like a sore thumb. A little bonus for me was the portrayal of Nicola Tesla (David Bowie), who most people seem to forget about.
38. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Votes: 671,485 | Gross: $209.03M
I liked this movie a lot. Not only did it keep pretty true to the Sherlock Holmes character from the stories, but it was also well done with a great cast.
39. Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)
Not Rated | 86 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun.
Director: Jason Eisener | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Pasha Ebrahimi, Robb Wells, Brian Downey
Votes: 48,674 | Gross: $0.70M
I'm not going to call this a quality movie, and I don't think it wants to be called that either. A ridiculous, over-the-top movie with lots of blood, violence, great one-liners, and a hobo with a shotgun.
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