There are just some movies that everyone should watch before a certain age. These are those. These are the movies that you’re going to hear referenced, and quoted, and talked about for the rest of your life. To fully participate in culture, watch them before you enter the real world. Some of these are about life. Some of these are about growing up. But by the time you graduate, you should be familiar with them all.

20. Animal House

19. It’s a Wonderful Life

18. Space Jam

17. The Sandlot

16. Back to the Future

15. The Princess Bride

14. Warrior

13. The Fighter

12. Toy Story Trilogy

11. The Dark Knight

10. The Shining

Classic psychological thriller.

9. Raiders of The Lost Arc

8. Gladiator

AKA the guide to being a badass.

7. Fight Club

AKA the guide to being an anarchist.

6. Forrest Gump (Tie)

6. Saving Private Ryan (Tie)

Two Tom Hanks classics that show two important eras in American history. Aside from being two great films, these movies are important in understanding why America is how it is.

5. Star Wars Saga

Star Wars shouldn’t be popular. It’s a weird, cheesy space odyssey… and yet it’s my favorite series of all time. It is a cultural phenomenon in the purest sense of the word. Star Wars is as engrained in American culture as Baseball or Apple pie at this point. Missing out on Star Wars is missing out on a key part of society. Honestly, you should have already seen it.

4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Lord of The Rings made the fantasy genre cool, and the series picked up 17 of the 30 Academy Awards it was nominated for. Lord of the Rings is simply a cinematic marvel. But more than that, it was a cultural phenomenon (almost on the level of Star Wars) during the early 2000’s.

3. Shawshank Redemption

Widely considered one of the best films ever made, Shawshank needs little explanation. It’s the best prison movie ever made, and a riveting exploration of what makes us human.

2. The Departed

Martin Scorsese has more classics than most anyone. In the 70’s there was Taxi Cab, in the 80’s it was Raging Bull, in the 90’s he gave us Casino and Goodfellas.(This list is disrespectfully short, Scorsese is incredible)But for this list we’ll include the film that garnered him his first Academy Award for Best Director; the American Gangster Classic, The Departed.

1. Good Will Hunting

This is a college list and this is the quintessential college film. It’s is the true American coming of age story. Nothing more to say here.

*all images courtesy of IMDB