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
Trilogy
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
