If you’re a budding cinephile, it can be difficult to know where to start or even to find a baseline. Cinema becomes more daunting every year as new films are released and old films are reappraised. With this in mind, the staff of Collider.com has collaborated on 100 movies we think every film fan needs to see.To be clear, this list is not an ending, but a beginning. It’s meant to serve as a starting point. Just because a movie didn’t make this list of 100, that doesn’t mean it’s “inessential.” Rather, we wanted to provide a good foundation that would spark a person’s curiosity about where to go next. Additionally, while many essential movies were done by white, male directors because historically those are the people who have had power, we didn’t want to neglect international cinema, female filmmakers, or filmmakers of color, and we have sought to include their work here.Another group of film fans could come up with their own “Essential 100” and make a strong argument for it. However, we didn’t create this list to spark an argument, but to spark curiosity. If you look at this list as a guide rather than an end-point, then it should set you on a path to building your knowledge and appreciation of cinema.Also, it should be noted that this list is organizedalphabetically. We have not ranked these movies against each other because part of the purpose of this list is to get you to start with any film that piques your interest and see where it leads you.Below is an overview of our list, and you can scroll down to read our justifications for why each film is essential. And if you want to test your progress,here is a checklistof all 100 movies. Make sure to let us know how many you’ve seen so far!And also check outBill Hader’s list of movies that inspired him, plusour exclusive interviewwith the actor/writer/director about how he became a cinephile.8 1/2The 400 Blows2001: A Space OdysseyAirplane!AlienAll About My MotherAll That JazzAmadeus[caption id=“attachment_938314” align=“alignnone” width=“1600”]Image via Universal Pictures[/caption]The ApartmentApocalypse NowThe AvengersBack to the FutureBattleship PotemkinA Better TomorrowBirth of a NationBlazing SaddlesBlow-UpBlue VelvetThe Bride of FrankensteinBrokeback MountainThe Cabinet of Doctor CaligariCasablancaChinatownCitizen KaneCleo From 5 to 7CluelessCreature From the Black LagoonThe Dark KnightThe Day the Earth Stood StillDays of HeavenDie HardDo the Right ThingDouble IndemnityDr. StrangeloveDrunken MasterDuck Soup[caption id=“attachment_762357” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”]Image via Universal Pictures[/caption]E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialThe Empire Strikes BackEnter the DragonEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindThe Evil DeadFantasiaFargoFast Times at Ridgemont HighThe GeneralGet OutThe GodfatherGone with the WindGoodfellasThe Great DictatorHis Girl FridayIn the Mood for LoveJawsJurassic ParkThe KillerKing KongLawrence of ArabiaA League Of Their OwnThe Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the RingThe Matrix[caption id=“attachment_795648” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”]Image via USA Films[/caption]Menace II SocietyMetropolisMonty Python and the Holy GrailMoonlightNetworkNight of the Living DeadNosferatuThe Princess BridePulp FictionRaiders of the Lost ArkRashomonRear WindowRoman HolidayScreamThe SearchersSeven SamuraiThe ShiningThe Silence of the LambsSingin' in the RainSnow White and the Seven DwarvesThe Social NetworkSome Like It HotSpirited AwayStar WarsSunset Blvd.Superman[caption id=“attachment_850956” align=“alignnone” width=“1489”]Image via Lucasfilm[/caption]SuspiriaTangerineTaxi DriverThis Is Spinal TapThe ThingTop HatToy StoryUnforgivenVertigoVideodromeWhen Harry Met SallyFor additional curated recommendations from the Collider staff, check out our lists for thebest comedy films of the 21st century,best documentaries of the 21st century, andbest war movies of the 21st century so far.
8 1/2 (1963)
Director:Federico Fellini
Writer:Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, & Brunello Rondi
Cast:Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, and Sandra Milo
Why It’s Essential:A giant of Italian cinema, it’s difficult to know where to begin, especially withFederico Fellini, who also directedAmarcord,La Dolce Vita, andLa Strada. So maybe the best place is where Fellini didn’t even know where to start.8 ½(the title referring to Fellini’s 8 ½ film since he had previously directed six features, two shorts, and a collaboration) is one of the great “writer’s block” movie where Fellini stand-in Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) wrestles with trying to put together his next feature while also grappling with creative pressure as well as the many women of his life.
In addition to being an essential film of Italian cinema, the dreamlike and autobiographical qualities of 8 ½ have been highly influential as we’re basically swimming in Guido’s (and therefore Fellini’s) subconscious and that makes for a strange and unique experience that helps provide insight into Fellini’s filmography and process. –Matt Goldberg
The 400 Blows (1959)
Director:François Truffaut
Writers:François Truffaut, Marcel Moussy
Cast:Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier
Why It’s Essential:The directorial debut critic turned auteurFrançois Truffautalso just happens to be one of the most achingly human films ever made and a distinct starting block for the French New Wave movement of the 1950s.The 400 Blows—anextremelyliteral translation of the French idiom “faire les quatre cents coups”, which is closer to meaning “raise hell”—follows Truffaut’s on-screen stand-in Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a troubled teenager drifting his way through petty crimes and parents who just don’t understand in 1950s Paris. There’s not a whiff of nostalgia to Truffaut’s fictionalized take on his own childhood;The 400 Blowssimply feels like being deposited into someone else’s black and white memories. In this endeavor, Truffaut was helped greatly by cinematographerHenri Decae, whose background in documentaries lent itself to the film’s unflinching, pointed gaze toward Antoine’s palpable loneliness. Like most films of the Nouvelle Vague,The 400 Blowsfree-floats along its own path more than it tells a central narrative, but there’s not a single wasted shot across its entire runtime. The film’s entire vibe can be condensed down to the scenes where Leaud—truly one of cinema’s greatest sad ghost-looking faces that set the stage for theTimothée Chalametsof the modern world—sits in a cell answering questions from a psychologist. Although he hired an actress to provide the psychologist’s voice, Truffaut chose to shoot Léaud alone and give the young actor leeway to answer the questions as he chose. The filmmaker’s camera cares deeply for its subject, andThe 400 Blowsbuilds small revelation-by-revelation to one of the most arresting up-close-and-personal final shots of all time. –Vinnie Mancuso
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Director:Stanley Kubrick
Writers:Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Cast:Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Margaret Tyzack, Robert Beatty, Sean Sullivan, Douglas Rain
Two words: Stanley Kubrick. You could pick just about any title in the acclaimed filmmaker’s catalog and you’d have yourself a veritable clinic on movie-making right there on your screen.2001: A Space Odysseyis a prime example of this, featuring both the tried-and-true methods of the art of the cinematic as well as breaking these conventions in every conceivable way. And for the fans of hard science-fiction who love a tale told with grounded science fact,2001is one of the best, thanks in large part to co-writer Arthur C. Clarke being along for the ride.
To say that2001: A Space Odysseyis an ambitious film is to far undersell it. The story goes to the roots of our existence as both primitive animals and ridiculously advanced sentient beings while the set design went to great lengths to realistically recreate the experience of traveling through space aboard a technologically advanced vessel. While the main conflict of the film appears to center on the disconnect between the malfunctioning supercomputer HAL 9000 and the human astronauts traveling to investigate a mysterious monolith, the film is, more broadly, an exploration of humankind’s connection to the universe. From the “Dawn of Man’ to the “Star Child” and the unknown expanse of time and space that comes afterwards,2001is no less than an attempt to tell humankind’s story in a matter of hours, bolstered by stunning, cutting-edge special effects.
Just as Clarke’s stories have influenced generations of writers, artists, creative, and scientists alike, so too has Kubrick’s sci-fi epic influenced untold numbers of filmmakers who came afterwards. It’s impossible to watch2001and not see the inspiration for new classic films likeStar WarsandAlien, to contemporary sci-fi standouts likeGravity,Arrival, andEx Machina. The creative impact of2001over the last 50 years can’t be overstated, but its influence on future films is a certainty.– Dave Trumbore
Airplane! (1980)
Writers/Directors:Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Cast:Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack
Why It’s Essential:Surely, the screwball to end all screwballs,Airplane!, is an influential comedy and you’d be well within your rights to be salty about it. Alotof bad movies have resulted from theAirplane!formula, mostly parody flicks that only believe in quantity over quality in their joke-telling, but that only serves to highlight how much of a miracleAirplane!actually is. Sure, there’s a plot—it’s a disaster parody set on a virus-ridden aircraft that mostly borrows from the straight-faced 1957 dramaZero Hour!—but the amount of one-liners, zingers, sight gags, and yucksJim Abrahams,David Zucker, andJerry Zuckermanage to cram into these 90 minutes is enough to make your head spin. But jokes are like airplanes: No one is gonna’ be laughing if that thing doesn’t land. And, in the ultrabright lights of 2019, a lot ofAirplane!’s jokes don’t! But that’s where the movie’s genius stroke of casting comes in; Abrahams and the Zucker brothers populated their laugh-a-second comedy with some of the most distinguished dramatic actors you could imagine. TV Golden Age dramatistLeslie Nielsen. Emmy-winnerRobert Stack.Sea Huntleading man Lloyd Bridges. The list goes on—led, of course, by the greatJulie HagertyandRobert Hays—and the result is a layer of deadpan gold that very, very few comedies have managed to reach since. Having to wade through yourDisaster Moviesand yourMeet the Spartansis worth having Airplane!, an all-time classic comedy and a first ballot contender in the “Most Quotable Movie” Hall of Fame. –Vinnie Mancuso
Alien (1979)
Director:Ridley Scott
Writer:Dan O’Bannon
Cast:Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, and John Hurt
Why It’s Essential: Ridley Scottsophomore feature,Alienis one of the best horror movies of all time, one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, and one of the best movies of all time, no qualifier. Crafted with precision to create an immersive working-class world in space,Alienpresents a vision of the future that is timeless; a trip through the universe from the perspective of the professional grunts who just want to get the job done and go home. And then they meet the Xenomorph; an alien creature that sits at the pinnacle of predatory evolution.
Where to even begin with this one.Sigourney Weaveris iconic as Ellen Ripley, a beacon of competence and sensitivity in a devolving crisis. And her performance wasn’t just a game-changer for the representation of women in film, it was also just downright fantastic. And she’s matched by performers likeIan Holm,John Hurt, andHarry Dean Stanton, who endow the ill-fated crew with a lived-in presence that makes every casualty hit harder. Then there’sH.R. Giger’s still-unmatched design for the creature,Dan O’Bannon’s refined script, and their combined vision with Scott’s, which creates a provocative intergalactic nightmare that taps into still-taboo subjects and delivers a powerhouse story of class and gender divides, corporate cruelty, and ultimately, survival. –Haleigh Foutch
All About My Mother (1999)
Writer/Director:Pedro Almodóvar
Cast:Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz, Antonia San Juan
Why It’s Essential:You could arguably labelPedro Almodóvaras the finest filmmaker to come out of Spain, but the thesis behind his most decorated film,All About My Mother, might dispute the idea of labels in the first place. Winner of [deep breath] the 1999 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Direction and six Goya Awards,All About My Motheris, in every way, a film about identity. From the story to the performances to the characters to the color schemes, Almodóvar weaves his way through what makes someone who they are and the millions of beautiful contradictions that come with a personality. Our way in is through Manuela (Cecilia Roth), an Argentine nurse whose son Esteban (Eloy Azarin) is struck and killed by a car while chasing down a famous actress (Marisa Paredes) for an autograph. In the wake of this tragedy, Manuela resolves to track down Esteban’s estranged father—a transgender woman named Lola (Toni Canto)—an odyssey that leads Manuela into the orbits of an old friend working as a sex worker (Antonia San Juan) and a pregnant nun suffering from HIV (Penelope Cruz). Almodóvar cares so deeply for all these flawed, multilayered people, and that warmth spreads to the entire film, to the point where you’re not sure how to react. It’s obviously a deeply melancholic tragedy, but it’s just as often funny, rife with references toA Streetcar Named DesireandAll About Eve, and boasting a set design filled with the gorgeously bright reds and yellows of a party. And it all ends with the perfect dedication: “To all actresses who have played actresses, to all women who act, to men who act and become women, to all people who want to become mothers. To my mother.” –Vinnie Mancuso
All That Jazz (1979)
Director:Bob Fosse
Writers:Bob Fosse and Robert Alan Aurthur
Cast:Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer, and Ann Reinking
Why It’s Essential:Not just one of the best musicals ever made,All That Jazzis also one of the most groundbreaking autobiographical films in history. Legendary choreographer, director, and dancerBob Fosseturns the camera inward as he tells the story of Joe Gideon, a theater director and choreographer who’s juggling the staging of his latest Broadway musical, the editing of a movie he just directed, and his relationship with his girlfriend, ex-wife and daughter. It’s a thinly veiled confessional, as Gideon is overworked, cantankerous, and on the brink of death, and the musical numbers are told entirely from his point of view.
Indeed, the musical sequences are exaggerated reflections of Joe’s inner turmoil, and the way in which Fosse transitions from dramatic scene to musical number drives home that singular point of view. But the film also inflates Joe’s ego—and by extension Fosse’s—building to a rousing, existential climax that features one of the most iconic and emotional musical sequences ever put to screen. –Adam Chitwood
Amadeus (1984)
Director:Milos Forman
Writer:Peter Shaffer
Cast:F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, and Elizabeth Berridge
Why It’s Essential:Peter Shaffer’s original stage play is an ingenious way to tell the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) while actually telling the story of Antonio Saleri’s (F. Murray Abraham) jealousy and envy. ButMilos Formanmade it cinematic and breathtaking by never making the action feel staged or claustrophobic. Instead, Forman relishes the lush palace intrigue and gorgeous settings to not only emphasize the stakes, but also show Mozart as an abrasive outsider, someone who doesn’t really play by the rules that Saleri has lived his life by.
There’s really no excuse for any biopic to be as staid and predictable when Forman showed a unique approach to a person’s life over thirty years ago. If you’re looking for a “faithful” recessitation of Mozart’s life, you won’t find it here. Instead, you’ll find a much richer story about professional jealousy and knowing your limitations when meeting greatness.Amadeusis really the story two tragedies: the tragedy of Mozart, who died young and was betrayed by his friend, and Saleri, who was confronted by his lack of genius. –Matt Goldberg
The Apartment (1960)
Director/Writer:Billy Wilder
Cast:Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, and Jack Kruschen
Why It’s Essential:Just one year after he made one of the greatest farces ever withSome Like It Hot, filmmakerBilly Wildercreated one of the best romantic comedies ever made:The Apartment. The 1960 masterpiece starsJack Lemmonas an insurance clerk named Bud who enmeshes himself with the higher-ups at his company by allowing them to use his apartment for their extramarital affairs. He subsequently falls in love with his work building’s elevator operator Fran (Shirley MacLaine), who it turns out is having an affair with his boss—in his apartment no less.
The Apartmentwas pretty ambitious for the period during which it was made. The film’s subject matter covers extramarital sexual liaisons and suicide, and the skill with which Wilder vacillates between comedy and drama is marvelous. In that way it would prove influential to other comedy/dramas to come, as Wilder showed a comedy could also confront issues that human beings face in the real world. This dimensionality makes Bud and Fran all the more relatable, and Lemmon and MacLaine deliver a pair of all-timer performances as the iconic duo. –Adam Chitwood
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Director:Francis Ford Coppola
Writer:John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola
Cast:Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, and Robert Duvall
Why It’s Essential:There are plenty of movies that deal with the psychological toll of the Vietnam War, but none are as surreal and unhinged asApocalypse Now, a movie that almost killed its director as recounted in the excellent documentaryHearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Based on theJoseph ConradnovelHeart of Darkness, the story follows Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) who has been tasked with finding and killing the AWOL Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando).
There are movies that go more to the facts of the Vietnam War (Platoon, based on the experiences of director Oliver Stone) or the difficulty in returning home from that war (Coming Home,Born on the Fourth of July,The Deer Hunter), butApocalypse Nowhits at something far more psychological and ineffable. It’s one thing to say that “war is hell”, but for Coppola andApocalypse Now, war shatters the mind and the spirit, creating some unholy abomination that can’t be easily explained or recreated. –Matt Goldberg
