10 must see films

Hey i was just wondering. What are 10 must see films? They can be from any year. And forget Star Wars ive seen it obviously. I just want to get some ideas of some really solid movies to watch to build my movie knowledge in general. Anyway any suggestions would be swell!
 
And yes I did just say swell.

1. 7 Pounds
2. Fight Club
3. Clerks
4. Soylent Green
5. Crash
6. Traffic
7. Being John Malkovich
8. Shaun of the Dead
9. I Love You, Man
10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
11. Big Fish
12. Citizen Kane
13. Bucket List
14. The Illusionist
15. Pixar Short- Partly Cloudy
16. Memento
17.  Lost In Translation
18. Reservoir Dogs
19. Boondock Saints
20. From Dusk Til Dawn\
21. The Men Who Stare at Goats
22. Up in the Air
23. A  Serious Man
24. Office Space
25. Grandmas Boy
26. Tenacious D
27. Zombie Land
28. Fargo
29. Big Lebowski
30. Zoolander
31. The Burbs
32. The Burds
33. Better off Dead
34. prolly a  lot more
    

Worldwide opinion :

• The Shawshank Redemption (drama)
• The Godfather (mob drama)
• Star Wars (sci-fi)
• Lord of the Rings (epic.. stuff)
• The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (western)
• Pulp Fiction (revolutionary indie) 
• The Matrix  
• Fight Club 
• 12 Angry Men 
• Airplane! (best comedy ever) 

My 10-must-see: 

•  Clerks 
• Pulp Fiction 
• The Matrix 
• The Wicker Man (original 70s one) 
• Anchorman 
• Elizabethtown 
• The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 
• The Shawshank Redemption 
• Silent Hill 
• Lethal Weapon 2

District 9
Inglorious Bastards
Watchman
 They are the best I can think of atm

Shawshank Redemption  
Good Will Hunting
Se7en 
The Prestige
Scarface
District 9
Goodfellas
Forrest Gump
In Bruges
Inglorious Basterds
 
Would be no problem naming a ton more, it would be easier with some idea of what genre or vein you are looking for.

Once Upon a Time in the West
Unbreakable
The Godfather
The Fountain
Fight Club
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
The Killer
Moon
Oldboy
Seven Samurai

Mine: 
 
Not in any real order 

1) Jaws (Thriller/Horror, amazing cinematography, just a friggin awesome film all the way around) 

2)  Terminator 1(Thriller/Horror, scarier than the second terminator, Kyle Reese is awesome, just a great movie)
 
3)  The Matrix (Has alot of symbolism, which is the best part of the movie, but it has some of the best action scenes ever made)
 
4)   Blade Runner (Best.Cyberpunk.Ever, Plus it's got a fantastic story, great actors, and a ton of metaphors and symbolism if your into that stuff)
 
5)   Back To the Future (Comedy/Sci-Fi, Doesn't really need an explanation, see all three, one of the few trilogies that are actually all good, but the first is by far the best, the second and third just seem like incredibly different from the first movie, and IMO they expanded the universe too much, but hell, they are fun to watch and are still good movies)
 
6)   Duel (Suspense/Thriller, a good movie, last 20 minutes or so are very intense, one of Speilbergs finest)
 
7) Scarface (Drug Dealing, a great movie about achieving success and what a hollow victory it is)
 
8) Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Comedy/Detective, Jim Carrey's best movie, hands down, one of the funniest movies ever)
 
9)  Pulp Fiction   (My favorite of the Tarantino movies)
 
10) Indiana Jones trilogy (Adventure, Hell, the best adventure movie series of all time)

Forrest Gump
The Green Mile
Into the Wild
The Last Samurai 
Schindler's List

 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly 
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly        
 

Anything by the Coen Brothers :o

1. The Silence of the Lambs 
2. American Psycho 
3. The 6th Element 
4. Indiana Jones Trilogy
5. Star Wars Trilogy
6. Saving Private Ryan 
7. Forrest Gump 
8. Die hard 1,2
9. Full Metal Jacket 
10. Terminator
 
No particular order.

Speed
Point Break 
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Dumb and Dumber
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Happy Gilmore
Top Gun
Lethal Weapon
My Cousin Vinny
Mrs. Doubtfire
 
Look, I totally went against the norm here. These are movies that most people probably aren't going to mention, and they're all awesome, so do yourself a favor and watch them. By the way, if you were unaware, Top Gun IS in fact, the best movie of all time.

Dr. Strangelove: Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb,( very iconic cold-war satire)
Harold & Maude,(quirky rom-com about living life to the fullest)
Memento, (story progresses backwards in time)
The Thing (1982), (my favorite horror movie)
Band of Brothers,(favorite war movie even if it is actually an 11-hour long mini series)
Seven Samurai and/or Yojimbo,(Akira Kurosawa's masterpieces) 
Troll 2, ( fun with friends)
hope you guys check these out sometime :)

District 9 
District 9
District 9
District 9
District 9
District 9
District 9 
District 9
District 9
District 9       

" Mine: 1) Jaws (Thriller/Horror, amazing cinematography, just a friggin awesome film all the way around)  2)  Terminator 1(Thriller/Horror, scarier than the second terminator, Kyle Reese is awesome, just a great movie)  3)  The Matrix (Has alot of symbolism, which is the best part of the movie, but it has some of the best action scenes ever made)  4)   Blade Runner (Best.Cyberpunk.Ever, Plus it's got a fantastic story, great actors, and a ton of metaphors and symbolism if your into that stuff)  5)   Back To the Future (Comedy/Sci-Fi, Doesn't really need an explanation, see all three, one of the few trilogies that are actually all good, but the first is by far the best, the second and third just seem like incredibly different from the first movie, and IMO they expanded the universe too much, but hell, they are fun to watch and are still good movies)  6)   Duel (Suspense/Thriller, a good movie, last 20 minutes or so are very intense, one of Speilbergs finest)  7) Scarface (Drug Dealing, a great movie about achieving success and what a hollow victory it is)  8) Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Comedy/Detective, Jim Carrey's best movie, hands down, one of the funniest movies ever)  9) Bean (Comedy, Rowan Atkinson at his finest, hilarious movie, don't bother with the second one)  10) Indiana Jones trilogy (Adventure, Hell, the best adventure movie series of all time) "

pulp fiction  
the big lebowski 
i'll think of more tomorrow.

 9) Bean (Comedy, Rowan Atkinson at his finest, hilarious movie, don't bother with the second one) 

My 10: 
 

• Memento 
• Fight Club 
• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 
• The Big Lebowski 
• Let The Right One In 
• Bladerunner 
• Lost In Translation 
• Pan's Labyrinth 
• Children Of Men 
• The Conversation 

In no particular order:

• Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
• Dead Man
• Bronson
• Gran Torino
• God on Trial
• One Week
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• Kingdom of Heaven (Directors Cut
• The Sweet Hereafter
• Brick

• Brazil
• Children of Men
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Leon (the professional)
• The Truman show
• V for Vendetta
• The Dark Knight
• The Watchmen
• The Constant Gardener
• Zombieland
  

Airplane! Fuck yeah! Love that movie.

Children Of Men is also pretty good.

Black Hawk Down is my all-time favorite movie and book (I've also read the version on the official site). I can pretty much retell the whole story by heart. I also thought Saving Private Ryan was pretty good as well.

Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz are pretty funny too. That's all I feel like thinking of right now.

" District 9  District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9  District 9 District 9 District 9        "

Well, I'll get this out of the way and say this is a question better suited for GB's sister site, Screened.  Now, on to business.  Similar to Ahmad_Metallic, I'll give you two lists, however I'm going to divide the list between time periods because a lot of younger people don't have much knowledge or interest in seeing movies made before 1970.  Also, I am going to skip the basics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane since they can be found on any Top-10 list online.  This is not a comprehensive "must see" list, but just a few picks that will start you off in a good direction. Additionally, these picks aren't my personal favorite movies, either.  That list can be found over on Screened:  PenguinDust's Favorites
 

Early Film Greats

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
2. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
3. Arsenic and Old Lace  (1944)
4. The Third Man (1949)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
7. My Fair Lady (1964)
8. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
9. The Searchers (1956)
10. On the Waterfront (1954)
    

Recent Film Greats

1. All The President's Men  (1976)
2. The Conversation (1974)
3. Chinatown (1974)
4. The Last Emperor (1987)
5. Manhattan (1979)
   
6. Do The Right Thing  (1989)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest  (1975)
8. Raging Bull (1980)
9. American Graffiti (1973)
10. Schindler's List (1993)
    

" @lilman1101 said:

" District 9  District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9  District 9 District 9 District 9        "

Til this day i long to have this question answered:  Why do District 9 fans think its so great?  You sir, yes you. Tell me why you typed D9 10 times plz :) "

Fight Club, Se7en, Blade Runner, Up.

The Great Mouse Detective 
Shawshank Redemption  
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang 
Dr. Strangelove 
Akira 
Braveheart 
Die Hard 
Blazing Saddles 
They Live 
The Thing 
 
Tried to avoid ones that I had seen mentioned already. Some couldn't be helped. 

Just 10 random ones from my netflix 5 rated movies. I'll try to list ones that haven't already been said.
 
American History X 
Blood Diamond 
Boondock Saints 
The Dark Knight 
The Departed 
Fight Club 
The Hurt Locker 
Gone Baby Gone 
The Prestige 
The Animatrix

Moon - a Sci-fi movie, its easily one of the best.

I'll give a few of my favourites:
 
Heat
Carlito's Way
Blade Runner
Gone Baby Gone
Ghost in the Shell
The Prestige

" @lilman1101 said:

" District 9  District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9 District 9  District 9 District 9 District 9        "

Til this day i long to have this question answered:  Why do District 9 fans think its so great?  You sir, yes you. Tell me why you typed D9 10 times plz :) "

" Shawshank Redemption   Good Will HuntingSe7en  The PrestigeScarface District 9Goodfellas Forrest Gump In Bruges Inglorious Basterds  Would be no problem naming a ton more, it would be easier with some idea of what genre or vein you are looking for. "

Little Big Man is a must see if you can manage to find it.  It's easily my favorite Dustin Hoffman film and a great frank look at western era america and it's conflicts with the native americans. It's a really great comparison piece to a spaghetti western like The Good the Bad and the Ugly because of the difference of perspective on the same setting. If you watch them back to back you're guaranteed an afternoon of awesome cinema.

Off the top of my head (mainly films that haven't been mentioned)
 
1. Dead Man's Shoes
2. This Is England
3. Little Miss Sunshine
4. Requiem for a Dream
5. Snatch
6. Batoru rowaiaru (Battle Royale)
7. Boksuneun naui geot (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance)
8. Donnio Darko
9.  Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In)
10. Napoleon Dynamite
 
Oh shi-
11. Stranger Than Fiction
12. The Princess Bride
13. Fantastic Mr. Fox
14. In Bruges

Gone Baby Gone

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Watchmen
3. O Brother, Where Art Though
4. Anchorman
5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
6. Clerks, and Clerks 2
7. Gangs of New York
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Good Will Hunting
10. My Cousin Vinny

1. From the Earth to the Moon
2. Band of Brothers
3. John Adams
4. Canada Russia '72
5. The Arrow

Forrest Gump 
Saving Private Ryan  
Shawshank Redemption   
LOTR - Fellowship (for when Sam follows Frodo into the water when he can't swim.... oh Sam) 
Batman and Robin (My favorite so bad it's good movie)  
I am Legend (my favorite zombie movie) 
American Beauty 

Shouldn't this be taking place on screened?

These are not ten movies, but thirteen, and they're not necessarily my top thirteen movies, as I'm sure there are a couple I'd immediately replace with other movies I can't remember at the moment, but anyway... I strongly recommend them:

Pan's Labyrinth
Let he Right One In
Fearless
Happy Times
Leon
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Pulp Fiction
Kung Fu Hustle
The Dark Knight
Cloverfield
Wall-E
Spirited Away
300 (Yes, you read that right. 300 does not have a riveting story. It does not have a message. It does not have deep, multifaceted characters, or clever humour, or any of those other things people of refined taste require from their movies. What it does have, is two hours of entertainment in its most pure, visceral and satisfying form. And it's beautiful.)

I'd recommend The Matrix, District 9, The Big Lebowski, Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and Back to the Future among others.

Street Fighter (1994) - because JCVD has an awesome blue hat.  If you are looking for anything else you will be disappointed.
Purple Rain (1984) - have you ever purified yourself in the waters of Lake Minetunka?  No?  Well fuck your shit!
Predator 2 (1990) - Gary Busey appears after the opening scene.  It goes downhill from there, yet it is a glorious moment.
Slumdog Millionaire (2009) - not at all a bog of predictable and patronising shit.
Boss N****r (1975) - 70s blaxploitation flick.  In all seriousness it's one of the best there is.
Mortal Kombat (1995) - just 'cause

These are Guy Richie films, you'll like them if you're into clever British writing:
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
Revolver (Not for everyone but one of my favorite movies of all time)
RocknRolla  

Other than that:
Gladiator
Kingdom of Heaven  
Sunshine (2007 by Danny Boyle)
28 Days Later
The Mist
Lord of War (If you don't mind Nicolas Cage)

"300 (Yes, you read that right. 300 does not have a riveting story. It does not have a message. It does not have deep, multifaceted characters, or clever humour, or any of those other things people of refined taste require from their movies. What it does have, is two hours of entertainment in its most pure, visceral and satisfying form. And it's beautiful.) "

• Matrix 
• Blade Runner 
• I Love You Man
• American Gangster 
• Godfather
• Se7en
• Pineapple Express 
• Big 
• Any Bourne Film 
• Star Wars III (yep I went there) 

A bunch of unique ones definitely worth a look:
 
Sin City (am a fan of film noir)
Fearless (be sure to watch it in its native language!)
The Truman Show
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Cell (the artistry of the scenes is brilliant)
 
Will add to this if I can think of any others

City of Men (Just cinematic Genius)
City of God (Soooo good, lots of great characters and cinematography)
UP (Just plain awesome)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Editing and cinematography is amazing)
Smokin' Aces (Great action movie with lots of great actors)
The Road ( Probably one of the best movies I've seen period. Viggo's best role)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Hilarious stop motion animation)
Jay and Silent Bob: Strike Back (Just hilarious with tons of big stars)
Time Bandits (Super funny, with midgets!)
Dead Snow (Nazi Zombies, pretty damn good, one of the best zombie films in a long time)

I like the lists you guys made, good choices and I love seeing mafia movies like The Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Scarface, Ronin, Heat, Casino, etc.

" Shouldn't this be taking place on screened? "