The following films are works of art the authors consider required viewing when pursuing a career in the movie industry. This is not meant as a definitive list of the best movies ever made–they’re almost all American, for one thing, and any best-of list is bound to have other differences–but rather a starting out list of essentials for illustrating the craft of filmmaking. Many of them are referred to throughout Filmmaking in Action. The accompanying links will take you to a site outside this LaunchPad: the AFI and IMDB listings for these films.
12 Years a Slave |
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2001: A Space Odyssey |
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All About Eve |
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Apocalypse Now |
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Avatar |
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Bonnie and Clyde |
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Brokeback Mountain |
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Casablanca |
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Chicago |
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Chinatown |
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Citizen Kane |
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District 9 |
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Do the Right Thing |
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Duck Soup |
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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial |
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Forrest Gump |
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The Godfather |
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The Godfather Part II |
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Goodfellas |
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High Noon |
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Hugo |
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The Hurt Locker |
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Inception |
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King Kong |
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Life of Pi |
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
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Malcolm X |
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Modern Times |
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North by Northwest |
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Precious |
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Psycho |
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Pulp Fiction |
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Raiders of the Lost Ark |
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Rear Window |
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Schindler’s List |
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Shane |
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The Silence of the Lambs |
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Singin’ in the Rain |
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Slumdog Millionaire |
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Some Like It Hot |
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Star Wars |
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Taxi Driver |
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There Will Be Blood |
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The Third Man |
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To Kill a Mockingbird |
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Unforgiven |
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Vertigo |
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Winter’s Bone |
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The Wizard of Oz |