American Films That Give Me Something To Think About !!
by JoeKulik | created - 29 May 2015 | updated - 16 Jul 2020 | Public"Film will only become an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper." - Jean Cocteau
"Every poem is a coat of arms. It must be deciphered." - Jean Cocteau
American films that "feed my head" in some way. This list isn't in any order of preference or quality. I just add "thought provoking" American films as they come to mind.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Fear and Desire (1952)
Not Rated | 62 min | Drama, Thriller, War
Four soldiers trapped behind enemy lines must confront their fears and desires.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Coit
Votes: 13,735
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Fandor.com.
2. Lolita (1962)
Not Rated | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Gary Cockrell
Votes: 108,857 | Gross: $9.25M
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video.
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, War
An unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 518,591 | Gross: $0.28M
screenplay: Stanley Kubrick et al.
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video.
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 720,140 | Gross: $56.95M
screenplay: Stanley Kubrick et al.
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video.
5. Get Low (2009)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Mystery
A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.
Director: Aaron Schneider | Stars: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black
Votes: 24,037 | Gross: $9.18M
Robert Duvall. Bill Murray. Sissy Sapcek.
After 30 years in seclusion in the wilderness, a hermit contacts the undertaker at his nearby hometown to arrange conducting a funeral for himself while he's still alive & wants to invite the whole town to attend.
6. The Crossing Guard (1995)
R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller
Freddy Gale is a seedy jeweller who has sworn to kill the drunk driver who killed his little girl.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston, Robin Wright
Votes: 14,467 | Gross: $0.83M
Jack Nicholson. David Morse. Anjelica Huston.
Director & Writer: Sean Penn.
Nicholson delivers a brilliant portrayal of a man whose obsession with revenge is destroying his life & driving him to the brink of insanity.
7. Finding Forrester (2000)
PG-13 | 136 min | Drama
Forrester, the author of a famous book, decides to help Jamal, a 16-year-old student, discover his writing prowess by mentoring him and enrolling him into a prestigious private school.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin
Votes: 89,606 | Gross: $66.40M
Sean Connery. Rob Brown.
The unlikely alliance between an eccentric & reclusive old White man & a poor, disadvantaged Black teenager proves, in the end, to benefit both of them.
8. The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
Not Rated | 86 min | Adventure, Drama
An old Cuban fisherman's dry spell is broken when he hooks a gigantic fish that drags him out to sea.
Directors: John Sturges, Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Felipe Pazos, Harry Bellaver, Richard Alameda
Votes: 8,646
Spencer Tracy.
Ernest Hemingway's novel.
A classic portrayal of Man's never ending struggle with Nature.
9. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 866,051 | Gross: $4.36M
Henry Fonda & a great ensemble supporting cast.
On a jury of 12 White men, only one man has the guts to stand up & argue that they can not just throw away a young man's life with a hasty decision, even if he is a poor, lower class Latino.
10. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Votes: 743,135 | Gross: $132.09M
Bradley Cooper. Jennifer Lawrence. Robert De Niro.
A mentally ill man & a mentally ill woman find sanity & romance while practicing as a couple for a ballroom dance competition.
11. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,069,420 | Gross: $138.43M
Matt Damon. Robin Williams. Ben Affleck. Minnie Driver.
A brilliant & inspiring story of how a young man's low self image was keeping from realizing his true potential.
12. Ethan Frome (1992)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Romance
A new pastor arrives in a stark Vermont village and is intrigued by crippled, misshapen Ethan Frome living on an isolated, hardscrabble farm with his sickly wife Zeena.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette, Gil Rood, Tate Donovan
Votes: 2,283 | Gross: $0.30M
Liam Neeson. Patricia Arquette.
Although set in the 1800's, this film gives an excellent portrayal of life in a small town, replete with narrowed minded, judgmental "small town thinking", & where everybody knows everybody else's business, & that is still very much alive & well in small town America even today.
13. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A delusional young man strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, R.D. Reid
Votes: 155,522 | Gross: $5.97M
Ryan Gosling. Emily Mortimer.
Delusional, but lovable, & good natured small town guy buys an inflatable sex doll on the Internet & tells his family & everyone else in town that he loves her & that he's going to marry her & he's sincere about it. Everybody in town goes overboard to go along with him because they've known him & loved him his whole life.
14. East of Eden (1955)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Two brothers in 1910s California struggle to maintain their strict, Bible-toting father's favor as an old secret about their long-absent mother comes to light.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Burl Ives
Votes: 48,840
James Dean,
James Dean gives a brilliant portrayal of the classic dilemma of a boy who just can't get his father's approval & validation, no matter how hard he tries.
15. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Approved | 129 min | Crime, Drama
Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy
Votes: 333,061
Gregory Peck. Harper Lee's novel.
16. Amigo (2010)
R | 124 min | Drama, War
A fictional account of events during the Philippine-American War.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt, Arthur Acuña
Votes: 666 | Gross: $0.18M
director: John Sayles.
17. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama
A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus
Votes: 98,011
James Dean.
A classic portrayal of the disintegration of the nuclear family in Modern America.
18. Mad City (1997)
PG-13 | 115 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A distraught man inadvertently takes a group of children hostage in a museum while a hungry, seasoned reporter tries to resurrect his career covering the story.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Alda, Mia Kirshner
Votes: 21,110 | Gross: $10.56M
John Travolta. Dustin Hoffman.
19. Our Idiot Brother (2011)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A comedy centered on an idealist who barges into the lives of his three sisters.
Director: Jesse Peretz | Stars: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Nick Sullivan
Votes: 90,592 | Gross: $24.81M
Paul Rudd.
The protagonist is a free thinking, free loving guy with a very unconventional life style. His three sisters all have alternative lifestyles that are only a little more "normal" than his. Together, they kick the "Establishment" dogma in the teeth that preaches that true happiness lies only in living "The American Dream".
20. Giant (1956)
G | 201 min | Drama, Western
Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker
Votes: 42,277
James Dean. Rock Hudson. Elizabeth Taylor.
James Dean delivers a brilliant portrayal of a character that goes through a more radical transformation of personality than I have seen in any other film.
21. Marvin's Room (1996)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama
After seventeen years, a fiercely independent woman and her rebellious son return home and together they turn the family she left behind upside down.
Director: Jerry Zaks | Stars: Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro
Votes: 30,031 | Gross: $12.78M
Meryl Streep. Leonardo Di'Caprio. Diane Keaton. Robert De Niro.
22. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold
Votes: 121,445 | Gross: $9.60M
James Stewart
A classic portrayal of the well worn tale of the young, naïve idealist who takes on the corrupt Establishment.
23. As I Lay Dying (2013)
R | 110 min | Drama
Based on the classic novel by William Faulkner, first published in 1930, "As I Lay Dying" is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family's quest to honor her last wish to be buried in the nearby town of Jefferson.
Director: James Franco | Stars: James Franco, Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parrack, Ahna O'Reilly
Votes: 4,198 | Gross: $0.02M
James Franco.
24. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,485
James Stewart. Donna Reed.
25. Dead Man Walking (1995)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
Director: Tim Robbins | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry
Votes: 101,831 | Gross: $39.39M
Susan Sarandon. Sean Penn.
26. The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Joe Morton, Daryl Edwards, Rosanna Carter, Ray Ramirez
Votes: 6,572 | Gross: $3.70M
director: John Sayles
27. Marty (1955)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli
Votes: 27,045
Ernest Borgnine
28. The Believer (2001)
R | 98 min | Drama
A young Jewish man develops a fiercely anti-Semitic philosophy. Based on the factual story of a K.K.K. member in the 1960s who was revealed to be Jewish by a New York Times reporter.
Director: Henry Bean | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Peter Meadows, Garret Dillahunt
Votes: 41,151 | Gross: $0.41M
Ryan Gosling.
A young man from a devout Orthodox Jewish family slowly converts to being a member of an ant-Semitic, neo-Nazi gang.
29. Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)
R | 104 min | Drama
Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Adam LeFevre, Maggie Cousineau
Votes: 2,230 | Gross: $2.00M
director: John Sayles
30. The Retrieval (2013)
R | 92 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
On the outskirts of the U.S. Civil War, a boy is sent north by his bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man.
Director: Chris Eska | Stars: Ashton Sanders, Tishuan Scott, Keston John, Bill Oberst Jr.
Votes: 2,738 | Gross: $0.05M
Reveals that slavery is just not a physical & a social phenomenon, but slavery has a psychological dimension as well. Protagonist is a Black teenager during the Civil War who is free both physically & socially, but whose mind is still in chains.
31. Sleepers (1996)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric
Votes: 237,685 | Gross: $49.10M
Brad Pitt. Kevin Bacon. Robert De Niro.
An innovative, creative, & well thought out variation of the age old revenge story.
32. Lianna (1983)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A happily married woman comes to realize herself of being a repressed lesbian after she has an affair with a female college professor, and then tries to come to terms with her newfound lifestyle.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries, Jo Henderson
Votes: 1,824 | Gross: $1.50M
director: John Sayles
33. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
PG-13 | 136 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, BD Wong, Mako
Votes: 156,064 | Gross: $37.96M
Brad Pitt.
34. Little Odessa (1994)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
A cold-blooded hitman visits his estranged Russian immigrant family in Brooklyn.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly, Vanessa Redgrave
Votes: 9,152 | Gross: $1.10M
Tim Roth.
35. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
PG | 122 min | Drama
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Votes: 114,418 | Gross: $8.00M
Marlon Brando. Vivian Leigh. Karl Malden. Tennessee William's play.
36. Passion Fish (1992)
R | 135 min | Drama
After an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett, Lenore Banks
Votes: 6,093 | Gross: $5.41M
director: John Sayles
37. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 165,046 | Gross: $9.60M
Marlon Brando. Karl Malden. Lee J Cobb.
38. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
PG | 105 min | Drama
After his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Votes: 154,817 | Gross: $106.26M
Dustin Hoffman. Meryl Streep.
39. Brother's Shadow (2006)
91 min | Drama
Jake Groden is the black sheep of his family. Ankle deep in fish guts, he serves out his parole in Alaska. Then, after a decade of self-imposed exile, he is forced to return to his Brooklyn... See full summary »
Director: Todd S. Yellin | Stars: Scott Cohen, Katie Danziger, Lisa Emery, Ato Essandoh
Votes: 165
Scott Cohen. Judd Hirsch.
40. Last Tango in Paris (1972)
NC-17 | 129 min | Drama, Romance
A young Parisian woman meets a middle-aged American businessman who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maria Michi, Giovanna Galletti
Votes: 58,399 | Gross: $36.14M
Marlon Brando.
41. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Brick is an alcoholic ex-football player who drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife. A reunion with his terminal father jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson
Votes: 53,446 | Gross: $17.57M
Paul Newman. Elizabeth Taylor. Burl Ives. Tennessee William's play.
42. The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles
Votes: 12,421
Paul Newman. Joanne Woodward. Orson Welles.
43. The Young Philadelphians (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Drama
A promising lawyer tries to handle his social and professional problems while climbing the ranks in Philadelphia.
Director: Vincent Sherman | Stars: Paul Newman, Barbara Rush, Alexis Smith, Brian Keith
Votes: 4,275
Paul Newman.
44. The Hustler (1961)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, Sport
An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott
Votes: 86,825 | Gross: $8.28M
Paul Newman. Jackie Gleason.
45. The Sting (1973)
PG | 129 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning
Votes: 280,073 | Gross: $159.60M
Paul Newman. Robert Redford.
46. The Deer Hunter (1978)
R | 183 min | Drama, War
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage
Votes: 362,466 | Gross: $48.98M
Robert De Niro. Christopher Walken. Meryl Streep.
47. Silver City (2004)
R | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
The discovery of a corpse threatens to unravel a bumbling local politician's campaign for governor of Colorado.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, Thora Birch, Maria Bello, Billy Zane
Votes: 4,229 | Gross: $1.02M
director: John Sayles
48. Reign Over Me (2007)
R | 124 min | Drama
A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.
Director: Mike Binder | Stars: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler
Votes: 99,628 | Gross: $19.66M
Adam Sandler. Don Cheadle.
49. We're No Angels (1989)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Crime
Two fugitives pass themselves off as priests in the hope of evading capture and passing the police blockade at the border with Canada.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore, Hoyt Axton
Votes: 24,684 | Gross: $10.56M
Robert De Niro. Sean Penn. Demi Moore.
A revealing & even cynical commentary about how most people can be fooled just by a person's outward appearance.
50. World's Greatest Dad (I) (2009)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
When his son's body is found in a humiliating accident, a lonely high school teacher inadvertently attracts an overwhelming amount of community and media attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait | Stars: Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, Morgan Murphy, Naomi Glick
Votes: 40,782 | Gross: $0.22M
Robin Williams.
51. Ordinary People (1980)
R | 124 min | Drama
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Votes: 56,720 | Gross: $54.80M
Donald Sutherland. Mary Tyler Moore.
Judd Hirsch. Timothy Hutton.
Director: Robert Redford.
52. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Votes: 91,014 | Gross: $63.86M
Julia Roberts.
53. Elsa & Fred (2014)
PG-13 | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A withdrawn senior experiences life in new ways when he begins spending time with the free-spirited woman who lives across the hall.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Marcia Gay Harden, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 3,735
Shirley Mac Laine. Christopher Plummer.
An elderly woman & an elderly man discover that it's never too late to find romance again & thereby to find a new reason to live.
54. Least Among Saints (2012)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama
A haunted soldier just back from war and a boy who has never known peace in his home life embark on a life-changing journey as they become unlikely friends -- and one another's last shot at redemption.
Director: Martin Papazian | Stars: Martin Papazian, Tristan Lake Leabu, Laura San Giacomo, Azura Skye
Votes: 624 | Gross: $0.03M
Writer & Director & Lead Actor: Martin Papazian.
An army veteran whose PTSD is so severe that his civilian life is crumbling finds meaning & new purpose in his life by going on a road trip with a newly orphaned adolescent to find the boy's father, without really knowing where the father is or even if he exists. The resultant bonding between the troubled veteran & the orphan boy in the end saves both of them.
55. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,609 | Gross: $106.59M
Morgan Freeman. Jessica Tandy. Dan Aykroyd.
56. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,073,119 | Gross: $112.00M
Jack Nicholson. Ken Kesey's novel.
57. All About Eve (1950)
Passed | 138 min | Drama
A seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm
Votes: 138,841 | Gross: $0.01M
Bette Davis. Anne Baxter. George Sanders.
58. The Odd Couple (1968)
Passed | 105 min | Comedy
A New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.
Director: Gene Saks | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman
Votes: 37,475 | Gross: $44.53M
Jack Lemmon. Walter Matthau. Neil Simon's play.
59. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
Director: Carl Franklin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle
Votes: 24,280 | Gross: $16.03M
Denzel Washington. Don Cheadle.
Like a noir film, but with African American characters.
60. The Producers (1967)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Music
A stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars
Votes: 59,918 | Gross: $0.11M
Zero Mostel. Gene Wilder. Writer & Director: Mel Brooks.
61. Pressure Point (1962)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
A black prison psychiatrist is assigned the distasteful task of helping a paranoid American Nazi charged with sedition.
Director: Hubert Cornfield | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, Peter Falk, Carl Benton Reid
Votes: 2,035
Sidney Poitier. Bobby Darin.
62. The Wings of the Dove (1997)
R | 102 min | Drama, Romance
An impoverished woman who has been forced to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and her journalist lover, befriends an American heiress. When she discovers the heiress is attracted to her own lover and is dying, she sees a chance to have both the privileged life she cannot give up and the lover she cannot live without.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alex Jennings, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 13,062 | Gross: $13.72M
63. A Good Marriage (2014)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After 25 years of a good marriage, what will Darcy do once she discovers her husband's sinister secret?
Director: Peter Askin | Stars: Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Stephen Lang, Cara Buono
Votes: 12,749
Joan Allen. Anthony LaPaglia.
Stephen King's short story.
A thought provoking film that makes you ask yourself exactly how well you can really know someone, even after 25 years of marriage.
64. Stonehearst Asylum (2014)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
An Oxford graduate takes up a job in a mental asylum, only to discover that the "revolutionary" new treatments are inhumane, and that there is more going on than meets the eye.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson
Votes: 60,408
Ben Kingsley. Michael Caine.
Set in an 19th Century insane asylum, this film will keep you questioning the "reality" of what's happening on the screen right to the very end. Not a Horror movie, but suspenseful & thrilling nonetheless with lots of bizarre characters
65. Digging to China (1997)
PG | 98 min | Drama
10 y.o. Harriet's divorced mom owns and runs a motel. Harriet's an outsider and wants to leave. A woman stays there with her adult, disabled son who befriends Harriet.
Director: Timothy Hutton | Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin Bacon, Mary Stuart Masterson, Marian Seldes
Votes: 2,983 | Gross: $0.03M
Kevin Bacon.
directed by Timothy Hutton.
A poignant story about a lonely & neglected 10 year old girl who makes friends with a very intellectually challenged grown man. Being so young & naïve, she sees nothing wrong with this mentally disabled man & treats him as an equal & someone who is worthy of her friendship.
Kevin Bacon gives a brilliant performance in the difficult role of portraying a grown man with a diminished mental capacity.
66. Big Night (1996)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
New Jersey, 1950s. Two brothers run an Italian restaurant. Business is not going well as a rival Italian restaurant is out-competing them. In a final effort to save the restaurant, the brothers plan to put on an evening of incredible food.
Directors: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci | Stars: Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Marc Anthony, Larry Block
Votes: 22,843 | Gross: $11.88M
Tony Shaloub. Stanley Tucci.
Two Italian immigrant brothers struggle to survive in the restaurant business & get their piece of the American Dream.
67. The Bucket List (2007)
PG-13 | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd
Votes: 259,995 | Gross: $93.47M
68. The Bulls' Night Out (1998)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama
George Wall is a retired New York City police detective and now owner of Ruby's Bar. Once a month he gathers with his old police crew for a "Bulls' Night Out" of drinking and fellowship. ... See full summary »
Director: Lindley Farley | Stars: Shane Barbanel, Michael A. Calderone, Caesar Campbell, Gerard Catus
Votes: 16
A realistic tale of four "over the hill" retired ex-cops whose sudden desire to "clean up the streets" leads to a vigilante's worst nightmare.
69. Citizen Kane (1941)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 466,218 | Gross: $1.59M
Orson Welles.
70. The Trial (1962)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Arnoldo Foà, Jess Hahn, Billy Kearns
Votes: 24,044
71. Babo 73 (1964)
57 min | Comedy
Tribulations of a newly elected President.
Director: Robert Downey Sr. | Stars: Jim Antonio, Tom Gaines, James Greene, Taylor Mead
Votes: 423
screenplay: Robert Downey, Sr.
dir: : Robert Downey, Sr.
available at Criterion.com/Hulu.
72. A Shock to the System (1990)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
When electrocuted by the fuse box at home, Graham gets ideas concerning his nagging wife and the guy, who got Graham's promotion at the office.
Director: Jan Egleson | Stars: Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert, Swoosie Kurtz
Votes: 5,860 | Gross: $3.42M
Lead actors: Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern.
A middle age corporate executive discovers that you literally DO Need to "step over the bodies" of others to make it to the top. A brilliant & bitter satire of what it takes to make it in the Corporate Business World.
available at Fandor.com
73. Wag the Dog (1997)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 88,501 | Gross: $43.02M
This film is purely fiction, but it should also be a warning to all thinking people to question EVERYTHING that they witness through the mass media.
74. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Approved | 126 min | Drama, Music
A female radio reporter turns a folk-singing drifter into a powerful media star.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau
Votes: 17,155
The Naive and Gullible people around a worthless bum, from the top of society to the bottom of society, manufacture a False Idol of out him and get disappointed in the end when he reveals that he's still a just worthless bum. None of them realize that he was creation of their own imagination. They all think that it's all HIS Fault.
Tell Your Friends