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Must Watch Classic Movies

by truemonta • Created 13 years ago • Modified 4 months ago
A versatile list of entertaining, inspiring, feel good and emotional modern movies. I have attempted to include various genre of movies into the list.

The title and movies are very much subjective.

Recommendations and suggestions are always welcome.
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  • 230 titles
  • Downfall (2004)

    1. Downfall

    20042h 36mR82Metascore
    8.2 (388K)
    Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
    DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich Matthes
  • Johnny Depp in Public Enemies (2009)

    2. Public Enemies

    20092h 20mR70Metascore
    6.9 (328K)
    The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.
    DirectorMichael MannStarsChristian BaleJohnny DeppChristian Stolte
  • Will Smith, Brian Howe, Thandiwe Newton, and Jaden Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

    3. The Pursuit of Happyness

    20061h 57mPG-1364Metascore
    8.0 (591K)
    A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
    DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsWill SmithThandiwe NewtonJaden Smith
  • Jamie Foxx in Ray (2004)

    4. Ray

    20042h 32mPG-1373Metascore
    7.7 (161K)
    The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
    DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry Washington
  • Glory Road (2006)

    5. Glory Road

    20061h 58mPG58Metascore
    7.2 (50K)
    In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
    DirectorJames GartnerStarsJosh LucasDerek LukeAustin Nichols
  • Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation (2003)

    6. Lost in Translation

    20031h 42mR91Metascore
    7.7 (511K)
    A fading movie star falls for a lonely young woman in Tokyo.
    DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsBill MurrayScarlett JohanssonGiovanni Ribisi
  • Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

    7. 3:10 to Yuma

    20072h 2mR76Metascore
    7.6 (343K)
    A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
    DirectorJames MangoldStarsRussell CroweChristian BaleBen Foster
  • Tom Hanks and Tyler Hoechlin in Road to Perdition (2002)

    8. Road to Perdition

    20021h 57mR72Metascore
    7.7 (293K)
    A mob enforcer's son in 1930s Illinois witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.
    DirectorSam MendesStarsTom HanksTyler HoechlinPaul Newman
  • Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can (2002)

    9. Catch Me If You Can

    20022h 21mPG-1375Metascore
    8.1 (1.2M)
    Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
    DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HanksChristopher Walken
  • Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972)

    10. The Godfather

    19722h 55mR100Metascore
    9.2 (2.1M)
    The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
    DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames Caan
  • Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II (1974)

    11. The Godfather Part II

    19743h 22mR90Metascore
    9.0 (1.4M)
    The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
    DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert Duvall
  • Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Sofia Coppola, and Talia Shire in The Godfather Part III (1990)

    12. The Godfather Part III

    19902h 42mR60Metascore
    7.6 (439K)
    Follows Michael Corleone, now in his 60s, as he seeks to free his family from crime and find a suitable successor to his empire.
    DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoDiane KeatonAndy Garcia
  • Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network (2010)

    13. The Social Network

    20102hPG-1395Metascore
    7.8 (790K)
    As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
    DirectorDavid FincherStarsJesse EisenbergAndrew GarfieldJustin Timberlake
  • Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

    14. The Shawshank Redemption

    19942h 22mR82Metascore
    9.3 (3M)
    A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.
    DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob Gunton
  • Michael Cera and Elliot Page in Juno (2007)

    15. Juno

    20071h 36mPG-1381Metascore
    7.4 (562K)
    Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
    DirectorJason ReitmanStarsElliot PageMichael CeraJennifer Garner
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen in 50/50 (2011)

    16. 50/50

    20111h 40mR72Metascore
    7.6 (348K)
    Inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
    DirectorJonathan LevineStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittSeth RogenAnna Kendrick
  • Movie Poster

    17. The Green Mile

    19993h 9mR61Metascore
    8.6 (1.5M)
    A death row guard learns that a gentle giant in his charge possesses a mysterious gift.
    DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTom HanksMichael Clarke DuncanDavid Morse
  • Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise (1995)

    18. Before Sunrise

    19951h 41mR79Metascore
    8.1 (359K)
    A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
    DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyAndrea Eckert
  • Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves (1990)

    19. Dances with Wolves

    19903h 1mPG-1372Metascore
    8.0 (301K)
    A lieutenant assigned to a remote Civil War outpost starts questioning his purpose after making contact with a neighboring Sioux settlement.
    DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham Greene
  • Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw in Bright Star (2009)

    20. Bright Star

    20091h 59mPG81Metascore
    6.9 (29K)
    Nineteenth-century English poet, John Keats and his dressmaking neighbor, Fanny Brawne, have total disregard for each other. An unlikely romance develops and they fall deeply in love near the end of his life.
    DirectorJane CampionStarsAbbie CornishBen WhishawPaul Schneider
  • George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (2009)

    21. Up in the Air

    20091h 49mR83Metascore
    7.4 (355K)
    Ryan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.
    DirectorJason ReitmanStarsGeorge ClooneyVera FarmigaAnna Kendrick
  • Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild (2007)

    22. Into the Wild

    20072h 28mR73Metascore
    8.0 (679K)
    After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
    DirectorSean PennStarsEmile HirschVince VaughnCatherine Keener
  • Brad Pitt, Sean Bean, Saffron Burrows, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger, and Garrett Hedlund in Troy (2004)

    23. Troy

    20042h 43mR56Metascore
    7.3 (593K)
    An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces.
    DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBrad PittEric BanaOrlando Bloom
  • Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

    24. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

    20081h 34mPG-1355Metascore
    7.7 (262K)
    Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
    DirectorMark HermanStarsAsa ButterfieldDavid ThewlisRupert Friend
  • Isabelle Fuhrman in Orphan (2009)

    25. Orphan

    20092h 3mR42Metascore
    7.0 (267K)
    A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
    DirectorJaume Collet-SerraStarsVera FarmigaPeter SarsgaardIsabelle Fuhrman

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