Part 5: 50 Films You Should See, Maybe, If You Want To

[You can view the rest of this list by choosing a section at the bottom of this page.]

10. Fight Club
I suspect Fight Club may be the most contentious choice on our list, and maybe rightly so. The film itself is absolutely divisive, from objections to its explicit content to its merits as an artistically satisfying film. I feel with time it will only grow more revered and studied, and it will eventually be ranked higher and higher on self-indulgent film lists, like this one. It may just be a generational thing, like the Graduate. Let’s face it – the film society in general, especially the critical community, is full of old people who will never understand the film. That may explain why these film lists need constant revision. Some of these old people die. Nor could they, because it was never intended for them. Quite the opposite, in fact. I would say Fight Club is really, in its blackest heart of hearts, a film about love, covered in scar tissue and blood and prescription medication.
- Jesse Balzer

Surprise, your favorite soap producing maniac has made the top ten. I don’t expect many people will share our interest in this film quite like me and Jesse. It just seemed to fit and I honestly couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to push it any farther down the list. Just wait and see, with time you’ll find that the film is completely appropriate at any point in this list (as long as it doesn’t exceed its current position.) Forget that the film became a cult hit and has grown into somewhat of a joke. When the credit buildings explode and the Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?” comes on, I can’t help but shiver with pure bliss. It’s a moment you only encounter on occasion.
- Daniel Frohlich

9. Pulp Fiction
Small talk is usually left out of films, but with Pulp Fiction puts it in the spotlight. I don’t think some people have essentially figured out Quentin Tarantino’s reasoning yet. I have my own theory, though. Essentially the idea that Tarantino is playing around with is that small details revealed during everyday conversations are important clues for certain decisions in life. It’s clearly illustrated when Butch (Bruce Willis) can’t find his father’s watch. After Fabienne explains that she simply can’t remember if she grabbed it, Butch has to go back and get it. “I specifically reminded her - bedside table! On the Kangaroo! I said the words, ‘Don’t forget my father’s watch.’”He could have cared less about anything else in his apartment besides that watch. “Of all the fucking things she could forget, she forgets my father’s watch!”

In my example you can clearly see that this seemingly unimportant conversation they had (off camera) leaded to a pivotal moment in Butch’s life; should he put his life in danger or try to forget all about it? Other times the conversation is presented just so we can get an idea of what type of people these characters are. The numerous discussions Jules and Vincent have about divine intervention are a good example of this. This is a similar idea Tarantino continues to work with in his films today. Unfortunately, never with the amount of success reached in Pulp Fiction.
- Daniel Frohlich

8. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
When you first start to watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington I’m pretty sure everyone has the same sick feeling. “Oh God, I won’t be able to make it through this one.” The tone of the movie changes drastically from start to finish. I would have never guessed that by the end of the film I would’ve seen kids getting run off the road and killed by corporate cronies. It almost makes you shrink in your seat, it’s that unexpected. All in all, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a film full of these types of moments. Jean Arthur plays probably one of the most independent women I’ve seen from this time period. It’s a refreshing site to see a woman who’s more knowledgeable than a majority of the senators surrounding Mr. Smith.

The fact that a movie about corruption in Washington was made in 1939 seems sobering. For some reason I was under the impression that corruption was a relatively new idea and lobbyists just sort of came into existence alongside the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync. If nothing else, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington makes you wonder how things have worsened (because I don’t believe any of us are dumb enough to think things are better now.) One new documentary filmmaker dares to ask “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?” The answer to that question remains to be seen, but I think we’re at a lucky moment in history – to a lesser degree we get to witness the event firsthand this November.
- Daniel Frohlich

7. Taxi Driver
I read something a few days ago which intrigued me greatly. I was browsing through a series of lists done by the American Film Institute because I suffer from an illness of unrestrained and self-induced boredom, which can be placated only somewhat by observing or participating in the sheer vanity of numerically placing films or film characters or anything else in order of importance. Anyway, the list of 100 film villains listed Travis Bickle, perhaps Robert De Niro’s most famous role, as number 30. I’m simply just not sure if his character, that of a psychotic loner, is more of a villain, than, say, Freddy Krueger.

Is Travis totally wrong in the behavior he exhibits throughout Taxi Driver? While not endorsing or condoning his actions (the character’s), I don’t think he’s a “villain” in the empirical sense of the word. Modern film, of which this was a prime early example, is far too complicated and morally ambiguous for such schoolbook characterization. I’m not sure what to think of someone like Travis. He’s just on screen, a complete person, however much we may ultimately judge him to be wrong, to be in need of psychiatric evaluation or whatever else we may think. Scorsese’s film is one of the leading examples of a type of film which denies empathy, maybe even imploring audiences to aggressively dislike what it sees on screen.
- Jesse Balzer

6. Psycho
Any number of Hitchcock films could have made the top of this list and the fact that Psycho represents Hitchcock here is merely a matter of opinion. Psycho is just one of those films I can re-watch a million times and still find something new to love. I also respect his choice to film the movie in black and white. Gus Van Sant’s remake, while admirable, just went to show that Hitchcock had a deep understanding of what worked best for this story. Psycho is filled with memorable scenes but even more memorable characters and situations.
- Daniel Frohlich

Psycho is to blame for almost every bad slasher flick ever made, because every horror/suspense film made after it was either borrowing directly (in some ways the more honorable route) or from the tone and the ideas. Psycho is the genre of horror, the most basic definition. There are good, simple reasons behind the careful study and thorough analysis of so many parts of the film, especially the shower scene, now copied and examined so thoroughly as to be basic to contemporary filmic knowledge.
- Jesse Balzer

5. Casablanca
It’s not often that I get overly excited with a film like I have with Casablanca. Usually when I reach this point of enthusiasm I have a loss for words and the same is true here. Everything I want to say about this film is so insignificant in terms of what the movie accomplished as a whole. However, it’s these little minuscule details that I’m infatuated with. I love how the story ends exactly how you want it to end, how little racial discrimination is present for its time, and how incredibly funny the film is (which is largely ignored when people write about the film.) I’ve worked myself up so much with these small, almost insignificant details that it’s become one of my favorite films of all time. Even now while I write this, I’ve nearly slipped the DVD in four times.

Encapsulated within Casablanca is much more than just a legendary cast of characters but an incredibly well written screenplay. Normally when a script has gone through as many changes as Casablanca has, it ends up feeling like a fragmented collection of ideas. But in this case, each of the writers offered their strengths up for grabs, whether it be romantic (Casey Robinson), comedic (the Epstein twins), or melodramatic (Howard Koch). The all come together to form one unified story of love, loss and everything in between.
- Daniel Frohlich

4. Schindler’s List
Believe it or not, my first time seeing Schindler’s List was this past summer and even more surprisingly, not on a cold droopy day. It always seems that people want to make Schindler’s List to be this ultra-depressing tale about good vs. evil. Well Schindler’s List certainly puts a lot of evil’s forms on display and chiefly the acts committed by Amon Goeth. But it’s not enough to overshadow all of the little deeds that make this movie a living example for acts of decency, at its very least.

This is the only movie on the list that is essential viewing for everyone, not just film lovers. I’ve never been told by so many people to see a film before and most of these people were just your average moviegoers (a bunch of “Joe Six-packs,” so to speak.) You know immediately after viewing the film you’ve just witnessed something truly special. I think most can agree that it’s a call to action of varying degrees, obviously none of us have the money to do something on the level as what Schindler accomplished but we all have the power to something, anything.
- Daniel Frohlich

3. The Godfather Part I
Technically, the Godfather may be the best film ever made. It is completely perfect, in every respect. In almost every film you can find some small fault, something slightly wrong, however brief and inconsequential. I can’t find anything incorrect in the Godfather. It is, simply, incorruptible. I really don’t have anything else to say about it, and I think I have failed to do it justice anyway with these minor words of overwhelming praise. It may not be the most revolutionary film – it takes very few chances and is fairly simple in construction and cinematography – but it is essentially textbook filmmaking. Most films, even the classics, aren’t always sure of their direction, at some point the momentum is broken temporarily. Not here. Not a minute of dialogue or reaction is wasted or obscured, not for one second.
- Jesse Balzer

By now we all have our own version of Marlon Brando saying his most repeated line ever, “I’ll make him an offer her can’t refuse.” On paper it doesn’t sound like much of anything but it’s an actor’s job to make it work. The Godfather, and it’s sequel, represent one of the biggest crossroads in film. You can almost see an imaginary “acting baton” being handed down from one generation to the next (represented here by Brando and Pacino.) You’ve probably heard a billion different things about this film already and if you haven’t seen it, then you still know virtually nothing. The Godfather exceeds any of the expectations you might have heard and then some. Even after all the hype I was still impressed as hell by the collaborative effort that went into this historical piece of cinema.
- Daniel Frohlich

2. Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is my favorite film, not only objectively as a fan of film but also subjectively, from my own artistic likes and dislikes. When I am asked what my favorite film is, and I say Apocalypse Now, invariably I get asked what other war films I like, but the truth is I really don’t like or enjoy too many war films. In so many ways I don’t even consider Apocalypse Now a war film. It is beyond the label. Perhaps I could put it best by saying Apocalypse Now is a story into the deepest, blackest parts of human existence, and it uses (very effectively) the Vietnam War as a backdrop, or maybe a filter. The war aspect of the story is incidental to the main idea, which I think could be done well in any setting, although the choice of the Vietnam War is superior for the most dramatic rendering possible.

The film is mesmerizing to watch. We, the audience, are swept swiftly without stop from beginning to end, like the men traveling down the river, to find the lost Colonel Kurtz. It all leads to one of my favorite endings to any film, stripped of the narration throughout the film and thus preventing any easy explanation for the conclusion. It is so amazing to watch Coppola at work here, bringing together all the powers he possess, all his expert craftsmanship and a desire to be experimental and visionary.
- Jesse Balzer

1. A Clockwork Orange
As I already stated, one of my favorite movies of all time is Casablanca for its numerous little qualities. But, if I were to say one film is required viewing A Clockwork Orange would be my first choice. We felt it deserved the top spot solely because it has everything a must see film should have; a little controversy, humor, enlightenment, and more. There’s no better auteur than Kubrick, whose many films are scattered throughout this list, but Clockwork Orange tops them all in nearly every aspect. From the painstaking acting of Malcolm McDowell (there was no CGI for that eyeball scene) to the numerous amounts of “ultra violence,” there’s no better choice to start off your love of film than by watching A Clockwork Orange.
- Daniel Frohlich

It occurred to me a few days ago that if anyone feels a need to defend film as a whole from allegations of influencing or persuading dangerous minds in our society to act out violently, the answer is in A Clockwork Orange, itself a frequent target of such assertions. The story is of a violent youth (Malcolm McDowell in one of the best and most expressive performances in the history of cinema) deprived of personal freedom and liberty by outside forces. The “cure” he is subjected to is a series of violent films, his eyes held open until he repents and can no longer exhibit so-called “violent” acts (such as anger, arguing, sexual gratification, or even standing up for himself). I’m not comfortable calling Alex evil, even though his acts are. But he has made his choice, and he enjoys what he does, whatever we may think of him. In comparison to the other characters in the film, he is the only one who shows any real signs of life, of enjoyment, of juice or flavor. The irony of the movie is the film’s depiction of what government-sanctioned censorship and rehabilitation can do to a young man, or the young man he ceased to be once he submitted to the Ludovico Technique.

A Clockwork Orange is the most expressive of Kubrick’s films, save for 2001, maybe (It can be argued quite vigorously either way, I think). It still has the absolute virility to shock, and I think the general panorama of images and music and violence and the strange language and the costumes can distract audiences greatly from the humor. A Clockwork Orange is a very funny film, and I feel this is often lost on audiences. In short, A Clockwork Orange is the ultimate extremity and essential in film.
- Jesse Balzer

Further reading: 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 01